Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

“Text” – Normal speech

‘Text’ - Thought

“Text” – Radio/Communication lines

“Text” – None Japanese speech

(text) – Subtext/meaning behind a spoken word

It was a hot summer's day, with the sun was bright and high in the sky. The weatherman said it would rain soon, but that was something to worry about later. With it being this time of year, it meant schools from kindergarten to university, explaining why the 6-year-olds could be out in the park without someone wondering why. Still, at present, the park's only occupants were the 5 of them, which meant no help if bullying happened, such as now.

“That’s mean, Kacchan!” Standing in front of the crying blonde boy was a short, bushy, green-haired lad whose clothing, despite his size, still looked big on him. This,. This, combined with how much he was shaking, didn't strike a strong impression that he needed. "Heroes don't make people cry; you gotta apologize."

The boy he was talking to stood with two others; one was the tallest of the 5 with a cap worn backwards, while the other was the fattest but in the middle in terms of height. The apparent leader of the trio seemed confused at first that this smaller, clearly scared kid was trying to tell him what to do like he was an adult before he laughed it off as he had come to expect stuff like this from him. "Of course, you'll say that; he's quirkless, just like you!"

His words cut deep into the green-haired boy. Unlike everyone else whose quirk came in around age 4, both he and the second boy he was defending hadn't shown any signs of a quirk for two years now. Even with that hurtful reminder, he wouldn't bow to a bully because heroes didn't do that.

"We-we're still people. Just because we don't have quirks doesn't make it okay to hurt him. You need to stop!” He yelled back as best he could, even if he was shaking in his near comically sized red shoes, he would stand his ground, even as the crying boy behind him reached for his shirt to pull it.

“Midoriya, please.” The blonde begged. He could see where this was going and knew that Midoriya's chances weren't good. Even if he had a quirk, they were still outnumbered, and both Bakugo and his taller friend were bigger than them.

Bakugo seemed to bask in that admission that he was stronger than both of them. “Listen to him, Deku. Or do you need another reminder of why you can’t be a hero?” He asked as he brought his fist to his palm, a small explosion lighting thanks to his fantastic quirk. The other two didn't have bad quirks either, as the fat man grew red devil wings and started floating while the tall one's fingers extended.

“M-mom says I can be a hero because I have heart!” Midoriya yelled back, as his mother was one of the best people out there, maybe the best, and she was super-duper-smart. He'll trust her over a meanie any day!

“She’s obviously lying, Deku. Why do you think you spend so much time with that loser?” Bakugo shot back. Midoriya used to be seen all the time, but now, when he wasn't in class, he was off with Frenchie and his lame family, which made sense since who else but another loser to hang with?

"Aoyama's not a loser. You take that back or," Midoriya yelled, his anger for Aoyama exceeding his fear for Bakugo. “I’ll never forgive you!” Even if he was small, he raised his tiny fists to defend Aoyama, trying to copy the stance he saw All Might take when he fought some villains.

“Let’s see if you can back that up, Deku!” Bakugo yelled back as they jumped him. It's safe to say he lost that fight—and he lost it badly. By the time they left the two alone, having grown bored of whaling on him, Midoriya looked pretty beat up as Aoyama fretted over him, ashamed that he didn't do anything in that fight and just watched his only friend get beat up for his sake.

“He wasn't very nice," He whispered as Midoriya suggested that they meet up with his friend from school instead of staying inside and playing knights. Aoyama didn't have many friends, but he had seen the other kids at his school play, and what Bakugo did wasn't what his friends did. It was the kind of stuff that got you sent to the time-out corner.

“He used to be…” Midoriya replied, equally as soft as he had hoped that Bakugo wouldn’t be mean today, but maybe he was just kidding himself as it seemed like he got worse by the day. But there was still something that Aoyama couldn’t figure out.

"Why did you do that? It was 3 and 1, and they're all bigger than you!" he asked, sure Bakugo was hurting his feelings by mocking him about his lack of a quirk. But his mom said that when people were like that and wouldn't stop when you asked, the best thing was to just leave.

Slowly getting up and feeling the bruises on his arms and chest, Midoriya tried to smile even if it hurt. “Heroes don’t leave people when they’re needed. All Might said that on the TV the other day.” They had a sleepover the other day, right when summer break started. They had gone to Aoyama's place, which was way bigger than the apartment he and his mom shared. They stayed up late, had lots of yummy food and watched clips on heroes, including stuff with All Might, the number one hero.

"He's super strong and can do what he wants." Aoyama rebutted, saying All Might was the strongest hero, probably the strongest person ever. He could outrun cars, lift trains, and jump over those really tall buildings, sky…sky-somethings.

Getting back to his feet, he saw that he was pretty dirty, which meant they'd have some explaining to do when they returned to his and his mom's apartment. "Remember what Auntie Marcelle said, being strong outside is half; you need to be strong inside too." He tapped his chest, and Aoyama frowned as his mom said that a lot, but he found it hard to find that strength like his friend did. It was one of the things he liked about Midoriya. That he didn't need to search for it.

“Besides, I don’t like seeing you sad. Even if it was my fault.” He blushed a little at Midoriya's honest words but shook his head when he saw that he was also sad about what Bakugo did.

"You didn't tell him to be mean to me. He needs to have his mouth washed out with soap." Aoyama huffed, looking in the direction that Bakugo and the other two ruffians went. "And besides, Auntie Inko said that we'll get our own quirks soon; it won't be like others, but we'll match." Aoyama cheered up a little as it was late. That was the reason his parents sought out Midoriya's mother; she could find a way to give them powers just like everyone else. They just had to be patient.

Midoriya perked up at that reminder, as he knew his mother was smart—really smart. She even worked abroad for a time before those big-wig meanies said she couldn't anymore, but that didn't mean she stopped. “And we’ll be the best hero team, fighting villains and saving people like All Might.”

"And be super flashy, too!" Despite the situation, both giggled as Aoyama talked about how they'd have the flashiest costumes and moves and that villains would be blinded by their brilliance as they left the park to get back to the apartment before Auntie Inko started to worry.

Years later, a trio of heroes were out in that city, not on a regular patrol but on the hunt for a villain running amok. “How is this so hard?” Mineyama Hero: Mt. Lady, a curvaceous young woman and newly debuted heroine, complained as they had been at this for 3 hours now with no luck.

Her fellow hero, Kamui Woods, also a recent addition to the ranks of Japan's heroes, kept his tone level despite his irritation with the woman. It was bad enough that she stole his thunder the other day, but now he had to work with her, and she was acting like that didn't even happen. “Keep your eyes peeled, Mt. Lady. We’re on the clock.”

"I know, but how hard is it to find this villain? The other one made it impossible to miss them, and yet we have an ice villain popping up all over town and freezing everything they can get their hands on.” She waved her hands at people who passed by on the street, waving at them or asking for photos and autographs. It was a pretty normal day for her, especially since most of the people wanting photos with her were teens to guys who had to be in their late 20s.

Their third partner for this, a veteran local hero known as the Punching Hero: Death Arms, agreed with her even if he found her quite eccentric. "Strangely, they've managed so much damage in only a few days and yet have never been seen." He's been patrolling these streets for nine years now and never had an issue like this. Petty crime, sure, but when U.A. University was located in this town, criminals thought twice about stuff like this.

“Could it be a gang of villains?” Kamui Woods asked as the more significant, bulkier man reached for his chin in thought.

"Hard to say. Nothing's been reported stolen, and even if that was the case, they've picked some pretty bad spots for robberies." He replied, as the police reports hadn't found anything missing, nor had anyone come forward with a complaint or report for lost property; it had mainly been damaged or destroyed stuff.

“A supermarket, a park, a bar and some apartments. That last one barely had any tenants.” Mt. Lady listed off the most recent hits for this punk with a love for winter. If she hadn't known any better, she would have assumed that they were just someone going about their day as the cops didn't find anything else that could connect all these spots.

"Strange places, but we must capture this evil-doer regardless." Kamui Woods clenches his first as Mt. Lady giggled, finding his penchant for such dramatic words funny. Death Arms was about to chastise her for this when there was an explosion, but not born from heat and fire, but from ice.

“Looks like they’re here!” The trio sprung into action, with Mt. Lady using her Gigantification type quirk to rapidly grow till she was a giant, standing at 20.62m. Kamui, using his Arbor quirk, rapidly grew and stretched the wood of his arms, shooting for a light pole and swinging ahead, leaving Death Arms to need to run to get there.

Kamui Woods managed to arrive first and saw the street in panic as people were running away from what looked to be a localized ice tornado tearing through. Everything it touched rapidly cooled before frosting over. Some people were caught in it, which he quickly grabbed, noting that even the limited time exposed to the tornado left his arms feeling cold.

When Mt. Lady arrived, she quickly took a picture of the situation before deciding what was needed, making sure he was clear and loud. "Alright, people! You must leave the area immediately, stay calm, and help those who can't move!" She instructed as she quickly grabbed people and got them out, grateful that the attack happened in a broader street. Kamui!”

“That’s most of that, but that still leaves the big problem!” He yelled back, helping an old lady escape the villain's rampage.

"A walking blizzard? Yeah, that's just peachy. Hey buddy, I don't know if you didn't hear, but it's spring!" Mt. Lady tried to reach into the tornado to grab whoever was causing it, but the winds around it and how cold it was forced her back, her hand feeling numb. “Dammit, that’s cold!”

“Focus on getting people to safety!” Kamui Woods yelled as Death Arms finally made it. Seeing the situation, he realized that while he could help them get people out, there was something else he could do.

“I’m going in!” He yelled, not waiting for a response as he braced himself, wishing he had worn something more than his skin-tight cyan cardigan, which exposed his lower torso and centre of his pects. Rushing into the tornado, he had to plant his feet to ensure he wasn't blown away. He gritted his teeth as he felt the bitterly cold winds and ice smacking into him. Still, if this was a tornado, that meant that the eye of it would be calm, and odds are, that was where their villain was, but getting to them was hard as his vision was poor in these conditions.

“I can barely see my own hand in this, and it’s freezing,” He muttered. He took one step at a time, bringing himself close to his destination.

“Go away.” He heard a voice, soft and direct but seemingly as cold as the ice around him. Looking around, he didn't see who could have said that before he realized who it must have been.

“Was that a threat, villain? Because I’m not buying it, you’re going down!” He yelled back, as he hadn't let a villain off the hook before and wouldn't start now.

“Go away.” He heard it again as if it didn't hear his response.

“Death Arms! What’s happening in there?!” He heard Lady yelling through the tornado's winds. He tried to reply that he was progressing, but she didn't respond, so he couldn't be sure she heard. To make matters worse, as he approached the eye of the storm, he saw something moving in the winds, only for that movement to reveal itself to be the ice and snow coming together into a giant glowing-eyed fox made from the stuff faced him, snarling as he had intruded on its den.

“Crap, what kind of quirk is this? First ice, then a blizzard and now a snow body?” He asked, preparing for a fight, but at the last second, the beast's eye twitched as it looked to the side, seeming to see through the tornado of its own creation.

“She’s gone now.” It said, seemingly thinking aloud.

“Whose she? What or you are you after?” He demanded as he was getting sick and tired of this.

“Go away.” His response was a casual swipe of its paw, which was on the side of his torso and packed as much power as he had in both arms. He was sent flying, crashing into an iced-over car with a groan.

“Death Arms!” Kamui called out as he shook his head to get back into the fight.

"Forget about me; keep focus on me." When he got up, he saw the tornado start to disperse, but instead of that dinosaur-sized winter fox, there was nothing, as if it was never there. “The villain? Where did they…”

“That’s impossible, I didn’t take my eyes off that blizzard for a second!” Mt. Lady, who was still giant, yelled in frustration as they finally found the damn villain, only for them to give them the slip! What were they supposed to tell the cops when they showed up?

"Are there any alleys or sideroads?" Death Arms asked as the woman huffed but looked around. She saw maybe seven paths, but they didn't seem likely.

"They're iced over. If they used one to escape, we won't know which." Shrinking to her standard size, she relayed what she saw as, while blocked, you would think that having made that much ice and snow, they'd be some kind of trace in an escape route, but all the ones she had seen were clean of that.

"We at least know something; they're looking for someone," Death Arms said, as if, while angry, they hadn't received anything.

“You got them to talk?” Kamui asked, to which the man raised an eyebrow. It wasn't like that villain was quiet. Did they not hear it through the winds? But if that was the case, why could he listen to them? Grumbling that such wasn’t his field of knowledge, he answered the question.

"More or less. They said something about 'she's gone' Aside from that, they just kept repeating that I should go away." He told them, as Kamui nodded, trying to make something of that crumb of a clue.

"So, they're not hitting these places without reason; they're searching for someone." He stated as Mt. Lady cut in.

"Hate to rain on the parade, but that doesn't help us much as we still don't know who they're looking for or why. We don't even know what they look like." She reminded them before sneezing. Her costume might have been made to offer warmth on nightly patrols, but there was a big difference between that and being in an impromptu winter.

"We'll have to put that in the report," Death Arms started, only to sneeze as well, ever harder than Lady, as he shivered; hugging himself for warmth, he began to walk off the iced-over street. “And make sure whoever fights them dresses like they’re heading into the mountains during winter. God, I could use a smoke and coffee right about now.”

An hour's train ride away from this sat a high school with a long and storied history, being one of the oldest private institutions in the country and renowned for being one the top 5 best technical high schools and top 10 overall high schools in Japan: Rothana High. Such a place was all but built for the wealthy and influential families of the country, with almost the entire student body being the sons and daughters of prominent figures in society, from the traditional high-ranking politicians, executives and actors to the more recent hero and support company families.

But among their ranks, there were few and very far in between. Midoriya was one of those outliers as he sat at his desk as their teacher continued with what he was saying.

"Since you're third years, I hope that you've put some serious thought into what futures you'd like to pursue. If not, well, the clock is ticking as universities have already started their application process." The balding middle-aged lizard man explained, giving some of his classmates the stink eye when they looked away embarrassed.

“So, I’ll be handing out these handouts in which you’ll write down your first and second choices of university and course, but I can guess what you all want,” The man chuckled when he saw how eager most were.

“The hero course, right?” At his question, the class erupted into cheers as Midoriya's classmates flashed their quirks, whatever they might have been. But his gaze never went to them, but always to their sides or above them, as if he was looking at something else. He was careful to make this subtle as their teacher tried to get the group of rowdy 17- —and 18-year-olds in order.

"Yes, yes, but settle down, students; you know it's against the rules to use your quirks." He reminded them that while this was common, Rothana prided itself on student discipline. 3^rd years, they were the models their underclassmen would look towards.

“Hey, Midoriya,” Midoriya turned to his classmate and best friend, Aoyama Yuga. The boy had grown into a fine man in the years since that day in the park, the picture of European refined male beauty which carried a touch of softer feminine features which he proudly basted he got from his mother. He completed it with the small faux gold and jewel-encrusted crown, a registered quirk support item. Shame he knew it, which meant his ego could overinflate sometimes. “You excited for this?” He asked, to which Midoriya smiled.

“Like you wouldn’t believe,” He replied as a periwinkle-haired girl rolled her eyes at them.

"Speak for yourself; just the mock exams are hard enough.” She stated that the two boys' eyes were shifting to her. While Aoyama was amused, there was something more profound and emotive in Midoriya's voice, which the girl matched. Midoriya wasn't the tallest boy in class, a fact that could damper his mood. Still, his wild green locks, expressive emerald eyes and cute little diamond freckles made him stand out. But he wore a unique green and red belt buckle, which seemed more like a piece of tech than a clothing item, as it was his registered quirk item that allowed him to properly use his power.

It helped that he was in crazy good shape, but she wouldn’t be caught dead saying as much outside private spaces.

“I’m sure you’ll do great; your science grades are at the top of the class," Midoriya told her, as Intelli Saiko was no doubt the second most brilliant woman he had the pleasure of meeting, even when she didn't use her quirk, she was a force of nature when it came to academics.

And if her having brains wasn’t enough, she was a beauty on top of that, as her spotless pale skin shined in the right light with her cat-like lavender eyes and thick upper eyelashes always hinting that she knew more than she was saying, but could just as easily capture any that looked into them. Where his hair was a bush that he kept short, barely reaching his ears, her periwinkle hair was straight, waist length with two ear-length clumps and a near fringe framing her face that he liked to play with whenever they had a date night, the classic hime cut.

“You don’t make it easy, you know." She replied with a knowing smile, as she might be at the top of the grade, but Midoriya was an extremely close second. Most would find them overwhelming, knowing that even a slight dip in grade could mean you lose your top spot, but she took it as a challenge and loved every second of it. It also made their private time together fun. Who else could call a study session a date?

“What can I say? I’m my mother’s son.” Midoriya rubbed the back of his head, as where Intelli was the first in her family to make it into Rothana, Izuku was second, with his mother being one of their most well-known alma mater. At the same time, they weren't wealthy or connected like most of his classmates, which came with an expectation that he was to also excel like she did and excel he did.

“Well then,” The trio turned to their teacher, who had an amused look on his face. At the same time, the rest of the class snickered at that, the trio having momentarily forgotten that they were still in school. “If you’re feeling so talkative, why don’t you share with the class where you plan to study next year.”

Despite the spotlight shining on them, neither faltered as they stood, meeting the expectant looks of their classmates before they revealed the news. "U.A. University's hero course," Midoriya spoke for the three of them, who were met with shocked awe and disbelief.

“The National school?!”

“They’ve been in the top 1% for the last 20 years!”

"Just getting in is a miracle; their acceptance rate is, like, 0.7%.”

There were more whispers here and there, which made perfect sense for someone like Aoyama. At the same time, he didn't have the best grades, sitting in the lower 10 of the class; his quirk more than made up for it, being the picture of what a pro-hero should have. However, that left Intelli and Midoriya, who might have been their best students academically, with quirks that were an issue for some. “Dude, maybe you’re aiming a bit too high, I mean, your quirk is more support than anything.”

"Intelli's just makes her smarter, no offence, but how will that help in the field?" Someone else asked, to which Intelli was all but immune to their scepticism, having faced it ever since day one when the daughter of a secretary and middle school gym teacher walked into their hallow halls. That being said, both Aoyama and Midoriya picked up her brow twitched.

"You'll be a good hero, but U.A.'s, that's for the best of the best; you need to have an OP quirk to even hope to get in.” Midoriya also felt a spark of irritation in his heart, though he did a good enough job of masking it with a smile. After all, this was far better than a middle school; at least now, people didn't outright laugh at his dreams.

“U.A. is the best hero school in Japan, and I want to be the best hero I can be, which means that training there would be a big help!” Midoriya declared, his friends in full agreement as he put a strong foot forward. "So what if my quirk isn't as flashy or destructive? It's not over till the fat lady sings," he declared as their teacher sarcastically clapped.

“Enthusiastic, but please get down from your desk.” Midoriya blinked, seeing that he had stood on his chair with his foot on his desk; Aoyama was also posing while Intelli was still up but the most reserved of the trio as he awkwardly got down.

“Sorry.” Dammit, he was acting too much like his flamboyant friend again. Even after over 10 years of friendship, he couldn't understand how Aoyama could pose without shame; he probably spent hours practising to make it so that he always looked good.

The woman with flaming emerald hair saluted her boss and one of the strongest people, the number 2 hero, the Flame Hero: Endeavour. The hero, even seated, appeared like a bear, with how large and powerful he was, even when he was doing something as non-threatening as paperwork. But Burnin supposed that the atmosphere helped sell how little you wanted to anger him, from his imposing skyscraper hero agency to the fact that his office was a large and vast space, highlighting that it was his space, not yours.

When Burning knocked, the man who briefly looked up from his work quickly granted her entry. “Is this about the recent attacks?” he guessed.

"Yes, sir." The woman nodded as the man, who rarely was seen even content, glared at her, as the flames that danced on his face as a mask and beard flickered with his irritation.

"I heard All Might was in the area, or am I the second pick?" There was that small story about All Might stopping some sludge villain during the week and saving a boy that the media said had real talent. He would give the brat the time of day when he proved he could be then a hostage. His attention had been on the fact that All Might had been in the U.A. area, which meant he was around to handle this.

Burnin, for her part, knew that her boss had an unamused attitude towards the number one, to say the least; All Might be a forbidden word among the staff and sidekicks because of that. “I don’t think so, sir. The unknown villain’s still new, but they haven’t been attacking randomly now for 2 days, each one worse than the last, so the commission wants flame heroes to lead the charge on it.” She stated that this would be an excellent chance for them.

Endeavour seemed to agree as he got up, his large muscular frame all the more imposing at his full height. “You’ll be accompanying me, be ready in 5 minutes.”

“You got it, boss!” Burnin didn't wait to be dismissed. Endeavour didn't do that as he trusted that those under him would know when to leave, a fact she knew well as she quickly left his office to grab her stuff for this.

Left alone, the man's brow narrowed as he thought about the case. He had heard about it but not the details because of how recent it had been. "An ice villain? What is it that you want?" His mind flashed to someone with white hair and a manic expression before he shut off that line of thought. Either way, you've had your fun; it's time to pay for it." These incidents were happening a little too close for comfort.

A mysterious ice villain strikes again. Authorities continue their search

Midoriya finished reading the news article as he packed his things away, the school day done. Seeing the pictures posted of the rampages made him frown when this started; he assumed it was just a villain attack, as those were a dime a dozen, but this was shaping up to be something else.

“Midoriya, have you seen the news as well?” Aoyama asked him, walking up to his desk along with Intelli, both having concerned frowns.

“Yeah, this doesn’t seem normal.” He replied.

"Then it's something that needs to be looked at," Intelli added vaguely. Most who heard them would assume they were talking about the pros as the trio shared a look that communicated more than they could have been comfortable saying.

"Hey, you guys want to get a bite to eat and hit karaoke?" The tension was broken when they saw some classmates waving to them from the door.

"Sorry about that, we have plans." Midoriya smiled as he excused them, and the girl with a minor rhino heteromorph mutation rolled her eyes.

"You mean another group study session?" She asked them, to which Midoriya awkwardly laughed as Intelli smiled. Even as a couple, they were known for their diligence in school work, which was part of the reason boys weren't all that interested in her despite her attractive looks. The other was that the last thing anyone wanted was for Midoriya to have a reason to be jealous.

"Seriously, I can't understand how your minds work. Well, anyway, see ya!” She waved them off as she and her group left, the trio being the last in the class. Waiting a moment to ensure that they were alone, they dropped their smiles.

“Intelli?” Aoyama asked, the girl already on her phone.

"I already sent your auntie Inko a text,” She said as she finished the text and sent it. Less than 30 seconds later, she got a response. She saw the news already and will be waiting for us."

"We let's get moving." Midoriya took command as they left the class and school; when they got to the train station, instead of taking one to one of their homes, they took one to the outskirts of town. Taking their seats, despite their uniforms marking them as students of a high-end prep school, they didn't stick out all that much even as the high-speed train left the upscale urban centre and crossed into the poorer, dirtier industrial parts of town.

Getting off, they walked in silence, Intelli on her phone continuing to text before they reached their destination. Dr. Midoriya’s place of worth: Her research lab.

It was once an area of rundown warehouses but has long since been bought and massively upgraded, turning it into a 4-storey office/research centre/laboratory. All were owned and run by the Midoriya family, namely his mother, Inko Midoriya. Not a bad achievement for a woman who had left behind the prestige and near unending funding of I-island. A clean and sleek building like this wouldn’t have looked out of place in the middle of town, but land was cheaper this far out, and there were fewer eyes and ears around to see things.

Entering the lobby area, they saw the receptionist and some security guards standing diligently at their posts, or in the case of the receptionist, seated as the gentle giant of a man in a near comically small suit saw the looks on their faces and buzzed them through. Walking past the regular officers and some of the smaller labs, they took the elevator; nothing out of place in a building like this as the buttons displayed the floors, from the 4^th to the 2 underground levels, one for parking and the other for storage, the first being ladled as U1 and the second U2.

Midoriya looked at the keypad and quickly input 4240U21U13, which, instead of confusing the system, served as a code as the door closed and a slot in the roof opened, from which a robotic eye popped out. "Please state names and IDs." The AI ordered.

“Midoriya Izuku: 0915.”

“Intelli Saiko: 1178.”

“Aoyama Yuga: 1721.”

After Aoyama spoke, there was silence for a couple of seconds as the computer did its thing, which to most would merely be accessing its databanks for their names and company IDs. But those people wouldn't have known that the security system was also analyzing their voices and secretly scanning the environment within the elevator to ensure that it was just the three of them and that their biometric data matched those of said three.

All this was done in less than 10 seconds before it spoke again. “Persons recognized, handprint required; please step forward when the name is called.” In the final step, another slot opened to present the fingerprint scanner, which appeared adjacent to the regular keypad. Once that was done, they waited another 10 seconds after it scanned Intelli's finger before they were through. “Access granted. Which floor is your destination?”

“7^th.” Midoriya replied.

“Understood, accessing 7^th floor.” They felt the elevator jolt before it rapidly descended, moving at speeds closer to what would expect from an elevator installed in a 40-storey building, not a 4. That part was easily explained as the secret underground floors were deep underground, well over 90m, with few access points typically sealed off by dozens of blast doors in case of a break-in. By the time the elevator stopped and the doors opened, they might as well have entered a whole other world.

The subterranean facility was clean but barren as white lights overhead kept the place illuminated. As they walked through the halls, they were met with more guards, at least triple as many as above. All of them were heavily armed, swapping out pepper spray and tasers for assault rifles and high-voltage stun batons. Outside those imposing men and women were office workers, interns, scientists and engineers, most busy as they went to and from their workstations, work stops and labs. At the end of the halls, they saw their destination, Inko's second private office. Not bothering to knock, as they were expected, they swiftly entered and closed the door.

“Right on time.” The room's occupant spoke, the mother of Izuku, Inko Midoriya. She was far from the youthful and slim frame she once had, as she was plumper and seemed to have shrunk a little as her son had become taller than her by the time he turned 14. Still, she was far from frail, her emerald eyes shining with a level of intelligence that her son wished to one day match. Her hair was still styled the same as it always had been. Midoriya's a family that didn't put much into their looks, except the clean lab coat she wore over the standard suit that a secretary would typically wear, not the head researcher.

“Have you confirmed it, mom?” Izuku asked her as she grabbed a remote from the desk and directed their attention to the flatscreen mounted on the wall. It switched from the news playing on silent to a map of a town split into a grid.

"All signs point to this being a quirk spirit. We've managed to track its whereabouts to Musutafu’s 4^th district.” The district lit up for them as Intelli frowned.

“That’s a pretty populated area.” She noted, to which Aoyama adjusted his hair.

“Makes sense, as its attacks seem like it’s hunting for someone.” The blonde replied as if this behaviour was from a quirk spirit.

“Has anyone been hurt yet?” Izuku asked his mother, who smiled at how his concern went to the ignorant masses.

"Yes, but there have been no serious injuries or deaths, but that can change if this isn't resolved." She told them, as she had already heard the report that Mt. Lady, Kamui Woods, and Death Arms filed with the police thanks to some friendly faces in the department. They were lucky that this latest attack had no fatalities, but the next could easily change that.

"We understand; we'll suit up and get moving." Izuku nodded as he and Aoyama shared a look and started to walk towards the door.

“One more thing!” Inko called out to them, rushing over; she gave both taller boys a big hug and, for her son, a kiss on the cheek, which made him blush. “Be careful out there, you two.” Despite the slight embarrassment, he still smiled as he tapped the device he wore as a belt.

“We will.” With that, both left to get ready, with Intelli leaving for the command centre, where she could do her part and provide overwatch. Inko remained where she was for a moment, shooting the heavens a quirk prayer for the safety of her son and thanking them for giving her the strength to get to this point as now that she knew what she did, she shuddered at what she and her son would be like if they remained like the masses, ignorant and powerfulness against this threat born from quirks.

Chapter Text

“Text” – Normal speech

‘Text’ - Thought

“Text” – Radio/Communication lines

“Text” – None Japanese speech

(text) – Subtext/meaning behind a spoken word

"Endeavour!" The number 2 was quick to arrive on the scene, along with his sidekick, when they got the news of this most recent incident that had been in transit and flown the rest of the way, using their flames to fly over traffic and buildings.

"What's the situation?" Looking up, the man saw that the police had set up a barricade and were keeping people back from what looked to be the strangest case of a localised snowstorm he had ever seen, as high-speed winds seemed to encase the area beyond. Still, strangely, the cold didn't move towards them as he didn't feel any different standing this close to when he was halfway there. It must be part of the quirk of the villain causing this.

The police detective in a trench coat explained the situation. “Someone spotted a figure covered in ice and thought it was just a kid goofing off,” Burnin cursed for the both of them for the idiocy of whoever that was, as they must have known a dangerous ice-based villain; they should have stayed back and reported it. "When they confronted them, things quickly turned violent, and now the entire block is covered in ice." He finished as they saw people who must have been caught in this, shivering as they were being taken care of by paramedics and locals with fire quirks to warm them up.

“Civilians?” Endeavour asked, not liking that the detective was grim-faced.

"There are at least 50 dozen people trapped inside. We tried forcing our way in, but the cold is insane." The pro's eyes narrowed, as truthfully, if this villain was strong enough to leave behind literal inches of snowfall from short bursts of their quirk, then the chances of surviving for anyone caught inside of this latest attack were low, to say the least. They could only hope that the menace had kept them safe as hostages or that they had found somewhere to stay safe from the freezing winds and ice.

“Winter rescue?” He asked.

"They've been prepped, but even by chopper, it'll be another 20 minutes before they arrive." The detective replied that it wasn't helped that this region of Japan wasn't known for extreme weather events, even in the winter.

"We'll make an entry now; we'll put a stop to this farce. Be ready to send in people." Endeavour ordered as this had gone on for 15 minutes now, 14 minutes longer than he would have liked. The detective didn't fight him on this, understanding the situation as instead he called over anyone in the force that could help, along with 2 local heroes with minor flame quirks. One could light their hands on fire, and the other could create 3 tails from fire.

Along with them, the detective managed to get them several cops with flame quirks or quirks that offered some level of resistance to the cold, such as one who looked like a polar bear. With the team assembled, Endeavour aimed for a spot in the wall of frigid winds and snow, and along with his sidekick and the other flame hero, they blasted it with intense flames, creating an opening that quickly started to close.

"Go!"  Endeavour shouted as the group rushed through the gap. Immediately, they could feel the change as if it were a typical warm spring day outside. Still, inside this frozen zone, the temperature instantly dropped from 20 to 5. It seemed to only get colder as Endeavour and Burnin had to flash their flames to keep themselves warm.

Almost out of curiously, Burnin reached for the now repaired barrier of wind and had to retract her hand almost as fast, seeing that even just touching the barrier for a few seconds left her near frozen over, trying to flex it to get the blood pumping didn't work as she had to reach it into her bright flaming emerald hair, taking a relaxing, if chilly breath when her flames did the trick. Having seen that, Endeavour knew that help wouldn't be coming for them anytime soon, but at least in such conditions, he didn't need to worry about overheating as much.

But with lives on the line and a villain to take down, he focused on that as he led them forward. The street seemed physically and metaphorically frozen, as it was a weekday, and schools had let out a couple hours ago, so there was no doubt plenty of food traffic. Signs of that were all over the place, from dropped belongings and shopping to how many storefronts were left as they were, open for business. Passing by a small café, they could see meals, some not even touched, had been left where they lay.

All of it was abandoned, as the block had been taken by a malevolent

with ice spikes forming on lamps and the guardrails, while some of the trees, which had been in bloom only an hour ago, were in varying states of ice as some had branches where the leaves had been blown off, others showed leaves that hadn’t even had the time to fall and instead froze still connected to the tree.

Looking around, the number 2 could barely see what was before him. Inside the blizzard, the winds and ice made visibility a challenge. "Use your quirks. Throw fire when you want to see!" He ordered as he waved his arm in front of them, sending a wave of intense flames out, which managed to clear their vision, but only for a few seconds. Following this, the other heroes do the same, but to lesser effect; it does give them a better view of the place.

“I think I see someone!” Burnin called out as she saw a person laying on their side, a car close to it with an opened door hinting at how he got there. Rushing over, she flared her hair, even pulled some off her head to try and warm him up as she gently moved them onto their back, only to see her effects were in vain. The man's lips were already blue, his face frozen with bloodshot eyes speaking to burst blood vessels.

Endeavour, in a rare moment, placed a comforting hand on her shoulder as she took a breath and got up, leaving the corpse to be collected later, praying that his death had at least been quick. Venturing deeper in, they didn't see any signs of life, a worrying prospect as with the temperatures being this cold and unexpected, they doubted that most could last that long, and with confusion and panic as a factor, that time was even lower.

It wasn’t long before they found their second and third bodies, a woman and a child, maybe 3 years old. Both had been exposed to the cold for so long that ice was forming on them, with their final moments being the mother hugging her child close in an unsuccessful attempt to keep warm. Trekking on, the fired-off fire went into the distance to help light the way, each new body they found being another soul they had failed.

"There!" One of the cops, the polar bear-looking one, pointed towards a mid-sized office building that was nearly completely covered in ice. "It seems to be strongest over there!”

“Then that’s where this bastard is.” Burnin’s hair flashed with her rage.

"Keep calm; if this is just the outer reaches of their quirk, you'll be a fool to charge in without thinking." Endeavour reminded her that the man was using his quirk to keep the others warm, as their approach had only led them into colder territory.

His sidekick took a chilled breath as she knew he was right. As much as seeing all those bodies pissed her off, she couldn't face this half-cocked. "Yeah, sorry, boss." Her boss didn't respond with words, merely letting out a huff as he approached the iced-over entrance; placing a hand on it, he activated his quirk, generating flames on his hand, though it was concerning when instead of melting instantly, it took time to melt through, giving them entry.

Stepping inside, they found another oddity of this event: rather than stepping into a glorified freezer on high, the inside was cold but a far cry from outside. Also, they saw people, living people, huddled together close to the stairs.

“H-heroes!” One of them cried in relief when they saw them.

“We’re saved!” The flame heroes quickly approached to warm them up.

Holding out his hand and lighting a fire which the people, at least 20, all huddled towards while the rest went towards Burnin. “What’s going on here?”

"We don't know. One minute, this crazy-looking lady runs with," One of them started but was interrupted by one of the cops.

"The villain just ran in?" The man, in response, shook his head.

"Not them, but they were chasing her. She seemed terrified. She had some other people with her. They looked like hired thugs." She looked like a mafia boss or something. He didn't get a good look, but she looked like death was chasing her, and with the situation as it was, he couldn't fault her.

Pointing towards the stairs, they saw that, like the rest of the lobby, it was free of ice, but there was a feint icy mist flowing down them. "They went that way, we heard fighting, and then…well, everything froze. I think whoever did it didn't want her to get out, as all the windows were also frozen over."

Endeavour's eyes narrowed as this was weirder by the minute. He stood up, tossing his fire towards some furniture; it quickly caught the light, giving the survivors a source of heat for the time being, which they quickly moved to. "Remain here for now. Outside is a blizzard." There were no complaints there, and the group walked up the stairs, keeping their eyes and ears open for anything that could be waiting for them.

“Well, we have the villain and the woman they’re after.” One of the cops spoke up.

“Yes, but why keep the inside warm enough to not freeze? Sounds like they want her dead, so why not ice the place over?” Another asked if it might have been callous. Still, it was a necessary question as the amount of death they saw didn't paint the image of a person who cared for collateral.

"We'll find that out soon enough," Endeavour replied as they continued, getting to the second floor, where the ice was more prominent; more concerning was that they found one of the bodies of what were the other villains, and unlike the rest who had merely fallen to the cold, this person met a much more violent end, that being that they had been pinned to the wall but a wall of spikes, their eyes, absent still showing fear and shock at the attack.

Going forward, they saw that they weren't a one-time thing as they found a second and third body soon enough. One seemed to have been impaled by a blade of ice and seemed to have died crawling away. In contrast, the third seemed to have been running away when their legs were severed, and what looked to be a heavy object struck them repeatedly, as their back was nothing but broken bones and blood. Such a grisly sight, even for a veteran pro like Endeavour, was hard to see as the man had to look away, a choice one of the cops didn't make in time as they threw up in the corner.

“When they said the target of this sicko had others with here, I didn’t think it was this much.” Burnin, not looking at the bodies, noted.

"Protection detail, most likely, though I doubt they put up much of a fight." Endeavour guessed that if this woman being targeted was a villain, she was meaningful or influential if she had people willing to die for her. Getting to the 3^rd and 4^th floors, they kept finding more, as it seemed like whoever was chasing them was as relentless as they were brutal as bodies looked like it wasn't a person, but a force of nature that did them in, with torn limbs and spilt guts, all chilled thanks to the cold, being the norm. More than that, as they went, it progressively got colder, telling them they were on the right path.

Soon, they reached the stairs that led to the roof and heard a commotion on the other side, followed by a woman's scream. Moving into action, Endeavour, followed by Burning, flew up the stairs and burst into the opening, just in time to see a man's body being thrown to the side, their torso filled with needles of ice as they struggled to breathe for a moment before they stilled. This just left one person, a woman, facing off against the monster of ice and snow.

Endeavour didn’t pay much mind to her, only noting she was an older woman and dressed in a style that said she had people who did her dirty work. Instead, his gaze shifted to the beast at the heart of it as it seemed to glare at her, not even noticing them, a mistake on its part. "Secure the hostage!" He ordered as he flew towards the villain, coated in flames. It punched it right in the face, knocking it back. Landing, he felt like the villains were coating themselves in ice as his attack sank into the snow. Shaking off the impact, the villain finally turned its attention from its prey to them.

“Go away." They spoke, but Endeavour didn't bother to entertain it. He decided to end this quickly, increasing and compressing his heat into his fist, preparing one of his signature moves.

“Flashfire First: Jetburn!” He called, unleashing a blast of hellfire that melted all the ice build-up on the roof and hit the villain straight on, melting through their entire body as most of it fell in on itself, but instead of seeing a body inside, he just saw more snow and ice, another oddity was its' recovery as he had faced off against ice and snow-based villains in the past. Still, this one was by far the strongest as its body formed new ice in seconds; in fact, it grew even more prominent and fiercer looking, appearing less like an overgrown fox and more like a mutant.

“This will be a little harder than I expected, but nothing I can’t handle.” Endeavour surmised as he launched more attacks against the villain, who didn't just take it and started to dodge around them, pouncing around like a fox in the snow, bending its body to avoid the worst of his fire.

"Boss, we got her!" Burning called out as she helped the terrified woman to her feet; the woman looked like she had seen death itself and latched onto the sidekick like a baby to its mother.

"Get her out of here!" Endeavour yelled back, as they had been too late to save the others, but now that he was here, he'll be damned if he let someone else die.

The villain didn’t seem to like that, as its glowing, piercing sky-blue eyes tracked Burnin with the woman as she went for the exit. “I won’t let her get away. She needs to pay.” They fired off a breath attack to stop them, which Endeavour countered with a flame blast, allowing the two to escape along with the cops who didn't have a flame quirk.

“You have bigger problems, villain!” Endeavour added as he fired another attack, aiming for the villain's construct's feet. They jumped to avoid it and, to their shock, didn't land on the roof but on quickly formed ice sheets several meters above them. When they jumped about as if on another level, the previous sheets fell back to earth.

“I was weak then. I am strong now.” The villain's voice carried through the air, steadily growing colder as the storm around them grew more violent. “Strong enough to make her pay.” Jumping towards them, they got out of the way as the villain slammed into the roof, sending massive spikes of ice through it and into the lower levels, piercing through the steel and concrete like it was nothing.

“Dammit, Burnin, are you alright?" Endeavour called out his com-link, down below his sidekick, rubbed the back of her head, getting up and inspecting the path before them, which was blocked by a shard of ice nearly as wide as the hallway.

"We're fine. That last attack nearly got us!" She replied as she worked to melt through it, not trusting that they could fly out when the area outside was still under the control of the present threat.

"Keep moving, keep that woman safe!" Endeavour ordered her as he engaged in a furious melee with the villain. He used its size and speed to his advantage, flying around it faster than the villain could react, striking at wherever he could to keep it off balance until he forced it to the edge.

"Is that how you want to play? Then so be it!" Endeavour raised his temperature, grateful that the sheer cold meant overheating wasn't nearly as big an issue. “I’ll incinerate you and arrest whatever remains! Prominence Burn!" He swung his arm around, and a wave of hellfire shot out from his body, so concentrated it was closer to the wave of water than fire. The villain tried to jump out of the way, but its legs were caught in it, while the other pros, who had been acting as backup, smacked it right back into the flames.

When Endeavour ceased the attack, what was left was a miserable puddling of partially melted snow, no larger than what a wheelbarrow could carry. “That handles that,” one of the pros said, cracking his neck after that engagement in which they barely did anything.

“Thank God, that was getting annoying.” The other said, but Endeavour didn't celebrate yet. Despite their win, he looked around and saw that the situation hadn't changed.

“Something’s off here. The storm hasn’t died down.” His statement killed any excitement or relief at knowing they handled the issue. Then, he noticed the snow pile shifting and moved to handle it. Still, to his shock, it didn't so much as shift as it exploded, the force of which was so great that it knocked him back a distance and sent the others flying as they landed on their butts and backs. Looking through the frost, they saw something that should have been impossible after he landed a Prominence Burn. The villain getting up.

No, it was like that pile exploded with the full force of a winter storm, as the ice and snow came back together, forming more of it and growing more significant than before till it was nearly trice the side it had been at the start. More than that, the ice that made up armour only increased until the beast was almost encased like a war elephant. Its eyes, which were always glowing, were now much brighter, with the number two being able to pick up hatred in them, an ironic desire to burn whatever the villain was looking at.

"Heroes in the way, so they have to die so she can pay." The villain thought aloud before they opened the jaws of the giant fox, a bright blue light emanating from within which Endeavour's instincts screamed at him was bad news. Trusting in that, he answered the attack before it was fired with his own counter. "Hell’s Curtain!” Swinging his hand, he spewed out flames from his palm that crashed into the rook's surface, creating a massive wall of intense flames between the two.

But that didn't prove enough as it wasn't just a blast of ice but pure cold that crashed into it, the flames robbed of their heat froze over; Endeavour was stunned by that, as he had faced many ice users but never one this powerful, one that could so easily counter his flames. The next moment, the frozen barrier shattered as the blast raced towards them. On instinct, Endeavour raised his temperature as high as he dared, becoming a small star with how much heat he gave off as the beam of cold smashed into him and sent him back, crashing right next to the entrance to the roof.

Blinking away the stars, he saw that the ice had still got him despite that heat, with most of his body encased in the stuff and pinning him in place. "Endeavour!" One of the heroes screamed in shock at seeing the flame hero iced over, but their foe wasn't letting up. With its jaws still open, the villain prepared another blast of pure cold.

"It's charging another one!" Someone cried out, to which Endeavour flashed his quirk, melting most of the ice, freeing his arm, which he formed a flaming spear in, throwing it as hard as it could towards the construct, striking it right in the left eye, the construct acting like an actual animal as it howled in what must have been pain, its attack missing him and instead piercing the eye of the storm. Unknown to them, it crashed into a nearby building, covering its upper floors in several inches of frigid ice. It sent people gathered outside into a frenzy.

“Just what will it take to handle this?” Endeavour thought aloud, freeing himself from the ice. That question was answered when they spotted a bright object coming in from above. Looking up, they just saw it crashing into the construct, revealing itself to be a blast of fire which melted all the way through, and unlike almost every other attack, this one got the construct to scream in pain. Following that blast, they saw the shooter coming in hot, both metaphorically and literally, as they were encased in flames.

“Flame Charge!” The figure crashed into the construct like a meteor, its foot melting and smashing through its entire body, exploding out the centre of it. Again, it seemed to scream in pain as it tried to swipe at the new figure, but it slid under it and jumped away, backflipping towards them, gently landing like a dancer.

Looking at this new figure, Endeavour didn’t know what to make of them. They weren’t the tallest person he had seen, as they must have stood shorter than all of them, but still average height. They didn't appear to be a civilian either as they dressed like a pro, wearing a light orange full-body jumpsuit with a dark orange belt with several pouches, the same colour as the belt; their elbow-length gloves and knee-high boots were all covered with long, silky dark orange fur, along with their collar and a waist length fur cape. They couldn’t make out their facial features as they wore a mask covering their entire face, with large, expressive, opaque eyes and long rabbit-like ears.

A final detail was that, like Endeavour, their form was cloaked in flames, but where he limited that select parts like his boots and arms, this mysterious figure was covered in bright orange flames. "Thank you for keeping him busy. It took a while to handle the rest." The figure spoke, their voice muffled by the mask, but that was definitely a man under there.

"Wait, who are you? What do you mean, the rest?" one of the heroes asked. Endeavour kept an eye on both their ally and the threat, which seemed to regenerate slower after that attack. Was the villain growing tired, or was it something with the newcomer's flames?

“Call me a caretaker. As for the rest, I meant the civilians. I had to secure them a place to stay while I handled this.” The answer lifted that weight off the number 2's shoulders; even if he hated that he wasn't the one who saved them, he wasn't petty or short-sighted enough to refuse that, though that meant that 19 people were dead then.

“You think you can handle this alone?” Endeavour asked, narrowing his eyes as the flames around this…caretaker seemed to pulse with power as the figure got into a stance similar to a specific Rabbit hero.

"I have to before any more lives are lost." He jumped towards the villain, who seemed to react more aggressively than it did them. He fired a blast of that cold ray at the caretaker, who bent his body around it like a pole vault would clear the beam. As they did so, their hidden hand revealed itself to be holding a basketball-sized fireball, which they threw at the villain's face, the flames melting into its face and getting another roar of pain.

Endeavour didn't just stand around, as he got involved with this fight as well, the two pouring their flames across the body of the villain, which reacted in kind, turning into a dance as caretaker seemed to quickly adapt to Endeavour's fighting style, a rarity among people he didn't directly employ. While the number two was power, the caretaker was speed. While he preferred to attack from a medium distance, the caretaker could get in close and engage in a melee using his flame-covered limbs. While Endeavour used wide-range attacks to hit as many of the villains as possible and keep them back in, caretaker used precision shots aiming at specific spots.

The villain grew increasingly desperate and angry as they fought, though its soft voice never faltered. It grew in intensity as they told them to leave, to allow them to take justice, which Endeavour ignored in favour of weakening the villain.

“Flashfire First: Jetburn!” Sliding underneath the construct, Endeavour punched upwards at its chin, sending a blast of superheated air and flames careening into it, melting off most of it. Using this chance, the caretaker jumped over the construct, using what Endeavour had long realised was their rabbit-like physic to achieve this. When they were directly overhead, the blasted flames out the soles of their feet, sending them towards the villain like a human missile; in front of their face, massive jaws and teeth made from flames appeared, open and ready to bite.

“Fire Fang!" They called out right as those jaws bit into the construct's melting through its icy hide to its core, the impact of the caretaker sending the villain into its stomach with a crash that threatened to cave in the rooftop. Waving his hand to disperse the steam created, the flame hero saw that the caretaker wasn't encased in flames and stood tall. They reached for a pouch and pulled out what looked to be a marble, only for them to press a button on it, with the marble expanding to the same size as a baseball.

“I promise that I’ll find justice for you.” Caretaker sincerely said, speaking to the defeated villain as Endeavour waited for it to have a 3^rd wind, as its body wasn't as totalled as the first time. But that didn't happen as the caretaker threw the ball into the air, with the pro being surprised when it seemed it hit something, opening up and sucking in what looked to be air before shutting closed and falling to the floor; it rolled about for a moment before the button atop flashed green.

The caretaker seemed pleased, and the reason was made clear when the storm started to dissipate, revealing the spring sun as it pierced through the fading clouds and snow. Picking the ball, it shrank back to its marble size as the caretaker returned it to his pouch.

“You’re not a hero.” Endeavour didn’t ask, with the other heroes being surprised that their help was registered, but he could care less for the dolts that sat back and let them do the work.

Caretaker turned to him, their face hidden from view, but they must have had the backbone to stare him down like this, despite the height difference and what must have been a 120lbs difference between them. “I’m not, but that’s hardly an issue at the moment.” Their response was short, quick to the point and slightly dismissive.

Endeavour didn’t like that. “Why were your flames more effective than mine? And what was that little ball thing? After you pulled that stunt, the storm cleared.” He demanded.

“My flames were effective because of their nature. As for the ball thing,” The figure chuckled, making air quotes with that last bit. “I captured the culprit, so the quirk’s effects ended.”

“If that is the case, then hand them over. They need to pay for their crimes.” Endeavour held his hand out, expecting the order to be followed, only for the caretaker to take a step back, away from him, and towards the ice-covered edge.

“I can’t do that.” They replied, sounding apologetic, but he didn’t have the time or patience for the idiocy of vigilante justice.

“I don't like repeating myself, vigilante. Hand them over while I feel charitable enough to let you go." Endeavour aggressively stepped forward, only to hear something to the side. When he glanced over, he didn't see anything other than the ice.

"Even if I wished to do that, it wouldn't be wise when you're not equipped to handle them." The caretaker's response was met with hellfire. Still, it didn't strike the vigilante as it did a glass mirror, shattering it as the pieces returned fell, turning into light and vanishing.

“I figured that the time to talk is over,” They all heard the caretaker speaking, but they didn't see them; when they looked around, they saw that the source of the voice was changing its location, meaning that the caretaker was moving around. Still, they were silent about it as they barely heard where they were and didn't use a predictable pattern. "Head over to the café, three buildings east of here. It has a basement. That's where I led the rest of the civilians." With that, even the faint sounds of the landing after a jump ceased. They wanted a few moments, but it was soon apparent that they fled, along with the villain…somehow.

“Boss, did you handle the villain? Great job! That'll show them not to mess with you!” Burning radioed in, sounding pleased, which irritated the man because he didn't beat that threat; despite his firepower, he barely kept it at bay.

“Have you made it to the ground floor?” He inquired.

“Un, yeah?” Burnin replied, confused that the big man was in a bad mood; normally, he handled seeing the dead better.

“Make sure you and the rest get to the police and have them set up a perimeter for a vigilante. He made off with the villain." Endeavour ordered, looking around at the icy field that had been left behind; even as the sun shined again, he'd be busy dealing with this; he just knew it.

“You got it.” Burning replied, cutting the line to get to it.

Several blocks away from the battle sight, tucked away in an alleyway, the caretaker softly landed, having escaped Endeavour and the rest thanks to some help. That help being the person that landed moments after him. Like caretaker, they didn't dress like a civilian as their attire was a dark blue body suit, over which he wore silver and gold coloured armour over his entire upper body and pieces that covered his bots up till his knees as well as their gloves up till their elbows.

Over their head, they wore a medieval-style silver helmet with a gold finish that covered the entire thing, with what looked to be 3 thick slits over the front to see through, said slits filled in with an opaque red material to ensure the wearer's identity wasn't easily discovered. They completed the look with a shiny, reflective silver and white care that was around shin length and could cover their entire body.

"I think that's far enough, caretaker." The second figure spoke up, which froze the caretaker.

“He's right; law enforcement isn't within three blocks of your caretaker. They'll still be handling the clean-up and civilian recovery." A voice said over the line, but the caretaker groaned, as even they seemed to be making fun of the fact that he identified himself to the pros with that name.

"Cute me some slack," The caretaker removed his helmet, revealing themselves as an embarrassed Midoriya. "I had to think of that name of the fly! And I was talking to Endeavour; it took all I had not to fanboy out."

“We said that you'll need to work on a code name, code-name, as sooner or later, they'll happen upon one of our searches and recoveries.” The second figure scolded him in French, removing his helmet as well and revealing himself to be a smiling Aoyama.

“And what was his response again? ‘Oh, we work in the shadows; by the time pros show up, we'll be long gone. It's not like the media even knows about us’." Intelli joked on the line as Midoriya muttered that a girlfriend should stand with her boyfriend. "I would if you weren’t so hilariously incorrect.”

“You three have made fun of my angel's later lack of a proper code-name, Paladin, Oracle.” Inko spoke up, which only made Izuku groan. Even his mother was dunking on him before she quickly changed her tune. “Did you capture the Ha(Fragment)?”

Tapping his pouch, Midoriya pulled out the capture ball to look it over. The purple and white ball looks like a high-tech baseball. "I did. It was pretty strong but still a level three spirit, Gekiha(Enraged Fragments).”

“Losses?” Inko asked, having watched the entire situation devolve via one of the bots they sent.

“None on my end," Aoyama stated.

"Elderly couple. I didn't get to them in time, and even at full heat, they passed on." Izuku reported, his shoulders falling as he recalled that sight and how useless he felt watching them die, even if they smiled and told him that he had done all he could and that they could at least die with each other after a long life together.

Aoyama put a comforting hand on his shoulder as Inko replied. “We’ll pray for them later, but for now, return to the facility for processing.” She felt her son's grief; she felt it too, as things like this weren't meant to happen when they were around, but they just didn't have the numbers.

Both confirmed that they were on their way as they signed off. “Hey, I heard what you said to it. We will get to the bottom of this, and if that woman it was chasing is guilty, they'll regret it." Aoyama told him that his gaze was hard but also soft and comfortable, and he understood Izuku better than he sometimes did. But when one has been your partner for five years, you tend to develop a ^sixth sense for your other half.

"Thanks, Yuga," Izuku replied, his French friend nodding.

“Anytime, Izuku.” As they turned to get back, his tune shifted back to his regular flamboyant self. “Now, let us return so you may greet your love with a hug and kiss while I regale the recruits on our exploits as who else can say they managed to fool the number two hero with their mirror reflections?” Aoyama asked, flashing light particles around himself as Midoriya laughed, the two vanishing into the shadows.

Chapter Text

“Text” – Normal speech

‘Text’ - Thought

“Text” – Radio/Communication lines

“Text” – None Japanese speech

(text) – Subtext/meaning behind a spoken word

Perhaps it was a cliché, but Miyuki Aoyama felt it appropriate that it was raining. The downcast outside their wealthy home reflected the mood in his living room. The tea his wife had made had gone untouched between them as they read another report from a paediatrician whom they had insisted on as thorough an examination as he could.

“It’s hopeless. He’s 5 years old and yet no quirk.” He sighed in French, combing a hand through his silver hair, his glasses already resting on the table

“He can still develop one. He could be a late bloomer like I was.” His wife, a French national he had met while working in Paris, tried to cheer him up.

Despite that, and appreciating the effort, this was a hard truth that they had to accept. “Marcelle, we've been to 5 specialists, 3 in France and 2 here. It's…it's a fact.” They had hoped and prayed that it wouldn't be so, that there was a mistake, but there came a point where pushing further would merely be pointless delusion. And their son didn't need that; he needed his parents to be strong and act like rocks, so they put him to bed early so they could talk.

“What do we do then? You saw what the other kids are like," Marcelle asked. The blond woman worried sick for her son as she saw how the others cut him off. Even when it came time for her to pick him up, where the others played with one another, he sat alone in the corner.

"I know dammit! I know my son is," Miyuki got up, enraged over what? He didn't know, but upon seeing the surprised and scared look on his wife's face, his rage bled out, leaving him feeling pathetic; she didn't deserve that. “Sorry…sorry, this isn't on you, on either of us, it's just fate being a cruel mistress.” He didn't have quirkless parents, neither did his wife. They had checked when his quirk didn't appear, and their regular doctor reported that he was quirkless. Sure, they both had a quirkless grandparent, but what were the odds of that recessive gene surviving 2 generations to meet in their baby boy?

"Maybe we can enrol him in a special program, one with other quirkless kids," Marcelle suggested, but he shook his head.

"And where will we find that? You heard the doctors. Quirkless kids are a 'rarity." The global numbers may state that 1 in 5 was quirkless, but they left out that over 60% of those numbers were over 50. Quirkless people below 25 were a mere 15% of that already low number.

“Then what are our options? You’ve seen those God-awful news stories?” Marcelle said that while they took their son from expert to expert, curiosity and fear led them to research the lives of quirkless in the modern day.

What they found didn't paint anything good, from bullying from classmates and peers to discrimination to even cases of quirk-based violence against them by people who wished to enact their misguided revenge for early anti-quirk laws. Her son was 5! He and so many others couldn't be held responsible for those actions of the old and dead. He was still the same loving, flamboyant and free-spirited angel she loved.

Her husband was in agreement, but he had a solution, but one he was hesitant to even bring up. “There is…a way, but it’s a deal with the devil.”

“What is it?” He wasn't sure how he'd phrase this, as his work as a diplomat didn't just give him a chance to meet his wife by chance on the streets of Paris; it also meant that, at times, he acted as a liaison between Japan and France’s hero regulatory bodies, putting him in proximity with talks that didn't make it public and hearing stories that were so desperately suppressed.

"There are stories of a figure in the underworld." He could already tell that his wife disapproved of this. Still, she trusted him enough not to immediately assume he was dirty like they would have in their shows. Someone who can give and take quirks, and that he's willing to part with them."

Marcelle didn’t even consider it. “No. We can't…we won't take that option. If he's a villain, he'll hold it over our heads forever, over Yuga's head!" Such a force couldn't be trusted, and she damn well wouldn't put that kind of weight on her baby's head, as he would learn sooner or later.

Miyuki raised his hands in surrender, though he wasn’t nearly as invested in that as she thought. "I know, I know, but…we don't have a lot of good options here."

“Excuse me, my lady. My lord.” Both jumped from their seats on the sofa. Turning to the entrance to the room, they saw a smartly dressed man with jet-black hair, perfectly combed to cover one of his eyes as he bowed to them.

"Oh, Ishigami. I'm sorry I didn't hear you come in." Marcelle took a breath, thinking it silly that she had forgotten about the help.

Ishigami didn't fault them for it, as only he and the nanny had been on leave due to a stomach bug. "It was rude of me to enter without knocking first, but I wished to offer a suggestion to help with the issue on the young master."

“What is it?” Miyuki asked, desperate or not, trusting that the man who had faithfully worked for them for 8 years would have a good idea or at least the best of the worst.

“I was reading a news article about a Japanese researcher the other day. She did work into quirks and even worked at I-island for a time." The butler explained that, though there was a flaw in that, there was an inconsistency.

“Why’d she leave such a post? Most researchers would give an arm and a leg to get employment there.” Marcelle asked, as she had friends back in high school and college that talked about the place, how it was a modern-day House of Wisdom where all the world's best and brightest gathered to research, debate and create cutting-edge technologies and breakthroughs in all other manners of science and engineering.

Ishigami, unfortunately, didn't have the answers to that. "It doesn't say, but it did mention it wasn't a dismissal, so her talents shouldn't be lacking."

“Marcelle?” Miyuki asked his wife, as this seemed like a long shot. She agreed, but it wasn't like they had many options.

"Better her than whoever that villain could be. Even if she can't help, it won't hurt to speak with her." She stated as her husband hummed in agreement.

Looking towards their faithful butler, he stated. "True. Ishigami, find this woman's contact information and schedule a meeting, preferably next week."

“It shall be done.” The butler bowed again and stepped out, closing the doors behind him.

“This is the place?” Miyuki asked as he looked out the window at the rather humble-looking office front that awaited them. It had taken around a week for this meeting to be set up, but they had expected to meet with the woman in a hospital or university. Instead, they drove to a largely residential part of town, one for those of lesser means than themselves, to meet her in what looked to be a converted single-family home acting as a medical practice.

Ishigami, acting as the family's driver, nodded. "Yes, master. I triple-checked and confirmed it with the neighbours. They stated that the practice is new, having only been in operation for a few months."

“A downgrade from I-island researcher,” Marcelle noted, holding her son’s hand as he wearily looked around the place. “But we already made the appointment.” She concluded that they asked Ishigami to remain in the car, and they got out and walked across the street. Opening the gate, they walked through the small front area, which had little but bright flowers, as they looked at the sign that hung atop the door.

"Midoriya Family Clinic," Marcelle read as they entered, their arrival being announced by the little bell over the door. Inside, they saw that the front area had been converted into a small reception area with a couple of chairs, a coffee table with a magazine resting on it, and a flower vase. Towards the back, next to the hallway that led deeper into the building, was a receptionist's desk manned by a rather young-looking shark heteromorph.

“Afternoon,” Miyuki greeted.

"Oh, afternoon. I'm sorry, but we're closed at the moment. However, I can direct you to a great alternative place if your son needs a check-up." The girl greeted them back with a smile.

“We’re aware. We’re the Aoyama’s, we arranged a meeting over the phone?” Marcelle replied.

“Let me check." The teenage receptionist said, checking their books and immediately seeing that the two were honest. Oh yes, you're penned for right now! Please, allow me to lead the way." Getting up from her desk, she flattered out her shirt, revealing that she wasn't wearing a uniform but dressed like she would if she were going about any typical day. Leading them through, the girl hummed a little tune to herself.

“You’re quite young to be working at a clinic.” Miyuki tried to make light conversation.

"Yeah, it's a part-time thing. My grand-dad knows Mrs. Midoriya and set up up." She replied, flicking some of her hot pink hair over her shoulder.

“Mrs, not doctor?” Marcelle noted that it didn't seem like a good sign.

"She hasn't earned that yet. Having to split her time between here and being a single mother doesn't leave much time for studying. But I can assure you that's more than trained and experienced enough for anything general medical needs you might have." The receptionist defended her employer and assured them of her skills as they reached the door to Midoriya’s office. Knocking on it, she spoke. “Mam, your appointments have arrived.”

Getting permission to enter, she opened the door to the small office; the slim woman in a white doctor's robe was seated at her desk. “Thank you,” She thanked the receptionist, who had Yuga with her, his parents wishing to have this chat privately as they gave the boy a hug and a promise that they'd get ice cream on the way home. With the two children gone, Inko rose and shook both their hands. “Welcome. I have to admit that I wasn’t expecting such a call.”

"Well, we're close to the end of our rope and wish to speak with you." Leading them back to the desk, where two chairs were in front of it, Inko raised an eyebrow at that statement as she was far from a crisis centre.

"If you're here to try and hire me, I've already clarified my stance." She stated almost without thinking, as her time at I-island and her career leading up to it had meant that she wasn't lacking when it came to high-end job offers, even a spot at Central Hospital, but while lucrative, they would have taken too much time away from her life’s work.

"No, I mean, yes, but it's complicated." She frowned at the man’s confusing statement.

“Explain.” Inko didn't see herself as a harsh or demanding person; her old friend Masaru and she were cut from the same cloth. But that didn't mean she couldn't put her foot down when needed, and she loathed to waste time. She had promised to spend time with her son but decided that a call like this was important enough to postpone it. She hoped they didn't waste her time.

The two parents shared a look, feeling that this wasn't getting off to the right start, before they decided to cut off pointless statements and questions and get to the heart of it. "We wanted to ask about your research on I-island, as the papers discussed how you were involved in quirk research." Marcelle started, with Inko frowning harder as they brought that up.

Leaning back in her cheap office chair, she stated a rehearsed response. “I’m not at liberty to talk about that.”

“Why?” Miyuki asked, to which she met his gaze without flinching.

"NDA, under penalty of being criminally charged if I break it." That caught both their attention as NDA, non-disclosure agreements were typically signed between private parties, and breaking them usually meant civil penalties. To have criminal means, she signed it with a government agency, but why would she do that? I-island wasn't a part of Japan. It wasn't a part of any one country. Miyuki knew that they had their own laws, but for them to block her from speaking about her research, no, he couldn't think like that.

There were several ways he could have done this. He could have threatened her, raged, or bribed her, but none of them came to mind. Instead, he went with the honest approach and pleaded with her. Please. It's our son. He was born quirkless, but we hope you can help us." That seemed to catch her interest, her eye shifting to the picture of herself and a little boy that looked just like her, the boy wearing an All Might onesie, the background hinting that this was taken while she was still at I-island.

“A son?” She asked, both nodding as Marcelle pulled her phone out. The locked screensaver showed the family on a beach, all three smiling at the camera with a little blond boy in his father's arms, a sunhat over his head.

"He's only five, the brightest star in the sky, that one. But as the days go by, his quirk doesn't develop," She explained, but she couldn't bring herself to mention the rest, though Inko understood that perfectly. “Please, you must have something.” Marcelle and Miyuki begged of her.

Inko was at an impasse. She understood the struggles of parenthood, and while these two were wealthier than her family, that didn't mean that she couldn't empathize with him, especially with the case around their son. She considered they could be lying, but that look, desperation, and love for the boy in the picture were honest. But if she told them what she knew, what she had been doing, and they ratted her out, she could quickly end up locked up in Tartarus, such was the weight of her crimes in the eyes of the world.

Sighing, she decided to take that chance. Getting up from her seat, she looked out the window towards the back, where she could see her angel playing in the sandbox, along with the blonde visitor. She couldn't hear them, but she could tell in her heart that they were having fun, being able to act like kids without the fear of isolation or bullying.

"My boy. He's not had the best time since I took him to the doctor, and he confirmed the same thing. So, when I got to go to I-island, I took it. If there was any way where I could do it, it was there." She started, giving the Aoyama’s hope.

“Awaken latent quirks?” Miyuki asked her, but she shook her head.

"No. Our children are quirkless; they have no quirk gene to activate. So, I looked into a way to do the impossible,” She turned to them, no humour to be found in her. “Creating quirks. Artificial quirks.” They would have said she was crazy, that you couldn’t do that, but there was something in her emerald gaze, a will and power that couldn’t just be ignored.

“You know I was at I-island for a while, right?” She asked, curious how much they knew about her and her work.

Marcelle thought about it, as she had read into it during the time it took to set up the meeting. “It said you left after 2 years, but not the why.”

Inko nodded. “That’s part of the NDA. I put my all into the project, researched and experimented to refine it, and everything I had learned while studying biology, quirk science, genetics and biochemical engineering. I even managed to public 3 papers; hence, the reason Japanese papers wanted those interviews; it's always great PR where a scientist from this place made this breakthrough." She didn't seem all that thrilled that she was interviewed for an international read science journal and the Tokyo Times.

"You don't sound all that happy," Marcelle noted.

Inko signed, resting against the window sill. "It's because I'm not. I might have said that we confirmed in early tests that my theories on the nature of quirks had weight. Still, we made progress!” she gripped at the wood, her quirk flaring out of rage as her pencil shot off her desk. Still, she caught it without looking, displaying a skill that could only come from practice, or this happening enough times that she learned out of necessity.

They didn't know it, but those interviews were never the whole story. It was clear that all of them were less about what she could tell them and more about the fact that another Japanese scientist, a woman, was making headway at I-island.

"But then the board shut it down. I pleaded with them my work could save so many lives, but they feared that it could threaten the balance of the world and that even governments were putting pressure on them to end it. I couldn't fight them, not alone." Inko seemed to want to say more, as that last part implied something. Still, they didn't know what it was as she looked to the side, lost in a memory of appearing before the board, begging for her case, and being rejected.

Taking a breath so as not to dig up feelings from the past, she continued the explanation. “So, I complied and ceased all research, destroyed samples and handed over everything else to be locked away.” She smiled at them like a fox that found a second entrance into the hen house. "At least that's what I told them. I couldn't save all of it, but I secretly copied as much of it as possible and handed over the genuine ones. When I resigned, I smuggled out my extremely illegal contraband."

"I returned home, opened this clinic, and secretly continued my research, but as you can imagine, I don't have the time, materials, or funds, so it's all moving at a snail's pace." She finished, waiting for their response to hear that she was basically an international criminal, that they could easily be caught up in any investigation of her as compliant now that they knew. They could fix that by playing dumb, so long as they didn't try and make her do something she didn't like or threaten her son, she would be willing to go along with that. But they could also turn around and turn her in like a good citizen was supposed to.

“Is that the only limit?” Inko blinked at that rather strange question.

“Pardon?” Marcelle looked her dead in the eye, an iron to her blue-eyed gaze.

"Materials, time, funding—those are the things you're lacking to actually do it. To create quirks?” She asked again, Inko realizing that perhaps they were willing to help, but she didn't want to raise their spirits.

"As a researcher, I can't say with certainty," Miyuki raised her hand, cutting her off.

“Is it all you need?” He pressed as firmly as his wife but also as desperate, which Inko didn't like; she knew that research projects didn't always end where you wanted them to. But the thing,

 She wanted what it too.

“Yes.” She relented, and Miyuki immediately pulled out his chequebook and a fancy fountain pen. Pulling the cap off, he started writing into it.

“Then you’ll get it. We’re not wealthy, not that kind anyway, but we can fund you the best we can.” He told her as he handed her the cheque, thanking him for it; she looked at it, assuming that it wouldn't be all that much, only for her eyes to shoot as wide as dinner plates when she saw the amount of 2.1 million Yen, looking back at them, slack-jawed she wondered that the hell they meant when they said they weren't 'that kind of wealthy'.

As the adults did their business, the reception girl brought Yuga to the back, opening the sliding door to reveal that it had been left largely unchanged. What better place for kids to relax than in a backyard set-up they would be familiar with? "Why don't you wait out here?"

“By myself?” Yuga asked, scared. She smiled and directed his gaze to the side, where there sat a sandbox with one other person in it, a boy his age.

“Oh no, Izuku’s around. He’s always at the sand pit,” She bent lower to whisper in his ear. “A little secret, if you talk about All Might, he won’t stop.” With that said, and one final wave, she left to return to her post. Yuga didn't like that he was here; he didn't like that he couldn't stay with Momma and Pappa, but he took a breath and walked forward. His parents were doing grown-up stuff, so he couldn't be with them; he had to be here, and maybe, just maybe, the other boy was lovely.

“Hey…” He said, having walked up to the green-haired boy, who didn't notice him coming as he jumped in fright, scaring Yuga as well. He looked and saw that he had been building a sandcastle like he did at the beach with his parents, but he didn't have water, so it wasn't going well.

Seeing another kid he didn't recognize from kindergarten, Izuku did his best to calm his heart. "Sorry…I didn't see you there; I thought Mom wasn't seeing people today." She said she just needed to check on something, and then they could go to the park for a picnic.

"My mamma and pappa wanted to speak with her," Yuga replied, Izuku nodding but keeping his mouth shut. The two didn't know what else to say and didn't want to come off as mean either, leaving them awkward until Yuga remembered the reception lady's advice. “Do you like All Might?”

“Hmm! He’s the coolest, bestest hero out there.” Hearing that question seemed to banish all Izuku's bashful energy away as his smile lit up like the sun. He always smiles when he saves people. I want to be like him when I'm big." Izuku daydreamed about what he'd be like, smiling evermore as Yuga giggled, the happiness proving infectious as he sat in the sandpit with Izuku.

“I like him too, but Lady Arc is better.” He started, with Izuku knocking his head to the side in confusion.

“Whose Lady Arc?” It was Aoyama's turn to gush. He didn't spend too much time in Japan, having been born in his mother's country, so he kept up with their stuff more.

“She’s a French hero…heri, female hero.” He gave up trying to recall the word; he could ask his nanny or parents later. “She’s like All Might, tall, strong and fights crime like she’s a dancer.” She always said the world was a stage, and people were the performers, so she made her actions flashy and dynamic, always catching all the attention and saving lives.

Izuku leaned forward, eager for more since it's been forever since he could talk about heroes with people. “She sounds fun! Do you want to ask if we can watch videos of her?”

"But I don't have a phone," Aoyama replied, which Midoriya had to agree with, but then he remembered someone who did.

“We can ask Fujiwara! She’s super nice.” He got up, not caring that sand was all over his legs.

“Fujiwara?” Aoyama asked, as he didn't know if she was nice.

Midoriya nodded. “She works at the front, the table at the entrance. Come on, oh! My name is Izuku, what’s yours?” He introduced himself.

“Yuga…” Aoyama did the same and hesitated to take his hand, but he couldn't stop himself when he looked at Izuku and saw his bright eyes. He was warm.

Pulling the taller boy up, he hauled him towards the door that led him back inside. “Come one, Yuga. I want to watch her, and then I can show you my favourite All Might video!” He has always wanted to share his love of All Might and show his favourite video. It wasn't as famous as him fighting villains, but he thought saving people was way more relaxed, and he hoped his new friend thought so, too.

Neither boy knew that their chance encounter would only be the start of something beautiful, a friendship that went as deep as the ocean and was stronger than steel.

“Is everything ready?” Inko, older and, she hoped, wiser, asked as she stood in an observation room. It had been a long time since that meeting, where she secured her first patron for her research. The funding she managed to acquire for her work, all under the table to keep anyone not in the know away from it, had meant that she had long moved from her tiny medical practice to a new facility. Granted, it was an old warehouse that she had only recently purchased. However, the construction company completed most of the work within the schedule, including this area listed for testing.

They just left out what that testing was for.

“Everything’s in place, mam.” Her worker, a notion that still made her chuckle at times, replied, as she had hired several other people, all young up-and-coming graduates, bright minds, and lacking in the more solid sensibilities of their older companions who would have sold them out by now.

“Status on the specimens?” She asked, her eyes lingering on the two safe like devices in the middle of the room. Both were silent but once opened…

“Nothing that we didn’t predict.” Someone else monitoring their perfected specimens, or at least, the most stable they'd managed to create. They had already passed the first testing phases but now had to clear the second.

“4 years of planning and research, trial and error.” Inko breathed out

“And tens of millions in funding,” The patriarch of the Aoyama family noted as he and his wife were present. Screens behind them showed the faces of the rest of her investors and donors, many French nationals. It was still a small group, only around 8 people strong. Still, their funding had been the lifeblood they needed, as that original check for 2.1 million became a monthly budget of 910,000. It wasn’t much, a far cry to the literal millions she could access at I-island, but it made her more inventive, which paid off.

“Mr. Aoyama, I can assure you,” She started, but the man laughed it off.

“Please, Inko. I didn’t mean it like that. You've made this worth it, even if it doesn't end like we want it to." She wasn't so sure about the other investors. Still, she owned the Aoyama's trust, as they've been kind over their time together.

Marcelle added. "Even if he can't get a quirk, our sons have become friends. They might as well be glued at the waist." She smiled, as she loved seeing how much her son's demeanour had reverted to what it was because he was confirmed quirkless.

"I still can't believe he likes spending sleepovers with us when you live in a house that dwarfs our apartment." Inko joked, as while she got good pay, they still lived in an apartment, even if they moved to a nicer one a couple of years back.

"I think he'll sleep in a box if he meant they could spend time together," Miyuki replied. As. While he found himself travelling a lot more these days, whenever he was home, his boy was either with his best friend or the two were playing around in their yard.

“Speaking of,” Inko reached for the microphone, pressing a button to connect it to the speakers below. “Boys?”

“Yes, mam?” Aoyama was the first to respond. He sounded chip and ready as he entered from one side of the room.

“Yes, mom?” Her son, by contrast, was a little more reserved, no doubt concerned for this.

“Are you two ready? Remember, if we need to postpone,” She started, but they cut her off.

“No, we can do this!” Aoyama, in a moment that was becoming common with him, replied with confidence.

“Yeah, today’s the day!” The same with her boy as if all went well, then their 4 years of waiting as she worked on this project would finally end. Hearing that, she looked towards one of the technicians, no nodded back at her and got to work.

“Sealing doors behind processor A1 and A2 now.” Through the cameras, they watched as the two large steel doors slowly closed behind them, trapping them in the go-between area between the testing arena and the rest of the facility. Instead, the two wore white floor-length robes styled off what a choir boy would wear. However, the upper chest area was purple, the same as the specially made goggles they wore to 'see' what was to come, adding a spot of colour to them.

Inko didn't know much about that part of it, as Marcelle had wished to design their attire for what she described as their 'quirk pact' ceremony; she merely assumed it was a French thing. What she had had a hand was the monitoring equipment each was wearing in the form of a collar to track blood flow to the brain, bracelets for blood pressure and several patches on their chests to monitor everything else. If even one thing went array, she would shut this down.

"Doors have been sealed. We are opening doors into the arena," the technician announced as they pressed another button. Even thicker steel doors that led into the large, cold space slowly opened. With a thud, they finished, and both boys slowly stepped inside, their bare feet carrying them.

“Safety protocols?” Inko asked someone else as they kept their eyes on their screens.

“All operational.”

“Sealing doors behind processor A1 and A2.” With that, the only way in or out started to shut, a security measure in case all other measures failed. She prayed that she wouldn't be forced to watch as her son was locked in with the specimens should they prove…volatile.

Cursing the fact that they couldn't even conduct an animal trial first, Inko reached for the microphone. Alright, we're unlocking the vaults. Stay calm and stand your ground, but if it gets too much, we will end this."

“Okay, Mom!” Izuku cheered back, waving at the glass, though because it was one-way, he couldn't see her.

Stepping forward, Midoriya shivered as his feet stepped over the cold, barren floor. The space hadn't been designed for comfort, and it was white all over, with nowhere to sit and nothing to entertain oneself. Lucky for them, they wouldn't be staying long, even if he had a voice in the back of his mind reminding him that if something did go wrong, 2 doors totalled 28cm of reinforced steel keeping them locked inside.

“Izuku, are you ready for this?” Looking to the side, he saw Aoyama, dressed just like him but somehow making the look work, though maybe it was because he was still taller than him.

Seeing his confidence reaffirmed him as he returned the smile. “Yeah. Let’s make this happen.”

“Approach the podiums. We’ll unlock the containers once you do.” One of the people working on this announced that their attention was shifting to the aforementioned platform, where two podiums rested. Atop them were cubes with at least four different locks on them. Sharing one last look, the two walked towards them. Midoriya felt his heart racing as he wondered if this was the day, and after all this time, he would finally have what everyone else had taken for granted.

 Walking up the few steps, they two stood before the containers. They hadn't been told if they had one, which they had to face, so they decided on the spot, with Midoriya taking the left one and Aoyama taking the right. “Processor A1 and A2 are in position. All screens are green.” They took a calming breath, or else the excitement and fear got the better of them.

“Specimen E-11 and E-12 to release in 5…4…3…2…1” Once the countdown ended, the four locks on the containers released with a clang and a hiss before the containers opened. It seemed like it would be slow for a moment, akin to what they watched in the nature documentary, where baby birds had to fight their way out of the egg. Still, that moment passed with a bang as the containers shot open, and their contents poured out like a storm.

The force of their release was so great that they nearly were thrown away, as they both cried out in shock, covering their eyes with their arms from the blinding lights. "Midoriya, are you seeing this?" Aoyama asked as he looked through his arms, the sight robbing him of breath as before them danced two different forces. One appeared to be a majestic phoenix made from a bright and vivid rainbow that flew around the arena, letting out what sounded like an eagle would make. Still, it seemed like a fusion of many different birds, coming out as commanding but soft. Smooth to the ear like wind chimes but hard like a thunderclap.

The second seemed to be a brown and white energy, shaped like an elongated dog or a wolf. Its many tails were far longer than its main body, with piercing red orbs that acted like eyes, taking it anything and everything, freezing him in place as it darted around the room, testing for something, perhaps a way out, before its gaze settled on him, Midoriya so enraptured by this that he didn't notice that the same had happened with Aoyama.

Slowly, the two artificial quirks encroached on them, their forms losing most of their mass and size until they were a fraction of what they once were. In the case of the one that Midoriya had caught the interest of, it was no bigger than the Jack Russel their teacher once brought to class, a 10^th the size it once was. The rainbow phoenix that Aoyama faced with awe was just as small, but that was still large for a bird or whatever the quirk's form was emulating.

Looking at the quirk in its eye, the two were silent as the adults kept a close eye on things, happy that the quirks hadn't turned hostile once they had calmed down from being released. "Hello, I'm Midoriya Izuku. What's your name?" Midoriya asked but was met with silence from the quirk, which kept its gaze on him as if reading his very soul.

“Can you…understand me?” The quirk nodded but remained silent. “Then…how do we talk?” The quirk walked closer to him, its form still vague, made only of colour, as it urged him to do something by tapping its paw on the platform, but he didn't know what. Again, it did the same, but it pointed at him and then to its head with its paw.

Midoriya suspected that perhaps he was meant to give him a head pat or scratch it behind its ear, though he wasn't sure why a quirk would want to be treated as a dog. Taking a step forward, the quirk got impatient and lunged at him, its paws coming in contact with his arms, and before he knew it, he fell on his side with a thud, a similar sound following as Aoyama fell to the same fate from second quirk landing on his head.

“Boys!” Midoriya's mind started to vanish as if he was given a chance to feel himself fall into a deep sleep.

“Status!” That second voice was his mother's, but despite the four different speakers in the room, it sounded like she was trying to speak through the thick, reinforced glass.

“Their vitals are normal…” He didn't hear the rest of the statement as he fell into his mind, or more accurately, he was pulled into his inner world.

Blinking to clear his eyes, Midoriya saw that he had somehow changed locations. Instead of being in the barren testing ring, he was in a forest of some kind, with trees so tall that he couldn’t see the tops. Light filtered in from overhead, but with such a thick canopy, it wasn’t much, but he could see enough of the area.

"Where am I?" He wondered aloud, wasn't he supposed to receive a quirk today? Wait, he was, but then it touched him and…"Is that what the quirk does, teleportation?" He asked why it dropped him here, in the middle of nowhere? Where was it anyway? Looking at himself, he saw that he was still in the same clothes, but with a gentle breeze, it wouldn't be too much of an issue. He would just need to find somewhere to rest and wait for help like they had been taught.

At least, that was the plan, but he felt something, an itch in the back of his head urging him to go the other way, deeper into the woods. He wasn't sure why or how, but just looking that way made the itch all the stronger. Not even thinking about this, he followed it, his bare feet crunching on twigs and leaves, the sounds of nature surrounding him, but not a single peep from any animals, or flaps of birds, or the buzz of insects; it was as if the forest only had plant life…and him.

After a while, which also felt like no time, he entered a clearing where statues were shrouded in vines and overgrowth, masking most of their features. Others were nothing but rubble; the ravages of time and nature had taken their toll. But among them, there was one that he could recognize anywhere, even if it was missing its head; that build and pose were iconic.

“All Might?” Midoriya wondered, looking at the damaged stature of the world's top hero, but if he was here, did that mean the rest were also heroes? Why would someone build all this in the middle of nowhere?

“Is that who he is…or was?” Another voice asked, getting a surprised yelp from Midoriya as he turned to see a figure walking out from behind the statue. “I didn’t know.” The…girl? Added. Looking at her, she looked to be his age, if a little older or younger, with light skin and bright, intelligent red eyes, so different to Kacchan, who, last he saw, was more arrogant and violent. Her hair was long, waist-length and brown, with only her bangs white.

However, unlike him, who was quirkless, she must have had one since she had a curly dog-like tail, the same colour as her hair, with the tip covered with a white flower pattern. She also had a pair of sizeable pointed dog ears coming out the top of her head, while her hands and feet were all covered in fur, with elongated nails.

"Who are you, and where are we?" he asked her, not recognizing her as someone he knew, which caused the girl to smile amusedly.

"I'm the quirk, as for where we are? I don't really know. I think we're in your head, but it could also be my head, and it's all very confusing." She explained to him, filling in the gaps of where he was if only a little.

"Oh…oh! But wait. You had to send us here so we could talk?" he asked as she sat down at the foot of All Might's stature, acting like this was her domain and he was merely a guest.

"It was the only way I could think of; I just had the feeling that if I did, then we could speak, unlike before." She explained, though if you asked how she knew that, she couldn't say; it just felt…natural.

Lucky for both of them, Midoriya was willing to let that go and focus on something else. "Okay, then, but you didn't answer my question."

“Which would that be?” She turned her head to the side. His smile caught her attention, and he replied.

“What’s your name?” She blinked at that, as that had been one of the first things this human had asked back in the other place; a place she was learning was the world of the living.

It wasn't a wrong question; he seemed to emphasise this name when introducing himself, but there was an issue. “Hmmm…I don't think I have one. In fact, I don't remember much. I recall coming into existence, but not much else other than the tests they put me through, something about ensuring I could last." She remembered the tests and watched as other, weaker quirks fizzled and died out, one by one. Even when some were taken away for 'upgrades and modifications' as the humans in white called it, many didn't last longer after that.

Now that she thought about it, there was another quirk she knew and got along with. She recalled seeing her when she was released from whatever contraption the humans had used to imprison them.

Midoriya seemed appalled by her response. “That’s awful, everyone deserves a name.”

That was news; she was only ever referred to as Specimen E-12 and felt that wasn't a name. “Really? Then why don’t you give me one?”

Once more, he surprised her when he shook his head. “I can’t do that. Names are gifts from your parents, from the ones that raised you. It wouldn’t be right if I gave you one.”

"Then where am I supposed to get one? I don't have a parent; no one raised me." She wasn't angry, nor was she bitter. It was merely a statement of fact, but one that Midoriya refused to allow to remain the same as he thought about it. He could ask his mom since she had created her, but she hadn't given her a name yet, and she wasn't here…wait.

“Then…you get to name yourself.” He suggested, the idea so evident that he was close to smacking himself for not thinking of it sooner.

“Name myself?” Didn't he just say that names came from creators and parents? She didn't create herself. At least, she thought she didn't.

Midoriya didn't seem to think that was an issue, as he was near vibrating where he stood from excitement. "Hmm! I know people can do that, but they have to be older, so you're special!"

She thought it over, and it wasn't a bad idea. In fact, it was a great idea as she got up and started to think. As time went on, she began to see more of this place, her domain, as it were. She also started to see Midoriya's life from a 3^rd personal view, all of it flashing before her eyes, giving her knowledge about him, his wants and fears, his failures and desires, his goals and bonds. Years of existence flowed into her brain in seconds, yet it didn't feel painful or overwhelming.

All that allowed her to realize that she already had a name that was as part of her as her tail. “How about(?)” Midoriya blinked, confused by that last part.

“What?” He asked as it seemed her voice had cut there, but her mouth was still moving.

“(?)” When he still looked confused, she could piece together the reason. "Oh, it seems you're not ready to hear my name. For now, call me Faunalution." She gave him a quirk name, though perhaps it would be better to call it her Faux nom(false name).

Testing it, Midoriya could say and hear the world just fine, but it didn’t seem right to leave it at that, so he raised his hand towards her, wishing to create a pact. "Okay, but I want to learn your true name…can you become my quirk so I can be a hero?" He asked her, honest as the sun, which she met for a moment in silence before she smiled and got up, walking towards him, reaching for his hand to shake it.

“He’s coming too.” Midoriya groaned as he got up, his head feeling light.

“What?” Looking around, he saw that he was back in the testing arena, with Aoyama standing over him and a worried look on him. That look faded when Midoriya managed to wake up.

"It's nice to see you return to the world of the living, Midoriya. You had us worried." He told him, speaking, no doubt, for himself and their parents.

“How long was I out?” He asked, as that….was it a dream? No, it didn’t feel like one, and something in his heart told him that it was far more significant than a mere dream.

“Around 20 minutes, Aoyama woke up a couple minutes ago.” One of the technicians replied, which came as a surprise for him.

"Just 20? It feels like I was in there for an hour at least." He was sure that it took him a while to find those statues and that cute dog girl.

“Same here, but it got results.” Aoyama stepped back, allowing Midoriya to see the creature that stood by his friend's side. Unlike before, when they couldn't make out details, he could now see that it was a large bird, a tab bit bigger than what he had seen before. The quirk spirit resembled a peacock, with a long slender build draped in feathers of bright reds, yellows, and blues that seemed to shine like they were bioluminescent.

Its tail was nothing to scoff at, being 1.5 times the length of its body and decked out in bright rainbow fathers that constantly shifted colours, colours that shined even more colourful than the rest of its body. The bird's elegant and lean head boasted 3 large rain-like feathers and had kaleidoscopic eyes of a bright array of colours. Midoriya had heard that peacocks, especially males, used their massive and bright tails as a defence mechanism to attract females. Still, if those guys were high school prom queens, this creature was Mrs. Universe.

“I finally have a quirk, one befitting my greatness.” Aoyama seemed happier than he had ever seen him, and Midoriya could share in that joy.

"I think you have it backwards, human, but I'll tolerate that…this time anyway." Midoriya blinked, able to hear the peacock talking, whereas before, he couldn't. Also, she sounded just as haughty as his friend. Wait, wasn’t it that the males have those crazy tails? In the back of his mind, he heard giggling, but he didn't pay it any mind at the moment as his eye shifted to the top of Aoyama's head.

“When did you get the crown?” He asked him.

Aoyama didn’t seem rattled by its presence as he reached for it, surfing a finger over the smooth metallic surface. “My quirk, Luminance, created it. It’s to help me use her…our power.” Aoyama corrected himself, his quirk raising her nose at him, but Midoriya couldn't detect malice or disrespect. "I would say the same for you. You didn't have that belt last I checked." Looking at his mid-section, Midoriya saw that Aoyama had been right as he wore a fancy belt buckle just…attached to his robes.

“Well, I needed somewhere to manifest, and it was either that or a sword.” A familiar voice spoke from behind him, making him jump and nearly fall again as he turned to see Faunalution, or at least he saw out of that human-like form as now she appeared as a small dog-like creature covered with mainly brown fur with a fox-like face with those same bright red eyes tail and ears which twitched at the slightest sounds. Her short, slender legs ended with her feet having white fur and 3 small toe pads on each foot.

“Hey there, partner.” She seemed too happy to be messing with him, but he could look past that and at the cloud's gold lining as he caught the quirk in a massive hug.

“I have a quirk! Oh, I promise to be the best partner ever!” He went on for a minute about what they'd do, how they could get to know one another and train, and even possible combos if she could retain a body in the physical world, as quirks like that were crazy rare.

As fun as it was for Aoyama and Luminance to watch this, there was more to discuss as he got their attention and pointed at his face, namely the lack of goggles. "That's not the only part. Take them off; trust me, you'll see what I mean." Blinking, Midoriya did as he asked and removed them, but there wasn't any difference in the room. The lights were still annoyingly bright, the floor was barren, and both Luminance and Faunalution were just as vibrant as ever…wait.

“We can see them?” He asked, as they had worn those goggles to see them as they figured out early on that quirks couldn't be seen with the naked eye, with only the effects of their abilities being seen, as was proven when a near quirk that could control air. In the short time it lasted, not a single researcher saw it. Merely saw how the air was being shifted around its body. It had taken another 9 months to develop lenses that could be used to see quirks.

"That seems to be the case," Aoyama replied, reaching over to Luminance and petting the quirk. But I think we've done enough, wouldn't you say, auntie?" He looked towards the one-way mirror.

“Yes, yes, you have boys. We're opening the doors now. We can talk later and head out and test your quirks in the sun.” Inko replied via the microphone while the technicians around her lost their minds in joy at seeing years of work paying off. Inko was the same as she had seen the two with their brand-new quirks. She finally could give her son something he so desperately wished for and a viable way to achieve his dreams. Her only issue with this scene was that the bastard at the I-island Board and Professor Shield weren't here to see how they've made history.

“Incredible.” Marcelle was just as shocked but also relieved and ecstatic as she was before she turned to her husband with a cheer, the two embracing one another for a moment, sharing a passionate kiss that Inko had pretended not to notice. After they calmed down, all 3 removed their goggles, which they had put on right as the quirks were released and turned to the many screens behind them, where all their investors were in awe at what had just been witnessed.

"To think that it was possible this entire time. This is a game changer."

“Can they perceive all quirks now?”

Most had words of praise, talking about what they could mean for the world of research, heroics and health care before Miyuki coughed into his hand to draw their attention. "Ladies and gentlemen. I think Dr. Midoriya has proven that our years of investment and patience were worth its weight in gold, if not more so." He stated, with not a single person disagreeing with that, even if Inko felt like she couldn't take all the credit, nor was this the end, as there was still so much more to do.

"That is clear to see. That is why I'll be continuing to finance this facility and her research. In fact, that investment will increase drastically." One of her earlier backers, a French Hospital director, spoke up, no doubt eager to see if quirks that could be applied in medicine could be created.

"As will I. The possibilities for this are endless." Another spoke up; a wealthy friend of Marcelle's family spoke.

“Then this might be a good time to bring up how I would like to expand the facility,” Inko started to pitch.

Chapter Text

Midoriya softly yawned into his hand as he and Aoyama walked down the halls of their new school, Rothana High, one of the best technical schools in the country, but also one where Midoriya knew from the moment he stepped in; he was an outlier. Aoyama said at first that it was just freshmen jitters; after all, the spring semester had only started a month ago, but he wasn't so sure about it as even he could feel the gazes of these rich kids on his back, wondering why he was there, judging him for daring to intrude on their world.

That feeling was confirmed by Faunalution whenever she crossed into the human world from his inner world. He had been worried at first but recalled that quirks couldn't be seen by anyone, so he could go about his day with her popping in and out to talk or laze about without anyone being the wiser. But it meant he never had to worry about bullies since she was like an early warning system. If need be, she could mess with them like the mischievous little pomeranian girl she was.

"Midoriya, did you remember to pack lunch today, or will you request my generous aide?" Aoyama asked him, making him groan as he held up his book bag, which carried his lunch.

"Oh, hardy, har-har. For your information, I did bring some leftover buta no kakuni, which I added to with a couple of boiled eggs, shredded cheddar cheese, and peanut butter." He listed off the stuff he managed to add that morning, humming as he couldn't wait to get a bite. Meanwhile, Aoyama pictured that meal in his head and nearly gagged.

"My god, sir, you have a dangerous pallet." He replied as Midoriya rolled his eyes.

“Like you have any room to talk, last I checked, most French meals don’t include tender shoots, apples, and grasshoppers." Others heard his comeback and looked at Aoyama like a weirdo, while some went a little green in the face at the idea of such a meal.

"I've improved upon the recipes of my homeland, which might seem impossible to you, but it can be done with the right hands." Aoyama flicked some of his blonde hair over his ear, utterly unphased by the judgement of their peers.

It wasn't something they could understand, but one side effect they learned early on about artificial quirk spirits was that their users developed rather strange tastes. In their case, they added foods or ingredients favoured by dogs and peacocks, respectively. Now, if that was because their quirks took the form of those animals, they couldn't be sure, but it didn't hurt them to try the foods, and they quickly found that they enjoyed them.

“And yet you have no sense of adventure. I tried your stuff; the least you can do is try mine—" What Midoriya was about to say was cut when they crossed a corner, and he bumped into someone, nearly knocking them over. Hearing that person let out an eep as they fell, his hand shot out and grabbed them around the waist while his other reached for their shoulders. “My apologies! I wasn’t looking where I was going.”

Looking at the person he held in his arms, he saw that it was a classmate of theirs, someone whose periwinkle hair and cat-like lavender eyes made her hard for him to forget. He just realized that he had nearly knocked down Intelli Saiko and that he was holding her in a rather romantic and intimate way. With his face going red, he heard Faunalution teasing him, calling him bold as he quickly let go of the girl after ensuring she had balance.

If Intelli noticed his rather imitate catch of her or his embarrassed face, she didn't say as she yawned, covering it with her hand. “The blame is shared; my mind was elsewhere.” She stated that as he and Aoyama could see, dark circles under those lavender eyes always made Midoriya's heart skip a beat.

“Might I ask where that was?” Aoyama asked her as she yawned again.

“Just some local delinquents messing around my neighbourhood at all odd hours of the night. I’ve barely gotten any sleep.” She answered as students went to and fro around them as they made their way to class before the morning bell.

“Well, we hope that the situation is handled soon enough. A maiden such as yourself requires her rest.” Aoyama bowed his head to her, to which she rolled her eyes but smiled all the same as she had known the two since middle school when she transferred in their second year. Aoyama lived up to the image of the French with his confidence and romantic gestures. Still, they understood that he was merely playing around and never meant to really attract girls, at least most of the time.

“Always quirk with a retort, Aoyama. But one of these days, your mouth might write a cheque you can’t honour.” She turned on her heel and walked off, and despite being sleep-deprived, she still carried herself with the grace and dignity of a swan gliding over a calm lake’s surface.

“One of these days,” Midoriya was knocked out of that image by Aoyama’s vague statement as they followed after her.

“When the sun turns into a Red Giant, maybe. You blew it with her in middle school when you stood up her best friend at the culture festival.” He reminded him as that was the first time he saw the boy blush a little as he recalled the incident and how less than pleased his date had been when he showed up 2 hours late.

“I was a different man then.” They both knew he had a good reason to be so late, but it wasn't a reason that they could just tell people, so he had to just suck it up and let her dunk her food on his head and leave.

“That was less than a year ago," Midoriya replied, but he frowned as he remembered how tired Intelli looked. Still, there was something off with her."

"You heard her. Late-night escapades by unseen actors disturbed her sleep cycle." Aoyama didn't look that deep into it. It wasn't like she had reason to lie, and villain attacks happened almost every other day. Even if not a villain, some people seemed to enjoy being public menaces. That was as true here as it was back in France.

“Yeah, but doesn’t she live in a part of town with little villains?” Midoriya asked as he recalled hearing her mention it once or twice during the first couple weeks of school. It stuck out to him since she, too, didn't come from money, being the daughter of a working-class family who only got in thanks to a scholarship.

Still, with no additional information, the matter was dropped as they continued towards their class. Getting there, Intelli was already seated and reading through a textbook as the two settled into their seats. As he did so, one of the other boys approached him.

“Hey, Midoriya, could you help with the homework?” He asked him. Looking up, Midoriya saw that it was only Tanuma. He wouldn't say they were friends, but he was one of the few who didn't seem to care that he was a pauper compared to them and treated him well enough.

"It's 5 minutes to homeroom bell; what could you need my help with?" Midoriya asked him as the boy laughed, but they could tell he was nervous.

“About pages 23 through 28?” Midoriya’s face went from confused to unamused when he heard that reply.

“That was the entire thing.” Tanuma winced at that but clapped his hands together and bowed to him.

“Oh, come on, I didn't have time to finish it. We had baseball practice that ran late, and I still needed to finish math and history." He quickly explained to him, only for another to burst that bubble with extreme prejudice.

"He's lying. Baseball ended at the normal time, and he decided to spend over 2 hours at the arcade." Another classmate, Kazamatsuri stated.

“Dude!” At how Tanuma responded, Midoriya suspected that Kazamatsuri wasn’t lying, not when he was also on the baseball team. When he looked back at Tanuma, his narrowed eyes made the taller boy sweat.

"Is that right? I'm sorry, Tanuma. It looks like you're on your own," he told him.

"Oh, come on, you can't leave me to drown! I'm a dead man if Mr. Hatake finds out I didn't finish it." Midoriya knew he wasn't lying, as their homeroom teacher was also their science teacher, and Mr. Hatake had earned a reputation for how flippant but strict he could be on a dime. But that didn't mean he would support someone choosing not to do their work.

"Then we shall prepare the eulogy and some flowers," Aoyama joked as Tanuma turned to him and pointed out.

“Like you have any room to talk, I bet you got half the answers wrong!" Aoyama didn't fight the accusation, as while he wished to attend a technical school that put more emphasis on the sciences, he wasn't suited for it; his grades would never break the top ten of their class, never the top 100 of their grade, which was only 180 students.

“It’s true that for all my talents, the sciences are not my strong suit, but unlike you, I did put in the effort to handle it.” Aoyama could still take pride in that, despite his challenges, he tried to tackle them nonetheless.

"Midoriya, please help a brother out?" Tanuma begged him, but he merely gave him a not-so-apologetic smile.

“Sorry. Maybe next time you’ll finish your homework before gaming.” He told him as the boy groaned in despair, made all the worse when the door slid open, and their white-haired teacher walked in.

"Alright, class, settle down. Homeroom's about to begin. As always, we'll start with roll call…" The mask-wearing man reached for the student roaster on the podium and started to read through it.

Later, the group of 4 sat in the school gardens, enjoying lunch. “Dammit, does he have to go that hard with Physics?” Tanuma asked, as his mind was almost fried, and it wasn't even halfway through the first semester!

"Maybe if you did the homework, you wouldn't be so far behind," Kazamatsuri suggested.

"Let the past stay in the past, will ya?” Tanuma replied as the boys pulled their bags open and pulled out their bentos, the tree shade creating a calm, pleasant atmosphere.

“Just be happy that it’s lunch period. Maybe we can go over some work while we eat?” Midoriya suggested with an amused chuckle out of Aoyama and nervous ones from his acquaintances.

“Not all of us see studying as fun, Midoriya.” Kaxamatsuri reminded him not even a month in, and Midoriya proved that he earned his spot at the school more than once. The only one who seemed to be a bigger bookworm than him was the class resident tea addict, Intelli.

"Maybe he wants to become a big-shot researcher like his mother," Tanuma suggested, nudging Midoriya. The boy blushed a little, happy that his mother was seen in such a positive light even now. Still, she had recently accepted her PhD in Biochemical engineering. The firm she founded was making real headway in genetic research and developing drugs that could better treat people, especially those with extreme heteromorphic traits.

“Her work is interesting,” He relented as he opened his lunch box, salivating a little at the look of the food and the mix of pork, spice, boiled eggs and peanut butter floating upwards. He could hear Faunalution just as excited for the meal as he was, the quirk forming next to him with a wagging tail as he clapped his hands together. “Thanks for the meal!”

While the food smelled and looked significant to him, his two friends looked at the butchered mockery of Japanese food with concern and mild disgust. “Dude, what the heck is that on your food?” Tanuma asked, looking to see Aoyama eating an equally unappealing meal that nearly made the two lose their appetites. "I wonder how your digestive tract handles the weird things you feed it."

"A healthy growing body needs healthy foods," Midoriya answered after swallowing a piece of his meal.

“Are you sure you’re not trying to find something to add to your height?” Kaxamatsuri joked, hitting Midoriya in a sore spot.

“I’m perfectly sized, that’s all! You’re all just giants! He decried them, as in the group of 4, he was the shortest by nearly an inch, just 2cm, but that was enough for people to give him grief.

"Dude, you're like the ^second smallest guy in our grade," Tanuma told him, which only made him all the more down. He needed to eat more of his food to feel better as Faunalution petted his head.

“Giants!” He mumbled through his chewing, his quirk not making it any better as she took full advantage of the fact that only Aoyama could see her. Still, he was too busy taking joy at his expense, along with his quirk, Luminance.

"Don't worry, my little human. I'm sure you'll grow big and strong in no time." She teased him, as he had received many things from his mother, things he would forever cherish. Height wasn't one of them, as she had never been the tallest woman out there. As the years went by, the stress of work meant she put on weight and seemed to shrink a little. He was taller than her, but that wasn’t saying much.

Then again, he didn’t know where Faunalution got off as while she had grown in the 5 years since he met her, she wasn’t any bigger than him in human form. Did she like to point out that she had curves for which to die for? Yes, but it wasn't like most people could see them. Her dog form wasn't much better as she was only the size of an exceptionally large Pomeranian. Luminance had a better reason to be smug about her size as the rainbow peacock was the size of a horse.

“Maybe he can ask Hinata?” His musings were interrupted by Kaxamatsuri.

"Dude, that's just a story to scare freshmen like us," Tanuma replied.

“Whose Hinata? An upperclassman?” Midoriya asked as he was sure he would recall a girl in their class with that name, but he was only drawing blanks.

Tanuma rolled his eyes but still answered the question, even if he thought everything was stupid. "She was a student here around 12 years ago. She was one of the best in her class, and she was even in the running for student body president despite being a first year."

Kaxamatsuri picked it up from there. “The story goes that she was the life of the school, well-liked by students and teachers alike, but then one day she changed.”

“Changed how?” Aoyama asked, sipping his grape juice like it was 20-year-old wine.

Kaxamatsuri shrugged. “That's the thing. No one knows; it was like a flipped switch, and she went from the school's sunshine to the rainy day in human form. Each day, she got worse till she vanished like smoke. They searched for weeks but never found her, but they did find a suicide note." That was enough for Midoriya to pause in his meal, which the two other boys didn't notice.

“She took her own life?” He quietly asked.

"That's what the authorities concluded, though they never found a body, it was pretty rainy in the days after she vanished, and folks say that the nearby river can carry away a body to sea," Tanuma replied since the school was built on land that was close to the river. As gruesome as it was, if someone went in when no one was around during the rainy months of June-July, they'd be long gone before anyone even noticed.

Now that he thinks about it, the school had been pretty clear during orientation that they were to never go close to it, even building a fence a couple of years back, according to the principal.

“Was the note found near the water?” Aoyama asked, any semblance of humour gone.

“I mean, I’m not sure. You’ll have to ask one of the 3^rd years.” Tanuma replied.

“At least according to the 3^rd year I heard it from, her 'vengeful and sorrowful' ghost haunts the halls of the school, and whenever you're hit by a sudden and unexplained bout of sadness, that's her," Kaxamatsuri added to it.

“I think it’s all just a made-up story to scare us and explain anxieties around exam times. Who doesn’t get a little jumpy around them?” Tanuma returned to his food; the topic dropped, but Midoriya had questions.

"Have there been any weird events around campus?" He asked, and the two looked at him confused as he shrugged. "I'm curious. What can I say?"

Deciding to humour their classmate and his endless thirst for knowledge, Tanuma thought of other things he had heard. "Well, there's the whole 'passing dread' thing, but they say rooms are unusually warm even when the thermostat is set low."

"I heard that smoke alarms sometimes go off even when there's no fire," Kaxamatsuri recalled one story he heard from a 3^rd year, which he thought felt like a stretch.

Aoyama pursed his lips as he discussed the topic; he recalled hearing something in passing: "Speaking of smoke, I heard that smoke just appeared in one of the classrooms last year. The school thought it was an electrical fault, and the entire place was evacuated."

“And we never found an issue.” A new voice stated as the boys turned to the source. "People chalked it to a student playing a prank, but we never figured out who." Their teacher smiled at them, and the handsome middle-aged man appeared jovial.

“Mr. Mizuki.” The group were about to stand to greet the man, but he waved them off with a smile.

“At ease, boys. I’m not here to rain on your talk. I just wished to see the son of Professor Midoriya for myself.” He stated, his eye shifting to Midoriya, who seemed slightly flustered to be under it.

"I'm not much to look at, sir; being plain is a family trait." He told him as the man laughed.

"Nonsense. You look just like your mother, and if what I saw of your entrance exam is any proof, you're just as sharp." He complimented the boy, who recalled scoring around 92% on the entrance exam, enough to earn a partial scholarship to pay for the more insane fees and trips the school hosted.

But he paused to think over their teacher’s choice of words. “You know my mother, sir?”

"Well, of course I do. We attended this very academy together, though I admit we were never close, but I was more than happy to see her succeed in life. It does make me feel a little small when I compare myself to her." He revealed, which was surprising as he hadn't had the chance to meet any of her old classmates, well, other than Uncle Masaru, and they hadn't really spoken in person in years.

"I wouldn't sweat it, teach; you're the head of the Language department and on track to getting a sweet promotion?" Tanuma complimented the man in return.

"You're too kind, but I'll likely turn it down." He replied, which shocked him as he was being offered a job at Tokyo University if the rumours were correct.

“What? Why?” Midoriya asked as the man closed his eyes and hummed pleasantly.

"Well, the pay would be better. I feel more at home helping you youngsters with my own hands rather than from a desk two towns over.” Their teacher replied, which made them laugh as, of course, he would say that.

"That's a relief. Your classes are the best, and I can tell that I will enjoy them for the rest of the year." Kaxamatsuri gave the man a thumbs up.

"Make sure that's just a year. I wouldn't want you to fall behind on your studies and need to repeat the grade." He told them that while he was a fun teacher, he wasn't about to let them just lack off in his class. Well, I said my piece; I'll let you, young man, return to your meal."

Midoriya noticed Intelli watching the man from a picnic table set up under a tree as he walked off, being stopped by one of the girls. If he didn't see things, she was glaring at the man.

"I can't believe you talked me into this," Aoyama muttered as the two looked through the empty halls of the school, still in uniform and holding flashlights.

“I’m not forcing you to stay, you know.” Midoriya retorted as they continued their search. While most would have written off the story they heard, they knew better than ever since they got their quirks; their eyes were opened to a whole new world where they saw quirks' spirits everywhere. It wasn't just them either; when others got artificial quirks of their own, they reported the same, with even the lenses developed for research purposes allowing people to see them.

Now, most were non-issues; those were either ones still attached to their users like their teachers and classmates or belonged to the recently departed; that second group rarely lasted more than a few days before they faded or passed on if they wished to phrase it better. Both categories they had come to call Ha(Fragment).

But that was just the first of 5 classes, as there was a second level to quirks, Jitsunagi(Earth-Bond Fragments), which typically belonged to the departed who had a solid attachment to somewhere, thing or one. Lucky for them, most were peaceful and reasonable when approached, such as the spirit of an elderly man that they found in the nearby park. He and his wife met and spent a lot of time there, and because he wasn't hurting anyone, they left him to his devices.

That being said, the peaceful ones were always the ones who had a positive connection; those that had a negative one tended to make a nuisance of themselves at best, and neither entertained that someone who took their own life would have a stellar opinion of the place they did it. Made all the worse when a quick search revealed that she had a fire quirk in life, which explained the unexplained fires and smoke.

"And who will be around to save you like the damsel in distress you are, such as the Pizza incident?” Aoyama asked, getting Midoriya to turn to him in irritation and embarrassment.

"I seem to recall that happening very differently." He replied but didn't say more as Aoyama laughed at his shame before the two returned to searching.

“Anywhere in particular we need to check?” Aoyama asked after a few minutes of quiet between the two, as they just cleared their 3^rd classroom.

“I didn’t hear anything about that from people. As far as they’re concerned, it’s just a morbid tale. But we can try the 2^nd year chem lab. That was where the fire incident happened." Midoriya replied, keeping his eyes out for any disturbance,,, but the place had been as quiet as the grave.

“I doubt any evidence would still be around.” Aoyama started as Luminance formed beside him, her form smaller than usual to fit in the halls.

“That might be true for others, but if there was a Jitsunagi(Earth-Bond Fragments), they'd be some sign." Midoriya reminded him, though it would have been nice if they had a larger team and gear. Sadly, they were the only field agents in the area, as the closest other person in the prefecture was away. In contrast, the second closest was close to three hours away and busy with an assignment.

“Let us pray that it was only an ill-behaved Jitsunagi. This school is not a proper place for a containment procedure.” Luminance's feathers fluttered with unease.

“Agreed, and it wouldn’t be proper to wreck the place when we’re not still green," Aoyama replied in French.

“Hold,” Midoriya held his hand up. “We have company.” He informed the two, pointing towards the corner where he swore that he saw a light.

Nodding towards it, he and Aoyama slowly approached it, their lights ahead and ready to defend themselves. “Whoever you are, come out right now! You’re on school property after hours.” There was silence, but they could hear something or someone moving.

"Get out now, and we won't report you to the teachers in the morning!" Midoriya called again.

"I could say the same about you." A familiar feminine voice said as the person walked out, a light in their hands. And I doubt you got permission to be here." She flashed a permission slip, one that they didn’t have.

“Intelli?” Aoyama asked, as of all the people to find snooping around. “What are you doing here?” He asked her, as she wasn't in uniform anymore, but in what he could only assume was purposely chosen dark clothing, with even her hair tied up and hidden under a dark beanie.

Despite looking like the cartoon depiction of a robber, sans the black and white striped shirt, she was the only one who snorted at the question. "I should be asking you that? You left something but would have noticed before the sun went down since neither of you is in sports. Even if you weren't, you would have waited to retrieve first thing in the morning instead of risking disciplinary action for entering school grounds so late." She started analyzing them with the same proficiency and accuracy that made her a capable student.

Midoriya started to sweat as she continued, the girl locking onto him, seeing him as the weak link. "So that tells me that whatever you're after is valuable enough to risk it or something you don't want people to know about." Getting closer, the boy tried to look away but only made himself look all the more suspicious as she backed off but got what she wanted. "Going by how pale you are. I'm betting it's both."

Aoyama reached for the bridge of his nose, massaging it as he said, “Midoriya, you should never play games like poker. You’re the world’s worst liar.” He told his friend and ignored his flustered denial. He turned to Intelli, wondering how they were going to spin this, as Midoriya couldn't lie to save his life, and even if he wasn't terrible, Intelli wasn't stupid. "You're right; we're not here for something school-approved."

“Then what are you are?” She asked them, a mild glare in her eyes as she reached for her back, where he suspected she carried a weapon if they didn’t give her a suitable answer.

“We’re looking for the ghost girl.” He answered, keeping it vague but also truthful, though her glare grew stronger.

“If you think that will fool me-”

Midoriya stepped in, finding his nerve. "He's not, we're not. We're searching for the ghost—for Hinata." She looked at him but saw that he was sincere in that belief.

“Do you actually believe that nonsense?” She asked, but her hand retreated from whatever weapon or tool she carried.

"We've seen strangers. And besides, it doesn't hurt to check, right?" Midoriya replied, Intelli chalking up the statement to quirks. This wasn't wrong, but the context she was thinking of was very different from the truth. She would have asked more questions, but Aoyama raised a hand.

“Do you smell smoke?” The blonde asked, pausing to take a whiff of the air. The two picked up the smell as well, and it was strong. They all shared a look before they ran to find the cause of it; as they got closer, the smell only got stronger, as they could now see smoke floating overhead.

Coughing into her sleeve, Intelli asked. “Why aren’t the alarms going off?” The school had just had them tested because of the random unexplained fire last year. Maybe a few could have got through despite being faulty, but there was a fire detector every few metres overhead, so there was no way all of them were defective.

“We can worry about that later; we need to find the source before it can burn the school down," Midoriya said as they turned the corner and saw the entire place was burning. The smoke was the worst, as it escaped through the shattered windows. Squinting, they tried to see through it and maybe find the source.

“Help…” Midoriya heard something through the flames.

“Wait.” He called out. Not a moment, a person broke through the smoke, trying to escape the flames. But it was like the flames had a mind as they collected into a massive, fluffy-looking rabbit that glared at them. Rising a fiery paw, they were about to smash them into the wall.

“Help!” At that cry, Midoriya moved as he jumped into the fray, his belt flashing as he called upon Faunalution’s power, taking on some of the attributes in the form of the ears and tail as he pointed at the man and concentrated.

“Shelter Aura!" With that command, a large green and brown dome appeared around the man, right in time to save them as the strike smashed into it. Midoriya gritted his teeth as if that wasn't soft. The dome cracked from that single shot. The fire, or quirk spirit, paused at that, surprised to see that it didn't kill the man as Aoyama rushed in. Grabbing the man, he pulled him out as Midoriya created a dome around the flames to contain it, but it shattered through it with just 2 hits.

The quirk seemed angered by this, staring at them before letting out a roar that sounded like an inferno before he faded away as if it was never there. Looking around, neither Midoriya nor Aoyama could see the quirk, but they couldn't be sure with so much smoke lingering. As they backed away from the place, Aoyama tended to the injured, coughing man and recognized him. “Mr. Mizuki!”

"Thanks for rescuing me. I thought I was a goner." Through his coughing fit, he said that Aoyama had helped him to a window to breathe in some fresh air.

“Sir, what were you doing here so late?” Aoyama asked him while Intelli watched.

“I was…looking over some papers for an upcoming test. Before I knew it, the place was on fire.” Their teacher replied, and when both pictured a school map, they recalled that Mizuki's office was on this floor, not far from where that blaze had just been.

“Do you have any idea what started that flash fire?” Intelli asked, though she suspected there was more to it as flames didn't look like animals or strike like one.

Having somewhat collected himself, their teacher fixed his jacket before answering, "Your guess is as good as mine." She didn't seem pleased with that statement. Still, Aoyama noticed that they weren't alone when he saw someone dressed in the girl's uniform standing near the other end of the hallway.

“Hinata.” He sounded confused to see her for only a second as Midoriya turned and saw her, both realizing that this wasn't good.

“What was that?” Mr Mizuki asked them as he and Intelli looked in the direction and saw nothing.

The ghost girl didn't look at them but at the teacher with silent murderous intent as she started approaching them. Her footsteps, echoing like eerie gunshots, jolted their classmates and teacher as they looked around, trying to see where that sound was coming from. “We need to run. Now.” Midoriya grabbed onto Intelli’s arm while Aoyama went for their teacher.

“What, wh-” He saw a flash in his side of his vision and didn't hesitate, throwing Intelli to the ground and getting on top of her as an inferno raced overhead, the girl terrified that the flames had formed from nothing once more, and were trying to take them all out.

“That’s why, now move!” He yelled, pulling her to her feet and racing down the halls as the flames chased them down. Aoyama pulled along their teacher as they barely made a corner, avoiding another blast that would have left no way to dodge. The two freaked out, and it appeared like living flames had it out for them. Not taking a moment to breathe, they raced down the halls, flames never far behind them as Midoriya and Aoyama heard the spirit screaming in a fury about how she'd kill Mr Mizuki and them as well if needed.

“Oh my god, oh my god!” The teacher in question was a nervous wreck as they descended some stairs, skipping several steps to cut the time. Aoyama barely avoided a blast of fire that hit the bottom of the stairs, leaving the wood charred and cracked.

“What is happening? Why is fire chasing us?!” Intelli yelled at them, barely keeping her beanie on as they fled.

“Talk later, run now! Aoyama!” Midoriya yelled as Aoyama nodded.

“Got it, Luminance!” He pushed Mr. Mizuki towards Midoriya before he turned to the coming threat. Calling his quirk, like Midoriya with his, he gained some of her attributes. In his case, that was a rainbow feathered tail and rainbow plumes along his forearms, floating just over the surface of his sleeve. “Reflect.” He sent out a blast of concentrated light, which flew right for the incoming wave of fire, only to burst into a giant glass wall.

When the flames hit it, they were sent right on back against the quirk spirit, but while they caused even more damage to the school, it wasn’t nearly as effective against the creature that made it. But it was a pause as the quirk seemed to regain some sense through its fiery rage.

“Why are you stopping me?” It asked Aoyama, the boy taking the time to catch his breath.

“You’re willing to talk?” He asked back.

“I am. But he needs to pay for pushing me and hurting me. It hurt so bad, and it didn't stop hurting.” The quirk then blasted the barrier with an even stronger fireball, the orange and crimson ball smashing into his barrier and destroying it.

“Crap, this has changed. Reflect!” He created another as he ran off, and when he saw that it was nearly finished, he used another move. “Mirror!” This time, the light shifted in front of him, creating a broad, thin plane which projected an illusion. While he could see just fine, the Jitsunagi, which he realized was better classed as a Gekiha(Enraged Fragment), saw him rushing down the opposite hallway and followed. He waited for a moment to ensure that it wouldn't double back before releasing the illusion, taking a breath as he ran down the path the rest had.

It didn’t take him long to find the rest, who had taken refuge in a classroom. Softly closing the door behind him, Midoriya was already on him. “Did you?”

He shook his head. “She’s still after us, but I managed to trick her." He replied.

“Her?” Intelli asked as this started to get to her. Okay, what the hell was that? How do you know so much? You acted war too calm out there for this to be anything but a regular thing." She demanded as their teacher, frazzled by their near-death experience, looked at them as they had to quickly explain the situation in a way that wouldn't make things worse.

"It's a villain; they just look like a ghost. You just didn't see them with all the fire and smoke they're putting out. I know how to handle stuff like this since I study heroes." Aoyama responded, as close to the truth as he dared.

"Did she say why she was here? No one attacks a school for no reason," Midoriya asked, trying to shift attention away from their shoddy explanation.

“They said they’re here for you, Mr. Mizuki. That you hurt them.” Aoyama replied, which confused Midoriya and the teacher. Still, Intelli turned her gaze back to Mizuki, remaining silent for this part.

On the other hand, their teacher was more than willing to share his thoughts on the situation. “That’s insane! I can’t even remember the last time I got into an agreement, never mind hurting someone. Is this some student who's upset and gave them a failing grade?”

“Midoriya,” Intelli asked, drawing Midoriya’s attention as he turned to her. “You said Hinata earlier, right?” She asked.

“I mean, yeah.” He replied, confused that of all the things she could focus on, she chose that.

“Did they look like Hinata?” She pressed, making him step back as she approached him.

"I think so. I've only." He raised his hands to try to explain, as he had only seen photos of the girl in the newspaper articles they had found online and on the school's website.

“Midoriya.” She cut him off, her eyes offering no quarter as he sighed and relented.

“Yes.”

“I’m sorry, but what has this have to do with anything? Hinata has been dead for a decade.” Mr Mizuki asked as they should focus on getting out of there.

Turning to him, Intelli couldn't hide her disgust with the man any longer, reaching for the baton she had brought. "You would know you were the last to see her alive?" Both boys blinked in shock at that statement, looking between the two.

“I’m sorry.” Their teacher seemed confused by the statement. Yeah, he was the last person who saw her, as he told the police all those years ago; what did that mean now?

“Intelli?” Aoyama reached for her, but as he did so, Midoriya felt the temperature spike; instinctively, he turned to the door and saw something on the other side as he tried to warn them. "She's-!" That was all he got out before the door exploded. Behind it, a jet of flames flooded the room, sending them all to the ground as Midoriya got the worst of it, being knocked to the other side of the room by the door, where he slumped to the floor in a heap.

Squeezing into the room, the giant fire rabbit looked at the destruction it caused before its eyes landed on Mr. Mizuki. “Found you.”

“Midoriya, get them out of here. I'll distract it—" Aoyama moved to give his friend time, rushing the quirk, but it evaded his strike by shrinking into a smaller form. Before he could recover, it kicked him in the side, the Frenchman hearing a crack as he was sent barrelling into the desks before crashing into the wall.

With the two biggest threats down, the quirk smiled as it could finally do what it longed for. "No more waiting. I waited too long. I've been hurting too long." It spoke, yet neither still-standing humans could hear her. Despite the situation, Intelli tried to defend herself against what she thought was a villain. Still, her strikes didn't even phase it as her baton passed through the flames as if they were natural.

She saw the fire extinguisher in the corner and rushed it, but so did the quirk as it knocked her aside. Landing with a pained yelp, she hit her head on one of the remaining standing desks, but that knocked her beanie off and let her long hair out.

Seeing that, out of everyone, seemed to be enough for the quirk to stop in its murderous assault. Midoriya looked up, and instead of seeing her getting attacked because he got sloppy, the spirit was watching her with what could only be…recognition? Its fiery form faded away, leaving the pretty look spirit of a long-dead girl's quirk in its place.

“Little Genius, is that…really you?” The spirit of Hineta's quirk asked, seemingly shocked, happy but fearful all at once, its early anger gone, but when Intelli didn't respond to it, its desperation only grew as it reached for her shoulders, only for her hands to go through her.

Turning back, the quirk raced back into Intelli's unseeing line of sight, waving her hands about, trying to elicit a response. "Little Genius, don't you recognize me?"

"It's useless; she can't see or hear you right now." Midoriya drew its attention, irritation blooming on her face as he slowly got up, his entire body in pain from that impact, to be frank, his legs like jelly. Still, he soldiers on as he reaches into his pocket to grab something. “But this can help.” He held out a small toy, the type one would hang off a keychain before he tapped a button on its back, resulting in the small ornament growing to the size of the average teddy bear; written on its forehead was the label 'Spirit enters here'.

“Why should I trust you?” She asked the obvious question; he would have to because this seemed like a poorly concealed trap, but a trap nonetheless.

To answer that, he smiled and stated honestly. “Because…you look like you need saving. And she might be able to do that.” The quirk seemed surprised by this honestly, he had been told that he had a habit of looking as genuine as gold as he wished to help people, and as the years went by, that had extended to wayward quirks because they shared their user's emotions, and so often, their pain. And even if he failed most times, even if he ended up disappointed more often than not, everyone deserves someone reaching a handout.

She still seemed sceptical, even as the two normal humans remained silent and confused as they watched him converse with nothing. But she made her choice and started approaching the offering doll. “If you’re lying,”

He smiled, his teeth a tad bloody. “Then I’ll happily let you burn me alive.” The quirk at least looked apologetic for how badly hurt he was as she entered into the doll. Immediately, it started acting out, spasming and cracking, and then it fell silent.

Then it got up, dusting itself off like it was a person.

Looking at her new body, temporary as it might have been, the quirk tried feeling things like the table. It was one, but he got nothing before he realized that it didn't feel anything. This was merely a doll, not a proper body, but she could look past that part. “Little Genius?” She spoke again, and this time, it wasn't just Midoriya and the slowly rising Aoyama that heard her.

“Who…who are you? What are you?” Intelli asked, freaked out over this doll, but more than that, it was that name. She hasn't been called that in years, not since-

The doll pointed to themselves, excited and worried at the same time. “It’s me, big sis, Hinata! Don’t…don’t you remember me?” She asked, fearful as Intelli wondered if this was real. She knew it had to be fake, that this couldn't be real, and only one person called her that. She was dead, had been for years…but, the way she called her Little Genius, it was just like her cherished memories of her, then there were the flames, they were random before but…

"Her quirk…she, she could make flame bunnies," Intelli whispered, as Hinata's flame quirk used to do that; it wasn't close to this powerful, but she loved to make little rabbits bounce around to the amusement of a much younger Intelli and the other kids.

The doll Hinata seemed so happy by that, nearly dancing as she rushed her, jumping into her surprised arms and hugging her the best she could. “Yeah, yeah! That’s me! You remember, I’m so happy!” Intelli also started to cry, as she never thought she'd ever see her again or hear her voice. While this was happening, the two managed to collect themselves, at least enough not to fall over again after being taken down embarrassingly quickly.

They watched the reunion, though it was bittersweet for the two for more than one reason. But it soon ended as a question that had burned in her chest for so long finally came out: "What happened to you? Why are you like this?"

“I…” Hinata seemed scared to speak, her doll from shivering, but Intelli hugged her close, offering whatever comfort she could to the quirk she believed was the soul of her dead…the two didn't know what they were to each other. “Hinata. Please. You can tell us.” Intelli encouraged her before the doll sniffed as if she could cry in her present form before she pointed to the sweating and shivering teacher.

“He killed me.” She stated that the man's face was going pale as a corpse at that accusation. It shocked them all but made Midoriya and Aoyama hostile towards him as they moved to stand guard.

“Mr. Mizuki did that?” If Intelli had noticed their shift in behaviour, she didn't act like it as she focused on the little doll in her hands.

“Yes.”

Their teacher looked as scared as a pig about to be slaughtered and tried to defend himself. “I-I don’t know what’s happening-” He was stopped when Aoyama grabbed him, keeping hold of his side and arm, which, thanks to his heteromorph trait, was covered up to the elbow with thick steel-like armour.

Doing the same with his other side, Midoriya glared at the man with growing disgust, thinking that this was someone worth admiring. “Sir, with all due respect. Shut up and let her talk.”

“Hinata, could you tell us what happened?” Intelli asked as the pieces fell into place in her mind, but she needed to hear it from the horse's mouth.

Hinata was scared and nervous, understandable in the situation as who could testify to their own murder without some nerves? "I…He made him happy. He saw me around July during debate practice…he was nice and sweet to me. He said I was smart, pretty, and destined for great things." She explained, painting a picture that only further buried the terrified man in their grasp.

"He asked if I wanted to spend time with him outside school," Hinata continued, ignoring him before she froze up. We went to the movies and dinner a few times. It was fun…" She continued, some nostalgia bleeding into her words. "He even won me a necklace at the fair. He had something engraved in it, a little secret between us."

“For even if the sea keeps us apart, know that you’ll always hold my heart," Intelli stated, which made the doll look up at her in surprise.

“How did you know?” She asked, to which the watery-eyed Intelli pulled it out and presented it, revealing that she had been wearing the necklace the entire time. The sight of which made Mizuki all the more nervous as he recognized it, a fact that both boys picked up on.

“I have the necklace now. I wear it every day to remind me of you," Intelli told her, holding it out for the doll to grasp. While she couldn't feel it, she also could…in a way, as one didn't need nerves to pick up on memories.

"That's nice. Those days were nice. I thought I was in love…" She whispered, shivering as the illusion of the past broke; the harsh reality of her situation hit her. “But he started asking to spend more time with me, to do things that I didn’t like and got upset when I said no.”

The three were teens. Intelli had just turned 16 close to the end of April, but that didn't mean they couldn't pick up the subtext of the situation that Hinata had the misfortune to have been caught in.

 Again, their teacher and apparent groomer tried to defend himself, but Aoyama's grip on him only got stronger; holding out a hand, he flashed a ball of pure light, bright but one he could make as hard as steel with a thought, a fact that their…teacher would know well. “Unless you want to be knocked out, you’ll remain silent.” He whispered to the man in French, which he knew he would understand as Midoriya glared at the man, as he wouldn’t stop Aoyama from following through with that.

Hinata continued as Intelli soothed her. "Things got tense, but then he called and said he was over it, apologized, and set up a date for us. But it wasn't a date; it was a motel." She said.

“Hinata, did…did he?” Intelli didn't want to use the word but refused to diminish what had happened. "He did have sex with you?" Hinata nodded, burying her head into Intelli's chest, shivering as her soul cried, even if her body was incapable of it.

"He said it wouldn't hurt, that I would like it after a while, but it didn't stop hurting. I cried and told him to stop, but he didn't listen; he just kept going." She recounted the experience before breaking slightly as Intelli soothed her, told her that she wasn't at fault, that she was a victim and that her word wouldn't be ignored. All while, the two moved their guilty party to a desk, picked it up from its side and sat him down, making sure that he remained silent and understood that if he tried to flee, it wouldn't end well.

"I didn't go to school afterwards because it hurt. Even when I took painkillers, it didn't stop hurting." She eventually picked up where she left off.

"I went to school to talk to him about it, to break up with him but…but he didn't like that either. He got angry and started hitting me. He grabbed me and held my neck, I scratched and bit and fought, but his quirk made it impossible and…and then I was like this." She ended it by gesturing to herself, recounting her final moments before she was strangled to death by the man she was fooled into thinking loved her.

“You didn’t jump into the river?” Intelli asked, to which Hinata fervently denied.

“No, I would never! I…I wouldn’t want to hurt my friends and family.” She stated, which Intelli quickly apologized for. But with that said and done, they turned their attention to the groomer and murderer in their midst, who looked at their rage and saw the gallows.

“B-boys, surely you can-!” Midoriya slapped the man across the face in a rare emotional outburst, sending him to the floor with a red cheek. Midoriya knew that was wrong, but he had met enough quirk spirits to know they rarely lied. The idea that one would have such an intricate lie prepared was just ludicrous.

"Save it, Aoyama." He turned to his friend, the two still injured. Still, they'd be more than happy to power through to keep Tobi in check, with force if needed, as a small voice in his and Faunalution egged him to cut out the provocation and jump straight to the forceful response.

“I’m already calling the police.” Aoyama was already on his phone, with the fire alarms having been shut. It would have been up to locals to call the fire department, but as there weren't sirens in the distance, it would seem like the fires hadn't been noticed. That could be easily corrected as the longer that he stood next to this scumbag, the more disgusted he felt.

“Hinata, do…do you remember what came after that?” Intelli asked.

Hinata took a moment to think about it. “He took my body downstairs to get rid of it. He looked scared, probably because he didn’t want to get caught.”

Downstairs was the boiler room, generally restricted to students. Looking at one another, Intelli turned back to Hinata. “Could you show us?”

20 minutes later, the school grounds were swarmed with law enforcement and firefighters; the latter rushed about ensuring that all the fires had been put out while the former handled the body recovery as Hinata led them towards the boiler room, the school being an old one, it still had old coal burning boilers, though they were inactive. At least, that was what they thought, as when they opened one, they found charred skeletal remains that could only belong to a human.

They led the police to it when they arrived, and they quickly started documenting the scene before they moved the remains for identification. In the meantime, they took their scumbag teacher off their hands, the two-faced man, one side pale and sweaty, the other red and swelling from Midoriya's strike, was cuffed and put into the back of a police car to be taken into holding.

Of course, as great a deed as what they did was, they had been questioned by the police as to why they were on campus and how they figured out a decades-old cold case. Intelli had explained her case to them, from how she and the murdered girl came from the same neighbourhood and that she used to be babysat by her, how she noticed her acting strange back then assumed she had a boyfriend, and how her behaviour started to change, concerningly so in the days leading up to her death.

She only managed to link all this to the mysterious boyfriend years later when Hinata's older brother gifted her his sister's necklace. She saw the Greek inscription on it. She realized that there was only one person who could have given her, and that fit all the clues Hinata had left in life, with her finishing her statement on how she spent the last 2 years digging into the man to try and prove it, with tonight being the smoking gun. The police praised her for her efforts but lamented the fact that she had to be the one to do it before promising that they'll get justice for her friend, with Intelli telling them she'll hand over any evidence she managed to dig up, all legally of course and that she'll swear to in the stand.

Of course, she gave her statement away from the two, so when it came time to explain the finer details of the night's events, including the cause of the rampaging fire. She could have been honest and told them what she knew. Still, she had decided to trust Midoriya when talking about the finer details, as he had asked her to before the police could arrive. So, she left out any details about Hinata, despite holding the doll in her hands that still housed her quirk, and framed it as a break-in from a villain that escaped in the chaos. They all claimed that they heard the person confront their teacher as well.

Nothing said was a lie, but they had made sure to leave this vague as possible or allow common knowledge to fill in the blanks. An hour later, all three were seated on the curve of the road, the two having been checked by the paramedics and told that they'd be heading to the hospital first, where they could finalize things while Intelli would be taken to the police station. Waiting for their parents after such an experience, holding a high-tech doll that housed what Midoriya said was not the soul of her friend but her quirk, Intelli finally asked.

"What happened back there?"

After the night they had, neither had it in them to lie. They explained the whole situation.

Chapter Text

“Text” – Normal speech

‘Text’ - Thought

“Text” – Radio/Communication lines

“Text” – None Japanese speech

(text) – Subtext/meaning behind a spoken word

Izuku stood alone in the chamber that had been designed for quirk partnerships. In the years since he first met Faunalution, the space underwent several massive upgrades. One of which turned it from a drab, white space to a much softer, welcoming one as the reinforced concrete walls were hidden by wooden panels; plants were allowed to grow in the space along with a small pond and a large table, which had just the seats opposite one another.

Of course, that didn't mean that security had been neglected, far from it, but that wasn't much of a concern for the 17-year-old high school 3^rd year. In fact, he looked calm as he walked around the space, wearing a similar garb to the last time he had been inside this room, as it had become a tradition to only ever enter it while wearing a gown with little else. But as calming as the space was, he wasn’t here for pleasure as he nodded towards a hidden camera.

Already placed on the table, an upgraded quirk containment cube was set up to the previous ones, with most of the locks that kept it shut hidden within the construction. With his nob, the technician in the other room started the countdown. “Specimen K-11 to release in 5…4…3…2…1.” There was a hiss as the airtight triple-sealed lid became undone, and immediately, a blast of frigid air shot out into the place from its contents as the quirk within climbed out.

Unlike when he had fought it before, there was no ice and snow construct; instead, the quirk was content to move about in its proper form, which was a sizeable vulpes-like creature. Its thick, entirely white fur was perfect for keeping warm and blending into the ice storms Izuku knew it could create with little difficulty. While small, at least for a creature the size of a grizzly bear, rounded ears and short muzzle helped it keep track of whatever he couldn't see, but with such piercing blue eyes, he doubted that much escaped its sight.

Letting out a whine as it yawned from waking up, the quirk starched out its body, from the tips of its paws to its long, bushy tail, which went straight. All the fur on its body stood on end before it all relaxed.

“Morning.” Izuku opened up the conversation with a cheerful wave. The quirk stilled for a moment before relaxing when it saw it was him.

“It’s you.” His voice was still as soft as freshly fallen snow and as cold as Arctic ice, but it wasn't unwelcoming. It was merely to the point. Besides, he could tell from how he was relaxed around him that he wasn't seen as hostile.

"I said I'd be back, didn't I?" Izuku smiled, as this wasn't their first meeting since they fought; they had spoken a few times, in fact, in the last two weeks. And with summer break starting just the other day, he'll have more time for it should the need arise.

“You did. Is she dead?” He asked, his tail waving about with a sense of unease.

"That's not what I said we'd do, but," He frowned, as the quirk was hyper-fixated on one form of justice. But he still pulled out a tablet and unlocked it, switching to a pre-downloaded news article and video as this far down, there was no unauthorized cell service.

He placed it down on the table and slid it over for the quirk to see. “Thanks to your clues, we were able to pass it on to a friend in the police, and they found the evidence. She won't be a free woman for a long, long time." The article talked about how a significant player in child trafficking in Japan had recently been identified and arrested and how, with the amount of evidence they have, not only had they been able to rescue over 70 kids being moved through Japan to markets across Asia, but the apparent Japanese ring-leader would be lucky if she only got 25 years in prison.

“But she’s still alive?” The quirk asked, as the article also stated that they hadn't found an estimated 30 kids who, sadly, were suspected to have been shipped a couple days prior. At the same time, they also found the remains of another 8. Izuku, at one point, wished to remove that or get their techs to edit the article to have the good. Still, he didn't want to lie, not about something as necessary to the quirk as the fate of the people who had kidnapped them, sold them and sadly, killed them.

"To face judgement and to give everyone else she hurt their time to call her out and hold her accountable. Remember what I said the other day." That being said, he wasn't afraid to be firm. He had to be in situations like this.

Despite having the face of a fox, the quirk still managed to emote a sense of annoyance and surrender. “Death is the cheap way out.” Hearing him say that made him smile.

“Good, but I hope you can take solace in that. She’ll pay for it-all of it.” He assured her that while they didn't have to pull with cops or prosecutors, at least nothing legal and/or provable, they could use their influence to ensure they threw the book at that woman and all her captured associates.

But with that done, something else needed to be addressed as the quirk looked around the space, not noticing that their presence was lowering the temperature further. “Does that mean I can go now?”

"That's the thing. We can't just let you roam free since you tend to make ice storms." Izuku replied as he thanked the fact his robes were thicker than average, but that only made the issue all the more concerning as many quirks they could just leave be, allow them to exist without hassle till they eventually faded away. Still, they had to take action against those who were dangerous for one reason or another.

“But I’m not mad anymore.” The quirk replied, his head leaning to the side in a fashion that was a little cute if Izuku was honest with himself.

"Not now, but you don't seem to like bad people." He rebutted.

“They need to die.” He sighed as that statement only proved his point. Sure, he wasn't evil, but he had a one-track mind, and that already resulted in causalities, as he explained during the first meeting, as his rampage before he was stopped killed 21 people, including 4 kids, not even 10 yet. That, more than anything else, was what convinced the quirk to talk, as even with its one-track mind, it could understand how his drive resulted in more kids dying.

"They need to be stopped, punished, and, if possible, rehabilitated. After all, some would call you bad because your last rampage hurt a lot of people." Izuku reminded him of that fact, which cowed the quirk as he lowered his head with an ashamed whine.

“But I didn’t mean it.” Izuku suspected that his conversation partner knew how weak and cowardly that response was.

“That doesn’t mean you didn’t do it.” He cut through it. “And be honest, if you saw someone else in need, or a bad person doing wrong, you would act, consequences be damned.” He didn't ask so much, as he stated an objective fact, which the quirk didn't refute.

Izuku hummed at that before taking a breath. "Figures, that's why I wanted to offer you."

“Offer?” The winter quirk asked.

"Yes, I would like you to join me. I want to be a hero who brings smiles, saves lives, and helps everyone. But to do that, I need the strength to take on anything life throws at me, to climb any wall between me and saving people." He stated that he had been doing this for years and had seen and heard things that made him sick to his stomach and, at times, made him want to curl up in his bed; some days, he did just that and missed school.

Like so many kids, he wanted to be heroes and save lives. While everyone had their reasons, he doubted that most understood what that meant as to protect and guide the weak and innocent meant staring into the darkness, witnessing all the evils of man, the cruelty of nature and the ever-present reminder that life, while precious, could be damaged and snuffed out.

But that only made his desire to become a hero all the stronger because he knew that such forces were out there, and with the knowledge that quirks were their own beings and could linger even after the user's death, he wanted to be that person who helped.

“How would that work?” The quirk asked, not against the idea but not on board, merely willing to hear him out.

“My quirk takes you in, and you kinda…well, live in it. And when I need your help, I can call upon your power.” Izuku replied that his quirk was unique, even among quirks created in his mother's lab. Others behaved like their natural counterparts, being just the one thing. Sure, they might have a wide range of abilities, but nothing too crazy. There was also the limit on quirk number as years of testing and experiments had allowed his mother and her team to theorize that quirks fit into what could be called slots in the body and that bodies- both man and animal could only take 1 safely.

To go over that meant that a new quirk had to force its way into but much like one could force a square into the triangle hole, that meant damaging the structure of the body to do it, damage that could result in diminished mental facilities and cellular decay. Tests showed that some had a higher tolerance to this. Still, even those with high tolerance showed signs of rapid cell ageing and death after only a few months, and that was in controlled, heavily monitored environments, which were often the best-case scenario.

But Faunalution seemed to create new slots within herself, removing the burden that would come from having multiple quirks while still giving him full access to their forms. Within his inner world, it was like they merely became residents of the forest and hero shrine he had in there, helping care for both and leaving their marks.

“But you have fire.” The ice quirk noted, confused.

"That's just one quirk that I've taken in, and if you don't accept it, she wanted me to apologize for fighting you. She's not a violent being." Hinata was a sweet angel, the first quirk he ever absorbed into (?); the two became fast friends, and the safe environment and having someone to talk to also helped the quirk accept what had happened to her original holder.

“She?” The quirk before him asked once more.

"She was once the quirk to a human, same as you. Someone that was wronged, and it took far too long for justice to be done, but it was, and we made damn sure of it." Izuku stated with conviction that he refused to allow evil and cruelty to go unpunished and unchallenged.

The quirk was quiet for a minute, mulling it over as he knew he could be…difficult at times and didn't want to hurt people who didn't deserve it again. And this human seemed genuine, even following through with the promise to make that witch of a woman suffer, but something scared it. “Will I still be me?”

Midoriya smiled, reaching for a handover. Despite how cold it was, he placed his hand on the paw of the quirk. “Of course, I wouldn’t offer this if it meant hurting you.” Hinata didn't seem any different than when they met, and her memories of her holder's life didn't seem affected either, as Intelli could confirm.

“And…we’ll fight bad people.” The quirk asked.

"We'll save people. We'll fight so that your story doesn't become common." Midoriya replied, proving that it was the pin that ended it.

“Okay.”

“Thank you.” Izuku got up and bowed. “I promise to be a good partner.”

The quirk giggled at the gesture. “I like you. You’re a good person. How does it work?”

To answer that, Midoriya revealed his belt buckle; removing it, he held it in his free hand, and his other started to get numb from the cold. “Just tap this, say your name and honestly state that ‘I accept’.”

Getting up as well, the quirk walked over the table before reaching its nose to buckle. “I, Hiroyuki, accept.” Its body started to glow before losing its form, becoming something akin to a winter storm, one that was quickly sucked into the buckle.

Blinking, Hiroyuki groaned, reaching to rub his eyes but stopping as…no, that wasn't right. Was…was that his hand? Suddenly awake, he got up and looked at himself, seeing his hands, arms, legs, and body. Reaching for his face, he felt it—smooth, chilled skin—that the frost-tipped fur he had gotten used to over the last eight months.

“I’m…I’m me?” For the first time in a long time, his voice was his.

“Not exactly, but close enough!” He jolted at the sound of another, but before he could even react, he was hugged by a delighted person who giggled after catching him.

"Welcome to our lovely little home. I'm Hinata. I hope we can be the best of friends." She stated that the girl's pale blue hair and wide smile somehow brightened the room or, more accurately, a clearing in the middle of a forest.

“Too tight.” He got out as her grip on him only grew stronger and tighter, but he was saved by someone else plucking him. Taking deep breaths, he saw that his rescuer was a taller teen, maybe 19 or 20, with bright blonde hair, deep purple tips, and pitch-black eyes. Also, he wasn't dressed in regular clothes but as if he was right out of those old samurai movies he and his family watched.

"Give the kid space, Hinata. He might not need to breathe, but" The teen spoke, their voice soft and strict as he turned his eye to him and gently put him down. “We all like to do it anyway.”

"But look at him; he's adorable, like a little winter-flavoured fox." The girl, who also appeared to be a teen, if a little younger than than the first one, pouted. Her sky-blue eyes and straight dark orange hair made an odd but pretty combo, and just that alone made him feel safe. Also, she seemed to be dressed in a similar style to the older one.

The older teen sighed, but Hiroyuki didn't detect any real annoyance. It sounded close to what sound his parents would make towards each other. "Sorry about her. She's overly affectionate, but you get used to it." He lifted a hand to him, which made him instinctively flinch, which the older teen caught with a frown, lowering his hand and kneeling to his level instead. “My name is Shigeru. It'll be nice to have another guy around."

“H-Hiroyuki.” He got out, a little embarrassed that he flinched when neither had done anything. If they noticed, they weren't making an issue of it. But he would like them to change the topic. “Where are we?” he asked as he was told he would be absorbed into that…whatever it was, but not much else.

Hinata was about to answer when another beat her to the punch. "Inside my inner world, my domain, and you shall treat me as its queen and undisputed ruler." Perched atop a tree was Faunalution. The girl looked much older than she once did, appearing to be in her late teens. She was dressed like a person of great wealth from the old days, along with numerous trinkets and jewels.

“Ignore her, she tends to try and screw with you when you first arrive.” Shigeru turned to their new occupant and brushed off their eccentric landlady.

Hinata's pout got more profound as she pounced on the larger, older teen, grabbing him in a headlock. “Don’t swear in front of the kid, Shigeru!”

“Pretty sure him learning sweat words is not the worst thing he can pick up from me!” He yelled back, leaving Faunalution to giggle into her sleeve at the show. At the same time, Hiroyuki was thoroughly confused by it all.

"Yeah, they get like that, but it's mainly just play…mainly," Izuku stated, appearing like he had always been there, causing the little 8-year-old to fall back with a surprised yelp. As he rubbed his bottom from the fall, he saw Izuku kneel and offer him a hand. “You have questions?” When he nodded and accepted the hand, Midoriya pulled him up.

“Then I’ll answer them the best I can, but why don’t we take a walk first?” He suggested, turning to leave the other two to argue once again. Hiroyuki turned to watch them but ultimately followed after Midoriya and Faunalution, who jumped down from the tree and landed without a sound, latching onto Midoriya like a girlfriend would her boyfriend.

Midoriya didn't react to this close contact. Instead, he waited for his newest quirk to speak, which didn't take long. "You said I would be taken in and be something like power for you?"

"Yes, and yes, but it's a little more complicated than that. You see, this world both exists and doesn't," Midoriya said, gesturing to the forest, the ground, and the sky above their heads. Of course, such an answer would confuse an adult, and the elementary-aged quirk had even less chance of understanding it.

With his brow creased in confusion, Hiroyuki asked. “How can something be and…not be?”

"Oh, to be or not to be, that is the true question," Faunalution added with a giggle, quoting some age-old playwork the boy had no hope of even knowing; even if he did, he probably wouldn't get the reference.

Still, it would save them time, so she gave him a summary. “Short explanation is that this world acts like the real thing, day and night, weather and temperature are all like it would be if this was the real word, but it’s merely a projection of his subconscious mind empowered by yours truly to take such a complex and large structure.” She took pride in that and made that clear to all that entered. Shame it wasn't something Izuku could just do with others.

"You'll get it the longer you're here. As for the power part, he can't force us to act; rather, he must ask, and we must give. Of course, being here means you've accepted him using your power, but if you ever feel like it, you could cut him off from it." She added when he saw it, he was still confused.

"That's why I'd appreciate it if you could talk to me if you have an issue, as I'd rather not have a repeat of Shigeru.” Midoriya said, the sun's beams breaking through the thick canopy, creating dozens of small streams of light.

Faunalution giggled at that as Midoriya signed into his hand as he stated. “He refused to allow him access to his power for 5 months. Didn’t even come out of his room.” That was a somewhat awkward time for everyone, well, everyone but a certain dog girl.

“Room?” Hiroyuki asked. This place didn't seem to have buildings, never mind the rooms they would stay in. Did they even need them? He certainly didn't need one after his death; he would just find somewhere to rest for a couple of hours and then be back on the hunt without issue.

Faunalution nodded as she saw they weren't far from their destination, as they could break in the tree line. "Oh yes, we all have our own rooms in this place. Our private spaces are where others can't get to them but can still communicate with them. You can style it however you like; there's no limit to it so long as you can envision it." She explained that the trio had broken from the trees and seen the spot where she and Izuku had met years before.

It had undergone some major changes, and now, a large traditional home had been built in the area, one that had everything they'd need.

“What about food?” Hiroyuki asked, staring at the building with a bit of awe. It was bigger than his old house by a wide margin.

To answer his question, Midoriya pointed back into the forest. “The forest has plenty of fruits and vegetables to harvest, and there’s a kitchen to the side with running water because someone thought it was annoying to fetch water from a nearby stream.” He pointedly looked at the quirk that treated him like arm candy.

“We don’t have television here, but I’m not some farm girl.” She replied, ignoring the fact that she didn't even need to act or drink. She didn't even know about those things until Hinata arrived and asked about them. Now, she took every darn chance to feast on whatever she managed to catch. He didn't know where the meat came from, as he had been here plenty of times and had never seen an animal other than fish.

As they debated that, Hiroyuki walked further in. His gaze moved from the house, the rows of statues, their once worn down appearance replaced with some restoration work, with none more so than one that stood at the centre of it all. “Is that…All Might with dog ears?” Hiroyuki asked, as the statue was definitely of All Might…if he were a buff woman with dog features, but that smile and hair were vintage All Might.

"It is. All these statues are heroes but with a little twist." Midoriya responded as Hiroyuki looked towards two of the other fully furnished statues—the first of Midnight and the second of Crust—with features that were further from the pros and more towards the two squabbling people he had just met.

"Isn't that Hinata and that Shigeru?" Midnight's hair wasn't nearly as wild. That expression that his mother usually hated him seeing was closer to the soft kindness of Hinata. At the same time, Crust's ragged face was closer to Shigeru's sharp but younger features. “But those aren’t their bodies.”

Midoriya wasn't absolutely sure about that. “I’m not too sure about it, but the way I see it, we’re our own heroes. So, these statues reflect that. Give it time, and one for you might appear. As for what hero you're placed over, I have no clue." He could speak with a psychologist, but that would require finding one who could be trusted with such information.

“Don’t worry about the choices, he’s a total hero nerd and spends almost as much time studying or sucking his girlfriend’s face as he does researching them.” Faunalution leaned close to the power to state this. However, she didn't bother lowering her voice as Midoriya looked away, his cheeks red at being outed like that while Hiroyuki.

“Ew, why would you do that?” He found the idea disgusting, which just made him feel worse. He didn't even know why he expected anything different from him as a child.

"I know, right? Humans are so weird. In fact, you want to hear about how he lost his V-card?" He turned in horror to his primary quirk.

“V-card?” Before she could elaborate on that point and just give them all more problems for her own amusement, he covered her mouth and dragged her away, kicking and screaming.

Powering through the pain of her biting his fingers with those enlarged canines of hers, he growled back at her. “He does NOT need to hear about that. Darnit, Faunalution, can't you not try to traumatize new people with that? I'm pretty sure that's part of why Shigeru refused to even hear my apology.” He had to learn the hard way that unless he put up a barrier, his quirks could see and hear all that he did, as Faunalution hadn't told him for years, and he only learned this when Hinata nearly saw him and Intelli kiss and understandably, have a panic attack.

That was one of the few times she had been apologetic about something and worked with him to make it up to the girl. But since they had done that, it had become just another item in the bag of stuff she could pull from. But not today. He stared her down before she rolled her eyes and relented. "Oh, fine. You're no fun sometimes." Letting her go, he made a face at the state of his hand, covered with her saliva and bite marks.

Grateful that it wouldn't carry over into the real world, he returned to the matter. “Anyway, do you have any more questions?”

“Sir, I got what you asked for.” Burnin didn't bother knocking as she entered her boss's expensive and, frankly, massive office. In her hands were a stake of reports she had managed to dig up from the Hero Public Safety Commission's files and Police reports. The first was easy to get, and she hoped it would be helpful since one of the duties of the HPSC was keeping track of cases and case details that involved heroes, which they did for legal reasons and allowing them and other heroes to review older cases.

Her boss, Endeavour, was also busy reading over reports he had retrieved earlier. “Place them there.” He gestured towards a smaller table, two in fact, where two secretaries were hard at work. A rare sight as they had their own office space and were only placed this close to Endeavour when he was working on something important and needed them close.

She placed the down, but before she left to return to her regular duties, she had a question she needed to answer. “Any luck finding leads to our vigilante?” It had been 2 weeks since the ‘Musutafu Storm' incident. Officially, after local heroes couldn't contain the problem, Endeavour came in. Both rescued the survivors and took down the cause of it, with the authorities publicly sending their condolences to the families of those who were hurt or killed by the villain's reckless rampage.

Unofficially, they got chewed out by the HPSC for the deaths of 8 people, as those were the ones they deemed that could have saved, and that was before they explained that none of the heroes or police present were the ones that defeated or captured the villain. Safe to say, it wasn’t to catch up or reward them when the commission president herself called them in to explain how the number 2 hero, one with more resolves cases than All Might, managed to allow a vigilante to escape with the villain.

Burnin shivered, as for a woman in her early mid-40s who barely looked like she spent more than 2 hours in a gym a week, she could instil a deep fear in you with nothing but those opaque turquoise eyes. Lucky for her, the woman had been willing to listen since, while embarrassing to admit, the fact that Endeavour's flames weren't nearly as effective against the yet-to-be-identified villain was enough for the woman to allow them to look into it.

"With that we have, I'm sure that…Caretaker's involvement is much deeper than we first thought." Endeavour wasn't as annoyed with the idea of this vigilante showing them up as he had been before, but then again, when was he not irritated? Burnin wouldn't know, as in the five years she's worked under him, she hasn't even seen him crack a smile.

 “The child trafficking case?” She asked as it had been on the news lately, probably to help people forget the recent tragedy by reminding them that heroes and police could still catch bad actors. It stuck out for the two of them because they recognized the woman being hauled from court to prison as the one their mystery ice villain was trying to kill.

Endeavour didn’t nod, expecting her to keep up as he did with all his sidekicks. "The police only put the clues together because someone was feeding them information. At least 2 classified informants stated that they got the information provided to the police from the same source." He tapped the report in question, and Burnin realized that there was just one person who could get this reaction from her boss.

“Caretaker.” She stated, wide-eyed.

"Whoever they are, they knew more than they were letting on that day. They also seemed to be able to find out a possible reason why our villain was obsessed with that Mizusawa Yasumu. The only issue was that she and her associates weren’t dumb, and from what we uncovered, they had been operating under our noses for the last 3 years.”

Endeavour's rage burned at that, as the vile woman had a base right here in Tokyo, and all of them had missed it. How many times had a pro been out on patrol and no more than 20m away, there were children in need and villains to stomp into the ground? But as angry as he was with the fact it took a vigilante to uncover that, there came the question of how would said vigilante even have known where to send them?

Burnin seems to have that same question. "Wait, but then how would Caretaker know all this? Was it involved? Were he and the ice villain working together to flush her out?" She seemed pretty damn scared when they saved her, which made sense as she claimed her 6 bodyguards were all killed by that villain, a statement they could prove, seeing how all were killed in the same manner involving ice.

"Maybe, but if that's all they wanted, they could have been cleaner about it and snatched her up earlier," Endeavour answered as they traced her whereabouts leading up to the attack. There were plenty of spots where the Caretaker could have snatched her if he had been involved. “No, it makes the most sense that he heard about it from someone else.”

"A pissed-off client, a disgruntled member of Yasumu's people?" Burnin asked, as while criminals didn’t rat each other out to the police all that often, their ‘honour among thieves’ didn’t mean that they wouldn’t talk shit to other criminals.

“All have been accounted for, and not a single one of them claimed that they leaked information. I doubt such pathetic criminals would play a hand in their own downfalls and just accept their punishments in silence.” Endeavour replied that the lowest sentence he heard one could get was still 7 years, mainly because they were relatively low-level in the group.

“One of the missing kids.” Burnin realized.

"My thoughts exactly. They'll know more about this than anyone, have a motive to want to see her dead, and would be willing to approach a vigilante rather than a proper hero." Endeavour theorized.

“Also,” he said, looking out the window at something that wasn't there. " That rampage would line up exactly with what an angry child could do, would do when they lose themselves to their anger." Those eyes, so much like his own, were filled with such anger and desperation. He could never forget them.

Getting back to the topic, his sidekick and secretaries didn't call him out for his little slip. Instead, Burnin focused on the topic at hand. "That would explain why Caretaker grabbed them and left. They had a soft spot for the little brat. But that wouldn't explain how they did that unless you and everyone else on the roof saw it differently from what it was. And it wouldn't explain why his flames were much more effective than yours despite being colder."

“Either way, we’ll be looking into the police reports on the children recovered and those suspected to have been trafficked. If we find the ice user, we’re one step closer to finding them and our vigilante.” Endeavour stated that he had narrowed it down to just 8 names on the list, but getting details on quirks was tricky since the bastards destroyed records of kids they lost or killed, so he was forced to call on the missing person's registry and see if he couldn't put names to faces.

As Burnin turned to leave, one of his secretaries stood up and briskly approached the man's desk, bowing as he gave him a folder. “Sir, we finished compiling the reports.”

Endeavour grunted as he took the folder, the secretary getting back to work as he perused the reports. They were all summaries of much lengthier ones, but that didn't matter as it proved a hunch he had after watching how…routine Caretaker was with his battle. “It seems that our case wasn’t the only one.”

“Sir?” Burnin turned to him.

"The commission wanted me to look into cases like this. Times were strange events where it wasn't heroes that stopped it, nor captured the villains, if there were any." He explained as he closed the folder and set it aside, looking his sidekick dead in the eye.

"In the last six years, there have been over 300 cases," he told her, which caused the woman to freeze in shock.

“Wait, what the hell? How did that many cases happen without anyone noticing a pattern.” Vigilantes were lucky if they could stop a dozen crimes without someone reporting them, and after that, they lasted maybe a year if they were exceptionally skilled, but to have lasted that long and handled that many cases was unheard of.

Endeavour suspected he knew what she was thinking, but he kept it to himself that he suspected the number was a gross undercount since those were reports that professionals and law enforcement knew about. Plenty of crime happened that they didn't find out about until it was too late. A good example would be the child trafficking ring.

"I would say it's because the number of hero-related cases in a month is over sixty thousand in major cities, and they must have blended into the reports. The other would be that all of them lead nowhere as pros and police on the scenes never saw a villain or a vigilante." He stated that many of the reports had been sparse on details because they didn't have any to share.

Strange things would be reported, and by the time law enforcement arrived, the situation was handled, most times with minor property damage or signs of a battle/take-down. They hadn't even got into the reports from smaller towns and rural communities as those areas had much fewer heroes and police, so incidents could happen without them even knowing about it or being chalked up to kids playing.

“So Caretaker’s been one busy bee.” Burnin guessed, but the man shook his head.

"Not just him, all these incidents, across Japan? One person can't do all this. He has help." He suspected, which made Burnin frown.

"A network of vigilantes? When was the last time one of those was a thing?" Those had been a thing of the past. Still, when heroes became regulated professionals, most had fallen apart or were dismantled by heroes. If she recalls her history correctly, the last major one was declared dismantled around 15 years ago. She was sure most of the vigilantes caught were either still on patrol or had been released.

“Once we finalize this, we'll return it to the safety commission. With their approval, he can dig deeper into this as I don't like being in the dark, especially about something like this." Endeavour said as he looked at a blurred image, one of the few they had of Caretaker, taken as he was escaping the scene with a still functional traffic camera.

Chapter Text

“Text” – Normal speech

‘Text’ - Thought

“Text” – Radio/Communication lines

“Text” – None Japanese speech

(text) – Subtext/meaning behind a spoken word

“Izuku, how’s the training been going?” Midoriya turned to see Aoyama approaching him, catching up with him as the two walked towards the school gates.

"Pretty well, though getting used to the cold is challenging." Midoriya replied as he looked at his hand, flexing it a couple of times as he recalled the hours he had spent over the last few days trying to work with Hiroyuki's powers. His latest quirk was more than willing to lend him power, but just because he had access to it didn't mean he knew how to use it or even had a tolerance for it, so in cases like this, he had to slowly build that up.

Aoyama started listing off powers on his hand. “Before you had your base, your fire form, and your darkness form. So it makes sense adapting to ice would be hard.” He noted in French that he was waving at other students as they walked by.

Midoriya hummed but was just as curious as his friend. “How about you?” He imagined that Aoyama was much further along with his training, as he regularly focused more on refining than creating new moves.

Aoyama smirked at the question, boasting. "I've had a top-class quirk for years now, and while it might be hard, I still find ways to improve."

"If you could improve your modesty as well, maybe you'll be the perfect package," Intelli noted as she walked up behind them, her eyebrow raised at Aoyama, who acted like he had been struck.

"You wound me. Why should a man lie when he's as good as I?" Both rolled their eyes at their overly dramatic friend as Midoriya wrapped a hand around her waist. She gave him a kiss on the cheek, which was their way of saying good morning.

“But that does rise the question of training.” She noted, ignoring how some girls whispered about them being the perfect couple or the school icons. They had gotten used to it considering they were the top students.

“Would you like to join?” Izuku asked as she laughed at the suggestion.

"I already do, just not always because my role won't be fighting up front." Intelli wasn’t weak, but she wasn’t a fool. Even if quirks were left out of the equation, she knew what sort of intense work-out the two boys kept up with. She wasn’t complaining, as it made their private moments all the more engaging and stimulating, but that wasn’t worth trying to keep up with them when they worked out. “No, I was thinking we change things up a little.”

"Should we focus more on stamina than strength?" Aoyama suggested that they work on that, as he felt they could.

In return, she gave him a smile that both said much and nothing at all. “What I have planned will work on both, trust me. And it won't just be us. I've invited some of the others."

“The oth…wait, you didn’t.” Midoriya didn’t like the look in her eye as she leaned close to him.

"I already did. It's been too long since we were in the same place, and with a lack of incidents, they all agreed to meet." She stated, which made me anxious. The rest of the cleaners, people like him and Aoyama, were a…cast of characters. He'll give them that. But handling them always left him exhausted in more ways than one.

“At the labs?” He wondered if their training rooms could handle that many, but Intelli shook her head.

“You remember Dagoba beach?” She asked him, which made the boy groan.

“Did you have to remind me?” He muttered as he recalled that place all right. He had taken her there for their first date back in the second year after reading about how the place was this great couple's spot, only to realise when they got there that those reviews were horribly outdated, as the place had become a literal dump. He nearly cried at his idiocy and the fact that he was dating an angel, who only laughed it off before she took him to a nearby park instead.

"We'll be meeting there around 8 a.m. Saturday. I'll explain everything when we're all there." She explained to him, which made him wonder why she didn't just tell them now.

“We’ll be there.” Aoyama agreed with Intelli, who smiled and offered another kiss to her boyfriend as she broke contact with him.

“Great, I’ll see you two later, I need to run some errands before class starts!” She rushed ahead, waving at them as she entered the school grounds.

Days later, with the morning sun rising in the distance, the two artificial quirk users walked up towards their destination. The sounds of seagulls and waves slowly coming and going on the beach were only ruined by the fact that they could neither see the sun's rays reflecting off the water nor feel the seawater spray on their skin. Instead, they were met with mountains of trash, some as small as a couple of boxes for stuff like phones or shoes, while other pieces of junk were as large as fridges and even a couple of cars. Accompanying all that was the repugnant scent that had them both holding at their noses.

"Bright and early," Midoriya noted with little optimism. The green-haired boy had decided to wear a long-sleeved green muscle shirt with a brown fur-lined sleeveless jacket, finishing the look with blue jeans and red high-top sneakers.

“Oh, did this place smell this bad the last time you were here?” Aoyama asked, as he had smelled some terrible things, often when out on the hunt, but this place was surely in the top five. Where Midoriya had dressed more casually, Aoyama didn't know the meaning of such. Instead, he wore a slim-fitting white button-up, a rich blue coat with yellow trim, and a pair of black cargo pants with white and blue boots.

“I couldn't tell you; I try to block out that memory," Midoriya replied. The two were carrying bags with their work-out gear, but it was still unclear why this was the sight for their training.

“Hey, is that you guys!” Only to be interrupted when they heard someone familiar approaching. “Hey!” They waved a hand their way, a big smile on their face, though Midoriya doubted he or Aoyama had ever seen him without one. Even from a distance, they could tell the boy-yes, boy, approaching was more significant than the both of them and built like he spent half his day in a gym while he wore casual clothing, that being a pair of brown shorts, red tee, and traditional sandals, this only highlighted the fact he was covered in large, toned muscle.

His buzz-cut hair might have given the appearance of a person who was strict in all areas of their lives, but anyone who knew Yoarashi Inasa knew that he kept his hair like that mainly because he was too hyper to wait for barbers to style it, anything else.

When he got to them, Yoarashi didn't offer a handshake but instead, a double hug, pulling back to his chest with a laugh that vibrated from his chest into theirs. "Yoarashi, somehow I expected you'd be here even earlier than needed." Aoyama told him as he let them down.

"Of course, I would be! The earlier you start something, the faster you can have fun doing it!" Yoarashi replied, getting a soft chuckle from the next person.

"If nothing else, that attitude will serve him well if he gets into U.A." A teenage girl, who was between Midoriya and Aoyama in height, noted that her light pink hair, unlike Yoarashi's, was longer, being shoulder length, and styled as her straight bangs parted to the left, tucked behind her ear and left to fall over her eye on the right. Her eyes might not have had the same energy as them, appearing to be docile and tired, but she was proof that looks could be deceiving.

In terms of looks, she wore a pink knee-length dress with a raised collar covering her neck but exposing her shoulders and arms. On her stomach was a large egg-shaped mark. On her feet, she wore gladiator sandals, her look finished with puffy, cloud-shaped earrings, bracelets on both wrists, and the large white fluffy jacket she had on, which made it seem she was being hugged by a cloud. “Morning, you three.”

While Midoriya and Aoyama greeted her with a wave, Yoarashi was the loudest and most physical as he rushed over and gave her a hug as well. “Morning, Fuwa-sempai!”

Fuwa laughed at the younger yet much larger boy's affection, patting his shoulder as he let her down. "Yoarashi, I graduated this year, remember? You had a tear-filled speech at our graduation and cupcakes for us." She smiled at the memory, as while others could be put off by how intense and passionate Yoarashi got over things, she saw it as an endearing and sweet aspect of his character.

Even if he wasn't good at something, he still tried, much like baking, but not a single member of her graduating grade told him he used too much flour because they knew he made them all himself and baked his heart into them.

"That doesn't change the fact you're still my respected senior who helped inspire my class. I hope to do the same with my underclassmen now!" Yoarashi replied, with the older girl letting out a soft, melodic chuckle as she had complete confidence that he already was.

"Yikes, like this place totally sinks. Why couldn't we meet at the mall or maybe the park?" A new girl walked over, waving her hand over her revolted-looking face. As different as Fuwa Mawata was to Yorashi, Utsushimi Camie was her own person. Her fawn-coloured hair was left long, reaching below her shoulders with portions of it braided. Her dark brown eyes both made her look upset-minded but also made it hard to get a read on what she was thinking about.

 Her revulsion only made her plump and glossy lips all the more prominent. She let her curvaceous figure show with her choice of clothing: a sleeveless, form-fitting black shirt, frilly yellow skirt, shin-length black leggings, and white platform heels. To try to soothe her sinuses, Utsushimi pulled some gum and popped it into her mouth.

“Your guess is as good as mine, Utsushimi. You finish that assignment over the week?” Midoriya asked her, with the girl smiling as she continued to chew her strawberry-flavoured gum.

"Yeah, I hunted down our issue and handled it super quickly. Pros didn't even see I was ever there." She gave him a high-five at that statement, as she had been pleased to see the news talking about some stuff fire that broke out in the industrial area of Saitama, but that authorities had no clue what caused it or who put out most of it. They didn't even have a blurred image of her this time around.

“Wow, when was the last time I saw all of you in the same place?” Another voice asked, making Midoriya cringe. He hoped he somehow would have skipped or been busy. "And is that you, Midoriya, old buddy?" The group turned to the next person to arrive, the second tallest guy with black, shaggy hair. However, it was merely so dark brown that it only appeared black. Like Midoriya, his hair was unruly, sticking out in all directions.

His warm brown eyes were a loose diamond shape with a fox-like intelligence and slyness, but that was something he could easily mask with his great acting skills. Not if that was apparent from his choice of clothing, which included a white shirt, a green and black unbuttoned cardigan, jeans, and yellow and green shoes.

“Shindo.” Midoriya awkwardly greeted the older teen, who laughed it off and wrapped an arm around his shoulders.

“Oh, don’t be like that! I thought we were friends.” Shindo stated, Midoriya’s eye drawn to the bracelet he wore around his right wrist.

“Shindo! How’s it been?” Lucky for him, Yoarashi stepped in and saved him from that conversation, as Shindo let him do to address the big guy of the group.

“It’s been great, been keeping things clean in my neck of the woods, but I did notice more cops around.” He replied with Utsushimi snapped her finely manicured fingers at that.

“Wow, cut the talk, I wasn’t the only one? I totally thought I bombed or something.” She worked hard to ensure she wasn't seen the last time.

"They've been increased pros around here as well, especially from Endeavour's agency, but that could be because someone was seen by Endeavour during our last hunt." Aoyama nudged Midoriya's side, the boy rolling his eyes at his friend's statement. Even if he had remained unseen like Aoyama had, a quirk had caused visible, real damage in the middle of town. There was no way they would be able to avoid attention after that.

"I had a feeling that it would be you. Did you ask for his autograph or something?" Shindo teased him, and the rest laughed at that as Midoriya let his face fall into his hands. He confidently told them all he was a hero fan, and then Yuga called him a hero otaku. Now, they couldn't get through a single encounter with any of them without someone making a joke about it.

“Stuff it, Shindo.” He kept it shot.

“Good, we’re all were.” Intelli spoke up, walking up with the last member of their group, their newest member, Sekigai Kashiko. The spectacle wearing girl had a similar style of dress to Intelli, as they decided to who for button-ups and dresses for the day. “Let’s get down to the beach before we talk.”

“Do we have to? The place is making my nose bleed.” Utsushimi asked as the group turned to follow Intelli into the trash-covered dump, with Utsushimi muttering that she’ll murder a bitch if her hair smelled funny after this. Popping another piece of gum before following them in.

"Well, Intelli? Is there any particular reason we came here, of all places?" Shindo asked, gesturing to the piles of trash that surrounded them. From them, they could see what must have been rats and other garbage drivers scurrying about.

“It is a rather odd destination.” Fuwa stated. Though she wasn't as in the dark as the rest of them.

"Well, I was thinking the other day, and my first date with Midoriya came to mind," Intelli started. Midoriya groaning at the reminder while the rest snickered at his pain, Intelli ignored it and merely continued. "He only thought this place would be a good idea because of outdated reviews, which got me thinking."

"This entire area is meant to be a beach open to everyone, where people should have fun, dip in the waters, and even have a barbeque. Yet all this trash is here instead. Searching around, I found that the tide has a habit of dumping junk thrown into the sea here, and after that, people started throwing trash here and pretending it all came from the sea." She waved around them, the point being clear as Utsushimi pointed out an obvious problem that covered.

“Like, how would the current get a truck here? That seems like a typhoon’s work.” Utsushimi noted that a literal American-style pick-up truck was sticking out of one of the piles. The thing was covered in rust, missing a wheel, and looked like it had been beaten with a bat even before its last owner decided to trash it.

"I'm still more interested in why someone dumped a truck, to begin with. You could sell it for scrap instead, at least make something out of it." Midoriya added, as seeing all the vehicle remains just made him sad.

Intelli smiled at the two. “Regardless, this place has become a shell of what it should be. So wouldn’t it be heroic to clean this place up as our training?”

“That sounds fun!” Yoarashi replied, immediately on board, but some of the others were still skeptical.

"Community service, you mean?" Shindo pointed out, looking at the lay waiting for them, the kind of stuff that you see prisoners doing.

Intelli shrugged, not denying the statement. "Why not. Isn't the core of hero work helping people? We can't just focus on chasing down quirks and villains. After all, what if a kid thought this was a good place to play and got hurt? I've already seen 8 loose needles."

“And you didn’t tell us!?” Aoyama asked, now hyper-vigilant for any more that he could step on or trip onto.

“I thought you noticed them; not like they’re hidden.” Intelli pointed out one, and it was clear as day, especially now that they were all looking for them. Those that wore open shoes "Either way, I've already drawn up the plans for how we spend the next 6 months cleaning this place up."

She reached into her page and handed them all a set of papers to look over, their names and crude pictures of them drawn on each. Opening them up, they found it wasn't just work-out schedules or informing them who would be where as they cleaned, but a nutritional and sleep schedule as well, with time taken out for school and studying. As they read, they saw it was flexible in case they needed to drop whatever it was they were doing and go on the hunt.

“No quirk use?” When he got to page 3 of the plans, Aoyama noted no earlier mention of how their quirks factored into this. Still, the last paragraph explicitly stated they couldn't use them. It was illegal to use your quirk without a license, but that law was so outdated and rigged that most barely enforced it, and when they did, it was a slap on the wrist. What would someone be doing if they saw them? Report them for using their quirks to clean up public property free of charge?

"Not for the first 3 months. We might all have them but can't let our physical performance drop. Don't worry; I brought plenty of gloves and stuff for us to wear and medical supplies in case you cut yourself on something." Intelli explained that she wasn't excluding herself from this, nor would she put them at unneeded risk. Hence, she spent most of her savings on ensuring they had the best gear she could find and plenty of supplies to treat anything that could reasonably get if they were infected.

“Great…my hair is going to smell like…I don’t even want to know what that smell is.” Utsushimi shuddered as she'd burn through who knew how much shampoo when all this was said and done.

“If it helps, I have face masks.” Fuwa opened her back, revealing she had bought her 2 boxes of medical face masks.

“Please and thanks, fam.”

Clapping her hands together, Intelli smiled at the group. "Well then, if that's all, why don't we change and get started?"

Yoarashi didn't need much convincing as he laughed as he rushed off, looking for the changing area. “Let’s do this!”

“He’s certainly motivated,” Shindo noted, but then he got into a thinking mood. But I have to admit, it would be great bragging rights to clear this place." His fox smile revealed that he had far less than what one would call heroic thoughts.

Midoriya shook his head. “Of course, that’s where your mind is.”

"Says the one who's doing this to impress his girl." Shindo shot back almost reflexively, making the younger boy freeze for a moment.

“Hey, I have other reasons.” He turned back to the devious plotter, who laughed at his statement.

“Do they include impressing Intelli?” Midoriya opened his mouth, then closed it, repeating this a few times before he turned away in defeat.

“…Damn you, Shindo.” He muttered loud enough for the guy to hear, with Midoriya hearing him crackling as they walked to follow after Yoarashi.

And with that, their 6 months of training and community service began. As per Intelli's frankly highly detailed notes and instructions, they all took a different part of the beach and cleared it, piece by piece. They started with the smaller piles to give themselves a straighter route to and from the beach when it came to disposing of whatever they collected, carrying or dragging whatever it was to a truck she rented for them to take stuff away. Still, they didn't just toss things because she wanted to be extra about it.

Anything that could be taken to a recycling plant had to be sorted into separate piles: paper, metals, glass, and certain kinds of plastics. This work was not fun for anyone, and at times, it required them to open trash bags. It wasn't even a few days in before they all wore masks and carried air spray to bathe them in so they didn't gag on the horrid smells.

Starting early, they worked throughout the day on weekends and spent 2 hours during the week on it after school. At the end of each session, the driver would deliver their recyclable goods to the appropriate place or just get the trash to an actual dump. But when they weren't straining their muscles, lifting, dragging, or pulling large and heavy loads through the beach sand, they were working on collecting even the tiniest pieces of trash they could find.

Glass required them to get garden tool-sized meshes, which they would work through the sand to collect anything small or otherwise buried. Metals required metal detectors, which, while slow, did help ensure that when they finished a spot, however small, it was clear of junk. It was slow work, as without quirks, even weekends meant that they only gathered around 8 trash bags worth per person. Still, they were making steady progress as paths into the beach became cleaner, the smell that made the place a no-go zone was starting to fade as the sources of it were found and handled.

It wasn't to say that they were all skipping school, quite the opposite as their older members, Fuwa and Utsushimi and as much as it pained him to say it, Shindo. Who was more than happy to help them study for the upcoming entrance exams for university, as they already knew what to expect even if they didn’t give them all the details. But while rewarding in more ways than one, it was still a brutal schedule. When threw in how, at times, they had to drop what they were doing when sent out on the hunt, it was understandable that just 2 months in and the strain was already taking its toll in the form of the group being tired during class.

Aoyama actually fell asleep during English, leaving Midoriya to explain that they had been training and studying harder than normal and how that had been affecting their sleep. Their teacher was concerned by that statement since Midoriya and Intelli looked close to passing out themselves and instructed them to take it easy, which they agreed to take into consideration and then soundly ignored.

In between cleaning sessions, they also found time to train in unarmed combat, with their friends who were already enrolled in hero courses being more than willing to show what they learned, which mainly meant leaving them groaning in the sand or, in Shindo's case, forcing Midoriya to tap out 9 times out of 10. When the time came to use their quirks, they had already cleared enough of the beach that one could see the sea beyond from the stone steps, which got them some love from the locals as a few older folks would stop by and thank them, offering drinks and snacks to keep their strength up or telling them tales of how the place used to look like and what it meant to them.

Good thing, as when they used their quirks, that clean-up process accelerated as people like Yoarashi could both move loads equal to it would take 10 of him to accomplish but also train his fine control, same as Aoyama who created light platforms to load trash into and take in single trips, saving him time. Even Fuwa got in on the action, creating pink clouds; she used them to carry things about for her like servants, even taking naps while her quirk worked to practice how long it could act with simple orders without her conscious input.

The rest who couldn’t use their quirks to clean the beach used them in other ways as Utsushimi focused on creating more detailed, sturdier illusions and often without telling them to test how someone both unsuspecting and suspecting would react. Midoriya trained his ice close to the water, firing into the sea and trying to create constructs, freeze the water into barriers, or even just send ice through the soles of his feet to walk on the water's surface-which ended with him being soaked more times than he cared to count. Sekigai merely kept track of where everything was.

Kids love that part on the weekends and seeing them sparing with quirks. However, they had to keep them back as the cops gave them legroom, as it were, for essentially breaking the law because they were close to or already legal adults and mainly used their powers to serve the community. Add the chance of kids being caught in a training accident, and that could quickly go away.

“You seem excited about today.” Shindo noted as he watched his opponent getting ready. Around them, the rest watched the two with eager eyes, but also relieved once as their 6 months of cleaning had gone. They had gone far beyond even their best expectations as the once junk heap was now a clear, bright beach where one could return and take in the sights, the waves, and sun. Or they would; snow might still be a few days off if it wasn't December, but that didn't mean the temperature wasn't freezing outside.

Crouched, Midoriya continued to stretch his legs and knees. Despite the cold, he wore much looser, thinner summer exercise gear. Shindo has worn more appropriate gear for the weather. "It's the day I finally beat you; of course, I'll be excited."

Shindo’s smirk only grew at that response. “Didn’t you say that before, and the time before that?” Midoriya’s twitch only made him happier.

Finishing his warm-up, Midoriya stared his foe down, ready to correct that terrible win/loss ratio between them, hero training or not. "I did, but those were spars without quirks. This time, I can use it." Midoriya tapped his belt buckle, and the warmth he felt from the quirks inside gave him strength.

Shindo instinctively reached for his right wrist, where his bracelet sat as it always did, a similar feeling from it emboldening him. "I like the confidence. Just keep it up for the entire fight, right?"

From the side with the others, Sekigai stepped forward. “Are the two fighters ready?”

“Yeah.” Midoriya replied while Shindo nodded. The spectacle girl looked both over before stating:

"The rules are simple, the fight will be decided best 2 out of 3, and the winner is decided by me, by submission or knock-out. Also, please remember this is a public beach we've been working to clean, so don't do anything crazy." She felt the need to remind them as one never knew when it came to them. Despite being the older of the two, Shindo liked to push Midoriya's buttons; meanwhile, despite knowing that, Midoriya always fell for it.

“Understood.” Still, they both consented, so Yoarashi could fire them both into the freezing ocean if worst came to worse.

“Then begin!” With that, she jumped back. Not giving his foe a second to think, Shindo stomped his foot on the ground, a wave of vibrations shooting out towards Midoriya, who rolled to the side to evade it, but Shindo saw that coming, his foot shifting to face him again, the wave of vibrations through the sandy beach shifting in toe.

Evading once more, Midoriya back-flipped away, increasing the distance between them, the waves chasing after him, and the distance closing as they picked speed. Landing on a rock, he used it as a springboard to launch him back towards Shindo, the distance he had built up meaning little as he felt the power from his quirk coursing through his veins, granting him power that he could never achieve before.

Seeing him coming, Shindo crossed his arms to block the punch. He barely felt it, but the force shifted him back in the sand. Countering his arms, started to aggressively vibrate, seeing what was coming, Midoriya quickly disengaged, but Shindo still caught him with a straight push kick to the chest, his leg aggressively vibrating as well, sending him back a couple meters. Midoriya didn't just take it, however, as he bounced right on back, a right cocked as Shindo raised his arm to counter, the limb starting to vibrate.

That was a feint as Midoriya launched a kick with his left, his shin smacking into Shindo's unprotected side. Tensing his muscles, Midoriya followed through with the strike, his leg extending all the way and knocking Shindo off his feet. Surprised by this attack, the older boy recovered quickly, flipping himself mid-air and landing on his feet. Now that was a hit, he felt.

Laughing a little, he reached for his bracelet in full view of Midoriya. "That was a nice warm-up, wouldn't you say? But I think it's time we stopped playing around." Shindo asked him, Midoriya matching his smile. He grasped his belt buckle with his left hand while his right hand placed a palm over his heart.

“Lets.”

Chapter Text

“Text” – Normal speech

‘Text’ - Thought

“Text” – Radio/Communication lines

“Text” – None Japanese speech

(text) – Subtext/meaning behind a spoken word

The day had come, and with less than 3 weeks left in high school, it was his time to take U.A.'s dreaded entrance exam. Standing at the gates, watching others walk past, some confident, some nervous, some as cool as cucumbers, he wasn't in the last group. The raven-headed boy understood that the U.A.'s exam was one of the, if not the hardest, exams in Japan, as was expected of a university that has produced some of the best heroes, support engineers, doctors, and other professionals. U.A. didn't just make the best; they only recruited the best.

That was why he spent the last 2 years training both his body and his quirk, as it wasn't enough that he had a powerful quirk; he knew that he needed to be exceptional with it; dark Shadow had to be excellent. Along with training, he ensured that he didn't just keep up with his studies but excelled in them. Did that mean he had the best grades in his class? No, but maintaining a position in the top 50 of his grade since the first semester of 2^nd year was nothing to scoff at.

But all that was merely the prelude, steps taken to ensure he had a foot in the door, but today was the day that Fumikage Tokoyami secured his place here.

"We're about to enter halls that were walked by giants. Be ready, Dark Shadow." Tokoyami stated; his quirk, a sentient bird-like creature made from Shadow, popped from his gut, curling around him before offering him a thumbs-up.

“Right.” Dark Shadow replied, but this drew the attention of someone else.

“Hi! Is that your quirk?” They turned to see a green-haired boy wearing a uniform from a school he was pretty sure was private. The boy was also uncomfortable close, with a notebook and pencil out.

“It is.” He answered, leaning back a little, not that this seemed to phase his guest who went on a tirade.

"That's super cool! I never get to see other quirks that appear sentient. Wait, is it sentient? If so, does your quirk need to eat or sleep independently from you? Does it need to be tethered to you, or can it pop up and travel away from you?" He kept asking questions, many of which he didn't even hear as he started to mumble, talking less to him and more to himself as he began to writing God knew what in that notebook.

“Izuku, you’re doing it again.” Someone else walked up, wearing the same uniform as the first. The blonde smacked his classmate and presumable friend's back, drawing him back into reality as others looked on, just as confused as Tokoyami.

Getting a little embarrassed, the boy awkwardly chuckled as he took a couple of steps back and bowed to Fumikage. "Oh? Oh! Sorry about that. I tend to get carried away when discussing quirks; it's sort of my hobby." He stated as his blonde friend walked on ahead, with the green-haired boy waving at him as he rushed to follow. "Anyway, sorry about that. I hope to see you later!"

“What a strange boy.” Tokoyami stated, wondering if they’ll meet later.

Fumikage sat in the auditorium; the room was mostly complete, with a few stranglers still walking in. Looking around, he saw the two from before seated a few rows down, the two in a hushed conversation that he couldn't make out much of, but he did hear them mention quirk something and how many they were present; what a strange topic. Of course, there was an abundance of quirks; U.A. attracted the best and brightest; as cruel as it was, to attempt this without one was just foolish.

But the minutes still went by, and the doors were closed; if anyone meant to be present wasn't, that was on them. Tokoyami didn't spare that much thought as the lights dimmed, ceasing conversations in the room before two lights lit up, facing the stage. Along with them, a massive screen displaying the school's logo came on, all of which highlighted the figure that stood front and center on the stage facing the room of hundreds.

“Hello, party listeners to my special yearly show, the U.A. hero entrance exam, so make some noise for the one and only Present Mic!” The voice hero: Present Mic yelled out, not needing a regular microphone when his quirk made him louder than a rock concert should he wish. There was a single cheer from the ground, the green-haired boy from before waving a hand and yelling yeah.

“Loved the enthusiasm, my wonderful listener, so let’s get to the meat and potats, are you ready?" Present Mic thanked his single participant before trying again.

"Yeah!" He got double the feedback, but when the first was just the one, that only meant that along with the green-haired boy, his blonde friend was waving a hand as well. The two seemingly did not notice or care how the rest were looking at them, leaving Tokoyami wondering if they were merely those eccentric types.

“Yeah, come on, party listeners, where’s that spirit?! This is U.A. you gotta have some passion if you want to pass this test.” Present Mic wagged his finger at them before leaning back. “Well, we'll see if you're saving that energy for the exam. Speaking of, the hero course has a 2-stage exam. The first will be a written exam covering everything you learned in high school. I hope you paid attention as it'll cover stuff from Japanese, math, sciences, social studies, and my favorite, English.”

Hearing that made many in the crowd sweat, groan, or mumble that they were in serious trouble. Tokoyami found it foolish on their part, as while the hero course prioritized hero-focused subjects, that didn't mean they slacked off on other stuff.

Besides, heroes worthy of the name needed to be well versed in other subjects; things like Japanese and English meant that they could have better communication skills; social studies like history and geography could prove essential when searching for people in a crisis or for villains if you understood the area. In contrast, things like science proved especially valuable if your quirk worked with such fields, or could be affected by them. He imagined that pros like All Might and Endeavour needed to know a lot about air pressure, trajectory, and fire.

“But that’s just part one! Part two of the test will be a 15-minute mock battle. You’ll be grouped up and taken to one of many areas to fight against some enemies we arranged just for you.” The screen behind him split to show a center circle labeled 'you right now' with 7 other differently colored spots connected to that circle, labeled A to G. Looking at his card, Tokoyami saw that he was group D, with chatter from people around him speaking to confusion. Through it, he heard the green haired boy telling his friend that they must have intentionally broken up people from the same school to ensure that they didn’t work together.

Also, when he looked at the two, even in the dark, his crimson eyes saw how they looked around the room, as if they were little more than excitable children taking in all the sights. But there was something off about them, as it never seemed like they were looking at the students, just in their general direction. Were they concerned that someone else would notice them?

Before he could ponder that further, Present Mic continued to speak. “Each place will have 3 kinds of villains worth a point value from 1 to 3! Your job is to use your fancy quirks to take out as many of them as possible to score the best you can. Of course, the higher the point value, the more dangerous it'll be so if you can't handle them, no probs-just focus on the weaker ones!” As he spoke, the screen behind him changed to show the silhouettes of 4 different kinds of enemies, 3 of which had the assigned point value he had mentioned.

"Of course, attacking other examinees and other unheroic actions are against the rules. If we catch you doing it, you can say goodbye to U.A.!" Tokoyami thought that would be a given, as they were aiming to be heroes, but perhaps some needed to be reminded, or U.A. had to say it for legal reasons, as some might make that easily spotted mistake and attempt to bring legal action to the school after the fact.

“Excuse me, I have a question!” Fumikage turned to see someone standing up, holding something-maybe the info form they had been given.

“Okay, listener 711!" Present Mic also noticed them as he pointed towards them, which got one of the overhead lights to turn on and direct to him, allowing them to see that it was a rather tall boy with a muscular build and glasses.

Holding up the info card, the student began to ask his question. “The printout clearly states there are 4 types of villains. You only mentioned 3. If this is a misprint, then surely U.A., the most prominent hero school in Japan, should have caught it before it ever reached our desks!” Tokoyami raised an eyebrow at that. Was the student asking a question or trying to shame the school for what he believed was a mistake?

Not done in his tirade, the tall, spectacled boy turned towards where the two students Fumikage had a run-in with earlier were seated. "In addition, you with the curly hair, your incessant mumbling is distracting, if you think this is some pleasure tour, leave now!" Tokoyami remained silent, but his eyes narrowed as people laughed at the two. It seemed that the boy wasn't taking the comment lying down as he jumped to his feet.

"If it's such an issue, why are you the only one complaining about it?" Tokoyami was impressed. Before, the boy had been jovial but a little scatterbrained, but now he was confident and sturdy.

Before the spectacled boy could respond, Present Mic broke it up. “Alright, break it up, gentlemen, save that passion for the exam, yeah? As for the issue with the 4^th type of enemy, it’s the last and most dangerous of them all, but it’s worth nothing, just there to be an annoying obstacle. It’s not impossible to beat, but when you gain nothing, why bother?” With his explanation, the screens changed again to highlight that mysterious 4^th target, with a large 0 underneath it.

With his answer addressed, the spectacled boy bowed and sat, the same being true for his would-be argument partner. “Thank you!” The light over his head shut off, leaving only Present Mic with any focus on him.

“That's it for me, folks, but before I go, I'll leave you with our school motto, as Napoleon Bonaparte once said: 'A true hero is someone who overcomes life's misfortunes.'” Tokoyami could firmly agree with that statement, both in his past and in his future. He had endured, and he would continue to, for the sake of protecting the innocent and punishing the wicked.

" Go beyond: Plus Ultra! "Present Mic jumped off as the robot took his place to manage this part of the exam. Tokoyami placed his bag on his desk and grabbed everything he would need for this part. Once he had everything, including double-checking that he had spared all of it in his bag, he waited for the written portion of the exam to start.

5 Gruelling hours later, Tokoyami felt like that written portion had been more to torture them than anything else. They had been given just 4 hours to go through 30 pages worth of questions on topics ranging from geography and proper English sentence construction to the periodic table, complex mathematical questions, and Japanese history. The raven-headed boy had barely finished the test with time to even check half his work before the time ran out, many others sullen as they handed over what must have been incomplete answer sheets.

Afterward, they were given 30 minutes to relax and either buy lunch or eat what they had packed, many being too mentally drained to carry much of a conversation in the interim, but he did note the boys from before being the exception, laughing about something he didn't hear. He wasn't the only one who picked up on their merry mood as another blonde approached, seemingly shocked to see them before getting progressively angry with the two. He eventually marched off right as Fumikage thought they'd start to fight.

After lunch, the attendees were given 10 minutes to change into their exercise clothes, separated by their groups, and loaded up into busses, which led to him being here. Looking up at the daunting walls around zone D, he wore simple red and black sweats, as he didn't need special equipment for this. Having had time to rest up, many had regained their confidence as they waited on the countdown, talking with others or merely showing off their physical prowess or quirks.

As if it were fate, he spotted the green-haired boy from before off to the side, wearing the strangest workout clothes he had seen to date. For some reason, the boy had decided to wear a white shitagi(undergarment) underneath a black kosode(Sleeved top) and hakama(Pants) with white tabi(Toed-socks) with the look finished off with a pair of waraji(sandals). Fumikage saw others also wondering about the eccentric dress code of their mysterious member, who rocked on his heels, looking to the side.

“He’s talking with his quirk.” Dark Shadow informed him, popping out slightly while maintaining its gaze on the other two.

"Is his quirk similar to you?" Fumikage asked, thinking that perhaps that was why the boy was interested in Dark Shadow, a fellow attendee with a sentient quirk.

Dark Shadow shrugged. "I don't think so. She ain't tethered to him, and you and the rest don't seem to be able to see her." Truthfully, there was something off about that dog girl, but he couldn't put his finger on it. As he continued to watch them, she seemed to notice him and pointed them out to her holder. The boy turned and smiled when he saw them, waving as he jogged over.

"What luck, a familiar face happens to be here as well." The green-haired boy clapped his hands together, appearing to be pleased with the development, while dark Shadow kept his eyes on the boy's quirk, which was latched to her holder with a smug smile.

"I would hesitate to call us familiar," Tokoyami replied, which was met with a laugh from the boy, who was back in his previous happy mood.

"Well, that can change, especially if we both manage to pass. We could end up in the same classes." Tokoyami nodded, though he assumed that it would just be the hero-focused ones. Outside of that, he had selected different classes to take up his time, and he doubted that his…acquittance made the same choices.

“Speaking of which, what do you think of Faunalution? Not many people can normally see or hear her?" He seemed happy as if this was a rare chance to talk about his quirk in a way that most couldn't. Tokoyami suspected it was, but sadly, he couldn't answer.

"I'm afraid I can't answer that question, as I can't perceive her." His response dampened the other boy's mood, though his brow creased slightly in confusion.

Leaning his head to the side, he asked a follow-up question. “Then how did you know I was talking to her?”

Before Fumikage could explain the situation, Present Mic yelled at them.

“Okay, start!" Fumikage and the rest turned up to the massive tower where Present Mic stood, swinging his arm at them. "Come on, there's no countdowns in real life; get moving if you want those points!" He yelled again, with Fumikage not needing to be told twice and turning to rush in, only to see the green-haired boy far ahead, his limbs covered by the flowing robes he wore, his speed much greater than he had anticipated. But he looked different, as his form shifted as he ran in a flash and burst into flames. People had been shocked by this before, but before anyone could question that, in the next moment, he re-emerged.

The boy looked completely different, as his skin had taken on an orange tint, with dark orange fur jutting out on their hands, ankles, and neck. Atop their head, their hair had also shifted color, matching his new fur, while he gained a pair of long rabbit-like ears. Seeing a 1-pointer, the lead attendee didn't slow at all; if anything, his speed increased as he kicked off and, with a flip, brought his heel down on the robot's head, smashing through it with ease and crashing into the road, leaving a small hole in his wake.

Not even waiting for the bot to fall, he was off, charging a 2- and 3-pointer by leaping into the air and coming down with a swift, piercing punch to the back of the 3-pointer and a fire ball thrown into the face of the 2-pointer. With them defeated, the lead continued his onslaught; even as Fumikage and the others caught up and started fighting to destroy points, Fumikage couldn't help but marvel at how the other boy moved.

He seemed to jump, leap, and dance through the targets like he was born for it, his kicks, knees, and elbows denting or smashing through their cheap metal armor while fire flowed off them like water off rocks. At some point, his limbs burst into flames, increasing the speed and power of his strikes, and yet, despite it all, his clothing didn't catch light, merely fluttered and danced with his motions like he was not fighting but dancing tribute to some Kagutsuchi.

Such movements, the precision, and the timing of the attacks dwarfed the rest of them, and even as Dark Shadow tore through bots, he couldn't help but feel like a novice watching an experienced professional. Was this kid one of those who had training before this? How extensive was it to create such a result? Two 3-pointers rounded the corner and to confront them, the flames around his shins concentrated into fireballs, rolling to their feet as they bounced and juggled them as if they were soccer balls before sending them both into the air, spinning on his heel and kicking both of them towards the robots, the first striking a 3-pointer in the head, the other just above it for the second.

Seemingly satisfied with him, the figure bounced off, leaving the rest wondering what they had seen.

“What the hell?”

“He…he did all that?”

“I could barely keep up with his moments.”

'Those defeats must have netted him a score of at least 40 points already." Fumikage thought to himself, impressed and intimidated by such an elegant yet decisive performance from the boy who turned out to be an enigma. But Present Mic announcing that 5 minutes had passed got him and the rest to focus on their battles. He'll worry about that gree-orange furred boy later. He had to secure his spot in U.A. first.

Running past another 2 and 3-pointer, Uraraka tapped both with all fingers and thumbs, a pink flash emanating from the point of contact between the cold steel and her finger-tips, her primary quirk activated and negated gravity’s effects on the two machines, meaning just a gentle nudge was enough to send them flying upwards, unable to counter or fight back. Taking a couple deep breaths, he brought her hands together, with the ends of her digits touching.

“Release.” Another pink flash occurred as she deactivated her quirk, sending the bots crashing down and leaving them little more than a pile of spare parts. "That's 28 points…!" She counted, not feeling nearly as drained as she used to, thanks to the 10 months she had spent rigorously training with her master, but despite that and having his quirk, she hadn't found a chance to use it. Looking around, she saw another horde of villain bots coming right for her and the rest that had made their way to the plaza area of zone B.

“Solar Beam!" Two beams of bright yellow sunlight raced out from the side and struck most of the bots, piercing through them to strike at others. Looking to the side, Uraraka saw that the source was a foreign-looking boy dressed like a samurai or something. He also seemed to be a mutant as his body was covered with feathers like plums made up of reds, yellows, and blues; at least his chest was while his head was crowned by 3-large rainbow-colored feathers that constantly shifted color while his eyes were kaleidoscopic of bright colors. Lastly, he had a sizeable peacock-like tail seemingly made from a rainbow with its many feathers and constantly shifting colors.

He wasn't unarmed either, as in his right hand, he held a massive two-handed blade made from yellow sunlight, and in the other, he held a smaller dagger-like blade made from yellow sunlight. Resting the larger blade on his shoulders like it weighed nothing, he shot her a wink and an air kiss. “Merci! We made a great team just now, leaving me with 24 points. But I must say, merely dropping your targets is such an inelegant art." The boy shook her head, with Uraraka only taking some offense to where he got off when he had fewer points than her.

"I bid you adieu!" Before she could say anything, he was gone, sprinting off low to the ground before those feathers she had seen before burst forth and carried him into the sky, at least until he vanished from her sight.

"That was strange, but he must be strong if he did that." Uraraka wondered about that, but she had other worries, namely getting more points as the competition around that was already hard enough. Just to the side, she saw the taller glassed dude from earlier sprint towards a 2 pointer and destroy it with a kick. "45 points!" Uraraka flew into a minor panic, 45?! How did he score that much already? It hadn't even been half the time yet!

Running around, she did her best to add to her score but found the pickings to be few and far between as she mainly had 1-pointers and a couple 2-pointers. Around her, it seemed that the speedster and the rainbow bird boy were leading in that front, using their superior speed to target robots and move on before most could even try.

But there was a difference between them as the speedster rushed about, attacking whatever he could get his eyes on. In contrast, the rainbow guy struck like a bird of prey she would see on nature documentaries, picking his targets and swooping in for a quirk, graceful strike from his blades or firing a blast of yellow sunlight from a distance. More than once, he struck bots that seemed to be trying to get the jump on people, and whenever he did get in close, his movements were graceful and…well, elegant.

Swinging his great sword like it was little more than a stick, he buried it halfway to the hilt in the body of a 3-pointer before throwing his dagger into the face of a 1-pointer a distance away. Jumping off of his defeated foe, he left his weapons behind as he saw another group of machines heading right for them. Landing in the middle of the street, he brought his hands together, gathering light between his palms before holding up the gathered light for all to see and be blinded by.

“Reflect!” He cast as he set out the ball of concentrated light, which flew towards the incoming 2^nd wave, only to burst into a giant glass wall blocking the entire road and both sidewalks. The villain bots, undeterred, rushed right into it, but instead of smashing through what looked like glass, they smashed right into a hard light construct; many were sent back, damaged. The rainbow boy didn't wait as he was already in the air, his tail and arms out, their feathers stretched as he gathered white light, not yellow, in his two hands.

“Moonblast!" He fired off the attack, and unlike before, where it was a straight strike, the white light curved and twisted mid-flight, striking almost every single bot as the boy shifted his hands like a puppet master, directing the duel blasts to snake their way through the horde, punching through limbs, heads and chests before a moment later, the light faded away, leaving nothing but scorched and shattered debris in his wake as the rainbow slowly landed atop the pile, his rainbow peacock tail remained standing and open, shining its multi colors light on them.

Turning to face the rest, he cupped his face and smirked at their awe of his power. “Style and magnificence, ladies and gentlemen. If all the world's a stage, one must be an exceptional performer." He told them as he swiftly left to find more targets, leaving the rest wondering if they could match that, as that single strike could have easily been worth 25 points!

As the examinees battled their way through the practical exam in another location, they were all being extensively watched and graded by a panel that included not just the staff of the university but representatives of the Hero Public Safety Commission, though the latter was mainly there to ensure that problematic students could be flagged early. Like with any year, there were some that drew more attention than others for one reason or another, and this year was no different as the cameras in Zone B focused on Aoyama right after he finished wiping out a good chunk of the 2^nd wave.

“Quite the stunt from him.” One of the professors noted this with minor approval.

“Seems like it’s putting too much effort into looking good rather than gaining points.” Another countered, their gruff voice carrying how little they cared for such theatrics.

“Perhaps, but he certainly has the skills to make up for that” Another spoke up, a feminine voice contrasting the first two.

Another voice, much chipper than its counterparts, chuckled before speaking. "I have to agree; he's well aware that this is a timed event with a limited number of targets and is acting accordingly. Clique as it might be, he has an eagle's eye for this. His ability to gather and analyze information proves to be a critical skill in his toolset." As he stated this, they watched as Aoyama on screen kept his head on a swivel, his rainbow eyes taking everything around him, even the small details, before he quickly acted on that information, either by blasting enemies with light or slicing and stabbing them with those hard light blades of his.

"He's not the only one that's handling himself well; check out Zone D." One of the other professors pointed out, with the many different screens miniaturizing while one enlarged, showcasing Midoriya battling through the bots, moving in a fashion that reminded a couple of the Rabbit Hero: Mirko. The lad certainly had the bunny look down, though the flames were unique to him. He, too, was performing well, but the fact that he was dressed the same as Aoyama didn't go unnoticed.

“Oh, is he related to the chap in Zone B?” The chipper one asked as another scrolled through their files on the two, pulling up both applicants forms, they skimmed their details.

"Hmm, it seems not, but they attend the same high school. Perhaps they're friends." They replied that both came from a high school that typically produced doctors, engineers, and mechanics. U.A offered all these courses, but neither had put those down even as a secondary option. A weird choice if not for their performance thus far. They aimed for the hero course and showed the potential they looked for in their applicants.

"Oh, adorable. They decided to wear matching outfits for the exam. They probably thought they'd be in the same arena." The woman from earlier laughed, though not in a mocking fashion, as she rather enjoyed the idea that the two were set on being a dynamic duo.

"They have outstanding quirks. That much is clear. And they have a firm grasp of what they can do with them." One of the HPSC members stated, making a note of the two, as they had not been informed that the son of a famous researcher was such a strong hero candidate or that his quirk could function in such a way.

“Where one excels in information gathering and speed, the other excels in keeping a level head and agility.” The chipper voice stated, their shadowy form being the smallest of the gathered as they picked up their tablet to read through the files on the two. Clicking around for a moment, he stumbled onto something. “Oh?”

“Something the issue?” One of the others asked, only for the smaller figure to wave them off.

“Not really, but I would suppose it’s time we up the stakes and give them their final test, wouldn’t you say?” Flipping open the cover, the figure pressed the button labeled Yaruki.

While the screens returned to their normal size, the diminutive figure with beady eyes remained on Midoriya's screen. He had no idea that Inko's boy was here or that he had such a versatile quirk. ‘Let’s see what you can do, Midoriya.’

Tokoyami had just earned his 47^th point when the explosions rang out across the area, shaking everything. Dark Shadow instinctively retreated to him, wary of any debris, as they both looked around, trying to find the source of this.

They didn’t need to wait long before they saw the cause of the destruction rumbling towards them, the 0-pointer, which wasn't just bigger than the rest; it was colossal as the massive construct of wires and steel towered over them and the buildings. Its hands were so massive that they covered a large portion of the roof of a nearby building and, with little effort, crashed it, sending debris raining down on them. Looking on with wide eyes, Tokoyami recalled what Present Mic had told him and realized why this was meant to be an obstacle. How were they meant to even begin to tackle this?

"Holy crap, that's a big one!" Dark Shadow yelled as the 0-pointer punched down at them, missing them, but the force still rocked the entire street and threw up a large dust cloud. That display of power proved enough to get the examinees to flee, as they had nothing to gain and everything to lose if that beast decided to focus on them. "Less than 5 minutes left!" Present Mic's announcement only made them all the more eager to leave and try and find whatever stranglers remained to be defeated.

"Wait, there's someone in danger!" Someone yelled, ignored by most of the people. Still, Tokoyami was an exception. He looked through the fleeing crowd to see who said that before he landed on a redhead rushing towards the threat. Tracking his movement, Tokoyami saw someone trapped by some debris, a white-haired girl who seemed to be trying to free herself but couldn't. Seeing someone in need, he didn’t hesitate as he rushed in to join the rescue effort.

"Dark Shadow!" He ordered, his quirk shooting off towards the debris, which the redhead was already trying to clear, but while the smaller pieces were easy enough for him to toss aside, he had to take time smashing apart larger ones. With Dark Shadow entering, that workload drastically decreased as they worked even faster, but the ever-approaching rumblings reminded them they were on a time limit.

"Hey, we'll get you out of here, don't worry!" The redhead told her, all smiles as he smashed apart pieces of rubble trapping her.

The girl turned a blue eye to him, the only one visible thanks to her bangs covering her face. "Thanks, but there's too much stuff to move. That stupid 0-pointer nearly buried me in debris." She tried using her quick again to make it easier for them, but this much concrete, wood, and steel was far greater than her limit. Even when she tried using it on the stuff immediately touching her, the weight of the rest of it kept it firmly in place.

"Then we just need to work harder," Fumikage responded. He started to sweat as the 0-pointer closed the distance, and while he liked to think that it wouldn't run them over, it certainly wasn't slowing down.

“Betterment!" Someone yelled before Tokoyami felt an energy surging through him, making him feel stronger than before. He wasn't the only one who seemed to feel this surprise buff, as the redhead's strike did more damage than before. Through the dust and smoke, someone else came in from on high, spinning before they whipped at the debris covering their trapped fellow examinee. "Tail Strike!” They called out.

Both boys turned to them, with their appearance being that of a brown-skinned teen, with lighter-colored brown fur covering their clawed hands as well as around their necks like a natural scarf. They had alert red eyes and a dark dog-like nose with large pointed ears jutting out the top of their head, a bushy tail with a white flower-shaped pattern on its tip. If not for the fact that they wore the same outfit from before, Tokoyami would have never realized that this was the same guy from before, only swapped from this flame rabbit to this canine one.

“Hurry up, I’ve increased your strength and decreased the durability of the rubble the best I could!” He yelled at them, his words clear and authorities in this dangerous situation. Neither Tokoyami nor the redhead argued as they followed his words, with even their captive finding that her quirk's limits had been raised, letting her help more. But the mysterious newcomer's help proved invaluable. With mere seconds left, they cleared the debris, with the white-haired girl sending the rest flying off her.

Dark Shadow grabbed the now-freed girl as they fled, all except their brown-furred friend. "What are you doing? We need to run!" The redhead yelled towards them, with Fumikage being liable to agree.

"If this thing isn't stopped, others could be put in danger; go on ahead; I'll handle this!" He didn’t turn to them, just told them to run.

“How?!” The girl asked, Dark Shadow letting her down since she could run on her own. Their rearguard didn’t answer her question, rather Tokoyami saw him reach for his belt and tap what must have been his buckle.

“Bring the wrath of Winter, Hiroyuki.” With that request, the temperature rapidly dropped as a white blizzard burst into being around the transformed boy, getting cries of shock from the two. Still, like Tokoyami, they kept running. Still, they kept their eyes on the swirling blizzard, seeing ice forming on the ground where the source of this stood, followed by snow falling. Waving their arm, the swirling dissipated into nothing, revealing them in their 3^rd form of the exam.

Their skin was deathly pale, a shade of blue that one could only find on a corpse, with their hands being the darkest blue. Along their arms, they could make out fur that was a lighter shake to their hands, closer to the shade of blue that now was their skin. Their thick brown curled tails were now straight and had the same color pattern as their arms, while atop their head and forehead rested a 3-point crown made from ice, with the largest piece being center; attached to this were two bangs, part blue fur part clear blue ice. Their dog-like ears were thicker and wider and stood taller on their head.

Letting out a breath, what poured from this new wintery fox-person lips was frost, bitterly cold as the temperature around them continued to drop, only now it was to a much greater extent as it wasn't just where they stood that froze over. Still, everything in 2m of them froze over, finding itself covered in at least 2 inches of jagged ice. With his arms out to his side, two brilliant blue orbs of pure cold formed in their hands before they brought them together in a clap.

“Snowscape!” With that command, the ambient heat of the entire area, climbing up the sides of the buildings, nearly instantly vanished, leaving nothing to keep the cold from rapidly filling in that void, creating a localized snowstorm that covered the entire area in ice and snow, Tokoyami and the other two just barely escaping the area of effect but even then, they shivered from just being near it. The 0-pointer took the brunt of it as the intense drop in temperature warped the metal that made its treads, gears, and armor, slowing it down while the ice continued to sink deeper, piercing to its very core.

Not done, the icy student held up both hands over his head and concentrated, allowing them to see ice rapidly forming above them, gaining shape, mass, and intricacy as what started as a simple pole mutated and shifted as it was crafted into a massive finely decorated spear, from the end of the shaft to the tip of the spearpoint, shapes and faces were carved into its very bearing, scenes from battles between heroes and villains, of people being saved, of animals enjoying the wilderness.

All this was there and visible because the finished product was the length of 2 school buses and wider than a bed fit for one person. Breathing heavily, with frost covering their exposed body, the figure shifted his aim with his spear and fired it. "Ice Shard!" With that cry, the massive spear was telekinetically thrown as hard and fast as a javelin, right for the slowly freezing 0-pointer’s chest. The already frost-covered metal stood no chance as the spear pierced through, destroying everything in its path before half its spearpoint stuck out the other side.

Suck a scene stunned the students, seeing the dreaded 0-pointer, something so powerful that they were told to flee not just be confronted, but so thoroughly defeated as it stood, its front nearly entirely encased in a thick layer of ice. In contrast, a gigantic spear of ice remained, piercing its chest, the death blow to it. Tokoyami had only ever seen such power, such a threat cloaked in ice, once before, months ago. Was…was this the same person?

No, no! That was impossible! The heroes caught them. They were surely in prison somewhere, and if not, why would that person who caused that and killed so many be here? Dark Shadow nudged him, and through their link, he could detect his confusion and wariness. "What is it?"

"Fumi, that boy…he has more than one quirk," Dark Shadow said, catching him off guard as he looked at his quirk in shock.

Still, he kept his voice low as he responded. “Are you sure about that?”

"He had the dog lady before…then when he shifted and he was fighting, I saw what looked to be another girl." Dark Shadow gulped, a rarity as while he wasn't at his strongest, he was well above his timid, weakened state. To make his quirk seem this scared wasn't something Fumikage could ignore. Now, right next to him, he has this little kid…and they're looking right at us."

Looking towards them, the shadow quirk saw that the two had turned to him and that they both shared the same full blue eyes. Their pupils were just a few shades darker than the rest, but still enticing…and also dangerous. Soft like snow, but brutal and biting as ice. As beautiful as a snow day, as lethal as a snowstorm.

Chapter Text

“Text” – Normal speech

‘Text’ - Thought

“Text” – Radio/Communication lines

“Text” – None Japanese speech

(text) – Subtext/meaning behind a spoken word

It had been a few days since they held their entrance exam for the spring class. So far, Nezu, the small and oh-so-huggable chimera that served as dean for U.A., had seen through the grading and class assignments for their coming business and support course. All that was left was to look over the general and hero course applicants, but his mind had gone back to 2 students, in particular, more than once since that day.

Now, he sat with the teachers who would be handling the many classes that the potential students signed up for, looking through footage to count which and how many robots applicants managed to destroy or damage, as well as reward and debate any rescue points that they might have earned while doing it. "I understand that we don't tell them for a reason, but it's still disturbing how little of them manage to earn rescue points above 30.” Snipe, the best marksman active in all of Japan and tenured professor of U.A., lamented.

They had told the students about the basic villain points, which they got through defeating or damaging the army of robots that they had sent after them. Still, a secret grading system was designed to allow those with a heroic heart and not necessarily the physical quirk or drive for combat to shine. The rescue point system was rewarded for heroism during the exam, like helping others, saving them from danger, attending to the scared, wounded, or confused, etc.

"It's a sad sight, but if they knew about the hero points, they'd clean up their act, and we need to judge them as are." His fellow professor and a man renowned for his work in reconstruction efforts, Cementoss replied.

It was kept secret to give the examiners like them a chance to see part of the true character of the students, and sad to say, that while many scored decent points when it came to combat, well, if they could give negative hero points, they would for more then a few. No one had attacked another exam taker outright, but they got close to the disqualifying mark. Even among the ones that so far were showing promise to have the top 10 scores, around 40% hadn't even managed to get that 30 rescue points.

"Regardless, while concerning that they behaved in such a manner if they make the cut, we can work on getting it out of their heads that hero work is all about being flashy and breaking things." Ectoplasm stated as they watched over one student, one with a prey mantis-like appearance, as they jumped around, cutting at any target he could with blades jutting out of his arms. Did he seem like he was having too much fun? Perhaps, but that wasn't a crime when, odds are, that had been a rare time for him to cut loose with his quirk.

Snipe let out an amused chuckle. "We don't need to; so many are in it for little more than fame and money that once they learn about the less-than-pretty parts, they drop out or request a transfer." He didn't feel much for said students; for those who requested a transfer rather than ran, he respected them, as it took a big man to know when he wasn't built for something.

Midnight, a teacher who had built their brand on being R-rated and the bane of parents across the country, looked through some of the feeds. "Despite that lack of heroic actions, some have great potential as combat-focused heroes; they seem to be purposely avoiding others and more locked in on the given task. Hopefully, we can help such be less narrow-minded."

Her screen showed some of Iida Tenya clips, the youngest son of the Iida hero family. The boy seemed like he had a solid head on his shoulders. He knew his limits but knew how to work around them, at least in a crude fashion. He seemed great at following orders as he went at the task with a zeal that she found exciting, but he was incredibly stiff and too much like a toy soldier.

Then there were those like one Bakugo Katsuki, who took the idea of combat to the extreme as he, unlike 80% of students they've looked through thus far, hadn't seemed to have done a single action worthy of a hero point. But he more than made up for that purely on villain points, as they were halfway through the exam and already confirmed he had destroyed 50 points worth of targets and didn't seem to be slowing down.

"And where some seemed to only help when they could, we have students that seemed to forget all of us just to lend aid." Vlad, one of the taller staff members with an overbite, noted that he turned their attention to something that had caught their attention when it happened. Uraraka Ochaco absolutely destroying a 0-pointer. All to save someone that appeared to have been in danger. Quite the feed if not for the massive drawback she suffered.

"That was some crazy power; I've never heard of a gravity quirk that could shatter your bones like that, have you, Eraser-guy." Present Mic asked the silent member of the staff, a tenured professor whose general attire and demeanor either gave off crack-head or homeless, two descriptions they all knew the man hated.

The hero in black remained silent for a moment before finally speaking. "I've seen plenty of quirks that can hurt the user, but never this quickly or to this extreme." He replied. "Don't call me that." Present Mic shot his fellow teacher double finger guns, which the man ignored.

“Recovery Girl, any thoughts on the issue?” Ectoplasm turned to the university nurse, who, while not a lecturer or instructor, still provided valuable opinions and observations on students' health and prospects. In fact, more than once in the past, her veto led to students being rejected for medical reasons.

The aged hero hummed in thought, one far past the point where most retired. "Aside from the fact the girl seems to shape up to be one of our more reckless ones?" She shot their newest instructor a pointed look, which the skinny man looked away from with a cough. “She reported that her quirk changed around a month ago. Tests showed that what was believed to have been the ability to negate gravity's effects on things seemed to more. However, they couldn't run enough tests before the exam."

Nezu nodded at that. “Then I trust you can run some tests after the semester starts, but is that a reason for us to bar her?”

"No." Recovery Girl shook her head. "It's still a new development, and she healed well enough when I saw to her. It merely seems to be a harrowing case of growing pains."

“Then we move from someone that broke their bodies to someone that broke our expectations.” Nezu shifted gears to a story he really wished to sink his teeth into, with a freeze frame of when Midoriya shifted into his flame state. “Quite the story with this one.”

Snipe agreed with him as he quickly put the boy's exam number on his tablet so he could look into his academic record. "No kidding, with credentials like this, I'm surprised he didn't try his luck with the recommendation exam. Or did he not have someone willing to sponsor him?" He smacked said tablet after reading it, as the boy not only attended one of the top technical high schools in Japan, but it was on a partial scholarship he earned back in middle school. He had also managed to maintain top grades the entire time and was certified as a junior EMT.

"That I can't say, but his performance more than keeps our attention as I've never seen something like this. Inko's boy is a real treat." Nezu's statement got the rest to look at him.

“Inko?” Midnight asked.

"Hmm? Oh yes, I know his mother, though I wouldn't call us friends." Nezu waved off, as he had only met the woman a few times at conferences. However, he did recall the first time they met quite vividly, around 13 years ago during a conference. She was quite the animated individual, passionate about her craft and highly eager to debate it or any other scientific field with him. It helped make the trip a little more pleasant for him as more than a few other scientists there looked at him like he was still something to be studied or something to dismiss.

“And you kept this from us.” The hero in black cut to it.

"Oh, worry not, Eraserhead. I can assure you that my connection to her is far too weak and professional to cloud my judgement. Besides, I know lots of people!" Nezu laughed it off as if Eraser wished to be pedantic about the fact that most students who get in through recommendation couldn't qualify if he remained on the judgment panel because he knew either the sponsor or family.

"Moving on from that," Midnight got them back on track. "There is the issue of the boy's quirk. Uraraka's is one thing, but where have you seen a quirk that functions like his? He switched from a base animalistic transformation to a fire and ice form."

“I’ve certainly never heard of such a case.” Ectoplasm stated.

“Nor have I, though his quirk details are just as perplexing.” Recovery Girl, as the university nurse, had access to all medical records for potential students, including quirk records.

“What does it say?” Nezu asked, as not even he could access them. Well, not without a good excuse, alibi, and, preferably, some blackmail to keep any consequences from sticking.

“His quirk is called Faunalution, which grants him the ability to shift into different forms, each with unique abilities. At present, it says he has 4 forms.” Recovery Girl frowned, as that description was nearly comically vague and lacked actual details. "It also states that he and his classmate, Aoyama, both require support tools to access their quirks." In his case, it was the belt buckle he always wore.

"What a wonderful detail lacking description." Vlad crossed his arms, as that was a surface view of the quirk. Indeed, there was more, especially with an unprecedented case.

"From the reports, he had a similar quirk discovery as Uraraka, as before his quirk was a standard case of 3, which granted him a transformed form and the ability to boast certain characteristics in others, a rather useful support quirk like myself." Recovery Girl explained.

While quirks were classed into one of 3 groups, Emitter, transformation, or Mutant, the truth was that technically, most were mutants in some regard as their quirks altered their bodies in the some way from what a quirkless person's would be like. They merely weren't called so, as those mutations were passive and often hard to see without medical knowledge or a test of some kind. Transformation types with emitter capabilities were also known, though not as common as either case. However, it wasn't impossible to have instances of case 3 where one displayed elements from the entire range.

"Still, it seems fantastical, almost like he has more than one quirk." Present Mic flippantly added.

“Pardon, Recovery Girl, but when did young Midoriya unlock his quirk?” Their newest teacher asked, with Recovery Girl sparing him a knowing look before looking at the date.

"It says here that he unlocked his quirk at 10. He had been diagnosed as quirkless at the age of 4. Still, it seems it was later classified as a lab error that gave the misdiagnosis." She replied before, with a whim. She looked up at Aoyama, and her frown only grew. "The same is true for Aoyama. In fact, they seem to have acquired their quirks around the same time." She, their recruit, and the dean all frowned, but the rest missed this shared concern.

"Must have made quite the story. I'll reckon that's how they become friends." Snipe chuckled as that was quite late in the game, but then again, quirks, by their nature, were confusing and, at times, needlessly complicated. However, knowing that only made their newcomer, Nezu and Recovery Girl, all the more worried, as 8 years was how long ago they got theirs, so, in theory, it was possible.

Shaking his head to clear his thoughts, Nezu stated. "We can look into that later; let's focus on his grading, yes?"

Days later, Midoriya, along with Intelli and Aoyama, sat and relaxed in the upscale Tokyo apartment owned by the Aoyama family, waiting for their results to arrive. Intelli had received hers the previous afternoon and quickly cleared the process to get into Seiai's girl's university, one of the best in the country but one in the picturesque coastal town in eastern Chiba prefecture. U.A. was also located on the coast of southwestern Shizuoka. That meant they'd need to start planning how and when they could spend time together, as even a meeting in Tokyo meant hours’ worth of travel for both.

Yuga sat in an armchair, leg elegantly crossed over the other while he read a book. Intelli was doing the same while Izuku laid his head on her lap, dozing. The space they found themselves in was befitting of the wealth that the Aoyama family had required thanks to its work in politics and winemaking back in France, with the décor of the family room they occupied being inspired by the styles found within the homes of the upper class of French during the 19^th century, down to the fact that didn't have a TV. Still, instead a fireplace with a record player/radio off to the side, styled like 19^th century styled graphophone. The device currently playing a soft, soothing melody.

Even with their results still not confirmed, both were sure that they had done enough preparation and that it paid off as Yuga even let his two much brighter friends tutor him, something he didn't often do because they frequently left him confused and lost when discussing study material. And with their high school career set to end in just a few days and a lack of reports of quirk spirit activity, they had been taking the chance to just relax and enjoy the quiet moment while it lasted.

For Aoyama, he thought back to what he saw that girl do; she seemed so inelegant and rough but humble and sincere. He had been, if he was allowed to sing his own praise, styling on the rest with his wondrous performance and the power that came from Luminance, using the light he had absorbed from the sun and moon to easily defeat the mechanical enemies sent to meet them. He had never taken on something as significant, or perhaps it was more accurate to say as large as the 0-pointer. He had reframed from fighting it, choosing to retreat to try and score points in another area.

But he had been awestruck when he saw that girl rushing in as if the threat was no more significant than an angry purse dog. That surprise had turned to jaw-dropping awe when he saw her lift off and punch the 0-pointer, obliterating its head, neck, and some of its chest in a single gravity-infused strike. He had never seen such power before, as it was like he smashed the thing with a fraction of the force one could only find in a black hole. Still, it took a toll on her, seeing how she was left floating as if a balloon with an invisible string.

Assisting her while others were left too stunned to move, he saw that she had managed to break both her leg and her arm with that strike, as well as throwing up when they touched down, and she released her quirk. She said it was normal for her to throw up when she pushed herself, but he was more concerned about the condition she was in. She seemed worried, no, she seemed terrified when she realized the condition she was in and that there was still time on the clock. He asked her why she messed herself up when she still needed to think about herself, and her response stuck with him.

“People needed help, so I helped.”

It was so simple, yet still so profound. At that moment, her terror and concern faded, as while she screwed herself over, she had not regretted it, especially when he saw the 3 she had gone in to help, managing to leave now that they had time to dig themselves out from some wreckage that pinned them. He mused that she reminded him of another self-sacrificing spirit, one he called his best friend, so without a moment's thought, he grabbed her and lent her his mobility to continue with the exam.

Carrying her around was a challenge, especially considering that he didn't wish to jostle her broken limbs. Still, it wasn't impossible, and she was more than willing to give ideas and shift when she could so that they could both still gain points a few as that was considering it was late in the game which meant pickings were low. When it was said and done, she thanked him as he carried her to Recovery Girl, but he hadn't heard from her since.

Midoriya had no thoughts about the exam or anyone he met that day. Instead, he let out a relaxed breath as he snuggled deeper into his girlfriend's thighs, the girl glancing at him with a smirk as she reached a hand to comb her fingers through the bush he called hair. Honestly, she once asked him to try and comb it, and he came to school looking worse.

“My hair has a mind of its own.” Was his answer to her question about it. But while unruly, it was still soft, and her fingers could glide through its many curls with ease, scratching his head at times or behind his ear, which got a very pleased reaction from him, another side-effect of his quirk as it wasn't just his altered palette and dietary preferences, he often displayed some canine-like mannerism.

But as fun as their off-time was, they were still eagerly awaiting the arrival of their letters from U.A. It had already been a week, which was the time Fuwa had informed them that it usually took them to be sent, so unless something happened, it should be there soon.

That was proven right when there was a knock at the door. "Enter." Yuga called out, the door opening to reveal the maid, the only servant aside from his family's butler, who largely stayed close to his parents. The middle-aged crocodile heteromorph curtsied to them.

“Forgive the intrusion, young master. But a letter has arrived from U.A. addressed to you.” The woman, though Japanese, was dressed like a French maid.

Placing his book down, Aoyama approached her, taking the offered letter out of her hands. “Thank you, Ms. Iino. That would be all.” He thanked her, to which she bowed her head before standing straight.

"Dinner will be served in 20 minutes, young master." She finished before quietly leaving the room to return to the kitchen to finish preparing the meal. Looking at the letter front and back, aside from being bulkier than he had expected, the only feature of note was the red stamp sealing it, one that bared U.A.'s symbol. Returning to his seat, he saw the other two were much more attentive now.

He should open it, as he was sure he had passed. How could he not have dazzled the judges with his performance? But a part of him was still nervous about it. He had been near assured a quirk at birth as well, to join the overwhelming majority of people in the world, and look how well that turned out. What if he had been screwed by fate again?

Aoyama felt a strong, gentle hand on his shoulder, along with warm arms wrapping around his shoulders, coaching him to his seat. Looking, he saw that it was Intelli and Izuku, both having got up to offer him support. With his other hand, Midoriya gave him a thumbs-up. "Let's see how great you did."

“Yes, no time like the present." Aoyama uttered in French before he placed the letter down and opened it. Inside, they found its contents were some forms and printed statements. Still, what seemed to be the main thing, the reason it felt weighty, was the silverish disk that rested in a square container. Taking it out, they looked it over before seeing that it was a projector of some kind that, once placed on the table, activated on its own.

What it displayed was a figure that had garnered love, hate, respect and confusion. The chimera that served as dean of U.A. University. Smiling at the camera, the diminutive creature wearing a smart suit and tie greeted them. “Hello there, I already know your first question: What am I? Am I dog? Am I a bear? Or maybe I'm a mouse? I shall tell you what I am: the dean of U.A. University!”

"He seems more eccentric than the rumors claimed." Intelli noted, Aoyama and Midoriya nodding to this as Nezu continued. "As you must imagine, I'm recording this to inform you of your results from both the written and practical entrance exam, Mr. Aoyoma. We'll start with the written paper. I'm happy to inform you that you passed with 71%.”

"Just 71%? I was expecting at least 75% after all the time we spent helping you study." Aoyama pointedly looked away from what he knew was a terrifying gaze of Intelli as if nothing. She was a perfectionist and had already lowered her usually crazy high standards to help him. This is not helped by the fact that when she got her letter, it stated that she scored 97% on the written paper.

“Madam, you hurt me.” Aoyama replied with a nervous chuckle.

Lucky for him, the recording continued, drawing her attention off him. “But that was the easy part as most applicants pass it. The real test was the practical. And I must say, you had an exceptional performance as you scored 61 villain points, which already put you in the upper half of students who managed to pass!” That wiped away Intelli's anger towards her friend, who looked stunned to finally hear the confirmation.

“I passed?” Aoyama whispered, wondering in some corner of his mind why he seemed so shocked. Surely this was expected, but as they say, it's one thing to think it, another to hear it confirmed.

Midoriya was more reactive in his response as he grabbed Aoyama in a headlock, laughing all the while in pride and joy for his best friend. "You passed, Yuga. You heard you. You managed to get into the upper half!" Intelli would have joined in on congratulating their dear friend, but then she saw that Nezu seemed to have a glint in his eye, as if he knew more than he was letting on. That also clued her into how he phrased his previous statement.

“Wait, why did he say it like that?” Nezu, either by chance or perhaps rumors of his intellect, didn't do it justice. Regardless of the reason, he continued speaking, answering her question without hearing her ask it.

“But there is more to the test. We tell applicants about just the one-point system, the villain points, and how to get them, but there is a secret point system called rescue points, which are rewarded by our panel of judges of heroic did, no matter how small that an applicant does while completing the practical.” Nezu explained, the screen changing to show blacked-out silhouettes of men and women, so vague that they could be anyone. At the side of each person's box was a counter.

“For you, let's show a highlight heel of the moments where you managed to score the most, shall we?” True to his word, what they saw next wasn't so much a highlight heel of him styling on the rest or fighting robots with the grace of a dancer, but instead, it was focused on the times when he aided others. Pointing out where robots were, taking the pressure off others, or the most prominent of them, when he helped that girl whose name he neglected to ask her name. From getting her to safety and then carrying her around so she could still try to score points.

"You did all that, Yuga? That was pretty sweet." Midoriya praised him, recalling that he aided some students but didn't carry them around. In fact, after he dealt with the 0-pointer, he didn't see those 3 even when the exam ended.

Nezu was just as impressed with Aoyama as they were, as he commended the blonde further. “Anyone can wreck a few bots, especially when designed to be as foolish and weak as possible while retaining some challenge. But we at U.A. aren't interested in such a thing, but we want to find those with the drive and the heart to do great things in their lives. Those that will do what they can to help others, even if it has nothing in it for them because that's what being a hero means.”

Hearing that made them start to tear up, the worst being Aoyama, who, while never shy about being open with his emotions, tended to and kept himself presentable. His tears were akin to what one saw pretty people do on big-budget TV dramas. But now? Now he was closer to the ugly tears that the Midoriyas were known for, Izuku handing him a tissue from the pack he always carried just in case.

“Because of that, your honorable actions secured you 31 rescue points, which pushes you into the top ten at 7^th place!” Nezu's smile turned kinder, less of a cunning schemer and more of a friendly, patient, and, most importantly, elated teacher as his face was replaced with the rankings for the top ten.

1^st Place: Midoriya Izuku; 62 Villian points, 65 Rescue points – Total: 127

2^nd Place: Bakugo Katsuki; 93 Villain points, 22 Rescue points – Total: 115

3^rd Place: Kirishima Ejiro; 58 Villian points, 52 Rescue points – Total: 110

4^th Place: Shiozaki Ibara; 54 Villian points, 48 Rescue points – Total: 102

5^th Place: Uraraka Ochaco; 51 Villian points, 50 Rescue points – Total: 101

6^th Place: Kendo Itsuka; 37 Villain points, 60 Rescue points – Total: 97

7^th Place: Aoyama Yuga; 61 Villian points, 31 Rescue points – Total: 92

8^th Place: Iida Tenya; 78 Villian points, 13 Rescue points – Total: 90

9^th Place: Tetsutetsu Tetsutetsu; 73 Villain points; 15 Rescue points – Total: 88

10^th Place: Tokoyami Fumikage; 70 Villain points; 15 Rescue points – Total: 85

“You've earned this, my boy. Take pride in that. As of this moment, allow me to officially welcome you to Mr. Aoyama and your hero academia." Nezu clapped, his smile bright and matching the twinkle in his beady eyes. "I look forward to seeing you come in our spring class." And with that, the recording ended, leaving just a screen asking if they wished to view it again, but none saw it.

That was because Midoriya hauled Aoyama to his feet, swinging him around with his laughter ringing in his ear. Still, the blonde couldn't find a shred of himself that found it annoying. "That's my friend! Top ten like it was nothing!" Midoriya cheered for him as Intelli joined in, the two trapping their crying friend in their embrace of laughter.

“I knew you could do it, Aoyama. That flashiness couldn’t be contained!” Intelli laughed as Aoyama joined in, his tears from the sheer joy he was feeling and a sense of relief that all that work, training, and studying paid off.

“I can’t believe it; I'm going to my dream school with my best friend!" Aoyama cried, holding both of them as they jumped around like children, any semblance of refinery or elegance thrown aside. "Izuku, you say your name on that list. You got first place!"

Midoriya didn’t even care about that, brushing it off. "Forget about me. We can celebrate and cry my acceptance letter when I get it. Right now, the night belongs to Aoyama Yuga, and I shall hear no arguments!" Aoyama and he laughed at that, Intelli hugging both her favorite guys tighter.

"Let's celebrate this tremendous news with a hearty meal in the dining room!" Aoyama proclaimed, marching towards the door.

“But Ms. Iino said dinner will take time.” Midoriya laughed but followed him like he knew Aoyama would do for him.

“We can enjoy an appetizer of fruits and bread, less talking, more cheer!”

Chapter Text

“Text” – Normal speech

‘Text’ - Thought

“Text” – Radio/Communication lines

“Text” – None Japanese speech

(text) – Subtext/meaning behind a spoken word

After a celebratory dinner, the two bid their French friend goodnight but didn't part ways when they got on the train. Instead, they had their own celebration,, as while they hadn't seen Midoriya's letter, they had clearly seen his name in the top ten. On the train ride and the walk up to his apartment, the two teens were completely calm and serene even as they engaged in small talk about a test or some fun stories from their last sports festival.

When they finally made it, he led her up the stairs to his apartment, opening the door for her and letting her in first. "Mom, I'm home. I brought Intelli!" He called out as he locked the door behind him and exchanged his shoes for the slippers they kept by the door, but got no response from her; just to be on the same side, the two looked around the well-lived-in space, filled with souvenirs, trinkets, and pictures of friends, family, and achievements both he and his mother had achieved through their lives.

It was only once they confirmed that his mother was fast asleep in her bedroom that they finally smiled as a hunger appeared in both their gazes, a desire for the other as he grabbed her by her hips; she laughed but was silenced when he kissed her right then and then. The two made soft but pleased sounds as they tasted their dinner on the other's lips. They also picked up hints of something they had long since come to associate with them as Saiko's lips tasted like vanilla and honey to Midoriya. In contrast, she picked up the taste of strawberries and mint on his.

What started as a slow, sensual thing got deeper when she prodded his lips with her tongue and was immediately granted entry as she explored his mouth, his grip on her hips tightening as his hands shifted just a little to her butt, cupping both large, bouncy and soft buns, he lifted her up, and without breaking their kiss, she wrapped her legs around his waist like it was nothing. Her hands reached up and threaded through his hair, the two letting out soft but pleased sounds as they continued their tongue battle.

Izuku carried her like she weighed nothing at all, and even though he had felt every piece of her, clothed or not, he would never tire of how soft and supple yet toned and hard she felt as his hands groped her ass cheeks like they were his property, kneading, rolling and surfing his hands all over them as he walked over to the wall, not so much slamming her back into it but locking her in place as she continued to dominate their kiss.

Saiko loved all of it as she moaned at the blissful taste of their kiss and his strong hands on her large, bouncy ass. She loved that she alone could see him like this, hear him like this, feel him like this as in public; he was just the kind, dynamic, and, at times, ostentatious overachiever. For a person that much like him, no one would ever dare do more than kiss a lady's hand or hold her hand. She was the same as the intelligent, confident, but prim and proper girl that she was. It came as a surprise that she would even entertain the notion of dating till people found out that it was Izuku she was with.

Oh yes, the two most proper, kind, studious, and dedicated students of their grade getting together made sense; they wouldn't need to worry about boring their partner if they agreed.

Pulling at Izuku's hair, he let out a grunt that did things to her and made her even more ready than she was before. Oh, how she wished those ignorant fools saw what they were like behind closed doors, even when out and about, how daring they could be. There was nothing milk-toast about them; they enjoyed vanilla but enjoyed straight fucking all the more. Shutting their big, beautiful brains off and surrendering to the ever-enticing pull of love and lust to ravage each other in any and every way they could think of.

He pressed closer into her, her breasts squashed against his chest, while she let out a little whine at how her erect nipples scratched against her bra. The two didn't stop as her arms moved to rest on his shoulders, her hands pulling his head closer to her, his hands having their fill of her ass as he adjusted his legs, his dick trapped in his pants, erect and ready to go. They only took pause to take in gasps of air before diving back in, drunk off the other as they somehow managed to keep the noise down as Inko was a heavy sleeper, but that didn't mean they could go all out.

Not yet, anyway.

When they finally pulled back, a string of saliva stretched between them before snapping. Their faces flushed with lust as Saiko looked at him with half-lidded eyes as she combed her hand through his hair, a little gentler than before while he wasn't trying to conform her ass to a new shape; his eyes were burning with attraction, locked onto her, only her. Their lips showed signs of red from their intense make-out, but neither entertained for a second; this would be where it ended.

Saiko gave him a foxy smile that made his already half-mast cock swell all the way, demanding freedom from his pants and to claim her yet again. Izuku, in turn, gave her a look that was so antithetical to the image he had of others, a look of love, lust, and hunger that her already wet panties were left drenched. Izuku knew this and shifted her again so that she could feel it against her upper inner thigh, and even through their clothes, she could feel its size, warmth, and how eager he was for her. How eager she made him.

“Saiko.” He said, his voice thick with want.

"Your bedroom, I want to hear you cry my name." She replied, as the bedrooms were sound-proofed when they were 15. He didn't need any further prompt, as with his hold on her and her legs securely wrapped around his waist, it was easy to walk through the apartment, passing his mother's room to his. Once he closed the door, they continued with even greater intensity.

One of her hands slipped down and cupped his throbbing cock, gently squeezing it through his pants. This elicited a groan from him, both of pleasure and anger, as he wanted her hands on his flesh, nothing between them. Saiko didn't oblige. Instead, she continued to rub him, up and down, listening to his moans and grunts, her mischievous smile only growing when she felt his cock swell further. Still, she was just as needy as he was.

With a look, he understood that and carried her to his bed, depositing her on it with the love and care one gave something genuinely precious. Stepping back as she rose, her hand reached for his pants; her dainty, delicate-looking fingers reached for his belt and slowly, agonizingly pulled it down. Izuku's eyes remained locked on hers; her lavender eyes, so much like felines, never failed to enrapture him, so much so that he didn't even notice that she had pulled his pants down, leaving him in his top and boxers, boxers that had a mighty prominent bulge in them.

"You're a little overdressed right now," she started, before squealing as he fell on top of her, his hands grabbing her wrists and holding them above her head. She might have been taller than him, but she was trapped by him. His emerald eyes kept her silent as he leaned forward, letting her feel his heated breath on her neck.

"So are you." He chuckled, taking joy in making her shiver as he kissed at her neck, feeling her pulse with his tongue as she moaned out, bucking her groin at him as he had his way with her neck, only retreating when he was sure she'd need to cover up with a scarf lest people saw the hickey he gave her, so prominent on her pale skin. Now it was her turn to have the wanting look, the open desire to go further which he was all for, as he released her wrists and moved to unbutton her checkered black and white top, the speed of which, speaking of experience as before she knew it, he was throwing it aside, exposing her pink push-up bra to his hungry eyes.

Izuku couldn't get his white and black jacket and lime green pullover off fast enough before his eager hands went for her jeans. Soon, they too were haphazardly thrown to some corner of his room, revealing her matching pink French-cut panties.

Izuku couldn’t help himself but stare at her. The light had not been touched, but the city's lights outside the window offered him a glimpse at Saiko's beauty in the nude. Her soft, blemish-free skin hid well-defined muscle, the fruits of years of training. Those feline-like eyes glowed in the dimly light room, her thick upper eyelashes enchanting him as she blinked but remained half-lidded in arousal. Her oh-so-kissable lips, already showing signs that he had just that, all the way down her elegant swan-like neck that led his eyes to her body. All framed by her hair, which lay around her head like the petals of a flower.

She wasn't outrageously busty, but she was definitely above average when it came to her boobs, made all the more inviting by her push-up bra that made them look even bigger. Down his eyes went further, down her slim, toned waist to her wide hips, her panties hiding her snatch from view, but he would see it soon enough as to top it all off, she processed long, beautiful legs, soft looking but like the rest of her, hid well-trained muscle. He would have turned her around just to take in her ass, but his hands had given him an excellent picture already.

He wasn't the only one taking in the eye candy as Saiko breath only grew more labored with thirst as he wasn't the tallest guy she knew, far from it, but only a fool would call his masculinity into question. Those expressive emeralds housed so much passion, so much love and lust that she nearly flipped them around to just get to the scream-producing, bed-shaking fucking, but she held back, barely.

His face, which was always cute, had lost most of the baby fat she had fallen far. Still, in its face, he had gained a much more mature, toned, and sculpted appearance, those little diamond freckles she loved to caress clear and visible due to his lack of facial hair, he kept it smooth just for her. She could see and feel that he was jacked down to his chest and shoulders, as one got when trained as hard as he did. Still, unlike some of their classmates who were more gym-bros, guys that just trained for strength and the biggest muscles to show off, Izuku's were for practical use, honed through combat and trial, they weren't bulking, but compact and bursting with power.

His pecs and abs were the same; it was like he had been carved from marble by a master sculptor, his 6 pack so well defined she had spent many of their other sessions and post sessions cuddling just running her fingers over it. But this was a part of him that was only the entrance to the real fun part, as even with his boxers still on, she could see much more apparent, the bulge he had as his cock fought against the fabric, at times she worried if he could flex it and tear his underwear, wouldn't that just make her wet.

But it wasn’t gonna burst from his underwear, that didn’t mean she couldn’t go to it as her hand moved to it, reaching into his boxers and grasping his cock, getting a groan from him as she wrapped her fingers around his pulsating shaft. “It’s so hot, you’ll burn me.” She whispered to him.

Izuku took a breath, matching her move by reaching a hand under her bra and cupping her breast, feeling its warmth as it tweaked its erect nipple, getting a joyful grasp out of her. "You'll like that; you did this to me, remember?” He breathed into her ear, Saiko shivering at his words as she continued to pump him, her hand gliding up and down over his shaft, not a hint of hesitation in her movements as her fingers shifted about, feeling the entirety of his cock, from glancing touches to his balls all the way to the tip where pre-cum started to form. Its skin was hot and veiny as she enjoyed holding it, feeling how long and thick he was.

Izuku let out please grunts as she did this, his own hand returning the favor by massaging and toying with her tit like it was his plaything, focusing a good portion of his attention on her erect nipple, making her grasp and whine as he flicked, twisted and squished it along with the rest of her breast. Both felt their engines were more than warmed up as his cock pulsated in her hand while her insides tightened as her panties failed to keep her arousal from leaking, leaving her crotch drenched.

Izuku leaned onto her, his hand that was propping him up instead moved to her wet crotch, into her panties to tease her clitoris; feeling his finger flick it had her gasp even louder than before, her back bending as his lips went back to her neck, showing his affection with kisses and bites that had her feeling like she was burning from the inside out.

“You don’t know how much hearing you moan and whine turns me on.” He darkly chuckled into her ear, Saiko responding not with words but moans as his hands hadn’t creased, her breast and clitoris fair game to him as he gave her nothing but pleasure, but then it ceased with warning.

She whined as she laid on his bed, breathless as she tried to gather herself, but also angry that he hadn't continued as she propped herself up with an elbow while also ceasing her hand job. "Why did you do that?" She asked, her hand tightening its hold on his cock in a show of displeasure. Izuku grimaced at the feeling; as dainty as her hand might seem, it wasn't weak, but he still gave her a smile.

"Because if there is one thing I like better than hearing you moan and whine," He moved down her body, kissing it along the way, going from her neck, her chest, the exposed parts of her breast that he hadn't been going ham on, down her toned stomach where he paid particular attention to her belly button, knowing that it was sensitive.

Till he reached his goal, her groin as he took a sniff of her arousal, an act which made them both feel hot. “It’s tasting you.” He grasped her panties, ready to remove the last obstacle from his goal.

But where she moved her legs together to let him slip them off her, he held her legs apart. Instead, he demonstrated some of that strength as he tore the undergarment to shreds, tossing the drenched remains aside. “You are so BUYING~!” Her anger slipped as she moaned out in pleasure as Izuku moved in, laying a kiss on her pussy, which was already flushed with arousal and sensitivity. Her pubic hair was trimmed, and he tickled his nose as he kissed in and around her flower. “Dammit, stop tearing up my panties! I liked that one!”

Izuku only got deeper, taking a sniff of the scent as his strong hands grasped her hips, his fingers dancing along them and adding to the pleasure she was feeling. “But you like me tearing them even more.” His voice was so different; it was deep and musky like he was an animal in heat, but so was she, as Saiko couldn't deny that there was something about him dropping all notions of polite society and taking what he wanted, what she could give him without apology or request.

“You make it so hot.” She moaned back as he smiled, not that she could see it as he got back into it, moving his head to kiss the sides of her inner thigh, biting at her flesh and leaving hickeys there as well, fresh marks of his claims on her. Getting back to her honey pot, he kissed it yet again, but this time, his tongue darted out, getting a taste of her addictive nectar.

"Oh yes, that's it." He loved hearing her angelic voice take such a breathless, eager, and carnal tone. Her hips closed in, trying to trap him, keep him from taking this away from her as his hot breath flowed over her damp slit and inside, thanks to his tongue opening up the normally tightly closed opening. "Keep going, Izuku."

He did just that, burying his lips against the soft flesh of her vagina, her pubic hair tickling his nose, but he used it to his advantage as his face about so that his nose would touch and shift about her popped-out clitoris. Side to side, back and forth, he went as he indulged in her vagina, much to her cries of ecstasy.

“Oh God~!" Saiko cried out high and loud, taking full advantage of the fact no one else would hear her; she reached for her bra and hastily unclipped it, tossing it aside as she played with her breasts, her nipples in particular, as her back would rise and slam back into the mattress thanks to how skilled Izuku had gotten at making her see stars.

When Izuku’s tongue left her vagina and lapped at her clitoris, that second of contact from his wet, warm, and flexible tongue ripped another cry from her as her hips closed in on him like the jaws of a bear trap, Izuku letting out a moan of his own from the sweet sensation of being encased in her soft, wide hips which only added to her ride up the mountain as that moan hit her sensitive little bud.

Izuku returned to her slit, his tongue prodding at the small entrance, demanding entrance as it forced itself back in, his nose back at her clitoris. His tongue lapped at her insides with ravenous hunger, targeting her weak spots nearly instantly and hitting only them. The sound of the cunnilingus was wet and obscene. It only made the situation all the more stimulating for the both of them as her slit kept on leaking out more nectar which Izuku happily lapped up like a man dying of thirst.

One of his hands left her hips, which had been gripping at her hips so tightly that she was sure to have bruises come morning, let go and reached for her slit as, without warning or mercy, his finger joined his tongue inside her.

The result was instantaneous as her spine bent forward, one of her breasts bouncing freely as her hand let go of them, grabbed his head and buried him deeper in her. "Oh, God, yes~!Don’t you dare stop~you hear me, eat me out you beautiful bastard~!” She cried, tears of carnal joy in her eyes as she didn’t so much walk up the mountain as he carried her like a horse.

“You taste divine!” His words were muffled by her pussy as he kept eating her out while fingering her, adding a third finger to keep her on the edge as her toes curled up in pleasure as she kept on moaning, telling him to keep going.

Shifting his position a little, he started eating her out from an angel, but with her hips locked around his head, that meant his other hand reached to grab her ass and assault it with fervor. His lips sealed around her entrance, and he slurped and sucked, prodded and licked, fingered, flicked, and pressed every weak spot she had with his tongue and fingers.

“Ahn~yeeees, YES~! You’re unstoppable, aren’t you~You want to eat me out~you want to taste me? Well, go ahead and enjoy it~have your fill!" She yelled at him, her grip on his head unyielding as he wiggled his head side to head, making her throw back her own as she felt herself getting close, just a little more, just a little more!

Her toes curled even more, almost to the point where she wished she didn't keep her heels on, but Izuku was always turned on by stuff like that. Fuck, if she had been wearing thigh-highs or tights, he would have found a way to be more vicious than he already was.

He kept on for what felt like hours to both. Saiko lost all sense of time, while Izuku was inexhaustible as he enjoyed himself and played with her in the best ways. But all rides, no matter how great, had their inevitable climax.

“I’m close~I'm gonna cum, Izuku!" He could tell her tunnel, which was already small and tight, was only getting tighter as it tried to squeeze at his tongue and fingers, but that only made him more determined to send her to heaven as he added a second finger to the mix, his fingering getting just as aggressive as his tongue. At the same time, his hand on her ass gripped at it, but added loud, clapping smacks to it, the pain mixing with her pleasure taking her to the peak of the mountain, and then right over the edge.

“Cumming~!" She screamed out to the heavens, her spine bending further than it had the entire night as her body went taught, paralyzed by pleasure as her nerves were overloaded. Her pussy unloaded everything into his mouth; usually, she would be squirting, but with his mouth so thoroughly invested in it, it all went to his tongue, where he could dine on the flavor of it without reservation.

He added to this as he didn’t cease his assault, prolonging her orgasm with his aggressive fingering and feast of her pussy even as it tightened around his fingers and tongue before he finally abandoned her pussy as his lips locked around her clitoris, making her scream even louder as the bundle of nerves was assaulting from all sides.

It was a tsunami, one that threatened to overwhelm her, break her mind, and carry her away in the mass of carnal frenzy of her orgasm before he finally ceased, pulling back as she rode out the last of it, landing back on the bed, sweaty, breathless and feeling like she just won the lottery. He didn't wait as he moved right back up her, his lips locking with hers in a passionate kiss, sharing the taste of her orgasm. This act got her hornier than she was before, orgasm be damned.

But her state did mean that this time he was the one that dominated the kiss, his tongue invading her mouth and dancing circles around hers. At the same time, his hand went for her tit, grasping and rolling it around while tweaking her nipple. Saiko moaned into the kiss, her hands reaching to wrap around his neck while another grasped his muscular, toned butt, smacking it as they swirled tongues and licked teeth.

Saiko shuddered with horny anticipation when she felt his hot, iron rod pressed against her stomach, pulsating even more than before. When he finally pulled away from her, their lips were swollen, red, and slick. At the same time, their eyes were inflamed with lust and an animalistic urge to engross in this activity, which made them feel so good. But she could feel that he was so needy, so aroused yet unsatisfied.

“Did I blow your mind?” He asked her, getting her to laugh.

"Don't get a big head, Izuku." She reached for his cock, getting a little pained grunt from his as she felt around it, felt every vein on the large, thick, and pulsating rod of man meat. "But maybe it's a little late for that?"

He didn't respond, not with words, as instead he took pleasure in her little hand job. It wouldn't get him to the finish line, but it relieved some of the pressure that had been building up since they started. "I did this, I made you so pent up, so eager for more." She whispered to him, getting hand job, getting more aggressive for a few blissful moments before she let go of it. "Let me take care of that."

He whined, but she kissed him and uttered that he'd be rewarded handsomely, and memories of other times she had done so convinced him to go along with it. They swapped places as he was now on the bed but seated on its edge with his legs spread wide. At the same time, Saiko knelt between them and pulled his boxers down his legs and threw them onto his nightstand, taking in the sight of his cock unobscured by anything.

He was big at a little over 7 inches long, well above average with a girth that made it seem like he kept a pole in his pants; it was veiny, but not so much that it was covered in them, while he had some weighty balls hanging underneath, all capped by his emerald green hair, a part of her recalling the first time she saw it, and mumbled that the carpets matched the drapes, but now she was enticed by them.

Grabbing his cock, she could feel how hot it was, how weighty it was, how much it desired her with how it flexed and pulsed in her hand as she stroked it, slowly, torturously, her hands feeling how hard it was, like an iron rod, but how the skin was also soft.

Her hand was unbelievably soft on his cock, her fingers wrapping around his shaft as she jacked him off at a snail's pace, fuelling the fire but not letting it grow as he groaned at the feeling. As she worked, she kept her eyes on him, even when she bent forward and kissed the sides of his shaft, licking it up and down as she went for his balls; as her hand kept on stroking him, he nibbled and tongued his balls which had him moaning.

"Oh dammit, I don't think a pornstar could match this." His hand went for her hand, but instead of forcing her deeper into his balls while his cock rested on her face, he combed his hand through her hair.

“Of course, some hussy couldn’t,” She replied, speaking into his balls where she sucked on one before letting it go with a pop as she pulled back, her eyes never leaving his. "No one knows you and your body better than me.”

Her words and actions got him so hard and hot that he had to hold himself back from just saying 'fuck it' and tossing her onto the bed or floor, whichever came first, and pounding her till the sun came up. His cock made that apparent when a pearl of pre-cum leaked out his tip right onto her nose. His breath hitched as Saiko's tongue went up and grabbed it, licking it and returning it to her mouth.

She moaned at the taste, “Tasty~." That statement had made his cock leak out more as she jacked him off, it getting into her hands. Still, she only used it as lube along with her spit, making the entire experience all the more satisfying to him as he kept his hand on her hand, combing with her hair, shifting it about wo going to her ear where he would occasionally flick at it.

But this, no matter how much he liked it, was only feeding the fire but keeping it contained as he wouldn't bust a nut like this for a long while, and they both knew it. As if reading his mind, Saiko acted to fix that.

With skills born from plenty of experience and experimentation, she moved her lips up his shaft before taking his throbbing head into her mouth, her warm cavity and tongue sending lighting through his nerves.

"Fuck!" He cursed as she lathered his head with her tongue, every piece of it touched and played with as she continued to jack him off, harder, faster than before, like a well-oiled machine. His cock certainly appreciated it as it pulsed and flexed in her mouth and hand. He laughed at how great it felt and how much they had come from their first few times, moments characterized by unrealistic expectations born from porn, in-experience, fear, and generally awkwardness.

There was none of that now, as they had learned all there was about the other, what, when, and how to make them groan, grunt, moan, and beg for there. Saiko was putting that on full display as her tongue danced over his sensitive tip, moaning at the taste he was constantly letting out into her mouth as she pushed deeper, his cock piercing deeper into her mouth, back and forth she went, each time she came back, a little bit more of his cock was granted entry passed her soft lips.

“Oh, Saiko~You know just what I need." He moaned and laughed as she mewled at his praise, the vibrations only making the blowjob all the more enjoyable as her hand soon left his cock, as she had fed more than half of it into her mouth, using her tongue to lather the entire thing. At the same time, her teeth scratched at it in the best way.

She stopped, but only for a moment, as she smiled at him, even with half his cock in her mouth, before she shot forward, his cock entering her throat, which constricted and pulsed around it, her nose now tickled by his pubic hair.

“Sweet God~deepthroat that cock!" He screamed out a grunt-infused moan as her gag reflex only added to the sensational experience, as she had long mastered how to use it to make him feel like his nerves were overcharged.

She moaned around his cock, every part of it either squeezed, lathered, scratched, or licked as she continued to deepthroat him, pulling back till his cock's head rested on those beautiful, plump lips of hers before slamming herself forward, her tongue shooting out to play with his balls in those moments which had him cursing out in joy and pleasure as he closed his eyes.

Saiko kept going, as while he enjoyed eating her out, she enjoyed taking his incredible cock into her mouth, tasting his pre-cum discharge which already was more than the cum most of those stupid male pornstars released, and making him twist and bend in bliss from her mouth. There was also a sense of wicked pride she took as his girlfriend, deepthroating him despite his large size in ways she best most girls couldn't. She knew that it was a terrible thing to think, that a woman's ability to suck cock didn't factor into their worth in any way.

But seeing him whine, cry, and bend to her whims-all from her mouth made that an argument that her hazy, lust-filled mind didn't care for.

She continued, savoring his taste while her spit spilled from her mouth, despite how air-light her lips were on his cock, it was unavoidable as his cock, covered in the stuff and some of his pre-cum leaked it whenever it was out of her mouth, leading to her chest and stomach prime targets for the stuff to drip down it, which she lathered into her skin like it was a lotion, knowing that Izuku saw it and with how his eyes locked onto the sight of it, she knew he liked it, he liked it a lot.

Just like before, she didn't stop in her frenzied movements, and continued to deepthroat him like a champion while Izuku lost all sense of time; the rest of the world, even the room they were in falling away as he five senses focused on this feeling as she pleasured his cock and balls, and on the sight of her doing it as her eyes cast a spell on him, even if he wished to look away, he couldn't.

The pressure started to build as she returned the favor for her explosive orgasm, Izuku getting closer to the mountain's peak as his cock eagerly pulsed away in her mouth, his balls tightening as they prepared to release a nice hefty load for her. Saiko hummed as she felt this, as her free hand reached for his nuts, cupping a feel of both of them; she was pleased with what she felt, along with how his already iron-hard cock somehow got stiffer.

“I-I~." Izuku tried to tell her to fight through the building pressure in his groin, but he didn't need to; he saw it in her eyes that she was well aware of what was coming.

He also saw that she wanted it. Badly.

She winked, as her cheeks caved in as she gave a sturdy, vacuum-like suck while her tongue swirled around his head and teeth scratched at his shaft, and just like that, he was done. Izuku let out a deep, relieved groan as he burst, his cock letting out shooting out thick, hot shots of cum all over Saiko's waiting tongue, his girlfriend moaning as she tasted it. After the first shot finished, the second one was just as impressive as the first.

Right as the third was gonna blast out, she pulled back till his cock was resting on her tongue, her hand reaching for his slick shaft and rigorously pumping it for all it was worth. He didn't disappoint as he continued to moan as he blasted out shot after shot of his potent seed for her enjoyment. It was only after the 8^th shot that he finally started to slow as the shots diminished significantly, till his 12^th was little more than a couple drops.

"God, Saiko." He hissed as she sucked him for all he was worth, releasing his still steel-hard cock with a pop, opening her mouth to show him that she still had a lot of his massive load before she closed her lips and with that saucy look that drove him up the wall, she swallowed.

When she opened her mouth again, it was clean, and his hard cock flexed.

"As always, you have the best cream for me." She growled as she got on top of him, wrapping her arms around his shoulders, his hot rod pressed between them as she kissed him, Izuku not caring that he could taste himself on her lips, instead taking slight perverse joy from it.

When they broke away, she had an impish smile on her face as she nuzzled into his neck. She lifted herself, his hands automatically reaching for her ass cheeks as she moved his cock so when she sat back down, he was hotdogging her pussy lips, getting a pleased groan and moan from the two of them.

Gyrating her hips, she saved herself on his hot dog that had lost none of its strength, thickness, or length despite cumming more in one shot than most did in 5. That was another thing she loved about him and his cock. He wasn't as big as some guys out guys, especially some literal horse-cocked heteromorphs, but his stamina-oh god, was his stamina something to be envied. He had enough in the tank for entire orgies.

And she would be lying if the idea of her boyfriend, her confidante-fucking some other girl or girls senseless, didn't make her wet. She knew she was bi-sexual; she had long accepted that, and those around her accepted her for it enough that they could joke about how she'll be walking around with wet panties at her new university without her feeling like it was demeaning.

But that could come later, as just a single orgasm was far from enough to satiate their hunger.

Saiko got up, her inner thighs drenched with need as she walked to his bedside; opening the little drawer and among the other things he kept inside, she found her target: A box of condoms. She might have been on the pill, but neither took chances. But when she opened the box, her eyebrow raised as she gave Izuku a look.

“I count 6 in here.” He laughed at her unimpressed look.

"Cut me some slack, I forgot to buy more." His response would have sounded ludicrous to most, but his cock, even after that deepthroat, remained erect and standing at attention.

She smiled, rolling her eyes as she grabbed the condoms and returned to his lap; tearing one open, she effortlessly slid it onto his cock. "Well, you better make these 6 count." She raised her hips over his cock, shifting it to ensure that it was aimed right for her slit as she slowly sat, his covered head piercing her tight opening.

Izuku grabbed her ass and pulled her down, burying all 7 inches into her, smashing deep into her core, which got her to scream out as she had a mini orgasm from it. With his grip still on her ass, he wiggled her around as he leaned into her.

“I’ll fuck the genius right out of you.”

Chapter Text

“Text” – Normal speech

‘Text’ - Thought

“Text” – Radio/Communication lines

“Text” – None Japanese speech

(text) – Subtext/meaning behind a spoken word

“You’ll call every few days?” Inko, a world-renowned quirk researcher, Midoriya looked nothing of what she looked like when meeting with clients or investors or when she would typically be out for a public event. Now, she was her true self, worried to death for her son.

Both she and Izuku knew that her worry wasn't founded on anything serious. After all, this wasn't him undertaking a dangerous quirk spirit hunt; it was much more common for any household: Him packing his bags to go off to college as while their apartment wasn't too far from U.A. that couldn't take the train, he wished to have a taste of life outside his mother's roof. It was perfectly normal, yet that didn't stop a mother worrying.

"Yes, Mom." Izuku replied as the two stood at the curb for their apartment. The moving van was behind him, with Yuga in the driver's seat, waiting for the two to finish their goodbye.

"And remember to prepare our own food, not just buy take-out?" Inko reminded him, and Izuku nodded along with her.

"Yes, Mom." He replied. He figured most places wouldn't have options to accommodate his and Yuga's unique palates. He checked his backpack, the last of his bags, as the rest had already been loaded into the van, like Yuga's stuff.

“And keep your new place clean?” Inko's questions were getting unreasonable now, as he would be the first to admit that his room had an ungodly amount of hero merch, so much so that Saiko, in the beginning, all but demanded they take it down before they banged since she couldn't keep that mindset when All Might's face was all around her. But he was never dirty, as he kept his personal space as clean as a whistle.

“We won’t live in a barn, mom.”

“And not get distracted by girls and booze?” He spluttered at the question, turning to his mother, his face red.

“Mom!”

“It’s a legitimate question.” She tapped her foot on the floor, raising an eyebrow and daring him to counter her. He wasn't a virgin, and she was aware of that; she had once walked him and his girlfriend when they were dumb enough to get busy in the living room.

“Wh-no!” He floundered momentarily, only regaining some composure as he heard Yuga laughing from the van at his misery. “I don’t even drink.”

“Neither did I before college. It’s a place for new experiences away from your parents.” She took his hands into her own, the woman smiling as she looked at her baby boy, on the cusp of manhood. She could still recall when they played hero together when she would drop him at daycare, sing him to sleep, or hold him when there was a thunderstorm.

Looking at him now, he was every bit the person she wished he would be. Her hands were tiny compared to his, but he held them carefully. He was far taller and bulkier than her, yet she never felt threatened. Pulling him in for a hug, she displayed some of that mother's strength as Izuku could swear he was crushing him.

"I'm not saying to be a stick in the mud and not have fun, just…try and be responsible about it? The last thing I want to hear is if you got some other girl pregnant before Saiko and can't even remember the event." She giggled as she felt his embarrassment.

Hugging her back, he raced into the van, waving at her as Yuga pulled away from the curb. “Love you too, mom!” She waved back at him, but her smile was now much more teasing, making it clear that when they next saw each other, she'd be embarrassed even if he had friends over.

Sighing, he relaxed into his seat, putting on his seatbelt without much thought as he turned to Yuga. “Not a word.”

His friend didn’t give him much mercy. "How about a no? Besides, it's not so bad. Your mother didn't pack you stuff meant for kids going for a sleepover." He pointed a thumb towards the back, as his father had been the emotional one with him, the man crying as he packed his room and the other stuff they got for their new apartment.

"Still, we're training to be heroes; you'll think they'll have more faith in us," Midoriya said. The two were silent for a few seconds before they broke out in laughter.

Wiping a tear from his eye, Yuga continued to laugh. "Good one! As if hero students aren't crazy! I remember reading about the 'Roppongi incident’ when Edgeshot and Jeanist were students.” Oh, that had been a fun interview to watch back in their 2^nd year of high school, as it was one of the few times the typically calm and collected two top heroes had been so flat-footed and self-conscious. The things those two and their class did…

"I'm pretty sure U.A. students are still banned from, like, half the clubs in that area," Midoriya noted as they pulled up to a red light.

"Well, if not, we can always find somewhere to have fun outside class, perhaps meet some girls." Yuga shrugged his shoulders, and Izuku gave him an unamused glance.

“You’re not defeating the whole French stereotype, you know.” Izuku had been steady with Saiko for a while since their final semester of 1^st year. Yuga, on the other hand, had a total of 11 different girlfriends. However, Izuku would have better classed 3 of them as friends with benefits.

Turning his head to him, Yuga flashed a smug smile. "And when did I say I wanted to? You've seen me bring a wine glass for lunch since middle school and know that my cheese knowledge is second to none." He focused back on the road.

Izuku rolled his eyes but felt minor irritation toward Yuga. As if nothing else, he helped make things bizarre and exciting. “Just don’t start smoking in our apartment and spending your days mocking the British and Americans.”

“I make no such promises.”

An hour's drive later, they arrived in the town of Musutafu. Like towns around European universities, it was a college city that had once been a small fishing village. But 70 years ago, when U.A. set up shop here, away from the traffic and noise of Tokyo, the people and tens of billions of yen of investment followed. Because of that, most people who lived here had some job related to U.A. or the businesses that relayed on the school.

Though, for Izuku, being here wasn't as crucial as for Yuga. He had been born and lived here for a time before his mother got that post in I-island sometime after his 4^th birthday. When they returned when he was 6, they lived in the area another year before they packed up and moved again, as his mother's new job paid a much higher salary. She wanted to be closer to it.

As they drove down the streets toward their new apartment, he wondered if he should visit those old spots and try to find the kids-adults he once knew. Hell, even see if his kindergarten teacher was still around and remembered him. His trip down memory lane ended when he felt the van come to a stop. Unbuckling himself, he and Yuga exited the van to look up towards the building, a relatively modest 5-floor complex with a good garden and even an area to park cars and motorcycles if students had them.

“Here we are, our new home for the next year.” Yuga took a breath, releasing it with a happy sigh, as Izuku’s mood was also pretty high.

“Yup, so let’s start unpacking.” He replied as he moved towards the back of the van while Yuga went to see the building manager so they could get their keys. As he waited, he saw other vans or even trucks in the parking lot, with new tenants like them unloading their stuff, most in teams of 2, which made sense, as these apartments were all 2-bedrooms. U.A. had places for single occupants, but that was a different building.

Hell, according to the brochures about the school, their student accommodations were separated into three groupings regardless of whether they were single or double occupancy: Bronze, Silver, or Gold, with Gold being the best and Bronze being the worst. That didn't mean that bronze was terrible, as U.A. was still a top university, and they ensured that landlords they contracted ensured that even bronze student accommodations were comfortable and up to code.

It was weird that only the gold buildings were separated by gender. As for the rest, no such barrier existed, as men and women could even share the same apartment, a fact he saw play out in front of him. He saw a small brown-haired girl passing some heavier stuff off the back of their van and handing it to her roommate, a pretty large and muscular-looking guy with a glue-dispenser-shaped head, a heteromorph then.

Again, his musings were interrupted when Yuga returned, keys in hand. “We’re on the 4^th floor, apartment 27." Yuga held up two key sets, passing one to Izuku, who pocketed it.

"Let's hope the elevator doesn't have a long line, as I'm not carrying our beds up three flights of stairs." He got up from where he had been leaning on the van and opened it, revealing that the entire back was packed with their stuff. Their bedroom stuff was close to the back and, sadly, the easiest to unload.

"Then how about we start with the smaller things? If we're lucky, we can finish in time for some shopping." Yuga replied as he jumped inside and grabbed the first thing he could, an older microwave his parents had set aside for him. Passing it to Izuku, he grabbed the much heavier coffee machine and climbed down. Closing the van, the two made their way into the complex.

As Izuku feared, one of the three elevators was down for maintenance, increasing traffic at the other two. But the stairs were more accessible, giving them quick access to their apartment. They found that the silver-ranked accommodation was exceptional, comparable to the Midoriya residence.

The living room area was attached to the kitchen, which had a fridge already waiting for them, and the stove looked brand new; going down the short hallway, they found a closet, the bathroom, and both their bedrooms, all of which were as clean as a whistle and empty as the previous occupants had been moved to 2^nd-year dorms. Closer inspection found that the bathroom was also the laundry room, with the balcony, which both the kitchen and their bedrooms could access, having a clothing line to hang anything.

Having placed the two appliances in suitable spots in the kitchen, they returned to get the rest, repeating the process repeatedly as they slowly moved their stuff in and carrying in boxes carrying more minor stuff they bundled together. But the time soon came for the more significant stuff. While carrying up their TV and other electronics was easy enough, they soon found themselves in the dilemma of things like desks, tables, and even their beds and mattresses.

“Yo!” They turned to see a group of four approaching them. The one who led them was a taller, muscular guy with messy gray hair, dramatically inward-tilted black eyes with thick, jagged tan lashes, and no notable eyebrows. "I saw you guys moving stuff to the 4th floor. What's your apartment number?" Speaking again, the two could see that he had sharp, pointed teeth, almost like a shark.

"27," Yuga replied, and the newcomer smiled up, pumping his fist.

"Awesome, we're apartment 28, and they're 26. Name's Tetsutetsu Tetsutetsu.” He pointed to themselves and to the other two that were with them, one of the latter being an utterly invisible girl, leaving just her clothes to be seen; those happened to be a pink kitty hoodie, red shirt with puppy's face on it and a blue shirt and glitter covered flats.

“Didn’t you-” Izuku focused less on that and more on the fact the guy seemed to repeat himself.

Tetsutetsu raised his hand, stopping him. "My names sound the same but are spelled differently. Anyway, the elevators are still waiting, so why don't we help each other carry the heavier stuff up?" He used to get angry about that, but as much as it annoyed him, it was a good question. So he focused on something that could be solved without a legal name change and offered his hand to Midoriya.

A hand which he took, noting that the taller boy had quite the grip. It made sense when he was as tall as he was, as Midoriya was sure he had at least 10cm on him. “Midoriya Izuku, and that seems like a good idea. More hands lessen the load and all that.”

One of the other guys stepped forward; he was around Yuga's height but didn't have as lean a frame as his French friend. His short blond hair was also a different shade and styled more casually. But what stuck out the most was the large tail that the guy had, one that ended with a hairy tip, the same shade as his other hair. “Ojiro Mashirao. Why don’t we start with your place first? Isn't it the furthest in?" He pointed towards the van, another van, one that presumably held their stuff.

One of the other guys, who was by far the tallest in the group, who must have been well over 190cm, shrugged. “Kamakiri Togaru, and sure.” Locking their van’s back door behind them, Izuku and Yuga followed the group, with Izuku studying this third person. Midoriya only took slight offense to their height, meaning he was the shortest guy of the six. Kamakiri was also built more like a basketball player than Ojiro, who looked lean.

Like Ojiro, he was a heteromorph, but where the former just had the tail, Kamakiri very much had the formally unhuman look with pale yellowish-green skin, downward pointed dark eyes that went towards the center of his face, as well as the two hooked blades that jutted out from either of his cheeks and no visible nose. In fact, his head was shaped like an insect with mandibles. However, if there was one thing he shared with him, it was hair, as they both had green hair, even if the taller man’s was a bright, fluffy one styled into a mohawk.

Reaching the van, Kamakiri unlocked it, showcasing just his own stuff. Tetsutetsu was in another van, as they didn't arrive together like Midoriya and Aoyama. Jumping in, he followed Tetsutetsu, Ojiro, and Midoriya as they started to lift the bed frame and mattress off. As they did that, Yuga decided to do his own thing, turning to the sole girl present.

Gently grasping her hand, he bowed and kissed her knuckles like a gentleman would. “Aoyama Yuga, at your service, my lady.”

The visible girl giggled at his performance, finding it endearing, if not amusing. “Hagakure Toru, and watch it, mister. I’m not an easy girl to please.” It was only thanks to her hoodie’s sleeve that they could tell she was waving her other hand at him.

Letting go, Aoyama didn’t let that stop him. “Well, that will make the chase all the more rewarding.”

"Yuga, if you can, stop trying to get into her pants and help!" Midoriya yelled at him as he balanced the mattress, keeping it from dropping onto the floor. Kamakiri gave the flirty blonde the stick-eye.

“Can’t a man be cordial to a lovely lady without having an interior motive, my friend?” Yuga asked, getting a giggle from Hagakure but a tired sigh from Ojiro.

“A man? Sure, but you?” Izuku would have pointed if his hands were free as Yuga finally stepped forward to receive the load. “Shall I bring up the Kyushu affair?”

He nearly dropped it as he blushed, glaring at Izuku, who met his gaze smugly. “You were sworn to secrecy!”

“Around your parents, I don’t recall promising not to tell others about your adventures with the fairer sex.” He replied as he exited the van, carrying one side of the mattress. He was quickly followed by Kamakiri and Ojiro, who had the bed frame, and Tetsutetsu, who was easily carrying a heavy-looking desk.

"Oh, really? Well, don't keep us waiting; do tell." Hagakure laughed at Aoyama’s mortified face as she got inside the van and grabbed some boxes to help get things out faster.

“Izuku, if you say anything, I will tear up all your All Might posters.” Yuga looked Midoriya dead in the eye, ensuring that he knew damn well he was serious about that. Though their moving party had no clue what he had said.

“On second thought, maybe later.” Midoriya’s response did make the implied threat all the more likely, but the topic was dropped as they carried the stuff away.

“And done! That’s the last of it!” Tetsutetsu laughed as he put the last box near the hall leading to his and Kamakiri’s rooms, the rest lounging about their living room.

“That was more stuff than I thought it would be," Hagakure stated; for boys, the two sure packed a lot of stuff. Clearly, they wanted their place to feel as homey as possible.

"Especially the weights, dude, U.A. has a gym." Kamakiri pointed towards the corner, where they had set aside some of the heaviest boxes, their weight because Tetsutetsu had decided to bring what felt like an entire gym’s worth of weights and bars.

Tetsutetsu didn't even look guilty about it; he certainly didn't when he opened the back of his van and revealed the stuff. “Sometimes, I want to pump some iron at home, or the gym could be closed.”

"Still, you had literal exercise machines that you still need to assemble; what the fuck?" Midoriya asked, as he was a fitness nut, but he didn't bring anything more than a casual person would have. U.A. had more than enough stuff on site; if not, he was sure there were gyms in town.

“It’ll be fun to put those together. I used to do it all the time growing up.” The group rolled their eyes or groaned at how Tetsutetsu didn’t seem to hear their complaints.

Drinking some water, Hagakure changed the topic. “Well, my stuff wasn’t so bad, was it?” Midoriya thought back to her stuff, and while she didn’t have much stuff that was too heavy outside what was expected, like a drawer and bed, there was a unifying theme for all of it.

“There was a lot of…pink.” That was all he could call it, with Ojiro nodding.

“Very girly.” Ojiro agreed, even if he felt slightly embarrassed to see a girl's room like that.

"Gee, I wonder why." Hagakure's reply was thick with sarcasm before her stomach grumbled, and she instantly covered it with her other hand. If they could see her face, they imagined she would be blushing. “Anyway, you guys wanna order something to eat? I’m too tired to cook something right now.”

Looking at the clock they had put on the wall, they saw that it was going to 5, almost 3 hours since they got there, and started to unload stuff. “I’m down.” Tetsutetsu agreed with her, but Midoriya, remembering his mother’s words, raised his hand.

"I can cook; we just need to pass by the store and get supplies, as I don't think any of us brought food." He offered an alternative.

"It'll be healthier to have a home…well, dorm-cooked meal than ordering fast food." Again, Ojiro sided with him.

“Fine, I’ll get my greasy burger fix some other time," Hagakure replied as she got up and reached for the door. "We'll meet in the lobby in 20, and I want to shower first." She waved at them as she left, with Kamakiri lifting his arm to smell his armpit, only to recoil in disgust.

"Damn! I didn't even notice; catch you guys later." He forced the remaining people out of his and Tetsutetsu’s apartment, slamming the door on them so he could take a shower. The three outside waved as they turned to enter their respective doors, Aoyama rushing in first. He couldn't believe he subjected a lady to his BO, forcing Midoriya to wait for him to finish.

Sometime later, the group of 6 had settled in for the evening in Ojiro and Hagakure's place; as promised, they had gone out and bought groceries for their places, after which Ojiro and Midoriya had made dinner for them. While they had continued to converse, it was mainly light topics. "Hey, I just realized something," Midoriya noted.

“What’s that?” Tetsutetsu asked, currently on his second serving of rice and curry.

"Like, we know each other's names and what our apartments look like, by the way, Ojiro," He turned to the tailed boy, who looked just a little embarrassed that his room had been so…basic; it was like he picked the most generic stuff. “Really, you can do better to style your place.” Aoyama nodded, even if his room was the opposite, having been styled to be as dazzling as possible.

“It’s not that bad.” Ojiro defended himself, but they paid it no heed.

"Moving on, I realized that we did all that and are sharing a delicious meal, and we don't even know which course we're taking," Midoriya explained, which made that apparent to the rest as they knew names and how they liked to decorate, but not much else.

"Now that you bring it up, we didn't talk about that, did we? Well, we can fix that easily. Kamakiri and I are in the hero course.” Tetsutetsu pointed to himself and Kamakiri with his chopsticks, the mohawk-haired boy nodding as he drank his water.

"Same here," Hagakure replied,

"Diddo," Ojiro added, which left Midoriya pleasantly surprised, as the dorms might have been separated by how much one paid for it. However, as far as he knew, there was no distinction between courses. For all he knew, the rest of their neighbors were in support, business, or one of the general courses.

“What the heck, what are the odds of that?” Midoriya mused, chewing on that with some rice before swallowing and addressing them with a smile. “So, we’ll be seeing each other in class tomorrow?”

“For the mandatory stuff, maybe. Any of you figured out which electives you’ll take?” Kamakiri asked, leading to another change. U.A. practiced a type of schooling where, outside mandatory classes, students could freely pick whichever other class they wished to do their year.

Of course, that didn’t mean students had to take them, as one could pass with just the mandatory, giving themselves 3 periods of free time every day, but that would just make it more complicated going forward as some of the stuff taught in electives could come up later in a mandatory class in 2^nd and 3^rd year. Even if not, the U.A. encouraged its students to give it 110%, so just leaving a period free felt weird.

"Not yet. I have some favorites, but I'll wait maybe a week, ask around, or sit in on one or two before deciding." Tetsutetsu replied.

"I was thinking of taking a language class and picking up Korean to balance out the fact I already know English and French," Aoyama smirked, only for Midoriya to nudge him.

"Don't be so confident. Last I checked, your English is barely passable." The Frenchman turned to his friend, his smirk still on his face, but the way his brow was creased told Izuku enough of how irritated he was.

“French is the superior language! If I can converse with English speakers, that’s enough.” He countered, to which Midoriya laughed.

“Sure, if they can understand your broken sentences and misused words.” Hagakure and Kamakiri laughed at the little show they were getting with their dinner.

Hagakure decided to try to bail Aoyama out of a bad situation. “I was probably gonna take a language class, with maybe public relations." She wasn’t a strong fighter—the exam made that clear—but she could shine in other areas. She was pretty good at reading people and navigating social interactions. If she could improve her English and polish her public speaking, it could go a long way.

"Definitely P.E. I mean, they'll teach us the basis as mandatory, so you might as well maximise what you're good at first and move into other stuff." Kamakiri replied, as his issue was the opposite to Hagakure: He was a battle type. He wouldn't call himself a meathead, not when he had to pass U.A.'s infamous written exam, but he was a man of action over words. He'll be the type of hero who focused more on capturing villains than anything else.

"Well, I already have work-out days set aside, so I considered taking detective classes and police relations. I'm still stuck between hero agency basis or leadership and management." Midoriya replied that as much as he idolized All Might, he couldn't come close to the kind of pro he was, at least not now. Besides, All Might was known to have a great dynamic with law enforcement, so why not start there?

"You're aiming to be the kind of hero that spends much time with cops?" Kamakiri asked him, to which he shrugged.

"Not really; I just figure it would be good to improve my detective skills; you never know when someone you see or hear in a fight could be important. And it can't hurt to learn how to build bridges." Sure, cops and pros had different jobs but needed each other. Being like those pros who focused more on the limelight or mistreated police because they weren't recognized as highly as they just seemed disrespectful.

Tetsutetsu groaned, getting their attention as he got up. "Alright, that's enough talk about school shit, I say we relax before hitting the sack. I saw Hagakure had some games. What should I play?" He pointed towards the small TV with a gaming system plugged in with a couple consoles. Like everything Hagakure owned, he was covered with stickers, cats, and glitter.

“You’re bold to challenge me to Mario Kart 11 Deluxe, for I have never known defeat.” Hagakure got up, her tone implying she was smirking towards Tetsutetsu, who slammed his fists together at the response.

“First time for everything.”

Chapter Text

“Text” – Normal speech

‘Text’ - Thought

“Text” – Radio/Communication lines

“Text” – None Japanese speech

(text) – Subtext/meaning behind a spoken word

After a fun time meeting some of their fellow tenants, Aoyama and Midoriya retired for the night. When morning came, they were up bright and early. They didn't even need to talk about the bathroom situation as they had sleepovers at Midoriya's place, a much smaller place than the homes and apartments the Aoyamas had. Because Aoyama took longer, Midoriya went in first and came out 20 minutes later.

By the time Aoyama came out, Midoriya had managed to both get dressed, U.A. being one of the few universities that still required students to wear a uniform, and was nearly done making them their breakfast. Despite how long the man could spend fussing over his hair, Yuga dressed like he was being timed as he was in and out of his room before Izuku knew it; looking his friend over, he couldn't help but muse.

"You still can't tie a tie, right? I thought Intelli showed you how." Yuga asked with an amused smirk. While Izuku's uniform was clean, ironed, and worn as intended, his tie stuck out like a sore thumb. The red piece of clothing was illprobably tired and short, looking closer to a fluffed-up ascot.

Izuku was less than amused by the inquiry. "And mom, and your parents, and even your maid. Look, I just can't do it. It's like a universal force prevents me from doing it right." He grumbled, just fiddling with his tie, taking twice as long as usual to dress. He should have asked his mom to pre-tie it, but that would still mean he'd need someone else to do it after laundry day.

“Sounds like you just forgot. Again.” Yuga laughed as he sat at the kitchen table. Izuku's cheeks got a little red from indignation as he put a plate of food in front of Yuga. A simple meal of fried eggs, sunny side up, toast and tomato with a side of dried grasshoppers and tender shoots.

"Just eat your breakfast," Izuku muttered to his French friend to laugh at his misfortune.

“Whatever you say, mon ami.” He relented as he started to eat his meal, Izuku joining him soon enough as he began to eat his food, which was similar to what Yuga got but where the tender shoots and grasshoppers were replaced with a couple slices of bread with a generous spread of peanut butter. At the same time, his eggs were glazed with shredded cheddar. Yuga would need to see if they couldn't order real cheese, but he supposed he could tolerate it now.

“Any idea what our first day will be like?” He opened up another conversation.

Taking a sip of his orange juice, Izuku hummed in thought. “Aside from orientation? Not much, U.A. alumni are surprisingly cagey about how the school does things.”

Yuga shrugged, as he figured that would be the case, but had some hope that Izuku would have created a theory or two about that. “Probably to ensure that it can’t be easily replicated. A place like Shiketsu would love to learn U.A.’s secrets.” Shiketsu might have been seen as U.A.'s equal. Still, it was its equal in the same way Endeavour was All Might's rival, as they might also produce capable heroes, U.A. held the monopoly on the best, with 4 of the current top 3 heroes all being U.A. alumni.

Hawks was the only Shiketsu student to make that and was recognised as the third-place holder. But even then, his education had been entirely different from the standard model, which saw him essentially be trained by himself, as he once explained in an interview. So many wondered if he could even be considered a Shiketsu student when he was so far removed from the rest of the school.

Perhaps that was a topic for another day as the two finished their meal, with Aoyama cleaning everything before they exited. But Yuga recalled something he wanted to do as they stepped outside their apartment.

“Izuku, hold on.” Midoriya turned to Aoyama.

“What’s up?” He asked as the blonde reached into his pocket and whipped out his phone, its case as pretentiously shiny and polished as one would expect should you have a conversation longer than 5 minutes with Aoyama.

“We should commemorate this day with a picture, wouldn’t you agree?” He waves his phone around, which Izuku chuckles but moves to follow as the two pose outside their day, the unmistakable mark of U.A. it along with their uniforms.

“Say ‘Hello, U.A.’” Holding his phone up to capture them, both repeated that phrase as Yuga snapped the picture. Looking at it, both smiled as Yuga quickly sent a copy to his parents while saving the original to his cloud account just to be sure. Pocketing the device, Yuga started to walk towards the elevator. "Great, this is the start of a wonderful journey for us."

Midoriya followed along, agreeing wholeheartedly with him.

They rode the bus to the main campus as their apartment was far from U.A. proper. As they did so, Yuga was in his own world, whispering so silently that he could barely hear him make a sound. Probably conversing with his quirk, Izuku thought about how things were meant to go down. While U.A. offered a wide range of courses and degrees, their hero course was smaller, only having around 40 seats compared to a liberal course like Physics or Teaching which had classes of 90 plus.

Getting into the hero course was a miracle, as 4 out of the 40 seats were reserved for recommendation students, people from wealth or already established hero families. It sounded like nepotism, but considering that U.A. produced the best heroes, at least in this case, it was not something worth complaining about, though it did reduce one's odds of getting in through the regular exam. But, he and Yuga could take solace in the fact that they quickly cleared that, placed in the top ten even.

“Don’t let that give you a bid head.” Faunalution appeared next to him, deciding to manifest in the real world and converse with him from his inner world. That didn't mean she was visible to anyone bar Yuga, who spared them a glance before going back to whatever he was conversing with his quirk.

With Faunalution, she wasn't in her human form but in her multi-tailed dog form, which, despite being as big as a Doberman, still reminded him of a Pomeranian. With her warning against ego, Hiroyuki was the next to appear, the boy also not in his human form but an Arctic fox form made from shades of blue fur and ice.

Upon his arrival, the bus passengers shivered a bit, but no one commented on it. "But he got in and was number one on the test!" Midoriya smiled at how innocent the boy sounded, a reminder that despite his user's fate, he still retained that light in him.

"An entrance exam. All you managed was the chance to start an endurance race lasting 3 years, with each step harder than the last." Shigeru countered the younger boy's optimism, appearing overhead, lounging in a space between bags. His non-humanoid form being a purple oriental cat with large alert ears, a bright red gem on his forehead, and a tail that midway splits into two.

“They’re right,” Izuku agreed with the two quirks he'd been with the longest, speaking just as softly as Yuga was to keep attention off himself. "U.A. isn't going to be easy, and I don't want it to be. We'll be put through our paces and pushed to new heights through blood, sweat, and tears." He added, eager for whatever they could throw at them; they'd be some of the best-trained heroes if they could make it through.

Appearing on his lap, Hinata looked like a highly fluffy angora rabbit whose fur was all shades of peach and orange. Looking up to him, she smiled. “You’ll have us with you the entire time. you know that, right?” He returned the smile as he hugged her closer to his chest.

“I’ll never forget.” The group shared the joy of the moment, remaining a moment longer in the real world before vanishing back into his inner world, never noticing that Tokoyami, near the back of the bus, had seen the entire thing, or it would be more accurately that Dark Shadow did and relayed to his holder in real-time.

'It's true, his quirk manifests in such a unique way. But why?' Tokoyami thought to himself, not needing to speak to converse with his quirk as his interest in this strange all but assured classmate of his continued to rise.

'Beats me, first time I've ever seen stuff like that.' Dark Shadow shrugged before retreating back into his host. With Aoyama and Midoriya, they remained silent for the remainder of the 20-minute bus ride to campus. When they arrived, they grabbed their bags and disembarked with the rest of the passengers. On one side, they could see other busses arriving. In contrast, on the other side, they saw students walking up from the underground subway while a few drove up in their own cars or rode motorcycles.

They could eye up the rides of their fellow students later, as right now, they had to make it to class, which proved to be a more extended trip than they imagined, as U.A. was large. They had known that, but for freshmen like themselves, they hadn't entirely understood how big the campus was. Their group walked for a good 20 minutes, sections of it breaking off as they found signs that led them to the support building, business, liberal arts, etc.

It took another 10 minutes of walking, paying close attention to the many signs on the path, before they found the building that housed the hero department, one shaped like a giant H and standing 8 stories tall. "Hey, is it just me, or were all the buildings built like the first letter of the course they house?" Aoyama asked, and once he did so, the group thought about what they had seen, even from a distance of the other places.

Tetsutetsu groaned as he slapped his forehead, Hagakure and Midoriya sighing. They couldn't believe they missed that! It was so obvious, in hindsight, it was embarrassing. Feeling a little silly, the group of students who shared their apartment building walked into the building, taking the stairs up to the 3^rd floor, where, at last, they found their lecture hall entrance, the door marked with a giant red A.

The door leading into the place was massive, standing well over 4m tall and well over twice as wide as a regular door. "Damn, it must be for students and staff that are on the larger side." Kamakiri whistled, wondering if a more petite person could open the door, given its size.

"Do they even have seats that big for people like that?" Ojiro asked, as the bus sure as heck didn't seem built for such folk, but then again, maybe U.A. had unique accommodation and transport for such.

"There's only one way to find out, right?" Tetsutetsu said as he walked up the door, opened it, and slid it back, noting that it was much easier than he thought it would be.

"Don't push your feet on the desk! Don't you think it's incredibly disrespectful to the school and our seniors who sat there before?" Their eyes and ears were immediately drawn to the corner of the room, where next to one of the window seats, a spike-haired blonde sat with his feet on the desk, which seemed to be something that the tall, spectacled student standing over him was against.

The spiky-haired boy, a familiar one to Midoriya and Aoyama, just laughed in the other's face. "Hell no! A desk is a desk; that doesn't change even if All Might's ass sat here before me! And what about you? What kind of pompous-ass high school taught you to respect something as dumb as furniture, your side character?!"

The spectacled boy leaned back in surprise and, no doubt, irritation at being referred to in such an insulting way. Still, he seemed to collect himself and try a different approach. “I attended Somei Private Academy. My name is Iida Tenya.” Midoriya and Aoyama recognized the name, as their old high school was in that group. He was pretty sure they had regularly met each other at the nationals for debate, karate, and archery.

Their old, Midoriya wasn't sure what to call him, friend? He seemed to also recognize the name, but that only made him more antagonistic. "Somei? Isn't that a school for the damn elites? Oh, I'm gonna have fun beating you into the dirt!"

“Beating? Good sir, are you sure you want to be a hero?” Iida asked him a question that Midoriya was sure many had before, as it would seem that Bakugo was just as abrasive as ever. Still, he lacked the young age from when it was more cute.

“The fuck is their deal?” Kamakiri didn't mince his words, watching as the two argued. At the same time, the rest of the class barely seemed to care, engaging in their own conversations.

"Of course, he got in," Midoriya muttered, shaking his head as he hoped that they didn’t pick the same electives as he already would need to see the very confrontational Bakugo most of the day.

“Oh cher, it would seem that the exam wasn't a fluke; he hasn't changed a bit since we were kids." Aoyama rested his cheek in his palm, recalling how when Bakugo had seen them prior, he had been every bit the aggressive, demanding and disrespectful boy he remembered from their youth. But at least he held it back because he thought they would fail the exam without any quirks.

He wondered how he'd react when Yuga revealed the majesty that was Luminance. She seemed to be just as eager for that as he was.

“You know them?” Ojiro asked, noticing how the two were reacting. His question drew their attention, and once Bakugo laid eyes on them, his arrogance was replaced with anger as he jumped to his feet and pushed Iida to the side, not caring that the guy nearly tripped and fell.

"What the fuck? I thought I told you two to stay the hell away!" His fury got the attention of the rest, who turned to see who Bakugo had picked a fight with now.

“Nice to see you as well, Bakugo. I hope you’re doing well.” Aoyama ignored the anger, as he felt addressing was an exercise in futility.

Proving his point, Bakugo flipped him off. “Can it, Cheesehead!”

“Kacchan, can’t we be civil like at the exam?” Midoriya begged. They really didn't need this, and the last thing he wanted was for their teachers to see them getting into a fight on the first day, for crying out loud.

"He sounds like a major dick," Hagakure stated, getting Bakugo's attention. However, he was briefly surprised that she didn't have a face for him to clear it, merely a uniform over an invisible body.

“You want to repeat them?” he growled at her, which caused Hagakure to take a step forward, along with Tetsutetsu and Ojiro, who were far from fans of Bakugo's attitude.

“You deaf too? She called you a major dick, and I agree with her.” Tetsutetsu glared at Bakugo, who popped some small explosions in his palms.

That didn't dissuade them from standing up against him; it emboldened them, as Ojiro was the next to speak up. "We're training to be heroes, but you seem to lack enough discipline to be civil."

"Don't bother; he's as he was when he was young." Aoyama waved their efforts off.

"And you'll still be the crybaby that can't even defend himself; I see what you're doing, hiding in a group of extras." Rather than offended by his statement, Aoyama merely smirked at him, like a cat conversing with a mouse would.

“I’m standing right here, aren’t I? Not all of us are incapable of change, Bakugo. But I can't imagine a rabid dog like yourself can understand that.” He insulted him, with Bakugo's eyebrow ticking in frustration.

“Be careful, Yuga. He might have learned French.” Midoriya reminded him, speaking in French as well, which meant that most of their new classmates were in the dark, except 3 of them, a boy with white and red hair, a girl with a large ponytail, and Iida who seemed to be the most expressive with how appalled he was at Aoyama's casual insults.

Aoyama rolled his eyes. “Doubtful, you can see it in his unenlightened eyes. He’s not angry that I’m calling him what he is, he’s angry-”

“Speak Japanese, you little shits!” Bakugo interrupted him.

“-That he couldn’t understand us.” He finished, getting a sigh from Midoriya.

"Either way, we would like to avoid getting into a fight and just find some free seats for ourselves." He walked further into the room, the rest to his back. When Bakugo tried to stop him when he grabbed his shoulder, he turned to his old friend with a frown. "Unless you'd like to explain how a fight broke out on day one."

That seemed to be enough to get through to Bakugo, but as Midoriya and Aoyama had expected, he didn't apologize for anything, instead shoving Midoriya back a couple steps before stomping back to the seat he had taken for himself, pulling his feet up again and ignoring the rest of them.

Neither minded it, as it meant that peace would reign, at least for now, as they walked up to their seats. As the lecture hall was built in a way with 5 rows of 8 seats, they decided to take the line of free ones in the 3^rd row, closer to the wall and far away from the window seats where Bakugo sat. As they sat down, the door opened again, letting in voices.

"You that we'll make it, oh-I remember you, it's the sparky one!" The short brown, a haired girl with a perpetual blush waved at them, more accurately, towards Aoyama while the girl she was leading, a vaguely familiar white-haired lady, nodded at him but walked over to where a spiky-haired redhead was waving her over.

“Sparkly one?” Kamakiri raised an eyebrow at the nickname, and Aoyama shrugged as if he was as lost as the rest.

Midoriya, on the other hand, feared what this could be. “Please tell me you haven’t already slept with her too, Yuga.” This time, Iida was too occupied to hear them, but the dark-haired girl with the large ponytail was seated in the seat directly behind Midoriya. Her cheeks went red as she buried her face into the book she was reading.

“I have not, she’s from the entrance exam.” Aoyama glanced Midoriya's way before returning to speak with the girl. "Aoyama Yuga, it is a pleasure to meet you once more. I'm glad that you passed." He went as far as to stand and bow to her, kissing her knuckles, which got more attention. Hagakure giggled at how hammy he could be, me.

The girl tried to regain her composure with her cheeks much redder than they had been moments prior. “Yeah, it was a little scary, especially since my quirk was acting up and well, you know-Oh! It’s Uraraka Ochaco.” She hurriedly introduced herself. "I asked around for you while I recovered, but Recovery Girl wouldn't give up names; I was pretty sure you passed, but it's nice to see that you really made it."

Aoyama smiled, a little happy that she worried for him, but he could pass that exam. Flicking some hair back into place, he posed for her. “Well, after such a dazzling performance, it would have been criminal if I wasn’t given entry into these hallowed halls.” Uraraka giggled at his actions as they started to talk about the finer points of their experience with the exam, with Tetsutetsu and Hagakure joining soon afterward.

With Midoriya, he was approached by the white-haired girl from before, who bowed her head to him in greeting. "Greetings; I would also like to thank you for helping me during the exam." Her thanks helped jog his memory as he finally recalled where he had seen her from now.

Scratching at his head, he didn’t feel all that heroic about the event. "In hindsight, it was probably unnecessary; after all, you couldn't have possibly been in real danger." He could have her to be saved by the bird-headed boy and the redhead, who he also now recognized from that day.

The girl hummed, a small smile appearing on her face. “As that 0-pointer didn’t seem close to stopping, I would beg to differ. Yanagi Reiko.” She counted while also introducing herself.

Midoriya offered his hand to her to shake, which she did. “Midoriya Izuku, and let’s hope that U.A. doesn’t make a habit of nearly killing us,” He paused, thinking it over for a moment before correcting himself. “Or they wait till our second year for that.”

Again, the girl hummed, but seeing that her other rescuer was eyeing the back of Midoriya's head, she couldn't help but ask a question. “Pardon me, but do you happen to know Tokoyami?”

 Midoriya looked confused by the question. “Who?”

"It's your first day, yet you're already not disciplined enough to be in your desks." Whatever she would say was cut when a new, tired voice spoke up. The entire class turned to see that not only was the door open, but a human slug had managed to crawl in without them noticing, the face looking drained of life or joy as if this was his 18^th consecutive hour in a shift for a job he hated.

The man continued to speak, acting like this was an entirely typical scene. "If you want to waste time, try community college, as that won't be tolerated here, especially in my class." He glared at that towards the end, his face conveying that he meant every word of it and wouldn't take shit from them on it. However, his serious demeanor was weakened by the fact he was still in a yellow sleeping bag and because the students were still wondering how he got in without anyone noticing. How quiet would you need to be for that?

Getting up from the floor, the man fiddled around inside the sleeping back for a bit before finding the zip and pulling it down, revealing more of his form, a tall but lanky-looking build covered in all-black clothing, all of which looked as raggy and unwashed as he did.

Stepping out from his sleeping bag, he casually collected it and a mag that looked like juice to drink as he walked towards the podium. Shoving the sleeping bag into the compartment of said podium, he frowned at their dumbfounded faces. "It took you 11 seconds before you were quiet. You're all nearly 18 and yet still act like middle school students. We just have 3 years to turn you into heroes worth the title; time is a luxury you don’t have.” Midoriya would counter that what he just did was far too not everyday that they couldn't help but gawk, but he suspected the man didn't care.

Speaking of the man, he found that he didn't recognize him as U.A. was famous for exclusively hiring pros to teach everything, not just the hero department but even their liberal arts department. Granted, few pros made the top 100, but they were still essentially household names, respected in their fields. But this guy couldn't put a name to his appearance, one that looked so…ragged compared to pros who always tried to look their best. Mixed with his demeanor, Izuku wondered if the man even wanted to be there.

“So let’s just get on with it: Morning, class, I’m the academic advisor of the first year hero course, Aizawa Shouta.” Aizawa introduced himself, either seeing his real name as more important than his hero name or not caring enough to have used it.

“Him? I thought those people were meant to be super excited and approachable." One of the others, a tall boy with blonde hair and a black lightning streak in it, thought aloud.

“Tough luck, now let’s keep the ball rolling,” their apparent academic advisor pressed a button on the podium, revealing compartments in front of all their seats. Inside, they found P.E. uniforms. Put those on and meet on out on the field. You have 10 minutes; anyone late gets 5 demerits. And keep in mind 25 is suspension, and 50 is expulsion." And with that, Aizawa left them, not even bothering to tell them which field they needed to meet in.

Pulling the P.E. uniforms out, they found that they were all contained in plastics with their names written on them, along with the name of the field they were meant to meet on.

Okay, maybe he didn't just forget to tell them where, but that being the case, they quickly tossed around clothing bags, making sure everyone got one that was meant for them before they rushed out for the nearest bathroom or changing room.

When the last of the group made it, they did so with seconds to spare, and Aizawa was already on the field waiting for them. Said field looked like any other sports field they had seen in their lives, with a large building off the side, an on-site gym, they reckoned, and a large swimming pool off to the side, kept separate from the rest of the area by a tall chain-link fence.

But while they could wonder about how many of these areas U.A. had, or why they were told to meet here, Aizawa told them something upon Shishida’s arrival that took priority. “A quirk assessment test?!” The group said as one, the man nodding at their question.

“B-but Aizawa-sensei, what about orientation? Shouldn’t we be there right now?” Uraraka asked, others nodding as they might miss it if they didn't go now.

Aizawa frowned at her for the question. "A waste of time. If you're going to be a hero, you'll need to take every moment to make the most logical use of it to better yourselves."

“U.A.’s selling point is how unrestricted its school traditions are, and the freedoms it gives its lectures and professors in handling their classes.” He reminded them, and that fact, which had sounded fun when they applied, came off as more of a threat as the man set the tone early as he showed them his tablet, on it a list of exercises ranging from weight lifting, running to swimming.

“You all have been doing stuff like this since elementary, right?” Even though the man continued to sound exhausted and uninvested, they carefully followed his words. “P.E. tests where you couldn’t use your quirks. MEXT needs to catch up with the times. Just telling people not to use their quirks isn't logical; if need be, tests should include and exclude quirks so that people have a better baseline of what they can do and how to manage their quirks."

Midoriya didn't know how to feel about that, even if he could see the idea behind him as quirk laws were hardly enforced, as he had seen classmates break them in front of cops and not even need to worry about getting chewed out. Most people followed only when quirks were used for crimes but for more minor, more mundane stuff? Well, law enforcement could find something better to do with their time.

While the argument could be made that training people to manage their quirks to a certain degree means training potential villains, villains already existed. If someone wanted to do wrong, they'd do it and just practice somewhere without supervision. Hell, doing more to recognize how much quirks had changed the game could go a long way in helping a lot of people.

"Midoriya, you finished at the top of the practical exam, right?" Midoriya was pulled by his question from his analysis of their teacher's words. He didn't even notice the attention of the rest of them on him as he nodded. "What was your best result for the softball throw in high school?"

Midoriya thought back to their last sports festival before answering. “61.6m”

Nodding, Aizawa instructed him to try it again, this time with his quirk. Giving him a modified softball, one with tracking tech built into it designed to give them an extract distance once it came in contact with the ground, he was directed towards one of the two shock-put style areas.

Taking a step back, he gave the stipulation for the test. “So long as you remain in that circle, you can do as you please. Remember, give it your best here.” Aizawa blandly told him. Looking at the ball in his hand, he threw it a couple times to get a feel for its weight, noting that it was around the same as any standard softball. He wondered how he would do this, as while a few of his forms offered increased strength, he figured that Aizawa wanted something big; he needed him to be their benchmark so he couldn't underperform. Besides, he didn't seem like the type that would tolerate it.

As he thought about it, he heard Hinata in his head offering a suggestion that sounded like it wouldn't fit the rules but also felt like it could work. Turning to Aizawa, he needed to make of it. “Sir, just to be clear. Anything goes so long as my body doesn’t leave the circle, right?”

"I just said that. Get on with it." Aizawa replied with less bite than expected; perhaps he suspected Midoriya was up to something.

"Okay…" Closing his eyes again, he had a quick chat with Hinata about it, along with (?), who was standing in for their newest member who was still asleep, a concept he still didn't fully grasp about his quirks. Ending it before he was scolded for wasting time, he turned to his teacher and the rest of them. "You might want to take a step back."

Aizawa cocked an eyebrow, but as the closest one to him, he relented, taking several steps back from Midoriya and standing closer to the rest. That done, they could see him speak, but only one of them heard, a girl with triangular, lazy-looking onyx eyes and short dark purple hair.

"Burn through the darkness, Hinata." With that apparent activation command, Midoriya's belt buckle burst into flames, and his body was quickly engulfed in it, a familiar sight for Tokoyami and Aoyama. The flames took on different shades of orange, with the darker portions congregating around his hands, ankles, neck, and head while the lighter shades coated the rest of his form. In only a few moments, the flames dissipated, leaving him in his transformed state.

Seeing it, Aizawa noted that while the class was largely impressed with it, Bakugo seemed to be almost…shocked by it, as if he didn't see this coming, a strange reaction from the kid, but not one he needed to focus on as his attention went back to Midoriya who crouched low, his legs catching alight before he started to spin. 1 rotation-2-4-8, he kept gaining speed; around him, a sphere of flames formed, shielding him from view, as they could only see his vague figure through the fire.

He paid little attention to how his new students were awed by the distance. His keen eye was more focused on the fact that he saw Midoriya shift, his hand extending outwards, giving the man an idea of what his plan was. No sooner had he figured it out than the ball went shooting out of the flame sphere like a cannon ball, smoking from exiting through the hurricane-like inferno around Midoriya. With the ball still in the air, Midoriya ceased his spin, but he wasn't done.

Pointing at the still-flying ball, he formed a gun sign with his hand, copied by his other hand, which he placed close to his right and moved down it before gripping his bicep. At the tip of his fingers, a bright flame started to form.

Taking aim, Midoriya didn't waste a second, for as soon as he saw the ball start to droop and fall to earth, he fired a bowling ball-sized fireball towards it. The attack hit its mark and launched the now thoroughly burnt ball even further. The ball finally came down 13 seconds after he threw it, so far down the field that they couldn't even see it properly anymore.

"Before we can make any improvements, you need to know your maximum." Hearing his tablet, synced to the ball beep, Aizawa looked down at it. Turning to them, he continued. "With that baseline, we can take the necessary steps to form your foundations for the heroes you want to be." With that, he showed off what Midoriya just got, the screen reading 817.99m

That stunned the students, who looked at Midoriya in shock as he returned to the group, his form reverting to normal. "What the hell, over 800m?" Kamakiri asked.

The blonde with the lightning streak from earlier scratched his chin in thought. “He did have to add to it with some sick aim. I wouldn’t want him gunning for me if he’s that accurate from a distance.”

"Still, boasting his score like that was a pretty good idea. You'll never see that in a high school P.E. class," a lipless boy mused aloud. Meanwhile, the girl with the large ponytail glanced Midoriya's way as he returned to Aoyama's side, giving the blonde a high five.

"That is what it means to use your quirk then? That's the kind of thing that is expected of us." She thought aloud, but where she was thinking of ways to follow suit, others were more excited with the idea of using their quirks at all, with a pink-haired and skinned girl summing it up with a single statement.

“That looked like fun, I can’t wait for my turn!” She cheered, the mood in the air high.

"That looked like fun." That mood was mercilessly killed by Aizawa. The man's dispassionate face looked towards Mina, freezing her in place as his gaze seemed to pierce her to her core. “That’s what you said, isn’t it? Or am I hearing things, Ashido?”

The girl, so bubbly before, seemed extremely timid now with his attention on her. “N-no…I said that…sir.”

Granting her some mercy, he shifted his gaze to the group. “It seems that 3 years might not be enough if that is the mindset I have to deal with from you all.” while some tried to hide it, he could see it in all of them. They feared him, as they should be, as he was made a first-year teacher for a reason. His skill in snapping freshmen out of whatever delusions they held about being a hero, or a U.A. student for that matter.

He was consequence-given form for them, and he enjoyed every minute of it as he smiled. However, it only made his students anxious, as he went with his serial killer one. "But I have a fun way to shake you out of it. Do you think of this as a game? Let's make it a game, but one with some real stakes." He told them that the students no doubt thought he would do something small, like make them clean up the lecture hall, do extra homework, or give them demerits.

Oh, if only he were that merciful. "Whoever gets the lowest average score in all 14 of these tests will be judged to have no potential and be expelled on the spot," he announced, the group collectively turning white.

“Huh?!”

Chapter Text

“Text” – Normal speech

‘Text’ - Thought

“Text” – Radio/Communication lines

“Text” – None Japanese speech

(text) – Subtext/meaning behind a spoken word

"Whoever gets the lowest average score in all 14 of these tests will be judged to have no potential and be expelled on the spot," Aizawa announced, the group collectively turning white.

“Huh?!” The class collectively yelled at the insanity of that declaration, Midoriya as stunned as the rest as he hoped that Aizawa was just messing around, as there was no way U.A. would give its staff that kind of power if anyone was expelled now; they'd have to wait an entire year to try and transfer to another university, and that's if any place would take them when they saw how they got booted from U.A. on the first day!

No, he saw it in the man's eyes. They might have been tired, but they held no humor, no deception…. 'He's…he's serious, someone's going home today…for good.' Even Hinata and (?) were stunned by this, Hiroyuki crying about how harsh it was. At the same time, Shigeru was silent. Still, even outside his mindscape, he could feel his animosity toward Izuku's new teacher.

"You feel it, don't you? The fear, the uncertainty? Well, get ready to feel that almost daily for the rest of your lives." Aizawa told them; reaching up, he combed his long, shaggy hair back so that they could see his maniacal smile, the man seemingly enjoying the dread he instilled in them. "Welcome to the U.A. hero course!" Several people took that moment to calm themselves and get ready for the coming tests; others seemed eager for them, confident that they'd not be the ones to be sent home.

Midoriya vowed he wouldn’t be that person, taking the feelings of those inside him and using them to harden his resolve. But that didn't mean others were as willing to accept such a harsh penalty as Uraraka stepped forward. "Last place will be expelled? But that's so unfair; it's our first day!" Others agreed with her.

“Oh, you say it’s unfair? Well, you’re right, it is.” Aizawa's blunt admission knocked the wind out of their sails. Now they wondered why he went through it and if he could see it was too harsh.

They didn't know that he went with it because it was too harsh. “But do you think natural disasters are unfair? What about big accidents? You think selfish villains care when and how they’ll strike? All these things can strike at any time, and few, if any, can predict when and where; life is filled with unfair things. A hero's job is to confront and reverse those unfair situations, saving lives and saving hearts."

His questions and the following statement kept them locked in as they listened, as none could refute them, least of all Aoyama and Midoriya, who knew firsthand what happened when heroes couldn't save someone when someone just had bad luck.

Looking them over, Aizawa saw potential—plenty of it—in each student there, from the ones who got in via recommendation like Todoroki and Tokage to others who just barely managed to pass the regular exam like Komori, Mineta, and Hagakure. They could go far in life with proper training and a healthy mindset. Still, that second one was the most important, and he was more than willing to be the harsh slap in the face if it meant they understood that.

"This isn't a job; it's a lifestyle that starts here. So, if you thought you'd get to just leave classes and hang out with friends at Colonel's, too bad. For the next 3 years, we'll do all we can to prepare for that lifestyle. One where overtime is common, injuries and death are an ever-present threat, vacations few and far between, and days could swing from helping old ladies cross the street to battling powerful villains and dealing with major accidents."

He wouldn't let them hold onto any delusions or exaggerations about the hero life that the media liked to focus on. To get to the point where pros like All Might, Endeavour, and Hawks sit, they need to understand the blood, sweat, and tears that will be shed. Heroes could work 12-hour shifts multiple days in a row and be called to act at any ungodly hour, regardless of whether they were up for it. Where danger could arise in the blink of an eye, and they'll need to always be ready to act to save lives and themselves.

But he saw potential in them, as in many that made it through U.A.'s infamously tricky entrance exams. Now, his smile turned a little less demented. "No, not just deal with, but go beyond. That is our motto, after all. So look at how unfair this is, and use that to fuel yourselves to overcome it. That's what it means to go to Plus Ultra." He gave them the challenge, and despite his grim words, he was internally happy to see how many took them to heart.

Tokoyami crossed his arms in thought, analyzing what they had been told. 'Hazing perhaps? No, this doesn't feel like that. Also, as harsh as it is, his words ring true. It makes sense that the top school would try and instill that early.' He thought, with Dark Shadow forming and leaning on his side.

‘We’ll just have to kick ass and not be last, simple as that.’ His quirk added, with the boy nodding along.

"Alright, demonstration's over; let's get on with this," Aizawa told them as he led them to the first of the 13 tests he had lined up for them: the 50m dash.

 The students were told they'd go in pairs of 2, with a robot at the end of the track set up to see their exact time once they crossed the finish line. Aizawa didn't seem to be working off any real list, as he selected two of them, Iida and a girl named Asui Tsuyu, to start.

Both got into position as the robot said, "On your marks, get set…go!" As soon as the call was given, Iida surprised most of them as he shot off like a bullet train. He had already crossed the finish line in what felt like a moment or so. "2.83 seconds." The robot started with the much slower but still remarkably fast Asui, hopping along and crossing the line with a time of 4.88 seconds. Having skidded to the stop, Iida looked back at the track with a frown but was still pleased with himself as he moved aside to make way for the next couple.

As he and Asui did so, Tetsutetsu whistled as he stood close to Ojiro and Midoriya. "He was made for stuff like this, wasn't he?" Tetsutetsu stated as the other two nodded.

"No kidding, if he was allowed to use quirks in high school, he would have cleaned up any running event with no problem," Ojiro noted as Midoriya watched Iida, a part of him wondering if he had met him before as his quirk seemed familiar, but he couldn't place the why.

"And odds are that they'll be tests that a few of us would be insanely suited for; that just means we need to give it our all….or be a little creative." Midoriya smiled when Aoyama and Yanagi were called up to bat. The Frenchman didn't get into a proper runner's stance. Instead, he looked across the way and seemed to think about something.

“You heard Aizawa-sensei use your quirks how you like, but he never said we had to actually run," Aoyama noted as Kamakiri looked at him like he was an idiot as Aoyama shifted to face the opposite direction. Kamakiri and the rest wondered what he was on about as the robot called out start. Aoyama's form burst in a dazzling array of light, briefly blinding Kamakiri, who cursed out in shock, the rest needing to do the same, with Midoriya having already lifted his hand to shield his eyes.

“Solar Beam!" The newly transformed Aoyama fired out two blasts of bright yellow sunlight, launching himself backwards towards the finish line as he had jumped up and crawled a little into a ball. Kamakiri raced to follow him, but Aoyama easily cleared the finish line long before his heteromorph classmate did. The robot called out his time as 4.67 seconds, with Kamakiri coming in with a time of 5.44 seconds.

“Dammit, what the hell was that? Did you have to fucking flashbang me?” Kamakiri marched to him.

Aoyama bowed to him, yet his smile remained in place. “My apologies, but I can’t control how bright my brilliance shines.”

Kamakiri snorted. “Ass.” Aizawa stepped in before things could escalate.

"Aoyama, it wasn't against the rules as it wasn't intentional, but if you can, remain transformed for the remainder of the test before you blind someone." He informed him that this time when Aoyama replied, it held a little more respect and seriousness.

“Very well, sir.” With that, the two were told to step to the side while another couple stepped forward to take the test. All while Iida scratched his chin in thought, his gaze on Aoyama, who went to stand with his friends—at least, he assumed they were friends.

“Interesting, so he’s a transformation type then? I had wondered about that.” He thought aloud, with Yaoyorozu looking his way.

“You know him?” She asked, with Iida shaking his head.

"No, I merely saw him at the exam but in this transformed state," Iida explained, as he had been in that zone with Uraraka and Aoyama but hadn't interacted with either of them. He would lie if he felt that Aoyama's showboating was a little annoying, as it went against what heroes were meant to be, at least the ones he had looked to. Still, he knew that the blonde could get results.

With the two on the track, the pink-skinned, pink-haired girl used her quirk to slide rather than run and managed to come out on top. The second person, a boy with a speech bubble for a head, was fast, but he couldn't match her speed. After her, Bakugo stepped forward along with one of the more polite members of their class, Shishida. Iida would deny that he took any joy in seeing Shishida use his beast mode to beat out Bakugo's time by 0.11 seconds. Still, maybe if Bakugo spent more time training, he would have come out on top.

"Midoriya, Todoroki, you're up next," Aizawa called, with the two responding. Midoriya, having seen what happened with Aoyama, shifted into his transformed state. However, once he did so, he noted Todoroki flinch away before the red-and-white-haired boy caught himself. Strange. Either way, Todoroki's reaction over his flames was superseded by a glare he shot his way, but he remained silent. Taking their spots, Midoriya crouched and waited.

He coated himself in flames when the go was given, with the lion's share around his legs. "Flame Charge!" He yelled as the intense heat of his flames supercharged his muscles, drastically increasing his speed as, like Iida, he shot forward, Todoroki following behind, propelled by ice shooting out of the soles of his feet. Midoriya crossed the line first with a time of 3.01 seconds, second only to Iida, while Todoroki glared at him as he came in with a time of 3.6 seconds.

“Your flames interfered with my ice.” Todoroki approached him.

Midoriya laughed, though he felt a little embarrassed, as he clapped his hands and bowed to his taller classmate, ignoring the voice that reminded him that he seemed one of the shortest guys. "Oh, sorry about that. I'll be sure to keep my distance for any other test."

"See that you do." Todoroki hardly batted an eye as he walked off, leaving Midoriya slightly miffed.

'Someone's rude.' He thought as he left the track to make way for the rest. He saw that they used their quirks in pretty innovative ways, as Kuroiro, a boy whose skin was as black as coal, took advantage of a passing cloud shadow to zip to the end in 5.12 seconds, while Tokage split herself into several pieces and for lack of a better word, flew to the finish in 5.54 seconds while a small blonde girl used her quirk and rode her horns to the end. However, she tripped as she landed across the line with a time of 5.6 seconds.

Others didn’t have a creative but simple, practical way of using their quirk, as Ojiro used his tail as an extra limb to push himself forward. It wasn't the most flashy, but seeing how he managed to get 4.81 seconds, it would be hard to argue with the results. Others like Tsuburaba didn't even use their quirks yet got a time of 5.17 seconds. When asked, he noted that his training with his quirk over the years meant he had a crazy lung capacity and got more out of each breath than most.

Next up was the standing long jump; well, it was the weirdest when it came to rankings. The sand pit was 3m long, but 14 people cleared it quickly. Among them was Bakugo, who just blasted himself across; Aoyama, Tsunotori, who happened to be the blonde with the horns, and Tokage, who used a similar track to the 50m dash; Yanagi, who used her quirk to carry herself across, though she seemed a little drained by the effort; Midoriya and Shishida who merely cleared it through the strength of their legs and others.

Tsuburaba didn't even jump but used his quirk to make a solid air platform and walk across to which Aizawa stated, "He didn't touch the floor, so it counts' which had one of his classmates with a copy quirk just used the same trick. Midoriya made a note to keep an eye on him lest he try to copy his quirk and learn things he was better off not knowing. Still, with so many people sharing first place, Hagakure cheered as it meant that the scores for everyone else would look better because they only went as low as 26^th.

Next came the grip strength test. Aoyama's quirk offered nothing he could use, and as a result, he got a score of just 56.7kg, while their fellow dormmate Tetsutetsu, with his quirk, got a score of 252.3kg. When he saw it, he grimaced. "Oh yeah, now that's power!"

"Dude, I would say that's power." Tokage, one of the people Midoriya and Aoyama shared first place from the previous test, pointed towards three of their classmates. One of them, a yellowish-skinned boy with no lips, might have scored the highest of them all. How did he achieve such a feat? Well, he used his quirk to turn the machine he had been given to mud, and when he pulled, it came apart, which Aizawa just recorded as 'Undefined'.

Another was their multi-limbed beast of a classmate who used his 3 arms to score over 800kg. "That insane; you have the power of a gorilla or something?" One of their other classmates asked the giant with their smallest classmate, a boy with purple balls for hair, looking at the taller one in awe.

“Octoupus…are sexy,” The three decided to ignore that comment and turn to the final of the 3, that being Shishida, who bulked up once more but only managed a score a little over 490kg, leaving quite the difference between him and second place. Tetsutetsu felt a little disheartened when he saw other scores higher than his own as the girl with vine hair used her hair for her test and got a score close to 100kg greater than his own. In contrast, another used her quirk to create a robot arm to do hers, and got an even higher score of an exact 348kg.

"If it works," Another spoke up as she used her quirk on the device much like first place did. Still, instead of destroying it, she made it more significant enough to step into between where her fingers would generally go and use her entire body to press down on the trigger, getting a score of close to 400kg. Another, who introduced herself as Kendo Itsuka earlier, asked if she could borrow the other girl's enlarged device, the reason made clear when she activated her quirk, turning her hand supersized and then taking the test, scoring an even higher score of 483.4kg as narrated by Hagakure who happened to close by.

"Don't sweat it, buddy. So what if you didn't get the highest? We're here to train, right?" Midoriya patted Tetstutetsu’s back.

“Yeah…Yeah, you’re right!” The shark tooth boy regained some confidence in him, but then he realized something else. “Wait, have you done yours yet?”

"Thanks for reminding me. I got sidetracked by all the cool quirks on display." Midoriya smiled as he lifted his machine to do it, but he paused and looked off to the side, blinking a couple of times. He nodded at whatever thought he was having. Aoyama was the only one who had any idea what could be happening. “You might want to step back.”

“Why’s that? You going to do that spinning thing again?” Tetsutetsu asked, which Midoriya smiled at, though he mentally prepared himself for what came next.

“No, this would be more…electric,” He vaguely replied as Aoyama gave Tetsutetsu a knowing smile, the taller boy being confused by deciding to trust the two as they did just that. With some space, Midoriya closed his eyes and took a breath. “Bring bolts and thunder crashing down Date.”

With that command, his belt buckle responded, not with flames like before, but an explosion of electricity, a sound akin to a lightning strike echoing through the space, stopping all activity, even tripping some up as they fell over in shock, the same earphone jacked eared girl from earlier falling to her knees in pain from the deafening crash of thunder bouncing around the walls of the gym. All eyes turned to Midoriya, clocked in lightning, swirling around him like a snake.

A hand reached out from within the storm, and a yellow appendage covered with mustard-colored fur was before it to the side, displaying the lighting and allowing the class and teacher to take in what had become of Midoriya. Where he had been in his flame form since the first test, he had shifted to a completely new one; his skin was now a tan yellow, with darker mustard yellow fur around his hands and ankles with a thick bloom of white fur around his neck and upper chest.

His hair was the same mustard yellow, and erect cat-like ears were added atop his heat, replacing his human ones. This wasn't the only mutation he had undergone, as they could tell that his legs had become sleeker, closer to what a cat's hind legs would be like if only slightly adjusted for bipedal motion. His arms and chest were also bulkier, though not by much. That was all they saw as Aoyama erected a barrier of light that went as high as Midoriya's waist, one he adjusted to act like a mirror.

Midoriya didn't focus on that move from his friend; instead, his mind was on the electricity coursing through his body, making his fur stand on end as he willed it to greater levels, which that his arm and hand, already larger than his usual appendage bulked up even more as the lightning supercharged his muscles. With this added boast, he squeezed on the machine till it heard it beep.

“226.8kg,” Midoriya looked at the screen, his hand and arm deflating as he allowed the electrical boast to fade. "I was hoping it would be in the 230s, but this will do."

Aoyama clapped his hands, though he looked down amused. "Great work, Izuku, but perhaps you should adjust your pants…once you pick them up."

“What?” Midoriya asked, looking and saw that his pants had fallen, hitting him like a brick to the head; this form altered his shape enough that his shirt would be stretched, but that his pants would fall without a custom-made adjustable belt, one that he forgot to use. “Dammit! Did anyone see anything?” He scrambled to pick up his pants, embarrassed that he could have flashed his damn underwear; it wasn't helped by the fact that ever-sleepy Date laughing and telling him he wore a custom pair of tighty whities so no one could have seen his package

A redhead in his class was the first to pick his jaw off the ground as he shakingly pointed at him. “Dude…I don’t think anyone was focused on that…”

“What the fuck was that all about? I thought your quirk was that rabbit flame thing? You have more than one!” Tokage demanded, though her smile hampered any threat of aggression from her as Midoriya shifted back to his flame form, having pulled his pants back on.

He was about to rebut this and try to stem the attention he would get, but Yanagi beat him to it, tapping her chin as she recalled the entrance exam. “I had assumed so, as I recall seeing him have at least 2 others during the exam.”

"Wait, for real? Dude, that is insane!" Tetsutetsu turned to him, followed by others that wanted to know more about his quirk and what it could do, some already calling it bullshit as he could do much more than he could. Some more reserved students stayed back, though Bakugo was an exception as he couldn't believe his eyes. He had been shocked to see them during the exam. Still, as annoying as it was, it had been close to a decade since they last saw each other. Hence, the idea the quirkless losers he knew were just late bloomers who got their quirks when he wasn't around wasn't impossible to accept.

But there is a difference between accepting the extras with little power and seeing that extra display power they shouldn't have. That Cheesehead already showed off that tacky transformation which he bitterly accepted gave him a powerful ability, but how the fuck did Deku get a quirk that gave him 4 forms?! One fire and the other electricity?! “What the fuck, when did he…when they did quirks like that?” He asked himself, grinding his teeth together as he held himself back from charging in and demanding answers.

Dark Shadow, who Tokoyami had done the test for him, had been out the entire time, and while the light show of the transformation meant that he shrunk, he was able to see the entire thing. 'Fumi, there's another one, ' he noted through his mental link with his host.

‘What do they look like?’ Tokoyami asked, keeping his eye on Midoriya.

‘They look like you did back in high school, a little bit of an edge lord with clearly dyed blue hair tips, bright blonde hair, grey skin, and solid blue eyes.’ Tokoyami ignored that comment about himself and instead focused on everything else. Each time he saw Midoriya, he only added to his confusion about him and his quirk status.

‘Are they talking?’ Dark Shadow shook his head.

‘No, but they look like they will later.’ As he and his quirk spoke about this, Aizawa also had his eye on the boy, trying to figure out the Midoriya Izuku mystery.

‘So far, he’s shown off 4 forms, though there is still the mystery of why his quirk registry didn’t clarify the how or how many he has.’ Aizawa knew in his gut that it was suspicious that the boy didn't think he could do it when he updated his form; why hadn't he updated it since? Then there was the fact that he and Aoyama got their quirks around the same time, and from what Nezu could dig up, they had been close friends long before that.

No, there was something more there, but for now, he had little more than suspicion, and it wasn't like he would have too much time with the boys, so he'd have to leave some of the observations to the rest of the staff.

Following this were the two press tests, starting with the bench press where Uraraka and the quiet girl with the size alteration quirk, Kodai managed to take it in a landslide as because of her quirk, Uraraka could just keep stacking plate onto the bar, then nullify its gravity. Once she crossed the 3 tons mark, Aizawa gave her infinity to save them time. Kodai wasn't as outrageous as she shrunk the weights and then tied them to the bar, with the girl deciding that 2.5 tons was enough of a flex before she stepped aside.

"It's not even close." Kaminari, who had been extremely eager to talk to him before, bemoaned as Shoji and Shishida, their physically strongest classmates, went through with the bench press. However, neither even got over a ton, with Shoji maxing out at 945 kg and Shishida at a much lower 685kg.

“He said to go all out.” Uraraka looked a little embarrassed by the situation.

Meanwhile, Kodai's face was passive, with little if any emotion on it. "I'm not sorry." Aoyama laughed at her lack of care for any bruised egos. Sound quality is not just for a hero but also for a person to have if you are worried about every time you upstage someone. How could you shine bright? Bakugo went up next with the others, looking ready to prove something. Still, as Aoyama predicted, there was nothing his quirk could do to help him, though being able to bench 110kgs was far from average. However, his mood got even fouler when he saw Kamakiri match that.

While they butted heads over it, one of the taller classmates with a gun dispenser-like head got 130kgs. At the same time, Iida, despite being a speedster, proved that his sizeable upper body wasn't just for show, benching 135kg. Shiozaki again used her quirk, with her vines lifting 340kg, well over twice what Iida could do. Midoriya went next, remaining in his flame form; he benched a little over 400kgs, enough to draw Bakugo's ire, but he kept his distance.

With Kendo and Yaoyorozu, it came as no surprise that both got high placements, as such a test was easy for Kendo. The girl got a weight higher than Midoriya and noted she could have gone higher if the bar was designed for someone with her quirk. The heiress made another machine, this time a robotic upper body with insanely bulky arms, to do it for her, and because of that, she got well over half a ton.

"I'm going to place as high as possible!" Tetsutetsu proclaimed as he got ready, the weights stacking into the bar as he lifted it and held it in place.

"And how are you going to top infinity?" a boy with dark hair asked one of their classmates.

"To infinity," Tetsutetsu started as the weights reached 600kg before finally settling at 620kg. "And beyond!" He roared as he slowly lowered it, the machine ready to catch it should his arms fail, but then he slowly raised it, repeating the motion another 9 times to complete his set. Once the bar was back in place, he got up. He roared, joined by a redhead from before, Kirishima, who embraced Tetsutetsu as the two got into a heated conversation about the finer points of weight lifting.

When it came to the leg press, the top 6 were the same as last time, though now that they could use their legs, both Sato and Shoji managed to get much better scores. Shoji got close to 2 tons, while Shishida got a little over a ton.

"You think she has a droid hobby?" Kaminari asked as he and Midoriya watched Yaoyorozu make another robot, this one a pair of legs, and had that do the test, the android, or at least part of one, managing a score slightly higher than her other one.

Midoriya shrugged. "Who knows, but I will say her quirk is incredibly versatile if she can create whatever she pleases."

"Does she need to do it through her skin though, as I thought it was strange before…" Ojiro added, as he had been a little uncomfortable be…well, comfortable the tall girl was with just disrobing before them all, as she would just remove her top, leaving her in just a sports bra, and then put it back on like it was nothing. A sight not helped by the fact that out of all the girls there, she was undoubtedly the most…developed.

While Ojiro seemed a little shy about it, Midoriya and Aoyama had got over it pretty quickly. After all, both had seen a girl topless before, Aoyama seeing multiple. Still, Midoriya kept it to himself that Yaoyorozu had a much larger bust than Saiko.

Not knowing what was going through his head, Hagakure shrugged her shoulders at the topic. "Wouldn't be surprised; at least her undoing her shirt means she doesn't tear it, though she could make a new one. Must save her a ton when she shops." She muttered the last pit, the group nodding as they did feel like another bonus to Yaoyorozu’s quirk. Hell, since she could pull out working machines, she could probably just make appliances or the parts that were hard to source should said part break.

When it came time for the sit-ups, they were organized into groups of 8, each with a robot told keep an eye on them while Aizawa supervised the entire group. That first group was Todoroki, Yaoyorozu, Sato, Rin, Asui, Kodai, Shod,a and Hagakure. Once they all took position,theye were told to star,t and well, Hagakure didn't havethe  best time.

“This sucks," She moaned as she threw in the tower, having only done 33 sit-ups, a number she just knew would be in the lower tier of their class and only added to her worries that she would be the one booted when the end came. The short and rather plump-looking Shoda stopped at 40 while Kodai, despite breathing heavily-remained expressionless as if her life depended on it and kept at it till she managed her 46^th.

“Come on, Hagakure, they’re still plenty of tests!” Tetsutetsu cheered her on, Kirishima at his side as the two had become manly friends…whatever that meant.

Her mood wasn't helped by the fact that half her group was still going, with Asui only now stopping, but even then, she managed 67, more than double what she managed. "Yeah, but how many do you think being invisible will help me?"

"Except that last exercise, I've seen at least 2 others get lower scores than you," Aoyama told her, as he had been keeping a keen eye on everyone. Giving her an encouraging smile, he continued. "If you try your hardest, my lady, I'm sure you'll have many more days at this exemplary school."

“Flirt.” They couldn’t see her face, but they suspected that she wasn’t as bummed out now. Back with the remaining students, Awase had given up shortly after Asui, with Sato managing 82 before he decided that he had made his mark. Yaoyorozu was again surprised as, despite not using her quirk, the girl managed to get up to 94 before deciding enough was enough.

"Those core muscles weren't for show; that was impressive." Tetsutetsu praised as Yaoyorozu got up, recalling the times that they had seen her topless and how firm her mid-section had been, with just a smidge of fat to it.

"No kidding. She must be an Amazon or something, but she can just make her weapons." Kirishima nodded along, even ignoring how Todoroki managed the highest in his group by a wide margin, as he only stopped when he reached 152 sit-ups.

"The Next group will be Kendo, Kaminari, Midoriya, Tokoyami, Ashido, Shiozaki, Tsunotori, and Tetsutetsu." Aizawa called their names out, with Tokoyami noting that fate would place him next to Midoriya, the enigma.

"Oh man, I feel like those 3 are going to make me look even worse," Kaminari complained as he took his spot between Kendo and Midoriya.

"Worry not about what other men think, and focus on what good you can do," Shiozaki stated, her words calming as she calmly got into position.

“Oh-thanks!” Kaminari smiled at her encouragement, with the woman returning the smile in two. “You free after this.” Her smile fled her face faster then villains fleeing All Might at Kaminari’s laughable poor timing to make a move.

“No.” She didn't glare, but her words still carried ice to them, one that made it clear that whatever opinion she held about Kaminari had just taken a nose dive, a fact not lost on the guy as he slumped. However, he kept proper form as they waited.

‘Harsh.’ The group thought as one, but none spoke in Kaminari's defense.

“Start.” Aizawa gave the word, each being watched by a robot, which made the exercise a little bit weird, as the bots were the size of toddlers yet moved via tracks. As Kaminari had predicted, he wasn't in the best shape and got as far as 39 before he fell face-first and dragged himself off the mat. Tsunotori lasted a little longer, but at 48, she gave up and got up with a little more dignity than her fellow blonde. Tokoyami had tried to match Midoriya, Kendo, and Ashido's pace as they remained constant but found that he was far from their level as he had to call it in 53.

Ashido gave him a wink as he left and managed to last 76 before she took a breath and got up, high-fiving Kirishima once she rejoined the rest. "That was a new personal best." She cheered.

"Hey, who knows, by the end of the year, you'll break the 100s," Kirishima replied as the group continued to watch. Much like Yaoyorozu before her, Shiozaki remained strong and just barely lost out to Yaoyorozu's record as she stopped at 93 and calmly got up, accepting a towel from another bot to wipe her face before handing it back to the machine, which left to take it to wherever the laundry was cleaned.

The final three kept it well into the triple digits, giving their classmates a show as they were all visible taking heavy breaths and strained to rise. In contrast, the robots kept their feet planted, they kept going. Kendo was the first to throw in the towel as she went down and didn't get up. "That's it for me…132, not bad." She took some breaths to soothe her sore muscles, with Midoriya lasting just another before he stopped.

Tetsutetsu, on the other hand, seemed to take the fact he was the last one standing as a sort of second wind. "Yeah, come on, no pain-no gain!" He declared, which brought a tear to Kirishima's eye as Tetsutetsu quickly blew past Todoroki's record and kept going till he maxed out at 166.

Chapter Text

“Text” – Normal speech

‘Text’ – Thought

“Text” – Quirk Spirit speaking in the human world

“Text” - Attacks

“Text” – Radio/Communication lines

“Text” – None Japanese speech

(text) – Subtext/meaning behind a spoken word

"Alright, next up would be sit-ups. Pair up with someone, and then we'll start, but don't take too much time.” Aizawa told them as they moved to one of the open areas of the gym, one that had been prepared for them. Kirishima moved away from Tetsutetsu and linked up with Ashido, with Midoriya having guessed they knew each other. The same was true with Tetsutetsu and Tokage, as the girl all but grabbed him and dragged him away, the white-haired boy waving at them.

Midoriya was about to ask Aoyama to be his partner for this, but someone spoke before he could. "Excuse me." Midoriya turned to see that he had been Fumikage, the raven-headed boy looking him right in the eye with his straight back and calm, controlled demeanor.

“Is there something you need? Tokoyami, was it?” Midoriya asked, with Tokoyami nodding.

“Tokoyami Fumikage, that’s right. I was hoping that we could be partnered for this activity.” He requested, and while they didn't know each other, Midoriya didn't think too hard about it. After all, it was a simple exercise; if anything, he probably wished to work with him because he saw his performance in everything else.

"Sure, let's find a spot." Midoriya agreed as they walked together, finding a mat between Yaoyorozu and Kendo to their left and Bakugo and Kaminari to their right. The girls gave them a wave and nod while Bakugo ignored them, with only Kaminari happy to see them. Once everyone else had partnered up, Aizawa blew the whistle, and they started. For the Bakugo-Kaminari duo, his old friend let his fellow blonde go first and made his opinion known about Kaminari tapping out at just 39.

"I'd like to see you do better." Kaminari challenged him, his core hurting from how much Bakugo had told him not to quit at a baby number like 30. Bakugo looked him in the eye, then smirked.

"Move aside and let a real man show you how it's done," Bakugo told him as they swapped out spots and got started. Midoriya had to admit that if Bakugo was still the same brat he knew when they were younger, his mindset about exercise hadn't shifted, as his form was flawless. For him, he had let Tokoyami go first, and while he lasted much longer than Kaminari, he eventually conceded at 53.

"Perhaps it's time we swap." He suggested, though Midoriya could tell that he couldn't continue, so he nodded, and they wordlessly changed positions; with Midoriya starting his set, Bakugo already in the high 20s and climbing. Looking to his other side, he saw Yaoyorozu continuing without a word; though she seemed grimacing and a little sweaty, she kept going.

'She must have crazy strong core muscles.' Midoriya thought to himself, as she was proving to be one of the stronger students here, with not just an exceptionally versatile quirk but being in great shape, different from Kendo, who seemed to be built similarly to Ojiro, with a martial artist's body as Yaoyorozu had fat on her. Still, it complimented her form in the best way as while he hadn't actively been looking for it, he could tell that with maybe Hagakure, that Yaoyorozu has the most…mature physique, the kind he had heard supermodels in their late 20s claim they needed a quirk or surgery to have.

“Tall, curvy, great set of knockers, and in shape to boot? I like her, I wouldn’t mind seeing more of her, up close and personal.” () pooped into existence as he worked, Fumikage being none the wiser to the fox spirit to his left teasing her master.

‘Perv.’ Midoriya took a breather, thankful that his redding cheeks could be quickly passed off as a result of the exercise. But if he thought that () would just give in, he was sorely mistaken as she leaned close to him, so much so that her lips were by his ear.

“Oh, don't try and act like you didn't picture your and Kendo's sports reversed, Yaoyorozu without most of her clothes and-!”

‘Alright, point taken!’ He screamed back at her from within his mind, almost going it out loud, which would have made the situation much more complicated to explain, especially as he had to work to keep his body done as his spotter would quickly notice if he popped a boner right now. Things weren't helped when he heard Yaoyorozu grunt to the side, having finished 94 sit-ups before she threw in the towel.

() He also noticed that and turned to smirk as he turned his head to Bakugo, who was still ignoring him. “Oh, don't be so embarrassed; you know Saiko would love to have a taste of her just as much, if not more, than you. Didn't she even promise to send you pics?” Fumikage looked up when he noticed Midoriya acting off, as he seemed a bit silent, contrary to how he was earlier. Dark Shadow popped out in time to hear the tail end of the () question, which only confused the raven-headed boy even more.

‘Think of unsexy things, unsexy things!’ Midoriya repeated repeatedly in his head as he worked, eventually finishing with 147 sit-ups. At the same time, Bakugo took the highest of the entire group with 175, which he seemed pretty proud of.

When it came time for push-ups, they went in groups of 5, with Bakugo being in the first group and once more taking the top spot with 178. When Tetsutetsu commented that he barely was able to lift himself up after he was done, he screamed that Tetsutetsu was blind and weak since he gave up at 170, which nearly turned into an argument if not for Aizawa.

"You two act out again, and you'll have plenty of time to fight like hoodlums after I expel you, understood?" He threatened, though his demeanour and cadence remained as dispassionate as ever. All could tell from his eyes that he meant it. That was enough for Tetsutetsu to profusely apologise while Bakugo just ticked his teeth and back down, as perish the thought that he'll ever admit he was in the wrong.

“It’s stupid that they nearly took expulsion for that issue.” Todoroki dismissed as he walked off to the side, having finished with 158 push-ups himself, while Kendo shrugged with a smile, the girl having done 139.

"They seem like passionate people, I guess. Great when they work with you, but it's hard to handle disagreements." She stated. WBondo was silent as he felt he had been outshined by the rest, who had managed 130 at least, whereas the largest group had to stop at 73.

“Aoyama, Tokoyami, Kodai, Mineta, Shiozaki. You’re next.” Aizawa called out, Midoriya wishing his friend luck as Yuga waved back over his shoulder. Taking his spot at the far with Mineta, the shortest person, not just the group, but the entire first-year hero class, and Tokoyami to his right, they got into position, and with a blow of a whistle, they started.

"I'm gonna impress the ladies; I gotta impress the ladies," Mineta said to himself in repeat as he pushed himself up, Aoyama and Tokoyami looking his way in confusion as they wondered about his strange statements and slightly perverted look into his eye.

“Did you hear that?” Tokoyami wasn't the most social person, but he had enough friends and social awareness to judge that Mineta was probably thinking of something that belonged on an R-18 site or Playboy.

“Heard it, yes? But believe it, that would be a hard no.” Aoyama shook his head, as he thought they'll not have to deal with overly horny classmates once they completed high school and the hormones had time to settle in their young minds and bodies. His mistake was forgetting that college was famous for parties, drugs, and a whole lot of sex.

"He should focus more on his form than chasing girls; maybe he wouldn't be so exhausted already." Shiozaki hardly batted Mineta an eye as the group had reached the high 20s, but then, and Mineta was already struggling to keep pace.

"Harsh," Kodai noted; she seemed to be feeling the burn, but nearly as severely as the purple-balled-haired boy who once reached 33, fell on his face and groaned, having now set the lowest score for the entire class thus far. Kodai lasted a little longer, calling quits when she reached 42, calmly getting up and picking Mineta up as she went, the boy too tired to notice he was being carried by a pretty girl. Tokoyami seemed to be the middle of the pack as he was out after another 10, leaving just Shiozaki and Aoyama.

They didn't talk, but Aoyama did flash her one of his smiles which got him a deadpan expression in return, something that Midoriya couldn't help but laugh at as Aoyama was too much a player to not have a girl turn him down and hard to keep his ego grounded. Rejected, the guy moped for the rest of his push-ups; even when Shiozaki eventually got up at 94, he pushed himself till he hit 106. "Damn, I was hoping for 110, at least." He stated as he rejoined his group.

"You'll get there, man; you're much better than you were last year," Midoriya told him, with Aoyama looking at him out of the corner of his eye, an amused look on his face.

"Considering you're a fitness nut, it feels a little condescending to hear you say that." The franco-Japanese boy retorted.

Midoriya chuckled, not bothering to deny that he did enjoy keeping in shape a tad bit too much. Something that had started purely as practical so he could be a better hero, then become a hobby he took pretty seriously. However, Saiko seemed to enjoy that fact about him, which only pushed him to work even harder.

"I don't see it like that. You said it yourself, I'm a fitness nut, so I'm keenly aware of how to exercise to get the best results." He replied, with Tetsutetsu nodding along with him.

"He's right. No point pulling something just to look good. Besides, we still have other tests, and Aizawa-sensei doesn't seem like the type to go easy on you if you mess up early." He pointed to the corner where their teacher stood, looking over something on his tablet.

"No kidding, if I didn't know better, I would assume he would fail you on the spot if you missed even just a few of the tests," Ojiro added.

“Who said I wouldn’t?” Aizawa spoke up from behind them, scaring them half to death as Hagakure screamed out while Tetsutetsu and Midoriya fell on their asses.

“What the-! When did you get there?!” Ojiro yelled as he pointed at the man, and the rest of the class was just as surprised by the fact that their teacher could apparently teleport.

Aizawa ignored the question. “Ashido, Koda, Midoriya, Jiro, Ojiro. You’re next.” Midoriya and Ojiro blinked, sharing a confused look as they wondered if the man seriously thought he could pull that stunt and act like it never happened.

But looking at him, they saw he was still as expressionless as the grave, with no humor to be found, which confirmed that he thought they should continue, which they slowly did.

 Pull-ups were next, and perhaps unexpectedly, Tokage got the highest score as she detached her arms around the bar and floated herself up and down until she got bored, at 81. Fukidashi used his quirk to create a sound effect for bounce, which he used to lessen the load on his arms and get 48, no where near first place, but still the second highest.

Bakugo, this time around, grumbled as he took the 3^rd sport at just 44; Aoyama heard him complaining about how he'd be doubling his exercise routine so he would not show up by extras. 'Does he still refer to people by that insult?' The blue-eyed blonde wondered to himself as Kirishima let go of the poll.

“Yeah, 42, that’s a new record!” Kirishima cheered as he locked hands with Tetsutetsu. Their quirks were active, making a hard clang as rock met steel.

“Nice, let’s see if I can’t break mine.” Tetsutetsu excitedly stepped forward, grabbing onto the poll with his quirk active just in his arms and getting to work. As he did so, Sero and Kamakiri both got done with their pull-ups. Kamakiri's eyes narrowed as he just barely missed what he had been going for after seeing the rest: a perfect 40, and instead, he got 39, whereas Sero got 42.

"Your quirk is an ominous one, Midoriya," Yanagi told him as the two finished theirs, the white-haired girl having used her quirk to decrease her weight by half and because of that, she managed a ludicrously high 35 pull-ups, but Midoriya, still in his electric form, topped that with 43, which put him 4^th highest at present.

“Ominous?” Izuku asked.

"What would one call a quirk with as many facets as yours? It must have quite the drawback or price to call upon it." Yanagi elaborated, and while he suspected that she was merely being dramatic with her word choice, his mind flashed to Hinata, Shigeru Hiroyuki, and Date's fates and how he had ever come to possess them. Such memories made him frown.

"Well, you're not wrong; some days, I hate how my quirk works," Midoriya replied, though he seemed distracted as he looked off; Yanagi recognized the look on his face; it was the same one her father got whenever he thought about her mother who had passed. There was a sense of longing and resentment but also bitter acceptance of the fact the person you wished to have with you, alive and well, was gone, and there was nothing you or anyone else could do to change it.

“How can you hate it, man? It’s freaking powerful.” The moment was ruined when Kaminari came over, swinging an arm around Midoriya's shoulders.

"More like busted; he was what, a fire and lighting form and, according to you guys, two more at least," Awase added, leading to others adding on what they thought, leaving Yanagi to step back as Midoriya forced a smile back onto his face, an act that she wasn’t alone in seeing as Aoyama, Bakugo, Todoroki, Yaoyorozu and Aizawa all picked up on it, but chose to watch for now to learn more about it.

Iida looked at Midoriya, perplexed by his words that his quirk wasn't as great as they all said it was. “I too fail to see how such a versatile quirk could have lamentable qualities to it.” In response, Midoriya smiled at him, though he remained forced. Even as he felt the spirits within his mind offering comfort that he wasn't at fault, it still felt hollow that he or anyone else couldn't or worse, didn't save them.

“Maybe some other time, but we should continue if we don't want to anger our teacher." He gestured towards Aizawa to throw some of the heat off him.

"Yes, you should," Aizawa replied, deciding to go along with it, but that was just another piece in the puzzle, Midoriya Izuku.

“A-apologies, sir!” As Iida bowed low to their teacher, Aoyama walked past Midoriya, patting his shoulder and offering him a sincere smile, which Midoriya nodded to, his own getting a little lighter as Aoyama.

The next test was relatively uneventful in comparison to the rest, as with the rope climb, they had to ascend a top and ring a bell that was hung 10m over their heads, but Aizawa made it clear that so long as they held onto the rope, they could use their quirks however they wished to attempt it. Bakugo grabbed the rope and blasted himself upwards, getting the best time. Tokage took a second as she shut and shot a hand up to the bell while she remained on the floor, grasping the line.

Sero fired his tape at one of the other fittings on the roof, pulling himself towards the bell, and rang it, giving a little peace sign as he came down. At the same time, Aoyama, much like Bakugo, used a similar tactic from the 50m dash, but he wasn't nearly as fast as he had to worry about smacking into the bell or ceiling. Todoroki made an ice platform that shot him upwards while Tokoyami had his quirk climb for them, which its size and extended arms made it incredibly easy for the two.

The only thing to note was that Jiro, the girl with the earphone jacks extendable ear-lobes, was getting increasingly frustrated with the tests, as whatever her quirk was, not a single one seemed to be something she was able to use it in, made clear with the fact she took the longest time by quite the margin to climb the rope. She looked visibly upset when she slid down and saw she was less than 2 seconds slower than 39^th place.

"Hey," she looked up to see Midoriya, the guy placing a hand on her shoulder, giving her some level of comfort. "It's not the end of the world. You know what they say about fat ladies, and I haven't heard any sing."

Jiro huffed, turning her head from him. "Easy for you to say; pretty sure you haven't placed any lower than the top fricking ten."

Midoriya again didn't deny it; that would do more harm than good and, if nothing else, would be him insulting her observational skills and intelligence. “Maybe, but thinking you lost is the first step to losing. Just keep at it, and if you make the final cut, we could train together to help with that performance.” When she looked back at him, he was still smiling, a real one, and while she wanted to tell him to go fuck himself, her frustration bled away when confronted with such a simple gesture.

“You’re something else, you know that?” She cracked a smile, laughing a little when she saw his confusion.

“Pardon?”

"You nearly deafened me, and now you're trying to make me feel better?" She pointed towards his chest, her smile becoming more jovial.

"Why wouldn't I? We're training to be heroes, and heroes help others. As for the other part, that…that wasn't intentional. Sorry, I didn't apologize till now." She blinked at that statement. She would have called BS, having heard plenty of people say stuff like that back in high school, most because they wanted to impress, but she could hear nothing but a genuine feeling in his words, his face matching up 100%. Sure, she knew he was right, but…he was the only one who tried to talk to her since she got her.

She relaxed a little, turning to walk off as they moved on to the next test. "No sweat, not the first time it's happened, and probably nothing near the last."

"Still, it was rude of me, so please know I am truly sorry." Midoriya moved to catch up, walking with her, and when she turned to leave, he asked if she wouldn't mind hanging with his group; thus, she found herself standing between an overly enthusiastic Hagakure, who was happy to have another girl in their sausage party group, and Tetsutetsu, who upon hearing she could join them for work-outs, as like an excited puppy with how he talked about ways they could in his words 'bulk her up like Star and Stripes'

'Maybe this was a mistake,' She thought to herself as Midoriya gave her a double thumbs-up, a goofy-looking smile on his face.

When it came to the repeated side steps, there wasn’t much fanfare there, outside Mineta having the chance to shine when he used his quirk to create two bounce pads to his sides, which meant that he was zipping to and fro, while Asui used her powerful legs to handle it, taking 3^rd. And while Jiro took last again when she looked and saw the new group that had so quickly taken her as a new member smiling and waving, she didn't feel as terrible about it; she still felt like shit, but hey, not alone, at least.

The real fun came with the softball throw. As Midoriya had already gone, Bakugo was selected to go next, and well-

"Die!" He yelled as he threw the ball towards the sky as hard as he possibly could, adding an explosion to the throw, which saw the ball flying away like it had been thrown from a catapult, smoking almost as much as when Midoriya had thrown it. Most of them had to wait for it to land well out of visual distance; Aizawa got the ping on his phone, which he put into scoreboard protection. Midoriya's picture is in first place, with Bakugo taking 2^nd place with nearly 760m.

"Holy cow, that was far!" Tsunotori awed her hand over her eyes to try and see that far down the field.

"No kidding, he's just barely behind Midoriya; how are we supposed to compete?" Rin crossed his arms in thought, with Bakugo flinching at the reminder that he didn't get the top spot. As if the universe wanted to mess with him more than it already was, he had lost that spot to Deku of all people, Deku that happened to have a stupidly powerful quirk.

Still, he had to leave the circle; Aizawa grabbed another ball from the box he had at his feet. Where he got the box and how they didn't notice it before were things they'd have to wonder about later. “Uraraka, you’re up.” The man stated as he handed Uraraka the ball, and she stepped into the circle with a big smile on her face, no doubt having the plan to do what Rin believed would be a challenge.

“Like this.” She replied as she touched the ball with all four fingertips and her thumb, and just like with the heights, they immediately realized what she had done as she pulled back her arm. “Annnd go!” She the ball and then watched it fly higher, then higher…and higher, with no sign of stopping. Till, like the other two balls, it soon became too far for most to see, but while they wanted it to come down, they also saw that Uraraka hadn't yet brought her hands together to realize it.

She…she wasn’t planning on…was she?

“It…it didn’t fly that fast, right?” Kaminari asked as it had been a good 15 seconds, and there seemed no sign that it would land.

“No, it looked like a pretty normal throw to me…” Ojiro added, baffled as he wondered if Uraraka was waiting for the darn ball to leave school grounds before she released it, or did her quirk have an effect area she was waiting for the ball to cross?

"But then why hasn't the system pinged yet?" Komori asked.

"No, the ball's still in the air and rising." Shoji, the multi-armed giant of their class, replied; two of his arms had shifted into eyeballs and seemed to be tracking the ball that none of the rest could see anymore.

"Uraraka, does your quirk have a range I should know about?" Aizawa brought attention to himself, with Uraraka taking a moment to think about it, as that was never a question she had asked herself; she tended to use her quirk in close quarters, at best mid-ranged for attack ideas she came up with.

"I've never trained like that, so I wouldn't know," she eventually replied, and the ragged-looking man sighed.

“Then till you do, we’ll work under the assumption that till you release your quirk, that ball’s never returning to earth, so I’ll just put in your score as such.” Aizawa momentarily tapped at his tablet screen before Uraraka's picture appeared on the scoreboard with a genuinely ludicrous score.

“Infinity?!” The class yelled, even the more collected students looking at the infinity symbol with shock. Uraraka awkwardly laughed as she rubbed the back of her head once attention shifted to her.

“What the hell, man!” Kamakiri yelled.

“That should be cheating!” Mina agreed with him; how were they going to compete with that? The first two having cannons for arms was bad enough, but Uraraka might as well have taken their scores and gone super Saiyan.

“I got beat out by round cheeks?! That’s bullshit!” Bakugo was even angrier, but Aizawa told them to stop acting like children and get one with it, passing the Iida as Uraraka stepped aside.

"Note to self: Never anger that madam; else you'll find yourself in low orbit," Aoyama whispered to Midoriya as Iida pulled his arm back but paused and decided to use his quirk.

"Yuga, pretty sure most of the girls here could ruin your day if you anger them," Midoriya whispered back, directing his gaze to Jiro, who looked back at the two, the girl's quirk being well suited for eavesdropping, even if she didn't particularly like hearing people's private conversations. At that moment, Iida kicked the ball as hard as he could with an engine-boosted kick, and when it landed, he got a score of 212.5m, putting him in 4^th place for the moment.

When it came to rest, the class knew enough about each other's quirks that they could guess how they'd use them for the test, as Kirishima, Shishida, and Tetsutetsu just their increased strength to throw the ball, with the lowest of them being over 350m. In contrast, Aoyama threw him, then blasted it the distance, which wasn't nearly as far as what Midoriya had achieved, but he didn't mind having a distance of a little under 280m.

Tokage and Yanagi floated the balls across, with Tokage holding it with her hand and managing a better distance before her hand flopped to the ground, no longer in range. She didn't seem concerned about it, just regrowing another one, though Aizawa still made her fetch her limb before the groundskeeper bots went into panic mode should they discover a severed human appendage.

Asui mule kicked the ball while Tsunotori carried it using her two horns but lost balance, and it fell short of the 300 yards she had been aiming for.

"300 yards?" Hagakure asked as they heard Tsunotori complain that she had lost focus at the wrong time.

"It's the American system,," Kamakiri replied, and Hagakure turned to him and frantically waving her arms about.

“Yeah, I know that, but what does that translate to?” She asked him, with the heteromorph pausing to think about it, as if he recalled it right, a single yard in terms of distance was less than a meter, but was it 0.9 or 0.95-

"274.3m, give or take a couple of centimeters." He was beaten to the punch by Yaoyorozu, the girl who had been standing close to them as she waited her turn. Her quick response is for more than just them looking her way.

"How did you just know that?" Midoriya asked, as he had been in the middle of the math himself, but with Yaoyorozu providing the answer, he felt like he was right.

For her part, the girl turned her head their way, a little confused by their question. "I merely converted the imperial to the metric system. Weren't you taught how to do it in middle and high school?" Kirishima, Tetsutetsu, Hagakure, and Ojiro looked and felt a little dumb now; the worst part was that they could tell that Yaoyorozu was completely serious; this wasn't her messing or looking down on them.

Aoyama took it upon himself to explain things, though he felt just as dumb for giving an answer that fast or having one close to it. "Madam, most would still need a calculator if not more time to think about it."

Yaoyorozu's brow creased as she heard that, but seeing that others nodded, she grew a little bashful upon seeing that Aoyama was right. "Oh? My apologies; I didn't mean to imply anything unsightly." She bowed to the class as another person stepped up to take the ball throw.

"It wasn't anything bad; you're academically gifted and should be able to freely express that. Besides, we're in the U.A., so you'll probably do that often." Midoriya waved it off, Jiro and Kirishima agreeing with him, the redhead even asking if he couldn’t study with her from time to time, which got others to join it, which seemed to put a spark in the girl who happily agreed to help any that needed it.

When it came time for Jiro, she was a little nervous. Still, when she threw the ball, she was happy to see that her score wasn't the lowest, with at least 2 other people placing lower as she stepped back, Tetsutetsu slamming a hand into her back in congratulations, nearly knocking her down.

"We're at the second last test, which takes what you did in the first and adds another few levels of difficulty. I trust that you've all done distance running before." Aizawa asked them. The class had moved to the open track area, one that was spacious enough for all 40 to run. That was mainly because the runner lanes were freakishly wide, no doubt to accommodate unusually large students. When the class nodded, the man continued.

"Good, well, this is similar to that, but there's no set distance you have to run, though you'll be idiots for taking it slow and underperforming, and don't think I won't notice." He threatened, with the group frantically nodding their heads as they didn’t want to give the man reason to expel them early.

Iida raised his hand. “Sir, what is the test in question?”

“The Cooper test?” Aizawa stated that this led to some confusion among the students, while others seemed to understand it.

“The…Cooper test?” Shishida asked, which Midoriya was happy to explain.

“It’s a time run, he’s going to judge how far we can run in 12 minutes.” Aizawa nodded at Midoriya’s words.

“That’s correct, and to that end, you’ll all be wearing these measuring harnesses. They’ll give the system the exact distance you run in that time, but if you feel like you can’t run the full, you can just stop and press the button here.” Aizawa opened another box at his feet and pulled out a belt with a box-like device over the buckle with a green button at the top. He pressed it, and the flashing light on the box went solid green, showing on the screen that harnesses one had completed 0m, along with the message reading, 'What the hell are you even doing here? You can't be this out of shape, loser.'

It was a bit harsh, but the man didn't give them time to linger on it as he stepped aside, pointing to the box. "Now everyone grab a harness. We don't have much time left and still another test to finish."

They didn't waste time as they went to the box one at a time, collecting a harness, each adjustable so that the same one could fit Mineta and his small statue as much as it could tanks like Shoji. The design even was adaptable for students with multi-limbs, which the guy appreciated. Once they were prepped, they took their spots on the track, and when Aizawa gave the word, they were off.

As expected, Iida led the pack, as his quirk made this an ideal test for him. Following after him was Todoroki, who propelled himself on his ice, though this meant that the rest had to avoid his wake. Midoriya switched to his flame mode and raced off, his legs propelling him in quirk, long hops like a rabbit, while Shishido shifted into beast mode and ran like a savage chasing down their prey. People like Bakugo, Tokage, and Tsunotori used similar ideas to the dash. Still, a surprising member of the leaders was Yaoyorozu, who didn't so much run as she pulled out a fully sized electric scooter and rode it.

"Oh, come on!" Tsuburaba complained as he ran, once more thanking the fact that his quirk meant he had stronger lungs than normal and had trained extensively with his breathing. So, while not the fastest, he was confident that he could run a good distance. At least, he was until Yaoyorozu decided that running was for the plebeians.

"(Kero) It's not a race, you know." Asui croaked as she hoped past him, followed by Ojiro, who used his tail to propel himself forward faster than expected and give his legs a lower workload.

“Just try your best." He said, with Aoyama mainly blasting himself forward, landing, and jogging before blasting himself forward again, winking at Tsuburaba as he flew right on. Ashido past by Tetsutetsu and Kirishima, the two ran side by side, trying to outdo the other.

"See ya, boys." She cheered as she put distance between them, using her acid so she didn't need to run so much as skate. It wasn't the fastest, but she could do it for a while, a fact she knew after she spent an afternoon goofing off while she trained her quirk. Matching her speed, however, was Kaibara, who spared her a glance, and flashed a competitive smile, one she returned as they decided to try and race one another as well.

By the time Aizawa blew the whistle, they had learned two things. One that U.A.'s track was insanely long as instead of the usual 400m circle, they had built one that was well over 2m from start to finish. Two, that those leaders run circles in that track as Iida took the greatest distance having ran over 11.7km in the given time, with Yaoyorozu on a electric scooter taking 2^nd and even then, she only covered a little over 11.2km.

Todoroki came in third with a little over 10km and could have gone further, but Midoriya noticed midway through that he was having ice build up on his right side, which Todoroki seemed to just ignore. But even stranger was when the time was called, all of it melted right off him.

'Why didn't he do that earlier? Does he need to remain still? Even if that's the case, there was no rule saying we couldn't stop and rest; plenty of the others did that.' Midoriya thought to himself, though he didn't complain about his own place as he took 4^th with over 9.8km, faster than he had been a couple months back. Bakugo got 6^th place with a distance of a little over 8.1km, and Aoyama took 11^th with 4.45km.

Asui got further thanthan him with her 10^th-place spot, but Midoriya was more focused on Jiro, who,, despite being covered in sweat and breathing like she couldn't get enough air into her lungs, managed to run the entire 12 minutes. For that, she completed over 2km and took 37^th place.

"See, I told you that if you put your mind to it, you'll handle it." He complimented her, giving her a thumbs-up, which Jiro wanted to smack him over the head for, but her hands were too busy gripping at her knees to keep her up.

"Shut up and let me fall over; my legs feel like jello." She huffed back.

"It isn't good to do that after a run," Midoriya replied before he moved so that Jiro was on his back and grabbed him.

"What the?!" She didn't have time to fight back, or really the strength, before she found herself on Midoriya's back, his arms crossed beneath her butt to keep her up while she reflectively crossed them over his shoulders and neck.

"This way, you remain upright and get a chance to breathebreathe." Midoriya laughed at his plan to help her, and Jiro's face went red due to their position.

"You idiot, I'm all sweaty, and so are you!" she yelled at him. Some of the others looked their way and either rolled their eyes or just giggling, though Mineta seemed to be shaking his fist at Midoriya.

“Hey, I don’t mind. A hero helps whenever they can.” Midoriya replied as he moved to join the rest of the group, Jiro hiding her face in his back, which gave her a prime spot to both feel how stiff and warm his muscles were, inhale his sweaty scent, which smelt like pine of all things, and lastly hear his steady, somewhat soothing heartbeat. All of which just made her redder.

"Izuku, does the fact she's a pretty lady also factor into it?" Hagakure's teasing didn't make that any more accessible, as Midoriya just realized the implications.

“O-of course not!”

"Perv," Kamakiri smirked at him, which Midoriya balked back.

“How am I a perv? I’m being nice!”

The last test was a 400-meter swimming beat, so they were given a chance to shower to get rid of their sweat and change into the school's swimwear. That was a pair of slim-fit shorts for the boys and a rather conservative single piece for the girls, which also added sleeves and shorts. This left them covered from their knees up to their upper biceps, something which Aoyama heard upset Mineta, who wished to see more.

“Monsieur, if you don’t shape up, you'll be branded a degenerate that should be on a government list," Aoyama told Mineta, who looked back at him, his eyes telling the taller boy that the pervert caught none of that.

"What was that?" Mineta asked as Aoyama turned to walk off.

"Good luck." He replied, but Mineta wasn't an idiot. He might not know French, but he sure as hell knew it didn't take that many words to say that.

“I feel like it wasn’t.”

"It wasn't," Midoriya confirmed as she heard the entire thing, same as Yaoyorozu, who only shook her head at Mineta's frankly concerning the desire to ogle her and the rest of the girls.

“Alright, get ready, I want to get through this quickly.” Aizawa broke that up before he picked the teams of 5 that would be sent in.

Again, Iida took first, though Kaminari and others asked if he could even be allowed to do what he did. He didn't swim so much, so he balanced on the lane divider and ran back and forth. Aizawa just looked at them with his deadpan face, silencing complaints. With that confirmed that they didn't even need to get into the water, many others followed Iida's example, which led to some insane times, as even people like Asui, who were in their element in the water, ended up with just 9^th place.

"(Kero) I'm still the fastest in the water; they didn't even try swimming." She replied when Uraraka asked if she was okay with her surprisingly low placement. Midoriya found himself nowhere near the upper levels he had been staying in for the others, as he didn't have a form that could help in the water—not that much anyway. So he swam like the majority and, because of that, got his lowest placement of the tests, 19^th place.

"Great, we're done. You all have a pretty good idea of where you stand on this, but let's confirm or refute those suspicions, shall we?" Aizawa started, as they had finished with all the tests. The students stood before him still in their swimsuits, the last group that swam still dripping water, including Jiro.

"Your placement on this final scoreboard was calculated using your placements in the tests before being added up and divided by said number of tests, with some points added or removed by me depending on how much I saw your work to ensure that they were no ties," Aizawa explained things, to them, though he had to be a little more critical than even he usually was with some, and a little more loose in others thanks to the fact so many people shared first place for the standing long jump.

Jiro stood, shivering with nerves, as he prayed that her efforts wouldn't mean she'd be going home on the first day. Not when that meant facing her parents and telling them their daughter was a failure after all the time they spent helping her train, getting her extra tutors, and even signing her up for a gym membership last year.

He felt a hand on her shoulder and turned to see Midoriya smiling at her. “You worked hard, you got this.” He looked a little silly, covered in brown skin and slick fur and slowly drying from his swim, but his smile was far too bright for her to laugh at. It would be laughing at a dog that wished to play fetch or comfort you on a bad day.

“Yeah…yeah, I do…I hope.” She replied, still feeling anxious as Hagakure put an invisible hand on her other shoulder.

“We got your back, girl.” She told her with a smile, though Jiro was just assuming that last part.

“Your results.” Aizawa presented their placements.

1^st: Bakugo Katsuki      11^th: Kirishima Eijiro             21^st: Tsunotori Pony          31^st: Kuroiro Shihai

2^nd: Midoriya, Izuku     12^th: Aoyama Yuga               22^nd: Yanagi Reiko              32^nd: Koda Koji

3^rd: Tokage Setsuna     13^th: Tetsutetsu Tetsutetsu  23^rd: Shiozaki Ibara            33^rd: Bondo Kojiro

4^th: Shishida Jurota      14^th: Fukidashi Manga          24^th: Sero Hanta                34^th: Kodai Yui

5^th: Iida Tenya               15^th: Honenuki Juzo              25^th: Sato Rikido                35^th: Mineta, Minoru

6^th: Todoroki Shoto      16^th: Monoma Neito             26^th: Kaibara Sen              36^th: Kaminari Denki

7^th: Yaoyorozu Momo  17^th: Shoji Mezo                    27^th: Ashido Mina             37^th: Shoda Nirengeki

8^th: Kendo Itsuka          18^th: Uraraka Ochaco            28^th: Tsuburaba Kosei      38^th: Hagakure Toru

9^th: Ojiro Mashirao       19^th: Asui Tsuyu                     29^th: Rin Hiryu                   39^th: Jiro Kyoka

10^th: Kamakiri Togaru   20^th: Tokoyami, Fumikage   30^th: Awase Yosetsu         40^th: Komori Kinoko

Midoriya felt good about himself for placing so high on the list, as did Aoyama, though he missed the top ten. Ojiro sighed, smiling when he saw that he was 9^th overall, while Kamakiri crossed his arms. Jiro was so happy that while she placed near the bottom, she wasn't the lowest in the class.

“I…I got last…?” Komori asked, tearing up as she saw her place. Jiro's relief turned sour, as she could recall in more than one test that the shorter girl had performed even worse than she did.

“Wow, suddenly, I feel like a total bitch.” She stated that Midoriya and the rest did not have much to say as they didn't know what they could say in the situation. That reminder robbed most of their joy at their rankings; not even Bakugo felt it was the right time to gloat that he had taken first.

“By the way, I was lying about the expulsion.” Aizawa just threw out. The class stiffly turned to him in shock, which he couldn't help but give a bit of a toothy smile at, though he resembled a drugged-out homeless person more than anything else. “It was a rational deception. What better way to ensure you all gave it your best than to put your buts to the fire?"

.

.

.

"What!!" they cried out in shock. Komori was unsure sure what she should: feel: anger, relief, shock, or some combination of the three. Meanwhile ,Yaoyorozu looked on at their reactions.

"Of course, it was a lie; I thought you all knew." She told them, and again, when they looked back at her, they could tell she was earnest. Did she notice a tell they didn't?

‘I didn’t notice.’ Midoriya and several others thought to themselves, the boy wondering if he was as bright as he thought as he went to a top technical school, but maybe there was something above that.

"Oh, thank God, I'm not expelled!" Komori collapsed to her knees, deciding she could rage about this later. Right now, she was shedding tears of joy.

“Doesn't mean I'm not going to train harder to end up in the top ten next time," Kirishima stated, as with the mode lighter than before, he could smile while making that statement.

"I would hope so. You all might have survived the first day, but that's just it—survival. The rest of the staff and I are going to make sure that by the end of the year, you'll be far better than you are now." Aizawa told them, all eyes turning to the man who looked them over before he shut off the projections, saving the results to the school's servers for later review.

"What that, we're done. Head back to the locker rooms, shower, and get dressed back into your uniforms; you'll find your class timetables and other info on hand-outs on your desks, which I hope you remember." He turned and walked off, not even so much as good work or dismissal, but they imagined that this was his version of that as if nothing else; Aizawa-sensei was unconventional.

‘In a class of natural quirks, I managed 2^nd place.’ Midoriya thought to himself, looking at his hand as his group started discussing their evening plans. ‘Mom’s efforts are really amazing to see.’

‘Don’t forget us, Izuku.’ He heard Hinata in his head.

'Yeah, it was a pretty fun time; now I'm returning to nap.' Date added in, the electric quirk sounding like he had been napping, which knowing him, was probably the case.

“Erasure, you liar.” All Might approached the underground hero, the number one, wearing his typical yellow pinstripe suit instead of his hero gear.

Aizawa, walking away from the field, turned his eye to address the man he had noticed who had been watching them earlier. "All Might didn't think you were the type to skulk around."

“A rational deception, you say? April Fools' was last week. I've seen your record. You've expelled entire classes before, including last year." All Might countered his earlier statement as he read through all the teacher files, and Aizawa's was the most concerning.

Aizawa didn't deny that statement, as it was true, and both knew it, so All Might continued with something he suspected of the man. "You cut those who judge to have no potential without hesitation or regret. For a man like you to take back your word, you must see their potential, the same as me, right?" He gave a smile and a thumbs-up at the man, who merely looked at the thumbs-up with a straight face before looking back at All Might's face.

"As you? You don't even know any of them last I checked. How can you have made that judgment?" All Might flinched at that question, which Erasure easily caught as All Might was a terrible liar. "Or maybe you have your eyes on just the one? Taking favorites, especially this early, is unprofessional behavior for a teacher." Now, he had another mystery, though one that was as important as the first.

Still, All Might was clearly nervous about whatever little secrets he was having about the students. Still, as he trusted the man wasn't involved with anything improper or needlessly scandalous like a romance with one of the students, he decided to cut the man some slack and drop it.

"But as for why I didn't cut anyone, it's because I do judge them all to have some potential, but even with that being the case, if they can't live up to that potential for whatever reason, I won't think twice about cutting them loose. It's better to crush their dreams and let them live than let them chase them and end up dead.” Aizawa returned the topic to what All Might was worried about, and the underground teacher started to leave again.

"I meant what I said earlier: this world is unfair and doesn't care for anyone's hopes or dreams. While some would argue it's cruel to deny people their dreams even if those dreams lead them to an early grave, I would call them fools. Let them cry about it; let them hate me for the rest of their lives; they'll be alive to do that.” He stated, his eyes flashing back to another time, a younger time, but as quick as it happened, it was gone, and the man was back in the present.

Chapter Text

“Text” – Normal speech

‘Text’ – Thought

“Text” – Quirk Spirit speaking in the human world

“Text” - Attacks

“Text” – Radio/Communication lines

“Text” – None Japanese speech

(text) – Subtext/meaning behind a spoken word

After Aizawa instilled a healthy dose of fear, the rest of the day went as expected. They met up with their future lecturers and professors. They were told they'd speak with their mandatory class teachers first and thought it would be pretty standard, but that notion went right out the window when they heard an unmistakable voice approaching.

“I am-” Midoriya and the rest didn’t believe it, but could it be. “Entering through the door like a normal person!” All Might came bursting in through the door in any way but ordinary, but not a single person cared as they lost their minds at the sight of the world's greatest hero.

“It’s All Might!” Kaminari gushed out, nearly jumping from his seat.

“What is he doing here?” Kamakiri asked, his face nearly splitting with how much he was smiling; how could he not? How could any of them not be amazed by the sight of All Might's massive, powerful frame, that reward-winning smile, and his ironic hair, all packaged in a bright red, white, and yellow costume with a long blue cape? This was the pinnacle of what it meant to be a pro-hero.

"And in his silver age costume, no doubt; talk about retro!" Asui mentioned as the man marched up to the front of the class.

"His style is so different that it's giving me goosebumps," Ojiro said, Aoyama in awe of the man's radiantt up t, whichhe entire room.

"Oh, Oh, is he a guest speaker or something?" Ashido jumped up, waving her hand, which only got others more hyped. Sure, Aizawa rained on their parade, but it looked like things were going to go up.

“Hahaha! I’m afraid not, young Ashido!” All Might let out that ironic, hearty laugh of his that they had all heard at least once, a laugh that had been comforting people and terrifying villains longer than they had ever been alive, with not even the stone-faced Todoroki being able to resist his face twitching as a smile cracked through his otherwise passive mask.

“I’m much more than that, as it was kept on the down low, but I've accepted a recently vacant post here at U.A." All Might announced, which left them wide-eyed as the anticipation built up inside them. This sounded too good to be accurate, but All Might never lied, so it had to be true.

“You don’t mean-” Kendo moved to ask, but All Might beat her to the punch.

“That’s right, you’re looking at your new Heroic Laws professor,” He revealed to their awe and cheers at having the top hero as a teacher and as first years to boot. Midoriya wondered just what sort of wisdom he could impart to them and just how much better they'd be for it come graduation.

All Might loved their excitement to learn from him. Students should always wish to learn more, and having a fun and safe environment for that was crucial. Though he couldn't just act like this was any other day on the hero grind, bowing a little to them, he displayed some of the humbleness that he had always kept. "Though I feel like that title is wasted on me, I ask that you all help me guide you so we can all have the best year possible."

"Yes, sir!" The class agreed with him wholeheartedly, which made his smile even larger as he stood to his full height. Even with him at the front and they all seated in ever-elevating rows, it still felt like he was this mountain looking down at them.

"Excellent. Now, can anyone tell me why heroic law is a mandatory class?" All Might asked, with one hand shooting up faster than everyone else's. “Yes, young Yaoyorozu.”

The girl stood poised and confident as ever upon being recognised. "Heroes are just as much a part of the government's law enforcement wing as police, though we don't have the same powers and authorities. Regardless, because we're tasked with protecting the public order and stopping and capturing villains, we must understand the laws to ensure we both abide by them and inspire others to do the same."

When she finished and sat back down, most of the class didn't know how to react, as she spoke like she had memorised the literal rulebook. However, she didn't merely repeat what she had heard but concisely and accurately described it in her own words. Not even All Might was spared, as the man coughed into his hand, looking a little embarrassed that a student managed to steal his thunder like that.

“My, that was a little wordier than I thought, but you hit the nail right on the head!” Regardless of that, he gave her a thumbs-up before continuing. "I was picked for that role because, despite what you all might assume, I work closely with police every day. In fact, my second best friend happens to be a detective. It’s through this partnership, and we understanding and respecting the law, that I've been able to be your symbol of peace."

He wanted them, more than anything, to understand the police's role and how they weren't just clean-up and backup for heroes. Police might not battle villains or carry the weight of collapsing buildings to save people. Still, they maintained order, were a major factor in disaster relief, and arrested and investigated crimes to ensure that villains caught paid for their actions, and allowed pros like him to catch the smarter ones that fled or struck when heroes could not immediately respond.

He had seen too many pros have such a poor opinion of the boys in blue and wouldn’t let that sort of mindset start with his students, even if he saw some students ignore his words. He’ll have to work on them especially hard.

"But I'll let you in on a little secret: There is another reason for you to understand the law," All Might whispered, though it was still loud enough for the entire class to hear. And that is to be able to play it to your advantage; it's not just lawyers who need to find loopholes and alternative readings of written law, after all."

"But, sir! Isn’t that against the ideals of a hero?” Iida shot to his feet, his arm chopping away.

All Might disagreed with him, but not in the way Iida perhaps thought. "Some would say that young Iida, but I believe that a hero's job, first and foremost, is protecting people, and sometimes you can't do that if you look at the law as this infallible, ironclad rule. In fact, I'm of the opinion that while laws are meant to maintain society, they'll also be meant to serve and protect the people within that society, much like heroes."

While the media liked to paint it as as a bag guy exclusive thing, bending the law and finding loopholes to get away with their dastardly deeds, it was a neutral tactic as the law couldn't apply to every situation perfectly, and context was always important. That was why they had courts with procedures where lawyers argued for and against things. It was the same with hero work as there'll be plenty of situations where he knew they'd find themselves compromised or facing their own trolley problems, so they'd need the tools and training to be able to look at such and derail or stop the trolley without hurting anyone.

"I understand, then. Pardon me for interrupting!" Iida bowed to him before taking his seat once more, to which All Might merely let out a hearty laugh.

"It's quite alright, this is a university; if you don't question and debate the world, I would be concerned that you'll just be machines!" He joked as Aizawa might have already shown them the consequences, but they were also young and needed the space to explore and question, not just blindly obey. "However, don't get it confused; I'm not going to teach you to break the law and act like vigilantes, but to bend it to your will so that you can truly go plus ultra!"

With that speech, it was a foregone conclusion that the class would rise to their feet, their fists in the air. “Yeah!”

"Good; any other questions?" All Might, with Kaminari, the first to respond.

"Who's your other best friend?" All Might laughed, as it might not be related to school, but where was the harm?

So he gestured to his costume, which Asui had already correctly identified as his silver-aged gear. “Young man, who do you think makes my costumes?”

"You've met with All Might; now it's my time to shine!" Once All Might had said his piece and signed some autographs, he bid them a goodbye and left as boldly as he had arrived. Not even 30 seconds passed before another pro pulled open the door.

She got a similarly positive response from the students. However, it was mainly the boys, as she strutted into the glass, her reinforced heels clicking on the hardwood floor, her hips swaying in a way that drew the eye to her long, powerful, plump yet muscular legs to her wide waist up her body to her breasts that are bounced with easy step, the thinness of her costume made all the more arousing by the fact it was the same color as her skin, it was as if she had walked in with just boots, a garter belt, and other accessories.

She smiled like All Might, but she was more carnal and sensual with how her eyes flirted with them all, leaving some hot around the collar as she took her place by the podium. "Boys and girls, I'll be handling your Heroic drama classes. I am Midnight, but I'll let you call me mistress if you're good." She licked her lips at the end, and Midoriya swore he heard someone curse that he shouldn't get hard at that, while another whispered that she had to control herself, and frankly, he was in that boat as the Rated-R heroine: Midnight was the top sex symbol in Japan for a reason.

"First the Symbol of peace, and now Midnight? This year's going to be great." Mineta seemed to cry tears of joy.

“You’ll be seeing her next year if you can’t stop eyeing up her boobs.” Jiro poked fun at the fact his, and more than a few other eyes, had been more on Midnight's rather bountiful bosom than her face, though it seemed like the woman was both aware of that and enjoyed how horny she made them all.

“Is that even legal? She’s the teacher!" Hinata asked, popping into the real world, scandalized by Midnight's ability to flaunt herself so aggressively to the class.

Shigeru followed after her, the same with (?), but she remained silent about things. "Well, technically, everyone in this room is a legal adult. Would it be unprofessional for her to bang a student? Sure, but would it be against the rules? I don't recall anything in the U.A. rulebook saying so.”

“Wasn't there that show you all were watching the other day? The one with the professor having a spicy, roller-coaster romance with one of his students?" (?) asked Midoriya, but Midoriya's attention went back to Midnight, who let out a rather suggestive giggle at Jiro's statement. Was everything she did meant to arouse?

"I appreciate a man who stays long term, but this isn't a situation for that. I run a tight ship in my class, and believe me when I tell you that if you fall out of line, you wouldn't like the punishments I'll cook up for you." Midoriya both wanted to learn what that was and also not.

Near the back of his row, Yanagi raised her hand. “Midnight-sensei, if I may?” To which Midnight’s smile lost a little of that sensualness and looked closer to what one would expect from an educator. “Go right ahead, sweetheart.”

"Why is your class compulsory while something like PE is listed as an elective?" Yanagi got to the point as politely as she could, holding up the form of classes that they were all given to read over. Among other things, it didn't say which teacher handled which class, explaining how not one of them even knew All Might was now employed at U.A.

Midnight, however, didn't take any offense to the question. Instead, she moved so that she stood in front of the podium, leaning on it with her legs crossed at the shins. "That is a good question. Does anyone wish to take a crack at it? Anyone at all?" She turned the question back at them, and unlike before, there wasn't much eagerness from them to answer, as most didn't think they had one.

Hagakure raised her hand, something Midnight could see thanks to the sleeve of her school uniform. When she was given permission, the invisibly girl spoke, though she sounded unsure of herself. “Well, because heroes spent a lot of time on TV?”

Midnight didn’t scold her, remaining patient and warm to them. "That's part of why, but not the full answer. Is anyone else?" She asked again, and this time, no one raised their hands, but she expected that and had another means of getting them involved.

"Here's another question, why do you think heroes wear flashy costumes, have hero names, and even yell out our attack names? It seems counterintuitive, right? Don't be shy with me; we can take this nice and slow." Some seemed uncomfortable with the question, not just for the double entendre she used. She knew that the topic must have come up at some point in their lives; there were always people who went on and on about how heroes were not practical enough, that they should act more like police, that things like costumes would be more like body armor and all that jazz.

Midoriya was the one who spoke up. “Well…I mean, it's cool when you see it in the streets, but it does seem kind of weird if you stop and think about it." He still felt he was insulting her and every other hero who worked day in and day out for their benefit, with others around squirming. Midnight didn't see it like that at all; she rather gave him an encouraging nod for his statement.

"I'm a big girl, and I can take some criticisms, though such a mistake misses the point of heroes." Midnight told them they needed to feel comfortable with this before she explained things to them. "We're kept separate from the regular branches of law enforcement as we're not just there to uphold the law, but give people hope, to help people feel safe. We're so flashy and dramatic so that we're seen and recognizable, and we make it easier for people to trust us with their lives even in a crisis."

"A way for that to happen is to perform while we work. Granted, it helps if you enjoy that part of it, as I do," She raised her hand in a way she glanced at a boob, making it jiggle a little, something that had many eyes intently watching, which made her smile. "But as heroes, we're actors, and the world is the stage."

"I believe I understand now, Midnight-sensei; thank you for the explanation." Yanagi nodded before bowing and taking her seat once more.

"It's no problem at all, sweetie. We'll have an entire school year to work on that, finalizing and adjusting your costumes, hero names, and even ultimate moves. Not to mention helping you with interviews and your general persona." Midnight gave them a basic run-down of things they'll have to look forward to, and much the idea of being taught by All Might excited them; they were as eager for what they would do in her class as that was some of the best parts of being a hero student.

"I'll be sure to take you innocent little darlings and make sure you can strut the run walk with the best of them—that's a promise!" Pulling her whip out, she cracked it before her, her eyes lighting up in sadistic glee, but also a teacher's determination, which had the students equal parts scared and enthusiastic about meeting her expectations.

 “Man, that was a great time.” Tokage cheered as Midnight walked out the door, waving at them and promising that her classes would be a fun time for everyone.

“I know, right? I wonder who’ll get next?” Rin asked as Iida took a second to think about it, mentally crossing out mandatory classes their papers said they'd have to take.

"Well, it seems like the teachers teach the mandatory stuff, and we've covered law and drama so that leaves Field medical care and foundational hero studies." The speedster eventually stated, with Hagakure laughing as she recalled that All Might of all people, someone known for his crazy power and ridiculously short or epic fights and feats of heroism, wouldn't be teaching them how to be like that, but more about how the law applied to them and how they could bend it.

"They totally put All Might in law because it would be a total snoozefest," she said, which got laughs from Tsuburaba, Tetsutetsu, and Honenuki.

Turning towards Hagakure’s seat at the back, Ashido joined in the conversation. "Hey, so long as it's not Aizawa taking any more classes, I don't care who it will be."

"Sorry to disappoint." She wasn't the only one who screamed in surprise at that familiar voice, one that sparked dread as Mina and the rest looked towards the door and saw it open once more with a pro in fluffy white astronaut attire standing there. Still, their attention was on a familiar pro in black already at the podium, looking as bored and tired as when they last saw him. “But you’ll be seeing me every day.”

“What the hell, man? How did you get in here?” Ashido cried out, pointing at the man.

“I didn’t even hear him!” Jiro was starting to think that whatever this guy’s quirk was, it made him capable of just masking his presence.

"Wait, every day? You said you're the academic advisor. What gives?" Awase yelled at the man who looked on, unmoved. Instead, he turned to the second hero, whom they hadn't even had the time to address.

“I’ll let Thirteen explain her stuff first, then I’ll go.” He ignored their questions and stood aside for the newly introduced Thirteeen. “Knock yourself out.” The pro looked over the class, whose eyes were still warily tracking Aizawa like he was a wild animal, or maybe it was more accurate to say like a herd of deer watching a wolf in the shrubbery.

“You’ve already terrified them?” The hero asked, her mask muffling her voice somewhat, but one could detect the lack of surprise and some amusement at the situation.

Aizawa shrugged. “That’s the job the dean keeps me on for. He’s twisted like that.” Midoriya felt a shiver worm its way down his spine, the same as the rest, as they recalled their acceptance letters and the recording of the dean. He seemed eccentric to them, but if he hired someone as terrifying and brutal as Aizawa just to be cruel and terrifying, it made them wonder how much of a beast the dean was.

“Fair enough,” Thirteen accepted that response without further words and stepped forward, facing the class.

Uraraka, trying to ignore the personified dread that Aizawa, instead focused on the happier presence in the room, namely her childhood hero. "Oh my God, it's her, it's Thirteen! She's my favorite hero!"

“She's a gentlemanly hero whose rescued countless people in disasters." Midoriya joined in on her excitement for the pro. She wasn't his favourite, but he loved heroes and quirks, so one would be hard pressed to find a hero he didn't like.

“Don’t you still have her plushie?” Aoyama asked, with Midoriya glaring at him, red in the face, as he knew damn well that Aoyama wanted people to know that it wasn't like he could whisper it when they sat on opposite sides of the lecture hall!

“Shut up!” He settled on that but found some support as Uraraka raised her fist.

"Yeah, what's wrong with having her plushie? It was a steal, and it's super huggable!" Thirteen laughed at the little display going in, a fresh difference from what Aizawa would have done.

"I'm happy to see some fans among you, but why don't I introduce myself? Greetings, I'm the Space Hero: Thirteen. Eraserhead and I will be in charge of your foundational hero studies, where my specialty will be rescue training." She stated, gesturing to herself and then to the pro in black standing in the corner like a living shadow.

“Wait…so when he said we’ll see him daily…” Sato asked, the color fading from his face.

"He meant that the main hero class…would be his class? We might have angered an elder God or something; that's just too cruel." Shoda finished, the short boy looking like death warmed over, the same as most of them as they realized that, not helped by how demented Aizawa's smile was when he saw he had their attention.

“Oh, don’t be so down! Aizawa’s classes won’t be any harder than mine, but that said, I don't intend to go easy on you, as rescue work is my bread and butter. When you'll with me, I'll ensure that you don't just know basic rescue procedure but can recite and perform it in your sleep." Thirteen put the conversation on track, with Shiozaki bowing her head towards the pro.

"It would be an honour to learn from you, as rescuing those in need is God's work," she said, with Kirishima clasping his fists.

"It's not punching villains in the face, but it's like a cornerstone of hero work. I can't call myself a man if I don't excel at it!" he declared, with Tetsutetsu yelling in agreement.

"(Kero)When we have water training, I'll be unbeatable," Asui mentioned, and based on her performance during their swim test, none doubted her.

"Not just maritime rescues like for rivers to seas, we'll work on every kind of rescue situation you could be called to, from a simple car accident to massive landslides and typhoon to multi-block infernos and winter storm operations." Thirteen told them, had arms held up high and wide, inspiring some zeal in the students who imagined that they'd be traveling all over the country for things like that.

"Erasure? Anything to add?" Thirteen asked, the man staying silent. His face was absent of expression as he looked them over, from one side to the next, like an automaton scanning.

"Be prepared to be worked into the ground and then worked near your graves."

Again, Thirteen didn't seem surprised by his rather lacklustre response to his chance to explain to them why his class was important and hype them up for it. "Well then, back to me. Do you have any questions?"

Once Thirteen had answered most of their questions, having chosen to be vague on some, she and Eraser bid them goodbye, or rather, she bid them goodbye, and Eraser just walked out the door. Her final words reminded them that their first hero class would be with Aizawa, so she wished them good luck before closing the door behind her.

When it opened next, it wasn't like with All Might and Midnight, who stepped in like stars would onto a stage before millions. It wasn't like Aizawa, who snuck in like a shadow. Instead, the door merely slid open, and their final mandatory class teacher walked in, his form hidden by the poncho and cowboy hat he wore, but he walked with a clear sense of purpose, alertness, and swagger. These are allOne would expect everything from a man who chose to model himself off the rugged American cowboy.

"Howdy, I'll be your professor for foundational field medical care. The name's Snipe. Do you have any questions?" The man was, if nothing else, straight to the point.

Uraraka raised her hand. “Snipe, isn’t Recovery Girl also on staff?”

"And shouldn't she be handling you young bucks regarding healing folk?" Snipe said the quiet part out loud, which made her a little nervous that he might take offense to that, but the man merely chuckled through his gasmask, the laugh coming out coarse and hard. “Well, she’s the school nurse. She can’t spend too much time helping you when she’s got her own patients to deal with.”

Also, Recovery Girl was old, real old, and had long since run out of patience for horsing around for rambunctious students. Of sure, she could pull off the sweet ole granny act, the type that always gave you kisses and had apple pie always on the window sill when you popped on by, but that was act as thin as a snake's skin. It wasn't a matter of when they'll hit the wrong note, but when and if they did, well, she would have them begging for the drill sergeant that was Eraser head.

He knew that personally, since she was the one that tutored him back in the day, he still had nightmares about that syringe-themed walking stick and what he could do in properly angry old hands.

But as amusing as it would be to see the old girl bully them worse than Aizawa would be, he could already tell the second question before it was even asked. “Let me guess: What makes you qualified to teach then?” This time, Fukidashi got a little shy as he was about to raise his hand. “Show of hands, have any of you ever held a gun? Aimed down the sights, pulled the trigger?”

His voice carried no bemusement or jest. It was as serious as a bullet wound, and to it, only one of them raised their hands, and that was Yaoyorozu, though that was a given with her, as her quirk meant that she would have at least tried making firearms in the past. He must look into her papers to ensure she was properly certified.

"Here's a simpler question, then. Have any of you ever used your quirk against somebody else with intent to harm them?" This time, she lowered her hands, but while no one spoke up, Snipe had been in the game long enough to spot the truth in some of them. No takers, but I can smell the smoke, even if you ain’t bburnin'" Many looked about, no doubt surprised by that statement,;others looked at him in concern and anger.

He wasn't going to oust them for it. Kids were kids, and they could do some pretty messed-up stuff. That doesn't mean they're bad people now, and considering they all made it through the school's behavioral and disciplinary checks, well, whatever things they did were just a storm in a tea cup.

Snipe quick drew his weapon, an action so fast that most of the students didn’t even see him reach for it. He held it upwards, his arm straight to show off the custom-built heavy 9-round revolver, chambered for the specially made high impact .44 Magnum rounds. Something he could unload all nine rounds from less than 9 seconds and knock a grown man right onto his ass from 600m away. It was a beast of a weapon.

And he pointed it right at them, his faceless visage meaning that none could tell what he was thinking as the temperature of the room seemed to fall as he spoke up, his voice callous and all business. "Well, I don't need to hide it; I've used ole Annie here more than I care to count. Each time I did, I had to be darn sure I didn't cripple or kill the villain I was fighting. That takes a head filled with all the knowledge of how to treat injuries; after all, if you know the body, you can aim for stuff that ain’t all that important.”

He pulled the trigger…and nothing happened, as he had unloaded it before entering the class. "You'll learn how to be just as careful as I need to be in other classes, but with me, you'll learn to handle the times when being careful wasn't enough. When bad luck or some darn villain means that a whole lotta people need a doctor that ain’t there.” He returned the gun to its holster.

“In fact, I wouldn’t mind if half of you transfer out and head on over to our EMT or medical courses.” Some balked at that, his casual dismissal of them, as if they didn’t derserve to be there. “This ain’t no cattle prod to your pride.”

His tone changed, growing darker, angrier, haunted even as his mask meant that they couldn’t even see his eyes. "Trust me, when you're out in the field, and the wolves are at the door, they're never enough doctors, nurses, and EMTs on standby, so you best listen to what I'll teach yeh, so when-not if, those damned wolves came, you’ll have the tools and skills to actually do something about rather than curse on to high heaven.”.

After that, they had visits from the teachers responsible for the elective classes, who explained why they should sign up with them and what benefits it would bring. Some even debated students on the merits of their courses, which, in comparison to what came before with the mandatory stuff, was a breath of fresh air for them. Before they knew it, they were released early after their lunch period. Even their upperclassman were released early, seeing how it was the first day.

"We didn't do anything yet, and I feel exhausted," Hagakure noted as she walked out of the Hero Course building. With her was their dorm group from before, but with the added people of Jiro, Uraraka, and Iida. Kirishima would have been with them, but he already had plans.

"Meeting all those heroes and heroines will affect you," Midoriya hummed, his notebook held close to his chest. He had managed to get autographs from all of them,even All Might, though the man took up two whole pages.

"I'm pretty sure it was more than quirk assessment that Eraser had us run." Jiro rolled her shoulders, as even with it being a couple hours since the drill sergeant of an instructor had put them through their paces under the perceived pain of expulsion, she could still feel the soreness. “You know anything about him?” She turned to Midoriya, who took a second to try to recall what he knew about the man.

“Well I know-wait, why are you asking me?” He asked in return, with Jiro lazily pointing at Aoyama.

“Aoyama said you’re an hero otaku.” Midoriya turned to his best friend, annoyed that Aoyama didn't even pretend to hide how smug he was.

“Will you deny it?” He challenged him, and Midoriya nearly did but then paused and lowered his hand, which got some chuckles from the group. Still, he wouldn't forget this as he gave Yuga a look that promised such before he finally answered Jiro's question.

"I don't know much. He's underground, and those pros treat the press like the plague. I know he's skilled with that scarf and can shut off quirks just by looking at you, but that's it.” He wished he knew more, as the idea that someone like that could come after them while out on the job was a scary one.

“Wait, he can do that? Why haven’t I heard about him?” Tetsutetsu asked, to which Kamakiri rolled his eyes.

"He just said he's underground; it's almost impossible to find anything about those types." Underground pros were near vigilante in how they operated. Unlike most pros, whose details could be accessed or found if one looked hard enough, underground pros had their details wiped clean from the internet. Any school files pertaining to them could only be released if the hero commission willed it or a court order compelled it. Just finding a blurred image was a minor miracle.

“Regardless, I still find an issue with his method as I worry what sort of man he is if he's the idea of encouragement as a threatening deception." Iida crossed his arms as he spoke, and it wasn't like he was alone in that thought, even if most of them had performed well enough to have been safe should Aizawa have been severe.

"It's not ideal, but it does align with what he told us initially. And it feels like the rest of the professors have a similar mindset. We gotta be prepared for the rough times," Ojiro replied, recalling how even All Might mentioned that doing hero work wasn't all sun-shrine and rainbows and how they'll need to learn to bend and operate under loopholes.

"We're going to enter a harsh and unforgiving performance, so while certainly over the top, I can't fault the man," Aoyama added.

“Okay, but what do we do about the elective stuff? They said we just have the afternoon and evening to decide since we have to hand in our choices tomorrow before the end of the first period." Uraraka sighed, as how could they expect to make a good choice when so many of the classes sounded so cool or important?

"I'm happy they don't try to force us, you say, the timetable. Even with just the 3 electives, we'll be in class till past 5! That's a whole 2 extra hours than high school." Hagakure complained as Aizawa wasn't kidding when he said they'd be trained into the ground; they'll barely have time for any fun outside campus most weekdays with such a schedule.

Aoyama let out a small chuckle and was about to reply when his phone went off. Pulling it out, he read the message he had received, his eyes widening just a little before returning to normal, something that only Midoriya picked up on. “Something the matter, Yuga?”

"No, it's just that mom needs me to pick something up; it's all the way across town," Aoyama replied, coming up with a lie on the spot, one that Midoriya caught but didn't call him out on; it was, after all, a good cover.

Playing along, he didn't have to pretend to be sad that his friend would need to split from the group to handle some business across town. “That’s unfortunate, but Auntie wouldn't have asked if it wasn't important. I'll cover dinner tonight; just don't stay out too late."

"Of course I can't. I have to finish with this before the stores close.” Aoyama retorted as he faced the group and said his farewell, shaking Tetsutetsu's hand and kissing a surprised Jiro's knuckles. The girl let out a whelp as he turned and power walked off. "Ladies, gentlemen, I bid you adieu.”

Chapter Text

“Text” – Normal speech

‘Text’ – Thought

“Text” – Quirk Spirit speaking in the human world

“Text” - Attacks

“Text” – Radio/Communication lines

“Text” – None Japanese speech

(text) – Subtext/meaning behind a spoken word

“You good on the drinks?” Midoriya asked as he returned from the kitchen, the group had decided that with classes officially starting the following day, they might as well hang out and get to know each other better and his and Yuga's place was picked.

“Yeah, man. Don’t need to bust out the fancy stuff for us.” Jiro held up the glass of water she had asked for, her jacket removed and resting on her armrest.

“I didn’t, we didn’t pack that,” Midoriya replied, though he looked a little irritated as he said the next part. “Despite how much Yuga wanted us to.”

Iida hummed at that, placing his cup of orange juice down. that hadn’t been the first time he had heard Midoriya refer to Aoyama with his first name, and vice versa. “Forgive me for assuming, but you’re close to Aoyama, Midoriya?”

Midoriya sat down between Tetsutetsu and Hagakure, letting out a relaxed sigh. “No, you’re not wrong, Iida. Yuga and I have known each other since we were in kindergarten and have been best friends for almost as long." He smiled as he recalled all the things they got up to growing up. The secrets that only they knew about the other.

“I could totally tell, you two have this energy where you don’t need words and can get what the other is thinking just like that.” Hagakure snapped her fingers at the end there, or at least, she assumed she did.

"Years of trial and error on our end, I couldn't tell you how many times we thought we were on the same page only to miscommunicate," Midoriya replied, though he didn’t give up details as the last thing he wanted was for them to have ammo to tease the two about. He got enough of that from Yuga and Saiko.

“It must have made for some fun stories.” Uraraka smiled as if she was honest, she was a little jealous of what Midoriya and Aoyama had. Oh, she wasn't friendless growing up, where she went to middle and high school, no one cared about her family situation, but sadly only a couple of her friends even attempted to get into U.A. and all had failed. The rest either went to work their family's trade or some other kind of trade school.

“A bunch, there is a reason my mother stopped letting us mess around her lab.” Midoriya laughed at a memory, though he kept it to himself. Still, that statement, vague as it was, did give some insight into them.

“Her lab? Is your mother a scientist? Does she work in the support industry?” Kamakiri asked. A fair question as it wasn't rare for hero students to come from families with ties to the industry, he was pretty sure that was the case with Todoroki for example.

“Nothing like that, she’s just a quirk researcher,” Midoriya shook his head, though there was something he wished to share. “Actually, it was Yuga’s parents that gave her a big break after she left I-island and returned to Japan, and our two families have been close since.” He was far too young to really remember I-island, but he knew that it was a downgrade for her, to go from such a place to just a little clinic in the corner of the street.

Her genius would have never shined as bright as it does now if the Aoyamas hadn't tracked her down that day. She wouldn't have been able to make so many breakthroughs in quirk science or help nearly as many people as her work has done by now.

Ojiro and the rest could detect just how proud he was of his mother, and how grateful he was to the Aoyamas. “So your mom works with quirks? It must have made it so easy for you to train then, you have an expert right there and all the gadgets you could want.” He noted that someone with a quirk as versatile as Midoriya's would need more than the dojo he used growing up.

Midoriya chuckled, as while Ojiro had been right on the money, such facilities weren’t on the legal blueprints of his mother’s lab, so he shouldn’t let people assume such. “My mom’s lab isn’t built to be a quirk gym you know.” His eye turned to the TV, which had been on mute for a while now but it seemed to be playing something important so he grabbed the remote and turned the volume up.

“The incident occurred just outside Kuchiki station less than 2 hours ago just as the afternoon rush was in full swing. Witnesses report hearing a loud crash and feeling the ground shake beneath their feet, but as of this moment, no villain has been found connected to the attack, nor was anything reported stolen.” The group watched the news report, with the footage being played off the station, one near the other side of town, wrecked with emergency services still rushing about, clearing away rubble and getting the tracks back into operation.

“The heck was that about?” Tetsutetsu asked.

“No clue, but who in their right mind would start shit when this is U.A.’s tuff? They itching to get a beat-down or something?” Kamakiri asked, but Iida was more concerned than irritated like his classmate.

“Wasn’t that in the direction that Aoyama went?” Iida asked Midoriya, but the green-haired boy waved it off.

“I wouldn’t worry too much; he can handle himself just fine. Besides, they haven’t mentioned any injuries. At best, he’s just been delayed and is running around wondering how he’ll make it in time.” Midoriya replied. He knew more than they did, but what he knew wasn’t cause for alarm.

 As Iida feared, that incident was in the direction that Aoyama had left in, but what he and the rest bar Izuku didn't know was that it was that very incident that drew him to the area. The area was already sectioned off by police tape, but only a few pros were on the scene once it was made clear that any villain that could have done this wasn't around, they left to either search for them or continue with their patrols, leaving just a couple in the area just in case they were wrong.

Rather, it was police and firefighters that were in full force, putting out fires, examining evidence, or questioning witnesses for details. The press right at the yellow tape with their cameras running even now as they talked about, and much to the police's irritation, reminding people that they had no idea what caused this.

Aoyama casually walked among the police and firefighters, decked out in his Paladin gear as he kneeled to inspect a piece of debris. Holding it up to the light, he saw that there were signs of slime on it. 'No, not slime, sludge maybe?'

“What’s the difference?” Luminance asked as she appeared next to him, the years have been nothing but kind to her as in the time since they first met and bonded, she had only grown more beautiful, colorful, and large. Then, she had been the size of a golden retriever sans tail, but now she was massive, easily the size of an ostrich.

A worker passed on by them, after which Aoyama replied. “Slime is mucus made by animals like snails and slugs, it's natural. Sludge is the residual stuff left behind from industrial work, it's artificial." He pulled something from his belt, and scraped off some of the sludge into a test tube, before placing it back into a special device hidden on his belt by his cape.

“So you’re saying this was artificial? Seems suspicious for such a substance to end up here, far from any industrial zones.” He agreed with her, especially since his helmet's scanners didn't pick up other signs of an industrial accident such as higher concentrations than normal of typical industrial chemicals.

“You’re right, but I have a hunch.” He voiced that, only to hear a soft beep from his belt. The info from the quick scan appeared on his helmet’s HUD, a rarely used feature but one that made such things all the easier, he’ll have to thank those new support engineers Madam Midoriya managed to hire for this later.

Looking through the info, he saw that the substance he had collected was in fact quirk quirk-based, but there were clear signs of DNA in it, something that didn't exist in a quirk spirit. He firmed his lips as he turned and walked right past some police talking about how nosy the press was and grabbed another piece of debris, one that didn't appear like the first. “More of it, and if these two pieces of debris are what I think they are,”

Holding them up, he saw that one came from the sidewalk, but the other was from the station line that ran overhead. One from above, and another from below…

“So, it was a Ha, perhaps a Gekiha?” Luminance suspected.

“Doubtful, this destruction would match up with most of that class, I would put it at best a high level (Jitsunagi)Earth-Bond Fragments.” At least, he hoped it wasn't a Gekiha, not after the mess that was Hiroyuki's rampage. However, there was one thing that seemed similar to that earlier incident.

“It was probably chasing someone then, though who that was is still a mystery.”

"One that I want to solve before people are hurt if not worse by this," Aoyama stated, resolved to carry that through as he turned and left the scene, not a single person even acknowledging that he was ever there to begin with. How could they when as far as they and every camera in the area was concerned, he was never seen, though many would wonder about the weird voice they heard speaking, but never saw someone close enough to put a face to it.

“Hiroyuki Hitsugaya?” Endeavour asked, his Flaming Sidekicks having gathered in his office to give the report he had wanted for months now.

When the bandaged Kido nodded, Endeavour grunted out with disapproval. “It took far too long to find just the one name.” It might not have been their primary case, as they had plenty of work to handle but still, it was shameful that it took this long for them to find a name.

Kido didn‘t try to defend himself, Endeavour hated excuses, so he went with the truth. “Sorry about that boss, there were a lot of reports we had to sort through.”

That was an understatement as while it would have been hard enough tracking names when the criminals destroyed large parts of it, as a trafficking ring, they had business in other countries which meant extensive and pro-longed communications with law enforcement in countries they knew the group operated it, which came out to 8 different places. All had to go through missing person reports and do smaller investigations, eliminating people painfully slowly till they came back with this.

Endeavour knew that, but that didn't mean he had to like it. Still, he could focus on what they could do something about, which was digging deeper into possible ties to this Caretaker vigilante, who had been spotted over a dozen more times since that day. “Can’t be helped, what do we know?”

Onima took it from there, reading off the file they managed to compile about the kid. “Hitsugaya Hiroyuki would be age 11 this year. Born November 13^th to Isshin Hitsugaya and an unknown mother, according to the files, she gave up full custody when the kid was born and vanished.” Nothing out of the ordinary there, parents gave up custody all the time, besides by all accounts it wasn’t like this Isshin character was anything less than an exemplary father.

Speaking of that father, he handed Endeavour a picture of the man, Endeavour taking in the black hair, white eyes, and stubbly. “Father was an insurance broker. Around 2 years ago, his then 9-year-old son didn’t return home from school and he filed the missing person’s report, pretty active in the search for his son after that.” There were at least 8 different police reports. One filed not even 3 hours after the boy's elementary school closed for the day.

He spoke with the cops and they told him they turned the man away as it hadn't been long enough for it to count as a disappearance, but they did make a report of it and had some people check spots where children liked to hang out instead of heading home. But when night had fallen, they opened up the case and sadly, it went nowhere. Based on what they had on record, the man spent all his free time searching for his son, gathering support and even hiring a couple PIs.

“And now?” Endeavour asked them, as he would imagine a man like that would have been over the moon when his boy was found after all that time. Sadly, Onima didn't have a good ending to the story.

“He was killed in a car crash last year.” The number one frowned harder at that, his flames spiked if only for a moment as Kida handed him the news article about the incident, a drunk truck driver rammed into several cars that happened to be leaving from a rally for missing kids Isshin set up, his being the 3^rd car to be hit. Along with that was the autopsy report confirming the man died in the crash.

Tragic, but he focused on the investigation. Now that they knew the father couldn't have been the one, perhaps it was the son who through luck happened upon their vigilante friend or someone that connected them to him. “And the boy? Did he escape from those bastards?”

"I'm afraid not, according to them, he was one of 3 kids who died in a loading accident at the docks. They tossed his body overboard while at sea and there's been no reports of corpses washing up since." Burnin told him, having gone through the gang’s papers herself, and aside from wanting to burn some fuckers, she didn’t find much of use in them.

"So if not the father or the son-who got Caretaker involved in this?" Endeavour asked as this was getting ridiculous, they had already run down most other leads, even with these newer cases. The commission wanted answers, and so did he yet he had nothing he could give them.

“Maybe it was the family of another of the kids. One was a foster boy but a girl, a 13-year-old, came from a pretty wealthy family up north. They even called in PI during the missing person’s case and have been vocal about the rather lenient sentences that most involved got.” Kido stated, pulling another report about a girl that had been killed, thankfully they managed to recover her files intact.

“Their name?”

“The Hinamori family.” Kido answered as Endeavour picked up the file and inspected the girl, it was a picture of her during her captivity, and one could tell she was both terrified, but resigned to whatever fate awaited her.

“Hinamori…I’ve heard the name.” He thought about it for a moment, before he recalled. They were a powerful legal firm; he had contracted them in the past for some excessive force charges or destruction of public property brought against him and his agency. If his memory served him right, they had another daughter, one around Natsuo’s age.

“Look into that.” He instructed Kido, who nodded before the number 2 turned to his right-hand woman. “Burnin, what more do we know about Caretaker and his supposed vigilante network?”

Burnin grumbled something about this being insane as she dumped a large folder on his desk. “That if it’s a thing, it’s been around a while. I got reports that describe at least 3 dozen different people, all unknown, all doing some kind of hero work. They’re smart too, as they never do it in the same place, one person who goes by Paladin has a report that mentions them from as far northern Akita and central Toyama.”

Endeavour didn’t like that; he didn’t like that one bit. Vigilantes, like pros, tend to remain in the same city, it was easier to handle that as one could build up a familiarity with the environment and locals. But to disregard that meant that they were extremely confident in their skills and ability to adapt.

"So we can conclude that they are somewhat mobile, and switch around to keep law enforcement on the back foot." Endeavour closed his eyes in thought, taking all that they knew and trying to piece together a picture.

“No kidding, this will be a real pain, especially since they always pop up for the craziest stuff," Burnin asked, blowing some of her flaming hair out of her face. But Endeavour focused on what she said at the end there, was it possible? It would fit, but…no, there was some water in that well.

“Maybe we can use that.” He muttered, his sidekicks turning to him, puzzled.

“Sir?” Onima asked as Endeavour quickly opened up their files on Caretaker, looking through a couple of them before moving on to the ones about other cases involving Paladin, Cloud-Jumper, and Rumble-and all fit into a picture he was furious he didn't notice before.

“They don’t go after regular crime; all of these cases are for incidents we hardly understand. But they seem to know exactly what they're doing." Endeavour emphasized, that as these guys moved like true pros, they kept collateral to a minimum, didn't fight law enforcement even as they fled, and always got the job done.

“So what, we track the weird, we track them?” Burnin asked, as that felt like a tall order when by the very nature of quirks, most calls could sound weird.

"It's a variable idea. Start listening for reports of strange events in the area. As soon as one is reported, I want to know about it." Endeavour ordered nonetheless, and they were quick to obey.

"Sir!" The sidekicks saluted him, Burning being a little cheeky about it as they left to get on that and carry out the rest of their duties before their shifts ended. His would also be over soon, but he could put in a couple extra hours before returning to his house.

‘I don’t know who you are, Caretaker,’ He looked at the blurred image of Caretaker, the figure holding a blade that Endeavour didn't see when they met, striking down a beast made from leaves of all things. ‘But I intend to find out.’

‘I need to get out of here, before that…thing finds me!’ Nagasawa Tetsuo, a low-level villain thought to himself as he creeped and seeped out of a sewers via a manhole. It was nearly dark, which was good for him as if he could just find himself a new invisibility cloak, maybe he could cut his losses and skip town. He had thought coming here would be easy money, strike where villains aren’t expected and he could make a killing but no, that…thing! Had been hounding him all day.

But it seemed like his luck was getting better as he saw two people, a couple, he didn’t know, he didn’t care. So he rushed towards them, the man spotting him and yelling out as he grabbed his girl, not that it would do them any good as he was on them like a flash, moments away from crashing down on them like a flood. “Thanks for being my cover, you’re my heroes!”

But his luck hadn’t changed as right as he was about to grab onto the woman and try and take her body, a bright yellow star crashed into him.

“What the-!” He yelled out in surprise and pain as despite his semi-liquid body, he was thrown off to the side, splatting against a wall. As he slowly reformed himself, he looked at the figure that had stopped him as the light that had engulfed them faded away, revealing the caped, armored Paladin.

"They're your heroes? What an awful way to describe your victims." Paladin spoke up, insulted that someone like him would dare use the term hero in such a manner. But his fury was reserved for the villain alone as when he turned to the two, his tone dropped to a softer, kinder one. “Are you all right, good sir? My lady?” He asked the two as the man was helping the woman back up.

“N-no.” The woman shook but remained even just a little calm in the presence of what she must have assumed to be a hero. Aoyama didn't correct that, though he did crack a smile at the fact that in a couple years, he would legally be one.

“Then it would appear that I was right on time.” He nodded, pleased that he had done so before turning back to the threat. Light started to congregate at his side, hidden by his cape before Nagasawa saw the hilt of a sword peak out.

Reaching for his blade, Paladin drew the katana, one which had a brilliant blade, polished and shined so much it didn't reflect the light of the setting sun as it was radiated it. The blade's blue and golden hilt was held in Paladin's hand. “You weren’t the prey I was hunting, but I would be a heartless fool to ignore villainy when I see it.”

As he spoke, the two civilians made the smart decision to flee, much to the annoyance of the villain. "Damn you! I needed a new disguise! So you'll have to make due!" He charged at Paladin, stretching out his body wide to engulf him, but Paladin jumped up, landing on a street light

“Disguise? What, were you plotting to wear the madam’s clothing?” Paladin asked him, his blade held low as he jumped to avoid another strike, his speed frustrating the villain.

Still, he figured that there was something he could say that could get under the man's skin, and make him slip. So he laughed, Paladin getting a sick feeling in his stomach. "Oh, more than that? Sure, he would take her clothes…and her body, but you’ll be even better, especially with a fancy quirk like that!” He set another tentacle towards Paladin, who ducked and rushed forward, just as he planned.

But his plot proved for naught as when he tried to box in the vigilante, his sludge fist smashed through what felt like a mirror, with the vigilante nowhere to be seen. “…Such scum.” He looked to the side, seeing that his prey had somehow teleported to the middle of the street. “No morals or remorse, you speak of taking another’s body, snuffing out their spirits as if it were as mundane as taking out the trash.” He sneered at the villain, his words conveying that he was glaring at him underneath that helmet of his.

“I can easily tell that you’ve done this before, which would explain why it’s after you.” Paladin at least had that, but while a part of him wished to allow the rampaging quirk to get its justice, that wasn’t what he was there to do, nor was that what being a hero meant to him, even if he wouldn’t lose sleep over it.

Nagasawa was only getting angrier as this went on, he had lost his disguise, this vigilante was too much trouble and that didn't mean he didn't have time to relax from that…thing chasing him. “Wait are you babbling one about? You stalling for time since that trick only work-!”

His words were cut off when Paladin dashed towards him, a single leap covering the distance as he pulled back his sword hand, and with near casual effort, swung it, the blade predictably passing through his sludge body without much difficulty, but unlike other times when he faced off against people with physical quirks or weapons, he let out a scream of pain as the blade cut through him.

Landing a little off from the screaming villain, Paladin turned to him. “I am stalling for time, but not because my blade can’t harm you. You’ll do wise to remember that.” He flicked his sword to the side.

“Damn you!” The villain lost all composure and attacked him like a rabid animal. This time Paladin didn't retreat but met the random, yet sloppy and weak attempt to defeat him with practiced grace and quirk decisive action. Holding the blade in both hands, he parried and blocked the attack, only to launch blinding slashes quick bee-sting-like thrusts, stabbing into the villain, each one drawing cries from him as he couldn't believe it, he couldn't believe he had found something whose quirk made his greatest strength into a weakness.

After a few more minutes, the villain was nearly drained of stamina, his body hurting all over from the many times Paladin's blade tasted his flesh, despite not showing it, he could feel the dozens of stab wounds, shallow or deep, and slashes, big or small, all over his body. In complete contrast to him, Paladin remained as clean as he'd been when the fight started.

“I think that’s been enough time.” Paladin mused, before they both what sounded like an explosion fused with a roar in the distance, coming from the same sewage entrance that the villain had slipped out from when this started. “Right on queue.”

“Shit, it’s back-I’m out of here!” Nagasawa cut his losses and turned to flee, a foolish mistake when faced with a stronger foe.

“No,” Paladin sheathed his blade and crouched, his entire body giving off bright yellow sunlight before he dashed towards the villain who turned just in time to see the blinding flash of his sword being drawn. “You’re not. I might have not the means to restrain you, but that should keep you down long enough for proper law enforcement to arrive and handle your despicable self.”

Paladin stated this as he looked behind him right as the villain splat against the fall, the damage done not being lethal, or even lasting as he avoided the eyes, but the pain of being sliced in two was more than enough to knock the villain out. But while the one threat was handled, the one that he had been chasing made itself known when a manhole cover blasted off the hole, Paladin noting it buried itself into the adjacent wall.

From the open manhole, a quirk spirit came through, squeezing out of it till its slug-like body broke free. Observing it as it came into the light, Paladin noted that it was a plump, centipede-like quirk spirit, with half its body raised off the ground. The segments that made up its body were a dark magenta, expecting for its smooth, dark underside though he couldn't be sure of the exact color at the moment. The spirit had long, bent horns akin to antennae, with an identical set on its rear with purple bands on both sides. Across the segments of its body, were tear-drop-shaped rings. The look was finished by its four pairs of short, purple fore-claws and four larger, thicker hind legs.

The quirk looked about for a moment before its eyes caught the unmoving splatter of slice on the ground and it flew into a murderous frenzy.  “You! Time to die!” The quirk rushed the man, determined to kill him for whatever wrong he did to its user in life.

“Mirror!” Only to run smack into a wall of light, as it shook its head, it turned to Paladin who it hadn’t even noticed before. "My deepest apologies, lost Jitsunagi, but you can’t have him. His to answer for his crimes in a court of law, judged by the living.”

“Screw that! He took it, he took it all and I’ll see him die screaming!” The quirk screeched at him, bashing into the barrier a couple more times, each harder than the last but it didn't give. Frustrated that it had been denied its kill, the quirk turned to him to get rid of him, then presumable move on to its true target.

‘It would seem you were right, this is a Gekiha.’ Paladin thought to himself as he rushed the charging quirk, before diving to the side with a spin, slicing off two of its fore-claws, the appendages falling to the ground with a thud as the quirk screamed out in pain, a horrible sound to his eyes.

‘Handle it with caution and respect, Yuga.’ Luminance told him via their link, his blade glowing just a little brighter as she spoke.

‘Have I ever failed you, my beautiful bird of paradise?’ Paladin asked her, blocking a furious strike from the quirk, digging his heels into the ground to keep himself from crumbling underneath the strike.

‘You speak truth, but don’t flattery for the sake of appeasement is beneath you.’ Luminance replied as Paladin gripped his blade ever tighter, he knew he didn’t have much time, so with a silent apology, he prepared to end things.

Jumping back from another strike, he held his sword over his head in both hands, the blade glowing brightly as he gathered more yellow sunlight into it before he charged the beast head-on. “Solar Saber: Midday Sun!” Swinging his blade down, he fired off a bright, piercing blade of yellow sunlight towards the quirk, which could nothing as the slash cut it through all the way, bisected it. it let out a breath, before its two sides fell to the ground with a crash, kicking up dirt.

Paladin grimaced underneath the helmet, as while quirks were nigh immortal, and could come back even from an attack like that, they still felt pain. Quickly, he grabbed a capture ball from his belt and tossed it, the device sucking in both pants and the severed fore-claws, the quirk would regenerate faster within the ball. That done, he pocketed the ball right as he heard some heroes rushing towards the scene.

Focusing, Paladin envisioned a fusion of Mirror and Reflect, but on a larger scale before he pulled off one of his most versatile moves. “House of Light.” He uttered, as around him, he created an intricately, overlapping wall of mirrors of light, each reflecting the air of the area around so well that he was completely shielded from view.

And right on time some pros just turned the corner, but surprisingly, they were led by something new. "Dammit, we must have missed him," Burnin grunted, slowing in her run as she approached, finding the still knocked out-slime villain.

"They said that there was a knight-looking hero that saved them, the description matched the fella you're looking for." One of the others pointed out, the group never noticing Paladin as he kept to the side, out of the way but well within earshot.

“Well, we know that they’re not afraid of coming this close to U.A. I’m not sure if that’s good or not, as I don’t want to involve a bunch of untrained brats on this.” Burnin frowned, as students might be skilled, especially 3^rd years, but this close to campus, most would be out partying, or exhausted from classes and she’ll be damned if he had to worry about a drunk idiot messing things up.

"We'll keep an eye out for them, in the meantime, restrain…scoop up the villain, the civilians claimed he tried to attack them." Another told her, before turning to address something that they could.

'I wonder, is this related to their efforts to corner and capture one of us? Perhaps I should involve the others about this as if Endeavour's on this, it won't be easy to continue with our mission.' Paladin thought to himself, before turning and quietly walking away from the scene, entering an alley and vanishing into the darkness.

Chapter Text

“Evening, guys. Sorry that it took so long.” Aoyama greeted them as he unlocked the door to their apartment, having noted the rest were still present after hearing them chat.

“Aoyama, you nearly missed dinner!” Uraraka waved at him from the couch, the rest greeting him with a wave or words as he closed the door behind him and went to replace his shoes with some slippers.

“We saved you a plate.” Tetsutetsu pointed towards a covered bowl and glass of water, Iida and Midoriya were busy in the kitchen cleaning the rest of the dishes.

“Thank you.” Aoyama smiled as he walked in and took a free spot. Hagakure handed him the food, but as she did so, she noticed something.

“Hey, where’s the stuff you had to get your mom?” She asked him, with Jiro and Kamakiri also paying him attention, but the French man merely shrugged.

Whipping out a handkerchief, he explained himself while he tucked it into his collar to keep his shirt clean. “They’ll be delivering it. I just needed to make sure that the details were all in order and confirm it was the right thing.” With a quick prayer, he started to eat his meal, which was lukewarm, but he could accept that.

“Couldn’t they have done that over the phone?” Jiro asked, but this time it was Ojiro who tapped his chin in thought.

“I don’t know, I’ve ordered stuff before and been surprised when I saw it with my own eyes.” He had enough bad experiences with ordering workout equipment to know that it wasn't always as advertised.

"The magic of filters and lighting," Midoriya said from the kitchen, with Aoyama only speaking again when the news switched back to a familiar story, though now it seemed like they had more details.

“What’s this?” He asked, playing the fool.

"There was some incident at the train station, they think it was a bombing," Iida explained to him, that the TV had been put on mute a while ago thanks to the group falling into a deep discussion about their prospective electives.

"I thought I heard a blast, but I didn't give it much thought." Aoyama mused, which was technically true as he hadn’t been present for the blast, and only went to investigate when he noticed the heroes heading that way. “I thought it was some rowdy students.”

Iida looked appalled by the very idea. "Of course, it couldn't have been! U.A. students would never be so reckless!" Hagakure and Tetsutetsu chuckled to themselves at that, as like Aoyama and Midoriya, they knew that U.A.’s party scene could be insane.

“You wanna bet?” Kamakiri asked him, which led to Iida and Kamakiri getting into an argument would one could boil down to what the other saw as a fun way to spend a week-end. As the argument turned into a debate that dragged in others, Midoriya dried his hands and returned to the living room, taking a seat close to Aoyama who watched the situation with a smile.

“About the mission, any difficulty?” Izuku asked those that heard that merely assuming they were having a regular conversation, one that they decided to have in French for their reasons.

“None, though there is more that we need to discuss, not now, however," Yuga replied, Iida was too absorbed in his debate to even notice them speaking, so he missed the exchange.

When the next day rolled around, the school year had officially begun. Unlike high school, there was no homeroom as students were merely expected to show up for first period, despite this relatively lax approach to things, Midoriya was up bright and early at 6 am, same with Aoyama and even Tetsutetsu and Kamakiri who waved at from their balcony.

How could they not be so excited that they were up 2 hours before they had to be in class? They knew that the four classes before lunch were compulsory, but not only had nearly all the lecturers they made left an impact on them, but one of them was All Might himself, whose class happened to be first period. After they both showered and had a hearty breakfast, the two were off, beaten to the bus stop by Tetsutetsu and Kamakiri who looked just as excited as them.

“Iida sent me a message a while ago, he said he’s already on his way to class and should be there in 10 minutes.” Midoriya started the conversation as they waited for the early morning bus.

“And the others?” Tetsutetsu asked, to which Kamakiri scoffed, grabbing his earphone case.

"Pretty sure Ojiro and Hagakure are still asleep, and Jiro and Uraraka's status hasn't changed since last night," Kamakiri explained as he opened them up and placed them on, before reaching for his phone to listen to something.

"They better be there on time," Tetsutetsu replied as it wouldn't be a good look if they were late on the first day.

“We’re early risers, Tetsutetsu. They still have plenty of time to wake up and get ready.” Aoyama reminded them as a glance at his watch, a rather expensive piece his family got while in Switzerland, showed that it was a quarter to 7. The place was a college town through and through, so one could be living in the furthest dorms and still make it to the main campus in less than 15 minutes if they caught the bus or train.

“Never thought I’ll be this pumped for a law lecture, but if All Might’s giving it, it’s gonna be so frickin manly!” Tetsutetsu’s concern washed away as he thought about their coming class, only for their phones to all let out a ping as they got a notification in their group chat. Tetsutetsu was the first to look it over.

The Boulder: Never thought I’ll be excited for a law lecture, but All Might’s gonna make it so frickin mainly! – 07:46 am

“What the heck?” Tetsutetsu looked, dumbfounded at his phone.

“Do you two happen to share the same brain?” Kamakiri asked.

“What? No! I said it first!” Tetsutetsu yelled back before furiously typing away at his screen, Midoriya looking at his phone and following the conversation that followed.

Steel Shark: Yeah man! But I said that first! You can ask the others! – 07:48 am

Riot Blade: Is this really something worth fighting about? You two are the same, we get it. – 07:48 am

The Boulder: We’re not! – 07:49 am

Steel Shark: We’re not! – 07:49 am

Shining Ray: Do you realize he's messing with you, don't you gentlemen? – 07:50 am

Deep Vicious: Do you morons have any idea how early it is? – 07:50 am

Deep Vicious: Some of us wanted to catch a little more sleep – 07:50 am

Iida: Jiro, it's a school day, you should already be up and getting ready for class! – 07: 51 am

Midoriya smiled at the screen, both at how Jiro was woken up by her phone beeping with each message sent, and the fact that Iida didn't choose any nickname for himself and put in his real name. It fits with the type of person he was. “I have a feeling that she and Iida are going to argue about that all the way to class.” He stated as he placed his phone away, and sure enough, he felt it vibrate in his pocket while Tetsutetsu continued to text.

“Just do what I did, and mute the chat. And right on time, our bus is here.” Aoyama shrugged as the bus turned the corner, coming to a stop before them with a loud hiss of its air brakes. As the doors smoothly opened up, Midoriya looked back towards their apartment complex, yet saw no one.

“Guess Ojiro and Hagakure would need to wait for the next one.” He thought aloud as he followed the rest and got on, the doors closing behind him. The driver gave them all a nod before he put the vehicle into gear and started to pull away from the curve.

“Waaaiiit!” Midoriya and the rest heard someone yelling, looking out the window, they saw Ojiro and Hagakure scrambling down the stairs of the apartment towards the bus stop, Ojiro chugging at a thermos all the while as Hagakure continued to yell. “Stop the bus, we’re here, we’re here!” Kamakiri raised an eyebrow at this but alerted the driver anyway, the man being bemused by this as he slowed the bus to a stop in the middle of the road, something that would be a traffic violation but with the street empty, it was a harmless offense.

With the bus waiting for them, the two managed to get to it, huffing from their frantic rush as the doors opened for them to crawl aboard. “Thank God…we…we nearly missed it.” Hagakure breathed out, slumped on the side while Ojiro finished his drink, the smell of caffeine thick in the air thanks to it.

“Sorry we…late…alarm…didn’t…go….off,” He nodded at the driver in apology, the man laughing and telling him he shouldn't start a habit as the man closed the doors and started on their way again. “Hagakure woke me up by chance.” Ojiro gestured to his roommate who had snagged the vacant seat next to Tetsutetsu.

“I was already near done and noticed he hadn’t gotten out of his room.” She explained that she had found it odd that someone who seemed as disciplined, at least compared to her, would not be up bright and early on their first day. He had even gone to bed a solid hour before she did. Imagine her surprise to knock on his door and find him still asleep.

"Maybe you should invest in a couple of extra clocks then. Hagakure might not always be around to cover for just the one." Midoriya advised as he and Aoyama had 3 clocks each, and a spare in the hallway between their rooms. Did it make it a pain in the morning when all 7 went off simultaneously? Yes, was it effective? Also yes.

“Noted.”

“Morning everyone, it’s good that you all have arrived as early as I have!” Iida marched up to them as they entered their lecture hall, most of the seats being empty thanks to how early it was. The group had already met up with Kirishima outside as his train had arrived moments before they did, after which he and Tetsutetsu proceeded to argue about who said the All Might first almost the entire way here.

“Morning, Iida, Yaoyorozu, Monoma, Yanagi, Tsuburaba.” Midoriya greeted him along with the other two present, one was in her seat reading a book on…chemistry? Weird but he's seen weirder, the other was gazing out the window, pausing to look their way and return the greeting before he went back to bird-watching.

Yanagi was writing something in her book while Tsuburaba had his head on his folded arms, only Yanagi acknowledged their greeting with words as Tsuburaba only grunted with a half-hearted hand-wave.

Yaoyorozu placed a marker in her book and closed it before addressing them with a polite, refined smile. “Morning to you all, I hope that you all have a good night’s rest, no late-night shenanigans?”

“Shenanigans?” Hagakure wondered about that word choice.

Aoyama had similar curiosities but didn’t make that known as he bowed towards Yaoyorozu. “None to report, my lady. We merely met for dinner and some conversation after classes yesterday, but things ended around 8.” The girl let out a soft, brief laugh at his mannerism, one which made Midoriya wonder if she was from the same circles that the Aoyamas frequented.

Iida nodded at Aoyama’s assurances. “That is correct, I was back in my dorm room by 8:24 on the dot, and in bed by 9.” He started, with Monoma turning to them at that, a haughty smile on his face.

"Come now, wasn't a curfew of 9 a tad bit extreme? I'm sure you went to bed late quite a bit during your high school years, no?" He asked, to which most of the group nodded, even Midoriya and Aoyama though while they did have late-night study sessions from time to time, or just stayed up late goofing off on the weekends, there were times when they were busy well into the early morning on the hunt.

“Of course not! Students such as us require a full 8 hours of sleep to rest our minds as much as our bodies!” Iida chopped his hand towards Monoma so fast one could be forgiven if they thought his quirk wasn’t just in his legs.

Monoma laughed at Iida's assertion, all while Todoroki walked in, took in the scene, and didn't say a word as he went towards his desk. “Not even when exams came around? I remember I was going to bed like midnight most days last year to make sure my grades were up to snuff.”

"He's right, it can be daunting facing exams when they can lead to great success or a terrifying abyss. In my final year, I spent many nights burning the midnight oil to ensure my academics wouldn't hamper my dreams." Yanagi agreed with him, which only left Iida flabbergasted at such.

“Especially during exams, else you run the risk of being drowsy during them or heaven forbid, falling asleep!” Iida scolded them, with Ojiro letting out a quiet laugh.

“I have a feeling that if he heard most of us crammed our asses off in high school, he would have a stroke.” He noted, but softly enough that Iida didn’t hear it as the man marched over to Monoma and Yanagi to continue the conversation, the white-haired girl needing to cease her drawings to better engage him.

“I do have to agree with him,” Yaoyorozu looked at both sides of the room, only now noticing Todoroki but not addressing that. "One shouldn't make a habit of cramming, as you're less likely to retain the knowledge after the fact and could find yourself in a pickle should you need that knowledge later on."

“That’s what the internet is for.” Hagakure chuckled, looping an arm around Kirishima's shoulders, with the boy giving a thumbs-up which had Yaoyorozu sighing at the response. Still, things continued like that, with conversations becoming less charged and switching to other topics, like holidays they took, things they wanted to do, and hypotheticals. All while others walked in.

They were right in the middle of one when Jiro and Uraraka dragged themselves in, 10 minutes before the bell was set to ring.

“Morning, Jiro!” Midoriya waved at her, with Jiro's tired glare sharpening when she caught sight of them, locking into Kirishima and Tetsutetsu, both of whom felt like she had less than heroic thoughts relating to them at the moment.

“Screw you guys, I wanted to sleep.” She muttered as he walked in, dumping her bag by her desk, while Uraraka followed, the girl looking like she needed a nap, but in a much better mood than her fellow latest arrival.

“So did I.” She yawned as she gave Hagakure a good morning hug and a good morning fist pump to both Ojiro and Kamakiri.

"I'm afraid you'll have to get used to it, ladies. I can't speak for all of us, my it would appear that Midoriya, Kirishima, Tetsutetsu, and myself are early risers." Aoyama told them both, gesturing to the mentioned names.

"Got it, I'll mute my group chat before I go to bed," Jiro replied, which got some laughs from them, even the sleepy Uraraka.

'They tricked us.' Midoriya thought to himself, the class having started half an hour ago, the mood being high in the lecture hall as even Kaminari and Kaibara, who rushed in right before the bell rang couldn't hide how excited they were for All Might to teach them, the man himself arriving in style.

Before he spent the next 30 minutes going through the law like any other class they've been in. Midoriya saw that some were struggling to stay away because of how dry the lesson was. 'He doesn't look right when he's just standing there.' He thought to himself as All Might's face was professional, that was a way to call it, his smile gone and the energy he normally carried having gone with it.

“Sorry about that!” The class jolted to full attention as All Might tossed the textbooks he was reading to the side. “But we need to take the good with the bad when it comes to life, especially life lessons.” He let out that familiar booming laugh, energizing them once more.

“But let’s move onto something else, we’ve gone over the basis of what a hero does and what powers they have, so let’s try and use that in a scenario.” He suggested, leaning against the podium as he looked over the hall of students. “Tell me, does anyone know the definition of corruption?” Several people raised their hands.

“Yes, Honenuki.” All Might picked out one of them, the rest lowering as Honenuki stood up to speak.

“Do you mean in the sense of heroes?” He asked, to which All Might clarified.

“Mainly yes, but also in terms of law enforcement and government in general, young Honenuki.” Honenuki nodded before he gave his answer.

"Well, it would be when dishonest behavior or insincere actions are committed in violation of one's actual duties, often for personal gain." He stated, with All Might giving him a big smile and confirming he was right, once he sat down, Hagakure was the next person to raise her hand, who All Might picked out to speak.

“So, it’s the result of greed?” She asked, with All Might shaking his head.

“That is a common reason, but there could be others like pride or fear.” He explained, which confused some people.

“Fear? Why would someone break the law and their oaths for that?” Kirishima asked, forgetting to raise his hand but All Might didn't mind he was happy that the class seemed much more engaged than they had been moments prior.

“Well, what if someone approached you as a hero and told you they had information about an incident you wouldn’t want to get out, and threatened to release it if you say, patrol around the docks later that night like you normally would?” All Might gave a hypothetical, with the students filling in the blanks for themselves over what that information could be.

“Isn’t that blackmail?” Kinoko asked, as he was pretty sure she had heard of the concept before, it happened a lot in dramas and shows they watched though it was commonly some secret lover the character in question had or an affair they had.

“Correct, young Kinoko!” All Might praised her, getting her to blush a little before he moved on. “The other point would be ego, as some might be blinded by ambition and end up committing actions that they should never have even entertained as a possibility.”

“Wait, wait-why would a hero break the law to uphold it?” Ashido asked.

“It seems contradictory.” Shishida agreed with her.

“It’s not impossible.” Todoroki drew the attention of the class, the boy's frown a little more prominent than normal. “It can happen.”

All Might suspected that he might need to speak with the boy after this, as that wasn’t an expression he liked. “Young Todoroki is right. Sometimes people can lose sight of why we call ourselves heroes. They might not even see their actions as evil, but corruption is corruption and must be identified and uprooted before whenever possible.”

All Might had plenty of experience with this part, especially from his early days when a certain devil was still active. Too many pros lost themselves either to trying to capture him or the glory of taking him down and ended up little better than villains themselves. It pained him that 2 of his old classmates were no exception to it.

Yaoyorozu raised her hand, pulling him from that memory. “Pardon me, All Might, but what does this have to do with being a hero?” She asked once he pointed her out.

All Might smiled all the while. “Remember what I told you yesterday? A hero’s job is to protect the people.”

“Of course, if that means fighting villains, then we do so, but being a hero also means confronting corruption wherever we see it. In the examples given, a pro could be blackmailed, well keep an eye on the behavior of your fellow pros, make sure they're not compromised." He explained to them, that even if pros were caught up in such messy affairs, they weren't the only ones operating in an area.

“If you find evidence, or have reason to suspect. You need to report it to the commission. The same with law enforcement.” All Might added, with many nodding their heads, Iida, in particular, sitting straight as a rod in his seat, his eye looking over the room almost like he was already tracking any odd behavior. A bit early, but All Might liked the enthusiasm.

"Then there is the other kind of corruption, one I believe to be one of the if not the worst kind. Can any of you guess what it is?" All Might asked them all, the class looking at one another, none knowing the answer or thinking that All Might had spoken about corruption as a whole, so wouldn’t he hate all parts of it?

“Government corruption?” Tokage raised her hand.

“That’s incorrect?”

"Large-scale bribery?" Midoriya was the next one, to which All Might shot that down as well.

“Wrong as well.” The symbol of peace told them, looking over the room to see if they had other takers, but they had none so he decided to tell them. “It’s the corruption of purpose.”

“Of purpose? Can you explain?” Tokoyami asked him.

When All Might turned to address him, Tokoyami felt something in his shift, as while one could hardly make out All Might's eyes these days, he could see those piercing blue orbs staring into his very soul. “Young Tokoyami, would you say following the law is just?”

“Well,” Tokoyami started, looking at others who shrugged, or waved for him to continue, they wouldn’t step into this. “I believe so, that is what we’re taught.” He answered, trying to give himself an out as he did so.

“So you would say that a way to be an effective hero would be to follow and uphold the law?” All Might asked him, emphasizing the you part, making it clear that he wanted what Tokoyami believed, not what he was told to believe.

Gulping, the raven-haired boy replied as honestly as he could. “Not necessarily, but I can understand why someone would do such a thing.”

“And why is that?” All Might pressed.

“Because the law, like heroes, exists to protect the people and give us guidelines on society to function.” He replied, using what All Might had told them the previous day as a basis for it.

“But what if those laws prevent you from acting in a crisis? Even if not a crisis, what if the law called for you to do nothing?” All Might asked him, which killed his response in his throat.

“Well, I would act, screw the law!” Kamakiri replied for him, passionately standing to his feet as Iida did the same if only to scold him.

“Kamakiri!”

All Might raised a hand and silenced the argument before it could begin, nodding towards Kamakiri once both boys sat once more. "He's right. Make no mistake, I'm not telling you to go be vigilantes, in fact, I would argue that such a path would only hamper you, but if you see someone in need, you move to help them." It sounded simple, he had been told time and time again that the real world didn't work like that.

But his mentor, she told him that sometimes all a hero could do was be simple and force the world to act accordingly. As a world where doing the right thing could be called the wrong move, that was a world in danger of being lost, at least that was how she put it. He had followed that idea his entire career, he had gotten as far as he did because of it, and he was proud of it.

“There was a case, early in my career that had me do just that.” All Might mused, thinking back to earlier days, to a younger him, one that still had a weight on his shoulders but it was much lesser than it was now. A time before he was the Symbol of Peace, the world's strongest hero, and was just Yagi Toshinori, a young but promising hero who decided to take on the burden that was the name All Might.

“What was that?” Tetsutetsu asked.

All Might chuckled, as the incident seemed so funny with hindsight, though a younger him would beg to differ. "Back when I was in the States, I had only been there maybe…a couple of months, and I saw a couple walking. But one of them had a look to them like they were scared when they looked at me, their eyes said help me, so I did." He explained.

"I didn't have any evidence, yet I pulled them away. Turns out the person I left was the child of the state governor and they threatened to deport me, even file charges to see my Japanese hero license revoked." David had been quite furious with him at the time, mainly due to how many angry phone calls they were getting and how even the university threatened to cancel his student visa.

“Oh, I know this one! Her dad was this super popular politician and business guy, but thanks to you, they managed to discover that she was involved in the drug trade!” Tsunotori jumped to her feet, as this was a real popular story back in the States and something her favorite hero, Star and Stripes, loved to talk about when it came to how she handled herself.

All Might crossed his arms, a frown marking his face. “And that took days, all the while, her boyfriend clamped up, even said during questioning that he wasn’t scared. But the rule of law, we should have let the issue drop there, but we didn't. We fought against their accusations, and worked hard to find the evidence we needed, but that all started because a younger me saw someone in need, and helped them." He made a lot of enemies then, but he also made a lot of friends.

He saw a few take his words to heart, though others still looked hesitant about the idea that one would need to bend the rules to such an extent, or instead they deliberated the situation he was in and how they could use it to further their judgment. Of course, it was all mere theory at this point, and he could go on and on about it, but this was something that only practical experience could get them to understand his point.

"You're all young, so I don't expect you to be capable of this, but through your time here at U.A. and in the experience you'll gain as pros, I hope that you'll learn to trust your gut, and always remember what I'm teaching you here." All Might told them, finishing with a laugh that had them cheering along with him,

“Now, can anyone tell me about the Wayne convention?” All Might asked, and this time, there was more of a response from the students as several hands shot up, the mood so high that they were able to get through the rest of the class without issue.

When the bell had gone off, there were groans from the students who wished to continue. "Dammit, can't we finish the debate first?" Kaminari whined as All Might laughed as he pressed a button on his podium, clearing the board of the points they had written down about the legal pros and cons of having the police be the ones to handle arrests, though not before saving it for later.

“We’ll continue this tomorrow but don’t forget that I want you to study everything from pages 3 through 18, it will be essential for later!” All Might told them all as they started packing their stuff.

“Yes, sir!” The class replied before they got up and left for their next class. It wouldn't be a long trip as while U.A. had some insanely massive grounds, the type that could fit entire scale model cities and test sites for its students, they did their best to bunch stuff related to the same course together, or just put them into the same building as they’ll just need to either take one of the 8 elevators, or the stairs up a couple floors to their next class.

“Whose next?” Uraraka asked as their group left All Might’s class, the man pulling out his phone to answer a text or something.

"It's drama with Midnight," Ojiro replied, thinking back to how Midnight had…left an impression on them, which made a few of them blush as they could only imagine how she'd conduct her class.

“Come on then, there’s no time to lose!” Mineta raced ahead of them, joined by Kaminari and Awase which had Kamakiri rolling his eyes.

“Someone’s eager.” The heteromorph noted.

“Pretty sure it’s just a certain part of him that’s eager. I’m more looking forward to Snipe’s stuff before lunch.” Jiro replied as they walked down the passage, the early morning sun bathing the path with warm light, which along with the cherry blossoms still in bloom, and the birds chirping as they flew around outside the window created a rather peaceful atmosphere.

“Not Eraserhead?” Aoyama asked her, to which she playfully elbowed him in the side.

As he pretended like she had dealt him a mortal wound, and fell on Ojiro to support him, she snarked back. "Yeah, I'm not looking forward to being run into the ground by him."

“But that just means we’ll come out even stronger!” Kirishima didn’t agree with her, as he was rather pumped by the idea. Scared, but also pumped.

“Yeah man, and that’ll make us even better heroes!” Tetsutetsu agreed with him, the two clasping hands together with eager smiles on their faces, their sharklike teeth on full display.

“Aside from field training, I’m also excited about what Midnight can teach us. After all, we do need to work on our image if we want to be top heroes.” Midoriya added to the conversation, as All Might was the king of PR, a great way he helped bring peace was through his very presence being associated with things just turning out okay, even in the worst of situations.

“Sure, but wouldn’t too much be a bad thing. Wash is only a top hero cause he’s real popular with kids.” Ojiro countered.

“He’s a solid pro, you know.” Hagakure defended the Laundry hero, to which Ojiro didn’t argue.

“Not saying he isn’t, but if he acted more like Endeavour, or Yoroi Musha, he’ll probably be locked in the 30s range at best.” He could recall that most of the Wash-related stuff he had seen was related to kids, from how-to’s to good hygiene to programs on TV. Once he turned 10, there wasn’t much Wash stuff he could still engage with and not feel like he was in the 2^nd grade.

Chapter Text

“Text” – Normal speech

‘Text’ – Thought

“Text” – Quirk Spirit speaking in the human world

“Text” - Attacks

“Text” – Radio/Communication lines

“Text” – None Japanese speech

(text) – Subtext/meaning behind a spoken word

"And that's our time for the day. Remember, I want you to practice how you'll communicate in a crisis, even if you're first years, you could easily be the ones entrusted with keeping bystanders calm and away from the danger." Midnight told them all as the bell rang, the woman saving the whiteboard as it was before with a press of a button, it was cleared.

“Yes, mam!” The class replied as she gave them one last smile and wink before she strutted out, Midoriya was not sure if she was putting extra sway in her hips on purpose, or if she just walked like that when on the clock.

“As he packed his things away, two rows to his left, Tetsutetsu's head slumped onto his desk. My brain.”

"If I wanted to do drama, I would have joined its club back in high school," Jiro grumbled as she packed, and got up.

“Perhaps you think that, but I can tell,” Aoyama had already finished, fresh as a daisy as he had been one of the most engaged with the lesson, asking all sorts of questions and discussing finer points with Midnight. “This will be the class I shine brightest in!” He posed for them, his crown glittering in the light.

"Well, you certainly got the ego for it," Kamakiri told him as he walked over.

“No-no, I have the style for it.” Aoyama rebutted, to which Kamakiri remained silent, but raised an eyebrow.

“Well, it was definitely something that’ll take some getting used to, especially her...unique teaching methods.” Uraraka blushed a little as she had never thought she would hear as many innuendos in a single sitting, and from a teacher no less. Iida was even worse off than her, as while they knew what Midnight's brand was, the straight-laced rule follower was still rebooting.

They wondered if he had just been stun-locked for the last 40 minutes and if he even was mentally present enough to remember what they learned.

“You think they have to make sure we’re all 18 before she’s allowed into the class-OW!” Hagakure’s question was silenced by Midoriya pocking her side.

“All right, let’s try and contain ourselves, as have our next class and we should get there on time.” He stated, most of the class had done just that as they walked down the halls to their next class, one that sparked fear in them.

"I can't believe we don't know if it's going to be Eraserhead or Thirteen." Ojiro lamented, as their schedules were clear in all their other classes and who taught what. But because Eraser and Thirteen essentially taught the same subject, just different portions of it, their schedules left out which teacher would be in that day.

"I'm praying it's Thirteen. I don't want to need the stress that Eraser is sure to bring." Uraraka noted, as even when he wasn't trying to be scary, Eraser was an intimidating person, having somehow fused the energy that was a strict cope with a dangerous druggie. Sadly for them, when they arrived, they found the dark-haired man waiting for them and the rest.

Normally, they might have still talked while they waited for the bell to ring and officially start class, but there was a look to Eraser that made it clear that it would be unadvised to put it lightly. So once they entered, they silently went over to their assigned seats. Aizawa all the while silently watched with a frown on his face, giving nothing of his thoughts as the last person hurried in and took their seat.

"Good, you're all here, but next time, try to get here 37 seconds faster. Time isn't a luxury.” Eraser started, which led to a confused Kaminari raising his hand.

“But sir, class doesn’t start for a few more minutes.” Unless he was reading the analog clock wrong, which he was sure he wasn't, no way he forget how they had 3-4 minutes left before class started. He was pretty sure if he had a window seat, he would be able to see students still walking about.

Aizawa turned to him, and his gaze made him clamp his trap. With the interruption handled, Aizawa went on.

“Our class will be done at ground Gamma.” He pressed a button on his podium, showcasing the zone in question which seemed to be built around the theme of an industrial zone, with warehouses, pipes, factories, and all other manner of things one could find in such a part of town. He would have continued if he wasn't interrupted once more.

“You mean it-” Tetsutetsu started, Ashido giggling along with him.

“Hero stuff?” Sero smiled.

“And when,” Their joy was killed where it stood by Eraser’s glare, the man’s face wasn’t even twisted in anger or anything like that, as just his eyes alone carried a heavy sense of irritation. “Did you think it was a wise idea to interrupt me? Should I exclude you from this class?” He asked the three, all of which hurriedly shook their heads.

“No, sir.” They peeked out, trying to make themselves smaller as Aizawa's gaze remained on them a little longer so that they knew they were already getting his attention for all the wrong reasons.

“As I was saying, you’ve already had two lectures, so let’s add in some practical training to things.” Aizawa directed his gaze toward the rest as he revealed the type of class they'll be having in big flashy letters on the whiteboard, they seemed just as excited as the prior 3 but were well-mannered enough to keep to themselves like adults.

“Combat?” Several asked, some in concern, some for clarification, others out of eagerness.

Pressing another button, their desks opened up, revealing on small pedestals were large numbered briefcases. “Because of that, we’ll be heading out in your costumes, which were produced according to your submitted designs and notes. Though as this is the first time you’ll be wearing them, if you have issues or suggestions, don’t hesitate to speak up.” He explained to them.

“You have your gear; I expect to see you on site in 7 minutes.” He told them before he turned and left and if for some reason they didn't read through the school's maps to know where ground gramma was, despite the fact they bothered to send such details with their acceptance letters, they were also directions in their cases and plenty of signs around campus.

"Yes, sir!" The class told him as he left, Midoriya picking up his case, holding it like a scared object as inside it, lay something that he had dreamed of wearing since he was a little kid. Though, unlike those days, when he and Yuga would fantasize about being heroes, he couldn't quite just submit designs for an All Might copy suit.

Getting up to make his way to the men’s changing room, he thought about the design process he had to go through.

2 weeks before the end of their high school days, Midoriya found himself slumped on the couch wondering what to do. They had already gotten their acceptance letters but along with them, came forms for their hero customs.

According to the forms, U.A would have a support company exclusively signed to them and would prepare state-of-the-art costumes and support items for them. All they as students had to do was ensure that their quirk registry was accurate, grant U.A. and the support agency the right to access those personal files as well as send in the designs that wanted, and some notes so the designers know what the student in question is aiming for, and as many of their physical measurements as possible.

Of course, the papers also gave a line of things that for ethical or legal reasons, U.A. and the support company would not accept in their costume designs, as well as a message to keep cost in mind as the school gave them a hard limit of how much would be spent on each costume.

Midoriya felt like that was a weird thing to say when the costume allowance limit according to them was 240,000 Yen. Midoriya couldn't imagine a costume costing that much, never mind over such a limit.

“Maybe it's to prevent students from requesting ridiculous stuff," Hinata suggested, popping into the human world in her bunny form.

Shigeru followed suit, the purple cat forming on the couch, lazily looking out the window on one of the rare days that Midoriya was home alone, with no mother, no lover, no friend. “My money’s on it being there to prevent students requesting something golden rings or something that they can pawn off later.”

“Why would they do that? U.A.'s a school of heroes.” Hinata retorted, to which Shigeru snorted.

“Yeah, and its student body isn't that much older than we were, I wouldn't say that they're a bastion of maturity.” He told her, the two being able to converse about their 'deaths' much more casually than they used to.

"Or maybe it's to keep costumes from being overly complicated?" Midoriya suggested.

“Trust me, Izuku. Give me like 10 minutes and I'll come back with a simple design that costs an arm and a leg.” Shigeru let out a cute meow/yawn. “Any process?”

“Not nearly enough.” Midoriya signed as he looked over the coffee table, one where he had laid out several designs and even more notes. “You all make this a little more complicated than I thought, as I need a costume that can accommodate all of you, and won’t tear or otherwise break.” He needed something that could handle things opposite as fire and ice, not to mention support Shigeru and their latest member's powers, both of whom altered his form.

“What about your work-out stuff? They hold up just fine with our powers.” Hinata suggested.

"That was made in-house, but maybe I can send in one of the spares with instructions for it to be used as the base." Midoriya was quick to dismiss, but then he thought about it for a moment, then he picked up the rules for costumes and read over them and while they barred other companies from making pieces of equipment outside essential things like his belt, his stuff wasn't hero wear, but work-out.

“You’re technically right, the best kind of correct.” Shigeru snickered as Midoriya, with a better idea of the core he'd be using in mind, set to work designing something.

With the background of the industrial zone, Eraserhead looked up into the darkness that was the main path into the place, seeing shapes approaching, those shapes soon became clearer for him to make out his students, all decked out in their costumes, costumes that in color, theme, style, and design were all unique to them.

Nodding, the man looked at his watch. “6 minutes and 37 seconds, good. Let’s keep that up.” He told them as they all walked out into the light of day. As his eye went over each, he wondered what Midnight or Mic would have said in a situation like this, one had to give an opinion about these matters, didn’t they?

"Fashion can tell you a lot about a person, but for pros, looks must also be practical though what is defined as practical isn't always as simple as what takes the most damage. And from what I'm seeing among you, you all understand the concept well, though I expect to see changes done through your time here as you refine your skills or learn new ones." Aizawa settled on a critique mixed in with a compliment.

Midoriya came out wearing something of a mix of things, as while the rest had designed hero costumes from the ground up, his own was a mix of hero costumes and his workout clothing. The base was the same stuff he had worn when he had taken the entrance exam, but over that, he wore several additions. The first of which was a red sash he had double wrapped around his waist, his belt was gone, and in its place were a couple of white, elbow-length armored gloves.

Over this is wore a white sleeveless haori with thick white padding on its shoulders, with the haori having a dark green inner lining while on the back of the haori was black rhombus with the kanji for nine and a flower silhouette, specifically the Larkspur.

“Oh, that looks so cool!” Midoriya turned his attention to his friends, Uraraka leading them as his eye took in her black and pink colored costume, noting that it…fit onto her frame snugly, he didn't know she was on the chubbier side. “You’re only missing a sword.” His attention drew away from her thick she was to her words.

Lucky for him, she didn’t seem to notice his eyes linger as he smiled in return. “I’m not all that good with a sword, but look at you! That’s an amazing costume, Uraraka.”

Uraraka let out a nervous laugh, her bashfulness partially hidden by her helmet’s visor which covered her entire face. "You think? I didn't really put that much into the notes I sent, and I think I got the measurements wrong as it's…tighter than I thought it would be." On more way than one, he might reckon.

He wasn’t the only one that noticed as Mineta commented. “The hero course is the best-O!” Ojiro's tail snacked him before he could finish the sentence, as they heard enough to know where he was going. Speaking on, Midoriya looked over both boy's costumes and the first thing that came to mind when he looked over Ojiro's was that they had a similar theme, though Ojiro was more martial artist with his. Which tracked as the boy had already shared with the group that he had been practicing such since he was 8, and had competed in several regional and national competitions before U.A.

Mineta on the other hand, was a weird one. As Midoriya suspected he was trying to go with the grapes in a bowl vibe, but his pants looked like a diaper as well, so it would be up to interpretation. One that Shigeru in his head laughed at would be the unflattering latter if Mineta didn't stop thinking with his second head.

"We can make some changes through the year, no big deal," Jiro replied, the girl wearing a much less stylized costume, instead she opted for the punk rocker look. The only things that seemed to be remotely out of place were her boots, which were bulkier than normal, thanks to the pair having speakers attached to them. Why, Midoriya didn't know as Jiro didn't share too much about her quirk.

“Yup!” His brow creased when he saw a pair of floating gloves giving Uraraka a thumbs up, along with the gloves, a glance down revealed a matching pair of shoes. There was only one person that voice could have belonged to, and that he couldn't see.

“Hagakure, where’s your costume? Does it turn invisible with you or…?” Was it the budget thing? The fibers used in his gear were expensive, partially due to the fact they couldn't be made in bulk, instead, costume produced. Did Hagakure put priority on her body with her hands and feet being a secondary concern?

“Nope, you’re looking at it.” Hagakure cheekily replied, Midoriya opening his mouth, then closing it, repeating this a few times as he realized that he was looking at a near-naked girl, not the first time he had seen a girl’s flesh, lord knew he had seen and felt Saiko’s body more then a few times, but this wasn’t a private space, it was the middle of class, with a drills sergeant of a teacher right there!

How did no one react to this, Aizawa hardly looked bothered and when he looked at the rest, they just shook their heads, as they also felt like this was weird as hell, but they couldn't do anything about it. Instead, he could groan into his hand, making a mental note to speak to his mother if they couldn't get something for Hagakure. It wouldn't be too hard as she did study quirks for a living, so not too many questions should be asked.

“Okay then,” Kamakiri tuned things away from that dilemma and focused on someone who they could see, and who came decked out in actual clothes and gear. “Aoyama, you’re looking exactly as I thought you would.”

Where Kamakiri had gone with a ragged look with most of his body covered by his torn dark cloak, Aoyama went in the only direction Midoriya had known him to go. Much like his Paladin gear, it was themed off a knight but different, as he wore a white body suit, over which he wore grey, blue, and white armor pieces that consisted of a chest plate, two spherical shoulder pads, elbow-length vambraces, and knee-length boots.

The chest piece also had a bit of a collar with a yellow Greek fret-like trim which went as far as Aoyama’s chin, protecting his neck but being wide enough to maintain its range of motion. He didn't wear a helmet but did spring for a pair of red wing-shaped visors, the look being finished off by shiny, reflective blue and white half cape that went as far as his waist, fastened to one side. Lastly, there was a sword fastened to his side, one with a deep blue sheath, blue and golden handle, and golden sun-shaped guard.

“Stylish?” Aoyama posed for them.

“Loud and gaudy.” Kamakiri deadpanned, with Aoyama letting out a grasp as he leaned on Tetsutetsu.

“Oh, you speak such vile things!” He shot back before Aizawa clapped his hands, getting things back on track.

"You had your time to comment on each other's stuff, now let's start with the combat training class.” Aizawa started. "Unlike your entrance exam, you'll be doing something different this time around. I imagine most of you have seen villains fighting against heroes, well those are the fools. A smart villain, regardless of their strength, runs when faced with a pro."

“Sensei, why is that?” Iida raised his hand.

"It's illogical to stick around and fight, ignoring the chance they might lose, it also gives other pros time to get to the scene and lend aid, if they escape, then we pros would now know more about them, their quirks, mannerism, and fighting style," Aizawa explained, the class following along with it, as it made sense-like how in a game, you could study how an enemy moved and attacked so better plan.

"Lastly, should a villain manage to badly hurt or in the rare case, kill a hero, we pros would be that much more determined to track them down. It's for all these reasons that most smart villains make it their go-to action to flee from the scene of a crime.” Aizawa frowned, the class figuring he was speaking from experience, but none daring to ask him that was the case.

Aizawa, despite not showing it on his face, appreciated that they weren’t asking. “For our class today, you’ll be split into teams of 5 and pit against each other.”

“Without real training?” Asui asked.

"This is to get you started on the basics in a more practical setting than a sparring match. That said, you won't be up against robots, so keep that in mind the exercise. Should I even think you're using excessive force I'll disqualify your entire team, understood?" Aizawa glared at them all, especially the ones whose records and frankly, his experience with them during the quirk assessment, told him they could be troublemakers.

With none giving him reason to think they didn't hear it, he moved on to another part of things. “Good, any questions?”

“How will wins and losses be determined?” Yaoyorozu asked.

"One team will be the heroes, and the second will be the villains. The objective of the villains is to escape, while the heroes are to capture the villains. The villains win if 3 or more of their number make it out, or they manage to defeat 3 or more of the heroes, same deal with the heroes, only you’re supposed to keep them from escaping” Aizawa explained.

“So, we can focus on just combat then?" Bakugo was next to ask, Aizawa noting that the boy looked too eager for a yes.

Looking directly at him till the boy turned away from his gaze, only then did he answer. "The whole point is for the villains to flee, but yes-you can engage in battle with the heroes. The heroes, however, are encouraged to defeat villains without knock-outs or serious injuries.”

“Will we be expelled if we fail?" Uraraka asked the next question.

"So long as you take this seriously, and make no mistake, I will know if you aren't,” His frown made it clear he wasn’t joking. “No, you aren’t in danger of that.”

“How will we be split up?” Tokage was the next to speak up, the girl dressed in a purple-scaled costume and mask.

Stepping aside, Aizawa revealed the 2 boxes he had managed to hide with his frame, much to their confusion. “It would be a random selection.” The first box was the largest, a yellow thing with the word ‘lots’ written on it in English, the second and third were equal size, one being a black box that read ‘Villain’ and the white one reading ‘Hero.’

“Eraser, isn’t that a bit extreme?” Kaibara asked the next question, as he felt like it would work best if they could form their teams, that way quirk synergy and teamwork skills could be taken into account.

Aizawa shook his head, as while he could predict what his student was going for, life didn’t always allow for such. "No. Pros might form agencies, but out in the field, when an incident happens-you work together to resolve it as quickly as possible. For villains, while they aren't known to work outside groups, there is the understanding that if one goes down, they'll rate out the rest to better their position, so it wouldn't be wise to sabotage one another."

“All right, sorry for asking.”

"Never apologize for asking reasonable questions of your teachers. You're here to learn, not just repeat what say, or act as you tell you. You need to work on critical thinking skills of your own, and tailor what our lessons impart to suit you best."

“Then let’s get to the teams.” With that, Aizawa held up the largest box for them to pick their slips from, with Todoroki being the first, followed by Sero, then Bondo and Kamakiri. One by one, they approached, when Midoriya went up, he saw that he picked a slip that had the letter A printed on it. A glance at Aoyama allowed him to see that he had got E while Tetsutetsu was B and lastly, Ojiro was H.

Team A: Midoriya Izuku; Yanagi Reiko; Jiro Kyoka; Uraraka Ochaco; Kamakiri Togaru

Team B: Todoroki Shoto; Shoji Mezo; Tetsutetsu Tetsutetsu; Tsunotori Pony; Kaibara Sen

Team C: Yaoyorozu Momo; Mineta Minoru; Fukidashi, Manga; Kuroiro Shihai; Kendo Itsuka

Team D: Bakugo Katsuki; Iida Tenya; Sato Rikido; Bondo Kojiro; Tokage Setsuna

Team E: Aoyama Yuga; Ashido Mina; Tokoyami Fumikage; Komori Kinoko; Shoda Nirengeki

Team F: Koda Koji; Kirishima Eijiro; Shiozaki Ibara; Rin Hiryu; Tsuburaba Kosei

Team G: Kaminari Denki; Asui Tsuyu; Monoma Neito; Hagakure Toru; Shishida Jurota

Team H: Sero Hanta; Kodai Yui; Ojiro Mashirao; Awase Yosetsu; Honenuki Juzu

“I look forward to working with you all.” Midoriya gave a curt bow to his teammates.

“Oh, don’t be so former, we’ll do great!” Uraraka cheered.

"Likewise," Yanagi added.

"Jackpot." Aoyama heard Mineta giggle to himself, the Frenchman looking his way to see him poorly hiding how he was leering at Yaoyorozu's form. He hoped that they didn't suffer for his untamed lust.

“With that settled, the first two teams to go up will be team A as the heroes and,” Aizawa pulled a white ball from the hero box. “Team D as the villains.” Followed by a black ball from the villain one. As soon as that had been settled, Midoriya and Bakugo crossed glares, Bakugo holding in a snarl but his eyes said enough about his mood and goals, while Midoriya’s gaze was strong, but defensive as he didn’t want to fight, but knew he would get one regardless, so he won’t hold back.

"Everyone else, head towards the monitoring station," Aizawa told them, turning on his heel while collecting all 3 boxes and walking off, the rest following after him, leaving the 10 chosen behind.

"Izuku," Aoyama grabbed his attention, the blonde looking just a little worried, his perpetual smile vacant as he glanced Bakugo's way. "Good luck out there. Bakugo won't be an easy foe."

Midoriya nodded, as they might not have seen Bakugo since they were kids, but it was clear he wasn’t some pushover, not when he had only improved since then if his placement in Aizawa’s quirk assessment was accurate. “I know, but we’ll pull through, right?” Midoriya looked towards his team, Kamakiri smiling at him as a blade shot out his arm.

"Oh, you can bet your ass we will." He said, just as eager for a fight as Bakugo was. Uraraka, Yanagi, and Jiro all nodded as Aoyama gave them a small smile and turned to catch up with the rest.

"There won't be any delayed count-down for this. The round will be 10 minutes long, so villain team, it's in your best interest to move decisively and manage to get at least 3 of you past the heroes to one of the 3 entryways out. If you try and leave through another path, you'll disqualified." Aizawa explained to them, having returned from leading the others away to direct them to the area of the exercise.

Midoriya wasn’t sure how large the entirety of ground Gamma was, but the area they would be using for the exercise wasn’t small by any means. It made sense as the villains needed ways to sneak past them else it would be a straight fight from the start.

"Here are earpieces, so that you can keep in contact with one another. Keep in mind that he'll also be listening in to whatever is said, so keep the conversation on the exercise, understood?" Eraser handed them all an earpiece, the heroes taking from one case, the villains from the other.

“Yes, sir.”

"Since knock-outs aren't what we're aiming for, you'll retrain your defeated foes with this." "Even if you only manage to wrap it around their arm or leg, it will count."

"Good, once I make it back to the others, the clock starts. In the meantime, you all get into position. Villains in the center, heroes to the boundaries." With that said, he turned to leave, leaping away like a ninja. Knowing that they didn't have much time, the villain team left in a hurry, Bakugo giving Midoriya one last glare before he blasted off. The heroes doing the same as they weren't allowed to just camp out at the exits, but had to enter and look for their prey.

“Midoriya, forgive me if I’m wrong, but it seems that you’re…familiar with Bakugo, do you have any tips on how he’ll approach this?” Yanagi asked as the group jogged ahead.

Midoriya, who was behind Kamakiri, shook his head. “No, you’re right about that. But the thing is, I don’t know how much information I can give.”

"Why's that, he makes you promise to not rat him out?" Kamakiri asked him, looking over his shoulder to the rest of them.

Midoriya let out a laugh at that, as he recalled times when such a promise would have been made between them. “Not that, I just haven’t seen him in years. Yuya and I go way back, but we also knew Bakugo when we were kids. So, any information I have would be almost a decade old.” Yanagi chewed on that, as that didn't help their chances then. But that also meant that Bakugo couldn't tell their enemies anything more than they already knew.

“Seems like he still acts like a kid with how he nearly blew up when you saw you two, yesterday," Jiro stated, as Bakugo had made a shitty first impression with them.

"Yes, it seems like his spirit is similar." Midoriya agreed with her, though perhaps Bakugo had indeed matured a bit. He didn’t attack him when they saw each other during the exam and when they walked into class, though Hinata reminded him that was a low bar. “If that’s the case, then I can say he’ll try and fight us, more accurately, he’ll try and fight me.”

“Isn’t the entire point of the exercise or the villains to sneak past us and escape?” Yanagi asked.

“You heard Eraser, we can fight if the situation calls for it. No doubt if Midoriya’s right, Bakugo’s gonna make it that the situation calls for violence.” Kamakiri replied for Midoriya, saw Kamakiri had hit the nail on the head with that. The glares Bakugo sent him before they departed said a lot, and nothing about him just winning the exercise.

“That’s not good. He’s pretty strong and if he finds one of us, he’ll probably make a lot of noise. We can’t let that distract us, else the rest would sneak on through.” Uraraka asked, the five reaching a crossroads, wondering how they'd split to cover the paths leading to the exit.

"And that ignores the notion that his teammates might attempt to join up with him. With a speedster like Iida and someone who can act like their eyes on the eye in Tokage, they could easily spot us and move through cracks, or just take us down." Yanagi added to their situation, a reminder that like the villains, they’ll also need to move without drawing attention to themselves.

However, something Yanagi said made Jiro think. “I don’t think Bakugo would work with them; he doesn't even seem to remember our names," Jiro stated, as she hadn't heard Bakugo use a single one of their names, despite the fact they did, repeatedly so she wouldn't be surprised if an ass like him just chose not to use their names. That kind of attitude would be a major issue for any teamwork.

“Iida on the other hand is the type that would try, so maybe we can lead them into a trap?” Kamakiri mused as Iida seemed like the rule follower-only type, someone who wouldn't color outside the lines unless explicitly asked. He also seemed like the literal type of guy, the one that couldn't catch an insinuation unless it was so obvious even a child could get it.

“And how will we do that?” Jiro asked, the group aware that they didn’t have much time to plan.

“I can act as bait,” They looked towards Midoriya, who in turn was looking in the direction that the villains had run off in. "Bakugo already wants to fight me more than he wants to pass this exercise. I'll set off an attack that he'll know is me, and he'll come running. If things go right, so will Iida."

“Should we all go?” Uraraka asked him, to which he shook his head.

“No, the rest of you should focus on the others. Uraraka and I should be enough for Bakugo and Iida.” Midoriya replied, which made Uraraka blush.

“Really?!” She squeaked. She had One for All, but aside from none of them even knowing what One for All was, she hadn't gotten nearly as good with it as she hoped she would when she first received it a couple of months back. That means she'll be mainly relying on Zero Gravity, but she would need to touch either Iida or Bakugo and both were crazy fast, a lot faster than she was.

“You’re strong, Uraraka. You have faith in yourself. Besides,” Midoriya calmed her down, placing a comforting hand on her shoulder. “Like you said, he’s not the type to work with others, not unless he’s calling the shots, so their teamwork would be shoddy at best.” He smiled, as he knew that they’ll be able to work together like a well-oiled machine.

Chapter Text

“Text” – Normal speech

‘Text’ – Thought

“Text” – Quirk Spirit speaking in the human world

“Text” - Attacks

“Text” – Radio/Communication lines

“Text” – None Japanese speech

(text) – Subtext/meaning behind a spoken word

"Even if it's training, it pains me to have to play the role of a villain." Iida, with his full costume on lamented as the group stood together, hidden by the many pipes and buildings from view.

"It's not so bad, it's like we have to do anything too bad, just ran like heck," Bondo added.

“Yeah, and it pays to get into the mind of a villain, so we can better understand how they act to fight them.” Tokage smiled as he did some stretches, already thinking of ways to use their quirks to maximize their chances. She already suspected that the heroes would think she would use her quirk to look for them, but she could easily turn that against them, running distractions and decoys with her many parts.

Add in Bondo’s glue and they could set up traps, leading them away from where they actually were, and slowing them down. Sato’s strength could also prove useful since as villains, property damage wasn’t something they needed to consider, so they could be pretty liberal with how much stuff got wrecked. Add in Bakugo’s explosions and they’ll be able to drive them mad with anger and confusion.

"I'm not so sure that I'll be the best at the running thing, especially since Kamakiri and Midoriya are crazy fast," Sato added, as he was a brawler, and while his quirk boosted his strength, his speed didn’t increase all that much. Looking at the capture tape they had each been given, he knew that he wouldn’t need to be defeated conventionally, if one of their faster foes could get this around him, he was done.

“Frenchie and Deku have quirks, right?” The four looked towards Bakugo, who had, perhaps predictably, remained silent the entire time. Even now, his back was to them.

Tokage raised an eyebrow as for someone who liked to act smart, that was a pretty stupid question. “Unless I’m blind and deaf, yeah, I think we all saw them using their quirks. Iida even saw Aoyama in the exam.”

“You heard that?” Iida asked, and when she nodded, he sighed by elaborated. “But yes, he seems to have a firm grasp of it.” That seemed to just anger Bakugo, something that Bondo noticed.

“By the way, you got such a beef with them? You seem to hate them from the jump.” He asked, to which Bakugo turned to glare at the over his shoulder.

“Can it, Glue-face. You can all run if you want, I’m going after Deku.” He returned his gaze out to the area, where somewhere, his target would be hiding.

Tokage choked on some saliva at such an insane statement, ignoring how rude Bakugo seemed to be, she objected to that plan. “Didn’t you hear Eraser? The whole point’s to run away.”

“The points to escape, and I will after I've pounded that little shit into the ground," Bakugo replied, Tokage groaning into her hands as she should have known he wouldn’t be a team player, asshole barely was a good classmate.

“Bakugo, while we’re playing the role of villains, that level of violent intent far exceeds the levels required for the exercise.” Iida chopped his arm at Bakugo as he marched to him, trying to turn him around, Bakugo shrugged off his arm and turned to glare at him, making the speedster step back as it looked like Bakugo would attack them.

“And what if the others move in to capture you?” Sato asked, trying to de-escalate things before their teammate started fighting among themselves, as he was pretty sure that would end badly for them.

Bakugo scoffed at the notion. “Like they could, I’ll take them all one." Who did Deku have on his tea? An overgrown prey mantis, a girl with a dollar store telekinesis, earlobes who seemed pretty useless during the quirk test, and lastly, round cheeks. Maybe she and the bug would be stronger, but when the rest were dirt, that didn't say much.

Round cheeks would need to touch him, he just had to blast her before she did. Same with Bug Boy, as his blades might be sharp, but a blade didn't mean shit if you couldn't tag the target.

Tokage and Iida were about to counter Bakugo's logic but were cut off when Aizawa's voice rang through the many hidden speakers in the zone. “Teams are in position. So, the outdoor person-to-person combat training between teams A and D starts now.”

Bakugo blasted off without a word, flying in some random direction much to the ire of his teammates.

“Dammit, Bakugo get back here!” Tokage yelled, but he didn’t even bother to respond as he got further away, only for her to see Iida get into a runner’s stance.

“You all continue with the exercise. If 3 of us manage to get through, we succeed, I’ll follow Bakugo and provide him back-up!” Iida stated as he took off, his quirk pushing him forward faster than any of them could hope to be.

“All right, I’ll try and keep you posted!” Muttering that she had the bad luck of reckless teammates, she turned to Bondo and Sato, who at least remained so they could plan their moves. “Alright, we’ll split, I’ll be the eye in the sky and help guide you two.” She instructed that they didn't have much time to create something more complex, so they'd have to improvise.

“God it.” Sato nodded.

"Sounds good," Bondo said as they turned and ran off in different directions, while Tokage split herself into several pieces, an eye for Bondo and Sato each to look out for anyone close to them. the rest of her used her hands and ears to feel and hear their way through the maze, purposely sticking to the shadows and moving through spaces typically too small for someone of her size to use.

With Bakugo, he flew overhead, easily seen if not heard by anyone who was on the lookout for him. but he didn't care if they did as he wasn't trying to hide. ‘Where is he? If I was a nerd, where would I be?’ He asked himself before he saw a fireball race into the air off to the left, not that far from where he had been waiting for things to start with the extras.

‘There.’ He thought, his fury rising, but so too his excitement to finally set the record straight.

"Keep an eye on how things play out, you can use this as a chance to adjust your strategies when your time comes," Aizawa advised the rest, as they watched the exercise via a large multi-panel screen. Focusing on each of the students as they broke off.

"That I get, but why's Bakugo breaking off from his team?" Kaibara noted that they didn't have sound, but they could tell that they seemed to have been arguing with Bakugo before he left.

"It didn't look like he was ever with them, looks like he's planning on going in a lone wolf," Tokoyami replied.

"It's a team exercise, he wouldn't," Shouda spoke up, Aizawa glaring at Bakugo's antics, though he wouldn't stop it. He explained things loud and clear, if he decided to go against that, then he'd need to deal with the consequences.

“He would, and he’s found someone.” Aoyama pointed out as Bakugo turned and started flying towards that fire blast, Todoroki narrowing his eyes.

‘No, he didn’t find them, he was lured to them.’ Bakugo had an impressive quirk, and typically Todoroki would end his praise there, but he knew that such a person couldn’t be a fool, not if he got into U.A. so why was he falling for such an obvious trap?

When he made it to the spot, he found that it was a clearing of sorts, and right in the middle of it, stood Deku in that fire form of his. Once he cleared the buildings, Midoriya saw him instantly and turned to face him, tracking him as he landed. “Good for you, Deku. You didn’t try and hide.” Bakugo grunted as he landed, crouched and aggressive while Midoriya was calm, defensive.

"You're the one that's supposed to be hiding, you're supposed to be trying to sneak past me, you know," Midoriya told him, keeping his eye on him and trusting that Uraraka would be watching his back.

“Like I’ll never hide from the likes of you.” Bakugo mocked him, but Midoriya didn’t react to it.

“Believe me, I know.”  He wondered how much of his memories could be trusted after all this time, but it seemed like Bakugo was the same as ever when it came to a fight. When he believed he could win, he wouldn’t stop till he could, but this wasn’t the playground and he wasn’t some weak kid anymore. “I knew you would look for me, but I want to know why?”

“Because I want answers, Deku. And I’m going to beat them right outta you!” Bakugo replied, as he just knew something was fishy about him and Frenchie, they were just pebbles on the side of the road the last he saw them before Deku's mom packed up and moved one day, out of his life, but that was fine, as it made it easier to rise to the top.

He trained, he studied and it showed. He easily finished elementary and junior high at the top of his class. Even got into a great high school that immediately recognized his greatness from the first day. All the while he honed his skills and got stronger so he could take his place at the top. Only for his goals to be complicated when the day of the entrance exam, he saw those two pebbles again.

Even with a decade and change since the last he saw them; he recognized them immediately and was infuriated that they would dare to try and upstage him. But he had left them alone, convinced that those losers would fail. But they didn't. It would have been bad enough if they had just barely managed to pass like the extras they were, but Frenchie managed to place 7^th.

And somehow, through some cheating idiotic means, Deku had managed to place first, knocking him down to a pitiful second place.  His blood still boiled at the insult, only for his fury to turn to confusion when their hobo of a teacher gave them that quirk assessment. He thought that this, that there would show U.A. how much they fucked up by letting those two as they'll surely get last place and be booted.

But that didn't happen, instead, they revealed quirks that they got when he wasn't around and used them to place 2^nd and 12^th respectively. Sure, Bakugo got first as destiny dictated, but the idea that those pebbles could even be considered to be in the same ring as him angered him.

Even now, that look in Deku’s eye pissed him off.

“Don’t worry, I won’t do too much damage, I don’t want Eraser pulling the plug, but it’s gonna be close!” Bakugo launched himself at Midoriya. He knew Midoriya was fast, but he was faster. And indeed he was, and if Midoriya had tried to match his speed, he would have lost, at least in this form.

But he had been expecting something like this and was able to act without thinking as he jumped towards Bakugo, grabbing his left hand, and his shirt.

“What the-!” Bakugo got out before Midoriya funneled flames through his gloves, increasing his strength with a blast of heat as he threw Bakugo towards the edge of the clearing, the explosive boy barely having time to correct himself and slow down before he crashed into the pipes.

Looking at himself, he saw that his top was burned, the costume which he explicitly told them to make fireproof was fucking burned, and by Deku of all people? He looked at his foe as he took a deep breath, and let it out.

“It’s been years since we last saw each other, so I don’t know what answers you want,” Midoriya started, his right glove shifted, burning and melting down into the palm of his hand. “But I do know this: I’m not the same kid you could pick on. And my name isn’t Deku, you hear me?” He held his hand above his head, the glove gone as it gathered in his hand, before bursting, revealing that it had shifted into a blade, its handle colored green and blue, with a red and yellow guard.

“So if you want to fight, come and get it!” Midoriya’s defensive eyes grew fierce, burning with a determination that came from him and Hinata to fight. And Bakugo was more than willing to oblige.

Racing toward the battle sight, Iida continued to try and get Bakugo to respond as he had ignored him since the match started. "Bakugo, can you hear me? You need backup, you can't just fight by yourself, it's a team battle!" Iida cursed the fact that the layout of the field limited him, as Bakugo could jump and blast/fly over everything and move without limits, Iida had to find paths both conventional and not to move, which meant that he had fallen behind his explosive teammate.

Up ahead, he heard an explosion, followed by jets of flames and fireballs shooting out into the sky, some hitting the taller buildings. "Bakugo, respond! Darn it, I'm already on my way, just hold out till I get there!"

“Shut up and leave me be, Deku’s my target!”

“Target? This is a search and destroy, we’re meant to be fleeing from the hero team! Bakugo-Bakugo you better not have hung up!” Iida yelled over the coms, but Bakugo wouldn’t hear it he seemed to get back to whatever fight he had going with Midoriya.

“We should have expected that from him," Sato spoke up.

“No kidding, he's as pleasant as my neighbor's cat when she's in a dress.” Bondo agreed, no doubt the two were far away from where Iida was, trying to attempt the exercise as they had been told to do, of if only Bakugo wasn’t so unruly, Iida would need to waste time and could focus on aiding his teammates to pass, despite having to bare the title of villains for the time being.

“Iida, how far are you from the fight?” Tokage asked.

“I’ll be there in 30 seconds, no more than that!” Iida replied as he took a corner, sure that he just needed to take one more and he'd have a straight shot.

“Then get there and drag Bakugo away from there, I don’t like that Midoriya would engage him in a fight, it feels off," Tokage replied, Iida trusted her judgment on that as when he thought about it, it did seem rather out of character for Midoriya, someone that deescalated things with Bakugo the previous day and seemed to generally be more diplomatic, to indulge in Bakugo's desire for a pointless fight.

“Under-stoood!” Iida was nearly smacked across the face but a large pipe that came out of nowhere, having to lean to the side and hastily correct his footwork as he came to a stop.

“I almost got you there, Iida!” Uraraka, the person holding the piece of pipe that must have weighed more than her, chirped at him. The girl had tried to flatten him like a pancake after jumping down from the rooftops.

“What the-Uraraka? How are you,” Iida asked, Uraraka smiling at him, but not answering his question.

“Iida, can you repeat that? Is Uraraka there?” Tokage asked him, needing details as she couldn’t see what was happening, not unless she diverted one of her eyes his way.

"She is, she surprised me on my way to retrieving our rebellious teammate," Iida replied, but before he could say more, Uraraka grabbed her makeshift weapon and pulled it back.

“Sorry, Iida, but it’s rude to talk to others when you’re playing baseball!” She swung it again, weighing a non-issue thanks to her quirk, which meant that she could also swing it as fast as one would a regular bat.

"That is not a baseball bat and we're not playing any sort of game!" Iida pointed at her as she tried to strike him, instead, she hit some other pipes, causing them to crumple and fall. Iida under his helmet started to sweat as he could hear his target fighting in the distance, he just needed to get past Uraraka, but she knew that, that was why she was here.

The only good thing he could say about this was that it meant that 2 of the hero team were otherwise occupied, which meant 2 fewer people to pursue his teammates. Reaching for his capture tape, he locked onto his foe.

“Apologies, but it seems like we must fight. I’ll be sure to end it quickly.” Iida told her, but Uraraka showed no fear, even as she saw him reach for his capture tape.

"Come get some, you villain." Uraraka gave him a thumbs-up, ready to do her part. She and Midoriya didn't have time to fine-tune a plan, but what they came up with was sure to surprise the two, but it wasn't something they could do more than twice, preferably they'll need just one use.

“Since when did Midoriya have a sword on him?” Hagakure asked as Midoriya battled it out against Bakugo, using his sword like it was a blade and a wand, at times merely pointing it in Bakugo's direction which sent forth a massive fireball.

"Beats me, I didn't see him carrying one when he finished changing," Kaminari replied.

“It’s his support item,” The two, along with others turned to Aoyama, who was watching the fight unfold with his usual smile and twinkle in his eye.

“Support item?” Ojiro asked.

“Have you noticed that he wasn’t wearing his belt? Well, it's because he’s using a modified version of it which takes the form of his glove or in this case, his sword. It’s easier to carry in day-to-day hero work.” Aoyama explained.

It wasn’t a technical lie, as it was true, his blade was a modified version of his belt, a self-modification as they could freely alter their shape how and when they pleased, their quirks merely chose them to be a belt and crown respectively. However, he wouldn't lie, at least to himself, as the sight of Midoriya battling against that brute with a seemingly polished steel blade was quite the cool image.

“Now that you mention it, I don’t see your crown either. Is that the sword as well?” Jiro asked as Aoyama's head remained free of any adornments.

He turned his gaze to her. “It is, we have the same support item manufacturer since our quirks came in around the same time. So, we wanted to…match you could say.” He laughed at the end, as the two had loved reading about knights and heroes growing up, and while Izuku was more an All Might kind of guy, which meant he didn’t think about it too much, he always played along when Yuga wished to play knights and dragons.

Bakugo might not have been such a beast, but Midoriya looked every bit the heroic knight to him as the fight continued. His explanation seemed to make sense, enough that Ashido and Hagakure started to giggle, Komori joining in.

“Oh, that’s such a BBF move!” Ashido cheered for the two, Komori and Hagakure, presumable, joining in as they started theorizing if they had matching BFF necklaces, or a secret handshake.

“As impressive as it is, Midoriya shouldn’t be fighting in the first place.” Tokoyami got things back on track before Aizawa could get irritated with things.

“Does he have much choice? Bakugo seems dead set on trying to blast him to pieces.” Sero asked, especially since they could see that while Midoriya was holding his own, Bakugo was relentless as he kept on attacking.

Watching that, Yaoyorozu turned her attention to the second fight between Uraraka and Iida. Her gaze sharpened as she suspected that it wasn't just chance that things turned out like this. “Based on how Bakugo acted yesterday, they’re clearly some ill-will between them, the fact that Midoriya’s decided to fight him rather than go after the others could mean he’s trying to keep him occupied.”

Honenuki nodded. “Then there was that ambush from Uraraka. She didn’t move when Bakugo flew right overhead, even though she could have probably tried to sneak attack him. but she did move when Iida came rushing in. My money’s on them betting Iida would be the one to chase after an overly eager Bakugo, that way they can engage 2 of the enemy team in battle.” They had seen it before, they had thought it was because she wasn’t confident she could make the hit, but perhaps it was because she wasn’t meant to take that shot.

Yaoyorozu finished the thought for them both. “At the same time, with Bakugo and Iida occupied in fights, 2 of the 3 villain team members best suited for quick retreats are no longer in play. Even if Tokage manages to get out, that still leaves the disadvantaged Sato and Bondo.”

If one looked at this fight from a quirk point of view, the villains had a clear advantage, as with Bakugo's quick, he could fly over any and every obstacle in his way, with just Yanagi and Uraraka to oppose him, but their quicks might have allowed them some form of flight, it wasn't something comparable to what Bakugo could do based on their performance during the quirk assessment.

Uraraka could use her quirk on Yanagi instead, though that would still mean just the one person to confront Bakugo, which ignored the fact Iida was fast enough that he could outrun the others, while Tokage was similar to Bakugo, but she could be much sneakier in her escape. Even if that left Sato and Bondo behind, they could instead act as delayers to allow 3 of the 5 to escape, winning the trial for the villains.

‘Those two didn’t get in through recommendations for nothing, they’re right on the mark behind team A’s reasons for this path of action.’ Aizawa thought after hearing the two talk, the rest of the students merely being amazed by their classmate’s deduction skills. That said, they seemed to have missed another step in Team A's plans, something that Jiro had come up with.

‘Dammit, we don’t have time for this, why’d we get paired up with Bakugo of all people?’ Tokage to herself, her head and torso slowly moving through a cramped space as she still had her eyes on Sato and Bondo, though she could very clearly hear explosions in the distance.

“Any progress on your end, guys?” She asked, her hand moving to her earpiece.

“I think so, I haven’t been spotted yet, at least I think I haven’t," Bondo replied, speaking softly which matched what she was seeing of him, the big guy was currently hiding.

“Making good time on my end, maybe I’ll be the first one out.” Sato on the other hand was making good progress, he would be at one of the exits in a couple minutes tops, which didn’t seem to have anyone close to it.

That worried her as she knew where Midoriya and Uraraka were thanks to Bakugo and Iida, and had managed to spot Kamakiri trying to track Sato, Yanagi was after Bondo but she had managed to keep them safe from the two so far, though she was wondering how Bondo, who was closer to her, couldn't quite shake his tail.

‘But where’s Jiro? I don’t know what her quirk is, and she’s not made an appearance yet.' Tokage thought to herself, but out of nowhere, she was caught in ear-splitting vibrating air of…something, she didn't know and couldn't see from whereas she yelled out in pain as her ears were especially vulnerable to it.

“Tokage?” Sato’s voice was fuzzy, hard to hear with this soundwave bombarding her.

“What’s happening, are you okay?” Bondo asked, but she could hardly think as she tried to center herself, but the blast was unending, pinning her in place.

“What…what is this…?” She asked aloud, this was bad. Really bad, she didn't plan for them, none of them did. Having no choice, she abandoned Sato, her left eye that was watching him dropping to the ground, with her connection to the now pulverized organ severed, she regrew the eye, seeing that she was in a pretty cramped spot, out of the way and hard to see, but see someone she did.

“Found you.” Jiro stood at the end of the path, having moved silently to avoid being spotted before she fired her attack, Tokage saw that one of her earphone jacks had extended and plugged into her boot, which was sending out a paralyzing yet crushing blast of base filled sound. "I figured you'd be their scout, so I volunteered to track you down and take you out."

"Sorry about this, but we can't take chances," Jiro said as she approached, but she kept her quirk active and aimed for Tokage, even adding her other boot so that when one foot was back, another was primed to keep her pinned. Tokage started to freak out, as her pieces were all caught, while the rest were still gone. Even if she tried to recall them, they wouldn’t get there in time, and it wouldn’t matter if she grew more as he wouldn’t be able to send them out when her brain felt like it was being knocked around her skull.

“Tokage? Tokage!”

“Please answer us! Do you need help? Where are you?”

“Sorry…guys….they got me…” She bitterly accepted her fate as Jiro finally got enough that she could pull out her capture tape. She ceased her attack, but Tokage was far too out of it to fight as her head was wrapped in the tape.

“Tokage has been captured and is no longer in play. 6 minutes; 32 seconds remaining in the match.” Aizawa declared over the speakers.

“Your boots?” Tokage, once she had time to crawl out of her hiding spot and not fall out, asked. As she did so, she let her scattered pieces fall where they were, and regrow them while resembling herself.

"Wow, I thought you'd need to wait for your limbs to return," Jiro stated as she helped the now defeated girl to her feet, leading her to the side where she could lean on a wall in the sun.

Tokage shook her head. “Nah, I can regrow them, remember? But it’s not like I can have multiple sets of eyes and ears active at a time, then it just blurs together into noise.” She tried that once back in high school and ended up giving herself the mother of migraines, turns out her quirk didn't do much to increase how much sensory input her brain could handle. “Back to you, you have a sound quirk?”

"Yeah, along with having pretty impressive hearing and my earphone jacks that can control and extend, when I plug them into speakers like the ones on my boots, I can amplify and project my heartbeat," Jiro explained, with Tokage nodding, recalling another person with a similar quirk.

“So like Present Mic?” Jiro smiled a little at it but waved it off.

“I’m not as loud as he is, but yeah. I wasn’t able to use it yesterday so I figured you all wouldn’t know that, so-” Jiro started but Tokage cut her off.

“Got it, you used her sense of hearing to track me down, and your unknown quirk to catch me by surprise. It sucks, but I can't argue with the results." The green-haired girl sighed as Jiro turned and rushed off. Tokage felt the urge to tell her teammates in which direction, but as she was out, that could easily get them disqualified. So she let out a little curse and started walking towards the exit.

“Tokage has been captured and is no longer in play. 6 minutes; 32 seconds remaining in the match.” Aizawa declared over the speakers, much to the shock of Sato as he saw how her quirk worked, she could split herself down to 20 pieces, making it super hard to even see her, never mind catching and defeating her.

“It isn't good. We've just lost our eyes in the sky.” Sato started to sweat as that meant 3 of them weren't able to run for the exits, and with almost half the time gone, they would need to start now.

“And Iida’s still busy handling Uraraka to get back to us. I think we should just book it, we’re too far to help with the fight and if we stay any longer, we’ll be spotted.” Bondo replied, just as nervous as he was as their team went from having 3 great people for something like this to just them. He couldn't even use his quirk without alerting Yanagi to where he was.

Looking around a corner, Sato didn’t spot anything out of the ordinary before he started jogging down it. "Yeah, that seems like a good plan. Once we're clear, we can just tell Iida to run for an exit, that way we still win."

"Just like we thought!" Kamakiri came out of the woodwork, or more accurately, the pipe-work, a maniacal smile on his face with his forearms forward, wicked sharp blades already extended out.

"What the, oh crap!" Sato cried out as Kamakiri didn't attack him, but he seemed to bounce around like a rabbit with a sword, slicing at the pipes, resulting in large pieces of them crashing down around them. Coughing to clear his lungs of the dust that kicked up, Sato saw that the path forward was blocked, the same as the path he came in, effectively trapping him.

"Without your scout, we're free to engage with you." Kamakiri laughed as he landed in the center of the destruction he had caused, his blades having shrunk, but they were still dangerous. "Don't worry, I'm not here for a fight, as much as I want one." He said as he whipped out his tape, Sato gulped as he did the same, but also reached into his utility belt for a sachet of sugar.

“Bondo, they found me.” He informed his teammate, but there was only bad news to be heard.

“Yeah…Yanagi’s right on top of me. I don’t think we can run.” Bondo replied, the sounds of fighting coming through, along with Bondo yelping and spewing out glue from time to time

“Did it work?” Midoriya asked, having unleashed a wave of fire towards Bakugo, forcing the blonde back as he started running around Midoriya, using his quirk to increase his speed as he looked for openings, much more frustrated than he had been before, partly because his teammate was defeated, but mainly because Midoriya wasn’t making it easy to take him down.

“Correct, Jiro’s plan has resulted in Tokage being eliminated and the remainder of the team being pinned," Yanagi replied, followed by the sound of a liquid splashing close to her, and her grunting. “Though Bondo is proving to be quite slippery despite his quirk and size.” Yeah, Midoriya could do that, Bondo's quirk would make it risky to charge him, but Yanagi's poltergeist was an excellent counter to it as she didn't need to get that close at all and should an object she was controlling be caught in his glue, she could just switch to a new one.

“I should be done with Sato soon enough," Kamakiri replied.

“Focus on your fights, we don’t want to get cocky.” Jiro rebuffed him, Midoriya having just enough time to look in the direction of the tallest building, where Jiro should have posted herself to better keep an ear on things. He couldn’t do much more as Bakugo came flying in with a kick which he moved to block with the blunt side of his sword, but Bakugo changed trajectory mid-flight, turning his kick into a blast to Midoriya’s shoulder, followed by another to the chest, but he managed to bring his arm to block that one.

"She's right, we don't need to be defeated, but to have that tape wrapped around us, so stay sharp!" Uraraka reminded them, Midoriya hearing her fighting Iida not too far from them, but it seemed like they were closer than before.

‘Iida’s probably pushing her back. Even with this place limiting his quirk, he’s still much faster than her.’ Midoriya thought to himself, reaching for his shoulder, feeling that the fabric had been burned away, so too on his sleeve, but Hinata’s quirk gave him high fire resistance, so he wasn’t burned.

“Deku, you got some balls to not be paying attention to this fight, but then again, I gotta thank your useless ass. All these flames have really helped me work up a sweat.” Bakugo’s smile made Midoriya anxious, it seemed like he thought he had already won, but that wouldn’t make sense, they had landed blows on each other, but Bakugo must be able to tell that he was worse off than Midoriya was.

"I figured as much; your attacks are only growing stronger since the fight started," Midoriya replied, standing with both hands on his blade, one coated with flames.

The smirk he got as a response sent alarm bells in Midoriya’s head, he could even hear Hinata warning him to be on his toes, now more than ever.

“So, you remember, that’s good. My quirk is powered by sweat, I've trained my ass off since we were kids, but there is only so much power I can use without preparing, which I did."  Bakugo held up his arm, no he held up the grenade-shaped bracers he had for his gear, before pointing it towards Midoriya, the two moving in a circle.

"If they built these gauntlets how I wanted them to, that means they've been collecting my sweat as soon as I put them on, and all this fire only sped that up." Bakugo's smile turned violent, his anger and pride mixing in as he saw Midoriya realize what that meant. His blasts up till now had mainly been focused on Midoriya, but even then, the area was covered with marks caused by them, some of the blasts having been damaged already.

'Wait, if he lets that blast out then-' Midoriya realized he had a critical error, in his efforts to get into a better spot, he had placed Uraraka and Iida’s fight to his back, a fight that was much closer than it had been before. To close.

“Uraraka, aim for your right, use it!” Midoriya grabbed his ear, reaching for his comns as Bakugo pulled back the protective cover on his gauntlet, and reached for the pin that jetted out. Seeing Bakugo braze himself, his mind grimly told him that if Bakugo, whose body was adapted to him having an explosion-type quirk, had to brace, that it meant this going to be big.

The distance between them was too great, he wouldn’t be able to attack him in time, no-even if he did, in his current form, the flames might just set off the explosion prematurely, endangering both of them. So, he made the split-second decision to trust in his teammate, trust that she wouldn't hesitate even though his words had been rushed and this was nothing like the plan they drew up.

He held that trust close to his chest as he turned on his heel, exposing his side to Bakugo's incoming attack he brought his blade up high, the flames coasting it bursting to greater heights and heat.

“Bakugo, cease that attack now or you’ll be disqualified!” Bakugo heard Aizawa yell over his coms, but he had already grabbed the pin when the man started, their teacher’s order coming a moment too late.

“I win, Deku!” Bakugo proclaimed as he set loose the explosion. One that dwarfed any he had used before, one larger than any Midoriya had ever seen as it tore through the ground, heading right for him like a fiery elephant stampede.

Chapter Text

“Text” – Normal speech

‘Text’ – Thought

“Text” – Quirk Spirit speaking in the human world

“Text” - Attacks

“Text” – Radio/Communication lines

“Text” – None Japanese speech

(text) – Subtext/meaning behind a spoken word

“I win, Deku!” Bakugo proclaimed as he set loose the explosion. One that dwarfed any he had used before, one larger than any Midoriya had ever seen as it tore through the ground, heading right for him like a fiery elephant stampede. Simultaneously, Midoriya swung his sword down as hard as he could, launching off a massive blade of fire that crashed into the pips and walls between him and where Uraraka.

Midoriya didn't have time to tell her, he didn't have time to do much other than that half-assed warning, but that was all he could do, as he couldn't fend off that attack, he didn't have the time to build up a strong enough counter or defense.

All he could do was clear the way and hope for the best.

“Uraraka, aim for your right, use it!” Uraraka paused in her attack on Iida as she heard Midoriya’s hysterical call, she took a moment to wonder why he made it, why he sounded so hysterical but, in her gut, she knew that there had to be a reason, so she trusted him.

Dropping the large pipe she had been using as a bat against Iida, she turned on her heel to her right side, where Midoriya and Bakugo were fighting, and pulled back her fist. She had explained that her quirk evolved recently, and she could drastically increase the power by increasing the weight of her attacks, but how she couldn't properly control it, which was why she broke her bones using it.

It was a terrible explanation, one that made little medical or scientific sense but lucky for her, as Recovery Girl had told her when she ran the excuse by her, quirks often broke the norms of biology and science, so if she were merely confident when she said it, most wouldn’t think anything of it. that had happened earlier when she explained her quirk to her team.

None of that mattered as she called upon the power of One for All, and felt it roar to life in her arm with power so great that her costume's right sleeve and her Uraraka wrist were destroyed, exposing her skin which was alit with cracks of red and pink energy just beneath the surface of her skin. As she geared up to throw the attack, she felt more than heard the reason why Midoriya made the call.

The ground started to shake like they were having an earthquake, and before her, she could hear how the buildings, pipes, and other obstacles that stood between her and the other fight were being destroyed by an incoming force, one that seemed to be crazy hot.

"Smash!" She yelled as he though a punch so much like All Might's, sending out a massive blast of force straight into the right side, obliterating the obstacles that weren't already destroyed by Midoriya's attack, giving it an easier time reaching Bakugo's raging explosion attack, when the two collided, it seemed like, even a moment that they were evenly matched.

But what one quirk could stand up to the raw power that lay within One for All? That moment passed as Uraraka's attack not only smashed through Bakugo's crushing the explosion force and dissipating the heat that came with it, but managed to strike an unsuspecting Bakugo and knock him clean off his feet, sending him flying for a couple of seconds before he landed on his back with a curse and grunt.

The aftermath of the two-attack meeting was silence, for many reasons as Iida marveled at Uraraka's power, even if he wondered what drove her to use such an extreme level of it as he looked at the destruction that she had wrought.

Midoriya, who had dodged to the side to avoid being caught in the middle of the two attacks looked on wide-eyed. 'If…if I hadn't moved...' He had never seen such power before, not from anyone out of the strongest of rampaging quirks. What could have been going through Bakugo's mind to use such a thing?

Bakugo was dumbfounded. How the hell could Round Cheeks counter his attack? Her fucking quirk was messing with gravity! But the poof laid bare for him as he could see through the slowly clearing smoke and dust where his attack had been met and destroyed, as that was where the concrete it had been digging up ceased.

The rest of the students on the field were frantically trying to contact their teammates after they felt that rumble and saw and heard what looked to be a massive explosion, but Iida, Midoriya, and Uraraka remained silent, leaving their teammates worried for their safety.

With their classmates, they were stunned by what they had just witnessed, from Bakugo's blatant refusal to obey Eraser's orders, to his unleashing such a crazy strong attack, and Uraraka's even stronger counter. "What the hell was that?" Tetsutetsu asked after he forced his jaw to close.

On the field, it was Uraraka who broke the silence. "Ow…Midoriya, I did it," She started as the dust and smoke cleared enough for Midoriya to see her, standing with her right arm stretched out, a right arm that was bloody and red from the damage she had done to it.

Midoriya was rushing over before he even realized it. "Uraraka!" He gently guided her to the ground, looking over her arm and hardly knowing what to even make of it, it looked like she let a bunch of people whale away at him with hammers. “Oh man, you said you couldn’t control it, not that it would do this!”

“Sorry bout that, figured ya wouldn’t let me use it if I’d been honest.” Uraraka hissed at the end as they moved her into a more comfortable position with her back to the wall, her arm having been moved a little by it, which Midoriya quickly apologized for.

"Of course, we wouldn't let you use it!" He cursed the fact that he didn't have medical equipment to treat her, all he could do was rely on his knowledge from EMT training, which was to monitor her breathing, keep the arm from moving, and try to spot if any bone had pierced a blood vessel as internal bleeding could be fatal.

Spotting none of the signs of that, though that proved hard with how red her skin was, he turned around to face the two opponents, his eyes hard as stone but as hot as flames as he gripped his blade in both hands. “You just rest up, I’ll handle these two.” The blade reacted to his fury, coating itself in a thick, bright coat of orange flames.

“Midoriya.” Iida looked hesitant to attack, but Bakugo looked more than ready to get back to it. Round Cheeks might have pulled a miracle out of her ass with the first blast, but he still had the second-

“There’s no need.” Both sides paused when they heard Aizawa on their coms. “Bakugo, you’re disqualified.”

“What?!” Bakugo grabbed at his, enraged that he had been removed when he had clearly been winning!

“Should I make it an expulsion as well? You are to exit the field and return here now, you’re in enough trouble as is, but if you want to add to it, feel free to continue to act like an idiot.” Aizawa sounded as calm and disinterested as usual, but they could all detect it was merely a calm surface. For their classmates who were with him, they could see for themselves that Eraser was not happy. Not happy in the slightest.

With that ultimatum over his head, Bakugo reluctantly ceased, with a final glare to his annoying teammate and piss stain of an opponent as he turned on his heel and blasted off. Having heard the entire thing, those remaining in play had to just process what had just happened, as Jiro muttered about how much of an ass Bakugo was.

“Did…did he just?” Uraraka asked, watching as the least sociable member of their class flew away.

“Yeah…” Midoriya explained, though his gaze didn’t soften even as the main source of his ire made his exit. “That just leaves you, Iida.”

“That won’t be necessary, Midoriya.” Iida shook his head, reaching for his helmet and removing it, revealing that he was just as pleased with things as Midoriya was. "I can't in good conscience continue this exercise when things have gone so wrong. Nor can I accept that any gains we could make came from my teammate's reckless and extremely dangerous actions."

Even if they were meant to be villains, he couldn't just keep going when Uraraka was in such a terrible state, partly because of him as he should have been able to keep Bakugo in line better, get him to cease with his pointless violence but he wasn't fast enough. So there was only one thing he could do and still be able to look at himself in the mirror as he tapped his earpiece. “I hereby forfeit the match.”

“Team D has lost 3 members and therefore have lost the match. Winner is team A. All injured students are to report to Recovery Girl, the rest of you are to make your way here as soon as possible for a post-match performance review.” Eraser announced over the area’s speaker rather than comns, a siren going off marking the end of the match.

Despite their victory, not a single person in team A felt like winners in the moment. Not when they could all tell that whatever just happened wasn't a good thing as Midoriya heavily implied that Uraraka was pretty injured.

Later, both teams, sans Uraraka, had made it to the observation point where the rest of their class was waiting for them. They had found Bakugo there thanks to him leaving early, but he stood to the side, glaring at nothing and frankly, none of them wanted to engage with him, though that didn't stop Jiro, Kamakiri, and Tokage from glaring right back at him.

"Before we get onto who was the MVP of the match, and what lessons we can learn from this, let's address the elephant in the room," Aizawa stated, turning to walk over towards Bakugo, his typically quiet steps sounding like the tremors that came before a massive earthquake, though Bakugo tried to act like he didn’t feel it, Aizawa could tell just as unnerved the boy was. But being unnerved was the least of his worries.

"Bakugo, you lost the entire point of the exercise. I stress multiple times that you're acting as a villain on the retreat and that combat was meant to be the last option and yet you went looking for a fight." Aizawa’s voice was deceptively soft, but there was a coiling snake in his words.

He didn’t stop as he explained things as bluntly as a hammer to the face, his gaze locking Bakugo’s feet in place as he started to sweat. "Then as if that act of irrational foolishness wasn't enough, you went against direct orders not to use your support item, an item that till I say otherwise, you will be barred from even carrying in training,"

“Hey-!”

“Silence.” Aizawa didn't scream, he didn't yell. He didn't need to cause the entire class to shiver as ice traveled through their veins. With Bakugo, his heart felt like it had been grabbed by the taller, shaggy-looking man whose hair started to float like he was a ghost, while his eyes turned from their normal black to piercing crimson that glowed like angry stars.

Aizawa's anger wasn't like Bakugo's, it was the cold kind, the one that didn't cloud judgment so much as it reinforced it. It was the scariest kind of anger as it meant that when he made a choice, he was doing so with a clear mind and no intention to be swayed from it. And that was something Bakugo was seeing firsthand as his teacher leaned in, making him lean back to keep some distance between them.

"I did not ask for you to answer, I did not ask for your opinion or whatever pitiful excuses you can conjure up in that head of yours to explain why you indulged some juvenile grudge against Midoriya. You are shut up and listen." He didn't ask, he didn't order. He merely spoke as if his words were absolute, and Bakugo, for all his bravado, ego, and anger, couldn't find the strength to refute his teacher.

Bakugo's being forced into silence didn't appease the man however, such a trivial thing couldn't appease the fury he felt as he got back to the task of stating point by point, just how much Bakugo had lost the point of the exercise and how much trouble he was in for it.

"Typically, I wouldn't need to say it, but you've made me doubt your intelligence and maturity, so I'll say it anyway. Your blatant overuse of force could have killed Midoriya, it could have seriously injured Iida and Uraraka if not for Uraraka paying with her arm to cancel it." He pointed at the replay of the match, more accurately, the moment where he fired off the attack. He saw it, how Midoriya cleared the way for Uraraka, then dodged out of the way. He saw the result of his attack from an outside view and it was devastating, as the area was wrecked, looking like someone had dropped several bombs.

However, despite being able to see what had become of the field, Bakugo didn't apologize, he couldn't. Aizawa's disappointment in that face was palpable though his response remained unchanged as he stopped using his quirk, his hair falling back under the effects of gravity.

“Since you can’t seem to follow simple orders when conducting practicals, you’re barred from any future classes outside the classroom, also you have 2 weeks detention.” He told him, to which Bakugo tried to refute.

“What, you can’t do that!” Aizawa’s glare remained sharp, even if his eyes weren’t red.

“I can and I just did. Don’t forget that I’m the academic advisor for the first-year hero course. Also, I remember telling you to keep silent, so make that 3 weeks detention." He cut off whatever nonsense the boy was about to say next. "Don't test me, as I don't care how talented you think you are, what quirk you have, or what delusions you have in your head, disobey me again, act out again and I'll expel you from the hero course where you stand, am I clear?"

Again, Bakugo glared back at him like a petulant child, but he soon looked down in surrender. “Good.” Aizawa turned back to the rest, though he made a mental note to add some demerits to Bakugo's record for this stunt and bring up psychological screenings with Nezu as these students weren’t middle schoolers, he expects them to act like it.

“What that settled, can anyone tell me who was the MVP of the match?” He asked them, leaving that issue to the wayside for now. In response to his question, it was Honenuki that rose his hand, just barely beating out Yaoyorozu.

“That would be Jiro, sir.” He replied, his fellow recommendation student lowering her hand, either she had a similar answer or merely respected that it was his time to speak.

“And why’s that?” Aizawa asked them, as he didn’t care so much for the answer as he did their rationale.

“She was the one that the hero team relayed on to keep tabs on the locations of the villains, allowing her teammates to better plan their attacks. Also, she was the only one to take out a villain in the match as Bakugo was disqualified and Iida forfeited.” Jiro felt a little bashful being put in the spotlight like that, even if Kamakiri and Yanagi both gave her a nod or a thumbs-up, agreeing with Honenuki.

“Correct, now for you all,” Aizawa did as well as he turned to the 8 students that had been in the field. “Can you think of ways you could have improved your performance in that last match?”

Tokage started, looking at her feet. “I didn’t know what kind of quirk Jiro had, but even so, I should have made the plan more flexible to account for that unknown, if we did, then she wouldn’t have caught off by surprise and basically blinded us.”

"I shouldn't have chased after my teammate as when it was clear he had no intention of working with us, I should have decided to close ranks and focused on trying to pass without him." Iida was next, feeling just as much shame for his dogged insistence on trying to get Bakugo to behave. Because of that, he had been separated from teammates who wanted to work together the entire time, which made them that much easier to take out.

"I need to work on ways to fight opponents that are faster than me, Kamakiri was dancing around me the entire time, I'm not sure why he couldn't get his tape around me sooner," Sato answered, as he had known he wasn't the fastest brawler but man, he would be lying if he said it wasn't humiliating to be the turtle to Kamakiri’s hawk. His only positive was that he didn’t overdo it with the sugar and didn’t render himself too mentally drained to even avoid capture.

It wasn’t just the villain team that felt like they needed ways to improve as the person that had been up against Sato was next. “I need to find ways to better use my environment, as while I boxed in Sato, he was able to keep up with me enough that I couldn’t take him out without risking him landing a knock-out blow.”

“My lack of ways to handle quirks like Bondo long ranged taggers meant that I wasn't able to capitalize on the situation and neutralize him sooner. I need to try and be sneakier in the future to catch people like him by surprise." Yanagi went next, and lastly, there was Midoriya who had been quiet since he escorted Uraraka to Recovery Girl.

“I…I made the same mistake as Bakugo.” His teammates and even opponents looked at him funny for that admission, as they recalled that he had been the calm one of that fight. Even then, he didn’t seek it out, merely exploiting the fact Bakugo wanted it to begin with.

“I know how his quirk works, so using fire was the worst choice possible, if I wanted to limit his power, I should have used ice instead but I wanted to fight, I wanted to force him to see he was wrong and…” Todoroki seemed interested with that ice bit, though Midoriya didn’t notice as he covered his face with his head, even with his quirks saying otherwise, he knew that he had made the wrong choice.

Turning to his teammates, he bowed low to them. "Uraraka paid for that mistake, and because of that, I apologize to you all. It's my fault that things got so bad."

“Hey, you couldn’t have known that it would get that bad.” Jiro tried to tell him, though he remained bowed.

"She's right, none of us could have predicted that Bakugo had such a weapon, or that he would use it in the situation," Yanagi added, the group ignoring how Bakugo was grinding his teeth in the corner as they talked about him like he wasn’t there.

“That’s enough.” Aizawa ceased their words before they lost any more time they had for class. “You all made good points in your self-reflection. I want you to focus on finding ways to improve on that going forward. But keep in mind that this is training so while it’s a time to learn, you shouldn’t be too harsh on yourselves else you’re work yourselves into a rut.”

“Yes sir.” The class, sans Bakugo, replied to his words as the two teams moved to join the rest of them.

“Good, considering the damage to the area, we’ll be moving to another one. The teams that will be handling this would be team B as the heroes and team E as the villains." Aizawa said, pulling out the aforementioned teams from the two boxes.

As they turned to leave, he told them only one final thing. "Follow the scenario, I don't want any more complications."

"Yes, sir." They nodded, none having any issues to turn their match into a mess similar to the first. As they walked off, Aoyama stopped shoulder-to-shoulder with Midoriya.

“Your match, that wasn’t like you at all, Izuku. Care to explain?” He quietly asked him in French.

Midoriya pursed his lips, his brow creasing. “It wasn’t, I suppose…Bakugo has a way of bringing out the worst of my competitive spirit.” He was never this bad when they were kids. But then again, neither was Bakugo.

Aoyama was silent for a little bit, his teammates already well ahead of him before he shrugged. "Well, either way, you need to apologize to Ms. Uraraka after this, perhaps take her out for dinner?" He suggested, avoiding Midoriya’s playful swipe at him.

"Just focus on your match, your opponents won't make it easy," Midoriya warned as they already knew that Tetsutetsu wasn't going to be an easy fight, but Todoroki also proved that his ice was quite formidable, certainly greater than his own.

“Izuku, my friend,” Aoyama laughed as he started to walk off, an eager smile on his face. “I wouldn’t be this excited if they did.”

“All right, how are we going to do this?” Kaibara asked once the timer started.

“It would be great if we had a scout, then we can pull off what Jiro and Tokage were doing last match and figure out where they are.” Tetsutetsu bemoaned the fact that they had a pretty solid team, plenty of combat options but no scouts and this wasn't even meant to be a fight. Sure, the enemy team was the same, but that didn't comfort him much.

“That I can do.” Shoji stepped up, spreading his arms wide, and from the tips of them, he sprouted an additional 4 tentacles, those four had eyes while the remaining 4 had ears.

Seeing this even got a reaction out of the ever-silent Todoroki. “Wow, I thought your quirk was while 6 arms thing," Kaibara asked him, but Shoji shook his head, keeping his attention on gathering intelligence.

“That’s part of it, but my quirk, Dupli-Arms, allows me to create replicas of my body parts on the tops of my tentacles, including things like ears and eyes.” He explained before he managed to pinpoint what sounded like movement near the middle of the area.

“That..is so frickin cool!” Tetsutetsu cheered, Shoji finding his reaction surprising, but a welcomed one as the guy seemed like a kid in a candy shot.

“Can you spot them?” Todoroki focused on the objective, his surprise over Shoji’s quirk gone.

“Not very cute.” Shoji pretended not to hear what Tsunotori muttered under her breath, he had more important things to discuss.

“Yeah, I hear what sounds like Ashido siding towards the west entrance, Tokoyami isn’t that far behind her, they could be moving as a duo.” Not a bad team combination, she was a lot faster than him and if she could fling that acid of hers, it was a potent close-quarters weapon. Whereas Tokoyami's shadow seemed to be a ranged quirk and a powerful one at that.

“The others?” Todoroki pressed, a mental map building in his head as he recalled the layout of the last place, and reasoned that this one couldn’t be too different.

“Aoyama’s moving towards the east entrance along who it could be Komori, yeah, definitely her footwalls.” Komori and Shoda were both short, but she was much smaller and lighter, so what he was hearing tailing Aoyama could only be here. And that means that the last one was… “Shoda seems to be heading right for us.”

“So, they split into 3, one to slow us down and 2 for either of the 3 exits. We can work with that.” Kaibara spun his hand around like a drill, as it would be pretty easy for them to take on Shoda, who probably thought he'd get the jump on then. With him gone, it'll just be as easy as finding one of the two teams and capturing them before they manage to get to the exit.

“I can handle Shoda.” Kaibara looked towards Todoroki who walked ahead of them, not even explaining what he was planning on doing as he placed his right hand onto a nearby wall.

For the villains, they had followed through with their plan to split up, while they could have made a break for just the one entrance, they didn't think they'd be graded highly for the simple solution. Besides if they had some bad luck and the enemy team had people waiting for them, they'd end up in a fight that they didn't want. “Have you gotten to where they are?” Tokoyami asked.

"Almost, once I do, I'll keep an eye on them and report back," Shoda replied, he might have been smaller than most, and a bit on the large size, but he wasn't slow or out of shape. Plus, with his quirk, Twin Impact, it was pretty easy to add an extra push to his steps, making it so that he could jump further between obstacles, remaining out of the light.

“Remember, you’re not a sacrificial lamb, if they spot you, fall back and join whichever team is closest.” Tokoyami reminded them, as their team had made it clear that the goal was for either all of them to make it out or at the very least, suffer no losses while 3 did.

“Yeah, I know. No way he can take on 2 of them, never mind all 5.” Shoda shivered when he thought about taking on someone like Todoroki, wait, why’d he shiver?

“That’s cold!” Before he could question it, he was hit with a large blast of cold air, looking through it, he saw that the area seemed like it had been hit by a freak winter storm, ice was everywhere, covering just about every surface. “Was that Todoroki, wait did he-!” He tried to move but found that he couldn't. when he looked down, he saw that his feet up to his ankles were covered in ice.

“Shoda? What’s wrong?” Ashido asked him, picking up on his worrying pause as she and Tokoyami paused their dash for the exit.

“I’m been caught, Todoroki froze the entire area and trapped my feet," Shoda replied, as he could guess that if they pulled this, it meant they had a general idea of his location, so he had to get out of this fast. The only issue was even with Twin Impact, his progress at breaking the ice was too slow, they'll probably find him before he could escape.

“How’d they know you were coming?” Komori asked as Aoyama and she stopped and looked in the direction that Shoda went in. Just barely peaking out from the rest, he could make out some ice on some buildings.

“I can see some ice, we’re heading to you now!” Aoyama told his team over the coms, before with a quick apology, he scooped up Komori like a princess, the girl letting out a peep as he rushed off towards his teammate. Heroes didn’t leave people behind, and while he was a villain for this, Yuga didn’t leave comrades behind.

“That’s insane.” Sero held his head at seeing what Todoroki was able to just do like it was nothing. The area of effect is even larger than that clash between Uraraka and Bakugo last match.

“No kidding, how’d you manage to spread his ice that far to trap him?” Fukidashi wondered as Todoroki removed his hand from the wall, his team rushing ahead led by Tetsutetsu to find Shoda.

"It's just as impressive that he managed to ensnare one of the enemy teammates without causing damage to his surroundings," Yaoyorozu noted, as it was true that he had covered a greater area than the clash from the previous match, but he had done little if any damage to the buildings, nothing if they were built to handle cold winters like most things in the country.

“Though he has tipped his hand that he can do this, now their only advantage is that they can’t know how Shoda was spotted, only that he was.” Honenuki tapped his helmet-covered chin as Aoyama, with Komori in his hands, seemed to be making good time, if they were lucky, they'd arrive just before the heroes did.

“The villains aren’t out of the running yet.” Tokage reminded them, as that move, no matter how impressive, only managed to ensnare the one person, meanwhile, Tokoyami and Ashido continued to make their way to an exit.

"He's just as strong as I thought…no even stronger, and there's still his teammates," Midoriya uttered, watching Todoroki.

“You worried?” Jiro asked him, but he shook his head, a ghost of a smile on his face.

"Not at all, because Yuga and his team are also strong," Midoriya replied, sure that his friend would find a way to counter this, all while Bakugo watched the scene unfold with disbelief in his eyes.

“I found him!” Shoda looked up from where he had nearly busted out of his icy trap, seeing Tetsutetsu rushing towards him, capture tape in hand.

“Crud,” He said as he pulled back his fist to try and break out with one good hit, maybe then he could put some distance between them.

“Wait, Tetsutetsu!” Shoji called out to him, as he heard that they weren't the only ones there.

“Solar Beam!” His warning came a moment too late as a bright yellow beam of light came shooting from the other way, lighting up the darkness it came from as it crashed into Tetsutetsu's steel-covered gut, knocking the wind from his sails and pushing him back. Shoda looked in the direction and saw that it was Aoyama and Komori, the former's blade drawn and the source of the blast.

“Shoda, we’re coming for you!” Komori yelled as she ran his way as Aoyama ceased the attack.

Coughing, Tetsutetsu got back up, tapping his gut and feeling that it was warmer than before but otherwise undamaged. “Dang, that actually pushed me back, but it didn’t put a scratch on me!” He laughed as Aoyama met that statement with a smile of his own, holding his blade up with just one hand.

"Ice boy, Todoroki, freeze him before they can rescue him," Tsunotori called out as she fired two horns at Komori, forcing the girl to cry out in shock as she dodged them, only to dodge them again when Shoda yelled for her to duck.

‘Ice boy?’ Todoroki thought to himself, though didn't give it much weight as he placed his right hand on the ground, with more ice shooting towards Shoda. He didn't intend to harm him, but seeing how he hadn't broken out of that foot trap, he could cover him up to his waist and keep him immobilized.

“Solar Saber!” His attempt to do so was cut when he had to redirect his attention to defending himself from a pot shot from Aoyama, the blonde busy dealing with a double assault from Kaibara and Tetsutetsu, having broken off to launch that attack.

With the two about to reengage him, Aoyama didn’t have time to both fight and save his teammate while keeping an eye on Todoroki so that they don’t get trapped like Shoda. “Pardon this, Shoda!” Aoyama called out as he jumped back, gathering white light into his blade before swinging it towards Shoda's legs, the attack slicing deep into the ice keeping him trapped, giving him enough leeway to pull his feet free and rush over to join Komori.

“I little warning next time would be nice.” He said as Aoyama blocked a steel punch from Aoyama and evaded a spinning kick from Kaibara.

“That is why I pardoned myself, any more blatant and I fear that they would have blocked that attack.” Despite being in a 2-on-1, Aoyama didn't lose his smile he seemed to relish it, swinging his blade and sending blades of yellow and white light toward the two, though they didn't do much against Tetsutetsu who charged through them.

“Shoji?” Todoroki looked towards the one person who wasn't in the fight yet.

With his tentacles spread out, he had ears facing the area in front of them. “They’re the only ones here, Ashido and Tokoyami aren’t anywhere near.”

This wasn’t missed by Komori, who sprouted some mushrooms on Tsunotori’s horns, surprising the girl enough for her to lose focus and the horns to fall to the ground. “At least we know how they found us fungi with so many dark, damp places to hide.”

"If his hearing is that above ours, then it would be fruitless to whisper," Aoyama added, leaping to the side to avoid the ice streak that had crept up on him and nearly captured him.

“What’s our play?” Shoda asked him, as Todoroki turned his attention towards them, sending ice their way as Komori and he had to play keep away from it, and the horns being fired their way.

"Our plans didn't account for this, so we're going to need to improvise," Aoyama replied.

Chapter Text

“Text” – Normal speech

‘Text’ – Thought

“Text” – Quirk Spirit speaking in the human world

“Text” - Attacks

“Text” – Radio/Communication lines

“Text” – None Japanese speech

(text) – Subtext/meaning behind a spoken word

With the clock ticking, Aoyama was doing the lion's share of the work to keep the heroes back, his attacks couldn't break through Tetsutetsu's steel skin, but they could force him back. The rest were fair game as Kaibara and Shoji were wise enough to avoid his attacks, whether ranged or otherwise.

Komori had been zipping in and out, spraying people with her two squirt guns, raising the humidity of the icy battle arena which allowed her to grow mushrooms on those she tagged, though thanks to the distance between them, that meant that just Tetsutetsu and Kaibara as the other 3 kept their distance.

In this, she was assisted by Shoda, whose twin impact's remote detonation, along with his unexpected skills in boxing, meant that his size didn't limit him, if anything, it made it easier for him to land punches, which forced Tsunotori and Todoroki to divide their attention between him and Aoyama to keep them from getting pushed back.

When a lull in the fighting started, Aoyama looked towards Komori, who gave him a smile with a twinkle in her eye, one he matched before he turned his attention to their 3^rd teammate. "Shoda, you would get out of here, leave them to us," Aoyama instructed Shoda, who looked back at him worried that he might not be able to do that when the entire enemy team was facing off against them

“Just the two of us?” Komori asked, though while she seemed worried, Aoyama could tell from the look in her eye, the excitement that she was anything but.

“If what you told us is true, you’ll be the Atout cache.” He replied, which put their opponents on guard.

“If you’re sure-!” Shoda turned to leave, but Tsunotori wasn't going to just stand there and let that happen as she fired off 2 horns toward him, trying to hit him in the back and either pin him or capture him.

“Solar Beam!” Only for her plan to be foiled when Aoyama let loose a blast of yellow sunlight, badly burning her horns and sending the burnt remains into the shadows cast by the frozen overhead pipes. “Go!” Shoda didn’t wait as he started to make a run for it, using his quirk to boast his speed.

“We’re are not going to let you get away!” Kaibara yelled as he turned to give chase, but had to fall back when Komori aimed her guns at him and let out another burst of water, some of which managed to touch him and from which mushroom started to grow, the boy cursing as he had to cease his attack to smack them off himself.

Todoroki picked up the slack from there, sending a wave of ice toward the retreating Shoda, but Aoyama managed to send ice of light towards it, damaging it enough to slow it down, then in the same move, spun on his heel to block a punch from Tetsutetsu. Tetsutetsu liked that Aoyama was this good, it meant that they could spar later but right now, they had to focus on winning the match.

“Tsunotori, go after him!” Todoroki yelled at her.

“On it!” Tsunotori ran to give chase, about to go onto all fours when a mushroom just popped into existence on her nose. “What the heck? Mushrooms?” That lone mushroom was soon joined by dozens more popping into existence all over her body, and the bodies of her teammates. Not even Shoji, who had remained at a distance the entire time, was safe as he had to stop trying to track them to get rid of them.

Todoroki smacked and plucked them off himself as fast as he could, but it seemed that for everyone he removed, another popped into being, a glance around showed that the area itself was also getting affected, which made no sense, Komori had to spray Kaibara and Testutetsu to infect him, she didn’t even touch him or the other two, so what was going on?

As Aoyama took advantage of their distraction to land a solid hit on Tetsutetsu, sending him barrelling into Kaibara, Komori put a big smile on her face. “Aoyama just said we’re going to hold you off, I might be a strong fighter, but I’m not a damsel in distress either.” She reminded them, that as she was adorable, she knew that better than anyone, but like Amanita Virosa, her looks hide a lethality.

 “I was a little spored that our first plan failed, but now I’m fungi-tastically excited because I get to make sure you all get some pretty mushrooms!” She jumped for joy as the hero team struggled to get rid of the mushroom, but it seemed like the entire area was summoning them, some even growing on their faces, blocking their vision and forcing them to prioritize those.

“How is she doing this?” Kaibara yelled, as even when he retreated, he was still a magnet for the damn things.

“They're getting into my eyes and ears," Shoji called out, being forced to let the organs fade from his tentacles and become hands instead to increase how much he could get rid of. But that at least he could try and join the fight.

“Shoda’s getting away!” Tsunotori yelled, as they couldn't even see Shoda anymore, the guy must have taken a turn as he fled, and she couldn't even give chase as mushrooms popping up all over her was too distracting to properly aim her horns, never mind fire them.

‘What an annoying quick.' Todoroki thought to himself, noticing that while the and the rest of the place seemed to be fair game, Aoyama stood fresh as daisies. So this wasn't a quirk that was indiscriminate, it couldn't be if Aoyama was left untouched. It also seemed like they were played in the start, Komori limited herself to just people she spayed to lure them into a false belief that she could only affect those she hit with her support item.

“If you’re the source then I’ll just take you out.” Todoroki slammed his right foot on the ground, creating a wave of ice towards her as despite her quirk giving them issues, she wasn’t especially strong or fast. it would damage the area, but if he meant that could stop her, then it would be worth it.

It was because she wasn’t strong enough to stop the attack, or fast enough to dodge it that Aoyama once more scoped her up like a princess and jumped out of danger, landing on one of the largest pipes, he and Komori smirked at their mushroom covered foes.

“And what kind of knight would I be if I allowed such ruffians to harm my lady?” He asked as Komori wrapped her arms around his neck, the girl very much enjoying being in his arms, a sort of villainous princess and her loyal knight.

“You’re supposed to be playing the villains here, Aoyama!” Tetsutetsu yelled at them as the Komori willed the mushrooms to keep growing.

Aoyama shrugged, enjoying this a little too much. “Well, villains can protect their own, can’t they? Isn’t that the basis of gang mentality?”

Burying his anger at them for this struggle and efforts making him look weak, Todoroki watched the area and saw something that only confirmed what he had suspected from the start. “They’re even growing on my ice.” He saw that the wave of ice he had launched before, and previous ones were worse off than them.

“What the heck? I thought mushrooms like warm and damp!” Tsunotori yelled out, to which Komori took immense joy in seeing.

“Pleurotus ostreatus and a little flammulina velutipes, these cuties don’t just stand the cold,” She turned her gaze towards Todoroki, who even from a distance, could see the joy in those eyes that resembled the cross-sliced caps of shiitake mushrooms. “They love it which is just perfect, so thanks, Todoroki, your ice is giving my beauties a perfect environment to grow up nice and strong.”

Hearing that his quirk could be turned against them like this only infuriated him, as a voice in his head, one that sounded far too much like a certain bastard reminded him that if ice wasn't suited, he had another play. He shot that voice like he always did. “My ice isn’t a plaything.” If she could turn ice into fuel, then he'd just summon more than they could handle.

Watching the entire match unfold, the students were shocked to learn that the quiet Komori had such an ace to play as the area might have been smaller, but it was infested in mushrooms that aggressively kept expanding, even on the bodies of her enemies. “They got shrooms growing on their bodies?” Mineta asked, terrified of both her quirk, and the fact her smile looked way too much like the classic Yandere who just kidnapped their person of obsession.

"This is like a serious horror movie." He gulped, making a note to never give her reason to notice him, or else he'd end up mushroom food.

“Well, she seems to be enjoying every minute of it like a true horror movie villain.” Awase might have been smiling, but he too was sweating as that quirk was no joke, as she was making someone as powerful as Todoroki work, giving her teammate openings to just strike as he damn well pleased.

"She and Aoyama both, but the stuff starting to grow on the cameras," Midoriya noted as Jiro shivered at the sight of so many fungi.

“Aizawa-sensei, isn’t this going too far?” Kendo looked towards their instructor, who unlike with the previous match, didn’t seem to care for how things were progressing between the two teams.

“No, according to your papers, the mushroom she creates can’t last more than 3 hours in the best of conditions. If anything, it's Todoroki's ice that could pose the most risk to damaging the area, something he should be well aware isn't what someone on the hero team should do." Aizawa replied.

However, he did make a note to ensure that Komori wouldn’t understand that she wouldn’t be able to so freely use her quickly should she go pro, if only for the appearances and delays that came with sprouting mushrooms all over the place.

"That would explain why she's not holding back, though I didn't think she would have the means to create cold-resistant mushrooms like that." Yaoyorozu mused aloud.

“I wouldn’t mind picking her brain about her quirk after this, but for the moment, they’re handling themselves quite well, Shoda managed to escape and Ashido and Tokoyami are making good time for the exit. If he can also get out, they’ve won.” Midoriya added in, as her quirk seemed to be incredibly versatile, more than making up for the lack of raw power, though he wondered if she couldn’t focus on smaller amounts of them to create larger, stronger mushrooms, the sorts that could only exist in fairy tales kind of big.

Unseen by the rest, who were debating and commenting on the action they were seeing, who was doing what, and why, Bakugo remained to the back, wide-eyed as he watched the match. ‘What the hell is this?! That damned Frenchie…he’s…he’s holding his own? How?!’

This was impossible, that little blondie used to be such a crybaby with an annoying accent, and while Ice Boy was clearly beneath him in terms of power, he wasn't a pushover, so he should have already won this fight. Instead, he seemed to be smiling as he attacked with slashes and blasts of yellow sun.

“Wait, hold one, someone’s missing.” Sato noticed.

‘I need to get to the others, but maybe it would be better if I tried to make my own mistake.’ Shoda thought to himself as he ran, reaching for his earpiece. “Tokoyami, how far are you guys from the gate?”

“Not far, we should be out any minute now," Tokoyami replied, calm as he expected from the shadow user.

Ashido was the next to hop onto the line. “You want us to slow down for you, Shoda?” Shoda smiled, as he could hear it in her words, if he said for it, she would have turned right back around and rushed into the area to give him some acidic back-up.

“No, I’ll just-” Shoda saw something flying towards him over his shoulder, and he instinctively ducked, but the projectile shifted as well, piercing through his shirt and dragging him into a wall where he had a rough impact. “Of course, it wouldn’t be that easy.” He groaned out, looking to see a familiar horn as the culprit.

“Shoda, did something happen?” Ashido asked, worried for him after he just cut himself off.

Tsunotori made herself known, coming it via her horn which she had been holding onto to fly, the American was still covered in mushrooms, though she had managed to get rid of most of them, though that didn't take away from the fact she looked far from pleased from having to deal with Komori’s quirk, even after she managed to sneak away from the fight.

“I’m not letting you escape, villain!” She bellowed in English, letting go of the second horn now that she was close enough to the ground, allowing it to shoot towards him, aiming to pin him as he hastily freed himself, avoiding the second horn and rolling with his fall, getting up again, facing the furious looking blonde.

“Call you later, need to deal with Tsunotori!” He didn't say more as he had to dodge another assault from her horns which were flying all over the place, taking full advantage of the shadows and obstacles in his line of sight.

“Mushroom here, mushroom there, mushrooms everywhere! I'm so damn mad right now!” Tsunotori ripped a mushroom off her head and stomped it into a pancake. “So, I’ll take it out on you!” She pointed at him as she fired off another horn, making it that there were 3 coming after Shoda, keeping him from escaping and on the back foot.

“Tsunotori, where are you?” Shoji asked.

“Fighting our runner, you guys handle those two.” She kept it short, as she might not be able to find the other two in time to stop them from escaping, but she sure as hell could make sure that Shoda wasn’t in that escapee group.

With those two runners, they turned the corner and saw the marked exit down the way, and with their teammates keeping the others busy, they could even just walk and still make it out if they so chose. “Shouldn’t we turn back and help him?” Ashido still worried for them, looking over her shoulder back into the labyrinth of pipes, warehouses, and fake refineries that hide the fighting.

Tokoyami kept his eyes forward. “I don’t think that would be wise. As harsh as it sounds, we can help him by helping ourselves.”

“Man, that sucks. Who would want to be a villain when you’re supposed to run when your friends need you?” Ashido pouted, as she didn’t disagree with that statement, but that didn’t mean she had to like it.

“You barely know us,” Tokoyami turned to her, the girl still in front as she flashed him a cheeky smile. “Regardless, it’s a sentiment I share as I take no joy from this act.” He shook his head, a ghost of a smile on his face as they two passed through the exit.

“Tokoyami and Ashido have managed to escape the combat area. 5 minutes 43 seconds remain.”

“Tokoyami and Ashido have managed to escape the combat area. 5 minutes 43 seconds remain.” Aizawa's announcement carried through the arena, with Aoyama and Komori smiling even wider after hearing that, Kaibara having been eliminated already, not because they knocked him out, or captured him via the tape, but because he was so thoroughly covered with mushrooms he fell back just to get rid of time, though they hadn’t seen him in a while.

“Well, would you look at that, 2 of my dastardly compatriots have managed to give you heroes the slip, that isn’t a good look for you know.” Aoyama gloated as he jumped over an ice attack from a thoroughly angry Todoroki, Shoji trying to force his way towards Komori to grab her, mushrooms be dammed, but with Todoroki focused on Aoyama, she was free to just play keep away with him.

When Tetsutetsu tried to join in the fray, Aoyama sent a blast of yellow sunlight towards him, but it was weaker than his first ones, so it hardly slowed the steel-covered teen down, but brought her time to make her escape, landing close to him.

“Are you all right?” Komori asked as Aoyama was looking paler than he had at the start of the match, a consequence of using up so much light.

Despite his growing sickly appearance, he still offered her a smile. “I’ve used most of regular light, and we don’t have time for me to recharge, but I should have enough for one last trick., Use it wisely, my lady.” He gripped his blade tightly, holding it up to his chest.

“You know I will.” Komori nodded as the two dodged another ice attack, but she found it strange that she was able to do that to begin with, even with mushrooms growing all over the place, including on Todoroki, he should still have an advantage over her.  “Hey, is it me, or are his attacks slower than they were before?”

“It’s not just you, seems to me that he and I both have limits to our power. Or am I wrong, Mr. Hero?” Aoyama asked the last part louder, to which Todoroki who had ice creeping up his right side glared back at him.

“You two talk way too much.” He sent another wave of ice, trying to strike Komori and hopefully deal with the source of his mushroom problem.

“Reflect!” Aoyama stopped that attack in its track, creating a barrier of light to protect her, which due to its properties, sent the ice back onto itself. But then he heard movement to his side and when he glanced over, his gaze went wide as he saw that it was Kaibara, his arms spinning as he prepared to attack, Aoyama near cursing when he realized they had made an error by forgetting about him.

"You got sloppy," Kaibara told him as he struck at him, Aoyama whipped his blade to face him and created another reflect shield in the nick of time, but then another figure made themselves known as the hulking mass of arms that was Shoji had charged at the same time, leaving him defenseless as he Shoji punched him with 6 different fists, launching him off his feet where he crashed into a mushroom covered frozen wall.

“Okay…I must admit, that one hurt.” Aoyama groaned as he slowly got up, but then he felt ice creep up, looking down he saw that Todoroki hadn’t been idle with his attention slacked, as the ce user had managed to trap him in ice up to his waist. “Oh dear.”

“Maybe now you’ll shut up.” Todoroki shivered as he approached, the same as the other two who were ready for him to try and fight back, Komori keeping her distance and trying to slow them down via mushrooms but it wasn’t buying him much time.

“Oh, but I was having so much fun conversing with you, one doesn’t need to treat life in such a dull way, brightened things up is what I always say.” In response to his words, Todoroki just increased the ice, till only his sword hand and head were free, though with how he was frozen to the wall, he wouldn't be able to aim it at his enemies.

“All right, all right, I’ll stop, but there is still one thing I can do.” He might not be able to aim his blade towards them, but Komori was well within his range of fire. Seeing his blade start to glow, Shoji whipped out his capture time to restrain him, but Aoyama was the faster of the two, aiming his blade right at the surprised Komori.

“Moon Night Dance.” Aoyama blasted her with a fusion of yellow sunlight and white moonlight.

“What?” Shoji asked, holding a hand to block his vision from the blinding blast of white and yellow light that enveloped Komori in a spiraling dome.

“Why’d he target his teammate? What, was he a secret Bakugo or something?" Tetsutetsu asked though Todoroki narrowed his eyes, as that couldn't be it, but what was it? Was this merely a last-ditch effort to protect her, a barrier? But the entire purpose was for the villains to escape, or was this just a means to keep them busy while Shoda attempted to escape from Tsunotori?

“What the hell was that about?” Kaminari asked, just as lost as those on the field, there was an air of worry among the students, especially with Iida who had seen what Aoyama's quirk could do once and while it couldn't harm Tetsutetsu, Komori had no such defense.

"Sir, surely that warrants the exercise being canceled, that was a clear case of friendly fire!" The speedster turned to their teacher, but someone dared to speak up against this.

"Aizawa-sensei, if I may, I ask you to wait just a bit before making that judgment." Iida turned, shocked to see Midoriya of all people would advocate for such. What was there to see? Aoyama had lost the point of the exercise, he seemed to forget that Komori was his ally.

Aizawa didn't see it in such a light. He knew that Midoriya's profile and actions in the first group proved that he wouldn't advocate for this, not unless he knew that Komori wasn't nearly as hurt as they would assume. “You know something, don’t you.”

Midoriya nodded, before he turned his attention back to the screens, a grin of confidence on his face. “I do, and in a few more seconds, so will the rest of us, though I wish he hadn’t felt the need to use it.”

“Win this…for us, my lady…” Back on the field, Shoji, Kaibara, and Tetsutetsu turned to see Aoyama looked pale as a corpse, but even then, he had that smile on his face as his eyes rolled back and he went limp, his blade falling from his grasp where it clanged against the ice-covered floor.

Todoroki knew that someone must have been up, so he sent a wave of ice toward the still-spiraling dome. If they couldn't capture her, then he could bury her in the ice so that she couldn't escape, then they could go assist Tsunotori and win the match.

At least, that was the plan as before the ice could hit the dome, it shattered and Komori in a move that had him slacked-jawed, gave them all a wide, shining smile as she jumped well over 5m straight up, avoiding the ice completely, backflipped and landed on a pipe. Even with her in a darker spot, she seemed to be radiating light.

“Haha, is that what a Mario mushroom feels like? Well, I gotta go, bye-bye, heroes!” Komori rapidly spoke before she turned and didn’t run, but dashed off.

“I got her!” Tetsutetsu and Kaibara gave case, leaving Todoroki and Shoji to either give them back-up or try and find and assist Tsunotori.

“What was that?” Shoji asked.

“Some sort of physical boost, or something like that, it seems to have taken everything he had. Do we even need to capture him?” Todoroki replied as they looked at the unconscious Aoyama, still pinned to the wall.

“Aoyama has passed out from exhaustion. 4 minutes 52 seconds remaining.” Aizawa took the choice out of their hands, but they supposed that was that, so they two turned to head off to find Tsunotori. With how fast Komori had been moving, along with her quirk, it would be smarter to cut off the other remaining villain and trust their teammates to handle their mushroom problem.

“Komori makes it out of the exit, which means 3 of the villain team have managed to escape, winning the match for team E. Someone please escort Aoyama to see Recovery Girl, and the rest are to return here for a review," Aizawa called as Komori skipped about in joy and from the immense amount of energy she could feel coursing through her veins.

Kaibara and Tetsutetsu were covered in mushrooms and out of breath from having to chase her through a maze which she seemed to just skip and hope through with ease. “What the heck was that? You weren’t this fast during the running tests yesterday!” Kaibara yelled at her as Tetsutetsu just fell over with a grunt, too tired to speak.

"I would guess it was whatever Aoyama fired at me, I feel more energized than ever right now," Komori replied as she hadn't felt this energized in her life, she felt like she could run at full speed from here to the gate and back several times and still have enough in the tank for one of those high intensity work-outs one only saw on TV.

Managing to reign it in, she along with the rest returned to the observation area, Shoji taking longer than most as he had been the one that made sure that Aoyama got to the nurse’s office, but once he returned, Aizawa turned to the one person that could answer his question.

"Seems like we have another issue to address before we get to the breakdown, but explain what Aoyama did there, Midoriya," Aizawa ordered.

“He figured out a way to pass his energy to others, so he did so here," Midoriya explained, gesturing towards Komori who now had Aoyama’s sparkle.

“Wait, does that mean I can bend light?” Komori asked, ready to try and do just that, though Midoriya shook his head.

“No, he merely supercharges what you already had, so physical traits are boosted, and to some extent, also quirks but you’ll burn through it another 10 minutes or so, and that’s if you don’t do anything.” He left out the part where she couldn’t use any of Aoyama’s abilities because she wasn’t the older of his quirk. She’ll have better chances trying to perform a spirit bomb.

“And because he transferred his energy to her, he passed out?” Aizawa concluded, recalling how the boy looked like he was incredibly sickly after that, and when Midoriya nodded, the man frowned.  “It’s a risky technique, it makes him a liability.”

"In his defense, it used to be put him in the hospital. Now he just needs a spot with some sunlight and he should be good in about an hour." Midoriya remembered when his auntie got a hold of him after that first use of his then proto move, oh he hadn’t seen Yuga as terrified since.

“I’ll be the one to decide that but that can come later. Right now, can anyone tell me who was the VIP in that match?” Aizawa moved things along, this time more people raised their hands.

And so things went, the next match had the heroes winning thanks to the brains that were Yaoyorozu and Kendo, who managed to outwit the villains and in doing so, captured Awase, Kodai, and Ojiro, taking the win for the fastest match at just 3 minutes.

The final match ended with a tie of sorts as while one person from each side, Kaminari and Koda were captured, the heroes did succeed in preventing the villains from escaping, even if Aizawa reminded them that such wasn't the purpose of the test. All while, as both matches happened, Bakugo remained silent, his shock growing each time he saw a classmate he saw as lesser perform better than he thought, or in the case of people like Yaoyorozu, Tokage, and Honenuki, perform even better than he did.

When it was all said and done, they were gathered at the entrance to the field. "Adequate work, but next time we'll work on improving that so we don't end up with 2 students in the nurse's office," Aizawa told them, as Aoyama and Uraraka were still absent, but he had got word from Recovery Girl that both should be able to make it for at least part of Snipe’s class.

"I'm just happy that none of us had to worry about being expelled," Asui stated, others nodding.

“Just because I don’t say it, doesn’t mean it’s off the table.” Aizawa’s reminder killed most of their relief at that. “But for the most part, most of you performed as best you could considering this is your first practical class.”

"Hit the showers, you still need to make it in time for the next class. Bakugo, remember what I told you, this will be your only warning, understood." Aizawa turned to Bakugo, who remained at the back of the class, having been obedient since his disastrous match and keeping to himself.

“Yes…sir.” Aizawa didn’t care that it looked like the boy pulled his own teeth to say that, so long as he was capable of learning from his mistakes, he’ll take the attitude issue. Not like he was the model student back in the day.

But there was another student that he needed to speak to. “Todoroki, remain behind, we need to have a little chat about your match.” Todoroki glared back at him but didn't fight as the rest went on ahead, they still had around 15 minutes left before the end of class, but they'd need the time to shower and change before their 4th class with Snipe as no one wanted to have to sit in class dirty or smelly.

“Why’d he ask for Todoroki to stay? He already chewed him out for property damage.” Jiro asked her group as they walked off, the girl not being able to hear anything from their teacher, who probably was wise enough to wait till she was far enough away that she couldn’t eavesdrop.

“I couldn’t tell you, I find it hard enough to get a read on our teacher as is," Ojiro replied as Aizawa was seemingly a contradiction. He dressed like he was homeless, and acted like he was being forced to teach them by a somewhat annoying threat, but he was also a harsh instructor who didn't sugarcoat or baby them.

“Well, it can’t be something too bad, else he would have put him in the dog house like he did Blasty over there.” Kamakiri pointed a thumb over his shoulder to Bakugo, who glared at him but did nothing else. Not that anyone really cared as if he had even one bridge before today, he blew that sucker to bits with how insane he was. Not even Kirishima was trying to talk with him, and he tried to talk with everyone.

Midoriya, if he was honest with himself, felt bad for the guy, as Bakugo might have had some serious issues, and he might have wanted to smack him all the way to Tokyo after he forced Uraraka to hurt herself like that, but he didn’t hate him.

But while he could have tried to approach him and open a dialogue, that wouldn't work mainly because Bakugo seemed to hate his and Aoyama's guts, and for the life of him, he couldn't understand why. Also, even if he hadn't tried and murder him less than an hour ago, Midoriya would have still kept his distance as the blonde needed to learn they weren't kids anymore, and his actions would have consequences.

Chapter Text

“Text” – Normal speech

‘Text’ – Thought

“Text” – Quirk Spirit speaking in the human world

“Text” - Attacks

“Text” – Radio/Communication lines

“Text” – None Japanese speech

(text) – Subtext/meaning behind a spoken word

With their practical over, the students returned to the locker rooms, where they showed up and changed back into their uniforms. They made it to their next class with Snipe, who went through the basis of human autonomy, how quirks commonly altered things like body temperature, blood flow, and heart rate, and how one needed to consider those when conducting first aid in the field.

Most of it was things Midoriya already knew. Still, the cowboy-themed hero had eyes like a hawk, so not paying attention would get him the same thing as it did others like Kaminari, that being a bullet fired near his head that both made it clear that Snipe wasn't called the best marksmen in Japan for nothing, and a reminder that lecturers could get away with a lot, even if he was firing paintballs.

After he put some fear into them, the class was much more engaged with his lesson before the bell rang, and it was time for lunch. As he was packing his things away, Aoyama and Hagakure approached.

“You want to head into town for lunch? Hagakure says she saw a good Mexican food place.” Aoyama suggested, Tetsutetsu and Kamakiri close behind them.

Taking a moment to think about it, Midoriya debated whether it was worth not using the main cafeteria. But then again, they weren't in high school anymore. Why not live a little? “You know what? I could go for something exotic right now. Lead the way.”

“You guys say something about Mexican food?” Jiro popped in.

Hagakure nodded, though they thought she did, and she answered, "Yeah when I was moving in, I saw this little shop a couple blocks from our apartment. It looked like it would be a fun time."

As she explained things, Iida and Uraraka had also walked over to them as the growing group left their class behind. “Yeah…let’s go.” Uraraka looked worried, which didn’t escape their notice.

"You good, Uraraka? Do you need to see the nurse?" Jiro asked as Uraraka had been held up in the nurse's office longer than they expected. Aoyama returned 20 minutes into class, but Uraraka had wobbled in in the last 10 minutes. Snipe was as concerned as they were, but she assured him she was ready to continue with the day.

“What? No, nono. I just remembered something unpleasant, is all; it's nothing." Uraraka denied, but she still looked exhausted from her treatment, which made Midoriya feel worse, as she wouldn't have been hurt if he hadn't messed around.

“If you say so.” Jiro started. “Is it just us?”

“Actually…” The group turned to see a nervous Komori, the girl looking at their feet rather than their faces. Could I join you guys?" she asked, a far cry from her performance, where she had been a beacon of sunshine and energy, and that was before she was supercharged by Aoyama.

"The more, the merrier, welcome abroad!" Tetsutetsu quickly accepted her, wrapping a hand around her shoulders, which made the girl blush. She'd be as red as Kirishima's hair if Aoyama had his way. He grasped her hand and kissed her knuckles as he bowed to her.

“I wasn’t able to say it before, but your performance during our match was extraordinary, Komori. You were our best.” Aoyama complimented, which made the girl even redder as she tried to collect herself. A smile grew on her face, even if her eyes remained hidden by her hair.

"Oh, stop it. You're making me blush." She took her hand back, her cheeks flushed, but Midoriya leaned into her.

"I would watch him closely; he's a real smooth talker." He whispered though it was still loud enough for the group to hear, which made Hagakure and Tetsutetsu laugh at Aoyama's expense.

“Must you tell every girl I encounter such, Izuku?” Aoyama sighed, a hand to his forehead.

“Yes.”

“Bold of you to act like you’re an untouched flower.” Aoyama rebutted as they reached the stairs, Midoriya giving him a look that said not to speak. “Certainly one that can keep someone up all night.” But he did so anyway, the implication causing their group to look at Midoriya with shock, surprise, or embarrassment, Jiro being the worst of all as her eyes went down to his crotch but pulled themselves back to his face before they could go all the way. Still, he had caught her wondering gaze, and she knew it was. She let out a high-pitched peep and turned to not look at him.

"Aoyama, it's obscene to speak such lies about someone, especially when they're so unclothed!" Iida chopped his hands towards Aoyama, the boy frowning at such a perverse topic being so openly discussed.

"Iida, I assure you, he might seem small, but-!" Midoriya stopped Aoyama before he could say more, grabbing him into a sleeper hold. What he and his girlfriend did behind closed doors was their business and certainly wouldn't be other people's entertainment.

“They don’t need to know about that!” Midoriya yelled as Aoyama flayed about, trying to free himself. But then Kamakiri stepped up to help him, grabbing Midoriya, wrapping an arm around his shoulders, and leaning into the shorter boy, careful not to hurt him with his tusks.

"Now I kinda do; it seems like you're hiding some hidden talents for more…passionate activities," Kamakiri smirked at him as Midoriya groaned.

“When did the conversation turn towards Midoriya and Aoyama’s love lives…or Midoriya’s skills at fucking and Aoyama’s apparent playboy status?” Jiro asked, still pointedly not looking towards Midoriya.

“Dammit, don’t say it like that!” Midoriya yelled.

“I hear talk about romance!” His pleas would go unanswered as another classmate popped up behind them, scaring them, especially Jiro, who hadn't even heard them coming.

“Where did you come from?” Jiro asked Ashido, the girl closely followed by an apologetic-looking Kirishima.

“Unimportant! What is important is that two of my classmates have already found love? You gotta spill the tea!” She brushed aside such things as she got up in their business, leaving Midoriya stuck between her and Kamakiri, and he had a feeling that neither would let him off the hook unless he offered up something.

“Dammit, they’re already gotten laid?” Mineta cried as he and Kaminari had been walking close by when the conversation had changed gears.

Lucky for Midoriya, Ashido was willing to drop the matter as they left campus and took a bus to the restaurant. Stepping off their ride, they saw that it wasn't some chain store, more ma and pop kind of place, styled in a way that reminded them of Mexican culture, with the front looking like a sombrero. Jiro thought it was a little on the nose, but if they wanted tacky, all the power to them. It wasn't like people seemed to care as they had a healthy lunchtime customer base, with only a few tables large enough for their party being open, though they were outside spaces.

Walking to the entrance, they were greeted by a waiter dressed in a cowboy-like get-up with a poncho styled in traditional Mexican patterns. Once they informed them that they were eating, they were told that there were only outside tables for a party as large as theirs, which they accepted and were led to one of them. Those tables were half circles, part of which was cut off so that the table could press against the fence that separated them from the sidewalk.

Jiro took that fence seat, and much to her chagrin, the person she wasn't totally thinking about in that way, Midoriya, took the seat next to her. Instead, she focused on how everyone else sat, with no surprise going to the fact that Kirishima was to Ashido’s left, though she felt like it was asking for trouble that Aoyama was to her right.

They were handed their menus, which had everything from appetizers to main course meals, most of which she hadn't heard of, and desserts with a section for drinks-alcoholic and none. Everything she saw even had two little descriptions of the meal, its main ingredients, and the expected flavor profile written in Japanese and Spanish. They hadn't even had anything yet, but Jiro thought that Hagakure was right on the money with this as some of their party started discussing what to get and if they should order something that people could share to maximize the experience.

"You ready to order, guys?" Ojiro asked, with Uraraka still looking tense. In fact, they noted that she looked worse than when they left campus.

“Well, I’ll have the number 3.” Uraraka frowned but smiled as she placed her menu down, which confused them. Tetsutetsu looked through his own to confirm something, and low and behold, he saw which part of the menu the number 3 was in.

"That's it? Uraraka, that's just an appetizer. We don't have time to get a full-course meal." He told her, as that was a pretty small plate, to begin with, the kind of stuff you gave a kid that didn't have a big appetite.

"I know, but the thing is that most other stuff is expensive, and I'm trying to save my money," Uraraka answered a bit too quickly, which only worried them more. Sure, none were swimming in money—well, most weren’t—but that was beside the point.

“Well, why don’t I pay for it.” Midoriya offered, which got her to look at him in surprise and slight awkwardness at his suggestion.

“Wait, I couldn’t ask you to do that.” She tried to wave him off, but he shook his head and smiled.

“You’re not. Consider it an apology for what happened earlier. Please, I insist." His mother wasn't wealthy, but her work meant they were well off, so he could afford to help a friend eat a larger, more filling meal. Besides, he would have done so even if he wasn't.

Uraraka looked like she would argue, but Hagakure held her shoulder while Tetsutetsu offered a smile and a thumbs up. “Well…okay, then I’ll have the number 7 with extra chamoy.” She relented, feeling like she was mooching off him, so she went with a compromise of ordering something larger, but nothing too fancy or expensive either.

"Such a gentleman. Do you treat your girl like that as well?" Ashido teased Midoriya, taking attention off Uraraka’s odd refusal to spend a little.

“Will you let me have my food before you grill me for detail?” Midoriya asked her, but the smile she gave him said enough as Kirishima laughed at her side.

“Not happening, man. She can be relentless about this kind of stuff; I should know since we’ve been together since middle school.” The redhead told them, which got Komori to look to her right.

“Like an item?” She asked, but Ashido scoffed at the notion and brushed it aside.

“What? No, like friends. Kiri and me aren’t like that.” She didn't hesitate to shoot that down, which might have been insulting, but Kirishima didn't seem too bothered, so maybe they just felt more comfortable as friends.

Still, that meant that her attention was solely on him, and with the waiter still busy with another table, he couldn't wait for her return to bail him out. So Midoriya had to accept that this was the topic then.

Placing his menu down, having already picked what he wanted, he was serious when he pointed towards Youa. "For the record, I'm not like Yuga; I've been with just one girl since my first year of high school." They looked at the Frenchman, who shrugged with an amused smile.

“I won’t deny it. I’ve not had as great luck finding someone I can connect with on such a deep level. It's quite beautiful, to be honest." Aoyama had no shame over the fact he had taken many lovers; both parties agreed, had a good time, and decided that was the end of the story. Ashido swooned at the knowledge that Midoriya was in a committed relationship.

"It totally is, high school sweethearts. Oh, please tell me you're still a thing. Wait, does she attend U.A.? Is she older or younger?" Oh, she needed all the details. She needed to meet this girl and get her side of things.

"Yes, we're still dating. No, she doesn't attend U.A. She's a year older than us but started schooling late, so she's a college freshman like us.” Midoriya kept up with her questions, as did Ashido's, and now even Komori and Kirishima are getting interested in things. However, it felt like they only got said interest when he admitted Saiko was a year older than them.

“You have pictures?” Hagakure asked as this was the first time she had heard about this, despite Midoriya basically spelling out that his best friend was a player to her.

“That I do.” And think of the devil, and he shall appear as it wasn't Midoriya who replayed but Aoyama who whipped out his phone, Midoriya getting whiplash as his head turned on a dime to his friend who shamelessly opened up his gallery.

“Yuga!” Midoriya's face got a little red as Yuga smiled and handed the phone to Ashido, who cheered so loud other tables looked their way. How could she not when she was looking at a picture whose date was a couple years ago when they would have been 2^nd years in high school. Said image showed a gorgeous white-haired girl sitting next to Midoriya under a tree, both peacefully asleep with some books around them, the caption reading Egg-heads decide to take a nap during study date.

“What’s the issue, Izuku? Are you ashamed of your love with such a lovely maiden?” Yuga asked him as Ashido went through other pictures Midoriya regretted letting him keep, from those of them just enjoying a meal or walking to the worst of them, one where the two had kissed at her door after a date. How and when Yuga got that one is a mystery.

"That's not the point, and you know it!" Midoriya yelled at him, and Yuga only laughed. Ashido spread his misery by letting Kirishima take a gander at the pictures. The guy whistled when he saw Saiko, and he offered him a sharp-toothed grin and a thumbs-up.

“She’s a total knockout man. You lucked out!” Midoriya didn't appreciate the compliment as he slammed his head into the table with a thud, wishing he had decided to skip lunch or for the ground to swallow him.

“Oh, let me see!” Komori only added to his pain as she was the floodgate till everyone had time to look through the pictures and offer some compliment, or in the case of Kamakiri, ask how much he paid her for the dates, which got some laughs from the group at his expense. Laughs that didn't dissipate immediately when he shot down the idea that Saiko was that far out of his league.

"Let's just order…please," Midoriya begged, which Ashido and Aoyama took as their time to stop ribbing on him as Jiro pat his back.

"Yeah, as cool as it is to talk, I'm hungry as hell," Kamakiri said. Only then did the waiter return after he had been cooked. With a smile, she wrote down their orders and was gone, experience meaning that he could make out his order even with his face still kissing the table.

“You know, Ashido. For someone so invested in other people’s love lives, what’s yours like?” Jiro came up to bat for him, trying to throw the pink-skinned woman for a loop and possibly get some embarrassing moments from her.

Ashido was surprised by the line of questioning but far from embarrassed as she tapped her chin in thought. Her nails had been painted with an eccentric mix of greens, blues, and red, with rhinestones added to the mix. "Well, I haven't found Mr….or Mrs Right yet, but I've been around and had some fun times." She gave a look that made the girl shiver, as those were some bedrooms' eyes.

Seeing her react like that only made Ashido laugh and Jiro angry that her ploy had been turned against her, though Aoyoma mused the fact that he wasn't the only one who was quite…active on the dating scene.

“Perhaps we can hit one of the clubs together and see if we can’t break that streak.” He offered her his hand to shake, as he could already see it, and she would be much more entertaining to club with that Midoriya, who could be needlessly stiff.

“Or just have a fun time on the town.” Ashido shook his head, the two deciding without words that they'll discuss this in detail later, and preferably after they've adapted to the workload of having to be in class till past 5PM, not a lot of time to shower, change, and then find a good club.

“I can’t believe this is the topic of discussion.” Iida sighed as his brother had warned him about this, but he had planned to find a group of like-minded people, though it did mean he understood why Tensei laughed when he told him of that plan; his brother knew that he was an outlier.

"Well, we're college students, so it was bound to come up eventually." Ojiro smiled before rolling his eyes and looking towards the expectant Ashido. The girl seemed to run off romance drama. “And before you ask, Ashido, yes, I've dated. No, I'm not a virgin. It was my ^second year, and we broke up without a fuss." Too bad for her, he didn't have any.

"Same," Kirishima and Tetsutetsu said simultaneously, only to recoil when they realized that and tried to speak again, with the situation only worsening. "What the hell? When did you get laid? ^{In my third} year. Stop doing that!”

"It's eerie how much they match, " Kamakiri said, and both turned to glare at him.

“We don’t match!”

Kamakiri laughed at their similar misfortune as he relaxed in his seat. “Well, seems like I got lucky first as I lost that card when I was still in 1^st year while on a summer camp. Fuck was that an experience.” He smiled, recalling it and all the fun that entailed. He wondered what happened to her since she transferred in their 2^nd year.

“Oh, looks like besides Ashido, the ladies were more cautious with selecting your first times, right Uraraka?” Hagakure nudged Uraraka, who buried her head into the menu. “Uraraka…”

Peaking over the menu, her face was red as it wasn't something she thought she could come up with, but since everyone was sharing…“Well…there was this senior when I just started my 2^nd year and well….one thing led to another…” They met outside school as she went against her parent's wishes and got a part-time job to help pay for things, which happened to be at a maid café, and he walked in one day on a date… he never showed up. She felt terrible for the guy as he seemed so excited about it, and then they got to talking, and things went from there.

“You still dating?” Midoriya asked, finally getting back into things, but Uraraka shook her head.

“His family moved to Hokkaido. We tried long distances but agreed it was better to break things off. We're still friends, though." She admitted it was sad for her at the time, especially as they had such a good thing between them. He was everything a girl wanted in an older boyfriend without any of the baggage, but she grew to accept it and move on with her life. If he had found someone else, she was happy for him.

"I can't believe it; how am I in the minority?" Hagakure bemoaned her luck, as only Komori and Jiro seemed to be in the same V-card boat as her.

"Well, you're a great person, Hagakure, so I'm sure it was less because of options and more a choice on your end," Ojiro told her, which made her happy, though she hated the fact that she couldn't display that as easily as others did.

"That's sweet, Ojiro, but it was a little of both. After all, kinda hard to get people's interest when they can't see you without a criminally offensive amount of make-up." Her uniform shivered as she had a few encounters with guys with some weird fetishes that she fit into. She broke off those dates as fast as she could.

"Well, I, for one, chose not to engage in such activities in high school. I had to think about my future as a hero." Iida crossed his arms.

"Well, we kind of figured you seem like the type who waits for marriage, am I right?" Ashido lay her head on her folded arms, looking towards the speedster, who surprised them when he shook his head.

"That is…incorrect. I do put merit into waiting for the one, but my choice was more because, as students, we need to put more time into our training. But once we graduate, join agencies, and adapt to the workload, I see no issue in pursuing a romance and all that entails." He wasn’t that uptight; he just had his priorities straight, and hero training took up much time.

Aizawa even made it clear that they'd have limited free time as they studied in the U.A., and if he was going to enter a relationship, he wanted to be able to treat it with the care and seriousness it deserved. He'd rather swallow acid than be the type of boyfriend who was regularly late if he bothered to show up at all.

“Hmm, I stand corrected.” Ashido didn’t sweat her error as she turned her attention to the one who redirected the topic off Midori’s love life. “What about you, Jiro.”

“No.” Jiro didn’t offer up any more details, and she glared at Ashido, daring her to try to push things with her.

"Here's your food. I hope you enjoy it!" Their waiter returned, balancing all their plates and glasses with practiced ease as she placed them on the table.

Once they had their lunch, which everyone approved of, they got up and left to return to campus before their lunch break was over. As their afternoon classes were all electives, their group had to break up as they went their separate ways. One group, made up of Kamakiri, Ojiro, Kirishima, Tetsutetsu, and surprisingly, Komori and Jiro, was heading towards the gym for PE with Vlad King.

"I wasn't sure about this before, but that quirk assessment made it clear as hell that I really need to work on getting in better shape," Jiro told them, already dreading whatever training she was about to endure.

“Same here.” Komori nodded as she was even more determined yet fearful of whatever their exercises entailed. As if Vlad was like their other teachers, he wouldn't do easy on them.

“Well, we’ll be there to guide you through it.” Kirishima grabbed Komori, who let out a yelp.

“Yeah, we’ll be your gym bros!” Tetsutetsu did the same with Jiro, who let out a curse as she fought against the whited-haired teen who only laughed along with Kirishima as they jogged off with the two girls in hand, or in Jiro's case, thrown over his shoulder like a bag of rice.

"Tetsutetsu, I swear to God, you'll regret this!" She yelled as the four turned the corner, leaving just Kamakiri, who muttered something about them being idiots before he left.

The next to break from the group were Hagakure, Ashido, Iida, and Uraraka, who had to make it to their public relations class. While they figured that their teacher, Supercharge, was a pretty relaxed guy, they didn't want to make a wrong impression.

"See you guys later!" Ashido waved over her shoulder as she walked off, Hagakure following her as they talked about something Midoriya couldn't hear.

“We’ll probably see one another in 5^th period, so good luck!" Uraraka bowed to the remaining people before she turned and jogged to catch up with the group. The girl looked a lot better after getting some food in her.

“Indeed, till we meet again.” Iida followed her example as he turned and power marched to class, though Midoriya was sure it was because he didn’t want to run in the halls.

"That just leaves the two of us, then?" Yuga started but moved away from Midoriya as he gestured towards an elevator at the end of the hall, which already had people trying to use it. "But sadly, I must bid you adieu. I have sociology and citizenship to get to.”

“Then I’ll see you later.” Midoriya nodded as he turned and walked towards another elevator, which would take him to a different level. As he walked, he saw other hero course students, those in the 2^nd and 3^rd year, walking by; no rush to get to class as they still had plenty of time. Some seemed to wish to get there early, but he wasn't one of them.

Walking into the class, he wasn't surprised to find that he wasn't the first one, but he was more surprised by who it was: the room's other occupant, looking up from the book she had been reading.

“Oh, Midoriya. It seems that we’ll be attending during the same period.” Yaoyorozu greeted him with a cordial smile as he approached.

“So it seems, Yaoyorozu. I have to admit that I wasn’t expecting you to be in this class.” Midoriya stated, which caused an eyebrow to rise from her.

"Bold thing to say when we hardly know one another or does one of your quirk's abilities give you superhuman insight into others?" She joked, with Midoriya awkwardly laughing along with her, but not for the reasons she was.

"I wish. It's more the first part. I just didn't think about how little I know our classmates." Midoriya admitted that he hardly knew them, even among his newly formed friend group, for which they even created a group chat at Ashido's insistence. However, it was only the ^second day of the semester.

"Well, we can work to remedy that as the year progresses." Yaoyorozu smiled at him as she offered a handshake, one which he accepted.

“I would like that.” He replied, noting that the rather posh-sounding woman had a firm grip on her.

“I wouldn’t mind that as well.” They turned when they heard another voice by the door, one of two classmates entering. "After all, we're training to be heroes, right? Might as well make connections now," Honenuki added.

"Having more friends than just a couple of people would be nice." The shorter Shoda added with a bow.

“That is an excellent point,” both jumped when they looked behind them, seeing an unknown figure standing there with a serene aristocracy. They weren't dressed like students, which could only mean that they were teachers. But I would prefer it if you all used your time outside class to form such bonds." They continued, their words measured, near indifferent but dissimilar to Eraser's.

“Right, sorry, sir!” The two students hurried to find a free spot. The lecture hall was built for 40 people, but as they'd come to learn, elective classes rarely had even half that, so they could sit far apart.

"As long as you don't repeat this behavior, it's an easily forgivable mistake." Their lecturer stated as they walked towards the front of the class. Giving them a chance to observe him. He was tall, though not as tall as the Amazon, which was Yaoyorozu or Honenuki, but how he carried himself certainly made him feel larger than both. He processed a pair of severe and observant grey eyes and long black hair that was nearly shining with how clean it was, though he also had 3 intricate white headpieces he wore atop his head and another two to the right side.

His hero costume was a long, light purple kimono with white stripes running down its center and sleeves, which was tied at his waist with a long piece of white fabric that hung down in two long loops in the front. His shoulders were covered by red and golden pauldrons, connected by a golden band with strips of red fabric hanging from it and two interweaved stripes of red fabric above it. An odd piece he wore was a white scarf, which seemed to be made from silk, but even then, it seemed too high a quality.

“Now, as you missed orientation due to how Eraser handles things," the man pursed his lips, no doubt feeling feelings about their rather unconventional teacher. I'll introduce myself. My name is Senbonzakura Hikaru, hero name: Serenity. When you see me on campus, you may address me as sir, Serentiy, or Senbonzakura-sensei. Is that understood?"

“Yes, sir.”

“Good, then we’ll get started with the first lessons, which would be handling the basis of ethics when it comes to police relations, starting with transparency." He pulled out a remote and pressed a button, starting up the whiteboard, which switched to the start of a slide.

"Open your textbooks to page 5, and we'll start." With his instructions and the four doing just that, the class started.

“Dammit, that was too long! Why couldn’t classes end at 3 like in high school?” Ashido complained as the group watched out of the hero course building. It was past 5, and the sun was well on its way down toward the horizon, leaving the city bathed in orange. Around them were other students, mainly 2^nd and 3^rd years, who chatted about whatever they had just learned or some other stuff. There were their classmates as well, but they had formed into groups of their own, with the exceptions being Todoroki, who hadn't mingled with anyone, and Bakugo, who nobody wanted to mingle with.

Paying the ice user and the explosively problematic students no mind, Iida turned his attention towards his; he wanted to say friend, but they hadn't known one another long. "What is the issue? We were all given such informative lessons that I filled pages with notes."

“You mind if I look at some of them? I was lost for like half of 4^th period.” Uraraka asked. As their teacher, Supercharge was a far cry from the taskmaster that was Aizawa, but that didn't mean he couldn't get…passionate about his craft. With his quirk, it felt like he was on a sugar high the entire time, zipping from spot to spot and topic to topic.

"Well, I have no qualms with aiding you, but please raise a hand and ask our professors to slow down or explain something again next time. I'm sure they wouldn't mind." Iida advised her, but he still reached into his bookbag to grab his notebook, flipping it over to the section he had reserved for notes on public relations 101.

“I wish that we had notes, P.E. was just brutal. Vlad doesn’t hold back at all.” Jiro grumbled as the blood-based hero had been something of a drill sergeant; even though he had her and Komori on a less intense regiment than the others, he still didn't give them rest till the time was out.

"And he just told us near the end to finish up, hit the showers, and be on time for 6^th period like my limbs weren't mushroom sauce," Komori added to that, as he had them on exercise bikes set to high incline, adding another setting where it took more force to move the pedals. He left them there till they managed to cycle 15km or their time ran out. She hadn't worked the distance, but at least he praised her for not quitting despite how slow she was.

"You'll get used to it," Kamakiri said as he looked at news stories on his phone.

“You mean it gets easier?” Jiro asked, only for the boy to let out a laugh.

"Oh, fuck no. Exercise is all about that burn; if you don't feel it, you'll either doing it wrong or not hard enough. You just don't feel like murdering past a point.” Kamakiri told her, and when she looked towards the rest that she knew regularly exercised, none contradicted him, not even the sweet Uraraka or the rule-abiding Iida.

"Gee, thanks to know," Jiro muttered, reminding herself that she was getting a good deal from this, and next time they'd have a quirk assessment, she wouldn't place so low on the list.

"I think I'll stick to my classes, as I wasn't prepared for how much stuff we need to learn when it comes to citizenship and sociology," Uraraka added, as Cementoss was like his quirk when it came to teaching, and the textbook they were using was nearly twice as thick as the other ones she had, which the man informed them they'll work through the entire thing by the end of the year.

“I heard some 2^nd years talking about that; they said that a lot of stuff we're doing is new to the curriculum, especially around societal issues and how to handle them," Aoyama noted.

"So, we've got to handle even more stuff? How's that fair?" Kirishima asked. As they already had other stuff to worry about, how were they supposed to find a balance?

“If the staff believe we can handle it, then I’m willing to give them the benefit of the doubt.”  Aoyama shrugged, knowing he wasn't an exceptional student, but liked to think he was diligent. Besides, if he needed help, he could rope him Midoriya.

When they stepped off campus, they faced the road, with some buses parked being filled with students, and the subway stairs to the side used by people. "Well, we'll see you guys tomorrow. I need to catch the train home if I want to still have time to just crash on my couch and watch my shows," Ashido told them.

“Same, but leave out the crashing part.” Jiro nodded as she and the pink-haired girl waved goodbye and went towards the stairs, descending out of sight as they talked about something that made Jiro blush and Ashido laugh.

“We’re in the same building, so we’ll also be splitting from here.” Kirishima pointed towards Iida, who lived on the same floor as they were set up in the single-occupant apartments.

"We'll text when we get back to the apartment. I'm famished and need to start preparing dinner," Aoyama said as he and Hagakure walked towards one bus. Kirishima and Iida went for another, with the rest following after the invisible girl and light user.

Watching all this from his office, principal Nezu smiled at the sight of his students, though if asked, he liked to imply it was more because from where he stood, they all looked like mice in a labyrinth. This wasn't untrue, but it wasn't the whole story either.

He had plenty of work to get to, paperwork to sort through, reports to read, and requests to file, but he liked to spend the first week of the semester watching. Both because some faces weren't there anymore, having completed their educations and moved on to bigger things, but also because there were new faces, freshmen who were eager to learn after proving themselves some of the best golden eggs in the country, eggs that he was sure would hatch into the best eagles, peacocks, owls and ravens out there.

But this year, there was a change, one he knew was coming as U.A. was a top school, rated not just as the best in Japan, with only Shiketsu competing with them for that title, but one of the best universities in the world.

Such fame meant media attention, but it was often minimal unless they had an exceptionally popular new student. Maybe some reporters and some paparazzi snapping shots of students would need to be reviewed to ensure it wasn't an invasion of privacy or indecent. Otherwise, they'll need to file a cease and desist, which was manageable; they had a department handling that.

But this was the year that All Might had taken on a teaching post with them, and with such tasty bait, it was a matter of when, not if, the shoal of piranhas came.

The next day, his predictions proved true even if the school hadn't officially announced it once the student body had been made aware of this during their orientation. Hero students had the chance to be taught by him; they told friends and family about it and posted about it online, and that opened the floodgates as students arrived for class bright and early to find the entrance to the campus blocked off by dozens of media people, cameras, notepads and microphones everywhere.

"You there! What are All Might's classes like?! " One reporter put her mic right into Aoyama's face, which the French boy took in stride as he looked at her and her camera before returning to her again.

“The FitnessGram Pacer Test is a multistage aerobic capacity test that progressively gets more difficult as it continues. The 20-meter pacer test will begin in 30 seconds.” Bowing, he walked into the gates, leaving the reporters stumped on what the hell he just said.

“What was that?”

“I think he was speaking French?”

“What does that sound like a question?”

“Because I don’t know!”

After they got over that little hiccup, they found another student walking toward the gate, and the same reporter zoomed toward her before anyone could beat her to it. “What can you tell us about what the Symbol of Peace is like as a teacher?!”

Tsunotori looked around, trying to see if anyone was nearby, which excited the reporter as it could mean the college student had some especially juicy details. “Be very, very quiet. I'm hunting for a rabbit.” Smiling, she turned and walked into the school grounds, but unlike Aoyama, who spoke French, she spoke in her native English, which most reporters understood.

“Hey, that’s not an answer!” The lady yelled at Tsunotori as she journeyed deeper into campus, undisturbed by the woman's angry yelling. It took her time to cool off after being screwed with, but they managed to spot another student, one that didn't look to be foreign, which she hoped meant they would answer in Japanese.

“In your words, how would you describe the lessons that All Might handles?!” Rin raised an eyebrow at the question before he frowned.

“That seems unfair to ask, as we've only had one class with him, and it would be harsh to judge his performance as an educator based on that alone. Please let me through; I don't want to be late.” He brushed past her, leaving the reporter and the rest stumped again. That sure as hell wasn't Japanese. What were the odds of running into a Chinese speaker?

“Oh, come on, are we only going to get the foreign students?!” She grabbed her hair, wanting so badly to pull it out as this was proving impossible!

“Excuse me…but what can you tell us about All Might as a teacher?” When she approached another student, she felt nearly defeated. While she expected him to start speaking Korean, Iida adjusted his glasses as he turned to her.

“Well,” Her spirits rose when he started, seemingly taking this seriously and speaking in Japanese too! "He's made me realize things about hero work that I never thought of, proving that the U.A. as an educational institution is truly one of the best in the world. Many of the other staff are of a similar or greater level, which is to be expected as this is All Might's first year. Of course, his dignity and character are as exceptional as one could expect from the number one."

That spirit fell even further as Iida kept going, but she wasn't getting any details from him. There was nothing worth writing about, and never mind using it as a headliner. 'Dammit…the one kid that speaks Japanese, and he doesn't know when to stop.'

'The worse part is that none of this is useless; it's all just surface-level nonsense anyone could have told us.' She wanted to just slap herself silly to ensure she wasn't back at home sleeping, and this was just an annoying dream, as it was far too tedious to be a nightmare. She and the rest didn’t even fight when Iida finished at last and stated he had to make it to class before the bell. If anything, she wished he blew them off like the rest.

Getting desperate, she still stuck to her guns and tried again with another student, one with white and red hair split down the middle. “Excuse me, but could I have a moment of your time to ask about All Mig-”

"You may not. Now move. I need to get to class." When he glared at them for trying to stop him, for a moment, she felt like she had seen turquoise eyes just like his glare at her in the past, but she couldn't put her finger on it. Before she could even apologize, the man was gone, ignoring the rest of them who had given him a clear path.

“Sorry to bother you…but could you…tell us…”This time around, it wasn't a student but a staff member who had come to see them, which normally was a good thing…if the man didn't look like he had been through it and lived under the bridge. She couldn't even name the hero if he was one. For all they knew, U.A. had started a program to help people down on their luck. "Why do you look homeless?"

Aizawa didn't react; he had been asked it so many times that it hardly affected him. Instead, he focused on getting them out of the way so they could return to classes and lectures. “If you want to interview All Might, contact U.A. through the proper means or All Might’s agency. Till then, please stop harassing our students.” With that said, with the enemy of a robot call, Aizawa turned and walked away.

“Please, just a statement from All Might would be enough!” The reporter yelled after him but didn't follow him as he continued to walk towards the hero course building, and the reporter and others continued to call after him.

'How does he get anything done with these people biting at his cape?' Aizawa thought to himself. It seemed more trouble than it was worth. At least with underground work, by the time reporters showed up, it was after the incident was resolved, and he was long gone.

His choice not to engage further with the woman finally pushed her over the edge as she had been punked, tricked, and disrespected all morning, and she had it. "Dammit…! I'm not leaving here till I've got something, you hear me?!" She started marching towards the entrance, which her cameraman noticed and paled at.

“Wait!” He called out to her, but she didn’t listen.

“So, you better give-what the hell!!” She planned to force her way onto the college grounds and find either their officers or someone who could get her there and get something to write about. But what she wanted didn't matter as the door released a loud siren. Before, as if someone snapped their fingers, massive steep walls shot out from the ground, including in the entrance, which nearly took a limb off her as the gigantic metal walls came to rest when they were 5m high.

Having fallen backward onto her ass, she looked like she had seen a ghost as her cameraman sighed. "That's what I was warning you about. It's the U.A. barrier. It's a crazy high-tech security system that surrounds the entire campus. It triggers whenever someone without the proper authorization tries to enter the school grounds, and the wall isn't even the worst of it." There was a reason that none of them tried to get in earlier.

“Oh, come on! They can't be that stuck up! They could have given us a statement as they didn't even announce All Might was teaching this here, never mind here.” She got back to her feet. Stomping one as she had been told to get a scoop which would really bring in some eyeballs, but the most she got was something in French, an American punking them, A Chinese student seemingly lambasting them since his tone reminded her too much of her mother, and then that one boy who was willing to talk. Still, despite the massive word dump, like a candy bar, it was empty calories!

"Hey, I get it. We've been here for hours, and the most we've gotten is that he's working here. The students seem to enjoy messing with us." Her cameraman agreed with her, but as they had been waiting here for a while without seeing another student, a glance at his watch told him that classes were due to start any minute now, so anyone else would be rushing to get inside and be as willing to talk as the rest.

As she and the rest grumbled about their lack of details about the month's biggest news, someone watched this from across the street. Their dark clothing was tight and loose simultaneously as they seemed to stare at U.A. ‘Who would have thought?’ The person thought to themselves. 'Along with the cape, he's wearing a scholar's cap too.'

Chapter Text

“Text” – Normal speech

‘Text’ – Thought

“Text” – Quirk Spirit speaking in the human world

“Text” - Attacks

“Text” – Radio/Communication lines

“Text” – None Japanese speech

(text) – Subtext/meaning behind a spoken word

After the mess of reporters trying to get students to talk, the students managed to get onto campus without issue and make it to homeroom. With the hero students, they waited for things to kick off, but while they did, they shared stories of how they managed to get in.

"You didn't," Jiro called out Hagakure for what must have been a lie, while the rest of those who lived in their apartment couldn’t help but smile or laugh.

"He really did. Thanks to his distraction, they didn't even notice us walking in." She told them that it had been a riot watching them try to comprehend what he said. Not to say they did, but once Midoriya translated for them, they hadn't stopped laughing all the way to class, so Jiro had even asked about it.

“Aoyama, it wasn’t very heroic to mess with them by saying nonsense in French.” Iida scolded the Frenchman, who hardly seemed to care.

"Well, it wasn't very polite to stop people when they have to get to class on time. They're not the ones that risk it getting on their records if they're late." Aoyama shot back, though Iida wasn't sure that he entirely meant that as Aizawa had painted himself to be harsh, but indeed, he wouldn't have marked them for something like the press.

“I followed his footsteps and did the same. It was real funny to act like Fudd. I was just missing a shotgun.” Tsunotori high-fived Shoda.

"I must admit, it was amusing, but I didn't speak gibberish. I merely told them my thoughts in my native tongue." Rin admitted. Awase and Kaminari pressed him for details, and when he told them, they laughed and said he must have sounded like an angry dad, comparing them to cousin Timmy.

"How could you have done such a thing? We're going to be heroes in three years. We should learn how to respectfully engage with the press." Yaoyorozu asked them as Ashido only wrapped an arm around her shoulders, finding it more amusing than anything else.

"We can learn that later, but right now, it's much more enjoyable to mess with them, " the pink-skinned girl said, others agreeing with her that it was pretty funny to hear about that. Perhaps they'll do the same if they get the chance.

"Careful there. Make an enemy of them, and they'll start writing all sorts of terrible stories about you." Tokage warned that many people had run afoul of those who work in media and paid the price.

Further conversation was halted when the morning bell rang. The door opened, Aizawa having either waited for it or been so punctual that he arrived right on the dot; they didn't know, and none dared ask as they quickly rushed for their assigned seats. The last of them, Tokoyami, managed to sit down in the time it took for the lecturer to walk from the entrance to the podium.

"That was fast, but you should all be in your seats next time before I or another professor arrives." Aizawa started, his tired yet watchful gaze going over the entire class; seeing they accepted that, he continued.

"Good morning, then. I won't waste time, as you all have classes after this, so we'll get right into this special assignment." He announced, the entire room stiffing up as they could only fear what he had decided to put them through.

‘Special assignment?’

‘What could it be? A pop quiz? No way, he can’t be that cruel!’ Tetsutetsu knew he would bomb that, with the pressure of whatever threat the man could put on them only making that worse.

‘Is he planning on making us do another quirk assessment? It's only the 3^rd day of school!’ Jiro started to sweat, as she would have thought it would be a weekly thing at most. There was no way any of them could have improved all that much, but since they would know what to expect, she could end up ranking even lower.

“Today, you’ll be selecting your course representative.” Aizawa's words brought some relief to the students, who let out a collective sigh, but then confusion set in.

“Course…representative?” Tokage asked, to which the pro nodded his head.

“You had class representatives or student council in middle and high school, correct?” He asked, and just about everyone nodded, with the key exception being Todoroki. However, he expected that as the kid was home-schooled his entire life. "Well, this is a similar thing. To break it down, every course elects representatives who form up U.A.'s student council, which works with the staff to manage the school's day-to-day."

"But sir, don't the general courses outnumber courses like our own?" Uraraka asked.

"Correct, representatives are allocated in proportion to the number of students, so despite U.A. being known as a hero-centric school, you'll find that the hero course has a much weaker voting power than even business or support," Aizawa explained. The hero course had the fewest students by far, with the next course, the business course, having four times their number.

"That seems a little unfair," Awase complained, but Asui didn't think so.

“(Kero) I mean, it makes sense. You don’t see All Might running the government or anything like that. Even he has to work with civil authority.” Heroes were the faces of society and what everyone looked up to in the same way, but that didn't run the show.

“Asui’s correct. You won't be running the show, but that doesn't mean you have no say in matters. You'll have someone at the table who advocates for whatever you believe is advantageous for the hero course." Aizawa picked up from there, as it was a reasonable means for them to get used to both working and under civil authority, as they might be learning about the law in class, which helped them put what they were taught into practice.

“That said, the council isn’t just a leaderless body, as it is led by the student council president who, among other things, is given a larger voting power and the authority to appoint or dismiss ministers within that council." The hero continued, with Midoriya speaking up as he recalled reading about a position like that as a kid.

“I think I’ve read about that. Best Jeanist was elected student council president in his 2^nd year and held it till he graduated. All Might also managed to win it in his 1^st year…but he had to drop out in his 3^rd year, so he stepped down from the office.” All Might didn't like to talk about his time as a student since he technically didn't finish his education, but when he did, he would often laugh about how much trouble he was in as president and how it was nothing like he expected but helped shape him into the man he was now.

“Oh yeah, didn’t Endeavour also run for president?” Hagakure asked.

"He lost both times," Todoroki answered without hesitation.

"The election for student council president comes later in your second semester. Right now, you'll just be electing your regular representatives. The rules dictate that there should be one for every 20 students, so we get 2." Aizawa retook control.

“Just 2?” Sero asked.

“How much do the others get?” Sato asked.

"As they outnumber us by a significant margin, quite a bit, as the course that comes directly after us gets 8," Aizawa told them, with some doing the match in their heads and seeing just how large the gap in students between them and the rest was.

“Then wait, if they get such a dominating vote in things, how are we supposed to get them to do what we want or need?” Uraraka raised a good point.

“That right there is the issue. You’re not supposed to see it as ‘getting them to do what you want’ but convince them that ideas that benefit the hero course would also benefit them.” Aizawa explained that some thought a hero-centric school should have disproportional power to the hero course or perhaps give their representatives veto power.

They didn't do that to keep the entire point of the hero course even included. They were being taught to be civil servants. Top heroes could influence policy and law, but they couldn't pass or strike them down and shouldn't feel they should have that right.

“However, it’s not a simple majority that takes decisions, as the school designed the council to need a supermajority." Aizawa continued.

“What’s a supermajority?” Kaminari asked.

Yaoyorozu answered crisply and composedly before Aizawa could. "It's a political term. Typically, it means two-thirds or three-fourths. It's meant to ensure that a large part of the voting population or their representatives consent to an idea and foster compromise to garner that support."

Aizawa nodded, happy that at least one student knew their politics. "She's correct, though for you, it will be around two-thirds. However, you should know that while the general course is by far the largest, unlike the other three courses, it's not a monolith as we offer several degrees through it. Because of that, some of those smaller groups could side more with support, business, or heroes, but it's not an exact science."

“Okay, but how are you supposed to select our reps?" Kaibara asked. It was nice to know they had a fighting chance at this council, but that didn't give them the means to elect two people to represent them.

“I don’t really care how you do it, as long as you hand in your selections this time tomorrow. If it helps, the class before you held a free-for-all after school where the winner and runner-up were selected, and the class before them held a raffle.” Aizawa replied, giving them a good picture of how few restrictions they had on things before he snuggled into his sleeping bag.

“So, do whatever you wish.” He finished as seconds later, he was out like a light, leaving the class stumped on what had just happened.

‘When did he bring out the sleeping bag?’ They thought to themselves, as they wanted to test if he was really asleep, but not even the stewing in anger Bakugo was brave or foolish enough to try and test if their teacher was a light or heavy sleeper.

That didn't mean they didn't start fighting over it. Kirishima started, trying not to yell, or else they risked waking up their teacher, who decided their lecture hall was a good napping ground. Tetsutetsu had no such restraint and went louder, followed by Komori, Awase, Ashido, Aoyama, Jiro, Kaminari, Mineta, and many more.

Looking around, Midoriya saw that he was in the small minority that wasn't trying to yell to the others to pick them. Some, like Yanagi, Shoda, Todoroki, and Tokoyami, seemed entirely uninterested in the position. Others, like Shiozaki, Iida, and Yaoyorozu, actively looked disappointed in how fast things devolved, while those like Koda seemed like they wanted it but were too shy to say anything.

If he had to think about it, he was in the middle of Iida and Yanagi. He wasn't impressed with how a room filled with legal adults could so quickly start acting like middle schoolers all over again, but at the same time, he didn't want the office. The hero course was hard enough as it was; even if he enjoyed most of his classes, he still only got off at 5 each weekday. And that didn't consider that he could be called to help deal with a restless or dangerous quirk spirit. He had enough on his plate as his.

‘Yuga’s in the same boat, and yet, there he does.' He thought, watching his best friend get into a heated debate with Kaminari and Awase over why he was the better option between the 3. Still, there was an appeal to the position as they saw in middle and high school that it could help show higher education centers like U.A. and future employees that one had leadership capabilities or knew how to manage resources like people.

So it didn’t take much to see why future heroes would want to show that they could do the same, especially when big names had done it in the past.

“Silence, please!” The bickering students turned to Iida, who had stood up.

"It's unbecoming for future heroes- no, for college students, so be so unorderly and overly something like this! As you heard from Aizawa, our seniors have all created ways to decide that were better than merely yelling that you want it.” Iida scolded them all, though the image was ruined by the fact his hand was raised high.

Ignoring that last part, Kendo stepped up. "He's right, and as 'fun' as a free-for-all sounds, this isn't supposed to be a job that goes to the strongest but the most qualified, which also removes something random like a raffle."

Iida nodded, happy that someone was on his side on this. “Which is why I propose we vote on it.”

“We haven’t known each other long, so wouldn’t people just vote for themselves?” Asui asked.

"True, but being the representative means having the trust of the others to get the job done. So even a few votes should be enough if everyone else picks themselves." Tokage replied.

Midoriya also added his two yen to the argument in favor of voting. "Also, we've spent 2 days together at this point, some friend groups have started to form, and we've seen how others react in our mandatory and electives. Our first combat class seems like a good way to judge leadership and reliability in a pinch." He already knew who he was voting for.

Thinking it over, no one had a better idea, so they consented. "Seems fair enough," Tsuburaraba said.

“I’m game.” Jiro agreed with him as Iida nodded.

"Excellent. Everyone tear out a page from a notebook and write your name at the top and who you're voting for in the middle of the page. You'll fold your papers and then pass them to the person in front of you, and those seated at the front of the five rows will then bring them to the front." Iida instructed them all, and the students did just that.

After a few minutes, the votes had been cast and taken to the front, where Iida, the one picked to count them fairly, unfolded papers and marked off the votes each person got. When he had finished, he looked like he wanted to cry, but he held back the tears as he put the data into the whiteboard.

"After counting the votes twice to ensure accuracy, here are the results for the 4 who received the most votes." Iida tapped the screen before him, putting up the results for the class to see.

First place: Kendo. 11 Votes. Supporters: Midoriya; Fukidashi; Kuroiro; Honenuki; Kodai; Todoroki; Tetsutetsu; Tokoyami; Shoji; Asui; Koda

Second place: Yaoyoorzu. 9 Votes. Supporters: Mineta; Kirishima; Tokage; Kaibara; Shiozaki; Monoma; Shishida; Tsunotori; Yaoyorozu

Third place: Midoriya. 5 Votes. Supporters: Yanagi; Uraraka; Kamakiri; Jiro; Iida

Fourth place: Aoyama. 4 Votes. Supporters: Aoyama; Komori; Shoda; Hagakure

“What the fuck? How’d he get so many?” Bakugo got up, furious that not only wasn’t he in the top four, but Deku and Frenchie were!

“Well, he didn’t try and kill someone, so there’s that.” Jiro snarked back at him, which he met with a glare, but Jiro didn't back down. It seemed like he somehow thought that despite being so dangerous, he was barred from the complete hero class, that he was still popular enough with any of them to win more than just a single vote. He wasn't, and she was more than willing to clarify that. Uraraka also glared at Sato and Tokage, who both recalled that they lost because of him.

“I came in third?” Midoriya blinked, looking at the people who voted for him. Yanagi offered little more than a nod while Kamakiri gave him a smirk and thumbs up.

“I came in first?” But if he was surprised, Kendo was stumped as she looked at her place and how much of a lead she held as over a quarter of the class voted for her, many of whom were cheering for the fact their pick on out.

“Zero votes…” Iida slumped at the podium, as he didn’t show the rest, but they could infer enough from it.

"Dude, if you wanted it that badly, why did you not vote for yourself?" Kaibara asked him as Iida took a breath, adjusted his glasses, and decided to deal with his disappointment later.

"Regardless, I accept the results of this election. Would Kendo and Yaoyorozu come to the front, please?" Iida asked as he stepped to the side. The two girls shared a glance before they got up. Yaoyorozu walked with far more poise than Kendo did. The latter seemed nervous about this while the former moved as if she had expected it, or perhaps she just wasn't bothered by it. Who could say?

Once they got to the front, Aizawa woke up like a machine being turned on. "So that was fast. So you all accept that your representatives will be Kendo and Yaoyorozu?"

"As much as I wish it wasn't, the people have spoken." Aoyama turned his head, Ashido pocking at his back with a big playful smile.

"Well, I was one of those who voted for her, so my answer should be clear on that," Fukidashi noted, with Midoriya, Honenuki, and Tokoyami nodding.

“They seem capable enough.” Todoroki kept it short, having decided that he had no interest in working in student government. Would it feel good to get in and perhaps win the presidency? Yes, but it would also be serving…him.

“Then it decided," Aizawa said right as the bell rang. "And right on time, you all need to get to your first class. Kendo, Yaoyorozu, come to the faculty room during lunch so you get the finer details on what you'll be expected to do."

“Yes, sir.” The two said as they returned to their seats to grab their backs as the rest got up to make their way to their first class, which, even after just 2 days, was proving to be one of their favorites if only because All Might taught it.

Hours later, the friend group found themselves once again off campus, having gone into town for lunch. Instead of returning to the Mexican restaurant, they followed a group of 2^nd and 3^rd years to another place, a larger establishment with 2 levels, which gave even more seating. The walls were lined with photos of the store owner and managers posing with numerous people, mainly U.A. alumni and staff, both past and present.

The staff seemed incredibly friendly towards them from the moment they walked in, and they saw that on the American diner-style menu, many items came with discounts for U.A. students, which put a pep into Uraraka's step.

"I still think this is bad," Uraraka grumbled as Midoriya once again strong-armed her into agreeing to let him pay for her meal, adding that with the discount, it wouldn't even be that big a deal, not when weighed against the idea that she would either need to eat light if at all.

Midoriya looked through the menu and saw many things he had only heard about on TV or when All Might talked about his time in the States. "You want to save your cash, that's fine. But we want to be able to hang out, and sometimes that costs, so an easy fix is we find a means to cover for you." He looked up with a smile that made Uraraka smile back, though she was still hesitant.

"Yeah, but I don't want to come off as a gold digger," Uraraka replied, to which Aoyama laughed at her worries, waving them off.

“Trust me, you’re not. He has more money than he lets on, and if not spent on you, it goes towards trying to track down the most obscure All Might merch there is." He pointed at Midoriya, who looked unimpressed at his best friend.

"I wouldn't have lost in that stupid bidding way if someone didn't need my help finding spices." He reminded him of something he had missed the previous evening, Aoyama’s distraction meant he was away from his computer for a little over a minute, but that was more than enough time for him to lose the chance to win the bidding way for a limited-edition Canadian Mounty poster of All Might.

“OwlTrickster beat you out, and you know it. He almost always does." Aoyama replied, as whoever that person was, they were something of a rival with Midoriya when it came to rare and valued All Might memorabilia, with the green-haired boy's day always being better when every now and then, he managed to outbid the faceless username.

“Point is,” Midoriya stressed to Aoyama, who flashed a smirk, which had some of the rest giggling, before he turned his gaze back to Uraraka, all smiles. "It's not an issue, Uraraka. We're friends, which is what friends do for one another. Not like you called in the middle of the night asking for help getting rid of a body." Uraraka blushed at his words, as he seemed as sincere as always. Made all the better as they already knew he had a serious girlfriend, so this was just his typical behavior.

With that said, they went through the menu, debating which to get and what they suspected things would taste like before deciding on their dishes and giving the orders to one of the waiters who came by. The older woman flashed them a smile as she turned and walked away, leaving Ojiro hot under the collar from her gaze.

Once their food arrived, having been taken to them on a court, they started to dig in, finding that the place wasn't just a U.A. favorite because of the discount, but the flavor as the good was great, seasoned, and prepped by a fine hand.

"There's a lot more students up and about now," Hagakure noted as she looked around, seeing that what could have easily been 80% of the customers inside the packed restaurant wore U.A. uniforms, the same as them.

"Well, with the school year in full swing, people feel comfortable leaving campus for lunch," Iida noted, seeing that there was a line outside for people who either wanted to sit down or just came for take-out. Again, those two lines were mainly students, so Iida guessed that this place must have made most of its profits during the weekday lunchtime rush.

“Are you still upset that you lost?” Komori asked Aoyama as he pocked at his half-eaten meal, the none-alcoholic red wine nearly done.

"I'm not upset. I'm disappointed that so few saw my excellence.” Aoyama was definitely upset as Midoriya nudged his side.

"Yeah, keep telling yourself that," Midoriya replied, knowing that Yuga couldn’t hit back as while he had lost as well, he didn’t want the office to begin with.

“Midoriya, if I may ask, why didn’t you vote for yourself?” Iida asked a question, a good one. The rest of the table turned to him, and Midoriya placed his fork down to think.

"Because I don't think I'm the right person, I…we have a lot on our plates as is. No way, I could handle all that and council duties." He kept it vague, as he couldn't just tell them everything. Even if they believed him, they'd surely tell the teachers as researching quirks was heavily regulated, if people found out his mother found a means to create them…

Lucky for him, his reasonings made enough sense that none of them dug further as Tetsutetsu set aside the massive T-bone steak he had been eating. “Kendo was a pretty good choice, bro. You all saw her and Yaoyorozu during training; she was super cool under pressure, could think on her feet, and threw hands with the rest of her team, leading by example."

“It was pretty manly, but I think that Yaoyorozu was better. Sure, brawlers are great and all, but we need people that stay back and keep a greater picture kinda deal, so we brawlers can be sent to where we can do the most damage.” Kirishima argued against him with little real fury as he kept at his chivo guisado.

“Well, I think you would have been a great choice. It was your plan that got us to victory in our combat training. We just didn’t know that Bakugo had something that powerful.” Uraraka gave Midoriya a big thumbs up, which made it his turn to blush a little.

"Well, it doesn't matter now; the election is over. So maybe we can try again for council president, " Ashido said before she took another bite of her double vegan cheeseburger, having decided to experiment since this was an American-style joint.

"How do you know the candidates won't be taken from those chosen now?" Iida asked, pausing from his spicy beef stew.

"I don't, but a girl can dream," Ashido replied as she ate, which made Iida frown as she ate with her mouth open.

"Ashido, you shouldn't make a habit of such. It would be better if you based our expectations on research and precedent. I'm sure our seniors would be happy to explain how the presidency is filled." He told her, which caused Kamakiri to snort as he drank his soda.

“You say that like you don’t want it as well, Sonic.”

“Sonic?” Iida repeated as he was sure that he didn't run at such speeds. Seeing his confusion, Ojiro quickly explained to him what Kamakiri meant, and after Iida reminded Kamakiri that he wasn't blue or cocky, he got back on track.

“Well, yes, it's true that, if possible, I'll campaign to be voted in as student council president, but it wouldn't be appropriate to start now when I know so little about the office and selection method. Besides, those selected must be recognized as worthy of the position, so it would be more respectable to those I wish to garner support from if I only did so after demonstrating what I can bring to the table.” Iida answered though it was pretty long, which made the table pause as they listened.

“You talk real fancy, Iida. Are you a rich boy?” Uraraka asked him out of the blue, which made him stutter.

“Rich-!” Iida spluttered, which only made Ashido and Kamakiri laugh even harder as the taller, spectacled boy struggled to compose himself.

“Well, I had hoped that changing how I spoke would mask my origins, but I suppose I didn't do a good enough job." He sighed but found that he couldn't keep his secrets as the entire group watched him like he was about to pop out an egg.

“Come on, Iida. You can't keep us hanging!" Tetsutetsu cheered him on, and others nodded and smiled at him.

"Yeah, you come from some super-rich family or something?" Komori asked him.

"I wouldn't call us super rich, though I admit we're quite well off." Iida certainly never felt like he was 'rich,' but he went to private schools his entire life with far wealthier kids. "My family has been heroes for three generations. Have you heard of the Turbo hero: Ingenium?"

Ashido tapped her glossed-up lip. "He's the speedster, right? I met him once; he's such a dream boat." Jiro rolled her eyes, but she did agree that the pro was handsome as hell when he didn't have the helmet on, like a knight from some fairy tale.

Midoriya focused more on his heroic elements as he buzzed in his seat. "He's also one of the best heroes out there. He might not be in the top 20, but he's incredible in the field and super popular with just about everyone. His Tokyo agency even employs 65 sidekicks split into teams of 5.”

It didn't matter that so many sidekicks meant that they had to be extra careful when investigating and handling quirk spirits in those parts of Tokyo, Midoriya couldn't stop himself from loving heroes, especially someone like Ingenium, who believed in the spirit over the law to the extent he would freely admit to working with vigilantes that genuinely wanted to help, even recommending some to become true heroes as was the case with some of his sidekicks.

Iida had a smile of pride on his face as he stood up. “He’s my older brother!”

“Wait, no way!” Uraraka gushed out.

"It's true, and as Midoriya says, he's an honorable hero who follows the rules, leads people, and saves lives. An idea of what a true hero is. I've looked up to him as far as I can remember and want to be the type of hero he is." Iida stated, his words tinged with admiration and love, which made the table awe at how much he cared for his big brother.

Iida, however, took a breath, some of that bravado leaving him as he sat back down, his stunt unnoticed by the other customers. “But I’m nowhere near that point yet; if my brother had been paired with someone like Bakugo, he would have been able to get him to cooperate or, at the very least, hold himself back. That was why I voted for you, Midoriya. You were able to manage your team without issue, create a plan, and act on it."

Midoriya frowned at that, as he didn't think anyone could control Bakugo, as he was always fiercely independent; even as a kid, he hated it when people helped him, even his parents. But he wasn't so focused on that as he was on Iida's face, and the entire table seemed to be watching in surprise, amusement, or confusion. “Is there something on my face?” Iida asked.

"Nothing, man, it's just that's the first time we've seen you smile; you'll always be so serious." Kirishima pointed out, with Iida realizing that he wasn't wrong as he felt his face, and sure enough, he had a big ole smile.

“Yup, and if you want to be more like your hottie of a brother, you gotta learn how to relax and smile more! His smile can even make crying babies giggle, you know." Ashido playfully taunted.

“He’s never told me such!” Iida shot back, which devolved into another toothless argument between the two, making Uraraka, Komori, and the brothers from different mothers laugh. At the same time, the rest smiled as they watched.

Midoriya felt like this was great, the kind of thing that he wanted to perish, but there was something he wanted to clear. “Iida, as much as I appreciate the support, I’m happy that I didn’t-!” He was interrupted by his phone ringing. He was about to apologise for not leaving it on vibrate for the conversation, but then he remembered that he had left it on vibrate.

The ringtone wasn't coming from him but from Ashido, who blinked as she reached for her pocket before Midoriya's phone vibrated. He was followed by Ojiro, who felt his device buzz in his pocket. “What the heck?”

“It’s everyone’s phones.” Jiro frowned as she heard phones vibrating away or ringing with message alerts. Such a mass event paused any enjoyment or discussions in the room filled with an overwhelming majority of U.A. students, as it seemed like that was the only link.

“The fuck!” She looked at Kamakiri, the boy snarling at his phone.

“What is it?” Komori scooted closer to the heteromorph.

"It's from the school, something about a security breach." At his words, the entire table reached for their phones, ignoring how they all decorated their devices or what they had; instead, they focused on what the school had sent them.

Attention students, there has been a level 3 security breach on the main campus. All students inside campus grounds are to calmly but quickly make their way outdoors immediately. Any students who are off campus grounds are to stay clear of the main campus until they are given further instructions.

"What's a level 3 security breach?" Iida asked a senior sitting in the booth opposite them.

"It means that someone trespassed on school grounds, but we've been here 3 years, and this has never happened before."

“Do you think it’s a villain?” Komori asked, worried about the situation, but a second-year student scoffed at the notion.

“Here? No way, they’ll need to be insane!”

"Yeah, and we got All Might as a professor this year. Even if it was a villain, he'd have them packed up and ready to be arrested before we finish our meals." One of the girls at his table added, returning to their meal as if that was nothing to worry about.

“You’re right. Hell, it’s probably just a glitch in the system.” Someone else agreed with her, and the restaurant returned to normal, the alert nearly forgotten.

“They’re pretty relaxed about it.” Aoyama frowned as Ojiro looked at him with a raised eyebrow.

"I mean, aren't you? All Might's around, so everything would be fine." The tailed boy shrugged, as there was a reason All Might had remained at the top for 25-plus years.

"Besides, if there was a villain attack, pretty sure we would have heard about by now, people would be running away in panic, or maybe there'll be explosions in the distance," Tetsutetsu added his opinions to the talk, which didn’t sit right with some at the table, especially Uraraka as Aoyama and Midoriya noticed, but perhaps she was just as worried as them.

“Maybe.” Aoyama relented as they got back to their meal, as with their luck, they'd be expected to make it for their afternoon classes, so one would need to have a full stomach.

Later, with students still kept from the main gate, Nezu stood along with Midnight, Thirteen, and Serenity stood at it, or to be more accurate, its remains as the massive block of reinforced steel lay in ruins, not from an explosion, hear or something just smashing through. Still, as Nezu bent and picked up a piece, he could see that it was flaky and rusty, as if the entire thing had been aged centuries in the hours since he had last seen it.

“It’s safe to say that the press couldn’t have been the ones that did this, wouldn’t you say?” He noted the three pros, and professors with him agreed.

"If one of them did, then they aren't talking, but with most of them taken by the police, we can request they look into their quirks, but I doubt we'll find anything." Thirteen noted, as Aizawa, All Might, and Present Mic had been the ones to lead their trouble-makers off campus, the number one refusing any questions as the police put cuffs on nosy reporters.

Midnight doubted that they'd learn anything from that rabbit hole. "Agreed, this doesn't fit something media people would do. Some might not understand what space and privacy are, but even the worst wouldn't actively force an entry, which is certainly not like this."

The only human males' eyes narrowed slightly as he looked towards their leader and employer. “Are you thinking that I’m thinking, sir?”

“That someone let them in, and I can think of only one reason they would.” Nezu frowned, as he had never imagined something like this would happen, but one needed to face the facts.

“It would seem…that this was a declaration of war.”

Chapter Text

When they learned details of the incident that sparked the alarm, the school announced that someone had busted the main gate, and the press had poured in. The principal sent a mass text to students explaining that it wasn't severe and that only the gate was damaged. However, airing on the side of caution, afternoon classes were suspended, and students were allowed to leave early.

This was received as well as expected, with the entire restaurant's student customers cheering for their half-day before groups quickly started discussing things they could do with their afternoon free.

"It's such a shame. We could have spent this time more productively," Iida bemoaned. The group had finished their lunch but not left, as they didn't need to.

“Come on, Iida, live a little! So, what if we're not getting bored out of our minds with lectures and slideshows? We can get back to that tomorrow." Ashido laughed, trying to get him as excited as she was to hit the town and have fun!

“I’m not going to lose sleep over it.” Kamakiri shrugged. He knew school was important, but he also didn't mind having some entertainment.

"But we came here to learn, and didn't you all hear Aizawa-sensei's words on our first day? We don't have time for this," Iida reminded them, chopping his hand towards the pink-haired girl who blew a raspberry.

"But if the school were the ones to make the call, couldn't you say they've decided that we do, my good man?" Aoyama threw his comment into the pot of discussion, Iida spluttering as he tried to counter.

Ashido capitalized on that. "He's right! For our safety and all that jazz, you think there's a jazz club in town?"

“Why are you looking at me?” Tetsutetsu asked her, but she didn’t respond as she fell back into planning what could be the best time of their semester.

“We can check, but I don’t think jazz is something we can all enjoy. How about a movie instead? Maybe we can hit up the mall, and there's sure to be an arcade." Kirishima, long used to how energetic Ashido could be, was there to redirect that energy.

“Arcade, what decade are you from?” Kamakiri scoffed.

"Don't miss the arcade, not unless you have a DDR machine in your apartment. I can school you in." Ashido called him out for his slander. She had spent a lot of time in arcades, and if she had her way, they'd remain around long after she'd grown old and grey so she could take any grandkids she had to one.

“Normally, I wouldn’t give two shits about something like that,” Kamakiri glared at her, a competitive spark forming in his eyes as he stood up. "But I ain't no bitch. If you challenge me, I'll leave you in the dust."

Ashido laughed arrogantly as she stood up, matching his intensity. “I’ll be sure to bring some spices, so the floor will taste good when I knock you into it.”

"Well, it seems we have a game plan then," Ojiro commented as the two continued to trade jabs, the rest seemingly not registering to them anymore as a competitive inferno had sparked between them.

“Seems so.” Jiro sighed, as she just knew that Ashido would make them all use the DDR machine, something she knew she sucked at.

"Everyone, head on home and change. We'll meet…"" Ashido announced her jewel-encrusted phone in hand. She looked through a map of the area before smiling when she found what she wanted: "Here, at the park in one hour!" She tagged the spot and sent it to the rest of them, the teens having already shared their numbers to create a group chat.

Pulling his phone out, Midoriya saw that it wasn't too far from their apartment, within walking distance, but with the time given, maybe they'd need to take the bus to be on time.

Pointing at her old friend like he was a servant, Ashido beamed. "Kiri, you share a building with Iida. Make sure he looks nice, as I'm pretty sure he'll dress like a dad if you don't."

“I have you know that I have no children!” Iida countered that ludicrous accusation, but the rest were silent as they watched the real meaning of the statement fly right over his head.

"I see your point," Kirishima quietly said as he got up and pulled Iida to his feet. Alright, Iida, this is going to be our first time hitting the town as friends and college students. We gotta make sure that you look your best." Iida said that he ensured that nothing he owned was silly or improper, but Kirishima ignored all that as he marched him out of the restaurant, giving them one last wave before the door closed behind them.

“Should we stop them?” Ojiro asked, but Midoriya shook his head.

“I have a feeling that would be impossible at this point.” Aoyama didn't have as...an Ashido personality. Still, he could also get passionate about his interests or whatever drew his attention. Midoriya was used to accepting the flow of things and trying to have fun. “But at least we’re not going drinking.”

"Not sure if that's a good thing. If one of them suggested that at this hour, I would be worried." Jiro stated, to which Ashido yelled that she wasn’t some day drinker.

"So…you're a regular drinker then? But didn't we all turn legal not too long ago?" Komori giggled as Ashido turned to her, slack-jawed at being caught in such a trap, and from the quiet mushroom girl to boot!

"You're right to think, so young and yet a slave to the bottle." Kamakiri let out a sigh that was as sincere as Bakugo's quiet and friendly.

“Screw you!”

"Get a couple drinks in me first and I might let you do that." Kamakiri laughed when she flipped him the bird.

Past the meeting time, Uraraka turned the corner and ran up to where she was meant to see the others. Ready to apologize for taking 20 minutes longer, she said, "Sorry I'm late..." but it wasn't like she had the bus fare, so she had to huff it. "Sorry, I'm late...” Until she ran up, she lowered when, instead of seeing the entire group, she saw that Kyoka, Komori, and the woman who organized this, Ashido, were still missing.

"No problem; you're not the last to arrive.” Kirishima waved it off, giving it a look and nodding at what she had decided to wear. Uraraka didn't strike him, or any of them, as someone who spent a lot on her fashion. Still, her pink tee, bell-bottom blue jeans, and pink moon boots looked excellent and comfortable, great for spending the afternoon with friends. She even went the extra mile and got wireless headphones, which sat atop her head.

Uraraka smiled, knowing that she wasn't the late one. As she looked over Kirishima's appearance, it seemed like he had chosen something simple and sturdy, much like his personality. A black shirt with red cracks-like patterns across it, underneath a white open jersey with the sleeves pushed up to his elbows. A simple pair of brown cargo pants with a pain attached to the belt on his right side and a pair of thick brown high tops.

"This is just shameful. Ashido was the one who picked the time and location for our meet-up. She should have been here at least five minutes early." Iida chopped his hand, having been looking at his watch every other minute while also looking around for the missing three to arrive. Looking him over, Uraraka could say she was surprised that Iida had something like that. However, she recalled that Kirishima was there to help him along.

She would have thought he would have dressed in a polo and dress pants, and perhaps he would have if he had been left to his decisions. Instead, Kirishima got him into a dark, tailored blazer paired with a matching pair of blue cropped trousers. Underneath, he wore a white crew-neck shirt and white low-tops.

"Yeah, she's like that sometimes. I wouldn't be surprised if she spent too much time picking out an outfit." Kirishima didn't seem worried about this, so she'd take his word for it as he laughed, nodding in Iida's direction.

"It wasn't easy, but I think I managed to pull something together," Kirishima stated, with Hagakure piping in. The invisible girl wore a sleeved top, striped white and pink pants, and black and white bowling shoes. She carried only a white handbag as an accessory. While she wasn't wearing much, her way of moving and personality helped make the look pop.

"I'm surprised that you knew enough to help him. It's not like you're a fashion icon, Kirishima." At her statement, Kirishima hardly took offense.

"It's not like I don't know stuff about what's trendy and what's not; it's just that my stuff is more practical, with fashion being second. Ashido figured that out a long time ago." He laughed a little as he recalled how angry she got when she gave him a two-hour lecture and then thought he didn't listen, only for him to show up for a school function dressed to the nines, and then he never did so again.

“She probably should have picked something cheap since she’s gonna be rolling all over the floor when I beat her.” Kamakiri laughed as Uraraka looked him over and found that his outfit was very utilitarian, being made from a long, heavy white coat with a green fur-lined hood, oversized pockets, and multiple straps. His lower half wore a pair of rugged, green, and black high-top boots and slim-fitting pants covered with rips, not the type that came out of the box, the types that formed from wear and tear.

"Is that a fact?" Ashido asked as she sauntered up to the group. At her sides were the remaining missing girls. "Well, I'll make you eat those words, Kamakiri." She lowered her sunglasses and gave him a wink, though Kamakiri was less focused on that and more on the fact that he might need to revise his earlier statement about drinking.

They already knew that Ashido was attractive, one of the best-looking girls in their course, and seeing how they had seen her in costume, they knew that her looks were appealing and functional. But that didn't mean they didn't stare at her now as she rocked up in black number, loose enough that her collar was exposed and tight enough to track all her curves. They didn't see pants; instead, she went for purple thigh-high stockings and 2-inch sandal heels. Finally, she dusted up with a bit of make-up to make her eyes and lips pop with a bracelet on her left hand.

“Wow…” Midoriya uttered, as Kamakiri wasn't the only one left in awe of Ashido.

“Yeah…” Ojiro agreed, feeling underdressed compared to the rest, but especially when it came to Mina, as that outfit screamed she was going out for a fun time, and not even an earthquake would stop that.

Ashido reveled in their stunned awe as she had taken something sure to a reaction. Twirling around, she spotted their eyes tracking her from her perfectly manicured toes, up her long, curvy, and muscular legs hidden behind her thigh-highs, up her torso, with some lingering just to see if she was wearing paints, before settling on her face, where her iconic dark and golden eyes enchanted them like they had so many others.

“What do you think? Does this look good on me or what?” She had to hold back the laugh when she saw even the already-in-a-relationship Midoriya speechless, his face red, but when she saw Iida's reaction, she couldn't keep it in. He was stiff as a board, or perhaps he was merely imitating a certain piece of his autonomy, as his face was as red as Kiri’s hair.

“Iida, you’re starring.” Hagakure pocked Iida’s side.

"You couldn't be more wrong, Hagakure!" He denied it, but too quickly that even if one were blind to how hard he was blushing, they would be suspect of that statement. But he wasn't the only one taking in the eye candy, as there was a twinkle in Aoyama's eye. The boy had dressed like a fusion of 18^th-century fashion and had met 1990s French street swear.

Midoriya shut that down, having seen that look more than once. "Down boy, today it's a group activity. You and her can plan to have some fun in private later." Lucky for them, with the group assembled and reactions tampered by exposure, they could start with their get-together.

"Are we going to the mall for the movies?" Komori asked. The girl was dressed to the nines in red and pink frills and even had a white and red bonnet in her hair.

"Yup, it's right around the block, and I hear they're still showing the latest Extraterrestrials.” Ashido cheered, as she had watched the movie on opening night, but she could watch it another 10 times and still not get bored.

Her opinion wasn’t universal there as Komori yelped in fright. “You want us to watch that? It’s super scary!”

“I’m also not a fan of horror movies, especially with how the last one ended….” Ojiro added, shivering as he recalled how…graphic the final scene from the last installment in that movie series was.

"Oh yeah, because we're going to deal with little tiny alien babies bursting out of people's chests with an unholy shriek before attacking anything that moves." Jiro snarled, the girl having gone whole punk rock with her clothing choice, even breaking out some of the make-up her mother had given her.

"We're training to be heroes, guys. We'll see spooky stuff all the time! Better get used to it now." Ashido hardly cared for such complaints as she continued to lead them toward the mall. It was a small one built to serve the college town U.A. spawned. Because of that, most of its stores were geared towards a demo of their age range, from fashion to entertainment, with some school supply shops here and there.

It was a half day, so they weren't the only students enjoying the place. They saw many students hanging out, some still in uniform, others having changed out of it like they did. When they got to the movies, they saw that the place already had people, but not enough to give off the idea that they couldn't find seats as they walked up to the register to get their tickets. Overhead were the posters for what was screening, with Ashido's pick in the middle, getting more attention than the poster for the latest All Might movie.

“Are you going to all right, Izuku?” Aoyama asked when he saw Midoriya fixate on the Extraterrestrials poster, which he could admit was as gruesome as one would expect from that series.

“Why wouldn’t I be?” Midoriya asked, flinching at being called like he had been in his own little world, which only made Aoyama smile.

"Because I heard you saw this movie with Intelli, and you spent the entire time holding her." He started, with Komori and Kirishima looking Midoriya’s way in surprise at that statement.

“I did not! You told you that lie?” Midoriya immediately denied such a statement! Besides, he didn’t watch horror movies, so he couldn’t have ever done such a thing.

“Intelli.” Kamakiri laughed at Midoriya as Aoyama exposed him, the boy wanting the earth to eat him.

“I held her hand, I swear.” He admitted though he hoped that Yuga would spare him the worst of it as if he heard it from her-

Of course, Yuga wasn’t that forgiving as he held up his phone. “Shall I call her and ask? As I recall her saying that you were latched onto her like a baby koala.”

“It’s…” Kirishima stopped him as he placed a hand on his shoulder, his eyes understanding his pain.

"It's alright, Midoriya. Those movies…they're scary, and then there's whatever…it is." The redhead who loved all things manly, who would jump in front of a speeding truck only to save a single kitty, shivered. He had been friends with Ashido for years, and she had made him watch all her favorites, with most being some of the most haunting horror movies ever made.

"I'm not a fan of horror, but I can stomach most of it, but those movies…whoever makes them is demented." Midoriya agreed with him as the two found comfort in the other. Hagakure giggled at the bromance forming out of their shared trauma.

Ashido didn't take too kindly to them, talking smack about her favorite movies, so she decided to put it up for a vote. “All in favour for Extraterrestrials 3: The New Order?”  She raised her hand, followed by Iida, who seemed curious about the movie Aoyama, Kamakiri, Hagakure, and Tetsutetsu. But just before she could ask again, the tiebreaker Uraraka raised her hand, which left Kirishima and Midoriya pale as they realized their position.

With a look of victory on her face, Ashido rang their death bell. “All opposed?” All those who remained raised their hands, but they were outvoted as Ashido turned and approached the register to place their ticket orders

"There you have it; let's see some aliens!" she laughed as Kirishima and Midoriya held each other like a mystery solver and his dog.

“It can’t be that bad, you two. It’s a horror movie, not an execution.” Jiro told them, rolling her eyes at how dramatic they were being.

"And Jiro screamed the loudest at all the scary bits. She was glued to Kiri and Midori from like the 10-minute mark!" Ashido finished telling the story to the class the following day, the punk rocker being held back from Kirishima from attacking, which only reminded her that this wasn't the first time she tried that. “As soon as the credits rolled, she tried to jump me.”

Midoriya was silent, his face to his desk as Ashido hadn't left anything out about how they had been scared shitless by that movie. He didn't even know why. He had fought against the broken, fury fuelled remains of people who had gone out in truly horrid ways, and yet a stupid movie made him want his fucking nightlight again.

Asui looked at him and then at Tetsutetsu and Kinoko, who all looked drained from the experience orchestrated by Ashido. Kamakiri wasn't like them, but more along the lines of Jiro, muttering several creative curses as Ashido had started with their trip to the arcade and how she absolutely decimated her opponent, quickly scoring 4 times his best while in heels to boot.

“Sounds like you have a fun time.” The frog girl croaked.

“Fun? That was torture! How the hell did that sin against everything good manage to get so many movies?!” Jiro yelled as she was terrified to go to sleep, enough that her mother had to coddle her like she was 6 till she fell asleep. It was a minor miracle that it was just her mom as she could be cool about it; her dad would have lost his shit and gone full 'my baby girl' mode on her.

"I couldn't sleep in my room. Every time I heard something…I felt like…" Midoriya sounded haunted, raising his head to reveal that he wasn't even well rested.

“We held a sleepover to keep an eye on one another.” Hagakure sounded as drained as he did, though she had the benefit of no one seeing the bags under her eyes from the face. She only managed 4 hours of sleep.

Iida also had trouble sleeping, but his mother had packed him medication for that. Granted, it was more because he could be as hyper as a child, but it got the job done. "I have to admit that it wasn't…what I was expecting from mass entertainment. Though the production standards were top, not a single instance Did I feel like there was an issue."

“You see, he liked it.” Ashido took that support like it disproved the rest.

"Ashido, watch what you drink. You'll never know when one would have mushroom spores known for how…aggressive they can grow in the moist, dark space that is the throat.” Kinoko stated that her deadpan face and eyebags made it hard to tell whether she was serious. Ashido made a note to go when she eventually apologized for this.

“Damn girl, you got them. It’s high school all over again.” Kirishima whistled as Jiro finally stopped trying to attack Ashido, an attempt she had started when she spotted the girl as they walked onto campus. Kirishima was grateful that the press wasn’t around as that wouldn't have been a flattering image.

Ashido was unapologetic. "No one lets me pick the movies once they learn my tastes, so I gotta pull this stunt."

“You knew?!” Tetsutetsu yelled but didn't get an answer as Yaoyorozu, who had been somewhat listening to how Ashido seemingly tortured her friends, noticed the time.

"Everyone, it's time to get into our seats. The class will start soon." She called out, and while there were grumbles and promises of revenge, they followed the instructions. It was not a second too late, as once she returned to her seat, the bell rang, and as they expected, the door opened for Aizawa to enter. However, he wasn't alone, as with him, he had Thirteen.

“Morning students, I trust that you used your time off to relax,” Aizawa started, which confused the students. "Because you won't get much more of it for a long time." Oh, that cleared things up; for a moment, they thought he was perhaps out of it.

“Before you ask, the security situation was handled, but no, we don’t know which of the press was dumb enough to damage school property.” Aizawa started, answering questions he was sure most students, not just those in the hero course, had. Those questions were answered before anyone could raise a hand; Aizawa nodded toward his fellow teacher.

“Thirteen.” He stepped aside to allow the space-themed heroine to take center stage.

“Right, I wanted to tell you all that today, you’ll be with me for hero training, which I think you can guess what that means.” Thirteen started, much more cheerful than the downer of a drill sergeant.

“It’s rescue training!” That easy-going energy was why the close to the entire class felt comfortable enough to explode in excitement at another crucial step in their journeys to be heroes.

"I wonder what kind of rescue training it'll be? I hope it's something like urban disasters; my quirk would be great!" Sero flexed his arms, putting attention on his elbows.

"(Kero) If it's water-based, then I will do great!" Asui, while seemingly passive, gave away just how excited she was in her words and tone.

"Major villain attack clean up. I'll be the best at finding anyone under the rubble!" Tokage laughed, and Jiro also smiled.

“Who said that we’ll be doing just the one? Come now, students, this is U.A.” Thirteen only added to the excitement, though some did realize that if they were going to do all that, it meant one thing.

"Sounds like it would be a lot of work," Kaminari noted, but Kirishima didn’t see it like that.

“But isn’t that what being a hero is all about?” The redhead felt like he was bursting with energy. Midoriya wholeheartedly agreed as he always thought of one clip from All Might's years of hero work, the one thing that had become a core memory for him and served as the bedrock for his desire to follow in the man's footsteps, and was him saving over a 100 people from a major accident.

Anyone could punch out a villain, but it took a hero to save someone.

Tetsutetsu punched his fists together. "Yeah! We save lives and then punch out some stupid villains. Besides, we can't just learn first aid from Snipe; we gotta learn how to pull people out from danger, too."

“You’re both correct.” Thirteen spoke up, settling down the class before they went off-topic. "Now, unlike your other hero classes, you're not required to wear your costume this time. Sometimes, you could be called to the field merely because you're close by; it doesn't matter if it's your day off. Also, as you've worn your costumes a couple times now, you can use this as a chance to request changes to them, and as that's being done, you'll just wear your P.E. uniform."

"Also, you might have designed your costume to be best in a fight or to account for some con of your fighting styles or quirks. In the past, students have found that they could have neglected to take rescue work into account while designing, so even if you wear it, keep mental notes of things your costume could have added, altered, or removed to make that process easier for you." Thirteen added, with a few students stopping to consider that.

“Yes, sir!” Nevertheless, they agreed with her words as Aizawa retook the spotlight.

"Good, that's all for now. When you have your class with Thirteen, head to gate 4. Except for Bakugo.” Aizawa stated which got the blonde to question to jump to his feet in outrage.

“What the fuck?” Aizawa turned his gaze to him. His eyes weren't red, but they still pierced through Bakugo like a blade to the chest, robbing him of most of his anger.

"Did I give you permission to speak, Bakugo? No, then shut up. You're barred from out-of-classroom hero training, or did you forget about your horrendous conduct the other day?" Aizawa told him, a frown on his face as Bakugo took his seat once more but tried to save some face when reminded of that clusterfuck of a class, not helped by the fact his former teammates weren't over it and glared at him.

Aizawa grunted before continuing. “The rest will be with Thirteen for the class, and you’ll be with Supercharge going over the ethics and communication skills you sorely lack. Is that understood?" He dared Bakugo to fight, to cause a scene. He wouldn't hesitate to make him pay for it as he wouldn't tolerate some violent, self-obsessed moron in his class; hell, he barely tolerated them in his school.

It was a game of chicken between them, Bakugo's fury against Aizawa's deadly eyes. Eventually, Bakugo blinked first. “Yes…” Bakugo agreed, his head barely moving in agreement.

“Yes…what?” Oh, but Aizawa wouldn't let him get away with having pride. People like him could only be made better when you shatter everything about them and build them back up.

"Yes…sir," Bakugo repeated, only adding the proper respect. The class got the feeling that if he could, Bakugo would have thrown up just saying that. Todoroki gave him what could be the biggest stink-eye as Bakugo reminded him of someone who he had already detested.

"Good, now, onto other others." With that, he continued with the regular morning announcements, giving the students something to look forward to when their practical training came up.

Classes came and went, though there was a hitch-up. At the last minute, it was announced that the dean wished to have All Might handle a sensitive issue, so Aizawa handled their first period. This made it as dry and intimidating as they would have expected, as the man had none of All Might's charisma or desire to make their class fun. He did, however, retain the engagement requirement, often just picking one of them at random to answer a question or give their opinion.

One other thing of note was that as the time counted down, Bakugo grew increasingly tense. Midoriya recalled that as a kid, he was never the best at controlling his anger, but here was another example of how his issues had only gotten worse since then. Even when called on by the teachers, he had to take a couple of seconds to control his breath so as not to explode at them and only make his situation worse. And when the time came, they all got up to leave, but Bakugo remained behind.

Truthfully, Midoriya wanted to say something to him, but he didn't know what to say. Yes, he knew him, probably better than anyone else there, but the version of him he knew wasn't the version that had made the choices that got him into this. Would he even accept his help or words of encouragement, or would he just lash out and refuse to listen? He didn't know, and that wasn't a pleasant thought. But while he wished to try anyway, caution won out as there were too many unknowns, and if he made the wrong move, things could have been made worse.

So, he left with the others, changed into his hero costume, and went to where they had been instructed.

"Hey, Midoriya, what's on your mind," Uraraka asked him, noticing that he had been looking to the side, silent.

“Just…trying to think about how All Might would act right now?” Midoriya replied, keeping it vague.

“In rescue training? Pretty sure we all know how he would by now.” Tetsutetsu asked, missing the meaning in his words as Midoriya intended, turning towards him and the rest, he opened his mouth to join the discussion.

“All right, everyone, there’s a lot of us, so let’s split in seat order and board a bus!” Kendo yelled as to be heard as the two buses pulled up.

"It looks like we'll be separated for the ride to our destination. Try not to miss my, Izuku." Aoyama turned to Midoriya, giving him a bow that made him roll his eyes.

“Oh yes, because I can’t live without you trying to embarrass me.” Midoriya sarcastically retorted.

"Oh, such cruelty; perhaps if you change your name to something close to mine, we can remain together." Aoyama shot back.

“Cut-out party.” Midoriya countered with a smirk and watched as Aoyama froze like a deer in headlights before the color washed away from his face. He turned and quickly walked towards his bus.

“Alright, see you later!” The rest looked at Aoyama, who looked like he had just been blackmailed, and then Midoriya, who looked like he had just blackmailed him.

“What was that all about?” Jiro asked, to which Midoriya didn’t give up the ghost.

"Don't worry about it., " he replied as the group boarded their intended buses. Along with Aoyama, Ashido, Iida, Uraraka, Ojiro, Kamakiri, Kirishima, and Komori, they all went for the one bus while Tetsutetsu, Jiro, Hagakure, and Midoriya boarded the second. Once aboard, Aizawa followed them while Thirteen got onto the first bus and were off.

"You know, there's another plus for picking Kendo and Yaoyorozu as our class reps," Monoma said after a calm silence fell over the bus as people either rested, scrolled on their phones, or left themselves to their thoughts.

Yaoyorozu looked up from her book on atomic structures. “What would that be, Monoma?”

Snapping his fingers as he pointed at her, he replied, “Well, we split the class by seat, and it seems that each got one of our reps to keep an eye on things.” Now that he mentioned it, it was true, as Kendo was riding with the other bus.

"We also get the bonus of not having to deal with Mr. Blow Everything Up," Tsunotori added, noting that they had a vacant seat on their bus, one close to the back.

“That’s more temporary, Tsunotori. Bakugo could be allowed to join us again on our next practical.” Honenuki reminded her, even if he enjoyed the relative quiet and ease that came with not having to worry about when Bakugo would fly off the rails.

"But when you think about it, I imagine he's not upset about missing rescue training. He doesn't strike me as the type that would rescue people if he could fight instead." Yanagi pointed out, which they could agree with, Midoriya finding that he couldn't picture Bakugo acting in such a way to anyone, even when he wasn't so bad; he was more concerned with winning fights than picking people up when they fell.

“Man’s probably more pissed he was still in the dog house with Aizawa. Difference in saying no and being told you can’t and all that.” Sero scratched his head, wondering just how much Bakugo hated the fact he was stuck getting lectures from a teacher he probably didn't pick for his electives.

“Oh, I wanted to ask something, Midoriya.” The white-haired girl turned to Midoriya, who was caught off guard by her statement.

“What is that, Yanagi?”

“Is your quirk like Todoroki’s?” She asked, drawing everyone's attention, including Aizawa's, though he kept it subtle. For Midoriya, he kept a straight face, though he was worried as Yanagi explained her question. "He's capable of using ice and melting it, and you can fire ice, lighting, and their form."

Todoroki paid extra attention there, as while he couldn't hide the fact he had fire thanks to all the times he used it after a match to clean up his ice or warm himself up, he also knew from experience that such quirks didn't just come out of nothing. So, he was curious about how someone could get what could be described as 4 quirks in one when he only had 2.

He wasn't the only one curious about Izuku's quirk. "Oh yeah, I was curious about that. You must have a powerful family tree and crazy luck to get a quirk like that. The only person I know with a quirk like that is Star & Stripes." Tsunotori added.

"I don't think my quirk is that capable. She's in a league of her own, you know." Midoriya tried to downplay the interest, but not by too much, as that could just as quickly draw unwanted attention. His mother and her allies had already set up a cover story; he just had to follow it.

“That doesn’t mean that your quirk isn't flashy as hell. That alone means you're basically destined for a top ten spot." Mineta stated, seething as he could imagine that Midoriya would be super popular with the ladies; his friend group already had 5 babes in it; how long till he scored one?

Ignorant of the thoughts inside Mineta's head, Midoriya kept his reply short. "I don't think so. Besides, my quirk is an odd one. I only got it when I was 10, and I'm learning more about it every other day."

“10? Damn, that’s a late bloomer to the extreme.” Fukidashi's head formed a question mark, as they knew most quirks came in at age 4, some came in even sooner, like at birth, and while sure, they were late cases, the latest most textbooks talked about was age 6. Midoriya had to wait another 4 years. “Wait, wouldn’t that mean…”

"Yes, I went the first decade of my life thinking I was quirkless," Midoriya answered the question before it was finished.

“You gotta appreciate that didn’t stay true.” Mineta laughed at the joke, Midoriya's smile growing strained as Faunalution formed on his lap, offering comfort. He knew this would happen; it was why his mother spent years working on her project, at least part of it. But that didn't make it any better to be reminded that…a quirk seemed to matter more than one's character.

"No kidding, I don't think I've ever met a quirkless person before.” Tokage relaxed into her chair, knowing that around 20% of the global population was quirkless, and people didn't tend to use their quirks on the street, but it happened.

“Most would be in the older percentile of the population.” Yaoyorozu reminded them of that fact, which made Midoriya and Aoyama one of the few outliers.

“Man, being old and needing to be rescued whenever something goes down would suck.” Rin crossed his arms, with only Tokoyami catching on to how…tense Midoriya was with how much he was petting his quirk.

“Yes…” Midoriya’s smile strained further as he looked down at his lap, his hair covering his eyes. “It would.”

Chapter Text

“Text” – Normal speech

‘Text’ – Thought

“Text” – Quirk Spirit speaking in the human world

“Text” - Attacks

“Text” – Radio/Communication lines

“Text” – None Japanese speech

(text) – Subtext/meaning behind a spoken word

Mercifully, the talk about quirklessness didn't last. The group switched to discussing heroics, who was their favorite, the kind of hero they were hoping to be, and possible team-ups when they went pro. Midoriya remained largely silent through it, tending to Faunalution, who cooed away on his lap, comforting him as he was reminded that, yes, they were good people, they wanted to do good, but in their eyes, the quirkless were relics, weaklings to be protected and pitied.

Tokoyami picked on his lack of engagement, and so did Honenuki, Yaoyorozu, Todoroki, and Yanagi. The former if only because it felt strange, while for the rest, they shared elective classes with him and knew such topics should have been in bread and butter. Still, they merely assumed that he had his mind elsewhere, or in the case of Todoroki, he didn't think it was important enough for him to bother.

Soon, they arrived at their destination, the other bus arriving just before they did. Looking out the windows as the bus came to a stop, they were left stunned by what they saw. Over the tree line, they could see a massive dorm, a man-made hill of gleaming blues and white that matched the sunny blue sky above, and the hordes of trees around it. Jiro uttered that it was as big as the Tokyo dome, but Tokage replied, just in as much awe, that it was bigger-so much bigger.

Such a structure couldn't be called a stadium any more than a mansion could be called a dwelling; the place looked large enough to house an entire town, which had the students thinking, not for the first time, just how massive U.A.'s campus was for such a giant structure to be something they had never seen before. When they piled out of the bus and looked up towards the frankly, ridiculously massive doors, they could look to either side of the road and not see the end. Even the stairs just leading up to the entrance seemed intimidating.

Thirteen seemed to be at home as she happily marched out from where she had been standing with one-half the class to address them. "I hope you're as excited as I am for your first rescue class.”

"This place is insane!" Ashido yelled, too absorbed in the place to notice Aizawa glaring at her for her outburst.

Thirteen didn't seem to mind; in fact, she seemed almost pleased with it. She laughed as she turned on her heel and marched towards the entrance. "Save your opinions for the inside; follow me."

Following her, her warning was proven accurate as when they saw the place's interior, not even the most reserved of them, like Yanagi or Todoroki, could keep their jaws from falling open. The place felt even bigger inside, with the main entrance leading down a much longer flight of stairs to the park-like central area. From there, they could see several unique and massive areas in their own right. One seemed to be an artificial lake, but for some reason, it also had a boat and a water slide connected to a hill?

Another was a mock-up of a rocky mountainous, the third looked like U.A. had built one of their mock cities like the one from the entrance exam and then buried it in a landslide with what looked like entire office buildings trashed and partially sticking out from the rubble and dirt. Another looked to U.A. had done the same thing. Still, instead of burying the place in a landslide, they must have allowed a previous hero class to run rampant through it for an hour or 2 because the place looked like a warzone, nothing being spared.

There were two others, but they were encased in smaller yet massive domes by themselves. One had flame patterns, so there wasn't much speculation on that, but the ^sixth and final was covered in blue, with no patterns or other hints as to what was inside.

“What in the hell? How much money does U.A. have?” Shigeru popped out to see the place for himself.

“You could get lost in this place…" Hinata followed suit, walking towards the top of the stairs and looking down at the scale of the place. Was land alone needed for this? Was this what a hero course required?

“It’s like the world’s best theme park!" Hiroyuki clapped his little frost-covered paws, which made Midoriya snort to cover him with a laugh.

"Holy balls, this place is huge! What? Did you design it off Disney Land?" Kaminari asked as Thirteen giggled while Vlad, who had been waiting inside for them, rolled his eyes at the question and the fact that none of them had even noticed him yet.

"Whoever they got must have been on that good stuff, as this takes being big to the extreme!" Hagakure added, several others nodding with him as Thirteen retook control of things. Otherwise, the students would spend the entire class just gawking.

"Shipwrecks, landslides, thunderstorms, and infernos. These are part of a facility I designed to train students like yourselves to become the best rescue heroes you can be. To be able to handle any disaster that life can throw at you. I named it the Unforeseen Simulation Joint, or USJ for short!" Thirteen announced, leaving them surprised as the name sounded too close to another place with the abbreviation of USJ.

"I'm surprised they didn't sue," Tokage commented.

“They tried, we won!” Thirteen seemed a little too happy about that fact, some wondering if she was anything like their dean, as the rumors painted the walking plushie as a real unpredictable menace that seemed to revel in causing chaos.

Aizawa walked over to where Vlad was to address him. “Vlad, where’s All Might? He was supposed to be here with you.” He kept his voice down, though the larger man could pick up that his fellow educator was less than pleased.

“He won’t be coming. He got sidetracked doing hero work on the way to campus. He’s speaking with the dean.” Vlad replied with a grunt, holding up 3 fingers so that both Thirteen and Aizawa could understand the hidden meaning, both nodding even if the underground pro wanted to smack All Might for that foolish choice.

"That man, so illogical as he wastes time doing other people's work instead of his own," Aizawa replied. Now, they would need to figure out how just 3 people would manage a class of 40 people.

"Believe me, you're not the only one who has a bone to pick with him, but it's short notice, as he only called minutes before you arrived. Not enough time for someone else to show up and cover for him and still leave us with enough time to run what we want." As Aizawa hummed in agreement, Vlad told him that they had planned to take the students in groups of 10 through four of the zones, introductions mainly before they could return another time for full classes set in each of them.

“Excuse me,” Jiro asked. “But did I hear something about All Might?” Both teachers looked towards her, Aizawa recalling that she had superhuman hearing, and thanked the fact that they didn't say anything concrete.

"You did, but due to some complications, All Might was called to speak with the dean and won't be here," Vlad explained to the students, whose excitement about having All Might for the second time that day fell away.

"Oh man, that sucks," Kaminari whined.

"I wonder what happened. There didn't seem to be any issues during first period," Yaoyorozu asked, as All Might seemed a little off. Everyone had those days, but he was able to get through their class without issues, so it couldn't be that.

"Probably something with the press. They haven't been as ravenous, but they're still eager for that interview. Maybe they're planning how they'll handle that." Kendo assumed that even with the press barred from hounding the main gate, the way into campus had plenty of them hanging out in the restaurants or cafes closest to U.A.

"Regardless, we must get started, as we'll be down a teacher." Thirteen clapped her hands to get things back on track. I wanted to say a couple of things…maybe 3, or was it 5?" She started to mumble as the number only went up, leading the class to wonder if she had planned this before suddenly coming back from whatever rabbit hole she had fallen into.

Snapping back into things, she continued. “Everyone, as I’m sure you're aware, my quirk is called Black Hole, but can any of you explain what that means."

Uraraka happily raised her hand. "Your quirk allows you to suck in anything you want. You always use it to clear away debris and wreckage in disasters.

"Indeed, she's one of the best at disaster clean up." Shishida scratched his chin.

"I've seen the reports on many people she's helped by giving emergency responders paths to those in need." Iida chopped his head, as Thirteen had even worked with his brother a couple of times, and Tensei had nothing but good things to say about the space-themed hero.

“Truly God’s work.” Shiozaki bowed her head and clasped her hands together.

Thirteen let out an embarrassed chuckle as even as someone who's been doing this for years, she still wasn't used to being praised. "That's right, but my quirk can also suck in anything, including animals and people. Nothing can resist the pull of a black hole after all, and once they're sucked it, they're turned to dust so fine that even an electro-microscope could hope to see the remains."

Her words, spoken with the same tone as she would have told them about how fun rescue was or what she was looking forward to eating, ran against what she said as a shiver went through all of them. Sure, they knew she could do that, but they had never considered that she would; why would she? Heroes were meant to protect people-all people. None could even remember a case where a hero had to use lethal force, always capturing villains.

"I can see it in your eyes, quite the turn, right? But that's the reality of things. Some of you have quirks that can easily hurt others, kill them if used irresponsibly." Thirteen continued, marching back and forth before them. "No, that's incorrect; most of you have powers that could seriously maim, if not kill, those around you."

Maybe they took objection to this, wanting to say as much as possible, but even with her helmet on, Thirteen's gaze made them keep their piece. The woman saw that her words were having the intended effect, making them think about something that they probably never did.

"It's not your fault. This doesn't come up in polite conversation or most discussions when your goal is to become a hero, someone who exists to prevent harm and fight crime. However, it's still something that we understand on some level. For example, Todoroki," The two-toned haired boy blinked at being called out. “During your first hero class, you went for a restraining action rather, but you could have just buried Shoda in ice, correct?” He frowned, almost insulted.

“Yes, but-”

“But that puts him at risk of hypothermia, especially if you can’t get him out in time. I know, but tell me, did you consider that?” Thirteen cut him off, but he found she was right in that assessment. "That's my point. It's something that we instinctively do, the same way we learn to control our limbs; otherwise, we couldn't even hold eggs without crushing them in our hands."

Thirteen who had been moving back and forth, stopped, turning to look out over the USJ, her masterpiece and place of safety, despite what it was designed to be.

Her voice lost some volume, being closer to whispers, but it still carried the same weight, hitting them all like hammers to the face. "But as heroes, we can't forget that we must always consider the inherent risk that comes with us using our quirks. This is one of the most dangerous jobs there is, certainly up there in terms of the pressure you can feel out of the blue, where seconds can be the difference between life and earth. Most might forget those risks in the heat of the moment, but we can't."

Some got a little more uncomfortable about it, as that sounded like something Aizawa would say, but he and Vlad remained silent and on the sides. Others thought they heard something in her voice, a regret maybe. They wondered if she had been in a spot like that and made a mistake with her quirk, and it hurt someone. Tokoyami asked if he could look himself in the mirror if he was responsible for someone getting hurt like that. Todoroki reached for his burn but stopped short of touching it while Ashido kicked at the ground, as she didn't like to think what her acid could do.

“If we forget that, you end up with situations like what happened with Bakugo a few days ago.” Thirteen continued, Midoriya and Uraraka frowning as they recalled that disaster. "But you all learned something from that, didn't you?"

"Aizawa putting you through his practicals was where you learned the possibilities of your quirks and brainstormed ways to use them to assist in such tasks. Then your combat class was where you took those ideals and implemented them against living opponents like you would on the job.” She listed things off to them.

"In both, you saw firsthand what your quirks could do and how they could be destructive." She started. "But here, you'll learn how to apply that capability not to fight villains but to save people. Please understand that I didn't say anything to discourage you. Still, I wanted to understand just what you've signed up for so that you can become better heroes in the future." Thirteen turned back to them before she bowed.

“Thank you for listening.” She finished with the students, finding themselves applauding her words. It didn't start where they expected it would, and it went to some pretty dark places; she had stuck that landing in managing to bring them back out. They now had a greater appreciation for their abilities and the harsh and demanding training they'd receive to use it to do what they wanted, especially Uraraka, who looked towards Thirteen with stars in her eyes.

"So, for this, you'll be split into groups." Vlad's statement was interrupted when the light started to flicker before they started to die, one by one. The massive floodlights installed near the apex of the dome were disabled, leaving only the natural life from the semi-transparent dome's upper portions to get through. Around them, the street lights that dotted the path and the central plaza also started to flicker before dying.

“What the?” Kaibara asked.

“That doesn’t seem like a normal electrical fault, or am I seeing things?" Kendo asked, but she wasn't the only one feeling bad. The three teachers with them were already on alert, scanning the area for trouble while Vlad tended to the students.

Scanning the area for any issue, Aizawa's gut was rumbling, and he had come to trust his instincts, which had been honed over years of training and practical experience. Vlad was the same as he reached for his phone to contact the school and report the issue as, hopefully, it was just an exceptionally rare electrical fault. However, he didn't believe it could happen when he learned how Power Loader installed numerous redundancies in everything he could, including the electrical system.

Both men's ^sixth sense went off as they turned towards the central plaza. In front of the fountain, the air started to shift and flicker before a massive dark cloud of mist forced itself into beating. And from it, he saw someone walking out. Even from this distance, he could see the malice in those eyes, hidden behind a severed hand grasping their face.

“Thirteen!” Aizawa yelled, turning to face the threat fully as more people came through, dozens of them with the pro tracking each and trying to get a good idea of their quirks.

“As those people down there?” Kirishima asked, squinting to see better.

"I thought this was just rescue training. Are they here to help?" Shishida's brow creased.

"I doubt it." Kendo got into a combative stance, others following her lead. Midoriya and Aoyama both reached for their blades. Izuku could feel Hinata's and the rest's agitation. All of them had seen people with looks like that, all linked to how they had met their ends as humans.

"Hold on, what the heck are you guys doing?" Kaminari asked as it looked like Kendo and a few were about to jump into a fight.

“Don’t move!” Vlad agreed with Kaminari on that second apart and wouldn't allow his students to get involved. Still, he also needed them all to understand. "Those aren't workers for the school but villains."

Stepping through the warp, the grey-haired villain, covered in even paler, severed hands, took in the sight of U.A.'s famous USJ and had to admit, it lived up to the hype. God knew where they found the cash for half of it, but he wasn't there to judge value but to break something. His attention went from the scenery to the top of the stairs, where he could make around 40 people, mainly annoying freshmen. Most seemed as scared as children at their arrival, but he could spot a few that looked like they would fight.

Those would be the fun ways to kill, after all, what was the point in an enemy mob if the damn thing kept running?

But there seems to be an issue as he could only spot 3 heroes, and none were the target. "Thirteen…Vlad King…and some hobo, no, that's Eraserhead. But no All Might." The grey-haired man spoke, his voice rough and ragged as if his vocal cords had been given a sandpaper massage.

The warp behind himself shifted into a humanoid form, though one that still seemed to be made from black clouds as yellow wispy eyes formed and also looked at the site of the teachers and students. "That is quite strange. According to the teacher's schedule, we received the other day, All Might was meant to be present."

Their conversation wasn't subtle, with Jiro and Shoji relying on what they heard back to their teachers, not needing anymore confirmation of why these intruders were there. "At least we know who wrecked the gate the other day," Vlad stated, looking over the villains. Plans of attack, counters, and backups were forming in his head in case something went wrong.

"But how did they get in? The security didn't spot any intruders, but the press entered, and they were all vetted." Aizawa frowned as he reached for his goggles, pulling them down to cover his eyes.

“We can worry about that later. You two know what to do.” Thirteen told the two other pros as she stood back to protect the students while they stepped forward to act as the vanguard.

As they readied for a fight, the pale-haired villain was annoyed with the fact All Might was upset. “What the hell? You go through the trouble of building a massive party to raid the dungeon, and the damn boss doesn't even spawn when he's supposed to. I even went out of my way to equip a special item." He complained, gesturing to the hulking beast that stood behind him with a dead-eye look; just looking at it made Midoriya and Aoyama feel sick to their stomachs, so to their quirks though none could figure out why, only that whatever was the deal with that…thing, it was wrong.

For the two listeners, hearing the villain treat the entire thing like a game rubbed Jiro and Shoji the wrong way. He seemed arrogant, but a part of them also thought it was because he had experience with crime.

The villain scratched in thought before a wicked smile gave to his face. "Even if I can't clear the main objective, I can always clear the side-quests. Those are always more fun. Kurogiri."

As soon as Vald gave the word, the students started to worry even as Shogi and Jiro passed along what they heard to the teachers so they could make a plan.

"Wait, those are villains? But how did they get in?" Komori asked, starting to shake at the sheer number of them. It had to be well over 70 down there.

“That’s insane, how they even get in? U.A’s got the best security in the world.” Fukidashi asked, trying to make sense of all this even as Kendo and Yaoyorozu worked to keep everyone from acting out, a select few watched on silently, much like their teachers, waiting for a response or sign to act.

"Yeah, that's right. The alarm should be going off. Why isn't it going off right now?" Hagakure asked, praying that it was like the ones banks always had in the movies and that it was silent. Thirteen knew that the place had an alarm, 3 kinds, all hooked up to separate but equally sophisticated and comprehensive systems. For all of them to be down, that shouldn't be possible; even if the electrical fault had knocked out the power, each ran on continually charging batteries for just a situation.

"The light earlier, either they have someone that hacked into the system and shut those and the security down, or they have someone with a quirk jamming it." Tokage frowned, not helping to keep things calm as she frowned.

"But that leaves another question: Is this a school-wide black-out, or is it just here? Seeing how they waited for us to arrive, I would assume that whatever they do is keeping the outside world from detecting anything wrong." Todoroki guessed; the teachers were mildly impressed that he kept cool with things when the others were closer to a panic.

"Did anyone bring their phones with them? Maybe we can try to call," Midoriya asked, as he had left his phone. Most shook their heads as he ticked his tongue, but Kaminari raised his hand.

"My headsets can act like a radio set,t but…I can't through, even when I switch to other frequencies." Kaminari seemed to have given them some hope, but then he couldn't deliver. Jiro, who did have her phone, pulled it out and checked, seeing the icon for no signal as she cursed and confirmed it.

"Isolated from any help, unable to call for help, and villains that seemed to know All Might was here, something that we didn't till now. They're organized, and this was planned.” Midoriya's mind started to move as he tried to figure out a means out of this. They were out-numbers at least 2 to one, and even if most weren't that capable compared to them, there had to be some heavy hitters among them. He was still getting that wrong feeling just from looking at that jacked-up bird-faced villain that hadn't so much as moved since it arrived; he didn't even think it blinked.

"By why? Who in their right mind would pick a fight somewhere they know All Might would be?" Aoyama asked him, only the teachers and Uraraka suspecting that the villains knew something that the rest didn't, but Uraraka especially couldn't believe it. There was no way; few people knew to begin with, and none could ever reveal that.

"Then we just need to get out of here, and we'll be safe. The door's right there-!" Sero pointed towards the door as if they had run. They could make it back to it in 20 seconds, easy or shorter if they were speedy about it.

As he said, Jiro and Shoji heard the villain talk about side-quests and order his henchmen to do something, but he didn't say what. Neither had time to rely on the teachers before the villain vanished. Jiro got a bad feeling and turned to yell, but before she could, the floor beneath her opened up into a black warp, where she didn't know and didn't want to find out.

“What the hell?” She yelled.”

"Jiro!" Vlad yelled at her, moving to save his student from whatever that warp was. Aizawa was doing the same as he had already thrown his capture scarf towards her, but then more portals opened up beneath them. "Shit!" Vlad cursed as he started to fall through. He tried to reach for the floor close to hold on, but the portal was too broad.

"Everyone grabbed the person closest to you!" Kendo yelled as she reached for Tokoyami and managed to grab him, but both of them were already halfway through. Midoriya and Tetsutetsu were already doing that, lunging towards the closest person—for Izuku, that was Asui. For Tetsutetsu, that was Yaoyorozu—but all of them had nothing to grip, nothing to stand on as the portals beneath them fused into one.

"Quick, hold onto me!" Midoriya looked up as Tokage sent a hand towards them, the girl having split into several pieces that floated safe from harm. It wasn't just her hand, but she had sent other pieces to try and save people. Yanagi had grabbed Uraraka, the white-haired girl straining her quirk just to keep herself levitating; Uraraka quickly tapped herself to eliminate gravity.

Yaoyorozu saw that Tokage had already sent her other hand and a foot to save Tsuburaba and Sato. Tsunotori held onto one horn while she fired another 2 toward Kamakiri and Kodai, but it wasn’t enough. The heiress could see that many were already chest-deep in the portal, and she couldn't feel the bottom beneath her feet.

Aizawa moved quickly to try to find the villain, but then another portal opened up right in front of him, and a villain came flying out, sledgehammer ready.

With Eraser distracted, if only for a few seconds, Kurogiri pulled as many students through as he could as Midoriya reached for Tokage's hand. Even if she wasn't strong enough to pull all of them, she could perhaps slow them down, give them more time, even only a second.

But that never came as they screamed and yelled as they fell through the portals, each one shutting once the body went through.

Tokage dropped to the ground, gathering herself as she slammed a fist into it and repeatedly yelled that she was so close to saving more. Yanagi placed Uraraka down, and to their horror, besides the two and Tokage, only six of their classmates and one teacher remained on. Vlad King, Eraserhead, and everyone else was gone.

"We are the League of Villains. We hope that you all struggle as hard as you can, fighting with all you have. It will make it all the more tragic when All Might finds you all dead by our hand." The villain spoke up, appearing to the side like a shadowy monster, gleeful in his statement before he vanished again.

Chapter Text

“Text” – Normal speech

‘Text’ – Thought

“Text” – Quirk Spirit speaking in the human world

“Text” - Attacks

“Text” – Radio/Communication lines

“Text” – None Japanese speech

(text) – Subtext/meaning behind a spoken word

(Previously)

"Everyone grabbed the person closest to you!" Kendo yelled as she reached for Tokoyami and managed to grab him, but both were already halfway through. Midoriya and Tetsutetsu were already doing that, lunging towards the closest person—for Izuku, that was Asui. For Tetsutetsu, that was Yaoyorozu—but all of them had nothing to grip, nothing to stand on as the portals beneath them fused into one.

"Quick, hold onto me!" Midoriya looked up as Tokage sent a hand towards them, the girl having split into several pieces that floated safe from harm. It wasn't just her hand; she had sent other pieces to try and save people. Yanagi had grabbed Uraraka, the white-haired girl straining her quirk to keep herself levitating; Uraraka quickly tapped herself to eliminate gravity.

Yaoyorozu saw that Tokage had already sent her other hand and a foot to save Tsuburaba and Sato. Tsunotori held onto one horn while she fired another 2 toward Kamakiri and Kodai, but it wasn't enough. The heiress could see that many were already chest-deep in the portal and couldn't feel the bottom beneath her feet.

Aizawa moved quickly to try to find the villain. Still, another portal opened before him, and a villain came flying out, sledgehammer ready.

With Eraser distracted, if only for a few seconds, Kurogiri pulled as many students through as he could as Midoriya reached for Tokage's hand. Even if she wasn't strong enough to pull all of them, she could perhaps slow them down, give them more time, even only a second.

But that never came as they screamed and yelled as they fell through the portals, each one shutting once the body went through.

Tokage dropped to the ground, gathering herself as she slammed a fist into it and repeatedly yelled that she was so close to saving more. Yanagi placed Uraraka down, and to their horror, besides the two and Tokage, only six of their classmates and one teacher remained on. Vlad King, Eraserhead, and everyone else was gone.

"We are the League of Villains. We hope you all struggle as hard as possible, fighting with all you have. It will make it all the more tragic when All Might finds you all dead by our hand." The villain spoke up, appearing to the side like a shadowy monster, gleeful in his statement before he vanished again.

Even as everyone panicked about the situation and tried and largely failed to save themselves or each other, Midoriya felt that temperature difference as he fell deeper into the dark void. Was the warp itself cold? He felt like he was out during the peak of winter. It was only when he fell all the way through that he realized that it wasn't the portal but the destination since as soon as he could look and hear, all he saw was white, the entire area covered in ice and snow with high winds crashing into him and the rest.

He also realized another issue. Whatever the villain's name who warped them was, he didn't seem to care if they survived as they fell towards the snow. He wasn't the only one who screamed as they saw the ground coming fast. He knew snow was soft, but how would they know how deep it was? It could be a meter or half a ruler for all they knew.

"Shit!" Hagakure's panicked cry drew his attention to her. However, he was lucky to see anything of her as the snow-filled winds made it nearly impossible to spot her gloves and shoes. Midoriya was close enough that he could grab onto her and pull her into their chest. His gloves flashed as he called on his first partner, who quickly responded by granting him her power.

“Shelter Aura!" Midoriya called out, forming a large green and brown dome around him and the rest; not a moment too soon as they crashed into the snow, but instead of a hard landing, they sunk into the white halfway, enough that the dome's edge was below the slow and some started to seep in.

“Is everyone okay?” Yaoyorozu was quick to act, looking around the group for any apparent injuries while glancing up, just in time to see the spot of black, though the chilly winds that were the portal that dumped them there closing up. Even just being there for 30 seconds, she was already feeling the chill, her costume offering no comfort as she rubbed her shoulders to get warmth.

“Someone, thanks for the save there, Midoriya.” Tetsutetsu gave a thumbs up, releasing his quirk, as his steel might have protected him from the impact, but damn, did it chill fast. Hagakure was the worst of them as Midoriya hugged her close. She had nothing to protect her from the bitter cold, and she did not even pants like Tetsutetsu had.

 Getting up, Tetsutetsu let Asui go, having grabbed her during the fall to try and protect her, but she fell over with a weak croak. "Asui! What's wrong?" Tetsutetsu immediately had her side, the green-haired girl known for being blunt and honest, struggling to stay awake.

“Was she hurt in the fall?” Hagakure asked, worried for her before Yaoyorozu realized what the issue was.

"Her quirk is frog," she told them, which confused the two, but Midoriya instantly understood.

“Dammit, she’s cold-blooded." Midoriya cursed. He hadn't had much time, but he tried to ask everyone about their quirks over the few days they'd been classmates. While most refused with varying degrees of politeness, if at all, Asui was one of the few willing to answer his questions, with the girl explaining she could do anything a frog could with some extra details on specifics.

She didn’t give many details on possible weaknesses in case he tried to exploit them during a combat exercise. Still, it didn't take a genius to realize that a heteromorph with the physical characteristics of a frog would have the same weaknesses, such as a poor tolerance for extreme temperatures, much like the winter wonderland they were sent to!

“Wait, she is?” Hagakure asked as Midoriya released her.

“We need to-!” Yaoyorozu was already moving to create something—a portable heater or maybe a simple blanket.

"Burn through the darkness, Hinata!" Midoriya cut her off as he traded in his fox-like ears and tails for the flames, just like during their quirk assessment. Again, during his battle with Bakugo, he was cloaked in fire before coming out of it transformed, his blade drawn and burning bright.

"Everyone, stay close to me. We need to converse heat and figure out a way out of here," Midoriya said as he held his sword out, letting the others gather around it like they would a campfire. Tetsutetsu carried the drowsy Asui, who didn't seem fully aware anymore, nodding in and out of the waking world.

Yaoyorozu thanked him for his quick thinking, as she still created a space blanket for Asui and handed it to Tetsutetsu so he could wrap her up. Before creating long, thick winter jackets for the rest, Midoriya, coated in flames, didn't need or desire one. "He's right, but we can't stay here. We need to find somewhere we can shelter and figure out a plan of action.”

"I second that. It's so cold my brain feels like it's getting frosty," Tetsutetsu said, looking worried at Asui.

“Yeah, but that was a real jerk move sending us here! Wait…where is here?” Hagakure asked a good question. Looking around, they didn't see any landmarks they recognized, nor did they see or hear anyone else in the area, but with the winds so strong, they could just be lost in it.

Yaoyorozu picked up clues from the location despite the lack of clues. Namely, this couldn't be a naturally occurring blizzard as it was too powerful and well out of season. Even if one were to assume that they had been dropped on the northern edges of Hokkaido. However, there would have been some sort of news about this in the morning, yet when she watched the weather forecast as she prepared her breakfast, there was no such thing to be seen.

Even if the villain could drop them that far away from U.A., why not just send them into the middle of the ocean? It wouldn't be as deadly as trying to survive a snowstorm. However, most would still be considered lost at sea, with it taking hours for anyone to rescue them if they could even get some sort of SOS out. No, she imagined they had to be close to the USJ, maybe even within its dome.

"I believe it's one of the zones in the USJ, most likely for rescue operations in bad winter storms," Yaoyorozu answered, her mind having gone through the possibilities and arrived at one she could reliably trust in seconds.

“How the hell would I benefit from that? I can’t even wear a shirt without making my quirk useless!” Yaoyorozu had to agree with Hagakure. Perhaps the teachers would allow some to opt out of scenarios like this, but they'll only find out if they find a means to do so.

"Guys, I'm not sure how bad visibility is, but do you see the shapes of buildings ahead?” Midoriya, acting as their walking heat source, pointed into the distance. The rest strained their eyes to try and spot what he saw. They eventually picked up darker shapes, and while faint, they were there.

“Good eye; hopefully, one of them can be sealed to give us time to plan a means of escape." Yaoyorozu stood a little closer to him to gain warmth as they climbed out of the hole. However, in Midoriya's case, it melted his way out more as he kept the flame output constant for their benefit. Once out, they had a better view of things and found that it seemed like the area they were in was built to resemble a park, with trees, snow-covered benches, and even a frozen lake, the type one would find people skating across if the weather wasn’t so unforgivingly cold.

They started moving, but they didn't even get a few paces when Midoriya again picked up something in the distance, someone coming towards them. “Look out!” He cried as he lowered his heat and tackled Yaoyorozu to the ground, saving her from a spike of ice that would have impaled her. Around them, the snow started to shift like water, forming into tall golems that roared and charged them as ice continued to batter them through the white wind.

“What the hell?” Midoriya asked as he swung his blade toward half a dozen snow golems, sending out a slash of heat that cut all of them in two. While they fell over, the split parts regenerated, leaving him with 12 foes to handle.

“Midoriya, Yaoyorozu! Are you all right?” Tetsutetsu yelled at them as some of the ice crashed between them, leaving a frozen wall too tall to climb between them; as he found himself staring down a crowd of villains that looked eager to see them for all the wrong reasons, the white-haired boy gritting his teeth as he was handicapped by the fact he had two people with him that needed to be kept warm else they fall sleep and as he feared, not wake up.

“We’re fine, they’re villains here!” Yaoyorozu replied as she got up and lowered her jacket just enough to expose her shoulder, creating a staff to aide Midoriya in despatching the army of snowmen. Her classmate deciding that if they won't go down usually, he'll use larger attacks to melt them completely.

"Oh, just great. It's like we needed more problems!" Tetsutetsu yelled back before he slammed his fists together and roared at the villains; if they thought he'd back down to numbers, they didn't know the first thing about him. "All right, you baddies, want to taste a knuckle sandwich? Well, I got the nice frosted one for yeh!”

The villains were eager to take him up on that challenge as they charged him, Tetsutetsu needing to leave the girls behind to engage in a brawl in snow that was thick and uneven as hell. Whoever designed this park must have had an enjoyable time. The only benefit was that the villains were just as slowed by it.

With Midoriya and Yaoyorozu, the girl created a flare, cracked it, and threw it into the snow golems before the flare exploded, showing the area in red flames meant to act as a signal but served as a suitable means to handle the threat. One of the snowmen snuck up on Midoriya and attacked. Still, Hinata saw it at the last second and warned him, leading him to dodge and roast it and the other four that were coming to aid it.

Feeling his body heat up, Midoriya knew they couldn't last like this. “We don’t have time for this,” He said aloud, hearing just the faintest sounds of a villain laughing at them in the distance. It had to be the puppet master sending snow creations after them, but their voice echoed; he couldn't place them to launch an attack.

Creating another stick of dynamite, Yaoyorozu lit and tossed it into the snow creatures, taking out several, but more just replaced them. She noted the snow around them as the key, but they could not handle it. “I believe that’s the point; look at them.”

"Then we need to move; otherwise, we'll be overwhelmed." Midoriya turned the ice wall and called out. Tetsutetsu! Are Asui and Hagakure near the wall? " he yelled.

“W-we are!” Hagakure was the one to respond, her words coming out through chattering teeth as she did her best to keep Asui from falling any deeper into whatever hibernation she was in.

“Then get out of the now in 5 seconds!” Midoriya said as he sheathed his blade, shifting his stance as he started to spin, a dome of fire forming around him, which melted through the ice around him, lowering him into the growing puddle of heating and evaporating water. At the last second, as he turned back towards the ice wall, he concentrated all his power into his blade and drew it out in a slashing, quick-draw action.

“Fire Spin: Spiralling Fireball!” From the tip of his blade, a fireball the size of a car came flying out, screeching as it melted through the deep snow before crashing into the ice wall with a fiery explosion. Hagakure let out a scream, having just moved out of the way but still feeling an intense but comforting jet of warm air hitting her.

The attack alerted Tetsutetsu, who had just punched out a yeti-looking villain, seeing Midoriya and Yaoyorozu jump through the hole, the girl tossing another stick of dynamite the way they came, which exploded seconds later.

"Tetsutetsu! Get back here. We need to go!" Yaoyorozu called out to him as Midoriya picked up Asui. Seeing the situation, the boy followed suit, breaking from his fight and joining the others. They had the villains chase after them, but Midoriya handed him Asui to carry once he got close. He then blasted a better path for them through the snow, the water left behind even being warm. Yaoyorozu handled their rear, throwing flashbangs to distract and disorientate any would-be chaser.

It took them a while, especially as Midoriya and Yaoyorozu had to fire off attacks in different directions to throw off any chasers. Still, they managed to escape the frankly, vast park and get into the town part. They couldn't go for the first buildings, as those would be first checked, so they navigated without the cold, winding streets for three blocks before they found an old apartment building and entered it.

Once inside, they closed the door the best they could behind them and went up the stairs, finding that the place was as bare as any other training ground. As Midoriya acted as the heater for the group, sticking incredibly close to Hagakure and Asui, the latter still asleep, Yaoyorozu and Tetsutetsu went about ceiling the windows and otherwise blocking any way that cold air could enter. That done, Midoriya's ambient heat made the living room more bearable for them. It was better when Yaoyorozu made a portable heater and small electric generator, giving Midoriya a chance to relax.

“Thanks.” Midoriya allowed Hinata's and his first partner's powers to fade back to her, leaving him slumped against the wall, sweaty and a little winded.

“You good man?” Tetsutetsu asked, walking over and trying to help him to his feet before noticing that the guy was warm, like a severe fever kind of heat. “Crap, you’re still hot to the touch.”

“Yeah, I don’t have the best resistance to the powers I can use,” Midoriya explained as he walked over to the rest and sat between Asui, who seemed to be coming out of it, and Tetsutetsu. “And using them burns through my stamina and energy. Good thing I had a large breakfast, am I right?” Before now, he had used his forms for longer times-yes, but never had it had to continuously output power like that. He didn't know how Endeavour could walk around with flaming facial hair without flinching. Still, perhaps that was merely a product of a natural quirk.

"Yeah, but we really can't have you exhausting yourself. We still need a way out, and you're both our lighthouse and heat source." Hagakure reminded him, bundled up nice in her jacket. Sure, she could be seen, but she'll take that over freezing to death.

Yaoyorozu has a suggestion for that. “I can make us better jackets with built-in warmers, but they’re a little complicated and delicate, not suited for fighting villains, who must be searching for us right now.”

Before anyone could reply, Asui finally stirred from her little hibernation. Blinking, she looked about, confused by their surroundings and wondering where they were. "(Kero) What happened? I remember us landing in the snow, the worst place for me…and that's about it." One quick explanation later, she was caught up with the situation and how bad it was for them. "Well, we might as well be fish 'cause they have us in a barrel."

“Adequate, given the situation.” Yaoyorozu sighed, as it wouldn't have been too bad if she had been told about the possibility of them using this particular zone; perhaps she could have requested some sort of winterization for her costume. Were they ever supposed to use it?

“Then there was what Jiro heard the villains talking about,” Midoriya moved some hair out of his face, frowning when he recalled how things went down before they were teleported. "A schedule…maybe that was what the break-in was about? They destroy the main gate and use the confusion the press caused to sneak in, grab a schedule, and sneak out."

Yaoyorozu hummed in thought. "A likely scenario, though, that still leaves how they would have roamed the grounds without detection or even know where to go. It's not as if staff schedules are hung out for all to see.”

Midoriya agreed with her counter. Instead, he shrugged. "Maybe they have someone with a quirk that helped; maybe they had someone that looked young enough to dress in a counterfeit U.A. uniform. We don't know enough to say anything but know that Tokage and Todoroki seemed right. They're jamming communications and waiting for us before the attack happened."

"Yeah, but that leaves the All Might-sized hole in their plans. All Might is the strongest dude there is. Why would they show up when they thought he would be here?" Tetsutetsu interrupted the two smarter students to remind them of what seemed to be a significant flaw in the villain's plans.

"He's got a point. All Might's insanely strong; we've all seen clips of him taking on about anything and dominating or blitzing them like he's speed-running hero work." Hagakure recalled one where All Might handled at least a dozen villains before anyone could blink. It was like BAM! One second, they were holding hostages; the next, they were down for the count/

"(Kero) Don't you think the villains would know that already?" Asui drew attention back to herself as she adjusted her blanket and jacket. "The only reason that they would still attack, even knowing All Might was going to be here, is that they have some way they think can kill him."

Hearing that, they wanted to call it insane. All Might was…All Might. He was unchallenged, unrivaled, and has been for over 30 years. Even in his brief time in the US, as a foreign hero, he managed something no one had done before or since, breaking into the top 20, placing 18^th before returning to his homeland and claiming its number one spot in record time. Heroes had come and gone since. Many had tried to take his throne as the best, even fashioning themselves into symbols in their own right. Still, not one had managed even a fraction of the power or recognition that All Might had.

But couldn't one say that this entire was also insane? U.A wasn't just a school for heroes, but the school for heroes. They produced some of the best in the world, including All Might. For anyone to even think about making a move against them, they'll need to be insane-yes, but they also need a reason to believe they'll succeed.

Yaoyorozu started to seriously consider it. “They already have a villain among their ranks that can teleport people, and it looked like they got the entire class in one go, those few that weren’t taken more because they avoided it. I don’t know about you, but I heard that any quirk relating to teleporting is rare.”

Brow creased, and Midoriya agreed with her. "You're right. Teleportation and warp quirks are rarer than even healing quirks. Pretty sure the last hero with a quirk that allowed them to teleport was an American, and he retired 30 years ago." He had been one of the best, but his quirk didn't work like this warp; he could teleport himself and whatever he touched, but what they had experienced was closer to a gateway.

Much like healing quirks, teleportation of any kind would be greatly prized. Still, it was much harder to produce, as despite his mother finding ways to create numerous healing-type quirks for clients to use in hospital settings, she hadn't managed to crack the process for any true teleportation quirk.

"Yet the villains have such a quirk on their side, so it's not impossible that they also have the means to kill All Might, or at least they suspect they do." Yaoyorozu finished, which didn’t paint a good picture for them.

“Either way, there’s the question of if we can hold out long enough for All Might to arrive. If communication is really jammed, then someone’s bond to notice they can’t call us and come check things out.” Asui noted that was something good, but they deflated it, as with their luck, they'll be fighting back in the thick of it long before that happens.

How weird would it be for someone to notice that no one was answering their phones? Not much; one could just assume their teachers were focusing on the task at hand, and most of the students hadn't brought their phones, and it's not like any would be expecting calls during class. No, it wouldn't be unlikely that they were stuck waiting for at least an hour before someone noticed that they hadn't returned on time, with a man like Aizawa with them. That alone should be an alarm bell.

“And with all those villains outside waiting for us, we can’t just book it, even if we knew where the exit was,” Hagakure summarised their situation before loudly groaning, falling on her back and kicking at the air. "Man, this sucks! We just had to end up in the worst place ever!"

“I don’t think that was just chance,” Asui thought aloud again; all eyes were on her. "Think about it, they had a teacher's schedule and knew something we didn't: All Might was meant to be here. They knew about the zones and probably sent people best suited for them."

"Now that you mention it, all the villains I was fighting didn't seem bothered by the cold," Tetsutetsu recalled seeing plenty of people with large bodies covered in hair and fur; one looked like a snow leopard and hit like a bear.

“Asui-” Midoriya started.

“Call me Tsu.”

He corrected himself, blushing a little at how blasé she was with nicknames. "Tsu, you're implying that they also know our quirks and sent us to places where we'll naturally be at a disadvantage."

Asui couldn’t prove anything. "Well, it's either that or we have some terrible luck, as out of the five of us, you'll be the only one who can navigate the zone without issue. Yaoyorozu can do the same if she makes some clothes for herself, but Tetsutetsu, Hagakure, and myself? Well, we all saw how that ended."

Yaoyorozu thought about it. “Exceptional poor luck, indeed. So it would be best to work assuming they know our quirks." She muttered the first part but spoke up for the rest.

"Well, how the heck are we supposed to beat them then? Sure, they can't see me coming by. I'll be a popsicle in less than 5 minutes!" Hagakure stated that even if that wasn't true and they had terrible luck, over half were close to non-factors. Asui needed two layers and a heater just to be lucid; she couldn't use her quirk, and sure, Tetsutetsu wouldn't instantly freeze, but steel left in the cold long enough and didn't have a happy ending.

"Hey, Tsu, can't you fight wearing a super heavy parka or something?" Tetsutetsu suggested as the frog girl blinked before she thought about it.

"Maybe, but it can't be too big, else my mobility will be slowed, and I can't risk using my tongue, like in training." She answered, to which Tetsutetsu nodded with a sigh.

"Right, got you. I once got my tongue stuck to ice cream; with you, it'll be like 10 times worse." He replied.

"That's one way to put it," Tsu replied as Midoriya and Yaoyorozu considered the situation. Asui wasn't wrong that these villains must believe they had the means to counter All Might, and Midoriya would bet that it had something to do with that jacked-up villain with the exposed brain and beak. Faunalution felt the same way when she looked at him, but they still couldn't figure out why.

But why did they want him dead? Sure, he was the symbol of peace, the greatest hero on the planet, and the ultimate bane to any would-be criminal and villain, but that didn't feel like the full explanation. This attack felt…off. He hated how he could tell something was wrong but didn't have enough clues to make a good assessment.

“You and me, both Izuku. Even that one villain, I swear that just looking at whatever the hell it is makes my stomach turn.” Faunalution popped into being next to him, followed by a smaller white fox with ice-like attachments.

“It's scary," Hiroyuki added, despite this being an area where he could thrive.

“Then we're in agreement then. However, that still leaves the current situation. It would be wise to hunker down and wait for help. The team comp now isn't suited for this arena.” Shigeru stated, the feline-like spirit walking around the area, seemingly trying to find some tool or other means to aid them.

“But the villains must have realized that when they arrive, they'll look all over for them; we can't hide forever.” Hinata's fluffy rabbit body formed and jumped onto Asui's lap. The girl did not notice her, not truly, but she felt just a little warmer because of it.

“We can buy time by doing so, increasing our chances," Shigeru replied, looking towards the quiet one in the group, the white and golden cheetah-like spirit that followed them out but seemed uninterested in the discussion.

“Or allowing more of them to gather to fight? We don't even know how many are out there.” Midoriya agreed with Hinata, as this wasn't a waiting game that gave them much better chances if they went along.

“Fighting itself isn't the smart move; it risks the health of Hagakure and Asui.” Shigeru glanced at the two in question, Hinata frowning, though she knew he was right. Hearing that, Midoriya made his decision.

“We can’t hide here forever, but we also can’t fight…but there is a third option.” Midoriya started, getting up and addressing them. "We split. Yaoyorozu can lead the search out while I remain behind, draw as much attention as possible, and limit the enemies you’ll be chased by.”

"Are you insane? You can't fight all of them; you'll be overwhelmed." Tetsutetsu was immediately against that play.

Midoriya pointed at him, unmoved. "Don't forget that I can also use ice; it'll give me greater resistance to the temperatures outside if I can't access my flames long enough." Granted, fighting villains suited for the cold with ice would be a pain, but switching to lightning would be better as that form had little resistance to extreme temperatures.

“That’s still super risky.” Hagakure pointed out, worried for him, as Asui and Yaoyorozu expressed that with just their faces.

Midoriya shook his head. "It could be our only real play; we can't do this together; Tsu and Hagakure are just not suited for this place; it would be too dangerous." With that, he turned to head down the stairs, ignoring Tetsutetsu yelling for him to get back there. He only stopped when he reached it, returning to offer a smile.

“Stay safe, guys.” He walked down the stairs, and seconds later, the four heard the door open and close.

“What do we do…?” Hagakure asked after a few moments of silence, holding her jacket to her body tighter.

“(Kero) It’s not like he didn’t have a good point.” Asui didn't like it, but there was logic to Midoriya throwing himself to the wolves like that. How long would he last?

Yaoyorozu thought about it a moment longer before she made her decision. “We do what we can.” She started to undress to better expose her skin. As Tetsutetsu quickly turned around, forgetting she had her costume underneath, she began making supplies for their journey out.

A little while later, a group met up to get details. “Have you found them yet?”

A woman covered in thick red fur shook her head. "Nah, I've already searched these buildings, and the team at the exit hasn't seen anything yet, either."

Another grunted, angry but a little amused as well. “So, they're hiding like a bunch of brats? Sooner or later, we're catching those brats, but I thought U.A. freshmen wouldn't be such cowards and hide like babies."

“Flame Charge!” Midoriya came crashing into them, and no one was prepared for it. They were sent flying, screaming in confusion and pain. Getting up from a crouch, Midoriya took an aggressive stance, his blade held in both hands as he eyed the villains. Only one of the 4 had been knocked out by that surprise attack, but the other three weren't. His attack had its secondary intended purpose, drawing attention as he could already see 2 dozen more approaching, surrounding him on the streets, rooftops, and alleys.

He could feel his energy reserves depleting and fear from facing so many enemies. Still, Midoriya didn't let that stop him as he remembered what a hero was and steeled his resolve as he met the horde. “Whose hiding? You want a fight? Well, you got one, villains!” In an air of intimidation, he sent out a pulse of flames around himself, the fur of his form catching light.

“It’s just the one?” one of the villains asked, but they didn't approach him, as he didn't seem like a scared 18-year-old.

“Don’t underestimate them,” a smooth, cold voice said as a woman walked up, clapping as she did so. Unlike the heroes, who dressed better for the cold or had quirks that gave them other means to keep warm, she wore a loose, thin white summer yukata with blue flower patterns and a rich purple obi across her waist.

Midoriya took in her features, as she was beautiful. That was clear, but she was beautiful, much like an ice sculpture, which was captivating, as he saw no warmth or love in her smile and those purple eyes. "That quirk of us is real strong. If we want to see him defeated, we can't mess around." She revealed her hands, from the tips to her wrist. Her flesh was blue and purple, seemingly having been taken by frostbite. Still, she could move her digits with as much ease as anyone else, and when she did, the snow around her gathered and formed into more snow golems.

“So you’re the puppet master, then?” Midoriya asked though he felt the answer was clear.

“Call me Snow Woman, boy.” Date yelled at him to dodge, which he did. Rolling to the side, he saw that one of the more prominent villains had tried to take him out. At the same time, he talked with the snow woman, who hardly batted an eye as she directed her golems to attack him, the same with the rest.

Meeting the challenge, Midoriya unleashed flames onto them, sending bursts and slashes toward the villains, dodging and blocking attacks where he could. Still, the numbers were quickly getting to him and his exhaustion as he sent out a slash that wasn't as strong as it cut into the golems, but not all the way through. Hence, they just regenerated and continued to mob him.

Evading a snow hand’s attempt to grab him, he shifted his stance into a defensive one. “Fire Spin: Resonating Heat!” He started to spin, creating a dome of flames around him that pulsated like a heartbeat. This kept him safe for a moment, but then one of the villains managed to get through, not with snow or ice, but with rock. Midoriya, seeing it at the last second, tried to block it, but he was still sent flying into a wall, slumping to the ground with a cough and wheeze.

He didn't stay down long, as he willed his slowly warming and sweating body back up and continued to fight, using flashy, decisive moves to keep attention on him and make up for the shortfall of being alone in the fight.

Using a villain's shoulder as a stepping stone, he flipped to face him and several others mid-air, making a gun sign with his hand as a ball of flames gathered at the tip of his two fingers.

“Will-O-Wisp!” He sent out a searing hot fireball toward the villains, engulfing all of them in the blast, which sent most flying, knocked out. Flipping to land on his feet, Midoriya inspected the progress he had made. Seeing that at least 2 dozen villains were down for the count. But he also saw that at least another 3 dozen had since arrived at the fight, leaving him worse off than at the start.

Wiping away the sweat forming on his brow, a shadow fell over him. When he looked up, he saw a snow golem the size of a building towering overhead, a fist cocked back to crush him. Quickly, he leaped to the side, barely avoiding the blow as he got up and sent a slash of flames towards it. Still, it hardly made a dent as the thick snow and ice forming its body absorbed the worst of the attack.

“It’s super not fair! She should come and fight us!” Hiroyuki complained as Midoriya was forced to retreat from her, the ice woman smiling the entire time he struggled against them and her creations.

“She is just doing it to the best of her strengths.” Date spoke up for the first time that day. Seeing another one of the massive golems forming, along with the smaller villains coming towards him, Midoriya had to use something drastic to solve the issue, something Hinata immediately picked up on when she felt him drawing on her power more, despite his state.

“Don’t do it, Izuku! You’ll exhaust yourself." Midoriya ignored her cries. He ignored his building exhaustion and sweltering body as he gathered as much heat as he could into himself, building on it until he felt the burn in his chest before he sent it all into his blade, which he rose into the air before stabbing into the ground.

“Lava Plume!" Midoriya called out as he released all that heat into the ground, causing an explosion that tore up the street, catching many villains in it, even catching the snow woman off guard as she was knocked onto her butt, her golems caught in the blast stood no chance as the heat and flames tore into them.

For a moment, it seemed like the area wasn't a winter storm anymore, steam replacing snow-filled air, allowing one to see that the street in front of Midoriya had been torn to shreds. Parts of the road were little more than dug-up rubble, still hot to the touch, while other pieces of stone had been heated so much that they were melting, leaving a sizzling orange glow.

But the moment passed as the cold returned, Midoriya feeling it harder than before as he felt Hineta's flame fade away. He barely had enough in him to switch to Hiroyuki's body, but even as his body started to cool, he had spent close to everything he had in the tank. 'That…that had to have been enough…right?' he thought.

He thought wrong as a slab of ice crashed into him, robbing him of breath as he was sent flying, landing in a tumble in the snow, his blade leaving his hand as he rolled to a stop. Coughing, he blinked to clear his vision of the spots before he was picked up by a snow golem, and with that, he heard clapping.

He struggled against it, but he didn't have any technique that could work; it wasn't like he could control ice or snow in this form. That was little comfort as the snow woman appeared; at her back were many villains. Midoriya wondered just how many the villains brought with them, as he had taken out well over 40 of them, yet there were still more.

"That was impressive, real impressive. And to think, you have an ice form too; you're just a bag full of tricks?" she asked him, but he didn't respond. Even when the golem slammed and tightened its grip on him, the most she got from him was a whimper. "Shigaraki might like you."

"Like hell, he will!" Both she and Midoriya jolted in surprise as Tetsutetsu came down, crackling like a madman as he punched the golem. Its snow body was soft, but even if it absorbed part of the impact, it was still driven face-first into the ground, releasing Midoriya.

“What?” the snow woman asked, her calm breaking from the surprise attack. She then heard a croak and saw a fluffy figure jumping into the fray, kicking off the rest of the villains.

“Tetsutetsu? Asui?” Midoriya asked, not being able to believe what he was seeing.

"Call me Tsu." Asui hardly spared him a glance as she continued to kick and jump around, making full use of her legs even while she was covered head to toe in a thick, white coat and pants. Wait, so was Tetsutetsu.

"That's us! And we're not alone!" Tetsutetsu, upon finishing the golem, pointed out that Hagakure made herself known by smacking the snow woman in the back of the head with a club and knocking her out. Midoriya saw she was wearing a complete winter outfit, just as white as the snow around them.

“So they snuck up while we fought? Sneaky, sneaky.” Date chuckled at the image.

“But…how? I said-” He felt a hand on his shoulder, and looking up, he saw Yaoyorozu's face, as welcoming and kind as ever.

“We know what you said,” she started, decked in white. But we're also training to be heroes, so it would have been shameful to leave you to fight while we fled. Besides, Tetsutetsu was far from pleased with you making decisions for the rest of us." She helped him to the side as the villains lost their biggest card with the snowwoman down.

Yaoyorozu helped Midoriya to the side so he could rest, pleased that they made the right decision to back him up. Though it had taken more out of her than she thought, she had managed to ensure that they were all better equipped for the fight, Tsu's having warmers in the jacket to keep her alert and active. But that wasn't the only thing she brought with her as Midoriya saw she had something strapped to her back and a gun-like device in her off-hand.

Punching a villain in the face, Tetsutetsu turned to him, furious that he had tried to leave them and do it all himself but relieved that they got there in time. “Damn straight, if you ever try that again, I’ll be the one that knocks your teeth in, you got that, Midoriya?”

Looking back at the fight, he saw that there were still a lot of enemies to handle, but he wasn't worried as he and Yaoyorozu had come up with something to help with that. "Hey, I said earlier that I have frosted knuckle sandwiches for yeh, but how about a nice hot meal?" Confused by his statement, the villains stopped as Yaoyorozu got up behind him and aimed her gun at Tetsutetsu's back.

Pulling the trigger, she bathed him and the street in flames, much to the shock of Midoriya, his partners, and the villains. "W-what the hell, Yaoyorozu?!" He yelled. Had she lost her mind? Why was he the only one reacting to this as Hagakure tied up the snowwoman while Asui cleared out of the way and stuck to the side of a building?

Yaoyorozu didn't let up, marching forward with the flame thrower still pouring out an inferno that pushed the villains back from the mad woman. But then they heard laughing from the flames before Tetsutetsu, his new coat gone and red hot, came barrelling out of the fire. "My quirk protects me from the cold and the heat!" He laughed as he attacked the stunned villains with a wide, threatening smile.

Midoriya watched in awe as the villains found their ice and snow quirks useless against the flames. Tetsutetsu might as well have been a burning wrecking ball as he quickly crashed through them. Even their bigger members found themselves defeated by him or unable to touch him, as continually bathed in flames made it dangerous to do so.

It wasn't long before they were all defeated, with the last having been knocked out when they turned to flee, only for Tsu to land on them with a thud as they went face-first into the snow.

"(Kero) You said earlier that it would have been too risky for us to join you, but that's the thing, Midoriya. We're training to be heroes, so risky stuff is kinda part of the job." Asui told him that as she got off the villains, she checked her coat to ensure it wasn't damaged in the fight.

Hagakure came over and smacked him on the shoulder, showing off the face she was wearing a rather sleek winter get-up, with the tights, despite being made for the cold, showing off her form nicely. "Plus, I got to rock this sweet new winter gear from Yaomomo. Sure, I had to be extra sneaky, but heroes need to be able to adapt and improvise."

"It wouldn't have been fair to leave you to do it all alone. If we can help even a little, then we must act." Yaoyorozu finished it, Tetsutetsu nodding to it as Midoriya didn’t know what to say, but he felt…good about this, especially when he looked at Yaoyorozu as those yes drew him in like only one other person had ever done.

“I like 'em," Faunalution stated.

“They’re amazing.” Hinata agreed as they could feel his feelings the same way he felt theirs, and they could tell that he wasn't just feeling gratitude towards the taller woman.

‘Yeah…yeah, they are.’ Midoriya thought back to them, blushing but feeling lucky for him. Hagakure and Yaoyorozu assumed the cold was getting to him as he got up. "Well, that clears up that. I heard they had people guarding the exit, but I think we can handle them, right?"

It was a unanimous decision from them. "Well vice-rep?" Midoriya turned attention to the dark-haired girl, who blinked in surprise before she smiled back at them.

Turning, she started to walk away from their defeated foes. "We have an exit to storm to find; let's not waste time." At her word, they followed. They might have been caught with their pants down, scattered by the villains to be killed. But they could adapt, regroup, and hit back—and hit back hard.

Chapter Text

“Text” – Normal speech

‘Text’ – Thought

“Text” – Quirk Spirit speaking in the human world

“Text” - Attacks

“Text” – Radio/Communication lines

“Text” – None Japanese speech

(text) – Subtext/meaning behind a spoken word

(Previously)

"Everyone grabbed the person closest to you!" Kendo yelled as she reached for Tokoyami and managed to grab him, but both were already halfway through. Midoriya and Tetsutetsu were already doing that, lunging towards the closest person—for Izuku, that was Asui. For Tetsutetsu, that was Yaoyorozu—but all of them had nothing to grip, nothing to stand on as the portals beneath them fused into one.

"Quick, hold onto me!" Midoriya looked up as Tokage sent a hand towards them, the girl having split into several pieces that floated safe from harm. It wasn't just her hand; she had sent other pieces to try and save people. Yanagi had grabbed Uraraka, the white-haired girl straining her quirk to keep herself levitating; Uraraka quickly tapped herself to eliminate gravity.

Yaoyorozu saw that Tokage had already sent her other hand and a foot to save Tsuburaba and Sato. Tsunotori held onto one horn while she fired another 2 toward Kamakiri and Kodai, but it wasn't enough. The heiress could see that many were already chest-deep in the portal and couldn't feel the bottom beneath her feet.

Aizawa moved quickly to try to find the villain. Still, another portal opened before him, and a villain came flying out, sledgehammer ready.

With Eraser distracted, if only for a few seconds, Kurogiri pulled as many students through as he could as Midoriya reached for Tokage's hand. Even if she wasn't strong enough to pull all of them, she could perhaps slow them down, give them more time, even only a second.

But that never came as they screamed and yelled as they fell through the portals, each one shutting once the body went through.

Tokage dropped to the ground, gathering herself as she slammed a fist into it and repeatedly yelled that she was so close to saving more. Yanagi placed Uraraka down, and to their horror, besides the two and Tokage, only six of their classmates and one teacher remained on. Vlad King, Eraserhead, and everyone else was gone.

"We are the League of Villains. We hope you all struggle as hard as possible, fighting with all you have. It will make it all the more tragic when All Might finds you all dead by our hand." The villain spoke up, appearing to the side like a shadowy monster, gleeful in his statement before he vanished again.

Even as everyone panicked about the situation and tried and largely failed to save themselves or each other, Aoyama tried to keep calm and watch as things were happening. Once the darkness appeared beneath their feet, he immediately started falling, which meant that it wasn't a teleportation-type quirk but a warp gate quirk, a rare specimen indeed. However, that wouldn't be much help as he continued to fall through, seeing that the darkness he was being sucked-no, dropped through had also caught Sero and Shiozaki.

Once they were all the way through, he saw that they were given a second surprise of the day: the portal wasn't near ground level as they were sent hurtling down toward the ruined zone. Seeing the situation, he and Shiozaki were the only ones who didn't scream out in terror; instead, his brow twitched as he worked to keep his annoyance inside,  though that didn't mean he wasn't worried that they were in for a rough landing as his quirk could increase his durability-yes, but that was all it could do for him in this situation.

"Grab onto me!" Aoyama looked towards Sero, the boy reaching out to him. His other arm pointed towards a taller building, shooting out a line of tape. Catching on, Aoyama did as he asked and grabbed onto him, allowing Sero to swing them down. Reducing their speed and momentum, they landed rough but a far cry from what it could have been.

Getting up to their feet, they were about to call out to the others but saw that they were fine, Bondo and Honenuki being gently lowered to the ground by vines; looking up, they saw that Shiozaki had a similar idea to Sero, but with much greater control and strength in her vines, she almost seemed to be floating as he lowered herself down, and retracted her vines form the buildings she latched onto.

“Is everyone all right? I tried my best to be gentle with you.” Shiozaki stated as the light of the dome shone down on her as she descended to their level.

“You kidding? That was the best landing we could have gotten.” Honenuki laughed it off, as his quirk certainly wouldn't have been of much use unless he activated it the moment they landed, and it spread enough that he would have a landing akin to landing in mud.

“Yeah, I thought I was a goner there, thanks Shiozaki.” Bondo gave her a thumbs up, to which the vine-haired girl faintly smiled.

“I didn’t act to receive thanks, but because it was the right thing to do.” She replied, pulling her vines back to herself, Aoyama recalling that she had done the same during the quirk assessment and combat class. He wasn't sure if she did so because she didn't like to waste or because she didn't want to leave a mess.

“A fair and humble statement, my lady. But one that suits the role of a hero to the tee.” Aoyama complimented her, but Shiozaki gave him a stiff nod and a little more. Predictable, she must have heard of his playboy nature from most likely Midoriya, and considering she seemed to be quite the good Catholic girl-she was most likely not someone he would be able to grow close to, but hopefully work together.

They’ll need that as they looked around at the area they had been dropped into, but aside from the rubble, a torn-up street, and buildings that looked like a good knock could send them over, they didn't see the exit.

"Well, we're at least still in the USJ, this place looks different from the inside, but I'm positive that it's the same zone we saw from the entrance." Honenuki stated that the lipless teen was looking around at the place, having removed his helmet beforehand.

Aoyama nodded. "That's a good thing. I shudder to think what the vile villain could have done if he had the means to teleport us further. Imagine if we were just dumped into the woods, far from another person and with no means to contact anyone."

“Let’s hope that he’s not listening in and gets ideas, I really don’t want to jinx it.” Sero scratched his neck.

Honenuki didn't answer that question, focusing more on one of the taller buildings and noting that it would have the best view. The only issue would be the time needed to climb it, but they had someone who didn't have that problem. "Sero, do you think you can get up there and try and spot the exit? We would have done that earlier, but…"

“Yeah, screaming in terror and more focused on not going splat. Be right back.” Sero nodded as he stepped up, shooting a strand of rope up. He heeled himself in, doing that a couple more times before he swung up and landed on the roof with a backflip. It's a shame no one was there to see it.

Walking over the place, he found that it wasn't as messed up as the streets but still in serious need of repairs, enough so that he didn't dare get too close to the edges. "Man, this place is huge; how the heck does U.A. manage to fit a place larger than the test grounds under it? And with others?" He asked aloud, looking up at the massive dome that stood overhead before he continued to look for an exit. Still, the debris blocked most of his view, though he could see the zone's walls, so if nothing else, they could make their way over and walk till they found a means out.

As he looked, he saw something else, a mass of people making them over to them. They hadn't seen him yet, but he could count at least 3 dozen. Looking down another route, he saw another 2 dozen making their over. 'That's a lot of villains.' Sero started to sweat but shook his head to get himself together before he looked down at the rest of his classmates.

"Heads up, guys! We have incoming. I'm seeing more villain!" They looked up at his warning, seeing his figure waving and pointed in two directions: one directly ahead and another down a street to their left. Both were blocked by debris, but if Sero could see past that…

“Villains?” Bondo squeaked, the biggest one of them scared of this.

Aoyama just drew his blade, alarmed he might have been by this, but he wasn't scared. Not when he had seen far worse than most villains could ever dream. "It's expected they had gathered in mass by the fountain, but it would make sense to also have people waiting for us in the zones." He noted as Luminance formed at his side as he changed into his second form. The burst of light made it all the easier for them to be seen as Sero returned.

"Well, it's too bad for them that this is a pretty good zone for combat for me." Honenuki readied himself, but Shiozaki stepped forward. Her vines started to move about, like irritated tendrils.

“I don’t like that we need to resort to violence,” She started. Still, while her words were soft, there was steel that made it impossible to ignore her as her vines extended outwards, reaching into the crevices and cracks between the debris like a silent wave of green. "However, for these villains to come here and participate in such actions, they must be punished."

‘Good thing she’s on our side.’ They all thought to themselves as they let her take point.

With the villains, the larger two groups were moving into position. They had just been called that the brats had arrived and had seen the portal close. Now, the fall could have made them easy, but they couldn't pull any punches. “How many did you see get dropped here?” one of them asked.

"Not many, five or maybe six." Another man with a large glass eye floating next to them replied. Turning to him as he spoke, the first man saw that he only had one eye in his head.

“Then this will be as easy as stealing candy from a baby." Another boasted, thinking about how they'll celebrate being part of the group that humiliated U.A. and took out some pesky brats before they could become pros.

Another man, larger than the rest and with the features of a mastiff, barked back. “Idiot, don’t get overconfident. Freshmen they might be, they still got into U.A. they won’t be like your typical mark.”

Sadly, he didn't listen as some openly glared at him, but seeing what he did to the last idiot who made a comment, they kept their thoughts to themselves. "You're just being paranoid. We have over 60 people here."

‘You’ll think that having over 60 people in just one spot would be enough of a clue for them.’ He though, shaking his head at their idiocy. Though maybe he was just like them, after all, they had all been skeptical when Shigaraki recruited them and revealed his plans, but with that…thing he had with him, they had a chance. However, why he didn't use the monster he claimed could kill All Might on the students first was beyond him.

“Heads up!” He was knocked from his thoughts by a warning. Looking ahead, they saw a mass of vines crawling out from the debris and rubble in front of them, moving far too fast and purposely to be natural. A quick sniff told him that they smelled like a person, however faintly.

“What the fuck is that? Are those plants?” Some asked as one of the vines wrapped around a large rock and squeezed, shattering it before moving forward, the path more straightforward for the rest of the vines.

“Must be one of their quirks, but they’re just giving themselves away.” Another started as they prepped up their quirk, creating water blades. But that didn't save them, as there was a flash of light and a deafening crash to their rear.

Looking back, they saw that one of the buildings had collapsed. Its ruined frame blocked their route of retreat.

Then they heard someone laughing, and looking through the ranks revealed it was none of them. They looked up and saw hero student, a mutant whose body was covered with feathers of reds, yellows, and blues. At the same time, his head was crowned by 3 large rainbow-colored feathers that seemed to constantly shift color. At the same time, his amused eyes were kaleidoscopic of bright, spiraling, and changing colors. Lastly, he had a sizeable peacock-like tail seemingly made from a rainbow with its many feathers and constantly shifting colors.

Aoyama, with his blade still glowing bright, smiled down at the villains from his perch on a roof. “Mes bons hommes, did you stop to think that was the idea?” One of them fired off a blast of air at him, but he easily dodged it, throwing a counter-attack that nearly hit his attacker if they hadn't dodged out of the way. All the while, vines continued to advance.

“Dammit, move people!” The canine heteromorph yelled at them all as they started to scatter, those with ranged abilities trying to hit Aoyama, who didn't stop smiling even for a moment as he danced around their attacks, launching his own whenever he pleased.

Those who could fly, either via wings or some other propulsion, decided that enough was enough and started taking to the skies. “Not so fast!” another voice yelled out before the area where most of their fliers were was doused with some sort of sticky, white liquid. The liquid stuck to them like glue, trapping many who panicked and tried to free themselves, only getting wrapped up more. "Hehe, how'd you like this sticky situation?" Bondo laughed, walking out from his hiding spot.

“Gross, it’s everywhere, what is this? Glue?” One of them cried out.

“Oh God, I hope it is.” Sero made himself known here, swinging it like a certain web crawler, wrapping people up and swinging away with his screaming captives, picking people off one at a time as the 3 boys continued pressing them, boxing them in and making it impossible to advance or hide.

As if things weren't bad enough, more vines burst from the ground, ensnaring many before they could fight.

“They’re coming from underground!” Someone cried out as the vines tore through their ranks with ease. Men and women, big and small, fast or slow—none of them mattered as they grabbed onto them. Some broke free, either using their strength of arms or their quirks, but that didn't mean much when they were surrounded by more of them, and the rest of the brats continued to pick them off like fish in a barrel.

Seeing their number be cut down to half in less than a few minutes, he had to make the call. “Split up! Split up, people!” If they could get the students to split up as well, they could try to use the number's advantage or link up with the rest and try to regain some of their lost strength. Turning to leave, the canine heteromorph felt his foot start sinking.

He yelled as he tried to keep moving, but the earth was as soft as mud and deep enough that he saw people knee-deep and still sinking further. “Sorry about that, but we can’t just let you all go when you committed a break-in for what I’m pretty sure wasn’t an unguided tour." Honenuki appeared, his hands on the ground as he softened the entire area. With his allies keeping their distance like Shiozaki or remaining off street level like Sero, Bondo, and Aoyama, he didn't need to hold back and could use broad attacks.

"Well, that was a job well done, if I say so myself." Aoyama complimented them as he and the rest looked over their defeated enemies. They had either been wrapped up in Sero's tape, Shiozaki's vines, or buried up to their waists in the now hardened mud from Honenuki’s quirk.

"I was a little scared, but that wasn't so hard." Bondo gave Sero a high-five as the villains grumbled and glared at them, but nothing more as a look from Shiozaki made it clear it wouldn’t end well for them.

"Well, we had home-field advantage; a place like this was real favorable to us. And we have a good plan." Honenuki added.

"I am pleased that we were able to handle these evil-doers without needing to do undue harm to them," Shiozaki stated before they turned down the other street. They would have been overwhelmed by now by the second attack, but she and Honenuki hadn't kept back for nothing but had split their attention to slow them.

Walls of vines and random mud pits had bought them time while cutting at the enemy numbers.

“Shall we go and entertain our guests?” Aoyama smiled, starting to glow brighter and eager for the coming fight.

"Might as well. It would be rude to leave them, and we must find a way out." Sero joked with him.

“You fine gentlemen wouldn’t happen to know where that exit is, would you?” Honenuki looked back towards their captives.

"Go fuck yourselves-!" Shiozaki's vines shot out before the villain could finish, wrapping around them and holding them up upside down. The man started to sweat when she brought him over to her, glaring at him.

"You'll watch your words. Else, you'll be made to repent. Is that understood?" She warned them her disapproval could prove dangerous to their health, which was a lesson they heard and clear and started nervously nodding their heads

“Yup, got it! Won’t happen again!”

"Now, about that exit." She asked the question again, looking them over as one brave soul spoke up.

"We don't know where it is, we were warped here, same as you and we didn't spent time looking for it." The man with black and white striped skin told them, the rest nodding in agreement, which made her tick her teeth but otherwise gently put the villain down

“Obanai," another spoke up, one of the smaller ones who happened to be someone a bit younger than the students, the girl wearing a high school uniform, of all things. Obanai's always looking for the exits. He's with the other group. If anyone's found it, it's him."

Aoyama took things from there: "Thank you. It's a little bit of a pain, but you'll be staying right here while we chat with Obanai…after we handle him and the rest.”

Chapter Text

“Text” – Normal speech

‘Text’ – Thought

“Text” – Quirk Spirit speaking in the human world

“Text” - Attacks

“Text” – Radio/Communication lines

“Text” – None Japanese speech

(text) – Subtext/meaning behind a spoken word

“The number you have dialed is unavailable at present. This could be because the number is A) Disconnected. B) Out of service range. C) the phone is switched off. Please try again later or contact an alternative number." All Might cut the call. The symbol of peace, the world's strongest hero, wasn't what people thought of, as he wasn't his large, muscular self but was an emaciated man whose suit hardly fit his skeletal frame, with his hair lacking most of the luster it typically had.

This had been his reality for the last 5 years now, thanks to an injury that, by all accounts, should have killed him. Yes, he survived, but it and the surgeries required to save his life took their toll, leaving him with. Still, he had a fraction of the power he once held as he had gone from being able to work seventy-two consecutive hours to only having around 3 hours of stamina in him a day. He risked dropping his muscular form at the wrong time or shortening his time limit even further.

That time limit was biting him in the ass as he had used up nearly all of it on his way to school. He had been lucky that his class with the hero students didn't require much moving from him, as he had finished his class with 10 minutes of hero time left.

'Strangely, I can't contact any of them; they wouldn't leave their phones just day, especially when they could be contacted by the dean.' Nezu had been quite clear on that, even ensuring that all staff had personal phones and then work phones, which they were required to have on their persons throughout the work day. 'Though, perhaps they're too busy handling the class and are just ignoring my calls.'

All Might sighed, recalling how displeased Thirteen had been when he had informed her of his insufficient time. The kind woman had torn him a new one when she learned why he didn't have enough to help as he had expected. He shivered, thinking he was lucky that he told her instead of Vlad or Aizawa. Symbol of Peace or not, those two were intimidating.

'I can't fault them for not answering my calls; as a teacher, I have to be there for my students, to put my all into that, and I didn't.' Sometimes, All Might wished that he wasn't so…All Might, as he had seen so many minor crimes and incidents on the way to school that he couldn't help but intervene, even in cases where other heroes were already on the scene. Yet, he didn't think he could ever not step in when there was someone in need; it was just written into his very DNA.

'Damned if I do, damned if I don't.' All Might thought to himself, recalling how he and his old sidekick used to argue about that all the time whenever he spent extra time out on a shift, enough that his agency staff could clock in, do their shifts, clock out, and head home and return the next day. He would still be out and about.

'But…no, this isn't then; I took this job to prepare the world for a future without me; I need to learn how to step back and allow others the chance to grow, to become heroes that can pick up the slack.' All Might flexed his hand, making a fist and releasing it a couple of times as he decided.

"I can still make it to the end of the class, part of some words of wisdom, and leave before anyone is the wiser." All Might nodded as he stood up, bulking into his hero form. "I am off!" He declared, his voice back to its familiar, hearty boom, only for the door to the lounge to side open.

"Hold your horses if you will, All Might." The figure who opened the door spoke. Their size made it so that All Might didn't just look down but crouch as he waddled closer, nervous as they might have sounded chipper, but he could be anything but.

“Oh, Dean Nezu? How are you today?” All Might asked him, losing his muscle form to converse his time for when he left…hopefully.

The small humanoid smiled back, smartly dressed in a vest, dress shirt, red tie, and slacks with a pair of orange running shoes, which All Might was sure he wore just to further confuse people when he could have gone for regular office shoes. "Indeed I am. Care to guess what I am? A large mouse, a small bear, or a weird dog? The answer is…I am a dean!" Nezu laughed at his own joke, All Might joining in.

"As for me, I'm doing just great. The weather was excellent this morning, and so was my tea, plus my keratin supplements are paying off with how smooth and healthy my coat has been these last few days." Nezu continued their conversation light but with little substance.

Then there was a shift, hard to spot, but if you could, you felt it in your bones. "Though I am curious, you can help me with that, All Might."

“Ask away, sir.” All Might started to sweat under the beady gaze of his boss and a being who was far wiser than he and everyone else on campus.

"Hmm, I was under the impression that you were scheduled to aid our first years in their rescue training. That class is happening right now, and yet…here you are, why is that?" Nezu didn’t hold back, All Might flinching at the innocent question from the dean.

“Oh…well, you see.”

Nezu kept it up, pulling out his tablet, which he had…somewhere on his person. "Well, I can always pull up the schedules to confirm, and yes, it says it right there: Vlad King, Thirteen, Eraserhead, and All Might. Quite strange, wouldn't you say? But perhaps it could be because of an interesting series of articles I read this morning during ^{the first} period.”

Nezu changed the page to a new site he frequented, with the biggest headline being front and center:

“‘All Might handle 6 incidents in only 1 hour’!” The man looked away as Nezu read the headline, tapping the screen and showing off some of the pictures taken of the incidents. "I was pleasantly surprised when I read this, as I thought you had found some extra time, but it would seem that you instead used up time that should have gone towards your students, right?

"The fault primarily lies with the ruffians that have decided to cause trouble since you came to town, but you can't respond to every incident anymore, All Might. You're not equipped for that and should leave such to the many other heroes." Nezu scolded him like he was a child.

"But since you're here, perhaps I can give you some pointers on the finer points of teaching, which I have learned over my 21 years in the profession." Now, All Might couldn't mask the groan or the shudder, as this was what he feared.

"Please tell me you have some good news, Tokage," Tsuburaba asked as Tokage’s ears and eyes floated overhead, taking in everything happening in the USJ. Along with them were Thirteen, Yanagi, Tsunotori, Uraraka, Sato, Kamakiri, Koda, and Kodai, the rest having vanished through portals not too long ago.

Tokage could see their two teachers fighting in the central plaza, working pretty well together against the hordes of villains. However, she was unnerved by the fact that the one she would bet to be the leader and the large-beaked one remained still. She couldn't see into other zones because they were domed themselves, but she could make out fighting in the others, along with some distinctive quirks being used.

"Everyone's scattered, but as far as I can tell, they'll still be here. A few of them are putting up a damn good fight." She relayed back to the group, which breathed a sigh of relief. Thirteen more so, as she had been powerless to save them even as they screamed and panicked about being dropped through warp gates.

"That's good to hear, but we have our own problems with this fucker. Physical attacks mean nothing to him." Kamakiri growled as they tried to jump the villain once they realized what had happened, but all their attacks failed or were reflected back at them. Of course, he couldn't warp them away either, as they kept an eye out for that, leaving them in a stalemate.

"And we can't get too close, else risk being warped away." Yanagi reminded them, as she had to pull a couple of them out before they were warped away during their attack and watch for portals that targeted her.

Thirteen didn't think about the fight; instead, she didn't think about the fight but what they would gain if they won. This was a formidable opponent. He was keeping them in check by his lonesome, which bought time for his allies to do who knew what with her students and colleagues. But their plans did give her an idea. “Which one of you is the fastest?”

“Excuse me?” Sato asked, but she kept her attention on the villain, who remained silent as he watched them like an eagle.

"Please answer the question: Which one of you is the fastest?" She repeated it, the idea forming in her head. She got more details as she did the math and concluded that it could work.

The students looked amongst themselves, recalling their quirk apprehension test and its results, or they recalled which ones were placed higher. "Well, Tsuburaba got the best time out of all of us in the 50m dash, but Tokage managed to get the furthest in the cooper test Eraser had us do," Tsunotori replied, the rest nodding as they recalled it the same.

"Then you're up, Tokage, I have a job for you." She started. "Run back to the main campus as fast as you can and report what is happening here." Tokage and the rest looked at her in surprise at her proposal.

"The alarms aren't sounding, and our phones don't work, but while that is grim, it also tells us that the villains don't have the means to fight us head-on; that is why they waited for us to be isolated." Thirteen explained the reasoning and tried to instill a greater sense of hope in them that things would turn out okay. Sure, an attack like this was big, but it wasn't the worst, and they could get through it.

She didn't need to look at the central plaza to know that Aizawa was doing his thing; one could make out villains yelling about their quirks not working before they were quickly taken down. "The sensors are based on infrared rays, but despite Aizawa erasing quirks repeatably, they aren't sounding. They must have the means to jam them, either a support item or someone's quirk; either way, we don't have the means to know its effective range, so your best chance is to rush back to campus and rely on what happens."

"It's neither ideal nor the fastest means of communication, but it's the only one we have." Thirteen dug in her pocket before pulling out a steady-looking phone and tossing it towards Tokage, who caught it and looked it over, noting that it had no personal touches and looked as dull as it must have when it came out of the box.

“There's my work phone. Every 20 seconds, try to call the school. Even if they don't pick up, they'll notice something's wrong," Thirteen told her.

“But what about you guys?” Tokage asked, but the others stepped up. The entire group formed a wall between her and Kurogiri.

"What about us? Don't worry; we can handle these punks." Kamakiri’s blades shot out, sharp and ready for some action.

"We'll hold out, but first, we'll give you a way through this guy." Uraraka told her. She just needed to get close, and she could either make the warp user float or hit him and send him flying the regular way. Either way, it would buy Tokage time to escape.

“Yeah, he’ll regret ever stepping foot into U.A.!” Tsunotori shot out two horns, and they floated at the ready.

"I overestimated you, Thirteen; only a fool would discuss their plans in front of their enemy!" The villain yelled, their quirk extending outwards like a wave once more, set to crash into them and teleport them who knew where.

"We didn't bother because it doesn't matter if you know!" Thirteen clapped back, lifting her finger and uncapping it, her black hole quickly springing to action as the tremendous force of attraction pulled in every last bit of the cloud-like substance before it could even reach her or her students. "Black Hole!”

Thirteen was right to have faith in her students, as while they were green, they were skilled and had potential. While Vlad and Eraser worked to handle the central plaza, the students sent to the frost and ruins zones had already claimed victory. On the boat placed in the flood zone's center, the students kept the villains at bay using Mineta's balls and Ashido's acid. Iida and Shishida diving in helped sow chaos as even without air, Iida's engines worked as he powered through the water like a human torpedo; Shishida swam like a bear and hit as hard as one.

In the landslide zone, the villains were fighting a literal uphill battle as the students had managed to find one of the larger mounds and were battling any that dared to assault it, Komori's mushrooms sprouting on any and everything, messing with movement, even growing in their enemies. At the same time, Kaibara went toe-to-toe with them, his limbs spinning like drills, making his punches and kicks all the harder to just tank. Simultaneously, Kaminari ran through them like a human taser, with assists coming from Kuroiro and Fukidashi.

The former jumped in and out of shadows and dark clothing, punching and kicking as he went. At the same time, the latter created all manner of sound effects that caused explosions, bright flashes of light, bursts of sounds, or just dampened and warmed the area to increase Komori's effectiveness.

Monoma was talking a big game in the mountains and backing it up as he copied quirks left and right and used them against the stunned and disorganized villains. Meanwhile, Tokoyami held back along with Jiro, who tracked them via sound, protecting her and taking out any stranglers like Shoda and Kendo were in the melee along with Monoma, Shoda's small size not taking away from his boxing experience. At the same time, Kendo hardly needed her quirk, relying more on martial arts.

That didn't stop either form from using their quirks as those Shoda hits would randomly and, without warning, be hit by more substantial impacts, throwing them off and making it all the easier for him to land more blows while Kendo, at times, just bat opponents aside with her enlarged hand.

In the conflagration zone, an area that was known for its intense heat and flames, the area had fallen cold as ice and frost covered an entire street, and the many fires that had once been present had snuffed out. “Was…that it?” Todoroki asked, looking at the mob of villains he had so easily defeated. Even with the ice melting thanks to the heat of the place, that same heat meant that he didn't need to worry about his limit as much, so he could quickly just repair and reinforce what he had already created.

"I thought you would be a challenge, being villains and all, but I hate to say it, but all I see is a bunch of adults who don't know the first thing to do with their quirks." He shook his head. Those who had warped with him into the zone remained silent as he had his moment. He more than earned it by soloing this group.

“This guy…” One of the villains, frozen up to their necks, chattered out.

“As soon as he saw us, he took us out.” Another, whose quirk gave them flaming bird-like wings, stared in disbelief as those same wings were frozen solid.

“Is he really just a kid?” Another asked, looking towards Todoroki as he approached them, treating the encounter like nothing. As much as it pained them to admit, he had every right to be that cocky.

“Scary…!” Another gulped as Ojiro, Kirishima, Shoji, and Rin just watched.

"Jeez, remind me never to get on his bad side," Rin uttered, walking over to some of the ice and tapping it, finding that it was still solid.

"To create that much ice in a zone that should have been his weakness…it's unreal." Kirishima had felt the heat even before they fell through the warp and landed in the place. Still, that heat was gone as all the ice kept the temperature more tolerable.

"Guys, focus! I can hear more coming!" Shoji caught their attention, his tentacles having grown ears and tracking the moment of at least another dozen villains, maybe more, but the flames were making it hard to get an exact number.

“I’ll handle it.” When Todoroki turned, Rin touched his shoulder and shook his head.

"We appreciate the thought, but let us get our licks in, too. We can't have you do all the work, " he suggested, the others nodding. While it was impressive to see Todoroki work, they were all training to be heroes.

Whatever response Todoroki had was drowned out when the villains turned the corner, and as Shoji had suspected, it was over a dozen of them, ranging in size and appearance. “There they are!”

“What the hell? Where’d all that ice come from!” Rin fired his scales at the villain, knocking him back with a cry of pain as the rest turned to him.

Raising his other hand, he let more scales sprout along his arms. "I would focus less on the ice and more on the 4 opponents you'll need to face."

“Let’s see how tough you are!” Kirishima hardened his upper body, slamming his fists together before he charged into them. Shoji supported him, using his bulk and multiple arms to punch, grab, and toss villains like toys, while Rin kept to the rear of the two, acting as a human turret.

Todoroki watched them work and could admit that they were impressive, which is what one would expect from his classmates, but that also gave him another opportunity, one that he was sure they wouldn't have agreed with. “Well, if they want to handle some of your grunts, I won't stop them, but that does leave you all in a pretty bad spot. If I don't stop freezing you pretty soon, your cells will start to freeze and die."

Todoroki stated casually. The villains started to shiver and sweat, and not from the cold. As his cold grey and blue eyes gazed through them, a frown painted across his face.

He walked up to one of the villains, frost flowing off his right side as he held his hand to the terrified man’s face, letting him feel the chill coming off him. "I want to be a hero, and that means I want to avoid unnecessary harm, even to villains, but that doesn't mean I will lose any sleep over you." Todoroki started, the villains around him freaking out as they couldn’t tell if he was bluffing or not, all while unknown to both, Shoji had an ear aimed in their direction as he fought.

“So answer my questions, starting with what makes a bunch of fools like you think you could take on All Might?" Todoroki asked. The villain, a hardened criminal, broke and started to tell him all that he knew, others pitching in to try and garner favor to be let go before frostbite set in.

In the landslide zone, the villains found themselves on the back foot. Despite their numbers and the element of surprise, their targets had rallied and came together in a last-stand defense that they couldn't break; the amount of debris around them is a testament to that.

They knew they were all still alive, the students hadn't done anything too crazy to them, but that didn't help morale, especially when their bodies, much like everything else, sprouted mushrooms, leaving some buried in that stuff while those still standing kept swiping, ripping and tearing at the damn things growing off them.

“Dammit, someone do something about the mushroom!” A woman yelled as she clawed at the mushrooms growing on her from her shadow. Kuroiro popped out and kicked her in the back, sending her trembling with a cry of shock into Kaminari’s arms, where she was swiftly electrocuted and dropped to the floor, defeated.

“Like what? We can’t get to the little brat!” Another yelled as they fought against Kaibara, who, when surrounded, turned his entire body into a drill and lunged into them, cries of pain following as he pierced through their attempt of ganging up on him.

At the top of the hill made from dirt and a collapsed building, Komori kept on spraying moisture into the air, happy as can be. "Brat? Oh, how cruel you are. I'm not a brat; I'm the mushroom princess, and I don't need any plumbers to handle my problems, Bowser!" She giggled at their enemy's suffering, her bob-cut hair parted just a little to reveal how bright and cheerful her eye was at this chance to cut loose.

“I don’t look like a damn turtle!” The villain in question looked more like a crocodile as he snarled back at her, trying to break through to take her out, but once more, Kuroiro popped out of his shadow and punched him in the face.

"You might not share a resemblance to one, but you and everyone else are sure are as slow as them." The black-skinned student smirked as he vanished into the shadows before the villain could retaliate, leaving him angry as he yelled at him to come back and fight like a man.

"Man, why didn't I ever think of this before? Electro hugs, they're the shit!" Kaminari laughed as he didn't need to fight as much as he needed to touch people, and grabbing him in hugs was proving to be extremely effective; others couldn't even break them up as if they touched him or his target; they just got electrocuted as well.

"It's weird that you never did. Doesn't your quirk work  through contact or something?" Fukidashi said before he took another breath and cried out, "Crash!" It sent a massive onomatopoeia at the villains, which came down like a car smacking into them when it landed, as the sound entailed.

“It can spread out, and that’s kinda how I’ve always used it, so it wasn’t so good when fighting in groups.” Kaminari dodged an attack from someone's quirk, one that seemed to control dirt. He would need to handle that one before he was taken out.

“Still, you mean to say that you always let loose a full charge?” Fukidashi asked him, turning to another group that had managed to get past Kuroiro’s attempts to stall them; once he saw that his classmate was safe in the shadows, he attacked. “Boom!” As he willed it, the explosion sound flew into them. It detonated, sending villains flying everywhere with cries and shouts of surprise, frustration, and pain. Dazed, one landed at his feet, so he took care of it. "Thud.” It wasn’t as strong as the others, but it did the trick as the sound effect smacked the villain like a bat, knocking them out.

“Can we please stop bullying me?” Kaminari whined as he got it. His quirk wasn't the most creative, but he was still helping!

Komori let out a haughty laugh that could only come from an arrogant princess. All she was missing was the twin ringlets. "We'll leave our electro-type alone for now. Onward, my knights, we have to spread as much fungi as we can. Let our spores cover the planet!" Fukidashi, adding the words 'damp' every now and then, just made it all the easier for her mushrooms to spread, big and strong, as she laughed, leaving even her allies perplexed.

“She’s really getting into it.” Kaibara weakly smiled as if they were lucky; she had something to disinfect them before she let loose, or else they would be mushroom gradings like the poor bastards that faced them, but that was something for later. Now, they had villains to defeat so that they could get out of there and hopefully link up with anyone else.

They weren't the only ones who had found their footing in the mountains. The students were not just holding their own but pushing back the villains, who quickly realized that their numbers advantage worked against them, not just because they had to worry about friendly fire where their targets did, but because a certain loudmouth was using their powers against them.

"Wow, that quirk wasn't nearly as good as the other one. Minor telekinesis and it only works on rocks the size of your head? Man, you must have been a menace on the playground, but in a real fight, not much to write home about." Monoma mocked after copying a new quirk, the 16^th one thus far, and used it to pick up some rocks to block a punch from one villain before sending others at a group of them.

When a villain came up behind him, pissed and ready to finally shut his mouth, he used one other quirk he copied, turning his arms to iron to block the block; doing so was still in contact as he activated his power and copied his attacker's quirk. "Oh, but this power is pretty good. Heightened reflexes are great for brawls and back-alley fights; they could even be an acceptable power in the hands of a pro. Did you try and miserably fail? Is that why you're a villain?" Using that with his iron arms, he would switch between them and attack with lightning-fast jobs and right hooks.

"Can someone shut him up?!" One villain yelled, sick and tired of this brat as it was a little amusing at the start, but they were down by half a few minutes in.

"We're trying, but the bastard is a slippery one!" another yelled back as she came at him with a spear, only to be snatched up by Kendo, who tossed her into another villain, sending both tumbling into the ground with groans of pain.

Monoma hardly cared about that as he just kept laughing and talking shit. "I have you know my parents were happily married when I was conceived, but I can understand why you would make that mistake. After all, we're just freshmen, and you're all adults, hardened criminals, and yet here you are, struggling to handle us. How embarrassing does that have to be? I wouldn't be able to show my face again after this."

“He does enjoy the sound of his own voice.” Shoda pulled back, fists held up as he looked for another opponent to take on, but they had caught on a while back and were giving him distance.

"If he wasn't an alley, I would be partial to silencing him as well," Tokoyami added that Monoma just kept on disrespecting their foes, driving them up a wall, making them angry, and making them sloppy, which he was more than willing to use against them.

“Speak for yourself, above us!” Jiro called out. Tokoyami looked up to see someone having jumped at them, knives in both hands.

“Dark Shadow!” Tokoyami called out as his quirk turned round and slammed the villain into the side of the cliff. The man dropped his knives, and Dark Shadow pulled his hand back, letting the knocked-out man fall to the ground face-first. With Kendo, she had picked up two large rocks in her hands and slammed them into a villain that had proven to be more challenging than the rest, leaving them stumbling for a moment before they, too, fell back.

Shoda worked his way towards Monoma; the two stood back-to-back as they fought, the smaller of the two proving to be faster while Monoma acted like the hammer to his knife, dealing the knock-out blow while adding Shoda's quirk to his ever-expanding arsenal. Using twin impact on another, he kicked them in the chest, using a copied quirk that gave him the kicking power of a kangaroo, which sent the bunny suit-wearing woman back into a man seemingly made from paper.

"Duck!" Kendo yelled at them, and both obeyed without thinking as Kendo's massive hand swung across the area, taking out many of the villains either by knocking them over or sending them flying into others.

"We have more coming!" Jiro alerted them before they could celebrate their victory, and true to her warning, another 2 dozen villains seemingly materialized out of the crevices and shadows.

“They’re stubborn, I’ll give them that.”

"Persistence, even in the face of certain failure, is not always a respectable trait."

The door that led into the frost zone had been sealed since the start and had been undisturbed by the villains as they had been warped directly in. That wouldn't remain so as there was a thud, followed by another louder one before an explosion blew the door wide open. Tetsutetsu was the first out, coughing through the smoke. Following him were Hagakure and Asui, who had stuck close to Midoriya in his flame form, with Yaoyorozu being the last.

Stepping out from the cold of the place, even with its winds still hitting their back, they just moved to the side and finally relaxed. “Damn, that took longer than I thought.” Tetsutetsu stretched as Yaoyorozu and Hagakure shed their thick winter clothing.

"I'm just happy we're out of there. Great job on the explosive, Yaomomo.” Hagakure praised the girl as she stepped up when Midoriya wanted to blast their way out, made some explosives, and set a timer before she had them all hide as it counted down.

Yaoyorozu smiled at the compliment as she folded her clothing and set it aside. “Thank you, I learned to make breaching charges a few years ago.” Hearing the commotion, they looked to the and saw at one side were the mountain zone and the flood zones. In both cases, they could make out fighting.

"Looks like they're still fighting happening in the other zones, so our classmates are holding on," Midoriya noted, though he couldn’t tell who was where from this distance.

“Great, we weren’t the outliers.” Hagakure agreed with him, but her words took on a tint of worry. “But are you and Yaomomo good? You did use your quirks a lot back there.” The other two nodded in agreement as while they had all done their part, Izuku and Momo had done the lion’s share.

He dropped both flame forms and allowed Faunalution’s power to recede to her. “Now that I don’t need to keep myself warm, just give me a second to catch my breath.” Midoriya smiled, though his sweaty forehead didn't make his words convincing. Still, he wasn't as exhausted as earlier, so they could accept it, at least for now.

"I'm not at my best, but I still have some lipids should we need to enter another fight," Yaoyorozu admitted, as she felt a bit winded, but nothing she hadn’t trained for.

The sounds of battle continued around them, and Asui asked something. "(Kero). We might need to do that as if everyone else is fighting; what do we do? Do we just sit here and wait for help, or try and assist others?"

It was a good question. If they remained where they were and waited for pros, it would be ideal, especially as any villains who wanted out of the frost zone would need to use the entrance so they could guard it. On the other hand, the USJ itself was sealed, so did it matter if villains got out of one zone? Besides, what if their friends needed help?

Seeing a dust cloud form from what could be a heavy impact in the plaza, Momo suggested, "It would be prudent that we go for the engagement in the plaza. It's the central point of the building. If we can clear it, we can get out better."

“What if that warp villain is there? We can’t really fight him if he just warps us away.” Tetsutetsu reminded her that he didn't like his chances against a guy who looked to be made of the same stuff as his warp gates.

Midoriya greed with Yaoyorozu as he got up and rolled his shoulders. "We'll stick to range attacks. Besides, we must figure out how to handle him and that…thing sooner or later." His face pinched as he thought about the black-skinned beast, his quirks sharing his unnerved feeling.

“What are you talking about?” Hagakure asked him as Midoriya frowned, trying to put it into words.

“I don’t know, but that creature standing next to the villain wearing hands gives me a bad feeling." He couldn't quite describe it, as it was someone trying to tell you to describe the taste of air. It wasn't impossible, but it would be difficult even for a professional writer. Even with that one glance at the beginning of this mess, he felt something just wrong about that thing in his bones.

“How do you know it’s a creature? It could just be a heteromorph.” Asui asked Midoriya turned his gaze towards her, noting that her face seemed to be the same, but her eyes were not, they were piercing, and he figured that his answer would need to be a damn good one else her opinion of him be irreversibly changed for the worse.

"No, I'm sure of that…whatever is happening with it, it's sure as hell not human," Midoriya replied, to which Asui held his gaze for a moment longer before looking away. If she believed him or not, he couldn't say, but that had to wait for a better time to speak with her.

Yaoyorozu, having witnessed the little staring contest between them, wondered what it was about before returning to the situation. “So we’re in agreement then? We secure the plaza and then move to assist the other zones?” At her words, the group nodded before they turned and made their way over to the plaza, trying to be discreet about it so they could have the element of surprise.

'I don't know what that thing is, but,' Midoriya thought to himself, narrowing his gaze as he recalled that beast one more, feeling his quirks grow restless in him. 'I'm going to find out and stop it.'

Chapter Text

“Text” – Normal speech

‘Text’ – Thought

“Text” – Quirk Spirit speaking in the human world

“Text” - Attacks

“Text” – Radio/Communication lines

“Text” – None Japanese speech

(text) – Subtext/meaning behind a spoken word

"I think that's the last of 'em." Kirishima released his quirk, wiping sweat off his brow as he looked at his defeated opponent. Around him, many other villains had been knocked out, subdued, or just surrendered.

He knew that his quirk wasn't the flashiest, but it was great for defense, which sucked for these guys as so many of them couldn't even hurt him. But those that went up against Shoji, man, they really had some bad luck as he was probably the second manliest one there, having taken out more villains with nothing but his hands than the rest put together.

Ojiro and Rin weren't sloppy either, as both had taken out their fair share of them. Now they just had to get back to Todoroki and-

“And you guys done?” He turned to see Todoroki approaching. The villains he had been watching over were still frozen, but the ice was slowly melting as the heat of the zone did its job.

"Just about, though I must admit, I was expecting a greater threat than these folks could bring," Rin replied, letting his scales fade off his arms.

"Villains don't always need to be powerful; they're just criminals who use their quirks." Ojiro flexed his tail, wiping away the blood that had gotten on it, none of it his own. Still, he did have to admit that his opponents went down faster than he had thought, so he had to pull his punches to not seriously hurt them.

Shoji hardly cared about that; instead, his eye went towards Todoroki. "It doesn't matter. It saved us time. Todoroki, did you learn anything about their plans?" The others were surprised he asked that, as they had no clue what Todoroki had been doing while they fought off the rest of the horde.

For Todoroki’s part, if he was surprised, he didn’t show it and focused on the question. “Yeah, turns out these guys are just gutter punks the leader, Shigaraki, recruited over the last couple of weeks.” Once he had threatened, the villains were more than willing to spill their guts.

Underneath his mask, Rin frowned. “Bold to assume that raw numbers would be enough to take on All Might.” Numbers weren't the issue here; it was these villains' skill, teamwork, and power. If 5 first years could handle them as quickly as they did, All Might could do the same in his sleep. Even if he tripled, no quadrupled their number, the result would remain the same.

But surely these villains knew that so why did they follow along with such a reckless plan?

He wasn't alone in that curiosity; Todoroki had been the same, and that had been his follow-up. “That’s the thing, they were never meant for that. They were meant to keep us and the other teachers occupied so that their trump card could handle All Might. Shigaraki called it a bioengineered creature named Nomu.”

Kirishima stopped him there. "Hold on, bioengineered? We're talking about the large figure next to the one with the hands, correct? That was made, like, in a lab?" Was this like in the movies when the mad scientist made monsters? But that was crazy; those were movies; you couldn't just 'make’ life like that.

Todoroki’s expression remained the same, though there was a tick of his brow at being interrupted. "I would assume so, but Shigaraki didn't tell them much. He proved that it was powerful to them, and they went along with it." He did that by telling it to kill 5 of them, and according to the villain, it had done so before they had even realized it had moved from its spot.

One moment, it was still; the next, it was holding the head of its 5^th victim, the rest having been torn to shreds and left to rot in some abandoned factory. They had just screamed out in shock when it squeezed, and the poor bastard's head popped. Another he had been questioning swore that they only agreed because they thought Shigaraki would have it kill them if they didn't. Todoroki wasn't sure if he bought that, but he would make a note of it to pass over to the cops when this was done.

“Well, what are we waiting for?” Hardening once more, Kirishima slammed his firsts together. “If they plan for their little monster to fight All Might one on one, let’s crash that party.”

"My thoughts exactly; we just need to find the exit, " Todoroki said, looking around at the area. All the flames and smoke made visibility a challenge.

"Todoroki, can you make an ice path for me up to that building? I should be able to scout out ahead and find that." Shoji asked, his tentacle-like arms shifting into ears and eyes.

“Give me a second.” Todoroki placed a hand on the ground and created an intricate ramp up to the top of one of the taller buildings, one that was gentle enough for Shoji to climb without little issue. Nodding at him, he turned and ran up the ice path. They didn't have time to waste, not when they had no clue what the others were dealing with.

As Shoji started looking for a way out through the flames and smoke of the Conflagration Zone, others found themselves with the near opposite of the heat; Ashido, Awase, Iida, Mineta, and Shishida had been dropped quite literally into the waters of the Flood zone. Despite the environment being the worst place for someone like Ashido or Awase to find themselves in, their classmates had managed to come in clutch and help them out.

Mineta especially, so when he cupped a feel, Ashido rewarded him by not holding his head underwater until he finally was taken down below. Once on the boat, she was able to have a little more effect, but tossing acid at targets that could move as fast as the villains or just diving to avoid it felt like she was trying to win a carnival game. It was needlessly complicated and, sure as hell, rigged.

Mineta had managed to get a few villains with his balls. Some unlucky ones had touched it with one hand and tried to grab it with the other or even got stuck to one another, but they were wising up to that and now avoided them, calling them out when one was about to touch one of the floating traps.

Ashido was about to yell at the villains to come up onto the boat and fight them when she and the rest heard the burst of an engine as Iida came flying out of the water and landed on the deck with a thud. "I have returned," Iida announced, his engine exhausts still sticking out, steaming from use.

“How many did you handle this time?” Awase asked him, pissed that all he could do was stand by and watch as his quirk had no use against ranged foes in water. It wasn’t like he could ‘weld’ the water together and trap them.

"Not enough," Iida replied, and while he kept his helmet on, they could hear the frown on his words. "I counted at least 11 of them I managed to defeat and ensure that they made it to shore, but there seemed to be just as many waiting." Even now, when he looked out at the villains, there seemed to be more than when they had started. He had been worried that they'd press their advantage, storm the ship if not sink it, but instead, they'd kept to the waters, that worry turning to irritation when he realized they didn’t want to do that because they already had such a massive advantage.

Awase was just as angry as him, but not more so as he leaned against the wall and looked up at the dome. "You at least can do something. All I can do is wait for them to come to us and try and beat them over the head with a damn stick."

“Sucks to suck.” Mineta joked as he tossed a few more balls at the villains, but only getting one who refused to react to the ball now attached to his shoulder, knowing trying to remove it was more trouble than it was worth.

"I won't hesitate to weld you to the wall," Awase told him as Shishida also made his return, he had some bloody cuts and what looked like a bite mark on his forearm, but he hardly seemed affected by it.

Looking at them, he remained in beast mode as he grunted out, "Focus, allowing our frustrations to fester and divide us only plays into their hands. It's not as if this is a good battleground for any of us. Mineta can't bounce about, Ashido can't get close to land good hits, and Iida and I are forced to dive about and fight in their element."

His body was proof of that, as he was thoroughly soaked. His newly acquired injuries painted a picture of how he might have been a bear in the water, but there were villains akin to orcas in there. One who had a shark's head had got a lucky bite in, and while he paid him back for it by knocking half his teeth out, that still meant he had a couple of them still in his forearm.

Iida nodded. "Indeed, the only saving grace I have here is that all this cool water helps keep my engines from overheating, though I can't use them continuously." His quirk, Engine, was the pride of the Iida family, allowing them to be some of the most dependable heroes for three generations now. However, each had similar weaknesses: they needed to consume a particular type of food for fuel and overheating.

His costume had been designed to have a similar cooling apparatus as his older brother's, but it wasn't perfect. However, with so much cool water flowing around his engine exhausts, he could use greater speeds for longer times while submerged, though as he still needed to breathe, he couldn't remain underwater for long.

Iida was about to dive back in when Shishida touched his shoulder. "Before we head out again, I have a thought about this attack." He started, looking out towards the villains through his shades. “Why did they carry it out?”

Iida seemed confused by the question. “What do you mean? They’re villains out to commit evil.”

“That tracks.” Ashido agreed, along with Mineta.

But that didn’t seem good enough for him. “Perhaps, but villains are not machines or pure evil creatures. They act for self-interest at the detriment of others. But what do they gain from this?” Villains rarely had grand plans or long-term goals; they were like criminals of the past and pursued shorter-term goals, wanting to get your purse for money, rob you to sell your property, prove a point, want revenge, etc.

But from what he saw with the villains in front of him, nothing was being stolen or vandalized. He had no grievances with them, and how they acted didn't imply the others did. Was it to prove they could sneak into the U.A., fight with them, and get out? Maybe, but that seemed like it was…too shallow.

“Didn’t Jirojack and Shoji say something about them killing All Might?” Ashido recalled that exchange and shivered when she remembered how callous that villain was in killing them.

"It's crazy. No one can kill him." Mineta declared as it was fact, which it was. As All Might had never lost a fight, even in his student days, he quickly cleared all 3 Sports festivals.

“Yes…and they should know that,” Iida mused, frowning as he started to suspect something…dangerous was happening. "But they're still here helping with such dastardly plans; villains are cowardly by nature; they won't do something that they can't be reasonably sure they'll suffer for."

“Which means that they have a reason to think they can take on All Might, but what the hell could that be?” Awase asked, catching on to what they were saying, but none had an idea for that.

“Either way, we need to find a way out of this, but we're moving too slow at the current pace," Shishida replied as he plotted another line of attack. They couldn't distract the villains, but indeed, they had a limit on how many were present. They could escape through the gap if they could take out enough and push them toward Mineta's balls.

Ashido grumbled. “If we could get to dry land, we could fight them better!”

“Dry land…” Awase repeated, looking at their number, and what they could do, and then out towards the water but also to the shore that they could see. It wasn’t far, but the issue was the villains that held the advantage and wouldn’t want them to leave. “Shishida, how fast can you swim?”

Shishida looked at him. “In my beast form, I’m quite fast.”

"I have a plan, but it's going to be one hell of a risk, so get together real quick.” Awase gestured for them to get closer and started to explain his hair-brained scheme.

It took more effort than they thought, but they made it. Midoriya and the rest of his group managed to get to the central plaza without being seen, Hagakure's quirk being essential here as she could move without worrying about being seen. Hiding away from the fighting, they observed what was happening, and it's safe to say Vlad and Aizawa-sensei were handling things.

One didn't need to look at the many knocked-out villains lying about but at their teammate. Yaoyorozu had known that they were better; it was natural since they were teachers with years of experience out in the field, but there was a difference between knowing something and seeing it with one's own eyes. They wordlessly communicated with each other, covering for weaknesses and exploiting openings that the other made.

If Aizawa erased the quirks of a group, Vlad would charge in. If Vlad found himself up against numbers, Aizawa would be there to wrap up several and take them out. They watched one villain, with 4 arms, charge them, evading Aizawa's capture tape and grabbing it, pulling it and the man that used it closer. Still, Aizawa didn't fight it, turning just enough so that Vlad could appear and punch the man in the face, finishing the dazed villain with a kick to the chest that sent them flying.

"Shit, I didn't think anyone could be that good in battle…" Tetsutetsu uttered as a villain tried to create a barrier to keep Aizawa back. Still, a glance from his quirk and the barrier fell, right in time for Vlad, welding a mace made from his blood, to swing the weapon into the villain's gut, making them throw up their lunch before another hit to the face knocked them out cold.

"Experience, that is just experience at its finest," Midoriya replied, in awe, as Vlad and Aizawa moved onto the next group. Vlad softened the largest one up so that when Aizawa moved, the villain was too slow to respond to be wrapped up and swung like a wrecking ball through a small crowd, sending all flying with groans of pain as they smacked into the hard floor.

"(Kero) They're doing great, but the number of enemies doesn't seem to be decreasing." Asui pointed out that while the two had handled an even greater amount than they had, villains were crawling out of shadows, cracks, and other openings as if they were endless.

"She's right. Stay focused. We need to lend proper aid, but if we step in without a plan, we could end up being more of a hindrance." Yaoyorozu reminded them. The recommendation's student is looking through the horde of villains and no doubt plotting how she'll handle the bulk of them.

Midoriya would have replied affirmatively, but his eye was taken by the sight of two villains who didn't partake in the mad melee. The first was who he assumed was the leader. Even just looking at him was unnerving, as he was this close. He could tell that those hands were real, but he didn't know how, when, or why he had them.

But it was the second one that made him sick to his stomach, a feeling shared by his quirks as this close. It was like standing next to a landfill…No, that wasn't the right word. He would describe it as seeing a Western-style cemetery, but one that wasn't properly cared for. One where the bodies of the dead had long been exposed, allowing the smell of rot and the sense of disrespect and apathy to linger.

He had to take a breath, forgetting to breathe, as his gaze remained on it. Reaching for his sword, he slowly drew it as he called upon his power. This wasn't unnoticed by his teammates.

“Yo, Midoriya, you good?” Tetsutetsu asked him.

"I need to take that thing down. Now." Midoriya didn't elaborate on that before he dashed out of cover, flames bursting from his body, focusing on his legs to increase speed as he rushed the villain. The burst of fire was hard to miss, but most villains that turned to see what they had to contend with now didn't see his flame. They just saw a ball of fire heading towards their boss and his pet.

Shigaraki saw the attack coming and dodged it, but the Nomu remained unresponsive. Seeing his chance, Midoriya directed more of his flames to his legs, sheathing his blade and allowing flames to build along its edge.

“Dammit, Nomu, dodge!” Shigaraki yelled at the creature.

“Flame Charge!” At that same moment, Midoriya unleashed his technique, and a greater burst of flames appeared around him, focused on his legs as he charged the villain, drawing his blade in a fiery quickdraw aimed at taking its head.

But the Nomu, with instructions heard, did as ordered and dodged the attack, keeping its head, but Midoriya's blade did dig deep into its chest from shoulder to shoulder as the slash continued, the flames in the blade badly burning the skin and muscle of the creature, but it didn't make a sound at what has been an excruciatingly painful experience. Not deterred, Midoriya shifted and spun around, bringing his blade for another attack, but the result was even less than before as the Nomu was fast; even with Midoriya having a speed boast, he couldn't land a blow like the first.

"Nomu! Fight back!" Shigaraki yelled as the creature opened and launched a blistering fast counter to Midoriya's last attack; instinctively, he blocked it with his blade. The force in that punch made that nearly pointless as he felt the blade vibrate in his hands, the shock traveling through his hands, up his arms, and into his shoulders.

He couldn't even stay in place as he was sent flying like a human bullet into the fountain, crashing through it and rolling a few times to the other side.

"Midoriya!" Tetsutetsu called out, giving himself away as he rushed into the fray. Yaoyorozu bit back a curse as she, too, joined Hagakure and Asui.

'What the hell?' Midoriya thought to himself, grateful more than ever that his body was enhanced when he accessed any of his quirk's power. Otherwise, he would have been a bloody stain. Slowly, he got up, the pain still lingering in his arms and back.

"What the heck? What are you doing here? Get out of here!" Vlad called out to them, but neither he nor Aizawa could get close to them as the villains formed, creating a human barrier between them.

Asui kicked one of them on her end, using her tongue to grab another and toss them towards a grinning Tetsutetsu who punched their lights out. "We can't, Vlad-sensei. They have someone blocking the entrance. He warped out to the snow region. Could have sent the others to the rest of the zones."

“So, Kurogiri did his job? Then why the hell isn’t he back yet?” Shigaraki asked as if things had gone to plan; Kurogiri would be back here. Then again, those plans required that the level boss be in the dungeon, but this system was buggy.

His introspection was interrupted when he felt a wave of heat approaching his rear. Evading it, he saw it was a slash made from flames. Turning his gaze, he saw that the kid who got wrecked by Nomu was surprisingly still alive and on his feet. "Not so fast; that beast only moves when you tell it to, so if we take you out," Midoriya crouched, before launching himself towards Shigaraki, unleashing a blistering combo of slashes and thrusts.

Shigaraki wasn't a slouch and was evading them. Still, Midoriya didn't give him time to counter, as one move missed his head by a hair. Shigaraki's eyes narrowed beneath his hand mask. At the same time, Midoriya started to smile a little.

Shigaraki, seeing that, also smiled, though it was much more demented and crueler. “Smart move taking on the party boss? But who says my summons don’t move on their own?” A shadow came over them both. The Nomu had already pulled its fist back, determined to drive him into the dirt. Still, Midoriya wouldn't be trounced.

“Fire Spin!" Turning, a sphere of flames formed around him, the Nomu's fist crashing into it, burning it. He was still slowed enough by the rushed defense that when it impacted Midoriya's raised forearm, his bones weren't shattered as he was sent back. Recovering mid-air, he pulled his legs up and twisted his body so that he landed on his feet.

Ignoring how sore his left forearm was, he gripped his blade in both hands and met Shigaraki's red eyes head-on. “I’m not falling for the same thing twice.”

"Fast one, aren't you? With impressive Attack points…same that Nomu isn't the type of boss your build can match." Shigaraki hardly seemed concerned, and the reason became clear as while the others fought behind him, Midoriya saw that the wounds on the Nomu, those severe burns, slowly started to heal.

But there was something there; he had finally realized why this beast gave him such a feeling of dread and disgust. When he saw it, Izuku turned white as snow, and his stomach dropped.

“Just what in the Good name did you do?” He asked, disbelief mixing with horror as he was the only one there who could see it, a mercy for the others. Still, it meant he alone suffered the sight of a quirk that looked like it belonged to a boy no older than 13, chained to the beast as it silently put it back together, not a hint of life in its blank eyes. “That thing…it’s quirk…it’s not its own. It’s a prisoner…”

He didn't realize he was speaking aloud or that Aizawa and Vlad heard him, and Shigaraki looked at him funny, wondering what he meant by that prisoner line. He had to give the brat props; he was a smart one, or maybe his quirk just made him more perceptive.

Clapping his hands, he replied to the horror-filled statement in glee. “You actually figured that out? Well, you must have great perception skills.” He laughed as Midoriya took a step back, his face starting to sweat, something he mistook for the fear finally kicking in.

Patting the side of the creature, he continued. "That's right, little hero. Nomu here was designed with multiple quirks, one of which is super regeneration, so you can do nothing to get its health into the yellow."

“Where?” He stopped, as that was an odd response. Not the question but the tone. Shigaraki's eyes narrowed as he detected something profoundly angry in that one word.

“What?” Midoriya looked him in the eye, and while he had tears, those same red eyes were burning with a righteous fury that couldn't be dismissed or put out.

"Where did you get those quirks? How did you get them? They-they're suffering, and you can just stand there gloating?!” He yelled near the end; he had thought he had seen the worst of criminals and accepted that his line of work would ensure he would never be far from another experience.

He knew that but realized how blind he was to human depravity. It was one thing to kill someone but to take their quirk and bend, twist, and break it to such a point that it was enslaved to a mindless monster, the tool of the tool…it was an insult against all that was good and he would sooner die than let that go unanswered.

Shigataki found his righteous anger amusing. He laughed at him as he placed all five fingers on the Nomu's side, letting decay spread across the flesh and bone. Yet, the creature didn't respond the entire time. When it had spread enough to be lethal to any of them, he ceased and let its super regeneration handle the rest. Once more, the chained spirit came up and rapidly healed the damage.

Having proved his point, he tapped the beast again, who, through the entire ordeal, hadn't made a sound. “Suffering? They’re abilities, you brat. Tools to be used when and however you want.”

“Tools? No…you’re wrong,” Midoriya looked down, his face shadowed as his blonde's tip lowered before he let out a breath and raised it again. “So wrong that it’s painful…but also sad that you can say it like it’s a truth.”

"The quirk you have from birth…it's a gift, one that seeks to help you, and when you pass, they continue to carry on your will and your emotions," Midoriya recalled each of their stories, the tragedies that resulted in them being cut off from their owners who could have-should have been alive and well right now.

Nomu was a beast but also a victim in all this. Kept alive by a quirk that so obviously needed rest. And as a caretaker, he would see it done.

Shifting his stance, he brought his blade back towards his side as if he was sheathing it, but it rested above the scabbard. Shigaraki didn't quite know what was happening, but he knew that it was going to be trouble, so he waved for his death. "Nomu, kill him, then move on to the others."

Midoriya was in his own world, aspects of the world within him manifesting for his eyes to see. He didn't hear the fighting, his teachers yelling for him, or his friends trying to get to him, slowed by villains between them. All there was in this reality was him and the Nomu who charged him. For a moment, he saw through its unholy form to the man beneath, to the man he once was.

‘Please. Help me.’ The man begged of him, their eyes gaining just a little light, a little life which so desperately wished for its suffering to end.

'I will, I shall give you rest,' Midoriya thought back. He wasn't sure if he had heard, but he saw a smile on the man's tried and pained face and knew that his thoughts had been heard as his blade started to shake and crack in his hands, the power of all those whom he relied on rallying.

He had only used this in training, having never found himself in a situation that necessitated such power, but he would gladly use it as he took a breath and spoke his quirk's proper name."

“Save and guide them, Seijū Genrin.”

Chapter Text

“Text” – Normal speech

‘Text’ – Thought

“Text” – Quirk Spirit speaking in the human world

“Text” - Attacks

“Text” – Radio/Communication lines

“Text” – None Japanese speech

(text) – Subtext/meaning behind a spoken word

“Yo, Midoriya, you good?" Yaoyorozu looked to the side where Tetsutetsu was questioning Midoriya, who had been acting strange since they discussed that villain he insisted was a creature. Yaoyorozu wasn't sure, as yes, it didn't look human, but quirks had altered things so much that the concept of 'looking human' was horribly outdated. People with passive and active heteromorph genes could look like anything imaginable.

But she still felt like he wasn't just needlessly stubborn; he seemed to believe it with a passion that couldn't be dismissed as mere ignorance. For that reason, his response to Tetsutetsu's question left her slack-jawed.

"I need to take that thing down. Now." Midoriya didn't elaborate on that before he dashed out of cover, flames bursting from his body, focusing on his legs to increase speed as he rushed the villain. His attack drew attention to him and to them!

Having some unkind words to say about it, Yaoyorozu kept herself focused as she stood up, pulling out a staff from her gut and a grenade off her thigh. "Focus on aiding Vlad and Eraser-sensei!" she ordered as she tossed the grenade into the ground of villains. The device was revealed to be a flashbang, which went off, the blast of sound of light sending many villains to the ground.

"Got it!" Tetsutetsu slammed his fists together, his entire body shifting to steel as she rushed in like a mad bull, the surprised and disorientated villains proving no match him. Supporting him was Asui, who used her powerful tongue and frog-like legs to jump around, wrapping up limbs or mid-sections and throwing people off balance, if not into others.

Yaoyorozu lost track of Hagakure, but she spired her gloves and boots on the ground. She knew the girl had dropped them and dived into the ground to sow chaos and confusion. "Hey, over here!" She heard her call out to the left, to which a villain quickly turned and attacked, but his strike didn't hit an invisible girl, but another villain.

“Dammit, guys, that nearly hit me!” She called out again, with another villain turning their head to the right and sending a blast of air where he heard the sound, but again, this hit their own numbers.

“What the fuck? Stop attacking us, you morons!”

“I’m trying to take out one of those brats!”

“Yeah, so am I!” The villains started to argue with each other, as the couple incidents of friendly fire knocked people into each other, turning the cohesive whole into an unruly mob, which the students and their teachers took full advantage of.

"None of you can touch me. Go ahead and prove me wrong." Yaoyorozu smiled as she realized what Hagakure was doing. However, she had never guessed that the invisible girl had learned how to throw her voice and so well at that. That smile turned into a frown of worry as she saw Midoriya take a direct hit from the villain he had chosen to fight. Tetsutetsu tried to get their classmate to help, but not even he could bulldoze through all the villains between them.

“(Kero) He’s still fighting, don’t worry.” Asui’s call calmed her somewhat as a villain to her side she had been about to kick was wrapped up in a familiar capture scarf, their quirk suppressed as they went drawn into a high knee to the face as Eraser released them the fall, knocked out. Before he asked why they had thrown themselves into the fight, Vlad beat him to it, and Asui's response made him frown harder than he had been.

“Explain. Now.” Eraser said as he stood back to back with his student, his capture scarf held tight. The two faced off against a horde of villains who charged at them.

Batting aside a villain, she tripped them up with her staff and thrust it into the side, a yelp of pain her reward as the villain turned to try to make her pay for that, clawed hands ready to tear into her. "Unfortunately, we don't know much about the villain." She replied as she smashed the villain in the face with her staff.

“His quirk, how did it work?” Eraser canceled the quirks of several villains, wrapping one's arms together before swinging him around like a ball attached to a chain, the villain's stone body his wrecking ball as he sent the man flying into a group of others.

Yaoyorozu nodded, though he couldn’t see it. “He creates warp gates; you need to pass through them for him to teleport you, but he can create multiple of them and anywhere he wants, as he created them under us. We were sent to the frost zone, where villains awaited us. All of them had quirks suited for the cold."

Eraser hummed, as despite the situation, it relieved him to know that his students weren't hurt by it. Perhaps there was hope the others could also manage to clear their zones. Still, it was more likely they would hold out long enough for help, as someone had to have noticed the lack of communication. “If they could place villains like that there, then they most likely placed villains with similar field advantages in the other zones and sent the rest of the students there.”

"We think that's the case. Why else would they have people waiting for us?" Yaoyorozyu created another grenade and tossed it. The villains thought it was a flashbang. They closed their eyes or covered their ears, which played into her hands as it exploded, showing them in a sticky, spider-web-like trap. She had been studying a new type of capture item after her parents got the formulas for her.

"It does confirm that they can't send you far enough away that you couldn't call for help. U.A.'s on the edge of town, but it wouldn't be hard for any of you to alert someone if you could." Eraser was grateful that, like the students, he suspected they would have dropped them in the middle of nowhere or out at sea if the villains could have. Maybe they could have sent it to a high-up portal, but they weren't, so was there a height limit? Something else he didn't know?

Regardless of how they had to deal with the now, this was made more transparent when Tetsutetsu was hit in a massive blast that sent him back. He kept his footing, which left two small trenches in the ground. The steel-covered boy was covered in some dents and cracks, but he was still smiling and ready to fight.

“That gives us a fighting chance, and these fools aren’t all that strong,” Vlad got rid of one of Tetsutetsu’s strongest foes, smashing them in the gut in a Warhammer made from his blood, before creating a blood barrier to his side, just in time to block a blast of porcupine needles.

 The man took a huffy breath, his face starting to sweat as the two teachers had been in a nonstop brawl for 20 minutes now, and despite the dozens of villains they had defeated, it was like there was more ready to replace them; their quirks making it all the harder to plot and react to threats. “But they’re making up for it in sheer numbers. At this rate, we could easily tire.”

‘I suspect that was the idea, I can’t keep erasing quirks, and I don’t have time to apply eye drops like this.’ Eraser agreed with him as his eyes were getting dangerously dry, but he couldn’t stop. Even though he was an ambush type of hero who preferred shorter fights where he got the drop of his foes, he couldn't back down when this many villains could then scatter and join the God knew how many were fighting the rest of his students.

“Fire Spin!" Those bursts of heat and light weren't making it easier for him, but he would be a hypocrite if he complained. Thus, the fight continued, with the teachers trying to work their way closer to their student, who seemed to be handling the most significant threats, but they couldn't bet on him doing that for long.

"Just what in good name did you do?" Midoriya's question puzzled them, the teachers most of all, as he relaxed, not out of confidence but out of…fear and disgust. What was it with this villain that got such a reaction, and why now? “That thing…it’s quirk…it’s not its own. It’s a prisoner…”

'It's quirk, isn't it's own?' Vlad's brow creased at that statement.

'It's quirk is a prisoner? What is he talking about?' Eraser was also confused, but then he recalled their meeting about their upcoming class. He didn't know why, but how this boy was acting suspiciously.

If Eraser heard the others right, the villain, Shigaraki, clapped his hands and replied to his student's horror-filled statement in glee. "You actually figured that out? Well, you must have great perception skills." Wait, Midoriya was right? How would he have even known that? How was it even possible? Did Midoriya have some skill or training with this from his quirk researcher mother?

It wasn't just them, but even the students found themselves confused and worried about the situation; Yaoyorozu found the concept that a quirk can be held 'prisoner' by someone who wasn't born with it preposterous. Still, she couldn't disregard the villain's immature and vile taunts; she couldn't detect any deceit in his words. But that did open another realization for them, especially Asui, who realized that Midoriya had tagged the thing as, for lack of a better term, 'off' a while back. Was that why he rushed in to fight it?

Shigaraki continued, patting the beast’s side. "That's right, little hero. Nomu was designed with multiple quirks, including super regeneration, so you can do nothing to get its health into the yellow." He seemed proud, with the heroes and students completely surprised by the reveal. Multiple quirks? Impossible, not even the teachers had seen cases of that. Todoroki might have had ice and fire, but it was two halves of the same quirk…

But what about Midoriya? His quirk gave him access to at least four forms. Aizawa started to put the pieces together. Midoriya was the only one who noticed that this…thing had a stolen quirk. He didn't seem surprised that it had multiple. Maybe that's because he had seen it already, or perhaps he had already known that it was possible…because he was the same.

A glance to the side, and even with his goggles on, he looked Vlad in the eye and saw that the man suspected the same thing. But there was another question. Midoriya seemed disgusted not by the concept of having a quirk that wasn't yours but by a stolen quirk. So, where did he get them if he also had multiple quirks?

"Where?" Tetsutetsu shivered at Midoriya's question; it sounded different from his typical behavior and dangerous.

“What?” the hand-covered villain replied. Hagakure was silent as she watched the confrontation between the two, much like the rest, as the fighting had come to a much-needed pause.

"Where did you get those quirks? How did you get them? They-they're suffering, and you can just stand there gloating?!” Yaoyorozu's frown grew all the pronounced; Midoriya sounded angry-no, that was too mild a word; he sounded enraged and grief-stricken for the fate of these stolen quirks.

Why was that? She had only heard someone that worked up at her grandparent's funeral, and one of her cousins said something entirely out of line, causing her aunt to blow up at them. Did Midoriya value quirks like how they valued people?

The teachers said nothing, lacking critical details. Still, they had long understood how depraved people can be, not just villains. So if these quirks were something precious, while it is surprising to learn that, it wasn't to know that a villain apparently trapped and abused them, shoving them into some sort of lab-made bio-weapon.

Despite their wishes, it would seem that their young students were also facing that harsh reality.

Shigaraki only added to that horror when he placed a hand on the side of his Nomu creature. They witnessed his quirk in action as the flesh dried out and cracked, decay spreading across the creature's body in what must have felt like hell, but the beast didn't so much as flinch; its fisheye-like gaze remained forward, focused on nothing. Vlad was sure he heard Hagakure gag, struggle, and ultimately fail to not throw up at the sight, the same being true for Tetsutetsu. At the same time, it seemed like just Asui and Yaoyorozu could keep their lunch inside, though both were notedly green faces.

Shigaraki thankfully retracted his hand, leaving the decayed flesh to flake off before it damn near exploded, fresh bone, blood, and muscles growing to replace the damaged sections in mere seconds.

“Suffering? They’re abilities, you brat. Tools to be used when and however you want.” Shigaraki stated, which disgusted the heroes and students deeply, quirk or no, that treating a living creature like that was appalling.

“Tools? No…you’re wrong,” Vlad's gaze jumped to Midoriya; his blade was slightly lowered, but he didn't buy for a second that he was tired, not when his gut was saying that this was merely the calm before the storm. “So wrong that it’s painful…but also sad that you can say it like it’s a truth.”

"The quirk you have from birth…it's a gift, one that seeks to help you, and when you pass, they continue to carry on your will and your emotions," Midoriya's words offered some details, yet left out others that none of them could make out. When you pass? What, did he view quirks as parts of the soul, something that was left behind when you died? How was that even possible? They were just power, and power had no will or metaphysical component…right?

Yaoyorozu wasn't sure anymore, as Midoriya was so sure of himself. His words carried such conviction that you couldn't dismiss them without effort, and she didn't want to. It was fascinating, terrifying, useful, and profound. The notion that quirks could be more than what she and everything else thought them to be was all those things and more.

Shigaraki didn’t share her sentiments about the topic. "Nomu, kill him, then move on to the others."

With that order, time seemed to slow for everyone. Yaoyorozu yelled as she tried to move to help, same with the others as Eraser glared at the beast and erased its quirks despite having a drying set of eyes, but that didn't affect its speed as it charged his student. Vlad was creating a spear of blood to throw, but it was forming too slowly while the rest also moved; even Asui couldn't jump over them, as villains started firing all manner of quirks into the air, forcing her to ground, else she got tagged and seriously injured.

Through it all, the dark-haired girl watched as, confusingly, Midoriya didn't move; he didn't shift from his bent forward form, his hand ready but not drawing the blade he had sheathed for God knew what. Despite the danger rushing towards him and what would surely be a death blow, she saw that his gaze held no fear, no anger, no hesitation. It was a gaze that she had only seen on top heroes, one people like All Might in clips of him facing off against massive odds.

A look of strength but also warmth. Momo realized that, like top heroes, it was a look of ironclad confidence, not just in their ability to defeat the foe before them but also in their ability to protect those behind them.

“Save and guide them, Seijū Genrin.”

Midoriya’s words were softly spoken, yet they hit them all like the roar of a great beast, piercing through to their bones. And with those words came power, as his blade exploded and rapidly reformed as he performed a quick draw slash, moving far faster than before. The nearly formed blade quickly cut deep into the flesh of the Nomu, but that wasn't it, as in its wake, it left shards of ice and snow that invested the massive wound.

And for the first time, the Nomu let out a screech of pain, stunning Shigaraki as that wasn't supposed to be possible; he was told that the damn event item couldn't feel pain; what the fuck?!, Midoriya didn't let this be the only move as shifted, turned as wrist and with a yell, brought his blade down on the Nomu once more, this time severing its arm from the elbow, the blade releasing a boom and flash as lightning coursed through it into the beast whose body was left temporarily paralyzed by the shock causing uncontrolled muscle spasms.

To finish the combo, Midoriya pulled his blade to the side before thrusting its butt off the handle into the beast's gut, the force of the blow sending it crashing back, nearly taking out Shigaraki like a human bowling pin.

When their vision recovered and the smoke and dust cleared, all were left in awe at what they saw. The Nomu was on its back, still spasming about as it tried to get up, its missing arm regenerating but much slower than what Shigaraki had demonstrated it could do.

Meanwhile, Midoriya looked functionally the same, yet simultaneously, it was like he was different. He had animal-like ears atop his head, the same type he would get when he accessed Seijū Genrin, or as her faux nom: Faunalution’s power. However, it was much more extreme; they were more prominent and alert. His now brown skin seemed rougher, while the fur that covered his hands had expanded to his elbows, and his tails had gone from one to 4, each a different color that would have matched more with his forms.

His sword had also changed from a beautiful, if generic, Katana to a massive Dadao blade. The blade was much longer, and its top half wider than any Yaoyorozu had seen in textbooks or museums. Its handle was seemingly unchanged except for the crossguard, which was now broader in white of thick, multi-colored fur that reminded her of his other forms.

The blade wasn't bare either. On the side they could see, they could make out what appeared to be intricately and painfully carved images of several animals in a style reminiscent of Edo-period paintings. She could make out a dog, two differently styled rabbits, a fox, and a cheetah.

“What the hell was that?!” Shigaraki yelled, breaking the silence that had fallen.

“That…” Midoriya took a breath. His lungs felt brand new. No, they felt like they weren't wholly his, and he had embraced that as he felt the power of all he had gained coursing through him, fused with him. "What can power given can accomplish?"

"Nomu, get up and kill him!" Shigaraki was sick and tired of this BS; first, the dungeon boss that doesn't show, then this mini-boss goes and has extra moves and abilities? What the fuck was that? But as if to make his mood fouler, Nomu didn't respond to his words immediately, as even with his orders, the weapon was slow to rise, its arm still regenerating, which should have been done by now. "What did you do? How did you use two types of abilities at once? Don't think I didn't see you switch typing from fire to ice and now lightning?"

Midoriya calmly opened his eyes, revealing that they had taken on multiple colors, a color wheel with sections dedicated to his natural green and the rest of the quirks he had inside him. "I don't need to tell you anything other than that I'm going to stop you and put this quirk to rest."

"Midoriya! I'll suppress its quirks; just handle it!" Aizawa yelled to him. He didn't know what or how Midoriya did that, but he needed to keep it up.

"Understood!" Midoriya replied, raising his blade before rushing into the Nomu, screeching and retreating; the beast put on the back foot as Midoriya started his assault; each time he swung or thrust his massive sword, a different one of the beast's carvings glowed when it was on the fox and his blade had touched the ground in a dodged downward slice, ice sprouted from the point of impact.

All the while, the Nomu was gaining damage as Midoriya's seemed to have no issues cutting into its thick flesh, but something was off as even just passing blows left the creature feeling weaker; it's super regenerating working slower than it should as such wounds should have healed near instantly, but instead they remained open for seconds, leaving the beast to bleed all over, blood flowing through the carvings of Midoriya's blade.

Midoriya, for his part, kept his attention on his foe; with each blow, he could see it; the chains were breaking, but so too was the quirk taking damage. It pained to see it not react even as more cuts appeared on its small, thin body, but this was all he could do. He didn't have a capture ball. All he could do was try to give the quirk peace before it could become a more significant problem.

It was a near-fatal mistake as his ear twitched almost too late. He turned and swung for Shigaraki, who had quickly covered the distance between them and tried to grab him. Shigaraki smiled as he managed to catch Midoriya's blade between his palms before it could cut him. "You went for a killing blow immediately, didn't you?" Shigaraki asked him, his thumbs raised, to which Midoriya remained silent as he tried to pull his blade back, but Shigaraki’s palms were clamped tight on the blade.

“And you people call me a villain, yet here you were, having jumped straight to lethal force. I don’t think you deserve a blade anymore!” Shigaraki let his thumbs drop, and immediately, the blade started to decay and break into pieces as Midoriya kicked him off and jumped back, looking at the now destroyed weapon in his hand as it had several chunks missing, and a quick shake had the top half break off and fall with a clatter.

However, if Shigaraki expected him to be surprised, shocked, or scared, he was in for a rude awakening. "You're wrong. My blade isn't normal. It only cuts when I will it to. I could swing it all I like without bringing needless harm, not to your body anyway, also." He held the blade out, and to the villain's surprise and ire, the blade repaired itself within seconds until it was back in perfect condition.

“Did you truly think you could decay away the gifts that are my power? It’s insulting that you even tried.” Midoriya sped towards Shigaraki, who dived out of the way. Still, Midoriya didn't stop as he had never planned to attack Shigaraki, something the hand-covered villain only realized when he saw what was in Midoriya's path; the still recovering Nomu.

Jumping into the air, Midoriya pulled back his blade. The dog carving began to glow as Midoriya locked eyes on the target, ready to finish this while it was still weakened. He gripped his sword and brought it down, power gathering in its tip.

“Tera Blast-!" Midoriya's plan involved unleashing a devastating energy slash at the Nomu, slashing it across its chest and finally destroying its super regeneration, allowing the spirit to rest in what he hoped was the afterlife.

But what happened was a familiar portal opening up in front of the Nomu, his slash passing through it before he felt its impact with his back, cutting deep into his flesh from his shoulder down to his waist. The surprise of his own attack hitting him, along with the force of it, sent him crashing into the ground, his blade falling from his hands.

“Midoriya!” Asui called out as Midoriya groaned, slowly getting up as his blood poured out the gash on his back, his right arm especially slow as the strike had cut deep into his shoulder.

“Forgive me for being late, master Shigaraki, but I arrived on time." Kurogiri formed at Shigaraki’s side, though Shigaraki and the rest noticed that the man seemed hagged and beat up; no doubt he had just got out of a fight. Midoriya had just gotten up and seen the battle damage on the guy who sent him and the rest to freeze to death, only for the boy to get tackled by a recovered Nomu and slammed into the ground again, coughing up blood as he felt a rid or two crack if not break.

Ignoring how the rest cried out for their pinned classmate and being slowly crushed, Shigaraki looked over his second in command. "Took you long enough. What were you twiddling your thumbs after sending all the brats off?” Shigaraki asked, annoyed that all this had gone down. Nomu finally settled the stupid brat, but it shouldn't have taken so long.

"That is false. I sent most of them, including two teachers, to the different areas." Kurogiri confirmed what the teachers and students already suspected. Still, they focused more on getting through as Tetsutetsu was making progress. He just needed a little more time.

“Yeah, I knew that; I've been watching two of the…wait, what the hell do you mean most of them?" Shigaraki glared at his number two, who didn’t shrink under the intensely violent gaze.

“Some of them had quirks that allowed them to escape my warp gates. Along with Thirteen, they had managed to escape and kept me busy at the entrance. It pains me to inform you that one of them managed to get past me and escape the USJ.” Kurogiri reported that his fight with Thirteen and those remaining students had been one he wasn't prepared for.

It was easy enough to take down Thirteen; he merely used the same trick he had against the odd animal student who was about to strike their Nomu. But it would seem it wasn't an assured lethal blow as much as this boy. Thirteen wasn't killed by her quirk, as she canceled it before it could.

It was the other students who had been an issue. The one who could split herself was a real nuisance; her parts could already float, so opening portals high up and dropping them did nothing, nor did she care if he sent away pieces to begin with, as she just regrew what she could and laughed that if they won, she could nap after this and be right as rain. That was when he could even grab her pieces, as the white-haired one had a telekinetic quirk, which meant she could hold those pieces and pull them out of danger.

Once they had figured out that he had a collar, she grabbed it with her quirk, giving the others a chance to attack him as he could only open portals, not move or even turn his head. For that, he got a few punches from that boy in yellow and several cuts from the insect-looking one with blades coming off his arms. Finishing off that humiliation, the browned-haired girl touched it, her quirk leaving him weightless as the blonde with horns fired them at him, sending him flying off into the damn ceiling. Forcing him to watch as the boy in yellow opened the doors and allowed the Tokage girl to escape.

“What…you let some stupid brat escape?” Shigaraki asked, his fury getting to the highest of the day as he reached for his neck, scratching his skin aggressively until it turned red. Still, even as he drew blood, he didn't stop as his fury grew worse at how his plans, his dream to see All Might dead, and his reputation as the symbol were ruined. But apparently, his day was absolute trash! How was he supposed to trust Nomu to kill All Might when it couldn't even handle a stupid brat without an assist?

"Kurogiri…if you weren't our escape plan, I would turn you dust for that fuck-up!" He yelled before, and at least he calmed down as he started to think again. "Great, just our luck, we're down. God knows how many pawns are struggling with the mini-bosses, but there is no way we can clear this dungeon if more of them show up. Dammit, I want to fight the big boss, but we don't get any revives, and we'll need them."

‘They’re just going home? Just like that?’ Vlad asked himself, in disbelief over what he was hearing.

'Oh, thank God, this was getting intense!' Hagakure internally cheered, which meant they could get a chance to rest and medical attention for Midoriya, who continued to bleed even as that thing held him down.

‘Wait a second, something’s not right.’ Eraser thought to himself, Asui sharing that thought as it didn't make sense to her. Until now, Shigaraki has acted more like her siblings when they got emotional, and they haven't just backed down even when it would make sense.

'They've already sunk too much time and resources into this assault; they wouldn't just give up now, would they?' Yaoyorozu considered, seeing that Tetsutetsu was close to getting through, looking much worse than before, but his quirk was still up.

"But before we go, we can deal with one annoying mini-boss so he doesn't spawn next time. Nomu, crush him!" Shigaraki ordered with violent glee, but instead of hearing the sound of bones being smashed and blood splattering all over the place, the Nomu started to twitch.

“Nomu, I said crush him!” Shigaraki ordered before the Nomu let out a pained, confused screech, as its programming clashed against some new feeling in it as if its quirks were acting up in ways it wasn't built to handle as the damage Midoriya had done was starting to catch up. “Kill the stupid brat!”

Seeing his chance, Midoriya forced himself to act, even with the previous injury. He spent another chunk of his dwindling stamina and energy dispelling his dropped blade and summoning another. Grappling it tight, he thrust it back towards the Nomu holding him down. The blast stabbed deep into its chest, missing its heart, but that was fine as, with a determined yell, he fired off a blast of ice and electricity.

The duel elemental attack left him drained, but it did the job as it knocked the Nomu off him, its wound coated in thick ice, which further hampered its healing. At the same time, the electricity overloaded its nervous system, leaving it twitching about on the floor as Midoriya's transformation was released, his quirks seeing that his body wasn't in a state to maintain it any longer.

“Fine, then I’ll do it myself!” Shigaraki rushed forward to kill the weakened, vulnerable student, but Tetsutetsu got in the way.

“Like hell!” Shigaraki grabbed onto his forearm, his decay starting to spread. Still, Tetsutetsu grit his teeth as he punched the villain square in the gut, sending all the air in his lungs right out before he follows it up by tossing it back. "Damn, that hurts like hell. I knew that my steel might not hold up, but damn, did it not hold up!" Tetsutetsu's left forearm was an absolute mess; his steel skin decayed and flaked off, exposing the top layer of his muscle. Thankfully for him, that was all the damage.

“(Kero)” Asui also moved, her tongue wrapping around Midoriya’s waist and getting him out of there. "I wouldn't move around too much if I were you. That wound looks pretty deep." She told him, hiding how much she hated the taste of iron on her tongue.

Midoriya nodded, using considerable effort just to remain awake. Still, with how pale he was, she was sure that he needed a doctor and fast. “Got it…but we need to handle Nomu.” He told her, as the Nomu got over the muscle spams and crushed the ice that was in its wound, but despite that, it didn't act to kill him as ordered. Instead, it started twitching and stumbling about, and parts of its body began to pulse, bulge, and shrink randomly.

“It’s acting weird, probably because of what you did.” Asui guessed, as she had plenty of questions about that, but now wasn’t the time.

“Maybe…” Midoriya conceded, though there was more to that than just harm. His blade, much like the other weapons used by those like him, was designed to target quirks; it was why they could even hurt a quirk. But he had never seen one act like this; as he could see it, its super regeneration quirk factor was close to free, but its eyes didn't gain any awareness; instead, it seemed to be turning violent. To make things worse, he saw something he hadn't seen before, a second quirk in that thing, one that looked to be an older man but no less sane-looking.

‘But it could be something else…but what is it?’ Midoriya thought to himself before he realized with dread what was happening. He wanted to scream and yell for Asui to let him down so he could finish the job before things got worse. Still, he could barely move an arm, and even when he tried to summon his power, they rejected it because of his condition.

“Kurogiri!” Shigaraki's yell drew his and Tsu's attention as a portal appeared in front of the girl. The two were still mid-jump with no means to change course. Through the portal, Shigaraki's hand reached out, reaching to grab onto Asui and do to her what he tried to do to Tetsutetsu and Midoriya.

They would have been sitting ducks if not for aid to arrive. Vines burst out of the ground around the two villains, forcing them to dive away or else they get caught, a fate that dozens of the others still up and fighting didn't escape.

“None shall be harmed as long as I can lend my aid.” Glancing to the side, they saw that the calvary had arrived, with Shiozaki leading the charge; her vines dug deep into the concrete around her, only to be coming out closer to them and their many foes, several grabbing onto the Nomu to restrain the struggling, compromised beast. “You wretched villains, you need to repent for your sins.”

Shigaraki had to continue to play defensive and dodge as he saw the ground shift and evade. This was a good thing, too, as Honenuki’s softening saw many villains, both those Shiozaki had already restrained and those she hadn't started to sink into the mud until they were waist deep. Letting the ground harden with their trap, Honenuki spoke. "Sorry it took us a while to get here. There were a lot of villains in our way."

"I'm just glad we got some serious back-up, too!" Hagakure waved at them, though they couldn’t see it as she still didn’t wear her boots or gloves.

"Hey, I didn't get in through recommendations for nothing." Honenuki chuckled as Sero helped Eraser and Vlad, as they had just cut the villain's number down by half in less than 10 seconds; the stunning power play from the students meant that the villains were on the back foot, their morale dropping as their crucial advantage was so quickly handled-their numbers.

The Nomu continued to struggle, its quirks fighting against the beast's programming with their wrathful but directionless desires for revenge, as they didn't seem to know who or what they were angry about; they didn't recall anything like names or pasts. Aoyama heard all that and found it highly unusual for a quirk to be such a violent blank. “My deepest apologies, my good man,” That confusion didn’t stop him from doing his job as his blade pierced clean through the Nomu’s back, heart, and out its blood.

"But this is the best I can do. Be at peace and rest above in the sweet, loving clouds." He frowned as he quickly withdrew his blade; as the Nomu fell silent, the blonde flicked his sword to the side to rid it of blood.

“What the heck, man? You killed him!” Sero yelled at him, the rest of his group just as horrified at him for just straight killing someone.

"Correction, I put down a beast, one that was hurting," Aoyama replied. Honenuki and Shiozaki were quirks to move to restrain him as they didn't know what was happening. Still, she'll be damned if they just let that slide.

“Shiozaki, Honenuki, leave it. It wasn't a person, but a creature made to fight." Vlad stopped both as they looked at him in confusion. What did he mean it wasn't a person? Wait, why weren't the rest of their classmates who were here already any more surprised about this than they were?

“Dammit…Damnitdamnitdamnit!” Attention returned to Shigaraki, who now only stood with a fraction of his invasion force, most looking ready to lay down their arms and surrender. “Hell no, I’m not losing because of those brats, you hear me?!”

“It is quite immature to have a temper tantrum, villain? At least take your defeat with grace.” Aoyama told him, not even reacting to the fact he might have killed someone, or was it, not a person but a thing like Vlad-sensei said? His group wasn't sure.

“Nomu!!!” Shigaraki blew a casket and just yelled out to the heavens. “KILL ALL OF THEM!!”

“That won’t-!” Aoyama started, only to be interrupted by an unholy roar from his rear, accompanied by smashed concrete and ripping vines.

Chapter Text

“Text” – Normal speech

‘Text’ – Thought

“Text” – Quirk Spirit speaking in the human world

“Text” - Attacks

“Text” – Radio/Communication lines

“Text” – None Japanese speech

(text) – Subtext/meaning behind a spoken word

(Previously)

"It is quite immature to have a temper tantrum, villain? At least take your defeat with grace." Aoyama told him, not even reacting to the fact he might have killed someone, or was it not a person but a thing like Vlad-sensei said? His group wasn't sure.

“Nomu!!!” Shigaraki blew a casket and just yelled out to the heavens. “KILL ALL OF THEM!!”

“That won’t-!” Aoyama started, only to be interrupted by an unholy roar from his rear, accompanied by smashed concrete and ripping vines.

Turning, he saw something that shouldn't be possible. The Nomu was getting up, but its body was grotesquely changing as its flesh seemed to bend, twist, and bulge in all directions. Its bones shattered as they took on a new shape, at times bursting out its muscles in a spray of blood, only some of them retreating back into the depths.

Letting out another screech so piercing that it rattled the ears of everyone, hero, student, and villain alike, as they reached for their ears or fell to a knee in pain. They continued to witness whatever atrocious evolution as its body, already large and muscular, started to grow…and grow…and grow.

It didn't stop even as the beast reached a height of 2.5 m, then 3m, then 4.5m. Its weight seemed to grow along with its size as the floor it stood on started to buckle, which shouldn't have been possible as it was concreated.

“What the hell is that?” Tetsutetsu yelled, falling on his ass as the Nomu’s screeches grew louder and more chaotic; it started forming more beaks along its body along with multiple legs and arms, but they were better described as tumors as they just sprouted randomly, some not fully formed with exposed muscle and bone.

“I thought you ran it through!” Honenuki yelled as he tried to bury the monster in mud before it could finish whatever was happening to it, but even as he made the mud deep, the beast’s size meant that it still had parts of it out, and those parts kept growing.

"I did!" Aoyama yelled back as Shiozaki acted, shifting focus to the most significant threat and trying to restrain it. Still, its many arms, legs, and mouths kept getting in the way, pulling, ripping, and biting at the vines she called upon to try and restrain it as it continued to screech for all the USJ to hear.

"Super regeneration…that…thing has super regeneration," Midoriya spoke up, breathing heavily as Asui helped him to stand, though she outright refused to let him get closer to the mass that was happening, as they heard Eraser already yell that he tried to cancel the thing's quirk, but that wasn't working.

"This goes beyond mere healing. Its cells are dividing uncontrollably. It's a walking tumor!" Yaoyorozu called out as she spent a considerable amount of her quirk to create a cannon, aimed it at the Nomu, and fired. The explosive might have blown a sizable hole in its side, but the bloody, blackened wound didn't last as it continued to mutate and heal.

At last, it stopped when the amalgamation of twisted, ill-formed limbs, mouths, and eyes stood before them. Even with it sunk in the ground, its body still was well over 7m tall, casting a sickening shadow over them as it roared before it pulled an arm back to strike.

 "One that wants to kill us, so let's run!" Bondo yelled as the students and teachers didn't need any further prodding. They all ran for it right as the fist struck like a cruise missile, and the concrete exploded while the ground shook. Not done, the beast started to move, chasing after the closest person it could see. In contrast, the others tried to damage or take it down, but its size hindered such efforts as it walked through Honenuki’s mud, slowed but not stopped. Shiozaki directed all her remaining vines to restrain it, but they kept tearing under the strain.

That second quirk seemed to finally get into factor as their blows, such as cannon balls, kicks, or blood hammers, didn't so much as make it flinch, Vlad, yelling back that it was like he was hitting a pillow while Eraser was forced to fight quirkless as for some reason, his quirk had no effect. Aoyama and Midoriya suspected that it couldn't as, at this point, the body wasn't using a quirk. Still, the quirks were manipulating a glorified, if not horrific, meat doll, which meant that Eraser couldn't 'see' the quirk anymore.

“Yuga…you see it too, don’t you?" Aoyama turned to Midoriya, the wounded, pale-faced boy speaking French.

Aoyama thought that the time had passed but replied in his native tongue. "Yeah, you couldn't finish the job, were you?" He asked, as he could see it: in that mess of putrid flesh, limbs, and organs, the two quirks were lashing out.

“I was interrupted by the warp villain," Midoriya replied, though his eyes were downcast. That sounded like an excuse. He should have prepared for him; he knew he was there but forgot, and now he couldn't make up for his mistake.

“I see…then it’s up to me.” Aoyama turned to him, helping Asui and Toru tend to Midoriya’s wounds by using Synthesis to give him a boost of energy and help close the wound. He could try and use something stronger, but it would leave him drained. "But this thing… seems too strong to be a Gekiha.”

Breathing easier now that his wound pouring as much blood as possible, Midoriya gestured for the two girls to help him sit upright. His costume's top had been torn up and used as makeshift bandages as Yaoyorozu was too busy with the fight to spare the time to make some. "Yeah…that means we're dealing with a low Shishiha(Lion Fragment) at least…" Both Asui and Hagakure were left in the dark about what they were discussing, but they didn't interrupt them.

Whatever it was, it was severe as Aoyama let out a gasp before it groaned into his hand. "Heavens, and we can't call for backup. I'll have to handle most of it and leave the others." That wasn't ideal; neither he nor Izuku had ever faced a level 4 quirk spirit, and reports of how to take one down always had people working in teams of 3, something that couldn't be done even if they could call for Fuwa, she was still in class and would need an excuse to leave and rush over to the USJ, and by then, God knew how much destruction could have happened as the damned thing didn’t even see to know what it wanted to destroy, so it settled on everything.

“I’ll back you up.” Aoyama didn't need to stop Midoriya; Asui could not keep his foolish friend down.

"No, you won't. You can barely stand," Aoyama told him. Midoriya looked at his back, then at Asui, whose face hardly changed, but her eyes said enough about the chances of her letting him get back into the fight.

Still, he couldn’t just sit back. “I can provide you with buffs and weaken the threat-”

“Give me some buffs now, then you stay there. I won’t argue with this, Izuku.” Aoyama replied, his flamboyance ever present, but there was a will to his words; when he glanced over his shoulder, Izuku could see that this was one of those times when he just wouldn't win this argument.

“Good luck…” Midoriya stated, lowering his head and letting Asui move him to the safer position as far from the fighting as she could manage.

“Right,” Yuga replied, watching as she took his best friend to safety. He hoped she had been taking notes in Snipe's first aide classes, as Izuku's wound was severe. But he would need to focus on the task as he raised his blade, holding it horizontally at chest level and grasping its blade just above the hilt. Taking a breath, he, too, went full out.

“Dazzle and Shine, Ôxâ de paradî!” He pulled his hand up the blade, his blood fusing with it as it burst into a sphere of light that engulfed him. This caught the attention of the Shishiha, which turned just in them for a thrust of yellow sunlight and blue moonlight to stab into the creature's shoulder, burning a hole deep into its flesh, which bore a scream of pain and rage from it.

When the sphere of light faded, Aoyama stood changed much like his friend had been, taking on a form similar to what he appeared like during the entrance exam, only his feathers were larger, brighter, and more vibrant, his feet having shifted into those of a bird with large, sharp talons and a hind claw for latching onto prey. He now had 5 large rainbow-colored feathers atop his head, this feathery crown ever-changing color. His peacock tail was much like the rest of him, larger, with each feather having the mark of a yellow sun or a blue moon.

His blades had also changed. Instead of having a two-handed longsword in one hand and a dagger in the other, he now duel-wielded a saber and a rapier. Both blades seemed made up of blue and yellow light concentrated into a physical form.

"It's time for the curtain call, ladies and gentlemen." Yuga opened his eyes, revealing a kaleidoscope color nearly as bright as his smile as he pointed his rapier toward the recovering creature. "The monster has made its appearance. It's only proper that we, a merry band of heroes, stand against it and claim victory in combat."

Aoyama jumped into the fight, the Shishiha ignoring the rest, seeing him as the biggest threat as it sludged through the mud that Honenuki had buried, pulling back an arm before sending it crashing down on him. Eraser acted quickly, his capture scarf wrapping around Aoyama to pull him to safety as Shiozaki's vines latched onto the Nomu’s arm to slow its attack down just enough for the pro to get his student out of there.

“And what were you thinking, charging in like that?” Eraser demanded from Aoyama.

"I had a plan, sir. I can create shields," Aoyama replied, though he was just as frustrated as his teacher and had the means to counter it.

Before Eraser could reply, the creature ripped through the vines, keeping hold of it, not caring for the rope burns and vicious scars left by Shiozaki, allowing her vines to grow thorns that dug into its flesh. With its arm freed and still slowed by its lower body being trapped in mud, the rampaging monster instead targeted them with its massive but exceptionally quirk fists; most of the students and even Vlad needed to play evasion, a game made more complex as they were carrying off as many of their defeated opponents as they could to spare them being killed.

With another strike coming down, the entire plaza shook under their feet. "I doubt that they could stand up to the power of that thing before, but now," Eraser hated how little he knew, how much his students did know, and that disconnect. As they already had one injury, he would sooner drink bleach like an idiot than allow more of his students harm.

“Still.” Aoyama tried to argue his case, but Vlad cut them off.

"Better we don't risk it when you could be hurt. If you must, use them as distractions." Vlad needed them both to focus on the issue at hand. That agreed Aoyama demonstrated what his two new blades could do as he pointed his rapier at the beast, bright yellow sunlight building in its tip.

“Solar Beam – Rapid Fire." Aoyama's rapier unleashed a volley of blasts of yellow sunlight against the Nomu-turned Shishiha. They weren't nearly as strong as his opening strike, but they burned and dug into its flesh. More importantly, it drew its attention away from Hagakure and Yaoyorozu, the latter kneeling, her face getting sweaty as he rested against the cannon she made.

“Yaomomo, are you okay?” Hagakure asked. As the girl had already made ample use of her quirk before they ever got to the plaza, it couldn't have been good for her to produce a fully functional cannon and then the many explosive shots it would need.

"I'm fine; I can keep going," Yaoyorozu replied, though it took an effort to get back up. Sero and Tetsutetsu came in to lend aid, wrapping up the two girls to carry them to a better spot. At the same time, Tetsutetsu grabbed the cannon, neither being of much help against the monster, as Aoyama and Midoriya called it.

“Just what will it take to bring this thing down? Not even that flashy attack from Aoyama is slowing it down.” Bondo asked, nearly his wit's end as he sprayed it with more of his glue, trying to get it to stick in place. Still, when it did get in the way, like closing an eye or mouth, it just ripped the glue and flesh off its form and tossed it aside, forcing the yellow-skinned boy to stop just because of how disgusting the battlefield was getting from that complete disregard to self-harm from the beast.

“Maybe this will,” Honenuki hardened the concrete the Nomu was walking through. It seemed to work for a moment as Shiozaki again was quick to try and restrain its top half, Sero joining in now that Hagakure and Yaoyorozu were in a better spot. But this didn't work long as with a screech that made them feel like theirs would bleed, the Nomu broke free of the restraints on its limbs and neck and punched the now hardened concrete, shattering a large portion of it and sending those closest flying back or falling over.

 Getting up as quick as he could, the lipless teen growled as he saw the Nomu crawling out from the now-damaged concrete, its legs torn to shreds. Clearly, it didn't free itself entirely before moving, but already, they were rapidly healing. Acting fast, he used his quirk again, sinking the beast back into the mud trap. “Crap, this bastard just doesn’t give up.”

Honenuki saw how fast the thing could attack and didn't want to give it a chance to prove that it could be just as fast on its feet. Because it was, then they were royally screwed.

"It is a formidable foe, but one that will fall," Shiozaki called out, stretching her vines to attempt to restrain the beast from two sides while Sero came swinging in to try and pull one of its smaller arms.

"Can't you bury it deeper, Honenuki?” Tetsutetsu asked, having rejoined the battle but having little he could do as he couldn't punch something like that, even if Honenuki allowed him a path.

"I can't; I haven't trained my quirk to that level," Honenuki replied, sensing the frustration in his classmate for how little he could do, but truthfully, he was just as frustrated as, despite being a recommendation student, he could only keep the damned thing largely immobile. There was a blast of light, along with Yaoyorozu's cannon barking as it let loose another explosive shell, but the damned monster just continued to heal. “Besides, you saw that thing walk through concrete; I don't think burying it would do us any good."

Vlad aided in the attack, throwing spears of blood toward the creature as Honenuki kept it from bull rushing them; that was one of the only 2 things he could do. The other was co-ordinate as despite these being first years with little training, Vlad stepped up to the plate and led them, giving clear orders to anyone that could hear him, ensuring that despite their lack of success in landing a good blow, the mutated Nomu hadn't managed to injure or God forbid, kill one of them. However, there were close calls, and they were only getting closer.

Eraser, used to solo-combat in fights that were nothing like this, didn't try to lead aid on that leadership front. Instead, with his quirk seemingly useless against the current threat, he stuck to fighting with his students and saving them via his capture scarf when one made the wrong step, or the Nomu reacted in ways they didn't predict. With attention off them, Kurogiri turned to Shigaraki to offer him some advice.

"Master, I believe this would be a good time to leave. The Nomu isn't behaving as it was designed." The warp gate user stated that their foes had been so preoccupied with their Nomu that a simple retreat meant that not even the teachers focused on them. This would typically be an excellent time to attack, but his gut told him that their Nomu wasn't theirs anymore, and interrupting now could end poorly for them.

Shigaraki, despite how much he wanted to refuse, was getting that same feeling, he wanted to go after that Midoriya brat as he was the cause of this, him and that weird ass quirk of his, but that frog girl had fled somewhere into the tree-line that bordered the plaza. One of the other zones, and it would take too long to find them and score some kills.

"I hate it when you're right…You know what, screw it, let them deal with it, maybe it'll farm some XP for us." Shigaraki reluctantly agreed, as whatever game this was had to be buggy. The heroes are too distracted to notice the portal forming and the hand-covered villain leaving, followed by Kurogiri.

Another explosion rang out, this one taking out of the larger eyes of the beast, which screeched at the loss of the organ. As it regenerated, its tissues pulsated as they spat out blood through it all. Yaoyorozu fell to her knees, and the exhaustion from using her quirk for such an extended period finally caught up.

“I’m getting Yaomomo out of here!” Hagakure called out to the rest, helping Yaoyorozu stand and rush off.

“I can still help.” Yaoyorozu tried to fight back, but it was a testament to the woman's exhaustion. She didn't have the strength to resist her smaller, physically weaker classmate.

"No, you can't, Hagakure. Get her to where Asui is tending to Midoriya!" Eraser called out to her and pointed in the direction the frog girl who had taken Midoriya. Hopefully, they could help her treat their classmate's wounds.

“Got it, sir!” Hagakure replied as they made their way off, but the Nomu mutant wasn't done with them. While having no target, it saw everything as something to destroy after all the pain it had gone through; a long, thin arm sprouted from its shoulder and raced towards the two girls, the spontaneous limb growth catching the rest off guard.

“Incoming!” Honenuki called to them as Hagakure pushed Yaoyorozu to the ground and jumped atop her to offer protection.

“Reflect!” A hard light barrier formed between the two girls and the Shishiha’s latest attack; it buckled but held under the force of it. With his rapier, Aoyama pointed in their direction and yelled for them to move. "Get her out of here; we can keep this beast busy!" He didn't look their way long enough to see if they obeyed as he followed up his defense with an offense, sending a blue moonlight slash against the arm, severing it at one of its many elbows.

He sent out a few more, targeted at various points across the creature’s extended, thinner arm cutting it into 4 pieces which pissed it off as it turned its attention back to the rest of them. “I’m starting to question if we can keep this thing busy; we're already down 2 people and haven't made any progress." Honenuki voiced their building concerns over their chances.

"We're still breathing and in fighting shape; that's progress. So keep that chin up and keep this monster from hurting anyone. Is that clear?" Vlad reminded them, as one needed to have faith before they did anything.

"Yes, sir!" The students replied, putting as much of their confidence into their words as they could, though they didn’t dispel their doubts as with Yaomomo off the field, that was another of the precious ranged fighters gone. She left her cannon, but she didn't leave any shot for the damn thing.

“Mirror!” Aoyama created another hard light construct, but instead of a barrier, he tried something new and created a photorealistic image of his best friend dancing like an idiot. This was a scream of fury from the beast when it saw the person it wanted to kill the most before it promptly rashed the image. But then Aoyama just made another, and then another, keeping up and drawing its attention off the rest to give them some breathing room.

“You’re creating illusions?” Sero asked him, landing next to him.

Aoyama started to sweat, but despite his building exhaustion, he smiled as he made his 7^th illusion with their foe showing no signs of catching off, and why would it? It was acting like a mindless beast. “Looks like it’s still pretty made at Midoriya if just seeing that pisses it off that much.”

“Which I can use,” he ceased, breathing as he gathered a substantial amount of his light reserves. His two blades started to glow brightly enough that others couldn't look directly at him, not even their opponent, who roared in confusion, its dozen eyes closing as it turned its massive, ugly, mutated head away. “Everyone, be ready for a dazzling light show, House of Light!”

Aoyama called out as he used a fusion move that combined elements of Mirror and Reflect and multiplied the result. The light from his two blades shot up into the air before making a hard right turn toward the Shishiha. They didn't strike it; instead, they stopped directly over its massive head, where the ball of light burst into dozens of small ones that threaded themselves out, thinning themselves into mirrors.

He willed it so that they could go through the mirror dome, but to the beast, all it saw was dozens upon dozens of dancing Midoriya's silently taunting it. As Yuga had predicted, it was incensed to a whole new level, its cry so piercing that it could feel it in his bones, but it was also overwhelmed as it didn't know where or how to start.

That meant that it was entirely unprepared for Shiozaki, Sero, and Tetsutetsu as the vine-haired girl's quirk burst out of the area that was still solid around the Nomu, going through the gaps of the mirrors and latching onto the beast, wrapping onto its arms while Sero's tape shots in and went around its neck several times. Still, the boy, with the aid of Tetsutetsu, started to pull, forcing his head closer to the ground.

The monster struggled against this, but this left it wide open for another move as Aoyama shattered the mirrors, using its confusion at the loss of all its prey to hold up his saber and charge it with as much moonlight as he could before he brought it down like a strike from above.

“Moonblast: Bleeding Blue Crescent!” Aoyama's possible most potent attack yet, the massive crescent of pure blue moonlight, was almost as large as the beast and just as powerful. It managed to cleave through its entire body, tearing through muscle, bone, and organs before coming out the other side, whatever blood and tissue was on it burning up from the light.

Such a grievous wound, even to a monster that could regenerate, couldn't be brushed aside as it let out a cry of pain, its strength dropping as Yuga saw that he had done some real damage to the quirks at its core. This weakened state meant that those trying to restrain it and drag it face-first into the mud where it would hopefully drown were having an easier time of it. They had managed to get its chin beneath the mud, its body covered not by closing the gaping wound but by going a much more macabre route and sprouting arms that locked together, holding the two sides like chains.

The sight of such had even the teachers gagging in their mouths as Honenuki, Shiozaki, and Aoyama threw up at such a ghastly. In their revulsion, their efforts slacked, and Shishiha, not healed but in fight shape, took advantage as it let a roar that seemed to shake the entire USJ, this being the latest one that people in other zones could hear and couldn’t help but turn towards.

Back in the plaza, it ripped free of the restraints as Aoyama wiped his vomit from his lips with the back of his hand. “Not even that can put you down, you foul beast? Well, then we as the leading actors…” He got hit by a dizzy spell and would have fallen if not for Vlad catching him, the man immediately noticing how pale the kid looked.

"Aoyama," , are you good, son?" Hehe asked. Aoyama took some breaths to clear his head and vision, slowing down to get his feet back under him.

"Just…just a little winded. Truth be told, I've never had to use so much light or stamina. Just give me a second to absorb some sunlight." Aoyama replied, trying to reassure the man with a confident smile, but it made him look worse. Aoyama could tell as much with how Vlad looked him over, and he couldn't blame him. Even in training, he had never pushed himself this far; already, he could feel Ôxâ de paradî reminding him that he didn’t have much time before she separated from him for his own good, with or without his permission.

“And your stamina?” Vlad asked, deciding to not bench him for practical reasons.

"Well, we're all in the same boat on that front, sir," Aoyama replied as he looked up at the dome that left plenty of light in from the sun. Holding his arms out wide, his blades held, he closed his eyes as he felt the rays on his skin. “Synthesis." He called out, and immediately, the teacher and the others could feel the light flowing into his body like water down a drain; as it did so, his pale complexion faded as color returned to his form; only now did they notice that even his bright plumage had faded somewhat, a side effect of exhaustion of his quirk.

They weren't given time to ask as their foe hadn't been idle. At first, it had been trying to attack Sero and Tetsutetsu, but at the last second, he jumped onto some vines and turned to crush Shiozaki.

“Shiozaki!” Eraser called for her, throwing his capture scarf her way, but the distance was too great, and he could see he wouldn't make it. He spared Aoyama a glance, hoping to see him creating another light barrier, but he remained stationary, still charging up and probably unaware of what was happening around him.

Time sped back up to normal as the fist came crashing down where Shiozaki had been with earth-shaking force, leaving the group slack-jawed at that was their first loss—"I got you, Shiozaki. Are you unharmed?" They turned their necks so fast that they could have snapped them, but there to the side stood Iida, still wet from having to swim through the artificial lake, and in his hands, he held Shiozaki bridal style.

“Iida?” The vine-haired girl seemed just as confused about her fate as the rest. She had genuinely regretted that she would perish before she could do any of the good deeds she wished to be a good person as the excellent book taught. She had hoped for the Lord to send aid. And it would seem he did, in the form of a speedster who was just the vanguard of their backup.

“What the hell is that thing?” Mineta yelled as he and the rest of those sent to the flood zone arrived, the shortest among them screaming his head off as he tossed as many of his balls as he could at it. “Why’d we come towards it?!”

"Because they needed our help, you perv, so shut up and help me fight," Ashido yelled at him, though she was just as horrified and petrified by what they had seen as they approached. That fear only rose as she saw that the globs of acid she threw made contact, even melted away flesh, or the eyes, ears, noses, or beaked mouths that covered its grotesque form, only for those wounds to rapidly heal as it turned on them.

“No good, that thing’s healing faster than you can melt!” Awase yelled, seeing how little they could do and hating that again. He was next to useless in this battle, with the group noticing the mud that the beast was waist-deep in and still towering over them like an adult over a kindergartener.

“It has some sort of regenerations quirk, but it’s gone out of control and turned into…well, that!” Tetsutetsu yelled at them.

“What about physical attacks to stun the beast?" Shishida asked, as he could probably clear the distance and land some hits or throw someone like Tetsutetsu.

"We tried some earlier; the damn thing didn't even react!" Honenuki replied, as that was why Yaoyorozu had to use explosive shots rather than straight cannon balls; the best guess they got came from Aoyama that the beast had 2 quirks, one that mutated out of control into this hardcore mode video game level boss, and another that seemed to decrease shock from impact. However, he couldn't say if he negated, absorbed, or did something else, and with how crazy things were, they just decided to trust him.

Before anything else could be said, the temperature dropped as a jet of cold air came flying in from the side; a second later, a massive wave of ice crashed into Nomu’s side, spreading across its body, the frost seeping deep into its muscle until muscle, blood, and nerves froze over.

"You all seemed to have been having trouble with that…thing," Todoroki announced himself, along with the rest of his ground, as the red and white-haired boy still knelt with his right hand to the floor, the ice originating from him.

"Crap, Yaoyorozu, and Tsu weren't kidding about the thing being big." Kirishima whistled, as once they had escaped from the fire zone, they moved towards where they heard the worst fighting and happened upon where Asui, Hagakure, Yaoyorozu, and Midoriya had made camp. However, the latter had been unconscious when they found them, a nasty wound on his back.

Yaoyorozu advised that only Todoroki and Rin get involved, saying that, in her words, the monster was too much for the rest of them. He had been skeptical of that, so while Ojiro and Shoji had followed her advice and remained to help tend to Yaoyorozu's exhaustion and Midoriya's injuries, he had gone with the rest and could see she hadn't been kidding.

"Kirishima, stay focused," Todoroki told his classmate, who turned to him confused.

“Wait, why? You froze half its body.” Kirishima's question was answered when they heard the half-frozen beast start to shake, cracks forming across its frozen body as its mouth began to squawk, moan, and howl.

“Because,” Todoroki narrowed his eyes as the monster shattered free of the ice. Because he hadn't just covered it with ice but froze it to the bone, that meant those pieces snapped off, leaving iced-over wounds that shattered in a shower of ice and blood as they started to regenerate rapidly. “If it was that easy, they would have defeated it by now.”

“Oh heavens, that is just unnatural!” Shiozaki felt sick just watching it as bones, muscles, and blood formed at an accelerated pace. The creature's already unstable body wasn't creating its lost pieces correctly, making it look worse. It even sprout^{ed a third} arm out of its now-regrown shoulder. Todoroki was about to try and freeze the entire thing, but then a shadow fell over him and the rest.

"Heads up!" Looking up, they saw what looked like a giant piece of debris floating overhead, Uraraka peeking out atop it, waving at them while looking green-faced. They wondered how she was doing that, as her quirk granted her gravity control. Still, it couldn't manipulate objects like that, with it being Eraser or saw Yanagi first, the girl having her hands pointed to the boulder, her face sweaty under the strain of it as she shifted it right above the target.

"Is this good?" Yanagi called Uraraka, who jumped back.

“It is, release!” Uraraka brought her finger and thumb tips together when Yanagi released her hold on the boulder. It returned to gravity's influence, crashing into the Nomu’s head as it lifted an arm to protect itself.

"Uraraka, Yanagi!!" Kirishima called out as the two girls landed close to Vlad. Both looked strained from pulling off that stunt.

"It was not just us; we saw the commotion from the stairs and couldn't stand by!" Uraraka explained that Tsuburaba, Kamakiri, and Kodai had all arrived on the scene.

"We're also after that warp bastard. Is he here?" Kamakiri asked when the rest realized he and that hand villain were gone.

"Worry about them later. Where's Thirteen?" Vlad asked as they had thus far only seen students.

"She's injured, but Tsunotori, Sato, and Koda look after her. Also, Tokage managed to get out, so we should be getting help any minute now!" Yanagi explained, which relieved the students.

“Oh, that is some good news, the best damn news I’ve heard all week.” Tetsutetsu felt a weight off his shoulders. As if the teachers were heading this way, All Might was also on his way. That celebration was cut short when the Nomu roared, throwing the boulder off itself to the side.

“What the? But I dropped-” Uraraka was stopped by Honenuki.

“Summary, it has 2 quirks. Super Regeneration, which turned it into a supercharged tumor that wants to kill us, and another that basically means that you can rely on the shock to hurt it!” He gave her the rundown of things, which left her pale as that shouldn’t be possible, only One for All-

“Two quirks?” Yanagi asked in disbelief. It was one thing to watch things turn to chaos from the stairs; it was another to learn that the threat was multi-quirked.

"Just roll with it. You'll live longer!" Sero yelled as he and others had to dodge an attempted swing.

"Well, then, what do we do?" Uraraka asked, as she felt that she could use One for All for this, but if shock couldn't do the job, then all she'd do was wreck her arm. Even that boulder had been hard to get, as there weren't many loose rocks. She had found the biggest one they could and had Kodai enlarge it.

Vlad was also considering the situation. Aid was on the way, but considering the distance to campus, even if Tokage went full speed, she wouldn't be able to get help for another 10 minutes, maybe shorter if she had a phone, but he wasn't sure about that.

He thought about how they had fought against the Nomu creature so far, before and after its transformation, which is when he realized something and turned to Aoyama, who had just come out of whatever trance he was in, his body glowing.

"Aoyama, besides Midoriya, your quirk is the only one that can damage it, " he asked. The ground shaking from another dodged the punch, followed by a screech they had to soldier through.

"Yes, sir." Aoyama nodded, taking in their new faces on the field. It's good; they would need help.

“If we get you an opening, can you end it?” Vlad asked him, which made him frown. He worried about that. He had used a large attack earlier, which hadn't done the job, as it would have weakened Gekiha. He had never faced such a threat.

"Maybe, but I'll need time to prepare, and I'll probably need to use all I have left if I miss or fail-”

Vlad stopped him. “Then don’t; that thinking is the first step to defeat.”

"When you defend against an attack, it shouldn't get killed. When you attack a villain, you shouldn't fear hurting them. When you defend someone else, you shouldn't fear them dying. You start thinking like that, allowing fear and doubt into your heart, and then you've already failed, a useless hero." He told him, his words carrying a level of assurance that could only be born from hard-earned wisdom, from a man who had seen those who hadn't heeded those words fail and die.

“When you defend, it’s because you won’t get hit. When you attack, it’s to end the fight. When you defend, it’s because you will protect those behind you. Getting your blood pumping, hold up those blades of yours and engrave it into your heart that you WILL land the blow when we give you an opening." Vlad turned to him, his eyes burning with a determination that lit a spark in Aoyama, whose frown shifted into a smile of determination.

“Aye,” Aoyama flamboyantly bowed to them before jumping back, again taking a stance to start taking in light. It would leave him exhausted, but he would just need one hit. "I'll start gathering light; give me 20 seconds, and I'll end it."

"We'll keep it distracted while you work; I assume that Yanagi, Todoroki, Uraraka, Kodai, Shiozaki, and Honenuki will give our opening." Eraser was a quirk on the uptake, which Vlad appreciated as it saved precious time.

“The rest will keep them off us,” Eraser told them. The students sighed, but despite the odds, not a single one of them backed down.

"No rest for the wicked; let's get into this," Honenuki grunted as he poured all he had into trying to make the mud pit even deeper. The Nomu screamed as it sunk lower, confused about this, as its arms grabbed the ground that was still stable to try and stabilize itself, which was what they wanted.

"Hey, you ugly bastard, you can regenerate, right? Well, I'll just keep cutting at you till you tiny little bits!" Kamakiri yelled as he grew blades from his forearms and leaped for one of the arms, landing several large and deep cuts on the limb, which didn't get through but weakened its grip. Rin was quirk to assist, firing scales into those wounds as they healed, which caused the Nomu to scream in pain from the foreign objects cutting into its nearly healed flesh from the inside.

Its arm bulged before bursting as the flesh containing the scales was violently ejected, but Rin, despite wanting to throw up at such a sight, just fired more into the wounds. To the other arm, Kirishima and Tetsutetsu were punching at it with reckless abandon, jumping off platforms made from air.

“Thanks for the platforms!” Tetsutetsu called to their classmate who, from a safe distance, was blowing solid air surfaces for them to stand on.

“We need to stay out of Honenuki's way.” He called back before taking a breath to make more as the Nomu smashed through half a dozen of them, but luckily, he didn't manage to hit either as Sero and Shiozaki came in to try and restrain it, pulling its third arm till it lost grip and forced the beast to stumble a little. Eraser once more acts as support, pulling students out of danger or, in the case of Ashido, tossing her above so she can spray acid as many angles as possible, only for the girl to be caught by Sero and then passed back to the underground hero.

Iida also helped get people out of them while drawing attention to himself when he used the air platforms to launch kicks as Shishida roared back at the Nomu and slashed at it with his claws. But for all their efforts, it wasn't dealing any lasting damage; it was just keeping it occupied, which was enough for now.

As the others did that, Yanagi turned towards her teacher. “What are we doing?”

"Those last two attacks did some real damage. It slowed its healing." Vlad explained to them, getting Todoroki to nod as he suspected he knew where their teacher was going.

"So we need to strike it again like that and let Aoyama handle it, " Todoroki said, ignoring how the others looked at him like he was a genius. His father had drilled him on situational awareness since he was 10. “That’s possible, but should I freeze it?”

"Not entirely. This will be a team move. Here's the plan." Vlad started to explain things.

Chapter Text

“Text” – Normal speech

‘Text’ – Thought

“Text” – Quirk Spirit speaking in the human world

“Text” - Attacks

“Text” – Radio/Communication lines

“Text” – None Japanese speech

(text) – Subtext/meaning behind a spoken word

"Just 20 seconds, that would be easy, " Todoroki said as Vlad finished explaining the plan. He had to admit it wasn't too complicated, but it should get the job done. As if to disprove him, the creature's body mutated once again, growing a fourth arm from its shoulder blade, bone sticking out like a blade as it let out an unholy screech, slamming the weapon down where they had just been standing.

“You just had to jinx it, didn’t you?” Honenuki yelled as he and the rest dodged the attack, but that would make things a little more complicated.

"Focus on the fight, keep each other safe, and buy Aoyama time!" Vlad reminded them.

“Sir!” The students replied as Yanagi levitated a piece of debris large enough for Todoroki to stand on. Jumping on, he knelt to keep his balance as she few it over towards the Nomu, whose other additional arm sprouted another bone sword in a burst of blood and flesh. The dual-haired colored boy chose to ignore it, or else he gagged as he was brought close enough that he could lay his right hand on its side.

The Nomu was quick to react, its body shifting as smaller hands came out to grab him, to do what he didn't know. But they were too slow, and ice burst out, spreading across its body. Todoroki pushed his quirk to freeze it all the way to the bone. The beast screeched as more of its body was enveloped in ice, flesh rapidly cooling to below freezing, slowing down its regeneration and mutations.

"It's done," Todoroki called back as he was carried away. He would have thought that enough, as well as that over half the beast was frozen, but it started proving that his ice wouldn't be enough, a notion that angered him more than he let show.

"I apologize for this, but this will see you laid to rest." His part done, Shiozaki was next as her vines came bursting out of the softened earth around the creature, wrapping around its frozen limbs and squeezing, the thorn-covered vines digging into the ice, which started to crack and buckle before with the sound of a glass shattering, she smashed through, severing limbs and leaving behind frostbite riddled stomps, the Nomu letting out a pained screech which had her reeling, hoping that this was the only means they had as if not, she couldn’t bare the thought of causing a living creature sure pain.

“Let's hope that this is enough to bring it down." Uraraka used her quirk on herself, removing gravity from her body before her legs started to glow, her boots struggling to contain their raw power as she leaped forward. She aimed for the creature's chest, still frozen over but cracking as whatever mutated regeneration it had started to handle the ice. Pulling her first back, her arm started to glow, and she swung it as hard as possible.

“Smash!" she cried out as she punched through the beast with an explosion, tearing through frozen muscle, bone, and organs as she burst out its back. Her arms and legs were useless, but Yanagi and Kodai were lucky enough to catch up.

The size manipulator took the chance to toss pieces of debris she picked up into the ghastly would before increasing its size. It clocked up its regeneration as its organs were now being crushed by the boulders left as they tried to regrow. But even then, they witnessed its body continue to mutate and adapt, the boulders slowly being broken up and crushed as its organs pushed them out of the way.

Others wouldn't just let it heal, as the Nomu started to slow. Kamakiri continued dashing around the now injured and slowed monster, leaving behind more cuts and gashes on its limbs, which Rin fired into. Even as its body started rejecting entire pieces of itself to escape the agony of his scales, it left more wounds for him to target.

"This is the stuff of nightmares!" Kirishima yelled as he and Tetsutetsu continued the attack, both now shivering in disgust, horror, and adrenaline as they, much like Kamakiri, were close enough that its blood spilled on them. The two just kept repeating in their heads that it wasn't a man, it wasn't an animal-it was a thing. A thing that had to be put down.

"It's time!" Aoyama called out, now hard to look at with how bright he was, his blades held at the ready. Honenuki didn't need another command as he hardened the earth, trapping the wounded and still-healing beast. The Nomu was so weak that while it struggled long past the point that any living creature would have died or just given up, it didn't have the power to break free.

With the rest either pulling back or being carried by the rest, Aoyama focused his attention on their foe—a monster that should have never been made and should have never suffered. But he understood that life could be cruel and unfair to even the best of people.

All he could do right now...was give it rest.

"House of light!" he called out again, but this time, the light didn't come from his blades but separated from his bright form. It shot out towards the Shishiha, flying over the creature, where, like before, it burst into dozens of small lights that flew around the Shishiha, creating his mirrors.

But this wasn’t all of it, as those mirrors acted as focusing mirrors, light building up into their centers like lasers glowing brightly. "Burst!" Aoyama called out, and as one, the mirrors unleashed their barrage, the blasts searing deep into the beast, some hitting as far as bone, some cutting off its more minor wounds. The rest flinched as the smell of burnt pork hit their noises, some throwing up at the smell.

Aoyama swept but kept composure. For a moment, he wished he had a quirk that wasn't so painful, that he wasn't fighting this alone. But it was necessary. The others had done a great job; he just needed to do a little more damage so that he could see its corp.

'There.' He thought, spotting it through the raving mass of flesh so desperately trying to stitch itself back together. He even saw its other quirk, the two close enough that a single strike should do it.

His form ceased its glow as Aoyama sent all his light and power into his blades, which burned like stars in the midnight sky. "Solar Saber-!” Aoyama swung his saber downward, creating a slash of blue moonlight tinged with yellow sunlight. Still, the strike didn't travel but stayed in place. It seemed to glow larger, brighter, and more unstable as Aoyama continued it, risking it all with an attack he hadn't used before.

When the crescent was as big as the beast, and others worried it would backfire on them, Aoyama pulled back his rapier, focusing all his remaining power into its very tip as he thrust it towards his crescent. "Helios’s Chariot!" Aoyama poured all he had into this attack, as the moment the tip of his rapier touched the crescent, they realized that it wasn't a slash like his other strikes but a giant bow.

A bow fired off a giant burst of spiraling yellow and blue light so bright that it lit up the entire USJ, shining even through the dome as everyone had to look away or else be blinded. The Nomu didn't even have a moment to breathe as the bolt of arrow-shaped light pierced it, flesh, blood, and bone burning up as it screamed louder than before as the two quirks at its core were engulfed in the light.

They held up for a few seconds, but they were soon consumed like the flesh around them as the blast continued through them, streaming through the USJ; anything caught in its way was consumed by the unyielding light of the sun and moon, blinding anyone that turned to look at what the disturbance was before the arrowhead crashed into and through the walls of the frost zone, only when it pierced through some ice covered buildings of its frozen interior did the blast at last, dissipate.

When it finally ended, the plaza was left silent, the area still bright as if light molecules lingered in the air around them. Vlad and Aizawa, while speechless, turned their attention to the Nomu, ready to try something else-

The beast wasn't regenerating. The strike had burned a hole nearly the size of its chest cavity. Where there had been flesh, bone, ice, and debris, there was now nothing. It was as if Aoyama's attack disintegrated all of it. This time, the beast wasn't trying to fight; it didn't even screech or cry but instead let out a pitiful grasp and whine before it slumped forward, its arms falling still.

“Was…was that it?” Honenuki asked.

“I think so…” Iida replied, as they kept their eyes on the beast, but even when Kamakiri hesitantly approached and kicked it, it didn’t so much as flinch.

When he gave a thumbs up, the students felt relief crashing down on them. “We did it…we fricking did it!” Sero cheered.

"Oh, thank God, the damned monster finally went down!" Mineta cried as that was too scary. What kind of villains just had something like that lying around.

Yanagi took a breath, relieved that the worst of it was over. “That was good work…”She turned, only to fall silent at what she saw. “Aoyama.”

The rest also turned, seeing that Aoyama still stood, but that was all. His form had dropped back to normal, and so did his blade, though it was dull as if it hadn't been polished to clean in years, while Aoyama's skin was pale as a corpse; his eyes starred but didn't see anything.

Dropping his blade, he fell forward, where he was quickly caught by Yanagi. “Aoyama!” the girl fretted over him, worried sick for their classmate. As Aizawa came up, he gently pushed her aside so he could inspect the boy. First reaching for his neck, he waited until he felt a pulse. It was weak, but it was there. Putting his ear to his mouth, he could also hear him drawing slow, labored breaths.

"He's alive. This must be the quirk exhaustion he was talking about." The man sighed, concerned for the boy’s general health, but at least he had a fighting chance.

"That's a relief. Now, what do we do about the rest of the villains?" Iida turned in confusion; they hadn't even bothered restraining the villains that remained in the plaza.

“You got to be kidding me! I’m not fighting after that!” One immediately surrendered, hands in the air as they got down on their knees, others following.

"Yeah, I didn't sign up to fight with a literal monster from my worst nightmares!" Another declared as she went further and laid on her stomach, her four arms out to the side.

“I’ll take prison over fighting against any of you.” Another surrendered without a moment's hesitation. They were told there would be freshmen who could barely handle themselves in a fight, and not only did that prove false, but they saw most of them fight an honest-to-god monster. Shigaraki sure didn't tell them it could do that either.

The students and heroes alike watched as every villain still awake in the plaza surrendered. “Damn, that’s a let-down.” Kamakiri sighed as Vlad led Honenuki around, the boy using his quirk to bury the villains up to their waists as, yes, they weren't fighting back, but one couldn't be careful.

“We just fought a literal monster and barely won. That’s enough excitement for a week.” Sero told Kamakiri, falling on his butt in exhaustion as that…that was more than he thought hero work would ever be.

An explosion from the entrance drew their attention. The students were too exhausted by everything else to react to see All Might not smiling as he entered. “I heard what was happening from Tokage…”

The symbol of peace looked around and saw the corpse of the colossal Nomu, the damage to the area, and what looked like every villain he could see was already defeated, surrendering, or restrained. If not for Thirteen's condition, he would have assumed that things hadn't nearly been as dangerous as Tokage had told him as she flew towards the main campus. “What happened here?”

Aizawa was tired from the day they just had, and he had so many questions that he had no answers, with a snarky response. "You're late, All Might."

News of All Might's arrival did more to end the crisis than the man himself. With most of the USJ back under the control of the students and their supervising heroes, whatever villains remained could read the writing on the wall and surrendered as well. By the time Nezu and other heroes arrived to support All Might, they mainly handled arrests.

Despite that victory at a time when none were expecting to fight, none of the students felt like celebrating. They had been escorted out of the facility as police now swarmed all over, taking in villains and recording whatever evidence that they could find; leaving the students to their devices, they quickly shared stories of where they had been sent, what they did and who they fought, with those who remained at the stairs. Those from the plaza got the most attention as they explained why Thirteen, Aoyama, Yaoyorozu, Uraraka, and Midoriya weren't present.

“Shit, I thought things got bright there for a moment. You mean to tell me that Aoyama did all that?” Jiro asked.

"Saw it with my own eyes, nearly went blind doing it, but I saw it," Sero replied, his helmet on his lap as he sat on a bench, contemplative.

“If only we got there sooner, maybe-” Monoma started, but Kamakiri stopped him.

"Not even. I don't know what those two were doing, but…" He sighed, as he wasn't sure what he saw from Aoyama; the sparkly bastard went and turned into a sun and fried that fucker. “Look, not even ice lover Todoroki could keep that thing down long. Whatever those two did, it was the only thing that seemed to hurt it.”

Todoroki was so out of it that he didn't glare at Kamakiri for his slight. Instead, he focused on his right hand, his face twisted with…something they couldn't say, and frankly, no one had the emotional energy to wonder what he was going through when they were all trying to unpack things.

"I hope that I never have to use my quirk in such a manner again." Shiozaki hugged herself, as she knew it was needed, knew she was the only one, but…she couldn't unsee it. She couldn't stop hearing the ice crack and shatter and the screams that followed.

“Same, that…that wasn't manly at all." Kirishima hugged her close; the boy had several wet towels that he and Tetsutetsu used to clean themselves up after the literal blood bath they endured.

"You think that they'll be okay? Midoriya looked pretty banged up." Komori asked as she and her group arrived just in time for Midoriya to be loaded into an ambulance. The boy lay out on his back as they worked on his injury.

"(Kero)," Asui bemoaned, seated next to Hagakure. "We did what we could to stem the bleeding, but it was an intense cut." She replied as she had done all she could, but Snipe's lessons hadn't begun to cover treating wounds like that. Hagakure had helped when she arrived, but there had only been so much the two could do for such a massive gash from hip to shoulder.

"Then there was Thirteeen…" Tsunotori added that she had been horrified when their teacher's quirk had been turned on her. If she hadn't turned it off when she did….

"All we can hope for is they're in capable hands at the hospital." Tokoyami crossed his arms to hide how much they were shaking, as today had just been a mess. Rescue training they were promised, and instead, they were thrown into a fight for their lives. The villains at the plaza might have been the first to surrender. Still, the ones they'd been up against had been the last, mainly because they had already defeated two-thirds of them.

Someone coughed into their hands, drawing his and the rest of their attention. They saw that it was one of the police officers, dressed like one would in any late-night cop drama, complete with a fedora and beige trench coat. In his hands, he had a clipboard, his eyes going from it to them every now and then before he nodded.

"I'm sorry, but I wanted to make sure you were all here. Things are pretty chaotic without a student going missing, " the man told them, and the students waved it off.

"Sure, man, you do you," Kaibara told him, with the man being patient and understanding that they might not be in the best mood to deal with him.

“There's more. I would like to ask you some questions and get your recollection of things while they're still fresh." He requested that they start working on this as soon as possible.

“Before that, sir, about those that had to be taken away…” Hagakure asked, nervous when he turned his attention to her but too concerned not to speak up. “Has there been any news?”

The detective sighed. Truthfully, he had expected such a question from them. How could they not be concerned after the day they'd had? He hadn't even spoken with Eraser and Vlad yet, but based on the colossal corpse of a frightening beast that they needed to wait for a specialized team and equipment to retrieve, he could guess that what they saw was less than pleasant.

Looking over them, he saw that while young Ms. Hagakure had been the one to ask, it was a sentiment that they all had to some degree, especially those who had been present for the events that put those injured in the hospital.

"I can share what I know, but please remember that I don't know all the details yet." The detective started, and he explained things only when he saw them all nodded. "I'll start with the minor conditions. Ms. Yaoyorozu was merely exhausted from using her quirk, and I heard she could return him by evening. Aoyama is a more…severe case, as while they have him in a room with plenty of light, it's a slow recovery, so they expect to keep him overnight."

Asui let out a sad croak. "I knew it was the right move to stop her. Yaomomo still wanted to use her quirk to create medical equipment when I was treated Midoriya, but I turned her down." Hagakure gave her some comfort, as she had agreed with her, and made sure to watch the taller woman to ensure she didn't push it. She had already done more than enough.

"Are the doctors sure that it was just quirk exhaustion with Aoyama? We've seen him overuse his quirk in training, but that was…" Yanagi started but frowned as she looked away. Those who had the plaza looked equally unsure of it, as Aoyama looked like he was near death after that, frankly, star-level release of light.

The detective shared their concerns, though it was more than that as he still lacked details, only the barest of context clues, and they were painting a confusing yet disturbing picture. However, while his investigator instincts were ringing, his experience with witnesses also kept that in check, as it would only throw a wrench into things if he got too aggressive and the students clammed up.

"Uraraka's injuries looked to be the worst, but they were injuries that Recovery Girl could see to without issue. she called and said that she expects the girl to be so exhausted after the healing process that she'll spend the night at the hospital." He reported that the girl, from what he heard, had been fully awake when she was taken away and, if nothing else, scared of what Recovery Girl would do to her for breaking her arm again.

That humorous tidbit of info didn't help when he went to the last of the student causalities. "Midoriya took a pretty bad cut to his back, one that hit some important blood vessels, but his ribs kept the worst damage from his heart and lungs. Recovery Girl believes that after a quick surgery to close up the injury, she can have him healed up and back home by tomorrow afternoon."

Midoriya had been unconscious and near unresponsive, with signs of quirk exhaustion as well. Still, he decided to keep that to himself as if not, he might have to reveal that if not for Hagakure and Asui's efforts, the boy could have bled out long before help arrived. Lucky for them, the hospital had a ready and vast supply of donor blood to replenish what he lost.

"Thirteen suffered severe lacerations to her back and upper arm, which, while the most serious out of their injuries aren't life-threatening." Thirteen had been the only other person lucid when she was taken away, the pro being calm under the situation, taking more time to study her injuries as she had never used her quirk like that on others, much less herself.

Thankfully, his words seemed to have an alleviating effect on the mood, which had been tense. Still, with no news of deaths or long-term injuries, the students allowed themselves a moment to relax. Stress bleeding out of them as some not seated fell to their knees or butts. "Oh, thank God." Shiozaki clasped her hands together in prayer.

“Man, I was worried there. Things were just…and then he was just laying there, bleeding all over the damn place.” Tetsutetsu struggled to put it into words as Tokage sent an arm around him, pulling him close with a shaky but clear shark tooth smile.

"Hey, chin up, Tetsutetsu. Your neighbors are made from tougher stuff than you thought." She told him, with the white-haired man nodding as he wiped away his tears.

"While it was indeed a fearsome experience, through wit and the devil's luck, we managed to leave, if only not all on our two feet," Kuroiro noted.

"Okay, now I'd like to speak with you one at a time. It should be short, 3 minutes each, and then you can return to class to decompress. Is that passable with you all?" the detective asked, with the students nodding before he looked at the list he had been provided and went with the first name on it, calling Ashido so that they could speak by one of the squad cars.

When they arrived, he pulled out a recorder and placed it on the vehicle's hood. "This is a voice recorder, which I'll use to keep an audio record of this conversation. I'm currently speaking with Ashido Mina of U.A.'s first-year hero course. My name is Tsukauchi Naomasa. I am a detective working with the police. Do you, Ms. Ashido, acknowledge that this is being recorded and consent to such?"

Ashido looked at the thing. Sure, she had seen something like that in the cop shows she typically saw on TV. “Yeah, it’ll probably be better than reading this later.”

The man nodded. It was standard procedure with witnesses, and while some might skip it, he made it a habit to be by the books, at least with stuff like this. "Okay, can you tell me how things started? To give a baseline of events, how they were meant to happen, and how they did happen?"

Ashido frowned but didn't refuse as she tried to put her thoughts into words. "Sure, well, there's not much about the trip here, but when we got here…"

“What a mess. I can’t believe that we let them escape after they made such a mess.” Inside the USJ, the staff looked over things as the police gathered evidence, took pictures, and otherwise sectioned off spaces for further examination. This was a part of law enforcement that they, as heroes, typically left to the professionals.

"That is on our heads if we have been more aware during the fight." Vlad sighed as he and Eraser stood with the pros who had been free to lend aid when the call came through. The rest had stayed on campus just in case of a follow-up attack. The staff, much like All Might, had been thrown for a loop when the emergency that Tokage breathlessly told them about was largely resolved by the time they got there.

Though there were still plenty of questions and concerns around the attack, as All Might might have brought a definite end to the crisis, it still has lingering effects. Both teachers who were present were distraught by the fact that while they came out with little more than scarps and bruises, their colleague and several students had to be carried out on stretchers.

“I would still like to know how that fight went down,” Present Mic stated, pointing towards the elephant in the room. "And why do we have a kaiju corpse bleeding all over the plaza."

Around the Nomu, the police had already sectioned it off. Still, even from where they stood at the top of the stairs, they could tell that it was a massive creature, with its bottom half still in the earth thanks to Honenuki's quirk; they'll need to either get the boy back to liquify the earth once more or bring in tools to chip at it to free its corpse. The beast was complex enough to look at with all its protrusions, limbs, additional ears, noses, and mouths, but its many scars only added to the horror, including the one that took it down, a gaping hole where most of its torso should have been.

"The League's leaders called it a Nomu and said that it was a bioengineered weapon to fight All Might," Vlad reported, frowning as he recalled more of that brat Shigaraki's bragging. “He also claimed that it had more than one quirk.”

At his words, the other 4 teachers turned to him, all of whom were surprised by such a statement. All Missing how their 4^th member, Nezu's frame jolted at the statement, his beady eyes growing fearful momentarily before he hid it behind a veil of calm. “A bold claim.”

"He seemed quite eager to share that fact when Midoriya accused him of it. Speaking of him and Aoyama, there is something there." Aizawa replied as he had been willing to ignore it in the heat of the moment and focus on the more rational subject, but now that things had cooled, they had to address those two.

“How so?” Serenity asked.

"Midoriya came in swinging and spoke with Shigaraki; he was the one that figured out that the Nomu had two quirks,” Eraser started but paused and shook his head. "No, Shigaraki freely surrendered that piece of information. Midoriya was able to, for lack of a better description, see the Nomu's quirk and called it stolen, with Shigaraki's response heavily implying that was correct.”

“How can a quirk be…stolen?” Snipe asked. The very idea just seemed impossible. This time, Aizawa saw how their boss flinched at his words and narrowed his eyes. Nezu knew something, and he wasn't saying what it was, but he would bet that it had something to do with the validity of stealing a quirk.

“I have no idea, and the only ones who can tell us are either our escaped villains…or Midoriya and Aoyama, as it can’t just be chance that both their quirks were the only ones that seemed to do lasting real damage to it. It was even immune to Erasure.” Vlad told them, as their typical ace in the hole was all but useless against it, those two students said something about its body just being a 'shell' at that point.

That and the two immediately going for the kill before any of them even knew what that…thing was, with such certainty that it was just a living tool, was another question.

Nezu hummed on that, his mind racing with possibilities and theories, some disregarding almost as fast as they were formed, others lingered, and most centered around the timing of when those two got their quirks. Quite late in their lives, quirks that both required support items that could be altered and now evening recognizing something as impossible as a quirk's origin? He would need to solve this puzzle, but first, he needed to find more pieces.

“I see, that is concerning. However, we need not treat them as villains with this. Regardless of how strange their situation is, they’re our students and fought like everyone else to save lives and stop this threat.” Nezu stated

Far from U.A, in the middle of a busy town, sat a nondescript building. It was clean if a little plain, the type someone could walk past every day without ever glancing at it. Inside the building, however, lay a bar that was well stocked, but with the time of day, it was empty of clients or even a bartender.

A familiar black portal formed in the middle of it, and Shigaraki came out, irritated about how much their plan had blown up in their faces. "Dammit…those useless gutter punks couldn't even keep those stupid students busy! And Nomu…nomu was" Shigaraki couldn’t even finish his sentence with how pissed he was.

“What the hell was that?!” He decayed the closest thing to them, which happened to be a bar stool. The seat turned to dust as he turned his ire towards the TV placed at the end of the bar. “Master, you gave me a defective Nomu!”

“Defective?” The TV responded with a deep, calm voice yet carrying an undercurrent that left anyone wise and wary. There was no picture, just audio, though neither he nor Kurogiri didn't believe that they were the ones being watched.

“The Nomu seemed to have a malfunction, sir. During the fight, it became mutant and grew in size before attacking everything. We escaped in the confusion.” Kurogiri explained.

"It was those brats! The ones with the stupid swords! They were messing with Nomu; they could hurt it even with its super regeneration and triggered some secret 2^nd form!” Shigaraki raged as he wished he had even just another second with those bastards. He would have decayed their throats out and watched them suffer as they died.

“Impossible; we never used quirks that could alter size or mass with that experiment.” Another voice spoke up from the TV, dismissing their explanation.

The first voice wasn’t so quick to deny things. “You said it started doing this after some students got involved?”

Kurogiri nodded. "That's right, sir. I believe the first was called Midoriya, and the second Aoyama. At least, that was what the others called them." He reported that the schedule they acquired didn't have details on students or names, just that they would be there.

“Midoriya…Midoriya….” The second voice repeated, mulling the name over.

“Have you heard of him before?” The first asked, curious.

“Not him, but I’m familiar with the name…oh yes, that I remember. She was one of my interns; she was a bright pupil with some interesting theories on quirks. She took a job at I-island before I could have her snatched up. If I remember correctly, she had a son, but he was quirkless.” The second voice remembered. A shame, too, though not surprising when one recalled the quirks of his parents. It would have been ideal if he had developed some sort of pyromancy-style quirk, which they could have studied, but those were a dime a dozen.

The first agreed with him, though he hadn't heard that the doctor knew someone who got a job offer to I-island. It was a shame, as odds were, she was still there, well out of his reach. “Oh, that is high praise coming from you, doctor. But I doubt that you're referring to Midoriya or her son, Kurogiri.”

“No, this Midoriya was around the same age as the rest of the students and had a quirk, sir. A powerful one at that.” Kurogiri replied, though the boy's quirk was odd: being capable of switching between fire, ice, and lightning. Was it an emitter style that mimicked elemental power? Or something else? Either way, he was sure the researcher's son and the boy they saw shared a name. That was all.

“We didn’t even get to fight the Symbol of Peace…all that was for nothing!” Shigaraki slammed his hand into another bar stool, decaying it till its top snapped and fell with a slang. Kurogiri silently going to collect the dustpan and broom to clean up the mess.

“Calm yourself, Shigaraki. It might not have gone how we wished it to, but it was a valuable learning experience for us. Rest up, gather your strength, and take this as a chance to refine your plans. Should you fail again, you repeat this till you come out on top.” The first voice soothed the hand-covered villain's ire as he turned to the screen, his eyes having a reverence for the speaker.

With his student's full attention on him, the voice continued so that one could hear the smile they must have. “And remember, if you ever need help, I am here.”

Chapter Text

“Text” – Normal speech

‘Text’ – Thought

“Text” – Quirk Spirit speaking in the human world

“Text” - Attacks

“Text” – Radio/Communication lines

“Text” – None Japanese speech

(text) – Subtext/meaning behind a spoken word

Inko’s day was going well enough. Yes, it was sad that her baby had left the coop, but she had been preparing for that outcome for years. As much as she wanted him to go back to being her precious baby boy in his All Might onesie, he needed to live his life.

'Besides, he was already doing adult things under my roof.' She chuckled as she recalled the embarrassing incident when she stumbled in on him and his girlfriend in the living room. It was awkward for everyone at the time, needing to assure him that she wasn't mad. Still, she told him that if he wished to…continue, they would take precautions as they were too young to give her grandkids.

Now, she could laugh about it, having even brought it up in conversation with friends, much to her son's chagrin. But that was years ago, and he was off at U.A. chasing his dreams, and she hoped to study hard as no son of hers would have second-rate grades. Same for Yuga, as he wasn't the smartest but a diligent student who earned his way into the acclaimed university. Besides, if they ever needed up, they could rely on each other and their new classmates, who Inko was sure would be pleasant people.

Shaking her head to clear away thoughts of her son, she refocused on her work. She wasn't in her actual office, down below her building. She had left her researchers there in charge of things. Instead, she was up top in her faux office, reviewing some paperwork that had been piling up.

"I became a scientist to avoid this. How did I end up with more of it?" she asked herself with a sigh. Looking at the clock, she saw that she had already missed lunch. While she could take a break, she knew that if she did, she'd never get this done before she went home. When her assistant called, she had just picked up some forms detailing shipments of new lab equipment to replace some damaged in an accident.

Inko looked at the phone, confused about why she was being contacted. She had asked for private time and didn't have an appointment. Picking up, she answered, "Afternoon, Fujiwara. Is there something that needs my attention?"

The shark girl, whom she'd had under her employ for years, apologized. “Sorry to disturb you, but U.A.'s calling. There was an incident at school, and they want to speak with you.” Inko's brow creased as she felt sick in her stomach.

“U.A? Put them through.” Inko told her, the young woman following her directions with Inko hearing one line cut and another connecting as she calmed herself before she spoke. "Hello, this is Professor Midoriya speaking? Is this U.A.?"

“That is correct, mam. I’m sorry to inform you that there was a break-in on our campus earlier today,” She nearly dropped the phone as the person, some no-one administrator at U.A., told her about what had happened.

‘No.’ Her baby boy.

“There were several injuries among our students.”

'No, please, no.' He was training to be a hero; he shouldn't have been in real danger.

“Your son was one of them and was transported to Musutafu General for treatment.”

“I’m on my way!” She didn't even let the person finish before she cut the call. Grabbing her coat and purse, the middle-aged woman jetted out of her office as if she had a speed quirk, stopping long enough to yell over her shoulder at the 29-year-old shark heteromorph who served as her personal assistant. “Fujiwara, I’m stepping out for the rest of the day!”

"Oh, okay, mam! See you too," Fujiwara wasn't able to finish her sentence before Inko dashed down the corridor for the stairs, the elevator too slow for her. “morrow…I hope it’s not serious.” There weren't many things that could unnerve that woman, at least in a work setting, and she didn't get any alerts for happenings down below, so it could only be something relating to U.A. to Izuku.

Inko made it down to the underground parking in record time, where, as always, her car and driver were waiting for her. Seeing her approach, the goliath of a man bowed to her. “Afternoon, mam. Where would you like to go?”

“Musutafu general, and get us there as fast as possible.” She told him, walking right past as she entered the back of the sedan, not even waiting for him to open the door for her.

“Understood.” He didn't make anything of it. Instead, he quickly got into the driver's seat, started up the engine, reversed out, and they drove out of the parking area and onto the road. The GPS gave him the fastest route to the hospital. Seeing that her employer was shaken, he took the liberty of closing the window between them, which soundproofed the space so she could have some privacy.

Inko hardly noticed this as she pulled out her phone and was about to call the Aoyamas when they beat her to it. She just saw that it was Miyuki before she answered. “Inko! Did you hear? There was some attack on the U.A. The news is already talking about it. It seems bad!” He sounded as frantic as she was.

"I heard from the school that Izuku was injured and was taken to the hospital," Inko replied, as she dreaded to see what the news was talking about. Logically, she knew they wouldn't say too much, and they tended to overexaggerate to keep viewers. Still, her heart couldn't handle it if they implied her son's injuries were serious or life-threatening.

She wasn’t ready for this; she knew his life would be dangerous. She didn't need to work at a hospital to understand how badly heroes got hurt in the field or the many gruesome ways they could meet their end. But her son…he hadn't even been at U.A. an entire month yet; this shouldn't have happened. They should have done better to protect them! “My baby boy….I just can’t…he was at school!”

“Yuga as well…I’ll meet you there," Miyuki said, his voice hollowed by worry, the opposite of hers, which was entirely animated. The reminder that she wasn't the only one with a child in danger kept her from speaking, giving the man time to collect his thoughts. “It's bad, but there is a silver lining here. They're in the hospital, which means whatever issues they have, they can be treated.”

“But, what if…” She started but let out a grasp, unable to finish.

“We can't let what-ifs weigh on us. Our boys need us to be strong for them. We can fall apart over tea after seeing that they're fine.” Miyuki could have a weird sense of humor, but it did the job as she laughed at its randomness.

“Yeah…yeah, I would like that.” She reached for the tissues in her purse, wiping away her tears. “I’ll meet you there.” She ended the call, laying back into her chair, only now putting a seatbelt on as they sped through the streets. Inko hoped that traffic wouldn't worsen and that she wouldn’t be delayed in seeing her son alive and well.

'And just when were we getting fewer reports of quirk spirits.' Inko thought with a frown, as things had also been looking up, and then this happened.

“Oh, my head…” Aoyama slowly stirred, blinking away his drowsiness; he looked above him, finding an unfamiliar ceiling. Trying to get up proved to be the wrong move, as it was immediately hit with a hefty dose of vertigo. “Wow…okay, everything is still spinning.” He seethed, taking several breaths to try and clear his head.

“I’ve been told that’s a side effect of quirk exhaustion,” someone said up to his side. Turning, he found it was Yaoyorozu, dressed in a hospital gown and resting in her own bed. Pulling his sheets, he saw he was dressed in the same one. Though you had a worse case than I did," he said.

“What…Oh.” Aoyama started before his memories returned in a flood. Their arrival at the USJ, the villain's surprise assault, and their counter-attack. The beast and its end. “Yeah, it's all coming back. Was a mess that was.” He was so out of it that it took him a moment to realize Momo conversed with him in French.

The two fell silent, trying to digest what had happened. Hours before, Aoyama could see that the sun was already setting, but they had arrived at the USJ right after lunch.

“Are you feeling okay?” Yaoyorozu asked perhaps a loaded question, which should be asked regardless.

“I should be asking you that, my fair maiden.” Aoyama tried to respond with his typical flamboyance, but it came out forced and cheap. Aoyama was still feeling weak, enough so that he couldn't hear his quirk.

All that, sans his quirk, was clear to Momo, who scoffed. "I didn't look like a corpse when they brought us in. They were so worried about you that they kept you by the window since you weren't responding to the artificial light." She pointed out that his bed wasn't just the one closest to the window; it was right next to it, having been moved by the nurses as it was faster than taking him and it up to the roof.

"A consequence of my quirk, I'm afraid. All light is not made equally, and I can only take in natural sources of it." Aoyama dropped the fact, laying back down to continue to soak in the last vestiges of the sun's rays. Was it going to be a full moon tonight? A new moon? He didn't know, but he'd be forced to wait until sunrise to recharge if neither happened.

But that was nothing compared to what truly worried him. “What about the others?”

Yaoyorozu figured he was worried for just one but didn't call him out. However, she didn't have the answers they both wanted. "I wouldn't know. I only worked up a while ago, and they came to do some check-ups on me. I should be cleared to leave soon."

Aoyama nodded his head but said nothing as he bit his lip. Midoriya…his wound had been severe; he was bleeding all over the place. Then there was Thirteen, who he was sure had also been injured, and Uraraka, who had to break her legs just to land that blow. So many questions, so few answers. He hated it.

"Would you return to your dorms or your parent's home?" He asked, trying to keep himself from going too deep down the worry rabbit hole.

Momo smiled, though it was more longing than happy. "My parents aren't in the country. Outside servants, there wouldn't be anyone to welcome me if I decided to. Tokage called and offered to make sure I returned to our building."

Her family had many homes, but she had her best memories in their Nagoya residence. Sadly, as she grew up, work kept her parents busy more, and even when she was in high school, she was lucky to see them both once a week. With her leaving the house, they had even less reason to stay in Japan and would no doubt be traveling abroad for business. Last she called, they were in New Zealand, so even if they had been informed, it would have been a day before they arrived.

"A good person then. As for me, my mother's visiting family is in France, so it should be my father, but if I recall his schedule correctly, he was supposed to be on a flight for Marseille." Aoyama replied. He could trust that Auntie Inko would be racing here if it wasn't already building.

"Maybe his flight was delayed, and it would be a long drive from Tokyo—at least two hours' drive." Yaoyorozu tried to cheer him up, which he appreciated, but one didn’t need a psychic-type quirk to tell where her mind was going.

“Aoyama…about what happened…with that…” She started but couldn't put her questions into words, and once more, he couldn't fault her. He hadn't been thinking when he first arrived. He forgot that he was there as a hero student and fell into his training and experience when dealing with quirks. Now, he didn't have the benefit of a mask and quick getaway before the authorities could even arrive.

Letting out a tired breath, he somehow felt more drained than he was. "I should have known you'd have questions. Honestly, I hoped you would have just not asked."

Yaoyorozu looked at him like he had grown a second head. “You went for the killing blow…without a moment’s hesitation. And even Midoriya was acting strange about it.” Oh yes, she was with his group from the start, wasn't she? What had she seen from him? He would have to ask, but he had a feeling she wouldn't take kindly to him answering her question with a question.

“So, what happened?” She finally went for the big one.

“Forgive me, Yaoyorozu. But I can’t give you the answers, not right now.” Aoyama told her, which got the expected response: Anger and disbelief.

"Then when? I saw you try and kill someone, and you expect me to just not ask?" She looked ready to march over and throttle him, his weakened state be damned.

He raised a hand to stop that. “No, it’s just that you won’t be the first one to have questions. You, our classmates, and our teachers will want to hear about this, and it would be best to tell you all at once. So we can answer all we can.” He stated that he didn't have the authority to give away much, but after a day like this, he was betting that many people would be up to speed.

“We? You mean Midoriya as well?” Yaoyorozu still looked cross, but at least she wasn’t hostile anymore.

Before he could answer, the door opened, and the nurse led in his father, the man looking relieved to see him alive and awake. He didn't even notice Yaoyorozu as he rushed and embraced his son. Aoyama looked over his father's crying, relieved shoulder to answer her. “As I said, we.”

“His surgery was a success, Mrs. Midoriya. Recovery Girl’s visit also sped up the healing process. Outside a scar, he shouldn’t have any long-term issues relating to this.” In another hospital area, Inko wasn't getting the reunion she hoped for with her boy. She sat at his bedside, the curtains opened to let in the setting sun, but Izuku remained asleep, exhausted from battle, injuries, and the healing process.

"I understand. Thank you, doctor." Inko nodded, though her attention remained on her son, whose hand she held in both of hers. She took comfort in the fact that his hand was still warm and that she could still feel his heartbeat through it.

The medical professional doubted that she had heard half of what he said, but he had long since gotten used to people acting like this when loved ones got sent to them. “I’ll leave you to be.” With that, he quickly exited, the door closing behind him and leaving the parent and child alone.

"Don't go scaring me like that, Izuku," Inko whispered, as she had been worried sick when she arrived along with Miyuki and was told that Izuku had needed surgery and a visit from Recovery Girl. Miyuki had stayed with her the entire time, even meeting the parents of another injured student, the Urarakas. Their daughter had also needed treatment, though it was for self-inflicted injuries.

They had parted ways when they were informed that Recovery Girl had finished tending to her son, Inko wishing that Uraraka would make a full recovery before she left, Miyuki parting ways with her halfway to go see his son, who should still be unconscious.

“Inko.” A voice spoke up, and Inko turned to the other side of Izuku's bedside.

“Faunalution, what happened?” Inko asked. The woman was hardly surprised to see her son's primary quirk. While she couldn't get further than 5m from him, she and other quirks she'd developed could freely move about while their users slept. As to how she could even see her, she wore contact lenses, vast improvements over the bulky goggles she once created.

Faunalution, typically teasing and playful, looked as worried as she did. The quirk pawed at her user's face to stroke him as he rested in their inner world. “A quirk spirit. Level 4.” Inko gasped at that.

“How is that possible?” She asked, wondering what could possibly persuade her boy to challenge that? It was far beyond what he alone could do, what he and Aoyama could do. They should have pulled back and immediately requested a strike force.

“The villains brought this…thing. It was made in a lab. Worse, 2 stolen quirks were shoved into the damn thing. When Midoriya and Aoyama tried to handle things, they couldn't finish it without…complications.” Faunalution explained that they would need to discuss this in detail later as that was a simplified version of events.

Inko could focus on that later, but if this happened during class. “So…they all saw then?”

“Not the entire class, but too many to ignore," Faunalution replied. However, if she recalled it correctly, nearly a dozen people directly saw it. And if they told their classmates, they might as well consider the entire class in the know.

Looking off the side, the quirk paused before she frowned and turned back to Inko. “He says he's sorry that they couldn't handle things better. If they-we had been better, the situation wouldn't have devolved nearly as much, and the spirit could have been handled without anyone being the wiser.” She relayed that even while she projected herself in the human world, she still had a presence in their inner world, one that Izuku could speak with after she told him his mother had arrived.

Inko signed because it was like her son, taking too much responsibility and too little credit. “Tell him he’s putting too much blame on himself. We all made mistakes. We never imagined that something like this would happen, and…it was foolish to not realize that Izuku wouldn't just stand by when he could do something to help someone."

Quirk spirits didn't just pop into being; there were rules. Patterns, at the very least, and as far as she knew, there was no reason for one to have been born or attracted to the U.A. It had a spotless record, and while they had accidents over the years, the reasons were always quickly addressed. If there was a guilty party, they were punished or handed over to the authorities. Maybe one could have an attachment based on positive feelings, an old teacher or student, but if that were the case, they wouldn't have been a threat, certainly not one that would require force to handle.

There was so much she didn't know and needed to reconsider. It was too much to rethink, but she could focus on the important stuff right now, that being her son. Faunalution agreed though she snorted. “He’s a stubborn one, but we’ll keep at it. Just be sure to take care of yourself as well. I can’t keep an eye on you like I do him.” With that, the quirk faded as she returned to his inner world.

Inko remained at Izuku's side for a while, humming a lullaby she used to sing to him whenever he had nightmares as a little boy. He might have already been asleep and with good company in his inner world, but she felt like it was still something he needed to hear. A reminder that she was with him. Maybe an hour had passed, with visiting hours soon to end, when she got a message. Pulling her phone out, she saw it was from Miyuki.

“We have witnesses, Aoyama, and explaining things before they can get worse is best. Should we do that now or wait?”

"There is never enough time for the moments that matter…" She stressed as it felt like she only had a few minutes with her son before reality reared its ugly head. Still, she couldn't bury her head in the sand and was quick to send a response.

“We have no choice, but we need to win the support of the staff and students. If the police get involved, this could ruin us. We'll agree to explain things in a few days." She returned it to him, and Miyuki responded not even 30 seconds later.

“And should the police question us first?” Yes, that was a concern, wasn’t it?

“Lawyer up and don't say a word. They can suspect all they want; that's all they'll have," Inko replied before throwing her phone back into her purse. Such a move was dangerous; as the old saying went, the innocent had nothing to hide. This was an overly simplistic and downright unrealistic statement that favored those with the power of law, but one that, in this case, would carry through.

"And to think, once upon a time, I thought I would just make my baby boy a quirk and be done with it. Life sure has a way of getting complicated, doesn't it, Izuku?" Inko asked, smiling as she didn't regret it despite the dangerous waters she traversed.

There was a knock at the door before it opened, revealing Tsukauchi entering. The man had removed his hat, though he still wore his coat. "Pardon the interruption, " he stated as he quietly closed the door behind him.

"You don't get a pardon until I know who you are. I'm trying to spend time with my injured child and don't want any interruptions," Inko told him, coming off as rude, though she could be forgiven when things had been stressful. She already knew who this could be with that get-up and his timing.

Tsukauchi didn't react to her rude welcome. This was a personal time for her, after all. Even if the boy seemed to be doing well, that didn't change the fact he was in hospital after being wounded. “Right, I’m detective Tsukauchi Naomasa of the Japanese Police force. I've been-" Inko interrupted him.

"Neither I nor my son will tell you anything unless we have our attorney present." Her words were crisp, clear, and direct, and the man stumbled a little at how fast she was.

Looking at her, he didn't see a hint of panic; she was still calm and thinking clearly. However, her words really messed with things, as he had already spoken with Eraser, Vlad, and All Might, who had left the scene minutes after the rest of the staff arrived to cover up the fact that he had used up all his time.

When he arrived, the two teachers present had already explained what they saw, which left him with many questions. Nezu confided in him that, thanks to her research and other factors, he already had some suspicions about Professor Midoriya, making her a prime source of information.

A source that might as well have been damned up as he tried to get her to reconsider. "Pardon me? You're not suspects. I just want to-"

Again, she interrupted him, raising her hand before speaking to silence him. "I know we're not suspects. But my stance won't change until we have an attorney present and the time to discuss this with them. We will not say a word, and if you insist, I will file a complaint with the police. Now, please leave, or should I call for security?" Her words were rigid and uncompromising, which left him frustrated and only seemed to validate some of those suspicions as she knew something; he just knew it but couldn't proceed any further.

"No, I understand. I hope that your son recovers. What happened today was wrong and should never have occurred." Openly frowning, he kept the bulk of his disappointment invisible as he bowed before he left as calmly as he entered.

With the chaos of the USJ, U.A. postponed all classes, and those who desired so were allowed to return home, leaving the campus with around a third fewer students. Those that remained largely confided themselves in their accommodations, which most took as a chance to try and get ahead with their projects and studies or relax and have fun.

As their students did, the teachers were a different story. They worked with the police to search the grounds for any possible weak point. While none were found, the security protocols were to be heavily revised. Teleport and Warp-type quirks were rare, but now that they knew the villains had at least one, they would need to create counters and fail-safes for such going forward.

They also allowed the police free reign on campus. However, they mainly focused on the USJ when conducting their investigation. Now, with the sun having long set, Nezu had called for a meeting of the first-year hero course teachers so they could hear from the detective about what they had uncovered.

"We've looked into it, but sadly, they're little to be found about this League of Villains," Tsukauchi said their name with heavy air quotes. "If they existed before the USJ attack, they kept an incredibly low profile, as I can't even find whispers of the name. The same is true for Shigaraki, as no one matches his description or quirk in the underworld or our records. The same applies to Kurogiri."

"Our assumption is that they're people who were never registered to begin with or are foreign actors who have changed how they look, but until we can get something like DNA to run against our databases, it's all speculation." He concluded that the fact he had so little to share was vexing box parties.

“And that…Nomu creature?” Vlad asked, the detective frowning more as he recalled the beast. It took a crane and trucks to move it, and they had to be careful not to let the press spot it. Things would have been much worse if that…thing's corpse had made the news.

“The lab is still working on that. However, their preliminary tests did confirm that it used to be human. However, they had gone through significant experimental and highly illegal medical experiments that turned them into what you encountered." The teachers and heroes all grimaced at that as one got used to what evils lurked in the dark. But this was one of the worst things most of them had heard.

“So, if I understand correctly, we have 2 confirmed villains with unknown identities and dangerous, unregistered quirks. And on top of that, they have the means and skills necessary to conduct human experimentation?" Serenity asked. When the detective nodded, Snipe snapped his finger in frustration.

“Well, ain’t that dandy? So, we’re on the clock to find and stop them as those two managed to escape and could be making another one of those monsters if they don’t already have one.” The cowboy-themed hero made a good, if distressing, point. It was a combined effort to take out just the one. What if another just appeared in the middle of Tokyo or several?

"I'm not so confident we have that much time, " Eraser said, the man looking more tired than usual.

“Why’s there, Eraser?” Ectoplasm asked.

"We don't work with kids here, but we do work with people that, at times, can be illogical and immature, college being a time for such…unfortunately," Aizawa muttered the last part. “Because of that experience, I can tell you that this Shigaraki is worse than our freshmen."

Vlad grunted but agreed with him. "Now that you mention it, he came off as especially bratty. He didn't brag about his quirk but did so for his walking weapon, practically showing it off like kids do with new toys at the park. And just like an elementary student, when things didn't go his way, he got visibly upset, yelling and demanding that they just work for him again."

"A foolish mistake on his part, which tells us one of 2 things. He either didn't consider the tactical advantage of Nomu’s quirks going unconfirmed, or he was so sure in his victory that he didn’t care.” Nezu concluded.

"Sounds to me like we have a man-child on our hands, which just makes him all the more unpredictable," Supercharge complained, as the small woman taught Public Relations and knew more than the rest how terrible kids could be to plan around as a hero. Everyone was emotional, but they tried to restrain or justify it through ration and evidence.

Children didn't. They either lacked maturity or didn't care and could go from one extreme to another without warning. Giving someone with that temperament access to monsters was just asking for disaster.

"If that's the case, then we can rule them out as foreign villains, as even among criminals, most have gone through the counseling all children need to properly understand their quirks." Midnight stated that the odds of such being capable of sneaking into the country, never mind covering up their tracks so well they couldn't find anything about their previous crimes abroad, were slim.

"Unpredictable as he is, Shigaraki still seems to process some level of pull among villains as we arrested over 150 villains at the USJ. They all claimed they followed him because he convinced them to." Kaji Clemont, otherwise known as the hero, Lumiose mentioned.

“Sounds like an inverse of you, All Might.” Nezu mused, with All Might in his weakened form, turning to their boss.

“Pardon?”

As the rest of the room turned to him, he wasn't the only one, so Nezu explained. “You exude an uncompromising, simple-minded sense of righteousness. It's why so many believe in you and how you can be called a Symbol of Peace. But from what we're hearing, this Shigaraki seems to have the opposite of that. His simple-minded childish evil appeals to the criminal element in ways that money rarely can."

Sakanade, Shinji, otherwise known as the hero Inversal, sighed. “Which makes him all the more dangerous. With All Might here far from a spring chicken, the last thing the world needs is his opposite rising to prominence. As harsh as it is, we have to accept facts. We were lucky that only 4 students wound up in the hospital.”

Someone coughed, drawing their attention as the second hair-haired woman present frowned at the topics. All important, but there was an elephant that they were avoiding. “As distressing as it is to know that we have something brewing in the underbelly of society, there is another issue here. That nomu creature, and how it was handled not by Eraser or Vlad, but by 2 students who seemed to know more than we do and went for the kill."

Natsume Sabrina, the heroine Saffron, continued as Eraser and Vlad's faces grew clouded at the reminder. "I don't need to say how abnormal that is for anyone their age, and yet, from what you told us, Aoyama's surprise strike was a textbook clean killing thrust. Midoriya was no better as he cut at it without regard for its life. As if the situation wasn't screwy enough, these two were the only ones who seemed to be able to deal lasting damage."

Heroes might be symbols and publicly celebrated celebrities. However, they were still part of law enforcement, which meant there were times when lethal force was necessary. However, while the police just had their equipment, heroes had their quirks, training, and experience in using them; all that meant that while police had training for lethal take-downs, pros didn't get such.

It was how someone like Snipe, who used a revolver firing bullets as large as 454 casual, could boast no kills to his name. Even Endeavour, for all his personality faults, had only ever killed 4 villains in over 20 years of hero work. All Might had only ever killed 6 despite being in the business even longer. For them, to take a life was when all other options had been exhausted, when they were indeed no other way, and it left a mark on them.

And yet, despite that, Aoyama and Midoriya, by all accounts, immediately chose the lethal option before it became necessary, which possibly made things worse. And neither displayed any issues with it while they recovered in hospital.

"We didn't forget that, especially Eraser's testimony, which discussed the transmuted monster in French. Sadly, we couldn’t speak with any of them.” The detective replied.

“Why was that?” Present Mic asked, to which the detective frowned as he recalled that particularly short interaction.

"I went to speak with their parents, as they might know something, but Professor Midoriya stonewalled me and said she'd only speak with a lawyer present. My subordinate, Officer Tamagawa, had similar results with Mr. Aoyama." He revealed that Sansa had been as displeased as he was.

“So they do know something, then." Eraser frowned harder, as those weren't actions people just took. Both parents' going for the option spoke of a level of coordination.

“That is the belief, but we couldn’t dig any deeper as we have no cause or warrant.” The detective stated that while they had suspicions, neither the Aoyama nor Midoriya families had a criminal record. If anything, they were valued community members, with the Aoyamas having sway in government. The judge would laugh him out of his courthouse if he tried to request a warrant.

“And I suppose their other parents were similarly unwilling to talk with you?” Midnight asked.

"Mrs. Aoyama is currently in France and followed her husband's lead. Mr. Midoriya was willing to speak with us, but he and his wife divorced years ago. According to him, he last saw his son when he was 8 and still believed to be quirkless." Tsukauchi reported, though with Mrs. Aoyama, that getting in touch with her proved challenging as their caller barely identified themselves before she dropped the call 3 times. Hisashi was already remarried with a 6-year-old daughter and lived in Kyushu; from what he claimed, he gave up all rights as Izuku's father years ago.

It would seem that they would be forced to feel around in the dark on this, as both the League, the creature, and their students were mysterious and had clues they just didn't have, trying to complete a puzzle of a picture they did not know or have all the pieces.

When his phone rang, Nezu was contemplating trying to question the students close to Aoyama and Midoriya. “Excuse me, Oh?” He reached for it, as his work number wasn't known to many, and for someone to contact him directly typically meant it was necessary. But when he saw the caller ID, he was pleasantly surprised.

“What? Who is it?” All Might asked when he saw the smile forming on Nezu’s face.

"Someone who can offer us some answers, " he cryptically replied before he answered the phone, putting it on speaker and setting it down on the table. “Good evening, Professor Midoriya. I hope that things have been better since the incident.”

To the surprise of the gathered teacher and detective, Inko was on the line. “My son elected to remain at his apartment but is in good health. However, I think you can guess that's not why I called you on this number.”

"No, but it does have something to do with your son's behavior…and his quirk," Nezu replied, pretending he was by himself as he would typically be.

“It does. I won't insult your intelligence by saying otherwise. Still, I can say that whatever you think is happening is mostly false.”

Nezu's smile sharpened. It was a challenge in itself to imply that he was wrong. Still, he wasn't arrogant enough to believe it was impossible, merely improbable. "So, would you be so kind as to share the truth then?" The rest had fallen silent but leaned in all the same.

“Not over the phone. Come to my laboratory tomorrow at 10 a.m. sharp. It would be better if I just showed you everything. I hope you understand why I called you and not the authorities.” At that retort, Tsukauchi frowned, as it didn't help her case if she avoided him.

"You do realize that as a pro-hero, I'm obligated to report anything that I learn that might run afoul of the law, Professor.” Nezu reminded her, which some would say was foolish as if it could prevent her from giving them the needed information. Still, Nezu suspected that even though she made the first move, she was testing him. Yes, the call was suspicious, and she implied illegal work, but that was all implications and suspicions. She hadn't given them anything that changed their position.

“You do, but you also have more discretion than a policeman; you have the right to judge things on a more case-by-case basis and to lay my cards on the table…it would be a boon if you were someone I could consider an alley then an obstacle.” Oh, smart. Most people didn’t know that about pros, and he doubted she learned it from her son as only 2^nd years would be taught such.

“Or an enemy?” He clarified, with Inko’s silence answer enough. "Before I say anything, I have one question: Would this threaten U.A. or any of my students or staff?" She might be testing him, but so was he testing her. No matter what she offered, what she knew his students, his academy would be put in harm's way, then he would move to see her stopped and arrested, and her son as well if he was involved.

“No. Quite the opposite as what you learn might help you keep them all safe and prepare them for what’s been brewing.” Inko's response saved their conversation and continued to tickle his interest.

“You mean this League of Villains situation?” He asked, only for the woman to laugh at the notion.

“If they didn’t harm my baby, I could care less about that. No, I’m talking about something far worse than some hooligans with too much time on their hands.” The rest of the staff were intrigued by that.

Yes, most civilians didn't care for villain groups unless they caused trouble, but that wasn't just thinking, 'Oh, the heroes will handle it.' It was a complete disregard of the villains as a threat born from a viewpoint comparing them to some unknown threat. Indeed, her son told her about the Nomu. What could she consider to be worse than that?

Oh, that was a question rattling around in Nezu’s head. "Oh, well, I can't say you don't have my interest. If I agreed to this, would I be expected to arrive alone?"

“No, you should bring those you trust. I would rather we explain this once and be done with it. Besides, you and your staff should hear it from me.” Inko replied that Nezu suspected she only made the concession as Nezu could have refused if it was just him or had agreed only on paper, bringing others with him who would remain distant.

"All right. We'll meet at 10 a.m. sharp. If you send the address, I'll see you in the morning." Nezu chirped as he ended the call, humming as he turned to the rest of the room.

“Was that wise?” Aizawa was, if nothing else, blunt.

Nezu snickered as if he had been wondering how long it had been since he'd had a nice juicy riddle to solve. “Of me? Yes. Of her? Also yes. She might have stopped us before, but she seems to be a smart woman. She wants to keep us as allies in whatever Endeavour she's facing. And it seems like Aoyama and Midoriya are already involved. Hence, as their guardians and teachers, it was only a matter of time before we got more involved.”

"Still, I hope you know I can't ignore what I heard. She admitted that whatever she's involved with isn't legal." Tsukauchi told him that while he was close to them, mainly All Might, and kept many of the man's secrets, none were conspiracies or illegal. This sounded to be both.

“Oh, I know you can't; that's why you'll be coming with us." Nezu smiled at him, and the detective blinked after he heard that.

“…Come again?”

Chapter Text

“Text” – Normal speech

‘Text’ – Thought

“Text” – Quirk Spirit speaking in the human world

“Text” - Attacks                                                                                                                                                                            

“Text” – Radio/Communication lines

“Text” – None Japanese speech

(text) – Subtext/meaning behind a spoken word

Night hung heavy over Musutafu, the streets nearly empty beneath flickering streetlights, clubs, restaurants, and theatres-all spots that would typically be bustling with clients were either closed for the night or operating had diminished capacity as most of their clients were the students of U.A. Students that ever since news broke of the USJ attack, had all been advised to remain in their accommodations.

The air carried a quiet unease, a lingering tension that had freshmen scared to acknowledge it. At the same time, seniors kept level-headed, pondering their situation.

In a luxurious condo block near the best of the commercial district, Momo sat curled in her oversized chair by the window, staring out at the darkened skyline. Her apartment was fitted with sleek, stylish, and mainly imported furnishings, all purchased with the kind of cash most students could only dream of.

Momo hardly noticed, not because she was de-sensitized to wealth from being born into it, but because her mind was elsewhere. Like she told Aoyama, her parents weren't able to visit, though they did spend hours conversing in a video call; the two worried sick for her and spent half the call talking about leaving their business deal in New Zealand half-finished to rush home, but she didn't want that and managed if only barely, to convince them to remain.

She wasn't in the hospital long, as once she got some nutrient-filled fluids and ate a hardy meal, she was good to go…Aoyama remained, but after his father's visit, he didn't speak another word, and she's been thinking about it ever since. With classes all postponed for the last two days, she had plenty of time for it.

Aoyama knew something, but he refused to say what it was, and if she wasn't imagining things, so was his father as the way the man claimed up when she hinted at what happened…that wasn't normal.

“No, it’s just that you won’t be the first one to have questions. You, our classmates, and our teachers will want to hear about this, and it would be best to tell you all at once. So we can answer all we can.”

He said that to her, and she would hold him to that. But when would he follow through with it?

Her phone, the latest model on the market, held in a cute Russian nestling doll-styled cover, started to vibrate on the coffee table as a message came in. Momo wasn’t expecting anyone to contact her, but she wasn’t something that ignored messages either.

Getting up, she walked over and picked it up and saw the first read where the message came from.

Midoriya

Across town, in Hagakure's building, she sat at the kitchen table in her cluttered apartment, shared with Ojiro. One invisible knee bounced beneath it as Ojiro went about making their dinner, and conversation between them was non-existent. They had tried to act like things were normal, that the attack and villains were the only weird thing about the USJ, but neither could commit.

Like the rest, Ojiro had heard what happened after the fact. They even saw the horrific remains of that Nomu creature, but she…she was there when it happened. Toru recalled how Midoriya had been acting weird since the villains arrived and how quickly he had gone for the killing blow. How easy it was for him to just keep attacking, keep cutting, and draw blood from the beast.

His words and the words of the hand-covered villain only added to the confusion. Artificially created? Stolen quirks? None of that made sense! She couldn't even ask Midoriya, as he was out of it once he arrived, where she was tending to Yaomomo, and after that, he was gone.

She looked at her half-finished cup of caramel chai latte, long since gone cold. Ojiro looked over his shoulder at her, and while he couldn't make out her face, the fact she hadn't finished her drink in the last hour when she would typically be down in 5 minutes was more than enough of a sign.

'Just what the heck is happening?' he asked, stirring their soup. Midoriya and Aoyama had returned to their dorms that afternoon, and they, along with Tetsutetsu and Kamakiri, had gone out to greet them. But as soon as they asked about…well, any of what they saw or heard about, they refused to respond and quietly retreated into their apartment, promising that they'd talk later…

Toru's phone, a device covered with a cute, pink bunny-themed cover, started to vibrate, with the invisible girl snapping it up so fast Ojiro thought she just willed it into her hand via teleportation.

“Apologies about the ghosting…things have been complicated," Hagakure read the message, seeing that it came from Aoyama.

“Who is it?” Ojiro asked.

"It's Aoyama; he's finally talking!" she replied as Ojiro quickly turned off the stove's heat and walked around the table to sit next to Hagakure.

“Should we ask him?” He asked, to which she wasn't sure; Aoyama made first contact after he and Midoriya had just left, but who to say he would be that open?

The following message from the Frenchman answered that question. “I can guess that you have a lot of questions, and it would be rude if I just ignored that or the fact that we owe you some explanations. But before I do, might I ask some questions of my own? To get a better picture.”

"He pulls a monster-slaying stunt and asks if he can ask questions?" Hagakure asked, a little peeved, if he would pull that card when she asked questions and if it got her those answers faster.

"Sure. Go ahead, but you must answer our questions, or I'm going to break your door down…or get Ojiro to do it." She texted back to him and waited for his response.

“Aoyama was supposed to contact you, but he's busy speaking with Hagakure, so I offered to speak with you about this.” Momo read the message from Midoriya, the first she had received from him since she exchanged numbers with him in their first Police Relations 101 class. She had thought they'd use it to exchange information and notes, but well…

“So it’s not just Aoyama after all…” She muttered as she was sure that Midoriya was in on it, but it was nice to have a confirmation. "That is quite all right. I heard that you both returned to your dorms today. I hope you're in good health." She quickly wrote and sent it to him, waiting a minute before she got a response.

“Aside from a new scar on my back, good as new," Midoriya replied before another text came almost as fast. “Would you know if the entire class knows…what happened?”

Momo frowned at that, as he wasn't present, but she could sense his worry in that question. When she replied that just about everyone knew what went down in some form, he went silent for a moment. “Yeah, I figured that would be the case. But it would be hard to keep the rest in the dark anyway. It's time we heard about what happened and why we did the things we did.”

She would hope so, as Midoriya… scared her with how easily he could take the lethal option and how comfortable he looked wielding that blade. “But not now, tomorrow. I don't have everyone's number, so could you contact our classmates? It would be best for you to see what we need to explain.”

She held back the urge to argue and demanded he explain things now. It wouldn't have worked to do this over text. "I can do that. Are we meeting at school?"

“We'll send you the location for Prof. Midoriya's lab. We'll meet there at 10am tomorrow.” Hagakure read Aoyama’s response, with Ojiro frowning at the meeting spot.

“Why do you need to go to the lab?” he asked, Hagakure being just as curious. If he didn't want to do it on school grounds, why not meet at a park or the beach? Why his mother's lab?

Hagakure sent that question and didn’t need to wait long for a response. “It will make sense then. Have a good evening.”

With that, Aoyama's status switched to offline, and they both felt that if they tried calling, he wouldn't pick up. The same was true for Midoriya, who Aoyama all but admitted was in on whatever this was.

"I don't like this. It sounds sketchy." Ojiro expressed their sentiments, crossing his arms.

"Still, they're our classmates; that should count for something, right?" Hagakure asked. This sounded shady, but neither Izuku nor Yuga were back-alley guys. They were even some of the more polite members of their class.

"Not saying it doesn't, but it just feels…" Ojiro didn’t quite know how to put it.

“Yeah, I know. Is this what all the movie heroes feel before they’re drawn into secret magical worlds?” Hagakure asked, her comparison getting a chuckle out of the tailed man.

"Or a government conspiracy, as those two want to show us something. I bet it's at Midoriya's mother's lab…whatever it is." He replied before grunting and heading towards the wall socket where his phone had been charging. "I'll go get my phone and call everyone else."

"You can start by going down to Tetsutetsu and Kamakiri's place. I can handle things here." Hagakure suggested, especially since she had more class contact details than he did.

"Good idea, and thanks." Ojiro unplugged his phone, nodding at its charge before he walked towards the door to put on his slippers and head out to speak with their friends. He left his roommate to confirm this with everyone else and finish their dinner.

The following morning, the city stirred as darn painted the skyline in muted blues and oranges. The city's non-university-related workers, white and blue-collar, shuffled into trains and buses, walked down sidewalks towards their jobs, or, in the case of the night shift, made the trip in reverse, heading home for a well-earned rest. Many weren't nearly as tired as they thought, with many of their typical clientele staying home.

That fact hadn't changed, though. With it being a Saturday, many students who might have had morning classes decided to head out to have some fun and decompress from being cooped up for nearly three days. The first was more of a half-day as it was the day of the attack, which ended with classes ending early and students being sent home.

Of course, students of the support course proved to be a bit of an exception as while they weren't attending classes or work-shops, the rules did allow them access to campus facilities if they got permission, something many got during their time off school.

So, while it was but a fraction of the typical numbers, students did get up, get ready, and head towards campus to work on projects. One was a particular ecstatic and energetic pink-haired girl who couldn't stop talking about what babies she planned to pop out, a statement made while she patted her stomach.  

Momo saw the girl at the station but didn't question her on her…odd word choice, the wealthy heiress having her mind in other places. She had woken early and sped through her morning process. The only pause came when she decided what to wear, as she wasn't going to class…but she still felt compelled to wear her uniform.

Ready, she grabbed her purse and was out the door, where she headed towards the station closest to her condo. Getting there, she blended in well with the support students, but she didn't take the train that would head towards campus; instead, she took the one that would have taken her towards Rotana, the city that sat on the outer rim of Tokyo but was known for its abundance of industrial sites.

It was also where Midoriya’s mother’s laboratory was located, at least according to the directions she got.

When she got there, she found that she was still an hour early, but instead of waiting at some café, she decided to just head towards the place. A cursory search online told her it had facilities for visitors she could use as she waited.

Imagine her surprise when, despite being nearly an hour early, she found that she wasn't the first one there.

“Iida.” She voiced when she saw the straight-laced speedster outside the laboratory.

Like herself, Iida was dressed in his school uniform as he had been conversing with other earlier arrivals. “Good morning, Yaoyorozu. I see that you’re an early bird as well.”

"I asked him to be my alarm; I just didn't think he'd wake up like it's a regular school day…" Kirishima smiled, nursing a flask of coffee. Iida had knocked on his door when he was still asleep and forced him to get out of bed and get ready on a timer. The redhead also wore his uniform, which seemed to be something of a theme, as the other two present had dressed similarly as if they had classes after this.

"We wanted to try and catch Aoyama and Midoriya and arrive together, but they were already gone," Ojiro explained, as it had been strange for them to leave and knock on their friend’s door, only to learn from the building security both had left half an hour before they did.

“I see, so they’ve kept whatever is happening to themselves?” Yaoyorozu asked.

“That was expected,” The group turned, and another arrival spoke up. "They are treating this like a grand reveal." Nezu smiled as he rode in Eraser’s capture bandages, Vlad King standing at the underground hero’s side.

“Dean Nezu? Eraser-sensei? Vlad-sensei?” Hagakure asked.

"Good morning. Might I ask what you are here for?" Iida asked.

"In the flesh! Am I a miniature bear, an oversized mouse, or maybe an average-sized dog? Who can say?" Nezu joked, which left them confused, the students unaware that it always opened his first meeting with students with that line, something those who attended orientation would have known and experienced.

“As for why we’re here, the same reason as you. Professor Midoriya promised us answers to our little USJ mystery. The rest of the staff should arrive shortly.” Vlad answered the question.

“Professor Midoriya? Would you mean Midoriya’s mother?” Ojiro asked, and when Eraser nodded, the tailed student frowned in thought. "Strange, it was Aoyama who invited us."

"Midoriya was the one that contacted me," Yaoyorozu added.

"All the more reason to suspect that they'll all be involved in whatever is to come. Now, shall we head inside? I heard that their in-house café has strands of tea from around the world." Nezu directed them inside, where they found the décor matched the exterior of the building. The early morning didn't detract from traffic as workers came and went, some heading down the halls or towards the stairs and elevators to head to their workstations.

After a quick conversation with the receptionist, they were seated in the café. Those who wished for it ordered breakfast, as Nezu freely offered to cover any cost, joking that he'd just classify it as an operational expense in the budget.

As the clock ticked down, others arrived, with Yaoyorozu noting that it seemed to have been an unspoken agreement for students to attend in their uniforms. The heiress found herself shifting so that she sat with Hagakure and her group. Serenity was the last of the staff to arrive, accompanying what the students recognized as the detective who interviewed them after the attack.

The Police Relations explained that they had invited the detective to get his input on whatever they knew. What was left unsaid was that Nezu planned for the man to arrive last to make it harder for the professor to back out should she have been informed of the presence of a police officer.

Bakugo was one of the last to arrive, though even he was still technically a few minutes early. As they had all expected, the blonde was visibly angry. Not just about being the only one who didn't attend the USJ, thereby missing out on combat against real villains, but he was pissed about getting a message about something big happening and needing to show up here.

It was Iida who reached out. He looked up Bakugo's details in the class registry. While Iida didn't like him or think much of the explosive quirk user, as a class member, he felt he was entitled to whatever knowledge they were going to learn and made it clear that Bakugo couldn't miss this, something most of them figured he would have decided he was too good for otherwise.

When the clock hit 10am, not a second earlier or a second later, the elevator down the hall opened, and Mineta was the first to see them. "Guys, they're here." He pointed towards Midoriya and Aoyama, the two walking along with a shorter, green-haired woman who looked familiar before they realized she looked like Midoriya and put 2 and 2 together.

"Good morning, everyone. I apologize for the secrecy, but what we're going to tell you isn't something we can freely share." Inko started, her son and his friend remaining by her side.

“Not at all, Professor. Though I wish we wouldn't meet again under such…concerning circumstances." Nezu took it upon himself to be the spokesman for the group of teachers and students.

“I’m sorry, but I’m a little lost here,” Kaminari said, looking slightly nervous. However, Yaoyorozu noted that he had seemed nervous since he arrived. "I thought this about the thing at the USJ. Why does it seem…like more?"

“And who might you be?” Inko turned her attention to him, with the boy quickly identifying himself. Inko offered him a smile to try and lessen his nerves. "I see; it is related to that, but to explain that, we must explain the entire thing. Which can't be done through words alone. You all need to see what it is we know."

“So, do you have files on this or something? Stuff that can’t leave the premises?” Kendo asked, to which the older woman shook her head.

"You're half right, but it's foolish to discuss that here. Follow me." She turned and walked off, not towards the elevator but towards the stairs, Izuku and Yuga following after her. Looking among themselves, the students and staff found this odd, but they had already arrived, so why not?

As they followed them, Jiro picked up what the trio talked about.

"Were you expecting the policeman, Auntie?" Yuga whispered to his mother, though he didn’t shift his pace or position.

"I was not. I hoped that Nezu wouldn't contact law enforcement right off the bat." Inko replied, sounding upset about that development, which worried Jiro; why didn't she want cops here?

“Too late to pull the plug now, but if he proves unagreeable…”Izuku didn't finish the statement, but her nerves got worse at the implication, and Inko shook her head.

"Let's not discuss such things, Izuku. You're only inviting such awful outcomes." Inko reminded her son as they descended the stairs.

“Right, stay positive.” Izuku nodded as the trio eventually fell silent.

“Why are we in the underground parking?” Ashido called out as they stood in the underground parking lot for Inko's lab. The place was only around a third full, as some workers weren't coming in today or parked in the above-ground parking lot if they had cars.

"Because the regular route to where we're going would be too small for all of us and take too long if we just split." Inko continued to walk across the space.

"Okay, then, where are we going? We're told to just show up here, and you'll take in damn riddles and around shit." Bakugo finally spoke up, and the green-haired woman turned back to him, looking him over before she replied.

"Just like your mother, no patience. I just said it, didn't I? If you're impatient, you can wait up top like a child. I'm sure the receptionist has games on her phone." Inko told him, to which Bakugo's brow twitched as he growled, taking a step forward.

"Bakugo." Aizawa's unspoken dammed his anger…for now, though the underground teacher noticed that when Bakugo made his aggressive step, both Izuku and Yuga shifted in a way that could only mean they were ready to respond. Aizawa looked towards some of his fellow staff, who nodded back, having seen that as well, and while Midoriya wasn't carrying his blade, they knew he didn't need it.

"I'm liking her already," Hagakure whispered to Jiro, who nodded, as that was a pretty cool roast of their class hothead. Thankfully, they reached the side of the parking lot that seemed set aside for delivery trucks. It made sense; a lab would require such spaces for offloading supplies and hazardous materials. It wasn't like they could toss away dangerous chemicals and biological matter.

However, while there was a large garage door, Inko went to the side where a terminal was installed into the wall; it looked like just a fancy look for the garage door, but when she put in some commands, they couldn't see, the terminal shifted. Transforming as the old, common-looking materials and design were replaced with the much sleeker, more durable, and advanced-looking interface.

On the screen, a woman with dark teal hair and fair skin. It showed her entire body, so they could see that she wore what looked to be a mix of a security and police uniform, with its primary colors being purples and light blue.

“Welcome. You have accessed the security protocols of this fine establishment. I am the Joint Enforcement & Neutralization Network for Yielded Security, but you can call me Officer J.E.N.N.Y!” The woman saluted, looking incredibly friendly.

"Wait, is that, like, an A.I.?" Awase asked Honenuki, who nodded, as Genuine A.I. was rare. For this place to have such a system set up was impressive in itself, but it only added to the mystery.

“Less magical and more sci-fi then.” Ojiro reminded Hagakure of their talk the previous night, the invisible girl nodding.

“Morning, J.E.N.N.Y. This is director Midoriya. I would like to gain access to R&D levels D1.” Inko stated. The A.I.'s smile got a little strained.

“I'm sorry, director, but you can't request access to restricted levels when you're in the company of non-authorized individuals.” The teachers noted that at least nine cameras had been following them around the underground parking since they entered and had remained trained on them.

"They're guests," Inko explained.

“Well, then, you wouldn't mind giving the override. Rules are rules, mam.” J.E.N.N.Y challenged, as guests weren't just given free access. One had to be in a high position to invite them, with the amount requiring an even higher clearance and code.

"Midoriya Inko: 0001. Voice authentication phrase: "Be careful with that, Izuku. You could hurt yourself." Inko spoke up. The terminal has one of the best microphones on the market, so she didn't need to worry about audio. That done, she input the required codes, starting with Kronos's override clearance code.

This gave her a chance to first enter the number of guests she had with her, and then the security protocol overrides code. The code was not only long but also changed every week and was different for each person. It made it a challenge to remember, but it was worth it if it ensured that what was kept under their watch was safe.

After putting in OT2T57S30525R7J to override the security protocols for levels 1 through 3, she stood back and let the system analysts all of it, as well as scan the area to ensure that she did, in fact, only have the 52 guests, first through visual scans, then your heat detection, J.E.N.N.Y being thorough, as she was designed to be.

All this took place in under 10 seconds before the A.I. smiled. “Well, everything checks out. The security override was successful. Now, would they please step forward so I can get a good look at them to create the temporary pass keys?"

“Will this take long?” Midnight asked as Inko stood aside and gestured for one of them to step forward.

"The terminal can't print out pass keys but can log digital ones. It'll give you free access to the facility if you don't try to access restricted areas." The professor explained that Eraser went first, finding that it was a quirk process. Then he looked into the camera, stated his name, and said he was done. The speed meant that they were getting through quickly, as the staff finished and the students went next. Midoriya and Aoyama stood to the side.

"J.E.N.N.Y, we're not guests. We'll wait until the rest are done before putting in our own access info." Midoriya spoke up, looking towards one of the cameras as the A.I. laughed it off.

“Of course, I know you’re not guests.”

“Midoriya, why’d you say that?” Tetsutetsu asked, to which Midoriya turned his gaze to him and smiled.

“It’s protocol.” It wouldn't do to tell them that he's not specifying, which could be seen as a red flag, one that J.E.N.N.Y might respond to.

When Mineta finished, having needed help much like Nezu did to be seen by the terminal, Inko directed them to stand close together near it. At that point, the ground beneath moved, slowly at first but gradually gaining speed as it descended.

“What the heck?” Kirishima asked as they descended. The walls around them were featureless, sans the periodic placement of white lights built into the concrete.

"It's a hidden elevator. It's designed for trucks, so it can easily take all of us." Izuku explained, as calm as ever, even as they were bathed in darkness, leaving only the flashing white lights above them as they continued.

“Then why did it just get dark?” Komori asked. While Tokoyami felt Dark Shadow stir, he kept control even with light seemingly in short supply.

“Because the top sealed. It would defeat the purpose of a secret elevator if one could see the missing section of floor and this shaft.” Aoyama explained as the group fell silent, unsure looks traded, before being sent towards Midoriya and Aoyama, who, like the professor, acted like this was nothing new.

One of them, Bakugo, found himself growing all the more unsure as none of this made sense. First, Auntie left for I-island with Deku, then she returned and then left again. Deku was quirkless, and she was just a fancy doctor.

But then Deku and Frenchie reappear in his life, both having quirks and acting like it's normal. Then he learns that Auntie became this big-shot researcher, but she never kept in contact with his parents, so who was he supposed to know?

And now this? Just what the fuck was happening.

Answers would soon come when the elevator slowed as they reached the bottom. Around them was a warehouse-style storage facility, with multi-layer shelves designed to hold pallets that could each weigh half a ton. There weren't many people present, all dressed like typical warehouse workers, shifting things about, putting things away or retrieving them, and loading them onto carts to be transported somewhere else.

Walking out, they entered the facility proper. Inko led them to a balcony-like area that gave them a full view of the facility and what it was all about, flooring them that such a place would exist just under their feet, unseen and unnoticed. And they weren't the only ones turning and looking about, as researchers and other workers saw them as well, pointing them out to others as the two groups eyed each other.

"Ladies and gentlemen, welcome, the true face of Emerald Labs." Inko introduced them all; her presence with a group of students and what looked like All Might only added to the staff's confusion, but they eventually went back to work, trusting her judgment.

Walking through the place, the students couldn't help but take in the sights. As the place was nearly sterile, they saw numerous staff, some dressed in lab coats, others in office clothing or work-shop shop suits. The path they walked along was wide enough that carts carrying people, gear, and other supplies went back and forth. Vehicles seemed so familiar here that intersections had robots like a street wound.

To their sides, they saw labs where people seemed to be working with all manner of things, and at times, they saw work-shops where mechanics and engineers handled their own projects, though most of them wondered if that was safe. The more observant students like Kendo, Tokage, Honenuki, Todoroki, Monoma, and Yaoyorozu all noticed that it wasn't simply doors that entered those rooms but looked like slabs of specially designed steel, so they would assume that the glass wasn't the same type one would find on a building or even a car.

For Jiro, this was evident through his muffled conversations and noises coming from those rooms, where, even when she moved closer to them, she couldn't make out much despite how sensitive her hearing was.

All Might and the teachers had picked up on all of this much sooner, and while they were impressed with the professor's operation and apparent dedication to safety, there was the question of what she was doing here. How did she gain so many employees and keep them under wraps? Where did she get the funding for any of this, as none of it was cheap?

All Might couldn't help but think about…him, as he would have the means, funds, and, at a time, people. It would also line up with how young Midoriya spoke about that Nomu creature's quirks. 'No, don't jump to conclusions. They deserve the chance to explain themselves.' He had to remind himself, even if that ever-gnawing fear in his non-existent stomach made that a challenge.

“Holy crap, it’s huge!” Mineta yelled as they just kept seeing more. Meanwhile, Asui, Kendo, and others noticed that it wasn't just workers and eggheads going around as they saw plenty of armed guards, all carrying bigger guns than the standard stuff they saw cops carry. They weren't even the only ones as they saw honest-to-God robots, utterly different from the ones they smashed up to get into U.A.

All the while, screens showed J.E.N.N.Y A.I.'s face here and there, watching people and reminding them to follow the rules and remain safe.

"And well-defended, " the frog girl muttered. The teachers were keeping track of those people the most, though they also noticed something else. Both Aoyama and Midoriya weren't dressed in their uniforms, nor did they walk with their classmates; instead, they remained at Professor Midoriya's side.

Supercharge picked up on Uraraka's actions and the girl's worry. She slowed so she could walk next to her, putting a hand on her shoulder to silently ask if she was doing all right. The gravity quirk user nodded.

"It's impressive, but the fact that you have all this security and built this place so far underground tells me that you don't have a permit to research here." Todoroki cut through whatever awe his fellow students felt; no doubt that was part of their attempt to sell them on whatever schemes they were doing.

Inko turned her head a little to look his way. “Smart boy, but I wouldn’t be able to get a permit to do my work anywhere when even I-island refused to host my research.” That got heads to turn towards her. With the exception, none had ever been to I-island, the man-made moving island that housed the best and brightest minds.

For any scientist or researcher, just being invited to work there was considered nearly as great as winning a noble prize. They pushed boundaries in just about every field of science; if Inko was truthful, what in the hell could she be doing that was considered too much for them? Nezu asked what sort of taboos were being committed within these walls.

“And what, pray tell,” the dean started, bringing them to a stop and forcing Inko to follow suit. "Is your research? Officially, you research quirks, the same as a few other labs in Japan."

Inko, along with her son and godson, turned to him, her eyes hiding much of whatever she felt, though the intelligent creature that was known as U.A.'s dean was nothing if not perceptive. He could see the pride in those eyes, the confidence, but also a lingering sense of betrayal and resentment—not towards him, but towards someone not present…I-island, perhaps?

“That is true, though our legal side also researches things involving biochemistry, engineering, and several other fields.” She started. "However, when it comes to quirk research, we push things further than anyone else, studying them from their very building blocks.”

Inko's smile grew ever more prideful as she recounted what she could do, what her blood, sweat, and tears had birthed over the years. "It is because of that relentless pursuit that allows us to do things thought impossible, such as quirk transfers or quirk storage, but what is my crowning achievement."

She gestured towards the two at her side, who stepped up. “The creation of quirks.”

Chapter Text

“Text” – Normal speech

‘Text’ – Thought

“Text” – Quirk Spirit speaking in the human world

“Text” - Attacks

“Text” – Radio/Communication lines

“Text” – None Japanese speech

(text) – Subtext/meaning behind a spoken word

Inko's smile grew ever more prideful as she recounted what she could do, what her blood, sweat, and tears had birthed over the years. "It is because of that relentless pursuit that allows us to do things thought impossible, such as quirk transfers or quirk storage, but what is my crowning achievement."

She gestured towards the two at her side, who stepped up. “The creation of quirks.”

A heavy silence settled over them, though in the corner of their minds, the world around them continued like usual. Scientists and engineers under the professor's employ busied themselves with their many projects, and carts rumbled by moving people, security, and equipment.

But they couldn't see or hear any of it as their minds tried to comprehend what Inko bragged about. Because what she was bragging about achieving was insanity, plain and straightforward…right? That was the sort of claim made by fraudsters selling snake oil. Since quirks first appeared over a century ago, the best and brightest minds have struggled. They failed to uncover their origin and the biological mechanism behind them, and why wouldn't they? There was no sense to how quirks worked.

They didn't follow genetic logic, as parents of the first generation had nothing in common. Yet, they created children who could do all manner of things, from shine-like stars to elemental control to telepaths. No one even knew where the energy quirks came from, as while some needed stamina, emotional stimulus, or, in Yaoyorozu's case, a full stomach, there was no way in hell that alone was what did it, but that was all the current science could tell them.

And yet Inko could stand before them and claim she made leaps and breakthroughs in quirks no one else had in that time?

“C-creation…of quirks?” Kendo asked, trying and failing to wrap her head around the idea.

“That’s right.” Aoyama was the one who replied, speaking for his godmother.

“Impossible. Researchers have tried that and failed for decades.” Aizawa denied it, to which Inko shrugged, but she didn't hide how smug she was on breaking that glass ceiling-no, she shattered it and rose to heights her peers couldn’t even fathom.

"They did, yet I found a way. Because of that, I was told by my investors and bosses on I-island to cease my research and destroy it. Every last test sample, document, study-I had to watch it all burn before they feared what would happen should my work get out.” She replied, bitterness leaking into her words as she recalled that dreadful time, as she had worked so hard, could have done it sooner, given her son and others like him a chance…but the powers that by only saw flames and so they put her life's work to the torch.

Izuku laid a hand on his mother's shoulder, giving it a squeeze. He was too young to remember much of those days, never mind the details of when his mother hid most of them.

But what he could remember was just how devastated she had been and how withdrawn she was when she told him they were moving back to Japan. He couldn't play with the other researcher's children anymore. They didn't even keep in contact. Still, while he could understand part of what she felt, he didn't like it when she let bitterness get a hold of her.

“Can you blame them?” Nezu spoke up, with Izuku not liking that the principal sided with I-island, even if he could understand why. "Villains are dangerous enough with the quirks they were born with. If one could just obtain new ones made in a lab to their desired specifications, the world as we know it would end."

All Might shivered at that, feeling a lump in his non-existent stomach. He and those before him had fought with all they had against a monster, one if he ever had discovered Inko's research, if he had realized before their final clash she could create quirks…All Might was glad that he was dead. He had been hard enough to finally defeat as is.

"The same could have been said about weapons of war. What's stopping villains from creating and releasing chemical agents into the air. Biological agents into our water. Or shall we get rude of nuclear research and power stations as it would take only one madman to send us into a fallout world?" Inko pushed back against Nezu’s statement.

“There are many things in this world that are dangerous, many things that can and have been abused by man. I’m not blind to that, but I refuse to allow ignorance and fear to disregard the good that can come from work.” She added.

“Such as?” Vlad King asked as the teachers, it seemed, would be the ones asking questions as their students either still tried to wrap their heads around this or were deferring to them who knew better.

Inko gestured to the two boys at her side, both stepping forward. "My son and my godson. They were born quirkless, and you all can imagine what that meant."

Quirkless? In this day and age? Sure, 20% of the population could still be called such, but most were 40 and older. The quirkless gene was recessive, after all. To have a quirkless child, both parents must be carriers, and most…

Oh.

Most people would never marry a quirkless person because of that fear. Who wanted a powerless baby? A child who would be born into the world normal and surrounded by people who weren't. Those who had been on the bus to the USJ with Midoriya recalled their conversation, how he revealed he had been quirkless until he was 10, and how they reacted to it.

Hindsight was 20/20; they could tell they had been a less-than-ideal company. Midoriya crossed his arms while Aoyama flicked his hair out of his face, but both gazed at them with piercing eyes. They remembered that talk. They remembered how they weren't the only ones who thought not having a quirk made them lesser—people who needed to be rescued but never did the rescuing.

Izuku held some contempt for their comments but little else. As painful as it was, that was the mindset of most these days, from his teachers growing up to the other kids. To them, being quirkless might as well have meant being born without a limb. Everyone had it, so why not them? Why were Yuga and him excluded from that? Was it just genetics, bad luck, or some divine act from on high?

He didn't know and might never know.

"Yeah, it's true. I didn't have a quirk for the first 10 years of my life. Bakugo can confirm that much, as he knew Aoyama and I when we were kids, and we didn't develop quirks when everyone else did." Midoriya directed their attention to Bakugo, who had been silent since the elevator ride and slack-jawed by his mother's reveal.

But with all eyes turning to him, the boy managed to gather some composure and, surprisingly, didn't explode into rage.

“He’s right.” He kept it short, his mind moving a mile a minute. He had always thought it suspicious that Deku and Frenchie were late bloomers and got their quirks roughly simultaneously. But he felt they had always had them and kept it a secret. This…this changes everything.

"According to your files, both of you developed your quirks when you were 10. Was that when Professor Midoriya created your quirks?" Midnight asked, just to ensure they were on the same page.

"It was around that time, yes," Aoyama replied, forming a ball of light in his palm, the blue light sphere levitating an inch above his open palm. As he moved it around, tossing it between his hands, he explained, "My parents were her first supporters after she left I-island, and through them, Auntie was able to get into contact with fellow like-minded people, doctors, chemists, researchers, and donors who believed in that dream."

‘That would explain the staff.’ Thirteen thought. The woman recovering from her injuries, and because of that, she didn't wear her hero gear and opted for a pantsuit, though even then, they could make out the bandages around her neck, collar, and back.

"Of course, our quirks aren't the same as most of yours," Midoriya added. “Upon the successful bonding ceremony, they manifest objects or tools that allow us to channel their power. In my case, it’s typically by a belt buckle. For Aoyama, it's the sword or crown."

“So, in your case, you don't need the sword?" Snipe inquired.

To which Midoriya shook his head. “No, the sword is my belt buckle. As they’re manifestations of our quirks, they can change shape to whatever,” To demonstrate that, before their eyes, his belt turned into a jello-like substance before shooting onto his arms, where they created his armored gloves. "We wish. But their base forms are easiest as you don't need to consider them."

As Midoriya allowed his gear to revert to normal, something he said got Todoroki thinking. "How you speak implies you're not the only ones with these…artificial quirks."

“We’re not. These labs have produced over 100 of them over the years, many finding hosts who, for obvious reasons, hide the where and how they got them." Inko stated, which hit the boy hard for personal reasons. The notion that quirks could be made…if, no, it wouldn't have changed the core of the issue, just left some things intact; actually, no, he wouldn't have been born if that were the case.

"That was part of why I asked you to attend today, of all days. We have a bonding ceremony set to start in a few minutes. We should hurry so we don't miss it," Inko offered.

Having come this far, none of them rejected Inko's invitation, though there now was a divide between them. Before, it had been subtle and weak, even as it was strange to see two students stand with her over them. This was Izuku's mother, and Yuga was his best friend, so they didn't think much of it.

Now, that seemed too minor to be a joke. Her research and progress were illegal, not just in Japan but across the planet. A taboo that no scientist was even allowed to theorize about. Should any of it get out, there'll be nowhere she could go, no one she could turn to, as every government would be obligated to hunt her down and seize her research to destroy it.

Izuku and Yuga stood with her… they saw their classmates, friends, teachers, and heroes as potential enemies.

How does one begin to reconcile that? How does one handle the realization that a friend they had been making, someone they got along with well, or just a good-mannered classmate would choose to stand against you? To stand against heroes like All Might? Ojiro didn't know, nor did the rest of their budding friend group. More than once, even as they flagged down some carts to take them towards this ceremony, most had tried to say something, to ask something of their friends, only to come up short.

Of course, Nezu could see how it wasn't so simple, even with their backs turned. His students seemed unhappy with this arrangement, but their love and respect for Ms. Midoriya kept them from trying to bridge the gap. He could tell they'd falter should the worst come, but so would his students. So, he held out his hand and gestured for the detective to do the same.

He wanted to see more for two reasons: to give them a chance to justify staying despite everything.

The first was curiosity. He’d be lying if he said he wasn’t enthralled by what he had learned, by the sheer implications of it all. He hadn’t earned his place as one of the world’s greatest minds through his quirk alone. He studied, theorized, and debated whenever possible. And this—this was knowledge that could revolutionize the world.

The second was fear. Any government would be expected to detain everyone involved and erase their research. Still, that assumption rested on believing such discoveries didn't exist. Now that they did, could they trust the government to act as expected?

Nezu was a hero and a teacher. He saw the best in people, especially his students. But he wasn't blind to human cruelty. Memories came to the surface despite his wishes, causing his scar to itch and tugging at his smile, but he refused to touch it.

For now, it was best that Professor Inko controlled this research—humanity couldn’t afford a quirk arms race.

Besides, denying his students the chance to, as the saying goes, 'man up' and settle whatever grievances they might have would be cruel. It was a terrible thing, after all, to let such things ruin friendships and the bonds formed from them.

Eventually, they arrive at their destination. Walking in, they found that the ceremony facility seemed designed to what an anatomical theatre would look like.

At its core lay a vast enclosed room, its wall-reinforced concrete yet masked by rich wooden panels, leading a deceptive warmth to what seemed to be little more than a testing field. Within that space, nature had been allowed to take root-vines crept along the walls, shrubs clustered in the corners, and a small pond with koi reflected the lights, illumination designed to mimic the feel and appearance of what sunlight would be like despite them being over 100m below street level.

At the center stood a large wooden table, the sort one would find in a park, with benches built into it. Its inclusion led to some confusion from the newcomers. If this was a research facility, why did it have an artificial space designed like this? Did they have people down here who couldn't leave or something?

No, that wouldn't make sense. Such a system would only work if the person was studied 24/7…or monitored. That inclusion made more sense for the adults as they could see only two entry points covered by massive steel doors with no means of opening them from the inside.

The space they entered was the viewing area. It stretched halfway around the circular enclosure, with tiered seating designed for a sizable group to observe at any given time. Plush-looking chairs sat in 3 distinct rows, though some had people seated in them. On one, there was a group of people, an older couple, the presumed husband having a bull heteromorph gene while his wife had crystal-like hair.

None recognized them, but the person seated away from them, scrolling on their phone while waiting for the ceremony to start, couldn't be identified.

“Fuwa?!” Inversal yelled in shock at the sight of his-no, their student.

“Wah!” The pinked-haired second-year fell forward, and the rest of the room present turned to them. Those to the side were looking frightful. At the sight of so many heroes, a glance and nod from Inko calmed them as Fuwa got up, rubbing at her head. “Oh, it’s just you, Sakanade…sensei.”

It dawned on her that her hero teachers were in a secret underground facility. “Wait, why are you here?” She asked, looking between them, thoroughly lost as Inko sighed.

“It’s a long story, Fuwa dear. But for now, know they're also here to observe." She explained this to her, which Fuwa was still confused about as she turned to Izuku and Aoyama. Both nodded, though she could spot how they seemed closer to the former's mother than their classmates, whom she could assume were their classmates.

“Professor, is Fuwa the only one of my students in the know?" Nezu asked, all smiles, but they could tell that this had indeed caught him off guard and that, along with the inclusion of another one of his students in Inko's machinations, had peeved him off.

"Just her, " she replied, though that didn't mean the others didn't make themselves, as Aizawa could make out the uniforms of four other hero schools present. There were two students from Shiketsu, the larger of the two he and some of the other staff recognized as Yoarashi; the boy got the best performance in their recommendation exam and yet turned it down to attend their rival school.

Another student, also a boy, gave them an appraising look, seemingly trying to spot something that wasn't sharing. The moment Aizawa caught him staring, he smiled, even if he didn't seem like he wanted to approach.

Lastly, there was a girl present, her uniform marking her as a maiden of Seiai Academy. She hardly paid them attention once they walked in, more focused on aiding the technicians as they worked the computers, sensors, and machinery that dominated the area between the two seating areas. In her hands, she held a cup of tea.

"I can't believe it. We knew each other for a year, and never once did I suspect…" Sakanade rubbed at his face in disbelief.

“Don’t take it personally, Sakanade-sensei. I've had years of practice keeping that part secret. And it wasn't like there was a time in my first year where something would put focus on me." Fuwa told him she felt terrible that she had to keep it secret, especially as the hero course staff seemed like such pleasant people, but they were also dutiful heroes.

Sakanade sighed as the group finally decided to get some seats, spitting up between the two sides. However, they tried to give the other non-facility or students present some space. “True, you were never a student for trouble, even after Aizawa here expelled you and your entire class.”

“Wait, he did that?!” Tetsutetsu yelled, turning towards Aizawa.

“Out of everything we’ve seen so far, that’s the part that gets a reaction out of you?” Kendo asked him, but he didn't get a chance to answer as the lights dimmed and the viewing area darkened, leaving the main sources of light to be lights in the enclosure and the many screens being observed by the technicians. Inko took a back seat to this as she sat with her son.

"Let's try to keep things quiet. A ceremony is a time of great importance, " she told them all as things began.

"Sealing door behind processor A118." Through the cameras, students and heroes alike watched as the large steel doors slowly closed behind what looked to be a child no older than 5. The boy was oddly dressed in a white floor-length robe, which Shiozaki noted was similar to what choir boys wore. Atop the boy's head sat a pair of goggles. Other than the stuffed tiger they carried, that was all they had.

The more observant among them also noted that the boy was equipped with tracking equipment, such as the collar and bracelets, which seemed to be feeding info on their general health to one of the technicians, this one dressed in white robes denoting their position as the medical supervisor, which both assured and worried them.

Why would they need one, and why were the means to enter the enclosure built with a double-door formation?

"The door has been sealed, opening doors into the arena." The same technician called out, as they could hear the groan from the multi-ton slab of reinforced steel moving. The boy looked nervous about the situation, looking back the way he came, but ultimately, his little face hardened as much as a child could. He stepped forward, only out a yelp when the door closed behind him, sealing him in.

“Eun-woo, are you all right in there? Do you want to stop?” The group turned towards the other end of the seating, where the woman stood up, speaking into a microphone that projected her voice into the enclosure. The only means for the boy to know his parents were there was Nezu; the detective realized the windows were one-way glass, probably reinforced much like the rest of the space.

The boy looked around, but before he remembered, he didn't have his mother or father with him but did as he was told. He responded in his native tongue, much like his mother did, that being Korean. “I’m fine, mom! Big boys don’t get scared by doors. Today’s the day I get a quirk!”

“Just don’t push yourself, son. If you’re scared or unsure, we can stop right now. Just say the word.” The boy's father added, his tone conveying how his care for his son outweighed whatever quirk he could get. It was a shame that only a few could even understand the exchange.

“I…” The boy looked like he was about to do just that, as the place had been scary since they arrived, but then he looked at the stuffed lion he carried and found his courage. “I want to be like the other kids again, and lions don’t back down, so even if it’s scary, I won’t run!” He held up the lion for them to see, getting some chuckles from those who could understand him, Nezu included, as it was always pleasant to see a child's positivity.

With the boy still in it, they continued with the procedure as the guests witnessed how clean and professional this metaphorically and literally underground operation was being handled.

“Safety protocols?”

“All operational.”

“Fail safes?”

“All green.”

“Equipment operations”

“Perfect working order, no issues to report.”

“Vitals?”

“Steady and strong, no signs of deviation from the boy’s medical records.”

“All right, good morning, Choi. Do you remember me?” Intelli asked, speaking into a microphone. Hearing her voice, the lad reacted positively as he looked about again before he remembered she wasn't physically present.

“You’re the nice lady! The one that had the sweets.” Intelli chuckled at that, her laughter carrying over the speakers.

“I'm happy that you remember, Choi. I'm here with your parents, who are keeping a close eye on you, so don't be afraid.” She told him, with words as calm as a mother's touch, which only relaxed Izuku. He would never know how she mastered that skill.

“I promise I'll be like a big, strong lion!” Choi declared, though his age made it seem more adorable than powerful. Mina quietly gushed about how cute the kid was.

“I’m sure you will, but I wanted to let you know something's about to enter, so don't attack it; it's not a threat," Intelli told the boy, getting the attention of the staff as if they intended to send something through the second set of doors.

When the boy nodded, she stepped back and cut the mic, her face dropping to that of dispassionate professionalism. “Have the J.O.Y.E deploy.”

“Understood.”

“Joy?” Komori asked, to which Fukidashi shrugged. As the floor next to the table opened up, a smaller elevator to the one they rode came up; on it was a humanoid android, its metallic body shiny and sleek, painted to resemble human skin color. She wore a nurse's outfit with long, bright pink hair tied into two hoops to the backs of her heads and kind blue eyes.

In her hands, she carried one of their quirk containment boxes.

“Judicial Operations for Yielded Emergency Care.” Aoyama filled in for his friends, though his attention never left the enclosure. In fact, the staff noticed that none of the gathered students who knew about this dared look away. “J.O.Y.E for short. They’re androids that help around the labs and medical stations.”

“Good morning, young man. Sorry to bother you, but I'm here to deliver this little package. I hear that it's a present for you.” Much like J.E.N.N.Y., J.O.Y.'s voice might have been synthetic. Still, it was incredibly realistic, carrying the right amount of per and friendliness one would expect from a nurse as she effortlessly held the 300kg container to the table and gently placed it down.

“Okay.” The boy replied, still not in Japanese, leaving most of them in the dark.

“Bye now!” The J.O.Y.E bot waved with a smile as she returned to her little elevator and rode it down, the hole closing behind her, blending perfectly well with the rest of the tiled floor.

“Just how many robots does this place have?” Awase asked.

"A lot," Fuwa replied, smiling when she heard the first-year yelp. He didn't realize she had better hearing than most. “A friend of the Aoyama family has connections in the tech space back in France, and they send us their best stuff. We have to fine-tune them in-house, though." Aoyama hardly reacted to the praise by association.

"Alright, Choi. Just approach the container. We'll unlock it once you do," Intelli instructed as the boy approached the box and took a seat next to it on the bench.

“Processor A118 is in position. All screens are green.” One of the technicians reported, with Intelli turning to Inko. Not a word was spoken or a face made, but the older woman nodded all the while before the white-haired student turned back and gave the green light.

“Specimen E-341 to release in 5…4….3…2…1." Once the countdown ended, an audible hiss through the numerous mics embedded into the enclosure as the airtight triple-sealed lid on the container came undone and slowly opened. Immediately, the temperate within the space rose flames from nothing, spiraling around the enclosure. The sensors came alive with accelerated beeps and alerts.

“What the heck?” Uraraka yelled as the students witnessed what looked like an enraged inferno, taking shape into what looked like a boar glaring at everything around it, only for its form to dissipate into the flames.

“The boy’s in danger!” Snipe was already pulling out his gun, the rest of the teacher’s instincts getting them to move without thinking, All Might moment’s away from smashing through the window to get into the space and save the boy before he was burned to death.

“Don’t move!” Inko yelled, her voice carrying a level of authority and strength she seldom showed. In this case, it was just enough to stop All Might, who had gotten from his seat to the glass before she could so much as blink, his first having been a moment away from blowing a hole into the enclosure and ruining things. "This is standard; quirks always express themselves in such a manner, the lad’s in no danger.”

“I’ll beg to differ,” Aizawa glared at the inferno, but even with his erasure active, he found it as functional as it had been at the USJ. Was it because the flames the…quirk was creating blocked it from his view?

"Feed," Intelli spoke up. Their attention went to one of the screens fed by a camera directly overhead the enclosure. The screen showed that the boy, while frightened, wasn't harmed as the flames kept a safe distance from him.

"Still stable, the boy looks fine, " the woman reported, to which Intelli nodded. It seemed like whatever shock and fear the boy was feeling was fading. Instead, he was taken by the sight that formed before him—one that Intelli, who wore their special contacts, never thought she would tire of. The same was true for the rest, who had artificial quirks and thus could perceive what the rest of them couldn't.

“Vitals?” She questioned, following protocol to the letter.

“Slightly elevated, but that’s to be expected considering he’s seated in the heart of the storm.” Yes, that was expected. However, it was clear that their…unexpected guests didn't further prove that.

“Switch to KV mode.” She instructed as the cameras' lenses switched out their normal ones for their specially designed ones, similar to the goggles the little boy was wearing or the contacts that Intelli and Inko wore.

The change in lens allowed the rest to see that it wasn't just sentient fire but a creature inside the enclosure.

The flames had condensed into a more diminutive form, and they could now see a quadrupedal, pig-like beast. It looked larger than Nezu, though not by much, with most of that being more weight than length or height. Nothing more could be made, however, as it was still a being created from flames. But a curious one as it approached the boy and started to ‘sniff’ at him.

“Ladies and gentlemen, that’s what one of my unbound quirk spirits looks like, " Inko said as they listened to the boy try to converse with it.

“Hello, I'm Choi. What's your name?” There was no response, not one from words anyway, as they had come to expect. “Can you talk?” The quirk seemed to react, letting out little sniffles of ash and smoke, which just got the boy to laugh.

Midoriya finally turned away from the ceremony as he approached to advise the rest. "Before you see what's happening next, please be calm."

"What's about—" All Might wasn’t able to finish the question before the boy slumped over, his hand reaching out to a quirk that dissipated without warning. "He is alright, right?" he asked, directing the question towards Inko, who waved off the terrifying gaze of the symbol of peace.

"Calm yourself, All Might. The boy's quite fine. You didn't think bonding with a quirk would be as easy as snapping one's finger. It needs to settle into the host's body, and that body needs to rapidly mutate to accommodate it. Luckily, the process is painless and takes, at most, 30 minutes."

To her word, the boy was up 10 minutes later, and with it was his quirk, which he happily carried in his hands. Now that the connection had been forged, they could see it clearer. It was primarily orange with oval eyes and a red snout with a thick yellow stripe. The upper portions of its head were dark brown, with long, pointed ears positioned closely together. Much like a normal, its legs were short, though its front feet were dark brown with, finally, a dark brown band covering its lower back and rear with a curly tail tipped with a ruddy red sphere.

The boy was still in the enclosure and was only now with his parents as he showed off his new friend and life-long partner to them. Choi's form also changed; he looked much more tanned than before, bordering orange, while pig-like ears had formed on his head. None of this seemed to bother him or his parents, as he seemed thrilled to share such traits with his quirk.

“That was it? He has a quirk now?” Saffron asked as the lights came back on.

"Correct, one that he'll have for the rest of his days," Inko replied, a proud smile on her face as she looked onward at the happy family, a reaction born from their efforts.

"It's always amazing to see a ceremony like that. It lights a fire in my veins!" Yoarashi cried, which got some confused looks from the students, but the heroes and staff handled their reactions better.

"It is amazing. It might be something akin to a baptism for us." Shindo added, a fox-like smile on his face even as Shiozaki looked ready to contest his comparison.

"I have a feeling his parents are going to take him out for some fun on the town before they head back to Korea," Utsushimi noted, which was good for them as they needed to get going soon.

"So, there'll be no lingering side effects?" Ectoplasm asked as the foreign family was escorted out of the enclosure, one of those J.O.Y.E. android, or maybe the same one, they couldn’t tell, returning to collect the now empty container.

“Nothing detrimental to his health or wellbeing. His diet might also change to include things his quirk might like to eat, like how Aoyama and I.” Midoriya replied. As for the two, it was mainly dietary, and while it would be seen as odd, that was it.

"They rarely go through a physical change, but we've seen nothing to indicate any issues." Intelli approached, giving Izuku a quick kiss on the cheek. The boy was waving about in joy and Mineta held back the scream of how unfair that was. "Rest easy, despite how extremely illegal all of this is. We haven't had a single issue with the quirks or those who come to call them theirs."

"Well, that answers some of my questions but not the rest," Nezu stated, as while he had reservations, thus far, he hadn't seen anything that he couldn't…ignore for the moment. "Namely, how you and young Midoriya handled yourselves at the USJ."

"Let's discuss them away from here. It's gonna be a bit long." Inko gestured for the exit, and this time, they were more eager to follow after her, the professor now joined by the student they found supervising things, the girl holding onto Izuku's hand as the two whispered to and fro, only Jiro and Nezu hearing what was said, and while the latter could just ignore it, the latter was blushing a little.

The boardroom in question is underground, with the having the following features: space they entered was well-built to mimic what the room would look like, that is, if had been built several floors above ground, with the 'windows’ being little more than high-definition screens across the wall projecting the city skyline and, with a glance at the time, a time-accurate one.

The table that waited for them was large enough for Inko to sit at the head, with plenty of room for the teachers to follow suit. Nezu sat on the opposite end, facing off against their legally dubious counterpart. The students flanked either side, but at least this time, Izuku, Aoyama, and Saiko, if Nezu heard it right, weren't so blatant about where they stood, instead standing close to the middle.

"Let's cut to the chase. You want to know why my son and godson decided to try and kill that monster without hesitation." Inko stated.

“That would be the core of the issue, though from what we know, it was unprecedented. The villain, who goes by Shigaraki Tomura, and Midoriya conversed initially. They claimed that the creature was made and had stolen quirks." Nezu stated, his attention turning to the boy in question.

"We did, I…well, those with artificial quirks can see other quirks, mainly when they're in use. We can also see their general condition, and I could tell that its quirks were not its own and in great turmoil." They would have been skeptical if Midoriya had tried to explain that earlier. However, after that 'ceremony' business, the teachers and their fellow students became more open-minded.

"I agree; when I arrived at the battle, I saw something similar and moved to try and silence it," Aoyama stated, frowning on his face but little else to show his discomfort with his murder-first approach.

"But did the professor not claim you've found ways to hold quirks? We've all witnessed that crate-like device holding that pig quirk. Do you not have smaller units that could prevent such…violence?" Cementoss asked, as he could still vividly recall the creature's condition when it was all said and done.

Of course, if those containers they saw were the only ones they had, he could understand that carrying even one with them would be impractical, as it looked heavy enough that most would need both hands.

“We do; however, we don't carry them on our persons at all times," Inko pressed a button as her son spoke, causing a TV screen to pop out of the wall cabinet and display one such capture ball, both how it opened up to suck up a captured quirk spirit, and how it could shrink to a more manageable size. "While they are designed for short-term storage, they’re great for field work.”

“I’m sensing an however.” The detective spoke, having decided that he would learn more if he asked some questions, even if all of this made him regret getting out of bed.

"That would be their design. They're rather unique, and we generally carry them while we're sent out on hunts to capture wayward quirk spirits much like the ones at the USJ." Aoyama explained. “You can imagine that carrying something seen in the hands of an unknown group of vigilantes is just asking to be noticed.”

"So, can I confirm that over the last few years, this rise of an apparent unified vigilante organization has been you're doing as well?" the detective asked, as that had been something of a mystery for them. They had no leads or possible suspects on file. They couldn't even be sure all the cases were legit as they often fled the scene before they were seen if they were there, to begin with.

Nezu filed away that such cases would fit aspects of young Ms Fuwa’s quirk quite nicely and that, for some, even if he couldn't place her close to such cases, he would need to cross-reference some things later.

"Yes, though we don't go after criminals like heroes or other vigilantes do, but only after our chosen hunt: Quirk spirits," Inko told them, as despite how much her son and others wanted to help, they couldn't risk themselves or the work they did. This idea ran counter to the heart her boy was born with and often led to him stepping in powerless if needed to keep to that restriction.

“I’m sorry, but could you explain that?” Jiro asked as this was getting a little too complicated. “At the USJ, that…thing seemed like it wasn’t acting like the villains thought it would, and surely such things would make the news more often.”

“There was an ice villain almost a year ago,” Todoroki spoke up, recalling his father mentioning it in passing and how, out of curiosity, he looked into it. It ran rampant so long they had to call in my father to help with their capture."

His eyes narrowed as he remembered what he heard and what his old man could admit when pressed. "He never did. Instead, a strange vigilante appeared, managed to stop the crisis, and vanished with what he claimed was the culprit. In fact, my father said he managed to escape because of a strange mirror trick."

Todoroki's words focused on Midoriya, who they knew had a flame form, and Aoyama, whose use of mirrors had played a chief role in defeating their monster. Still, the fact that they were able to fool the number two hero, someone with the most resolved cases than the other hero, was no small feat and only added to the mystery around them.

"That was us. As for the culprit, that was what a quirk spirit could do." Midoriya didn't deny the allegation; it would have been foolish to do so. "My mother's research revealed their existence and the fact that without a physical body, it's nigh impossible to really damage or kill them. That's part of why even at the USJ, despite the punishment you all gave the thing, it didn't stay down."

“But if they’re that dangerous, and you’ve handled them in the past, why haven’t we heard more about this?” Shoji asked a good question. "Such attacks where heroes wouldn't even be able to see it, much less do lasting damage, seems to be a recipe for disaster."

"That would be because of how quirk spirits are born," Midoriya stated.

“And how would that be?” Kirishima asked, frowning as he tried to understand things, even if a part of him worried about all of this.

"A quirk spirit, or Ha, are naturally occurring quirks that each of you has. They become spirits when you pass away as unlike your soul; if such a thing exists, they don't cross over at the time of death." Aoyama explained that they weren't in the business of figuring out faith or the existence of Gods or heavens.

"That must mean there could be untold millions of them in the world," Kaibara noted, as who knew how many people died every year. Not just villain attacks but disease, accidents, or age.

"Possible, though it's not so simple. It's true that baring my son and godson, our quirks will manifest into spirits that exist when we don't; most vanish within days." Inko told them, which brought some relief as they had begun to worry they would be facing a tsunami of walking disasters most of them couldn’t even see, much less fight.

"I've seen plenty of the years, but most that don't progress to the next level of quirk spirit last less than a month and never cause trouble. They typically just move about minding their business." Aoyama added.

“And those that don’t?” Kendo asked.

“Those would be level 2 and above. In the case of level 2, or Jitsunagi, they’re quirks whose holders had a strong attachment to some aspect of the living world. They can linger for months if not years.” Intelli explained, taking a remote to activate a little PowerPoint filled with detailed drawings and cliff notes Izuku had made for this situation.

“Fortunately, most Jitsunagi are also harmless as their attachments are non-violent. Maybe there was a park they visited frequently, a restaurant they liked, or even a person they cared for. We keep tabs on them but rarely need to intervene as they all have an instinctive urge not to cause trouble." She stated. In most examples, she showed people or quirk-like beings just minding their business or conversing with one another, all while the world went on around them.

"But if the first 2 levels aren't issues, what’s the deal with that Nomu thing?" Tetsutetsu asked as that monster was sure as shit, not friendly or passive.

Intelli changed the slide to show a different sort of spirit, one that looked threatening and large and was wrecking houses through a city street. Todoroki recognized it from the drawing of snow and ice around it.

“That would be a level 4, shishiha. They differ from a level 3 or Gekiha as while those have violent attachments to the living, like the quirk of a person who was murdered, they are typically new and comparatively easy to handle. That ice villain Todoroki mentioned fell into the Gekiha rank, though stronger than the norm." With the image, there was also the picture of the boy it belonged to, with notes on how he was a victim of human traffickers and passed while in their custody.

Seeing that made the audience clench their fist, glare, or tear up. Not even someone as abrasive as Bakugo could not have a reaction to seeing the face of some kid, someone that should have been saved but…wasn't, and like this was some comic book, his 'soul' or whatever you wanted to call it came back for blood.

All Might also had a similar reaction, as while he was the best hero and the one who people relied on the most, he had learned a long time ago the bitter lesson that he was only a man. He couldn't be everywhere; he couldn't save everyone. How many become these spirits? How many wronged souls left the world in pain, fear, or anger at the injustice done to them, only to turn their negativity onto others?

Intelli saw the reactions she was getting and continued with the presentation, moving into a different beast, smaller than the last but drawn to convey its speed and agility as it leaped through a city, leaving those chasing it to play catch-up.

“Shishiha, take that and add incredible power; we're lucky that this was on the weaker scale as most would be much smarter and have displayed the capacity to think and plan. More than that, those at this level have cannibalistic tendencies.”

“Cannibal, as it they eat people?!” Ashido yelled as if that thing from the USJ could have eaten her.

"Not people, your quirk. I'm sure you've heard reports of people being attacked by unseen threats or going missing, only to wind up dead or comatose; those poor souls are victims of shishiha trying to increase their power by feeding on the quirks of others.” Intelli explained as she brought up news filings and what looked to be police reports they had gotten their hands on through unknown and no doubt illegal means.

Each details people being attacked at all times, from the middle of the morning to late evening, rain, or shrine. Others mentioned people just going missing. In every, at worse, their remains were found days later, with signs of a violent attack of some kind, comparable to what an encounter with a wild animal would be like.

Others, believed to be the 'lucky' ones, would fall into comas, and only a fifth would have woken up. All Might remembered those cases best, as in every single one; the victims couldn't remember much other than monsters, but they never described the same one. What drew his attention was the fact that they all woke up quirkless.

He shared a look with Nezu and Tsukauchi, as all those cases were meant to be sealed on a need-to-know basis. So how did Ms. Midoriya and her people get their hands on them?

“But if they’re trying to get stronger, would that mean they’re a level stronger?” Tokoyami asked the dreaded question, to which Intelli went to the next slide, which didn't have an image, just notes and stats.

“Correct, a Tarasque. Such are the oldest and, by far, the most dangerous type of quirk spirit. They've reached a point where they can consume even other quirk spirits. As you saw, it's hard enough to take down a level 4 and a weak one. If a level 5 were to appear…the best thing I can tell you is to run."

“So you have no means to fight one?” Iida asked, as just fleeing from a threat to human lives was unthinkable.

"Incorrect, but" Inko was the one that spoke up, and for the first time today, she seemed…ruffled. No, that didn’t seem like the right word for the look of dread she had. "We've only encountered 2. One in Northern France, and other in Hokkaido…”

"In both cases, the teams sent to handle them lost at least half their members. That is why we send teams after anything related to shishiha and above. To minimize the risk and ensure that those sent return alive. What you witnessed at the USJ was luck, which was simpler and simpler. If that beast was smarter, I can tell you, not everyone here would still be." She was blunt as she recalled the incidents. She couldn't forget them as the people that went after them; she-everyone thought it would be an easy job, that they had managed to learn from shishiha and could adapt.

They were wrong…so very wrong. The only silver lining was that they were encounters far from population centers, as beasts of that age, despite their hunger, tried to stay away from them for no other reason than the fear of eventually meeting something that could kill them.

"That is why they went for the kill and are trained for it. Quirk spirits are more dangerous than any villain. Ideally, we capture and detain them here or in another location. Still, if capture proves impossible, we must do what we can to protect people." Inko told them, as she knew that her work, their world, was not cut and dry and, in many instances, went against the ideals of heroism, but it was necessary. Before her, such beasts would go unchallenged; it was blind luck that they hadn't acted out sooner.

“That’s what I wished to show you, what I wanted you all to understand about things.” She finished with a sigh, turning a wary eye towards Nezu. “So…what is your response.”

Chapter Text

“Text” – Normal speech

‘Text’ – Thought

“Text” – Quirk Spirit speaking in the human world

“Text” - Attack

“Text” – Radio/Communication lines

“Text” – None Japanese speech

(text) – Subtext/meaning behind a spoken word

Chapter 35: The Pact

"That is why they went for the kill and are trained for it. Quirk spirits are more dangerous than any villain. Ideally, we capture and detain them here or in another location. Still, if capture proves impossible, we must do what we can to protect people." Inko told them, as she knew that her work, their world, was not cut and dry and, in many instances, went against the ideals of heroism, but it was necessary. Before her, such beasts would go unchallenged; it was blind luck that they hadn't acted out sooner.

“That’s what I wished to show you, what I wanted you all to understand about things.” She finished with a sigh, turning a wary eye towards Nezu. “So…what is your response.”

The air in the underground boardroom became thick with unbearable, suffocating tension. Despite the warm morning hues and clouds of the city skyline broadcast across the false windows, everyone focused on Inko and Nezu, the two leaders of the two groups.

The mother and scientist faced off against her pro-hero and educator adversary as if they were two generals trying to peer into the minds of the other as they drew up their war plans. Neither made a move, though, choosing instead to watch the other. For Inko, it was to see how the principal and hero would react, but for Nezu…well, she couldn't tell.

Nezu's small frame and rodent-like features betrayed nothing of what he thought. His gaze remained locked on her, and only her. He measured, deliberated, and calculated as he digested her words and the weight of her actions. Nezu had every reason to arrest her, see this place exposed, investigate, and then ultimately destroy it.

If she was being honest with even just half of her claims, she would be spending the rest of her life locked away in Tartarus, and that is the UN didn’t hear of this, in which case, they might send her to some other prison for those that could threaten not just the security of one country, but threaten global security. Of course, her child and godson would face similar penalties, just like everyone else involved in this shadow operation. Izuku and Yuga's ages wouldn’t mean much when they were legal adults by most countries’ definitions.

And yet…that wouldn't be the right call. Not when she had revealed a hidden world to them and how aspects of that world could help people-did help people but could also threaten everything. A pawn she was not if he thought about this in terms of some grand chess game, and if she was was far too valuable to disregard.

Detective Tsukauchi, who sat to Nezu's immediate left, exhaled sharply. His arms crossed as every muscle wound tight. Unlike Nezu, he wasn't a hero or an educator charged with nurturing the next generation. He was a man of the law whose concern was seeing the law enforced and, failing that, tracking down and arresting those who violated it.

It's safe to say that even a rookie could tell you that Inko and her ilk had broken at least a dozen separate laws. Those were just because she had an entire underground research and development center that didn't exist in any records he knew about. That alone could land her some prison time or a hefty fine if she had an exceptional lawyer, but her research into quirks and unlicensed experiments regarding them?

She would never see the light of day again. But just like Nezu, he wasn't so dogged in his pursuit of justice that he couldn't consider the situation, and, dammit, was this one of the most morally complex he had come across in his career.

Inko, for her part, remained composed under the weight of their scrutiny. It was to be expected when she had just thrown so much at them. She had laid it all on the table, all her cards, so now she just had to wait for their decision on things, but she was willing to bet that they couldn't make any moves against her…at least, not yet.

The rest were similarly drawn into things, as the other adults in the room were at some level of stress or pensive as they rolled what they had learned over the morning in their heads. Aizawa, for one, wished that shit wasn't so complicated, but it served him, right? He was the one who always said that life was unfair and heroes needed to confront that; it looked like this time, it was him and the rest that needed to confront things.

The students were more worried than anything else. They were mainly drawn to how massive, well-organized, and cool the entire place was. They had even witnessed a ceremony where a formerly quirkless child gained one, something they had all been born with and that, in some shape or form, affected their lives- and someone just got it like one would get fillings at the dentist.

Shoji wondered, if only for a moment if the boy or his parents had been aware of how that newly acquired quirk would change their appearance. He had kept an eye on them as soon as he realized it, but that parental love didn't dim for even a second. To them, their son was the same person he had always been. He just now had something everyone else had, and that was where they stopped.

Bakugo couldn't stop thinking about that, as his entire life, he had been the best. He had been the strongest, he got the best grades, and was as fearless as they came. His quirk only added to his glory, a sign that he was born for glory. And yet, that wasn't the case, as Auntie could just make quirks and seemingly pick and choose which ones to give to people. That was how Deku and Frenchie got theirs, right? Why did Deku have such a broken quirk that could do so many things? Was all that to upstage him? To make it seem that his natural-born talent didn't mean anything?

Todoroki's thoughts didn't go in such, though he wasn't thinking about anything positive. Inko's work… made the whole idea of quirk marriages pointless. Why must you marry someone with the right quirk when you could create one and have your kid take that?

His scar burned as he remembered the cost of that decision, the ruined childhood, the isolation, the anger, the hatred, the obsession from his father that served as the catalyst for all of it. If he had known about this, would…would he have never gone it? Or would he have only gotten worse now that he didn't need to rely on the luck of the genetic draw?

For the rest, their minds shifted from the ceremony to what Inko had just told them. The idea that one's quirk lived on even when one died seemed crazy, but they saw one kept in what looked like a fancy box. Those like Yanagi and Tokoyami thought of it as spooky, akin to modern-day Yōkai, which, they couldn't lie, was interesting to them. Others like Jiro and Yaoyorozu were worried about the idea of creatures they couldn't typically perceive nor damage just running amok till they got bored or someone else stepped in, and if that beast was too strong, even that might be enough.

"Well, you've certainly given me much to consider, professor. But before I say my answer, shall I get some questions?" Nezu eventually spoke up, his poker face being one of the best Inko had ever seen, if not the best, as she couldn't make any readings on him.

“Of course.” She nodded.

"You've made it your business to combat these quirk spirits, as you call them, and that violent ones stem from violent ends; what do you do with that information?" Nezu asked as it would make sense that if they could converse with them, it would be the same as having the dead speak at their own murder trial.

“We pass it along to the press or law enforcement and let them handle it. How things go from there isn’t our responsibility.” Inko replied, the detective being extremely interested in that part. Even if he didn't work in murder or cold cases often, such information would be invaluable—provided, of course, it wasn't gained through illegal means and could be backed up.

“Do you contact the families of those who once held those quirks?” Nezu asked another question, to which Inko, Yuga, Izuku, and Saiko frowned.

“No, it wouldn’t be right to do so. We wouldn’t even be able to explain how we knew them.” She left out the part where they would need to explain how they got those final words from their loved ones. It wasn't like quirks were indeed the spirits of the departed anyway, just aspects of them.

“Was there any ulterior motive for Izuku and Yuga to be enrolled in my school?" Nezu asked, his eyes never leaving Inko. When his staff did that, they didn't need to, while the students were much more blatant about it. To their credit, both boys frowned, not because they were caught, but out of offense of the implication there was wrongdoing to be found.

“No, like with Ms. Fuwa and the other students you saw, they merely wished to become heroes with the quirks they now have.” Inko kept her professionalism up, even if she felt like Nezu slighted her and her son through his crude questioning. “Though one way one could look at it would be helping to ensure less people’s quirks turn violent.” She headed off the follow-up before he could ask it.

Nezu's smile didn't change as he leaned forward, his hands together on the table. “And how many students across the country owe their quirks to you?”

“Confidential.” Inko denied him that information, but he didn't seem to mind all that much; she suspected he was judging whether she would volunteer it.

“Have you ever given your quirks to a hero?” Nezu asked a question that wasn't bad.

“No.”

“Would you be willing to create or otherwise grant quirks to others who already have them? Like you said, we can’t handle this threat as we are.” Nezu asked another good question as she again suspected it wasn't some support item but their quirks that allowed those like her son to combat this threat. And it wouldn't be outside rationality to extend that to heroes she could vet and trust.

“That’s not possible.” Inko shook her head as if only it was that simple.

Nezu’s poker face didn’t break, didn’t crack, didn’t so much as twitch as he pressed things. “And the reason?”

"First of all, how would any of you explain just gaining some new quirk or never-before-seen abilities to your quirks?" Inko asked, countering with perhaps the most apparent reason against giving well-known people new abilities.

“Second, you seem to overestimate my abilities. I can create quirks, yes. I can limit them in their scope and abilities, yes-but it’s still the bleeding edge of the field, so there are still things we just don't know, and one of them is how to design quirks as we want them; there is always some level of randomness to it. As was the case with both Yuga and Izuku's quirks." She added.

While they were quirks that could be easy enough to do, perhaps giving someone like Cementoss the capacity to control the materials most bricks were made of would strengthen them. An ideal way would be a quirk that could compliment the user in ways that could be explained as some sort of awakening. However, awakenings were themselves rare and always got additional scrutiny, and even that, it would be hard to find quirks that could pass for that in their catalog.

“Thirdly, as you all witnessed, the ceremony isn’t just for show. A quirk needs to accept you as you accept it. We’ve never done research on how one would react to an adult, never mind someone who already has a quirk. The results could prove…dangerous.” Inko looked away there, an action mimicked by those present in the know, which only made the rest worry. They've had near misses, sometimes quirks for a little…excited, but no serious injuries, at least nothing medical couldn't handle.

“Last question,” Nezu’s smile finally cracked, growing wider. “What does the term All for One mean to you?”

Saiko, Izuku, and Yuga were as lost as the rest, bar the detective and All Might. The number's frown grew all the more prominent as he hoped that this wouldn't come up, but also that it would in a paradoxical way. Inko's eyes widened, just a little, but it was enough for Nezu to spot it. He figured his detective ally was the same as the woman leaned back, trying to regain some of that last ground.

Inko's eye went over the assembled group, wondering about their presence for this when the history books went out of their way, not to mention…him. "Do you wish to speak of such things in the present company?” As she expected, her question only fed into the curiosity of those present, including her baby boy, who, bless his soul, was like her when it came to stuff like this.

"Well, if we're putting our cards on the table, I want to do the same," Nezu explained, taking full advantage of his victory over her.

‘Sure, that’s one way to frame it.’ Inko thought to herself but kept it as just that. "I know of the name; they're a villain. Probably one of the worst the world has ever seen, though we know little about them. There aren't even public records of their real name or picture. They seemed content to commit their evils from the shadows or through proxies." She explained.

She would honor her friends in the Aoyamas by not mentioning how, at one point, they contemplated contacting him to get their son a quirk. It wouldn't be right if the heroes tried looking into them now, even if she made it clear they never made contact, which was years ago.

"Though that was most of it, something about them seemed to link any story or whisper about them." Inko pursed her lips, a shiver working through her. “The ability to steal and give quirks.”

"Wait, wait, hold on. Are you telling me that there's a villain that can take quirks? Like just…grab them and run?" Ashido asked, interrupting the conversation. She wasn't the only one shocked to hear that such a villain existed. All the students seemed stunned and horrified by that. They were still trying to figure out what Inko's deal was, but they could at least believe she wasn't a villain.

A faceless, nameless villain didn’t get that kindness and the idea that someone could and did steal something so…vital to someone’s identity and self like a petty thief would your wallet. The smarter students between them, from Saiko Izuku to Momo and Shoto, also started to wonder about why Nezu would bring up that figure, and what they came to was…disturbing, but Saiko and Izuku found it incredibly insulting that he would dare-

"There was, though they've been quiet for years now. I always assumed that, like organized crime, they were eventually captured by All Might or forced to ground." Inko continued, her gaze shifting to All Might momentarily before it went to Vlad and Eraser, who had been present during the mess. "That was…till the USJ."

“That Nomu,” Kendo spoke up, recalling what she heard those present for the fight said. “Midoriya said its quirks were stolen, and the villain didn’t deny it, so saying that-!”

Inko nodded. "Yes, it seems that our mysterious quirk thief has resurfaced, and with his old playbook of using proxies, all the reward, none of the risk." Inko was scared, as any sensible person would, but deeper than that, she was more annoyed as All for One wasn't her problem. They had enough on their plate without worrying about some greedy fiend trying to get their hands on her work.

“But Nezu didn’t bring up the name for that. No, I would bet my favourite Crystal dolphin figurine that the principal already had such suspicions.” Inko continued, her gaze gaining a sense of fury and power. She was no mere civilian, housemaker, or any other term used to describe those who blended.

Her son inherited much from her, including her willpower, determination, and righteous fury that seemed nearly inhumane. It was all directed towards the creature that dared to insult her character. “What you’re asking is if I’ve had dealings with him? After all, a thief of quirks would love to get his hands on my research or its fruits.”

Silence fell at her words as the students gulped just from being in proximity to Inko's carefully controlled wrath; Bakugo found himself realizing this was why his Old Hag was friends with Auntie. It wasn't just that they were polar opposites; it was that she, too, possessed a will and fury to her.

All Might took felt it, though he focused more on her response, as that alone told a lot about where she stood with All for One and made it clear that the professor was well aware of his nature and how valuable her research would be to that monster.

"I never said such a thing," Nezu replied, unaffected by her intensity.

“So says the man that wished to, what was it? Put his cards on the table?” She threw his words back at him but reigned in her fury, allowing the tension to relax even a little. "I would be insulted if we were more than acquaintances, but you can rest easy. I would sooner destroy everything here than ever work with someone like that. My work is to benefit humanity, not to serve the whims of some power-hungry despot, to the tyranny of the masses."

To which Nezu clapped his hands, cutting through the mood like a hot knife through butter. “Well then, I’m satisfied. You can be assured that your secrets will be safe with the staff of U.A.” He stated, shocking everyone with just how blasé he was. Not done, Nezu turned to his students, who were even less prepared for how unpredictable he could be. “Students, I ask that you do the same.”

“Wait, that’s it?” Izuku asked; this wasn't anything like how things should have gone. There should have been…well, he didn't know, but more than that!

“You’re sold?” Saiko was just as stumped by it; even with her tea-boasted intelligence, she found no reason why Nezu would just…accept like that.

“Oh, heavens no!” Nezu laughed it off, enjoying how he threw the entire room off their game. “But it would be foolish to stop things now. We can hammer out details later, but it would prove beneficial if we were to join our strengths to protect the people. Or would you rather let these spirits just move about unchallenged?" Nezu directed the question to his staff and Tsukauchi, who, despite their misgivings about this for many reasons, couldn't outright disagree.

“Well, no-" The lawman started, but Nezu had already turned his attention back to Inko.

“I do have one condition for you, professor.”

Sweating a little from how this wasn’t going anywhere close to her assumptions, Inko played it safe. “And what would that be?”

"You're taking on a part-time lecturer job!”

“…I’m sorry, what?” Inko asked, her mind seemingly blue-screening, and she wasn't the only one. Just what the hell was Nezu thinking? Was she offering her a job?

"So much knowledge is out of our reach, and I can't expect you to just hand over all of it. surely, you can aid us in teaching the next generation how to handle such threats or, at least, contain them." Nezu explained his reasoning, at least part of it.

“What could I even teach?” Inko asked, trying to figure out his game, but Nezu's poker face remained impassable.

"Well, we've been considering creating a quirk science class, mainly for the support course, so they'll have a better understanding of them, but we could have something whipped up for our second-year hero students so they'll better able to judge the powers of villains in the field," Nezu stated, a little too gleeful at the offer. However, one thing was clear for everyone present.

Nezu was a puzzle no human could ever truly solve, and he enjoyed making them sweat trying.

Eventually, despite the curveball Nezu threw into the conversation, they came to an agreement. Inko will take on a teaching job at U.A., starting in a few weeks. Still, in the meantime, they'll open their files on investigations for the detective so he can ensure they get to the right people. Also, as promised, no word about the facility, its staff, or what happened within its walls would be spoken to anyone outside it. Nezu stresses that if they are to discuss it, it should only be in vague terms and in good company.

Inko wouldn't give them the means to fight, but she could give them the means to see the threat. Each of them was gifted lenses that allowed them to see quirks. Custom orders were made for a few of them, such as Eraser desiring his permanent lenses to be installed into his goggles.

Once they got them, they were permitted to explore the facility's less sensitive areas. However, as soon as they were dismissed, Aoyama and Midoriya found themselves taken by their classmates somewhere they could talk without the adults in the room.

That happened to a free workshop, recently cleaned and large enough for a group of 40. “Were you ever going to tell us about any of it?” Jiro started this bluntly, her arms crossed, though she felt hurt by all of them.

They didn't miss how Aoyama, Midoriya, and this strange ^third girl, Intelli, shared a look. Once again, they had a wordless conversation before Midoriya replied, “No.”

"Why? Aren't we friends? We would never have earned your trust," Ojiro asked. Sure, they hadn't known each other long, but they had gotten along great, and they would have only grown closer as they continued to study to be heroes together.

“It’s not that it’s…” Midoriya paused, his face twisting as he leaned against the workbench. “It’s a burden we didn’t want to share with you.”

“Because it’s super illegal?” Kirishima frowned as Midoriya shook his head.

“No, because it takes a toll on you. You heard how violent quirks are formed, right?” Midoriya asked, and when they nodded, he continued.

"Well, it's something else entirely to fight them. Some might just scream and rage, but others…others cry out at what befell their holders. The sins they suffered, the tragedy that was their final moments…" He couldn't finish; he didn't need to, as they could get the picture. None of them ever thought they, as heroes, would be in such a situation. Maybe they would be called to a domestic dispute and need to defend the aggressor, but then both parties would still be alive.

That didn't happen with quirks, as one side was dead by that point. As heroes, they couldn't protect them-not when it was too late. They could find justice, but thinking about it, wouldn't it have been better if the victims were still alive to see the guilty punished, to see that what happened to them was wrong? Worse, could they picture themselves having to fight in a similar situation?

Aoyama, in a rare instance, wasn’t sparking or smiling. He just seemed tired. “We’re training to be heroes. We should fight to stop that. To hunt evil-does and shine a light on the world. But this job…all we can do is clean up the mess that evil leaves and hurt victims to prevent them from hurting others."

Aoyama’s face grew haunted, memories recalling in the forefront of his mind. “And sometimes…sometimes there’s no other way but to give them rest.”

“Like at the USJ?” Hagakure uttered; even if she hadn't been present for his final strike, she had been for when he had just chosen the lethal option right off the bat. She had thought he didn't feel anything with how quick he made the choice, but maybe it was something else.

“I wish I had another way, maybe if I was smarter, faster, stronger. If I was better than…” Aoyama slipped, speaking French before he stopped, taking a breath and sighing, looking at the floor. “The worst part…the worst part is that we’ve done it before, and we’ll do it again. Because how can we say one quirk is worth the same as the lives of those that could be lost if we don’t act?”

Yanagi started to put the pieces together like Iida and Kamakiri. It wasn't that Aoyama didn't value the quirks and the lives they might have lived. But he valued those still living more, and even though it hurt just to consider being in that situation, that was Aoyama's choice. It felt like crap, absurd even. Heroes saved lives, full stop…but this was a lot more complicated than they wished it was.

"You did all you could and…" Yaoyorozu was the one who spoke, approaching Aoyama as Intelli offered Midoriya a shoulder to learn on. Momo hugged Aoyama, trying to confer whatever relief she could. “That’s all we could hope for.”

“And yet, I still feel like a failure.” They still heard Aoyama's muffled response.

Gathering his wits, Midoriya took over. "The second reason we didn't want to tell you is because of how my quirk works."

“What does that mean?” Bakugo asked, the blonde keeping whatever aggression he felt in check. This needed his full attention, and he would get answers.

Midoriya looked over the group. “Can any of you tell me its name?”

"I've heard you call it Faunalution," Jiro replied, though those at the plaza were confused. Was what Midoriya called out something else? Like an attack name or phrase?

Midoriya nodded. “That isn’t its name, or rather that it’s faux nom. The quirks created in these labs are unique in that to truly gain ownership of them, you must learn their true names, which are created from the moment they form a bond with you."

It wasn't something they would know, having been born with their quirks. While they might have only manifested when they were 4, they've had them for years, so perhaps they didn't need to train and bond with their quirks to build up that intimacy.

Of course, Midoriya couldn't know that Uraraka could understand that part, at least a little, as One for All is a power that she gained much later in life, and one that she was still struggling to understand as it wasn't like she could just say 'Boom' and she could punch like All Might, not if she wanted not to break her bones…again.

"It's not so easy as asking, even if your quirk's willing to tell you; if you're not ready-you won't hear it," Midoriya added as Tokage was about to ask what seemed like a sensible question. He didn't have a means to describe it, as it was different for most, but what was common was that if you weren't ready, you'd hear anything but your quirk's true name, even just silence, as was the case with him.

“So, you have to come up with other names to call, then?” Sero asked as that seemed like a universal experience for them. Most picked their quirk names as kids, of course, and they had their parents and doctors with them to make sure what they landed on wasn't…well, terrible or childish, as one you picked, the name couldn't legally be changed.

"Correct; in my case, my quirk's true name is Seijū Genrin, and from the moment I learned that I learned something that will never allow me to forget why we do what we do," Midoriya uttered, taking a breath as Saiko remained at his side.

"My quirk isn't elemental powers like you all have seen. But rather…my quirk is similar to All for One's."

“You steal quirks?” Kaminari jumped back from him, only for Kendo to smack him upside the head. Even if that were the case, Midoriya wasn’t a villain nor would he just steal their quirks.

"No, I absorb quirk spirits, but only if they're willing," Midoriya explained, which relieved Kaminari of the notion, though Kuroiro was left confused.

“How is that a bad thing? You have at least 3 different ones already. Any of them is incredibly potent; increasing your capacity could handle just about any issue.”

“Kuroiro,” Kendo stopped him before he could say more. The girl paled as she realized why Midoriya was so glum. They don't go for quirks that have a peaceful end. The only way Midoriya would find himself absorbing more would be…"

"Yes," Midoriya stated, the rest catching as they felt sick at the implication. Todoroki, especially as he already rejected his flames, but that was…if his ice had to come through his mother's death, even the death of a stranger…he couldn't bear it. The rest felt the same way, as the entire idea felt like an insult created by a cruel God. What sort of hero gained power through the deaths of the innocent?

“Fuck…” Tokage summed it up nicely.

"It is…not pleasant, but I've learned how to bear with it. Their memories, their pain, I can’t let him consume me as it once nearly did them.” Midoriya at least didn’t need to deal with the nightmares…anymore. He had learned how to keep them at bay, and the spirits did their part to keep their baggage to themselves.

"Still, you shouldn't do it alone. It doesn't matter if you want to tell us or not. We know now, and we can't just do nothing." Yaoyorozu stated.

"Yes, we might not be able to aid you in the battle against these threats, but there must be other ways we can help." Iida agreed with her, as this was not something he thought he'd have to consider, but he'd focus on what he did understand and do as his brother would have.

"Wait, now that we know about it, are we honorary Yōkai hunters?” Honenuki asked, mainly as a joke, but that seemed to be something the rest were more than eager to latch onto.

"Oh, oh, will we get those cool-looking capture balls? They totally look like they came out of pocket monsters!" Komori jumped about.

"I feel like you're missing the point; besides, that can't be how it works." Kaibara pointed out.

“Oh no, it is.” Only for Aoyama to burst that buddle. “We can’t just toss those things as targets and capture them. You need to damage them first.”

While Kaibara’s mind had to reset after hearing how literal monsters operated on the same logic as an century old game franchise, the rest dug deeper. "So, could we just get out and use those?" Tokoyami asked.

"Oh, shit, that sounds so cool. I totally see a funky-looking one!" Ashido yelled, as how sick would it be to have that, maybe one that looked like an alien that'd totally match her vibe!

"If I got one as sturdy as me, it'll be so manly!" Kirishima was with her, imagining one made of stone or just all muscle and could bench a bus.

“You’re still missing the point!” Kendo groaned as she tried and failed to contain them, leading Saiko to approach some of the more sensitive ones.

"Intelli Saiko, and perhaps we should let them have their fun. The day's young, but we've already had some upsets." Intelli introduced herself.

“You work here, hottie?” Mineta slid over to her, trying to act suave though as always it was incredibly ineffective.

Intelli looked down at him, her face unamused before she turned her boyfriend. "He's Mineta, then?"

“That’s right,” Midoriya replied, as she’s already heard some things about Izuku’s classmate’s, same as he had heard about Saiko’s. And for Mineta, not a lot had been good things.

With that in mind, she gave the short boy a gentle smile. "Well, for your information, Mineta. I do, in fact, have a part-time job here. Also, I'm making it clear that should you make advances on me, it won’t end well for you.” Her smile turned deadly as she eyed him, Mineta gulping under her gaze as Aoyama couldn’t help himself.

Laughing, the Frenchmen decided to scare the little guy some more. “Trust me, she’s dealt with perverts at our old school. When such fool in our 2^nd year wouldn't take no for an answer, and she kicked him so hard in the balls, he was carried to the nurses' office." As Mineta’s pale grew paler, as he had eyed her legs earlier and saw how plump, but also muscular they were.

If she kicked him…oh shit, his family line would end then and there.

Midoriya couldn’t help but tear up, muttering about how he was so lucky to have her as a girlfriend, much to Jiro’s chagrin but Intelli didn’t mind, in fact, she liked how he would get when she was a little more…domineering. That didn’t change as she eyed Mineta like he was a soccer ball and she was one kick away from winning the game. “And I can think of plenty more ways to handle you, most of which wouldn’t trace back to me, is that understood?”

“C-crystal!” Mineta gave her the fastest salute she had ever seen, but one couldn’t argue with the results as Jiro turned to this new girl, seeing her in a new light.

“I have a feeling I’m going to like you.” Jiro told Intelli.

Chapter Text

“Text” – Normal speech

‘Text’ – Thought

“Text” – Quirk Spirit speaking in the human world

“Text” - Attack

“Text” – Radio/Communication lines

“Text” – None Japanese speech

(text) – Subtext/meaning behind a spoken word

The morning air over Musutafu carried the lingering scent of the last cherry blossoms. The sun, pale and distant behind a thin veil of clouds, continued its slow but assured ascent into the sky, casting a soft glow over the land. U.A. had planted plenty of Sakura trees on the road up the hill leading up to its entrance, so the last stranglers of students who hurried on by could get a thick and floral scent of them as they raced onto campus.

Many others had already made it onto campus and were waiting for the start of the day in their homerooms. The first-year hero course was no different. Despite the attack, no injuries had been so serious that a day or two in the hospital couldn't fix them, and the added days off school only helped to relieve tension among them and the greater student body.

Or at least it would have been if they hadn't been invited out last Saturday and ended up learning things about the world they could have never imagined, never mind believed, if they hadn’t seen it with their own eyes. But where the USJ had been a stressful time for all, their time at Emerald Labs seemed to only elevate their spirits. How could it not be when one discovered an entirely new side to the world?

“You know, with how everyone was, I didn’t even watch anything about the USJ attack on the news.” Hagakure pointed out, which served as something of a new conversation between them as Kirishima tapped his chin in thought.

"Oh yeah, my folks mentioned that they walked the special report, but I was kind of distracted by the whole monster thing.” The redhead replied, as when you went up against that, some basic criminals really seemed even lesser than they were.

"It was kind of weird seeing my face on the news or remembering that they'll still be talking about it," Asui added. When her parents called about it, they naturally worried for her. Like her siblings, she had been more focused on what she witnessed. She didn't tell them that, and she figured they suspected she was keeping something, but hopefully, they didn't suspect what she was hiding.

"Well, it was something no one expected to ever happen, and it's not like the police or heroes released any details. All they can do is speculate." Kaibara noted.

“It was weird watching that from the other side. One report was talking about how it was just a training accident that got out of hand and U.A. lied to save face.” Kaminari giggled.

"Did you see the one about it actually being an assault by Shiketsu, who wants to take the rivalry to the next level?" Ashido asked him, to which he nodded. Jiro looked at both in exasperation.

“What news sources are you guys using?” she asked them as they rattled off the craziest stuff that couldn't possibly have been in any legitimate news. It sounded closer to things you'd read in a conspiracy theorist chat room.

“Either way, we kicked those villains’ butts. And we got to fight a monster; what's manlier than that?” Kirishima asked, Tetsutetsu loudly agreeing with him as the two shared a handshake, trying to squeeze the other’s hand into submission.

“How are you two so pumped about this? You saw that thing? It was a horror movie with legs and wanting to kill us!” Mineta yelled at that.

“Shut up, you pipsqueak!” Bakugo barked at him, getting Mineta to yelp before he dived behind Sato for cover, the taller wondering when he would become the human shield.

"Someone's in a saltier mood," Tokage noted. Since they arrived for homeroom, Bakugo had been a ball of anger…well, he always was, but it wasn't this blatant.

“He’s probably mad that he missed the big fight. You know he would have loved to blow that thing up.” Sero joked, which only got on Bakugo's nerves as he expectantly shot to his foot, explosions popping off in his hands.

“You want me to go over there and shut you up?” he threatened. Sero raised his hands in surrender, and Iida stood up, chopping his hand towards the two.

“Bakugo, Sero, no fighting in class! It’s beneath hero students!” he yelled at the two, Kendo agreeing with him. She kept her eye on every temperamental classmate. If any of them would be the one to escalate, it would be Bakugo.

“He's right. Besides, we shouldn't be getting into needless arguments about that." Kendo spoke up, Bakugo glaring at her but without one punishment over his head. He wasn't looking to make things worse, so he sat down with a grunt.

Yaoyorozu sometimes wondered about Bakugo and how someone with such a temperament could want to be a hero. Still, if he wasn't causing issues, they could work together. Besides, there was some good news for some of them. “She’s right, we’re meant to be getting those contacts today, so let’s try and focus on that.”

Fukidashi seemed to have too much energy during the remainder. “I still can’t believe it; you do think we’ll be able to see each other’s quirks or just Midoriya and Aoyama’s?”

"Not sure, they never said anything about it, but a quirk's a quirk, right? It shouldn't be impossible." Tokage replied.

"I know I haven't forgotten; I've been looking forward to it all weekend." Komori cheered as she hoped that her quirk was as cute as the mushrooms she created as those clips and other files should make it seem like quirks looked like their users but also could take on other forms.

"Still, it was a rushed order, especially for some requiring specialized variants. We can't expect them to have managed it when they need to keep so much under wraps." Iida reminded them, though he spent quite a bit of his weekend wondering about the logistics of their operation.

“How odd would it be to order that many? It’s not like they’re made by banned substances….right?” Tsunotori asked, looking toward Shishida.

“Why are you looking at me?” Shishida asked as he fixed his glasses.

“No reason.” She replied as she didn't want to explain that someone with glasses would know more than that. Before he or someone else could ask, she changed the subject. "Speaking of which, has anyone seen Midoriya or Aoyama? They would typically be in class by now."

Her question was enough to divert attention as Yanagi frowned in thought. "Not sure, they didn't tell us anything." And after the weekend they had, those two promised they wouldn't keep secrets from them, especially if it was necessary.

"We didn't see them in the morning, but they sent a text saying they'll be a little late, but we cleared it with the school," Kamakiri replied as he scrolled through his phone.

There were questions about that, such as what could lead both boys to need to be allowed to arrive late? Was there another case that soon that they needed to handle? Was there some issue at Midoriya's mother's lab? Such questions formed more, but none could be voiced as the door opened.

"Morning," Aizawa greeted his students, the man looking as tired as ever. But he wasn't alone, as behind him were their two missing classmates, both carrying large boxes. I'll skip through the fanfare and get to the point. The order we placed for those contacts came through this morning. Midoriya and Aoyama just had to go fetch them as they arrived at the lab." He walked to the front, followed by the two boys who lifted the boxes in question.

“They got them done that fast?” Iida asked, as others were just happy to get them.

“Oh man, I can’t wait, where’s mine?” Kaminari asked.

“Quiet down,” Aizawa flashed his quirk, getting the room to quiet down and regain some composure. "The staff have already received our letter not too long ago, so I can tell you that it won't be as you expected. Once you all have them, we'll explain." With that said, he turned to the two, already dreading the coming act.

"You can start handing them out, " he told them, nodding and stepping forward to address their classmates and fellow heroes-in-training.

Aoyama took the lead, the flamboyant showman always eager for the spotlight. “Understood, all right, ladies and gentlemen. Before we start, we ask that you wait till everyone has them before putting them up. As for these lenses and the speed of production, that was accomplished; as for most of you, little needed to be changed.” He set the box down on Kamakiri’s desk as Midoriya did the same with Tokage’s.

"However, taking into account your quirks and general heteromorph features," Midoriya took over from there, his eye going over them. He started calling them out as he saw them. “Bondo, Monoma, Fukidashi, Tokoyami, Todoroki, Hagakure, Shishida, Kaminari, Kuroiro, Ashido and Asui.”

With their attention, he opened his box. He pulled out a smaller box with Kaminari's name written on it. In contrast, Aoyama pulled out one for comparison. His had no such names, as it was ordered without specifications. “You’ll all get your contacts from me.”

“Wait, why is Monoma on the list? And Todoroki and Kaminari as well?” Kirishima asked as the people in question got up and walked over to Midoriya. Aoyama went down the aisles and placed cases on each person's desk.

“Monoma’s quirk kinda makes it that his features can change depending on whatever quirk he has, so we got him something a little more adaptive,” Midoriya explained as the producer, an eccentric woman in her own right, had only seen it as a challenge even if she charged them more. Good thing Nezu agreed to pay for it.

He handed Monoma his case and reminded the blonde, "Though should you have issues, please come to Aoyama or me, and we'll try to get you a replacement pair."

"Much appreciated," Monoma smirked as he accepted the case and returned to his desk. Todoroki was next in line.

"As for the others, it's all about how their quirks function. Half Todoroki's face can drop to polar temperatures at the drop of a hat while the other half has the opposite." Midoriya explained, handing the case to the fire and ice user. "So, Todoroki, please remember which is which, or else it can lead to…complications."

Todoroki could imagine, and while part of him thought he could use the fire one, he wouldn't go so far as to leave himself half-blind to possible threats. “I’ll keep that in mind.” Kaminari was the most excited of the bunch, approaching Midoriya like a kid in the candy shop given free rein to pick whatever they wanted for free.

"I'm guessing Kaminari's the same because his body emits electricity, which could damage the regular ones." Yaoyorozu guessed as Aoyama handed her a case. The girl inspected it and noted that it wasn't of lousy quality. It was nothing like what she would have had lying about, but certainly, whoever they contracted had an eye for presentation.

“Oh yeah, that makes sense.” Kaminari agreed with her, leaving Jiro and Kaibara wondering how Yaoyorozu figured out about his quirk before he did. But hey, he was happy, so they'll let him have his moment.

"But what about me? I don't secret acid from my eyeballs, you know." Ashido asked as Midoriya handed her a case, to which he shrugged.

“Call it a precaution.” Ashido had never tried it, but maybe they were designed for splashback since Ashido could secret a continuous flow from her hands and feet without issue. Depending on how she created it, it could be similar to water, and anyone who has washed dishes can tell you that it can splash to the oddest of places.

“And that’s the last of them," Aoyama said as he handed the last of his cases to Bakugo. Bakugo took it with a guff noise and little else, but the Frenchman didn't expect much from Bakugo, so he wasn't offended.

When everyone opened the cases, they found some cleaning supplies, as well as both contact lenses suspended in an antibacterial fluid that was good for 100 washes. It was also safe for their eyes; otherwise, they'd need to dry them before putting them on every morning.

“Why don't you open them up and put them on? Don't worry; it's not as hard as regular contacts."  Aoyama encouraged, and to his word, it wasn't nearly as hard as they thought it would be. When they held it over their eyes, the lens fell and seemed to self-align. A couple of blinks later, they could hardly feel them there, and their vision didn't seem impaired.

But with them on, they didn't really…see anything different, not in themselves, their classmates, or their teacher. "Oh, okay, now what?" Tetsutetsu asked.

"I'm not seeing anything different," Kendo replied as she was tempted to try and use her quirk and see if that would change anything.

Aoyama, who, along with Midoriya, returned to the front and puffed up his chest. “Luminance, shall you dazzle them?”

Seemingly born from nothing, a creature formed at Aoyama's side. The students saw what could be a truly massive peacock, the bird's body nearly as large as a large horse. Koda was especially surprised by that until he recalled it wasn’t truly a peacock.

Even if not, it was perhaps for the best as no other could compare to its beauty with its long, slender build draped in feathers that started white but quickly faded into all colors of the rainbow, bright and seemingly bioluminescent. Its tail was so large compared to its body that the bird saw fit to open them, letting them rise halfway to the ceiling, an impressive feat when one recalled how the room's ceiling wasn't average height but more than double what you'll in typical buildings like officers.

Like its body, its tail was decked out in bright, rainbow feathers that constantly shifted colors. Atop her elegant and lean head, she had three flower-like feathers and kaleidoscopic eyes that, like her tail, were an ever-changing array of colors.

Shivering a little as she formed in the human world, the massive bird turned to Aoyama, seemingly not amused. “Yuga, darling, just because I enjoy the spotlight doesn't mean I'll just prance about whenever you ask it of me.” Even her voice flowed like water over smooth stones.

“Holy shit! That’s your quirk?” Tsunotori pointed at the giant creature as it…she turned to the rest of the class, whose jaws were wide open. Well, most of them, she spotted a few that did it better, but Luminance knew they were just as amazed by her beauty as they should for a creature such as her.

"She's beautiful," Tokoyami uttered, and the prideful creature soaked up the words like a sponge to water as she daintily strolled towards him. Her long legs allowed her to step over tables like stones on a path.

“Oh, such a handsome lad; please, praise me more.” She leaned forward, eyeing up Tokoyami, who felt Dark Shadow getting…jealous of all things with this one.

“Don’t feed her ego,” they turned to see another quirk; this one rested atop Midoriya's head. “It’s big enough as is," Faunalution continued. She was nothing like the first, if for no other reason than their size. She resembled a tiny dog with how easily she could just sit atop Midoriya's head with only her long vulpine, bushy tail hanging off his head, her fur mainly brown with a fox-like face and ears with bright red eyes.

“Everyone, this is Faunalution, my main quirk.” Midoriya introduced herself, though they didn't have time to gush over the adorable little creature, and Luminance scoffed at her words.

“Mangy mutts are always barking. I can’t help that I’m beautiful while you…cute.” As soon as that last word was said, it was like Faunalution’s mood shifted from lazy to alert-no to furious as her fur stood on end, her tail went alert, and her ears twitched toward the peacock.

“Oh no.” Midoriya groaned as Aoyama took a step back.

“What?” Uraraka asked. What was the issue with being cute? Or was this about the mangy mutts part?

Her size meant nothing as Faunalution hissed back. “Did you call me cute, you overgrown chicken?! I'll wring your noodle neck right here, right now!”

“Overgro-You dare?!” Luminance was tripped up by the insult before she turned, just as furious as her counter park as she stalked down the stairs, her form shifting as it shrunk and transformed till when she reached the end, what stood there was an exceptionally tall, pale woman with the same eyes as before with waist length white hair whose ends halfway become an ever-shifting array of color. That hair was styled into ringlets, and lastly, Luminance wore what seemed to be a ladies' white, blue, and golden evening dress seemingly picked out of the wardrobe of a noblewoman from mid-1700s France.

Mineta seemed to be eying up the lady as usual. Still, everyone else wished not to be there as the woman's heels clicked against the floor like gunshots. "How dare you compare me to mere poultry! I’ll gouge out your eyes since you clearly aren’t using them!”

Faunalution’s hissed again as she jumped off Midoriya’s head and flipped-mid-she too changed, shifting to her humanoid form and landing in a crouch; she stood to her full height, displaying her fair skin, bright, confident, confrontational eyes with her hair being similar waist length and brown like her fur had been, but more of a mane then the well-dressed ringlets of her counterpart. Still, unlike her, she retained elements of her beastly form with a flower pattern-tipped tail, sizable pointed fox ears atop her head, and her hands and feet covered in fur and tipped with long, dark claws.

Standing up to her foil, it didn't seem to occur to her that she was smaller by at least 3 inches and what could be 30 lbs, as her smile displayed her canines, ready to rip into the taller woman. "Oh, you can try, you overrated pigeon; I'll rip those stupid ringlets off your head and strangle with them.”

“Guys, your quirks might be acting out!” Honenuki yelled, some having already taken cover beneath their desks.

"Midoriya, Aoyama! Is this normal because it seems dangerous?" Yaoyorozu yelled, but neither seemed to be moving. What was going on?!

"Screw that. This is getting good!" Bakugo seemed to be one of the only 2 eager for whatever fight was about to break out between them as he cheered for Frenchie’s quirk to win; the other was Kamakiri, who was cheering for Faunalution to show the prissy giant of a woman who was boss.

“Aizawa-sensei, aren’t you going to do something about this?” Iida turned to their teacher, hoping that the no-nonsense man would stop this. It seemed like one of them would throw the first punch any moment now, and they had all seen what a rampant quirk could do.

Aizawa just sighed. “Why would I? They’re messing around.”

Like a switch had been flipped, the tension between the two quirks vanished as Faunalution turned and pouted toward Aizawa. “Oh, you didn’t have to ruin the bit, you sour puss! We had plenty more to share.”

Luminance, too, seemed equally disappointed that their fun had been cut short. “Honestly, some people can’t appreciate the arts.” She just couldn't understand humans like Aizawa, who had no love for theatrics, drama, or presentation. Perhaps that was why he had such…dull clothing. Was he allergic to color?

"I am…so lost," Rin spoke up for the group as it seemed like whatever was holding Midoriya and Aoyama back broke, the two starting to laugh at their confusion while their quirks turned to them with knowing, amused eyes.

“They wanted to display that the contacts allow you to fully see and hear them. I thought it was a waste of time…I was out-voted.” Aizawa explained.

“And you still ruined it! I’m going to have to that Kayama lady about you.” Luminance wagged her finger at the smaller man, who hardly batted an eye. Even if Midnight gave him flak, he would stand by it.

“Wait…was that all an act?” Fukidashi asked, and when they nodded, he breathed a sigh of relief.

“They transformed? How cool is that?” Kaminari asked, losing his mind over them as both were straight knock-outs in the look department. Luminance was a tall, refined beauty with an hourglass figure that blended well with her dress. Faunalution, on the other hand, was smaller, scrappier- someone that you thought grew up as wild as she looked. She had a more bottom-heavy figure and long, powerful legs left exposed by the torn shorts she wore.

“Dude…how the heck is it fair that they have two babes as quirks?” Mineta asked himself, as he could already tell their three measurements, and oh God, did he want to cop a feel, especially of Luminance, who was the peak of 'step on me, mommy' energy he had ever seen.

“Dude, you need to touch some grass.” Sero turned to warn him as sure they were hot, but they were also not human and belonged to guys…okay, that sounded worse than it was, but his point stood. This was far too complicated to let being horny guide you down. What could end with a horrifically painful death, or just you want to die from whatever embarrassment that befell you?

Of course, Mineta might have had the common sense to keep his thoughts on the downlow. They were present with sensitive enough hearing to hear, as Faunalution’s ears had twitched in their direction, which made the fox girl smile. "Oh, did you hear that, Lumi? You got a fan?”

Luminance raised a delicate, finely groomed eyebrow. “What are you talking about? I have many fans. How could I not?”

"All right, you can discuss this later," Aizawa stopped them before they could continue as they needed to finish this. "But we should move on. Those contacts don't just allow you to see artificial quirks or quirk spirits. They can also allow you to see regular ones."

"Really?" Kendo asked, to which Aizawa nodded as he flashed his quirk again. Now that they all had the equipment, they could see something that Aoyama and Midoriya had been seeing since they were ten. Behind Aizawa, a mass of tendrils and scales formed, writhing and twisting about before revealing itself to be a five-headed hydra, each looking like a fearsome dragon with razor-sharp teeth and eyes as red as their holder.

The students gulped when they were faced with it. As if nothing else, the creature fit its master, as its gaze could freeze them in place. With his point made, Aizawa let his quirk fade, and with it, the creature vanished from sight. "Yes, but only when they're active. Heteromorphic quirks that permanently alter your forms don't count, from what I've been told."

“Holy…I didn’t think your quirk would look like that, Aizawa-sensei.” Sato noted.

"I would have imagined it being more octopus since he can kinda, I don't know, wrap you in his erasure." Tsunotori tried to put it into words, but she had never had to describe how a quirk looked, so was having issues with it.

"Don't ask me for the specifics; it's well above my pay grade." Aizawa’s words got them to turn to their resident experts.

"Quirks match the holder and have two forms. Don't ask for the how and why; my mother's still working on that." Midoriya replied, which they could accept. However, with that done, they started to flash their own quirks, showing off something that could have never been imagined before.

“Why does mine look like that?” Mineta asked when displayed his quirk by pulling balls off his head, only for Monoma to describe it as a purple caterpillar made from balls similar to his hair.

"Perhaps because it's nothing compared to mine quirk looks like." Monoma gloated as Fukidashi described a quirk befitting a collection of mirrors and crystals forming three interlocking rings.

“Gotta admit, you have a pretty good-looking power." Tokage complimented Jiro's.

Attentively sitting on her desk was an avian-styled creature similar to Luminance, just much smaller. It had a long, sharp beak, primarily orange, fading to red and black at the tip. Its round blue eyes sat beneath pale grey, pointed eyebrows. Feathers formed a short crest at the back of its head. White markings covered its face, chest, and wing undersides. A jagged red band encircled its neck. Its long tail had three feathers, and its spindly blue legs had two toes pointing forward and two backward.

“So cute!” Hagakure called from across the classroom when Uraraka used Zero gravity on her pencil case, allowing a small, pink, bipedal creature to float above her. It had a rounded snout, triangular ears, and large blue eyes filled with curiosity. Its short arms had three-fingered paws, large hind paws bore oval markings, and a long, thin tail ended in an ovoid tip.

Uraraka blushed a little at the compliment and looked up to see it. She could agree that her power was just adorable, but maybe she should not try using OFA, as…displaying 2 might lead to questions.

“Yes, I got an alien!" Ashido cheered as her quirk seemed to form when she made some acid in her hands, the creature looking like an otherworldly dragon. Its curved body resembled the number three, with light purple sides marked by slender lines and a dull brown body. A purple patch surrounded its red eyes and had a tubular, upturned snout. A thin appendage extended from the back of its head, topped with a red, leaf-like crest and two brownish-green antennae. Leaf-like appendages adorned its sides and tailfin, while three small spikes lined its back.

“Not sure what the steal beam is for, but it's certainly something I can get behind." Kendo appraised as she let her hand grow, and with it, her quirk appeared to her. A gray bipedal creature with a large, round, dark-red nose stood in the aisle to the side of her desk. Atop its head were bulbous features that resembled hair, with violet bulges resembling swelled veins across its large, muscular arms, thighs, and chest with similar bands adorning its shoulders. Weirdly, it had an hourglass shape and formed carrying an I-beam in its arms.

“Enough!” Aizawa regained control over his students, though, for one, he wasn't as irritated as he could be. Yes, they were acting like children at a zoo…but this was an unprecedented experience. They certainly didn't act any different than the staff. You can continue this on your own time. We have other things to discuss, that being the upcoming Sports Festival."

"We're still having it? Even after that whole mess with the villains?” Tokage asked, Midoriya and Aoyama silently taking their seats as they had all been far more invested in their quirks.

"She's right. Shouldn't we focus more on security right now so villains can't break in again…" Kaminari turned his eye towards the two in question, the same as the rest of the class.

"You don't need to worry about quirk spirits; unless incredibly powerful, they don't move about, and U.A.'s nothing that would link one to the grounds, especially a violent one," Midoriya answered their unspoken question with ease. "At best, there'll be some watching the events, but they won't cause any issues."

Aizawa nodded. "Your concerns are valid, especially the second one, but part of why U.A. is pushing forward with the festival is to show that our confidence in our revamped protocols holds strong even after that attack."

“Revamped?” Kirishima asked.

"I'll spare you the details but know there'll be five times as much security for the event this year compared to previous ones. However, there is a second reason why the sports festival wasn't canceled, and that's to do with you." Aizawa’s gaze swept over the room filled with young talent, people who could be forged into the next generation of heroes, provided they had the chance.

"The festival is where you'll showcase your abilities, intelligence, and, for your first years, your potential as future heroes not just to the public but to hero agencies," Aizawa explained, which caught on with some as they had all watched at least one Sports festival and knew that they could get insane with the events that happened, and how it was probably the biggest media event of the Year, Japan’s equivalent to the U.S. Superbowl.

“They’ll be watching to scout for up-and-coming talent to offer spots to.” Yaoyorozu nodded, having heard about this sort of thing from her parents. It was part of why she had asked to attend U.A. over Shiketsu.

"There's also the public appeal to it, as unlike other schools, who keep their festivals in-house, for us, people will see what we'll all about. It's a good PR boast for any agency if they can land one of our better-performing classmates." Honenuki leaned back into his chair, arms crossed, as he wondered how he would tackle this. The events were hardly the same as the previous years to keep things fresh.

"Yeah, but I would rather not end up just being a flashy new gimmick," Tsuburaba added that if he wanted to be watched and not touched, he would have tried acting.

"Well, if that's not what you want, do as you always do and work for it. The better your performance, the better the odds you'll be scouted by a top agency that can nurture your talents and bring out your potential in ways we just can't in a classroom." Aizawa spoke, redirecting attention to him, his face imparting just how serious of an opportunity this was for them; as if they performed, they could find offers from top agencies run by pros in the top 10.

“Keep in mind, you only get the 3 shots. Each one being increasingly harder than the last, so while I would heavily discourage you slacking off," The way he said that heavily part sent a shiver down their spines, as if any would be dumb enough to hold back now. Aizawa could see that, and his face twisted into a creepy smile matched only by the look in his eye. "This is your best shot to make a good impression. Am I clear?"

“Yes, sir!”

Chapter Text

“Text” – Normal speech

‘Text’ – Thought

“Text” – Quirk Spirit speaking in the human world

“Text” - Attack

“Text” – Radio/Communication lines

“Text” – None Japanese speech

(text) – Subtext/meaning behind a spoken word

After being able to experience the wonder that came from being able to see and compare their quirk personifications, Eraser's words about the upcoming festival had managed to strike. At the same time, the iron was hot, leaving all but the most stoic of them visibly excited as they went through their morning classes, something their lecturers didn't mind in the slightest as it made him much more engaged with people like Ashido, Kaminari, Kirishima, and Tetsutetsu being much more willing to raise their hands to answer.

It didn't improve their answers, but the increased participation was appreciated. Their high morale was only bolstered when they had their class with All Might, who could play off his being late to the USJ as just an unhappy but ultimately, in hindsight, funny accident as they quoted just how done Eraser had sounded when All Might did arrive when most of the fighting had passed.

Their class with Midnight was one where their morale peaked. The woman was eager to see them express how they would approach their duties as not just heroes but beacons for the people to look towards. The class managed to rope Todoroki into it, even if he was so utterly lost that it was just adorable. The sight of this left several, including Uraraka and Tokage, laughing.

The mood dipped after that, but not by much as they went through hero theory with Eraser and studied basic human anatomy concerning the most common kinds of injuries one could find in the field with Snipe. As the lunch bell went off and Sniped turned off the monitor, the man bid them a good day before he strolled on out, the door closing behind him being the signal for their ever-building excitement to burst.

“I am so ready for this!” Kirishima roared, having jumped to his feet, followed by Tetsutetsu.

“Right with you, we gotta show off our metal at the festival!” The white-haired boy was just as excited as his fellow defense specialist. How could they not after the morning they had? Besides, the Sports Festival was something each of them had watched at least a couple of times, and it was always worth it. Its events were the talk of not just U.A. but Japan for weeks afterwards.

"Just think, we put on a good show, and we'll be one stop away from becoming legit pros!" Sero approached them, Tokoyami in toe.

"Man, getting into U.A. was really hard, but this makes it all worth it!" Sato cheered as the entrance exam had been hard, not just the practical portion but the written one, which he had studied for 4 months and still struggled with. But it was time to see some of the fruits of his labor.

Tokoyami was more reserved in his excitement, focusing more on what this meant for them as future heroes. “It's just one chance out of three; we don't have the luxury to fail or play it safe."

"Do that, and you'll be forever doomed to the shadows and mediocracy," Kuroiro added from his seat before he chuckled and added. “Well, there is some benefit of serving the public good from the shadows.”

“You can do that; I'm aiming for the top, where everyone will see me!" Kamakiri yelled, eying his classmates as little more than competitors, a look that a few returned.

"My good man, you'll need to settle for second place compared to me." Aoyama retorted, only for Ashido to push him down, supporting herself on his back.

"Maybe you two can share, as first place is gonna be this sexy pink lady." She declared as she could already see it now, holding up a giant gold trophy as she flashed a peace sign to the thousands of cameras. She stood atop a hill made from the groaning bodies of her defeated classmates…and a couple of aliens thrown in.

"Ojiro, I'm getting kind of nervous. The festival is like the most watched thing in Japan; imagine all the eyes on us." Hagakure admitted though the tailed boy thought it strange that she, of all people, would have such concerns. "Well, I will do my best to stand out!"

Well, nevermind, as it was the opposite, but that didn't remove the issue he had with it. "Well…you already have that issue, but I'm sure you'll figure something out; you always do." He sincerely told her that, as she might be invisible, he might struggle to understand what she was feeling and what to say without a face to read. Still, she had proven that she was more than capable of that.

She could be expressive in other ways, such as how she twisted; he could bet she was smiling at his response as she let out a pretty laugh.

Kaminari and the others saw that, and he sighed as he leaned into his chair. "Man of us have the opposite problem to Hagakure; they stick out too much." He looked towards Shoji and Shishida. Even without their quirks, they were absolute units. The former was nearly 2m tall and looked like he weighed half what a horse did. Shishida was smaller but seemed to be the more muscular of the two.

"I would still prefer to make progress in my education and hero career because of merit, not because of how I look," Shoji replied, to which Shishida agreed.

"I couldn't have said it better myself. We need to demonstrate our potential to the public and pros so that they might have faith in our abilities when we must protect the people and fight alongside our heroes." The furred-covered student added. He understood the idea, but it felt…disingenuous to slack off when others would be working as hard as they could and more to leave their marks.

“You’ll stick out plenty for all the reasons, Kaminari.” Jiro joked, to which Kaminari whined back.

“Hey! I know my limits; I don’t short-circuit that often.” Jiro smirked in response, as she didn't say anything about him shorting out, which Kaminari caught too late as he groaned and slumped forward, having been played.

"Everyone's so into this," Midoriya smiled as he watched the class. Whatever lingering tension from the USJ had vanished, replaced with the optimism and cheerfulness he loved to see.

“Of course, we all enrolled into this school knowing this would happen-no, waiting for it to happen with baited breath.” Iida stood up before he started moving in a way that looked close to the weird character idle animation for a video game. "Of course, it would get people fired up."

"You have an odd way of showing that, Iida," Yaoyorozu noted as she approached the two, Yanagi in toe. "Though I agree with you that it had to be part of why we all chose to apply to U.A."

Midoriya shook his head. "It's just a little humbling, you know? The sports festival is the biggest event of the year and is the focal point for heroes in Japan. All Might, Endeavour, Edgeshot, and Jeanist all made their marks there, and look where they ended up."

"Oh yeah, they all won gold on the first try, right?" Asui asked as it seemed like a prediction that you'd become a top hero if you performed well at the sports festival.

Midoriya corrected her without needing to think that hard. “No, it was just All Might. Endeavour took 3^rd in his first year and then first in his 2^nd and 3^rd. Edgeshot and Jeanist took 2^nd and 3^rd place throughout their time, though they swapped who was who in their 3^rd year.”

His knowledge left the group surprised, as it was…detailed and stuff none of them would have known, as the younger heroes would have graduated almost 20 years ago. Top pros they might be, it was very much information that wouldn't just be common knowledge anymore.

There was a laugh from Aoyama as he approached, Ashido following behind him after they finished their little argument about who would top the others. "Leave it to you to know such info. But if top heroes couldn't take the first spot all 3 times, who did?" Aoyama asked, as someone would need to be exceptional or have the best luck to take the gold not once but twice in a hero-centric tournament that had Edgeshot and Jeanist.

"It was Lone Star Hero: Coyote," Midoriya replied, the group recalling images or videos of the pro. He wasn't cowboy-themed per se, but he was someone who, like their teacher, Snipe, was a gunman-based pro. However, where Snipe only uses a pistol, Coyote resembles the disgraced former heroine Lady Nagant. He makes his weapons, primarily pistols, and swords, out of the unique energy his quirk created.

“He retired, didn’t he?” Ashido asked as she recalled that he was a popular hero about a decade prior, in the top ten and everything, with an attitude appealing to plenty of young girls like the ones in her neighborhood.

"It was a tragedy what happened to him; I hope he's doing well these days." Yaoyorozu sighed as the man suffered an extremely public tragedy when he was wounded while on the job, and as he recovered, an associate of a villain he put away killed his partner and sidekick, a student much like them. He was visibly a different person after that; it was like the spark in his heart had been drowned in grief, and he went off the deep end, tracking down the murderers before putting them down before he surrendered to the police without a word.

He got a sweet heart plea deal, and public support was on his side, so he could have quickly returned to hero work after some time on probation, but…he just declined it and fell into obscurity. Her parents believed he moved to Australia. Honestly, his story and how it ended was one reason her parents had been concerned when she came out as wanting to be a hero, not just supporting the hero industry like they did.

“Everyone…” The dour mood of the group remained when they turned to Uraraka, who had just joined them.

Said mood was blown out of the water and replaced with shock and confusion when they saw the look of determination and fury in her eyes. "Let's do our best at the Sports Festival," Iida swore that she breathed out smoke like a dragon there.

“Oh my!” Yaoyorozu covered her mouth.

“U-Uraraka? What’s up with your face?” Midoriya asked, as she only seemed to grow more threatening-looking.

"So intense," Yanagi stated as the girl was spooky with that look.

"That is the visage of a woman on a mission; may the Lord have mercy on whoever tries to stop it," Aoyama noted.

"It's a weird look on her. She's supposed to be the carefree marshmallow. Leave the serious looks to Jiro or Yanagi." Ashido commented, but it didn't seem to affect Uraraka, as she turned to another group, just as intense.

"Marshmallows can be hard, too," Uraraka said with such conviction that they could almost ignore the contradiction as she raised her fist high. "Everyone, do your best!"

“What sort of marshmallows…?” Sato asked but ultimately went along with it, like Sero and Tokoyami, Dark Shadow peeking out to follow suit.

"I'm going to do my best, so come at me!" Uraraka turned to another group again, seemingly trying to hype up the entire class.

“Very well.” Todoroki raised his fist but looked as confused as the rest of them as Tokage laughed, sending her first to the ceiling.

“Hey, don’t complain when I win then!” she declared as Uraraka turned her way and blew her away with her intensity. The girl looked like she was about to charge into the literal gates of Hell with nothing but her fists and no plans to leave until she boxed with the devil himself and won. Though Midoriya found himself curious as he watched this.

“Uraraka.” He would later bring up the issue, the group having gone out for lunch and selected the Mexican, which had become a norm. Like many of the establishments close to U.A. proper, it was well accustomed to student customers around lunch hour, and they weren't the only ones as at least half the other diners wore school uniforms.

“Yeah?” Uraraka looked away from her conversation with Ojiro and Kamakiri, the girl once more eating on Midoriya's dime, much to her amusing embarrassment. Really, he and the rest had made it clear Izuku had no issues with it, and if spending a little extra meant they could all just hang out at lunch, he would happily do so.

"I wanted to ask, but he disregarded that to focus on the issue at hand. Why did you decide to train to become a hero? And at U.A. of all places? I can imagine that the tuition costs would have dissuaded you."

“Way to hit a girl where it hurts.” Aoyama nudged him in the side, to which Jiro rolled her eyes.

"She's made it clear she's as frugal as Hell, and U.A. isn't cheap. Sure, it's the best school for heroes, but that doesn't mean cheaper options are trash." Jiro came to his defense, which…was another thing Midoriya hadn't considered. Was Uraraka and her family spending that much on school fees? She didn't have much of a 'pocket change' budget.

Uraraka, now on the spot, looked slightly shy as she replied. “Well, with the U.A. thing, it was pricy, but the school has pretty good bursary programs, so as long as I keep my grades up, my parents only need to pay a quarter of the fees." Midoriya didn't know that, but it was probably something U.A. wouldn't have hidden. As his mother could easily afford it, it just never came up for them. The same for Aoyama.

However, there was the question of why she was shy about it. Plenty of talented people need financial aid; they all know that. It was why U.A. even had the program, and they wouldn't look down on her for it.

Uraraka knew that, and truthfully, that wasn't what she was embarrassed about. It was her reason to become a hero, to begin with. “For the part of why I wanted to be a hero…it’s money.”

The entire table turned to her. They had been listening loosely but still carrying on their little conversations. However, the notion that Uraraka Ochaco, the marshmallow girl with cheeks that looked like granny-pinching bait, was in it for money just couldn't be ignored.

"Wait, you're in it for the bag?" Ashido asked to be sure as Uraraka looked even more bashful about it, rubbing at the back of her head and pointedly not looking at any of them.

“Well, that is kinda most of the reason, yes…” She confirmed before she bowed her head to them. "Sorry, I know it's not a great reason to want to be a hero. Compared to you all, I must come off as pretty shallow."

Iida frowned at that. "By whose judgment? Here is nothing wrong with wishing to find stable and gainful employment."

"If anything, the fact you chose heroics when it's such a demanding and dangerous career path just shows that you're still a good person who wants to help others," Yaoyorozu added, as while she wasn’t the best person to speak on this, she had always been taught that to seek wealth itself wasn’t an evil, it was only the method and use of said wealth that could be considered such.

"Sure, as Hell beats out my reason. I just want to get into as many fights as I can." Kamakiri shrugged, as he knew himself well. Sure, he wasn't a battle-crazed lunatic, but that was the part of the job that really sold it to him through the years.

Midoriya agreed with them, as he felt a little bad for putting Uraraka in the spot and didn't wish her to think they thought less of her for it. "It's just more unexpected. You don't hear that often, but it's not like they aren't heroes with selfish desires. Like Mirko, she was getting into illegal fights in high school and only took the hero route to keep fighting.”

"I know, but it's not like wanting to be crazy wealthy and have 20 cars and 5 homes. No offense, Yaomomo." Uraraka turned towards Yaoyorozu, who had been offered a chance to join them for lunch and had, thus far, been a pleasant addition to the table.

“None taken.” Yaoyorozu was still new to mingling with people outside her tax bracket. Still, she wasn't so disconnected from them that she didn't realize she was incredibly wealthy. It came with being the daughter of a family controlling one of Japan's biggest conglomerates.

"It just that…well, my parents own a construction company, but ever since I was little, they struggled to get work, so money was always tight." Uraraka phrased it in a way that made it sound better than it was, but well…it was closer to saying they were broke most of the time.

You would think that construction would be a solid bet for work, as even with All Might keeping so low for years, it just took a single villain to cause damage to public and private property. It was a good observation, but the thing was that most work was rewarded to larger firms or those with inside connections. Uraraka Construction was neither a large operation nor one with friends in high places, so they often lost bidding wars for contracts, something which Ochaco knew took a toll on her hard-working parents.

"You must have been a big help to them. With your gravity powers, you wouldn't need heavy machinery and could move stuff around faster," Iida mused.

"It would keep construction cost and time down, a great edge over the competition," Midoriya added. With a quirk like hers, you wouldn't need nearly as much heavy equipment. Just bringing so much within could be a game-changer, even for smaller jobs.

“That is true, though I’m not sure about the legality of a minor doing so, so she probably could only aide them when she entered high school.” Yaoyorozu could see the benefits, the same as the rest.

“Right? That’s what I said, but my folks never let me.” Uraraka shot up. At least they could see it, but…well, her folks never would entertain it. "But no matter how much they seemed to worry about bills, they would just smile and refuse my help. Ma and Pa always said I shouldn't be tied to the family business and that I should follow my dreams."

She could remember when she first brought it up, and her father just messed with her hair. He told her to seek her happiness and, if she really wanted to help, when she was a big successful hero, she could send them to Hawaii for a holiday. Even then, she knew he was just kidding. If he wouldn't let her help them, no way would he expect or want her to pay for what would be a really expensive trip…but she would, that and more.

She looked up at them, a familiar determination returning to her, similar to what she displayed in class. But where that was like a woman about to fight the devil, now she was a woman about to stand up to him and not give an inch. "But I can't just forget them or how much they struggled to raise me like they did. So yeah, I want money. I want to pay them back and make sure they can live easier lives."

“Bravo!” Of all the responses she was expecting, she didn't see Iida loudly clapping for her, his hands over his head as he cried; he wasn't the only one as, just about the entire time, he had a tear in their eyes, not even Jiro caring for how much attention Iida's thunderous and visible response was getting them.

Midoriya offered a shaky thumbs up, shedding tears at the beauty of Uraraka’s soul. “That’s amazing, Uraraka. How could that be lesser than our reasons for being a hero? It's one of the most altruistic reasons I've ever heard."

“That is the manliest thing I’ve ever heard.” Kirishima was balling his eyes out, his clenched fist on the table as his other hand tried and failed to wipe away the tears.

“She’s like…the greatest among us.” Tetsutetsu was the same as God; that was just too good.

 "Damn, girl. You're really showing off those steel balls, aren't you? You're trying to get into the most dangerous job possible and deal with all the shit that entails if it means your folks can relax? You're making all of us look bad." Kamakiri tried to act like his gruff self, but his sniffling gave the game away.

"I feel you're the type of girl that goes all out on Mother's and Father's Day." Jiro joked even as she wiped the tears away with a tissue.

“Perhaps I speak for all of us when I say that you were selling yourself quite short, Uraraka. That is a wonderful reason to become a heroine. Your parents raised you into a fine young lady.” Yaoyorozu added that Komori, Hagakure, Ashido, and Aoyama nodded, leaving her flustered but for different reasons.

However, attention shifted off her when not just their table but the entire restaurant heard a familiar laugh in the distance.

“Wait, is that?” Midoriya looked up, seeing someone coming in fast. The sun made it hard to see, but he could make out those familiar blonde hair tuffs.

“Can’t be…!” Ashido cried as All Might landed in the middle of the street in a classic superhero landing. Standing to his full height, all eyes were drawn to him as he flashed his iconic smile. Out of costume, he still struck a powerful, inspiring image as he approached the restaurant with confident strides, the manager who had been at the entrance rushing to meet him.

“All Might, what brings you here? Are you perhaps looking to get some food? I don't have any free tables, but I'm sure the kitchen can prepare something for you to go.”

All Might let out another hearty laugh. "Well, I would certainly need to return for that, as I enjoyed eating it when I was stateside; I am here for another reason."

“That being?” The man asked about the rest of the place, and even people on the street turned to the interaction. In response, All Might looked over the place till he landed on their table, his smile growing slightly larger.

“Young Uraraka! Could we perhaps talk? I noticed something about your quirk that could prove beneficial to you.” He called out, Uraraka pointing to herself in shock that he would seek her out and put her in such a public place.

‘He came all the way here to speak with her? He’s taking his role as a teacher quite seriously.’ Iida thought to himself, once more amazed by the kind of man All Might was.

‘He hasn’t seen us in action for himself yet, and yet he could spot ways she can improve herself already? No wonder he’s the number one hero, so cool!’ Midoriya had to hold back the urge to squeal like a fan-boy, even if he was one. He had to restrain himself; he could ask for an autograph later.

Uraraka looked unsure about the offer. She had only finished half her meal, and she didn't just want to dip, either, but Komori placed a comforting hand on her shoulder.

“Go on, Uraraka, we’ll catch you later.” She encouraged her.

“Right, see you guys!” Uraraka smiled and thanked them, those on her side of the table moving out so that she could leave, meeting with All Might on the street; she tapped herself with her quirk, rendering Ochaco weightless to make it easier for All Might to gently hold her and launch off.

“You know, if he was anyone else, I would be calling the cops about a kidnapping…” The manager noted the bizarre sight, but he had seen weirder things during his time working in this town.

“Old man, who would believe you if you tried.” His son quipped in Spanish as he returned to bussing tables, with All Might now becoming the day's topic among their diners.

“Ashido, you saw Uraraka after lunch, right?” Ashido had just taken her seat for her last class of the day, Hero Agency Basics 101 Saffron-sensei, when she was approached by Hagakure, followed by Yanagi and Kamakiri. Yaoyorozu and Midoriya were also present, but they were close enough that they didn't need to leave their seats.

“Yeah, we share two electives. She said she finished her lunch with All Might.” Ashido replied. Todoroki and Mineta, who had also taken this elective, turned their heads to listen in after hearing that, though the former was much more tactful about it.

“Did she talk about what All Might wanted to talk about?” Kamakiri asked, as while it was really cool, it was kind of out of the blue.

Ashido hummed as she recalled her interactions with the bubbly gravity user. “You know, it didn’t come up.”

“She spent private time with All Might…and you didn’t ask why?” Yanagi was unimpressed with that, especially as Ashido was the self-proclaimed 'info queen', always digging into their lives and pasts. Yet, she didn't ask Uraraka about her one-on-one time with All Might.

Ashido wiggled in her seat in discomfort. Pouting back, she replied, "Look, she showed up right as class was about to start and was already in the zone. You know what the zone is like."

“I’m sure Supercharge would slow down if you just asked; there's no point in you attending class if you struggle to keep up with her," Yaoyorozu told her as Ashido wasn’t what many would call book smart, but she was a determined young lady who did want to learn and studied hard, how else would she have cleared the entrance exams. That said, Ashido would also be the first to tell you how hard sociology and citizenship were for her, as she had to remember laws and customs and then interpret them to suit the situation.

"Hey, you think All Might was sharing his secrets to being the number one with her? They both have insane power, after all." Hagakure asked.

"I doubt he would share whatever secrets he had just for that," Midoriya retorted. The group continued to discuss it before they switched to other mundane topics until their teacher walked in, and they picked up where they left off in the previous class.

As Mineta was told to pay attention, Todoroki’s eyes lingered on his open textbook, but not reading anything as he considered that he had just heard. ‘Uraraka Ochaco…and All Might.’ It was odd that All Might would see her out, and even he would hardly know Ashido, knew she was always hungry for info. It was why he made it a point to avoid her, so why didn't she push Uraraka for details? Or…did Uraraka steer the conversation away from it?

He would need to look into that.

“What’s happening up ahead?” Midoriya asked as he and the rest of his friend group from Hero Agency Basics approached the entrance to their building, finding the rest of the class present.

"I don't know, but it seems like an issue?" Hagakure guessed as Iida and the rest saw them.

“Guys, you’re here! They won’t let us out!” Uraraka yelled.

“They? And whom might that be?” Yaoyorozu asked, her brow creased. In response, Uraraka pointed towards the doorway, blocked off by a crowd of other students, none of whom recognized it.

“My guess? They’re scoping out the competition. The Sports Festival is when we dominate, and we only made ourselves look better by fending off real villains.” Honenuki mused as Bakugo walked past them towards the exit, wanting to get home and do…whatever he did.

"I'm more surprised so many could get here before any of us could leave; it's not like we're close to the other course buildings." Sero noted that it wasn't like this was a high school anymore; the courses weren't built in buildings next to one another.

“It’s all just pointless shit from pointless people, so move out of the way!” Bakugo yelled the last part towards them, mortifying his fellow hero students.

“You can’t just call people pointless! It’s incredibly rude!” Iida yelled back at him.

“Come on, dude, don’t ruin our rep with them!” Kaminari agreed, though more for the reasons of it making it harder for them to date if the other course girls thought they were douchebags.

"Wow, I didn't know what to expect when I came to see the vaunted hero course with my own eyes, but I sure as hell didn't think they'd like…this." Someone retorted as they made their way to the front, presenting a tall, purple-haired boy with an absolutely exhausted look comparable to Eraser's.

He even had that same deadpan observation down as he eyed the group. "Are all of you this arrogant, or is he just the top of the pile?"

“Pile?” Yaoyorozu quietly asked if this was some sort of term she didn't know.

Kendo didn't have that issue and quickly handled the situation before their most…troublesome tanked their chances of goodwill from other courses. "Bakugo's very much the exception; the rest of us would never think or say such things about our fellow students."

The name seemed to spark some recognition in the guy, who looked back at Bakugo, who looked as angry as ever, only for the purple-haired boy to smirk. "Bakugo…oh, I've heard the name. Weren't you barred from classes because you're a psycho?”

“What was that?!” Bakugo growled as he made an aggressive step forward, only for Kirishima to grab onto him and hold him back.

“Dammit, Bakugo, you’re not helping your case!” Kirishima tried to tell him, but he kept struggling to escape, with Tetsutetsu and Sato having to step in to ensure he didn't break free and earn himself a suspension.

The violent response unnerved some of the gathered non-hero course students. Still, the instigator seemed unmoved by it, only sighing as he turned to the rest of them and ignored Bakugo. "Well, I'll be damned. I thought it was just a rumor, but if someone like that could get into the hero course…” Bakugo only glared at him as he knew what and who he was referring to. “Really leaves me feeling disillusioned, but so much that I’ll give up.”

“Give up?” Jiro asked. They were the ones who came here to pick a fight, not the other way around.

"Quite a few of us enrolled here aimed for the hero course but didn't get in. However, we have another way in. That would be the Sports Festival; if we performed well enough, they'd take a second look at those applications." The purple-haired guy explained, which got them to pay and be interested.

His gaze swept over them, no fear in them even when facing a room of people training to fight and, by his own admission, had been deemed better suited for it. "But, that means that one or more of you would need to mess up so that you'll be transferred out of the hero course to make room, and right now, I'm seeing one person that looks like he needs anger management…and a muzzle."

Sero had to tape up Bakugo before he could react to that dig at his deposition, which only proved the guy's point. Well, even if they hadn't silenced him, he would have said something that would warrant such and make them look worse by association, but at this point, they had come to understand Bakugo was a classmate in the loosest possible terms.

“You said scoping out the competition, right?” The guy asked, to which he shrugged and turned to leave. "Well, maybe for the rest, but me? I came here for one simple reason."

"I just wanted to make sure of two things, that you all knew that if you slip up, I'll be there to make you regret that. The second was a declaration of war." He stated.

‘This person’s bold!’ Midoriya, Uraraka, and Iida thought.

“That was all, so…see you then.” And just as quickly as he appeared, he was gone.

Chapter Text

With their…introduction to the rest of the student body, those in the hero class found themselves galvanized to perform not just to the standards that were expected of them but, perhaps more importantly, to themselves.

'We only have 2 weeks to train for an event that will be broadcast to the entire country,' Midoriya thought, using his mother's facility to train his body and quirks. The space has a wide track with debris, slopes, downhills, and other obstacles.

'They'll be plenty waiting to watch us as we take to the stage, a teaser for the performance we'll give as full pros out in the field.’ Aoyama was in another area of the training room, his quirk active as he wielded dual sabers and battles against several J.E.N.N.Y bots armed with bats, pipes, blades, and anything else most criminals could get their hands on.

Kicking her back, he winced as his foot hit her hard metal sternum. Unlike with a person, the robot only smiled as she and her mechanical sisters continued to train the boy, keeping pressure on him as Aoyama had to flee for better ground. 'But they'll be plenty in the wings, understudies that seek to take out spots should we miss a step or get the tune wrong.'

They weren't the only ones taking the time to train as several of their classmates made ample use of U.A.'s facilities before and after classes, many booking time on the weekends, such as Iida, who pushed himself to maintain greater speeds for longer on their track. Using one of the school's indoor pools, Asui worked on her underwater abilities. Some might find that strange but U.A. changed their events each year and certainly would have the budget and resources to put a water element for students that would work close to it.

Others worked together, as was the case of Kirishima and Tetsutetsu, who, as walking walls of rock and steel, spent their time testing their durability by fighting. The one rule was that one couldn't dodge. The gym they used often sounded like someone was mining away at hard rock because of it, and they would frequently leave battered and bruised but happy with whatever progress they made as they discussed the plan for the next session.

Uraraka worked with Ashido and Rin a lot, as the girl would practice her quirk's limits at the reopened USJ; the zones already being a mess meant that she could use whatever, and her two sharpshooters could then fire and break whatever she made weightless and sent flying towards them. Yanagi and Kodai joined them early, as while she couldn't increase the weight, she could manage like Uraraka could and refine her control. In contrast, Kodai managed the sizes of those debris and make-shift ammo.

Others chose more traditional approaches to training, such as Shoji, Shishida, and Hagakure. Both spend considerable time in the gym, though whenever they meet up, Toru complains about how little progress she is making compared to Shoji and Shishida. The former beached half a ton easily while Shishida was warming up with 40 pull-ups, while she could hardly manage 10 in her real work-out.

“She’s really putting herself down as she’s showing diligence to improve, and she’s not really using two fair examples of fitness.” Ojiro conversed with Tsunotori, Tokage, and, oddly enough, Mineta as the group of 4 trained via quirk-boosted free running through the residential training area.

"You should tell her that doing 30 pull-ups and all that other stuff is super impressive," Tsunotori stated, trying to learn how to ride on her horns but needing to jump off occasionally and fire off new ones.

"Yeah, besides, those two are like freaks of nature; we all saw how much grip strength Shoji has. He has triple the amount of hands any of us have." Mineta tossed ball after ball around, bouncing off them while keeping the conversation going so he wouldn't be so quickly knocked off his game on the field.

“Get back here, you tape swinging ass!” Kamakiri yelled as he chased Sero through the city center zone; his quirk was not giving him much help, so he was working on general fitness. His motivation besides that? The fact that Sero had smacked up upside the head and took off, swinging from building to building.

"Hey, you asked to train with me. Don't get mad about my idea!" Sero quipped back. Maybe Kamakiri would get him back for this later, maybe not, but right now? Right now, he was in control, and he would milk it.

Kyoka, if she had to describe it, felt like she was in deep shit.

She didn't break any rules; she hadn't run a fowl with the law, and her parents hadn't called her about something they may or may not have found in her very much locked bedroom closet back home. Hell, her classes were going well enough; they hadn't had any upcoming tests or quizzes about the Sports Festival, but she liked to think she wasn't drowning in any of the topics.

But that wasn't what made her feel like she was; that would be the Sports festival. The fact that she felt completely unprepared and had no damn clue how to change that.

For the past week, she’s sat with her in her classes, with her friend group at their Mexican restaurant hang-out; she would hear about what each of them was doing to improve, and it sounded intense as hell, but something they were sticking to and convinced they were showing results. She would see it after class as well as most would. Instead of heading back to their dorms, she would head to train, and she wouldn't hear a word from them till they were done.

Now, unlike almost everyone else in her friend group, she didn't live in the dorms, but she still stayed with her folks as they lived close enough to U.A. She was used to being the odd one out who didn't have much to talk about when it came to roommate drama or other dorm shit, but when most of her friends were posting pictures of themselves, post-training on the group chat.

The abundance of shirtless and/or sweaty pics of her very much in-shape guy friends made it feel weird. Still, then Ashido and Uraraka started posting their pics, and both were in far better shape than her. How could Uraraka be so plump and yet have abs like that? Ashido's thighs seemed to be muscle-covered in a thin layer of softness. She wanted to say she was upset because it seemed highly horny for them to just be doing that, but she knew the truth.

They looked strong like they were getting stronger, and she…was not.

Thinking back, she was never all that impressive to begin with. She didn't exactly put on a show-stopping performance at the entrance exams, nor did she score exceptionally high on Eraser's quirk assessment test. She was very much in the bottom quarter of the class, in her opinion, at the top of that pile if she was generous.

She needed to up her game; she had dreamed of being a hero, worked for it since middle school, studying her ass off just to ensure she had the grades to apply to U.A. She couldn't be kicked out of its hero course now when she hadn't lasted a feel semester.

But how? She was training, too! She was working out like Hagakure, but it just didn't feel like enough, and…yeah, she was in some deep shit.

Groaning, she slumped in her seat. The rest of the group paused their conversation to look at her in confusion and concern.

"Is there something wrong, shroom?" Komori asked. That was great; now, she felt worse for worrying about them.

"It's nothing," Jiro replied, but none had bought it.

“Bullshit,” Kamakiri replied, his sharp eyes on her. “You look like you’re counting down the seconds till you’re fed to the sharks.”

"You have been quiet lately. Is this about…" Midoriya was next to ask but paused to not give the game away. “Well, you know.”

Jiro took a moment to guess what he was talking about, and when she did, she shook her head. "No, it's not about that mess. I'm dealing….with that and the rest of us." She corrected as she hadn't been present for the fighting, at least the worst of it, but she, like the rest, had seen the aftermath and nearly threw up at the bloody carnage.

Kirishima thought her worry related to what they had learned about quirks. "Worried about what we learned? Well, that's understandable. I can't say it's not been on my mind a few times." He had found himself doing double takes and wearing his contacts even when just walking about. Though he rarely saw quirks, at least those without a host, people used their quirks in small ways all the time. It was illegal, sure, but it was like jaywalking. No one cared to enforce it if they knew it was a law.

“Not that either, Kirishima. It’s the Sports festival.” Jiro told them, getting a sound of realization from the redhead.

"Oh yeah, we have just another week left," Tetsutetsu noted, wondering if they should increase their training or try something different.

Jiro slammed her hands on the table, drawing some attention from others, but they returned to their affairs soon enough. "Exactly! We've got a week left, and you all have made real progress training, and I haven't," she told them. At this rate, I'll be the one who gets booted."

Yaoyorozu frowned at how down her friend seemed about things, that strange general studies student's words clearly having a negative effect on her. "Don't say that. I've seen your diligence in class."

Jiro turned to Yaoyorozu. "No offense, Yaomomo, but you're the only one who can say reading all those chemistry books helps with their quirk. Only so much reading about how sound works helps with my quirk." Yaoyorozu grew a little flushed as she didn't need to spend as much time physically training as the rest; instead, she just studied to keep her understanding up to par. Still, she didn't think it would be wise to mention that she was very much in shape thanks to years of 5-star chef and dietitian-approved meals and personal trainers instilling deep fitness values.

“You can train with us then," Midoriya suggested, pointing to himself and Aoyama, who nodded.

“Didn’t you say…” Jiro recalled them saying his mother’s lab wasn’t some quirk training site, but that was before she remembered that they left a lot out then. “That was a load of crap, wasn’t it?”

"Legally? No, we can't. Possibly? Yes, we can. Besides, we can develop ways to train your body and quirk, so you'll do great." Midoriya replied. They didn't show them the entire facility, and getting permission to bring Jiro back wouldn't be too hard. 

The offer caught on with the rest as they realized that, like U.A., they had access to another high-tech place to train. "That seems like a great idea! I kind of wish I had thought about it. Do you think you can make it a group thing?"

Uraraka wanted to agree, but she had to be the bearer of bad news. “Ashido, we already booked the USJ again.” Also, she wasn't sure they could get the training they wanted in an underground lab. Especially if she wanted to work with One for All and not risk causing a cave-in.

"Oh darn it, well, another time then," Ashido complained, as she totally wanted to explore the secret labs a bit more, convinced that she'd find something cool, like quirks that make aliens real.

"Definitely, but right now, let's focus on ensuring that Jiro can really impress everyone watching." Aoyama noted as he continued to eat his meal, one he sprinkled with apple slices, which was strange, but also homemade crushed grasshopper powder, which made most of them gag. But Aoyama's odd diet was just a feature of his quirk, the same as Midoriya's addiction to peanut butter.

"You're not making me feel any more confident by reminding me we'll being watched by the entire world, dude," Jiro stated.

“I know, it’s terrifying! I just don’t think about it till I don’t.” Midoriya replied with a happy little smile, which only confused them when Aoyama started to chuckle.

“That doesn’t make sense.” Uraraka pointed out that Midoriya didn't care about logic.

"Doesn't matter; it's why I was able to approach all of you without stammering, " he happily told them. His time at U.A. and how confident he could be weren't natural to him in the slightest. Hell, even his mother wasn't the calm, collected operator she presented herself as during the meeting. She learned how to do so for shareholder meetings and those fancy events she would attend.

“Why, is that because we’re pretty girls?” Ashido guessed, fluttering her eyes at Midoriya, drawing attention to the fact she and Momo were the only ones who did work on her lashes.

Midoriya let out a slightly nervous chuckle. "Not even. He would struggle talking to girls in general when we hit puberty. I was the one who suggested that he imagine people with pineapples for heads." He told them his mother had her tricks to not flounder in social interactions with people she didn't know.

Komori asked if that pineapple trick worked, and he shook his head. “No, so I imagine everyone with melon heads—melon heads with no eyes, so they can't see me."

"…If I hadn't seen the two of you place at the top in the entrance exam, I would think you're super unequipped for this." Jiro retorted, as that response only made her worry. Alas, her growing concern was ignored as the two started to converse.

“Well, we don't have time to waste. We'll start after school. We can fit maybe… two hours of training in," Midoriya suggested, to which Aoyama nodded.

“It's for the best. We get off classes at 5PM, and we need to factor in the time it would take her to head home and still be able to study. The weekend would be the best time, maybe 6 hours then. Then she can have Sunday off to rest and recover.” That seemed reasonable enough to him, especially when trying to get maximum results in such a short time window.

Still, Midoriya couldn't see them getting too much done without asking for a quirk, and those things weren't just tools you could just put back, nor did he know someone with a helpful power. No, this would be the old-fashioned way. “We won't be able to work miracles, so we'll focus on getting her stamina and endurance up and maybe a few tricks with her quirk. That'll take a lot of trial and error.”

“It’s what we have.” Aoyama agreed with him.

“Guys, please speak Japanese for the rest of us.” Ojiro reminded them.

“Correct, it's only Yaoyorozu who could follow along.” Iida wasn't too bad at English but had no hope of understanding French. He only caught a couple of words here and there that sounded like they were English, but he couldn't say.

“What were you two saying?” Kamakiri asked the two, and they looked at each other, smiled, and went back to their meals.

"My good man, it's not something to be concerned about," Aoyama replied as Jiro turned to Yaoyorozu; she missed a word, but she would bet her bass that it was about her. Yaoyorozu sadly didn't prove much better.

“Good luck with your training.” She kept it short, offering Jiro a smile, hoping she would gain some confidence.

As agreed, when classes ended for the day, Jiro didn’t head home but grabbed her P.E. stuff and followed Midoriya and Aoyama as they took a train to his mother’s lab. They didn’t use the same secret garage entrance, but instead the smaller, more well-hidden elevator after they confirmed her visitor status and how, this time, it would last a week but be more limiting. Well, she could explore later.

Walking through the place, they took several turns and stairs she didn't recall the first time and got to a section called 'Calibration space'. Midoriya was kind enough to point out the women's changing room and instruct her where to meet them when she was done. Leading up, she entered a wide-open space the size of a football field. The ceiling was maybe 8, maybe 10m above their heads and styled the same way as the walls and floor, featuring bland grey square paneling.

“All right, I’m ready. Where’s Aoyama?” she asked, noting that Midoriya was the Only one present and that he wasn't dressed the same as her but in what looked like custom samurai garb.

Midoriya had decided to wear his usual training gear over their school P.E. uniform, partly because he was more comfortable in it. As for his absent friend, "He got called out for a job and should be back before dinner."

“Oh, was it a big one?” Jiro asked, trying to play it cool, but the memory of quirk spirits and how dangerous they could be floated to the forefront of her head.

“Nothing like the USJ, Jiro. Otherwise, I would have gone with him.” Midoriya replied, lowering her fears as she nodded. She could trust that if Midoriya wasn't worried, it wasn't something to worry about. "I hope that just me isn’t a disappointment?”

She raised an eyebrow and gestured to the stupidly massive space. "Are you kidding me? I'm standing in a secret underground training room straight out of one of Mina's sci-fi novels. I'm getting the long end of the stick with this deal."

Midoriya offered a big smile. "That's great. Now, we'll start with a bit of a warm-up. So, we'll do one minute of arm circles, leg swings, and torso twists each."

“All right, sounds easy enough.” Jiro nodded as she knew the importance of warm-ups, though she usually did them for a couple minutes.

"And then a minute of jumping jacks, high knees, and butt kicks each." Midoriya wasn’t done as he continued to explain it to her.

"Well...I did come to you and got help." That seemed like plenty of stuff just for her legs.

"And then another. Lastly, we do 2 minutes of bodyweight squats and lunges each, and with that, we'll be done with your warm-up." Midoriya kept on smiling as he finished, pulling out a small tablet and turning it on.

“What about the exercise itself?” Jiro asked as that seemed like a lot just to warm up, mainly because they were doing 8 different things when she usually did maybe 2 or 3.

“We’re gonna work on getting that pumping.” Jiro’s eyes narrowed as she caught his non-answer.

“Yeah, by doing what?”

“Let’s start!” Midoriya finished doing whatever he was doing on the tablet, and Jiro thought he had a work-out playlist or something. "Okay, so let's set up the field. Just give me a second. I'm normally not the one operating it."

“Okay, I’m getting a little tired of the ques-tiooons!” Jiro yelled as the room started to shake. For a moment, she thought they were having an earthquake, or she had the rotten luck to visit the day the entire place suffered a structural failure, but nope! The shaking was caused by the room itself's visible change.

The thousands of panels weren't just for show or décor, as she thought; instead, they each seemed capable of moving. The flat terrain of the room changed around them into what looked to be an intense obstacle course with all manner of things she'd need to handle, from sprint sections to hurdles, long jumps, and rock climbing.

 When it came to a stop, Midoriya was posted on an elevated platform halfway to the ceiling, smiling as he waved toward the dumbstruck girl. "I'd like to give you an official welcome to the Danger Room. It was designed for basic quirk training, but it serves well for hero training. Don't worry about damaging the panels or anything; they're easily replaceable.”

With Jiro still looking at him like he had just condemned her to death, he happily gave her instructions. "Now, I want you to clear that track in 15 minutes! Use anything you want as long as you stay on course."

"Not bad, Jiro! You beat your last best by around 3 seconds!" Midoriya cheered for her, now sitting next to the girl who was lying face first on the ground, exhausted after having to go through the damned obstacle course…she lost count after the second time, her mind focused more on just putting one foot forward.

“I’m…going to kill you…when I can move again.” Jiro wheezed out as Midoriya laughed and laughed at her! Was she a joke to him? What, was it so funny that he struggled with something she sure as shit knew he would have done in a fraction of the time and been ready to keep going?

She didn’t have time to bite back a response as Midoriya, just as he had done during their quirk assessment, quickly lifted her to her feet, letting her use him as support as the woman blushed hard again, feeling him up. His loose clothing hid an incredibly lean, muscular build, and his hands on her gave her goosebumps.

Ignorant of his effect on her, Midoriya continued to cheerfully rally her. "Come on, Jiro! That's the exhaustion talking. You don't mean that. Come on, here's some water. We'll rest up and then move on to the next stuff." He handed her a chilled water bottle, which she quickly accepted and started jugging. When it was half empty, she stopped and looked towards him, now able to support her weight.

“Next?”

"Of course, we only have under an hour of training, and we promised to ensure you show everyone watching what you're made of." He showed her the time he had started when she saw him messing with the tablet, and to her dread, she saw that they still had well over an hour left.

"Alright, enough of a rest. We gotta strike while the iron's hot." Midoriya grasped her hand, Jiro again blushing at the contact as he led her to another spot.

"Please don't tell me it's back to the obstacle course," Jiro asked, looking at the course like it was a monster.

"That's for tomorrow. Right now, it's some circuit training. I want you to give me three sets of 12 reps of jump squats, push-ups, and walking lunges." Midoriya told her. The spot he had led her two to was level, with plenty of space to move about.

“Only?” Jiro didn’t know why, but she gave a sarcastic response.

"Oh no, after that, we'll move onto 1 minute of mountain climbers and planks with shoulder taps," Midoriya added, that stupid genuine, supportive, very kiss-she stopped that thought, smile of his never faltering.  “Don’t worry, you’ll get about a minute’s rest between each circuit.”

“You’re trying to kill me, aren’t you?” She muttered.

“What was that?” Midoriya asked, to which she sighed.

"Let's just get started." With that, she started with the assigned exercises. All the while, Midoriya remained close, both keeping an eye on her and moving in to help her.

"Don't lose your form; you will lose the full benefits if you do." He came up behind her to adjust her stance as she was still in the squat phase, his legs shifting hers while he held her waist, part of her wanting to push her butt into him.

“Keep your back straight.” When she was doing the push-ups with her arms feeling like they wanted to rebel, he knelt and placed his hands on her back and stomach. A little devil that seemed shaped and sounded like Mina uttered that she should ask him to put his hands higher on her chest.

“Remember, consistency. It’s all about consistency in movements. You’ll make it harder by increasing how long you do it, not how.” Midoriya demonstrated that as she went through the walking lunges, but her eyes couldn't leave his legs, covered as they were. She could only imagine how those slim yet powerful muscles flexed and contracted.

"Don't slouch like that, Jiro. It hampers proper blood flow. In fact, try this; you'll find it helps a little." Again, he was all over her. Again, he came up behind her but held her closer as he forced them to stand straight, his hands grasping her by the wrist and pulling her arms up. "That's right; keep your breathing nice and steady. Deep breath in, slow breaths out."

She wanted him to keep holding her like that and explore her neck a little…

Okay, turns out exercising with a cute guy was a kink. She didn't need to know that, but she wouldn't like to forget it either. She was brave enough to admit…in the privacy of her mind, that she had something of a crush on Midoriya that started their first day and only grew as they hung out, yet she didn't think it would go anywhere. She learned pretty early, thanks to Aoyama that Midoriya was already in a committed relationship with a woman who blew her out of the water in almost every way.

Meeting Intelli only made it clear that she couldn't compete with the intelligent, tall, regal, and well-developed woman. And yet, she still felt that same urge, that itch, whenever she looked at Midoriya.

And she had already been caught by Intelli once when they all met; the woman had spotted her eying up her man, and she had felt like she was so screwed them…but Intelli didn't respond with jealousy or anger. She smiled, took her aside, and told her something that left her embarrassed for the rest of the trip, but with the Sports Festival looming, she hadn't had time to think about it so much.

She couldn't do that now, when she was held in Izuku's arms, keeping him close and saying she needed the help when she wanted this to continue.

She wasn't the only one feeling the heat, and despite hardly doing anything, Midoriya found himself hot under the collar as the training went on. Jiro was attractive; anyone with eyes could see that about her. He had first been drawn to her silk-like hair and her beautiful face with such sarcastic yet kind eyes, but since that first day when he held her, he couldn't disregard her smooth skin, slim build, and supple ass. Even her bust, which was smallest in charm, drew his eye as he wanted at times to take them in his hands, grope, and tease them to see what sounds she would make.

But dammit, he was a man in a happy relationship, and he was supposed to be helping Jiro train for the festival, not perv on her! That was for Mineta and Kaminari!

Still made it difficult for him as it seemed like his body didn't care about his head and was thinking with the other one. This point became apparent when he needed to hold Jiro and adjust her, as he made damn sure she didn't press close to him; otherwise, she would realize the real reason he chose baggy clothing.

'Dammit, Izuku, control yourself! What would Saiko think?' He asked himself, which was the wrong move as he knew exactly what she would do, and that didn't kill his attraction; it supercharged it.

Midoriya was saved from that thought and its implications when he saw the time on the tablet. Clapping his hands, Jiro paused in her cooling-down exercises and turned his way. "And we're done for the day. Great work, Jiro. I was a little nervous that it would be too much, but you pulled through." He tried to ignore how sweaty she looked right now and how hot that was.

“It would be a waste…if I couldn’t complete it.” She replied, that breathless tone getting to him in ways he was glad Aoyama wasn’t around to see and then make fun of him for. "Listen, would Aoyama also be present when we practice tomorrow?" Oh, strange thing to bring up.

"He should. Attacks and other incidents that need our attention aren't too common," Midoriya replied, and Jiro nodded, clearing the first step of her issues with what she had decided on during their exercises.

"Well…I thought I would prefer if it was just the two of us again…you know what you're doing, and then we can focus more on his training than mine." She asked, trying to phrase it so it wouldn't appear desperate.

His arousal momentarily forgotten when he saw how unsure she was, Midoriya couldn't help but ask, “Are you sure? It’s no trouble for us to help our classmates.”

Jiro nodded. “I’m sure. So…gonna walk me out before I get lost?” She asked, trying to break the awkwardness and tension that had settled between them.

"Oh, yeah, but first, you might want to hit the showers before you crash out from muscle fatigue," Midoriya suggested as Jiro took a whiff of herself and scowled. Yeah, she needed a bath.

“Yeah, I wouldn’t put it past me to get home, not shower and fall asleep in my underwear.” She said off-handedly, the comment slipping out without her realizing it, which she caught and turned bright red, same as Midoriya whose mind conjured up that image, wondering what sort of underwear she wore and if he would be present, maybe giving her reasons not to sleep.

“I wouldn’t mind that,” Midoriya muttered, seemingly in a daze, forgetting that Jiro could hear his comment before he turned and stiffly marched away, fiddling with the tablet all the while. "Well, I'll clean up here and meet you when you're done!"

“Sure!” Jiro called back, but her head was going over that last slip. Both from her…and from him.  ‘I…I didn’t just hear that, did I?’ That wasn't wishful thinking clouding her mind. Midoriya had interest…clear interest in her and if Saiko was genuine…

Walking out of the danger zoom, she made her way to the changing room to shower and get dressed, but as she did so, she made another decision. ‘I need to go some shopping before I head home.’

The next day, their interactions were completely normal for the two. Jiro and Midoriya acted like whatever happened between them wasn't something others could see, not when romantic lovers Ashido, Aoyama, and Hagakure were always close. Besides, it wasn't too hard to act, actually. They met in homeroom and avoided speaking directly to one another, quickly enough when they were in groups.

They were too busy with work, debates, and lectures during morning classes to interact, not if they didn't want to get in trouble. Lunch was the same as homeroom, with the being invested in the conversation but rarely responding to one another; it would be awkward and noticeable if others didn't jump in and respond so they could respond to that.

When it came to their afternoon classes, they just shared 6^th-period detective classes together. There, they had something of an issue as it was just Kendo with them. She noticed that they were acting off, as they would typically be conversing before class started. Jiro just played it off as the two being focused on their training later, which…wasn't a complete lie. They would be training, that was known…just not in the way their friends thought.

When classes ended, and they could get to training, they followed the same routine. However, from how Aoyama winked at her when they parted ways, she could guess the Frenchman had deduced why she had requested to train with Midoriya alone. When they arrived, she went to get changed while Midoriya prepared the danger room.

Alone in the women's locker room, she breathed to calm herself, as she had already decided. She would make her move, and it would start by following her mother’s advice for getting boys…She never thought she would use it after she had to make it weird by mentioning she used it on her dad, but she needed to make a statement.

She wasn’t tall, she wasn’t curvy, and she was painfully aware that she might as well be a plank compared to the other girls, thanks to the times they've shared a locker room and she spied them shirtless or, in Momo's case, the type and size of bra she used. She lacked natural advantages, but that was fine. She knew she had Midoriya's eye…all she had to do was reel him in.

The first step was changing into her newly bought workout gear. Pulling on the zip of her bag, she saw the hot pink that lay inside, and despite how red her face was, she couldn't stop the smile from stretching across her face.

Chapter Text

“Text” – Normal speech

‘Text’ – Thought

“Text” – Quirk Spirit speaking in the human world

“Text” - Attack

“Text” – Radio/Communication lines

“Text” – None Japanese speech

(text) – Subtext/meaning behind a spoken word

"Midoriya, am I doing this right?" Jiro called out. They had gone through warm-ups and that god-awful obstacle course already, so she had worked up a sweat and now was going through her minute of mountain climbers.

"Y-yeah! You're doing great!" Midoriya replied, but a glance showed that he wasn't looking. She would get pissed, but she knew from the moment she entered that she had his attention and what she was doing to him. So really, Midoriya turning away just told her she was too much for him to gaze at.

"You sure? I feel like I'm messing up somewhere. I think you can come over and make sure." But Jiro wasn't about to let him get away that easy. She would get what she wanted…but it seemed like he wanted it almost as much as she did.

“O-of course…” Midoriya agreed, a little devil on his shoulder that sounded far too much like a smug Yuga asked if he was doing it because she felt she needed up, or if maybe he had decided he would take a helping of her? ‘Dammit, Jiro!’

Jiro’s performance through their training had been comparable to the previous days, but she was just as determined. And if she had come wearing the same U.A. P.E. gear, he wouldn’t have minded standing closer to her and watching her, but she hadn’t walked into the danger room in that.

When she announced herself, he had been looking through the tablet for ways to improve the obstacle course without putting too much burden on her. When he looked up, his eyes might as well have fallen out of their sockets.

Jiro was a striking contraction-petite yet curvy in ways that felt almost unfair. Her slender frame walked over to the side with such casual grace, and with her back turned, he could lay witness to her absurdly perfect butt, which made her yoga pants work overtime to keep them contained, the hot pink fabric clinging to her like a second skin, stopping just above her shins. At the same time, her purple sports brat highlights the subtle definition of her torso while firmly cupping and hiding her breasts from his hungry gaze.

Black workout shoes completed the look, though when she turned, he felt his blood heating up and rushing through him as he looked into her onyx eyes, sharp as daggers, framed by long lashes that made her gaze intense and teasing.

The faint red to her cheeks gave away that she wasn't as much of a minx as she appeared while her dark purple hair was tied into a neat bun; practical and professional looking made her seem ready for business, or as a voice in his head joked some fun. Her ear jacks didn't remain idle either, moving about in a way that drew his eye and made him want to gently grasp them.

Once more, he felt grateful that he went for baggy pants, but he knew that he couldn't stand back forever. Jiro came to him for help. What kind of guy would he be if he did a half-ass job? Not the one his mother raised, that's for sure.

"Actually, your form is too loose. When you perform a mountain climber, you mustn't slouch your back or bounce your hips." Midoriya approached her, his eyes darting to her now and again, each time his eyes focused on her ass before he would rip his gaze from then.

"Oh, really?" Jiro pretended to ask, but she caught him without him noticing. She knew where he was looking, and she liked it. She was unsure she could draw his attention when she was so average compared to other girls, but his hungry, wanting gaze dispelled that. Just to keep it up, she bounced around more, her butt hypnotizing Midoriya, who felt like his mouth went dry.

“Yeah, bouncing your hips just makes excess movement, your effort for less gain.” Midoriya absentmindedly replied as he approached and, like the previous day, got close to her to correct her position, being sure not to get his crotch anywhere close to her, fearful that she would feel it and have a very adverse reaction.

Jiro rolled her eyes at that. Could he not see that she wanted that? Well, she was done wasting time or second-guessing herself. She knew what she wanted, and she would take it. When his hand went to her bare stomach, she let out a pleased hum, getting him to freeze. She knew he would know that sound, and he couldn't mistake it. But just to drive that point.

Midoriya felt her soft, firm ass pressing into his crotch, his rising boner only growing even faster as his dick, still in his pants, didn't so much poke as it thrust into her butt cheek, Jiro's face growing red as she felt just how…big he was. She hadn't seen it, but she knew he was having a pleasant surprise for her.

“J-Jiro.” He sounded out, but to her delight, he didn’t move away, his hand remaining on her stomach, feeling her up and lighting up her nerves while he pressed his dick deeper into her butt.

She let out another moan, shifting her butt a little bit so that his dick came to rest above her two cheeks, then she pressed in, both moaning at the sensation, even with their clothes still on.

"Kyoka," she sounded, looking over her shoulder at him with longing but also nerviness in those beautiful and expressive indigo eyes. It was a clear sign that, for all her confidence, it was only skin deep, as…this was her first time. "Call me Kyoka...please.”

Izuku's lust was overtaken by care and admiration as he pulled her closer, nuzzling his face into the back of her neck, taking in her scent off her neck. Kyoka let out a shocked but pleased grasp when he licked her neck.  “Of course, if you’ll call me Izuku.” He replied as he continued to massage her, licking at her neck as she continued to grow more flustered before she smiled as she started rolling her butt around, returning the favor with a clothed ass-job; that was the correct term, right?

Screw it. Who cared for the right words when she was going to get screwed before the day was done?

Neither was sure when it happened, only that it did. One moment, she was on her hands and knees with Izuku pressed against her back; the next, she was laying on her stomach as he continued to ravage her, his legs shifting to hold her down as he had his way with her, the purple haired girl loving every second of it as she turned her head to him, her gaze half-lidded but wanting more.

"Kiss me," Kyoka asked; Izuku acquiesced without a word as he moved forward, capturing her lips in a deep kiss, Kyoka moaning under him as his lips were soft, smooth even. Izuku took control of it as his tongue got into play. The flustered, horny girl parted her soft, wet lips for him, giving his entry to dominate her as his tongue wrapped around hers, dancing about her mouth.

One hand had remained on her stomach, but now both moved up her body towards her sports bra, his fingers shifting under it and capturing her breasts in his grasp, getting another whimper out of her, Kyoka shivering as his hands massaged her petite chest. But she couldn’t banish her insecurities about it as she broke the kiss, a line of saliva still connecting their lips as she looked away the best she could given her prone position.

“I know they’re not the biggest…” Kyoka couldn't help but wonder if he was comparing her to Saiko, who, even in her uniform, Kyoka could tell had an ample bosom while she was…her. She could use tricks, dress in gym wear she called incredibly slutty, but they were getting past that point, and she didn't know what to do.

Izuku ceased in his motions, but he didn't pull away as he felt his breath over the nape of her neck, his hands like shaped fire as they cupped her breasts, but he didn't move. Kyoka felt a pit in her stomach as she thought she had caught him out. He was scrambling to lie and save face with her, so she braced herself as she turned back to him.

Whatever she wanted to say died on her lips as she saw his gaze, his eyes burning with a sense of loss and wrath that made her feel weak, scared, but incredibly aroused. That clued her into the fact his cock was still pressed against her, and she could feel it somehow getting hotter as it throbbed between her ass cheeks.

She yelped as Midoriya grabbed her and turned her over, her back hitting the ground with a thud that was nearly painful as he loomed over her, his eyes filled with a scorching her as he kept his gaze on her face, on her eyes as he wordlessly took off his top, exposing his torso and arms to her. Kyoka's eyes hungrily took in his chiseled build, his pecs and six-seemingly carved by master craftsmen. Powerful yet compact in chest and shoulders, built for function, not vanity. Every muscle was honed through grueling training and what she now knew to combat.

His top gone, he grabbed her sports bra, and before she could stop him, he reached for the zipper that happened to be on her bust. He pulled it down, exposing more of her before her bra came undone, and he pushed it out of the way, exposing her breasts to his gaze. Her bust wasn't large, but she was far from flat as Izuku could see and appreciate the swell of her chest, especially how she had the cute inverted nipples that were just begging to be played with.

"You're perfect, Kyoka," Izuku told her, moving in and laying a kiss on her right breast, finding that he loved the taste and how she shivered from it and continued, taking her nipple into his mouth to lick and suckle on it, trying to get the shy tit to come out to play. "You're just…so beautiful that it's driving me insane. Can't you feel what you're doing to me?" He thrust into her, Kyoka feeling his cock throbbing against her moistening crotch, the girl wanting to see it, to hold it and feel it in her.

"Still." Kyoka whimpered, pleasure and wariness warring in her as Izuku released her nipple and pulled her into a deep kiss, pouring all his want, desire, and honesty into it. Kyoka leaned into it as she grasped his head and held him close. 

When he pulled back, it was only that she could feel his hot breath on her face. "It's you, Kyoka, that I want right now. You that I'm not going to let go of till I've made you mine by claiming all you have." He told her her hair had gone undone from her bun as he moved some of her out of the way of her face. “But…do you want me?”

“God, yes!” Kyoka cried as she pulled in for another kiss; even if Izuku quickly managed to win, she didn't care as she kissed him, putting her desires on the table and throwing whatever cautions or fears she had into the trash. "I want this, I want you! I'm sick of waiting and feeling like I can't have you. Even just for one day-"

Izuku silenced her by flicking her left breast, drawing a pained but pleased moan from her. "It won't be one day; it will be for as long as we can; I promise I'll give you all the happiness you can take and then some, Kyoka." He didn't do one-night stands and wouldn't let this be the exception.

Diving in once more, Kyoka's back arched as she let out a breathless grasp as his lips sealed around her nipple, soothing the lingering pain with his tongue, which messaged, poked, and prodded at her nipple, trying to draw out her nub as his other hand went to work massaging her other breast. Izuku enjoyed every moment of it as her flesh was soft, her ties well shaped with their size only playing to that strength, not too big but definitely not small as she foolishly believed.

Kyoka wailed out as he finally got her nub out, with Izuku not caring for how sensitive it was as he toyed with it, over and over as she wrapped her arms around his head, keeping him to her chest as she kept on moaning “More, please more, Izuku, don’t stop.”

Izuku wasn't planning to, as he had gotten a taste of it. Now he wouldn't back down till he was satisfied, no matter how long it took as he pulled back with a pop, the cold air of the danger room hitting her wet, exposed nip, Kyoka's nerves as Izuku went for the other nipple to give it the same treatment as she humped him the best she could, trying to feel more of his cock even with then both still wearing pants.

Kyoka had never felt something like this, even when she played with herself; her hands could never match this heat flowing through her as Izuku seemed determined to mark her chest as his, a notion she had no issue with as she let out another mewl as his tongue had a rapid flick to her exposed nipple. His blatant, animalistic lust for her tits only flooded with greater joy.

She had never thought she would find herself in a situation like this, laid out on the floor of some secret training room, her tits out for all to see as someone she had only met a couple weeks back made a meal of her. At the same time, she continued to thrust her soaked crotch into his dick. She had intended to lose her virginity now that she was in college; who wouldn't? But she had always thought she wouldn't be like those other girls, party animals that went for the first hot guy they saw.

Kyoka thought she would have a committed relationship, maybe not the one she would stay with long term, but she thought she wouldn't be putting out so damn fast, and yet, she didn't care one bit about that.

Who gave a shit that they were moving too fast? So what if he already had a girlfriend? Saiko permitted this, so there was no guilt-just desire, and Kyoka didn't think she picked wrong. Izuku, in the short time she had known him, had proven that he was a dependable guy who didn't care for wealth status or quirks. He didn't make a single comment about her or any of the girls, and now she could see and feel how little he cared for her thoughts about how she was lesser to other girls.

He shared her dream to be a hero for the sake of others and even went beyond to aid the remnants of those who couldn't be saved in time. And there was the fact that he was hot as hell and in great shape. All that just made it easy to declare that she wanted him and that she was a girl in need of him to be the one who took her virginity and plowed his claim to her deep into her.

"Hmmm!" Kyoka whimpered as her core clenched as she increased the tempo, desperate to fill him inside her. Her tits were the center of his attention as he left them so sensitive and wet it was insane as Izuku switched between them, now flicking the odd hand one with his massaging hand. His hands were bringing her such pleasure but also aching desire that she was tearing up as she wanted more.

But her desire to return the favor was stronger.

Releasing his head, she almost regretted it as Izuku retreated from her tits, her nipple popping out of his mouth with a smack, his eyes half-lidded, nearly as if he had been in a daze brought on by breast, the idea she could have such an effect of him was a major boost to her confidence, but also just made her wetter.

“Get on your back.” She anxiously ordered, as she didn’t know what she was doing and could only rely on what she had seen in porn and heard in passing from other girls.

Midoriya looked like he wanted to refuse, dive back in, and continue to have his way with her sensitive, wet tits. Still, with a grunt, he obeyed, Kyoka getting a show as his muscles tensed and relaxed. He shifted off her, parting from her and laying and sitting away from her. How he settled, his baggy pants showed her two things.

The first was that she had leaked through her panties and pants into his crotch, which was similarly damp. The second was that he was bigger than she thought as his cock was tenting in his pants, it looked like he had something lethal in his pants, and she wondered how it would fit into her as she was such a small woman compared to that.

Such thoughts went straight to her pussy as she felt it burning with desire, but she held back. Not yet; she had to pay him back for making her feel good before she got to the main event.

She fully removed her sports bra, tossing it to the side, forgotten as she crawled towards him, not caring that she was using her mother's advice for this as she could see just how it was affecting Izuku, who seemed like he wanted to just grab her and fuck her. Still, again, she couldn't just rush this. This was her first time, and she tried to make it a splash. She crawled towards him like a horny cat, moving with purpose towards his crotch.

Seeing where she was going, Izuku felt his cock throb even harder as her hands reached for his belt; Kyoka had no idea why he went with such a traditional style of workout clothes, but that was for later as her hands went to work undoing sash and pulling his pants down and off his legs, tossing them where she threw her bra.

To prepare for exercise and assist Kyoka, Izuku donned white and green performance briefs with breathable, moisture-wicking fabric, ensuring optimal airflow and comfort during his workout. But all Kyoka cared about was how snug and supportive it was, as she could clearly see that he was packing some serious heat. Reaching for it, she was in awe at how hot it was, her touch garnering a grunt out of Izuku as his eyes glared at her, anger held back by restraint as he waited to see what she would do to him.

He wouldn't need to wait long as she pulled down his underwear as well, allowing his cock to spring free, smacking her in the chin, drawing a surprised squeak from her as she felt the force behind it. His cock coming to rest on her face, she let out a free awed breath over it, taking it just how thick, hard, and hot it was.

It had to be the biggest one she had ever seen, and she had ever seen, and unlike porn, she would be the one experiencing it. She grasped at his cock, feeling how veiny it was, veins that were why the rod pulsed at her touch, leaving her to wonder if he could get any bigger, a thought which made her scared and aroused.

She stroked him off, but it was clear how little experience or confidence she had as she quickly moved to two hands. Still, Izuku didn't care, instead taking pleasure in her soft hands around his cock. Kyoka's hands made him look larger with how she slowly stroked it. When she squeezed a little, his shaft flexed in approval.

"Keep going that, Kyoka. You're doing great." He complimented her, which drew a surprised sound from her, the woman blushing from his compliment as she continued, happy that she could do so this. Izuku was already rearing to go, and their not-so-dry humping earlier only threw wood into the furnace, so it didn't take for his tip to start leaking pre-cum which Kyoka saw.

Looking him in the eye with a gaze that was both too innocent and too hungry, she cutely asked. “Can I kiss it?”

“Please.” He groaned out as dammit, could Kyoka get him turned on with just a look. She smiled at his permission, as really she had no clue about this. Still, other girls said guys loved stuff like this, so she leaned in, supporting herself on her elbows as she bent his shaft towards her parted lips. She kissed the tip, her tongue coming in to draw in his pre-cum as his cock pulsed, Izuku letting out a deep-throated groan.

She found that she liked the taste and his reaction as she went in again and again, kissing his cock's head with quick pecks before she moved to the rest of it. At the same time, her hands hadn't stopped stroking him over, only now she would move them out of the way as she worked her way down his shaft. Just like he had shown his love for her tits, she would shower his cock and balls with all the love they deserved.

She saw how he was affected, by it, his muscles straining, his hands flexing, as he resisted the urge to force her to perhaps deepthroat him. Izuku was moaning without shame as she cared for his cock; when she got to his balls, he pinched his eyes shut with a hiss that she could feel in his cock, which was pulsing about like crazy, his lustful blood only making it hotter in her hands that continued to stroke him off.

Kyoka was about to involve her tongue, as that seemed like the best step, but she had a better idea—something that a quick nerd like Izuku would love, as she looked up at him.

“Look.” She didn’t say more, only waiting for Izuku to open his eyes, dark with lust. With a cheeky smile on her flushed face, her earphone jacks came into play. Her smile only grew when she saw the flash of realization, disbelief but anticipation in his eyes before she wrapped them around his cock several times, her hands leaving it as she continued to stroke him with her headphone jacks.

"This this good?" She asked him as she continued, Izuku biting his lip as he looked back at the ceiling.

"Kyoka, this is amazing." It was like nothing he had ever felt; it wasn't like fingers, as they were too slim and flexible. Kyoka might not have trained for this, but hero training leading up to U.A. might she had exceptional control over her earphone jacks, which could extend to an extent. The result? Was that she could use coil them around Izuku's impressive cock like two snakes, each wrung alternating how and where it squeezed to create an experience unlike anything else.

"Then you'll love this." The tips of them came up to the sides of his cock. Usually, she used them to listen in or jab people she found annoying, sending her heartbeat through them. She kept to a much lower power output when she used it now.

“Fuck! Just like that!” Izuku cried out as he felt the duel pulse shoot through his cock. Lighting up every nerve he had, it was almost as good as when he could cum.

Kyoka happily abided as she continued to use her jacks to send random pulses of her heartbeat into him, his reaction only making her hotter as her heart raced. When she started to gently suckle on his tip, her tongue swirling around the tip and top, Izuku continued to let out pleased, wanting noises as she worked him up to that point of completion. Her jacks helped her as she could tell that he was far too big for her to fit even half his cock into her mouth, not without practice.

Izuku felt his abs tense as she worked him, giving him an experience that only she could as he spared a glance and immediately regretted it. Her mouth on the top, her jacks working his shaft and one hand cupping his balls, the other moving and burying itself in her crotch, fingering herself through it all.

The sight was messy, uncoordinated, and busy, but God did he turn him on. Too much, it seemed, and he felt himself getting close. He bit his lip again, trying to hold off, to experience this longer, but Kyoka could feel his heartbeat. She could hear him mutter a curse and put two and two together.

Pulling back from his cock with a harsh wet pop, Kyoka's breath came out labored and laced with desire. She felt like nothing she had before as she looked at him, her eyes frenzied as she continued to stroke him off with her jacks. "Cum, Izuku. I want to see you cum. I want to taste." Kyoka breathed out as she lapped at the sides of his cock, lathering it and her earphone jacks in saliva.

That paired with her request, and Izuku was done. When she returned to his cock's head, that was when his cock pulsed, sending a thick, hot shot of cum directly into her mouth. Kyoka was caught by surprise by just how much it was. Still, where others would have pulled back, she latched on and started to swallow it as she continued to work his shaft, her hand fondling his balls, which continued to produce more.

The second shot that followed was just as large as the last, causing her cheeks to inflate a little as Kyoka’s eyes rolled to the back of her head as she tasted it, the sensation of his cum in her mouth, of jacking him off with her quirk pushed her over her limit as well as she came, a flood of girl cum flowing out of her pussy, through her hands and into her pants. Kyoka moaned directly into his cock, which only prolonged his cumming, the third shot moving too much for her as it overflowed out of her mouth, leaking out over his cock, her hand, and earphone jacks.

She pulled back there, but neither came down from their high as she continued to cum her brains out, same as him as his cock pulsed as it shot out shot after shot of his cum; his cock still aimed at her meant that her hair, her face, and modest chest were all doused, Kyoka smiling like a cum drunk slut though it all, which got her more cum as Izuku couldn't-wouldn't look away from such a sexy visage.

Eventually, they reached their limit; Izuku fell back into his back, breathing heavily as he had never had such an…just wow.

Kyoka was the same, giggling as she now understood why some girls liked getting covered in cum; it was such a liberating thing, and when she came along with it. God, she had never had such a fantastic release in her life.

But she wanted more…so much more, and looking towards Izuku, whose cock remained as hard as steel, she knew he wanted it too.

“Izu…” Kyoka slurred out, her head still fuzzy from that explosive climax she had. Izuku, still trying to get some oxygen back into his lungs, looked towards her as she rose up, covered in his cum. With a needy, lustful, and beautiful smile that could make even a nun wet, she started cleaning herself.

His eyes nearly fell out of his head as she watched Kyoka gather up his cum, on her fingers and hands and lick them clean. Repeating it, each time more sensual and lascivious than the last. She cupped her chest, rubbing his cum into her flesh like it was lotion, only to bring her cum covered hands to her soft, smooth lips where her tiny tongue peaked out to clean off the mess.

She wasn't even done, and yet Izuku felt any restraint he had break.

Pouncing on her, he glared at her with such desire that she sobered up and realized their position and the fact she had his pulsating cock pressed to her soaked crotch.

Izuku didn't speak; he didn't ask as he gripped her pants, and Kyoka didn't fight him as he pulled them down her legs. Kyoka's hips were small and slender but soft and curvy as she exposed the pair of purple cotton panties she had worn, soaked all the way through with her essence. Still, like her pants, they were done as Izuku tore them off of her, leading to her gasping as she saw him tossing the ruined remains of the garment to the side.

"H-hey! You don't jus-" Kyoka's complaint turned into a moan as she felt Izuku's hands on her pussy. His eyes and hands took in her most intimate spot. Her vulva was glossy with her juices, along with revealing the fact that she didn't shave down there, which would be mortifying if she didn't see just how much Izuku desired her even though she didn't have a cleanly shaved and smooth pussy.

Kyoka still squirmed under his touch, grasping at him and the floor as his fingers danced across her pussy, lighting up nerves that had just fired off, teasing her entrance with a treat of fingering, his fingers much larger than her own. Kyoka knew they could get so much deeper than her own, and with prior experience, she was eager to feel what skills he brought that she didn't have.

Izuku robbed her of that when he pulled away, leaving her to whine at a loss, a whine silenced when Izuku took her cheeks and pulled her into a deep, searing kiss. Once more, his tongue invaded and marked his territory.

Kyoka went wide-eyed as didn't guys not like kissing girls that just gave them head? Did he not care? Did he like his own taste? She didn't know, and she didn't fucking care enough to ask as she leaned into it, wrapping her arms around him and pulling him close as the two naked, sweaty teens went at it for all they were work, Izuku showing her things she never knew were possible and never wanted to part with.

Izuku shifted them around, grasping her ass at long last and instantly loving how her cheeks felt in his hands. They were warm and plump, overflowing in his hands as he went to work squeezing and kneading them, rewarded with sweet whines and moans from Kyoka. Still, she couldn't speak as he refused to let her break from their kiss longer than a couple seconds before he pulled her in, not that she wanted him to stop as she wrapped her legs around his waist, locking him in place as Izuku moved, displaying some of that sexy strength, shifting into a kneeling position with Kyoka still wrapped around him.

At last, he broke their make-out, the two panting as they looked each other in the eye. “You’re so stunning.”

Kyoka looked away, blushing as she could feel his throbbing cock pressed against her sensitive pussy. “Don’t just say that stuff like that.”

"I'll keep saying it, day after day, till you believe it," Izuku told her, shifting about so that she felt him even more, the girl moaning at the sensation of his large, searing rod pressing against her.

“Let’s just continue.” Kyoka pouted as she lifted herself, her core muscles coming in as she reached for his cock, her small hand gripping around its girth, she eyed the dot of cum that came out, licking her lips as she desired to taste it again, but her smoldering core let itself be known.

She was reminded of just how large his cock was, its girth almost as intimidating as she couldn't stop the gasp that escaped her lips when she thought about what it would do to her. He would split her so wide, and reach so deep into her, deeper hen she could ever reach on her own, and with she just knew he would fuck her long and hard, that his cum would claim her womb. He was still rearing to go after she stroked him off with a blow job thrown in. Would cumming just once more be enough to satiate this beast?

She didn't know, and the fear mixed with eager excitement as she desperately wanted to find out.

Izuku stopped her, his eyes looking her over, worried about something. "Do…do you have protection or…" Izuku asked. Kyoka was dumbfounded for a moment before she understood what he was asking.

"Don't worry about it; my mom gave me the pill stuff, so…yeah…" She should really do something to thank her mother as the woman, without even knowing, had prepared and got her daughter the fast-acting birth control pills on hand, the type that only needed 12 hours till show-time, and Kyoka had still embarrassed at the time, taken it before she went to bed.

Izuku let out a relieved breath as he got so used to Saiko being on birth control he stopped carrying condoms a while back. So, with the crisis of being blue-balled avoided, they got back to action as Kyoka held his cock in place so that he could rise her, shifting her around till his far, blunt tip pressed against her opening. Kyoka gave him the nod as Izuku started slowly sinking her onto his cock. Her pussy proved unwilling at first, but as the pressure mounted, his rod parted her pussy's lips, getting a groan out of her as she felt him sink in, his cock a different beast to her fingers.

“Keeping going,” She wheezed, as she had broken her hymen training to get into U.A., but that didn't prepare her for just how stupidly big Izuku was, its pulsing pillar slowly filling her as Izuku lowered her more on his cock, the boy grunting and groaning as more entered and thus was subject to the searing, wet and hot embrace, so much like her earlier special ear-job, but different. Izuku kept track of her face and how discomforted she seemed. He was two-thirds of the way in when she whined, and he stopped.

She looked apologetic, as if she had failed some easy task, but Izuku leaned forward and gave her a sweet, gentle kiss. "It's fantastic as is. Do you want to wait to get used to it before we continue?"

“Yes, please.”

Chapter Text

“Text” – Normal speech

‘Text’ – Thought

“Text” – Quirk Spirit speaking in the human world

“Text” - Attack

“Text” – Radio/Communication lines

“Text” – None Japanese speech

(text) – Subtext/meaning behind a spoken word

She looked apologetic, as if she had failed some easy task, but Izuku leaned forward and kissed her gently. "It's fantastic as is. Do you want to wait to get used to it before we continue?"

“Yes, please.”

Jiro took deep, breathy gasps of air as she felt herself stretched by Izuku's cock; she was still pissed that she couldn't take the entire thing in, but fuck did Izuku have a way with words and those eyes. His eyes gazed at her, taking in all she had with a hunger and appreciation that she had only dreamed of getting. Seated here on his lap, naked and sweaty in the middle of some secret underground training hall, she felt like the most beautiful girl in the world.

She wanted to rush it, but Izuku's gaze kept from it, without words he continued to convey how this was as much her moment as it was his and that they should be comfortable to enjoy it, so she took her time getting used to the feeling of his hot, pulsing cock in her tiny pussy.

As the pain faded, she pushed it to kiss him. Even that tiny motion drew a moan out of her as his cock ground against her g-spot, Izuku groaning, as well as her folds were warm, tight, and pulsating, massaging his cock.

"We can start now," Kyoka stated as she grasped his face and started to kiss him; Izuku, not needing any more time and with his hands on her ass, he began rocking her, grinding against him as Kyoka, using what limited moment she had, started to ride him as he went, gasping and moaning through their kiss. as she felt his cock grind and thrust against her folds.

Izuku, all the while, was careful not to fully insert himself into her; he wanted to, he tried to thrust all he had into her, but she wasn't ready for that, and what pleasure they got now was more than enough for him as he continued to grind her on his cock, all the years of strength and endurance training coming in clutch as his arms might have burned. Still, it was easily ignored and only added to the overall experience.

Kyoka continued to moan, uttering more and more for him to do harder as she rolled her hips faster. It was awkward and ill-timed, but Izuku quickly adjusted, helping her along till they were moving in perfect sync.

Discomfort from their sex position Izuku picked, the recent loss of her virginity, and just how girthy and large Izuku's cock was mixed with the pleasure from having his body pressed up against hers, his hands on her ass, constantly cupping and massaging her cheeks and how intense he was in grinding her into his cock.

Her body beat with desire, the contradiction of pain not throwing her off. She wasn't someone who liked pain; she didn't like getting hurt, but this ache was so deep, so different from anything she'd ever felt. He excited her more than deterred her as she wanted more, so much more out of this. She felt how he was holding back; she wanted to feel his crotch against hers, to have him fully inside of her.

"Kyoka, god," Izuku breathed through their furious make-out. "You're so tight; you feel so good."

Hearing his compliment made her feel so happy and horny as she pussy squeezed on his cock; the effect was immediately appreciated as he felt it from his sensitive cock head along his shaft.

“More, give me more.” Kyoka moaned out as she tried to force herself deeper onto his cock, but Izuku's strong hands prevented her butt from going too deep down his shaft. She loved and hated him for it.

“You got it.” Izuku took that to mean she wanted him to be more aggressive in his grinding; Izuku also breathing off from their kiss to target her ears, his lip capturing one of her jacks, Kyoka whimpering out as he started to suckle and suck on it. Izuku wanted to pay her back for the earlier fantastic job she did with these same jacks.

“I want all of it,” Kyoka cried out, drawing his gaze to hers, her face flushed and sweaty. “Fuck me with your entire cock, do it, no it now!”

“But-!” She silenced him by pulling him into a deep, intense kiss, her tongue lunging into his surprised mouth, which still had her jack in it, which was an entirely new feeling for her, her pussy burning up as his cock continued to rampage through it.

When she separated, a line of spit still connected their tongues. “I neeed it, Izuku. Please, I so need it so bad.”

Izuku growled, feeling a fusion of lust, excitement, and rage at her demands. Did she not know her limits as a recently deflowered maidan? Did she not care that it could hurt her? He had tried, and that's all he could do. His grip on her ass got tighter, harder as he bit onto her jack, drawing a grasp from her. “Fine…here is it!”

Each word was punctuated by him pulling her down onto his lap. At the same time, he thrust up to meet it, his cock getting deeper each time till, at last, he rammed his entire cock into her hot, his crown punching into the fleshy cap of her cervix, threatening to piece into her womb.

“Oh fuck! It hurts; it hurts so good!” Kyoka cried, tears in her eyes, but her smile showed what she really felt. She lost feeling in her legs for a moment, but lust forced her to regain it as he started to ride him harder now, feeling his cock pierce so deep into her, thumping against the back with each thrust.  “Oh, you’re so damn deep. You want to fuck me womb like this is a hentai?”

“Yes, I want to take all of you.” Izuku breathed out, slapping her ass which grew a yelp and then a cry for more out of her, so he kept doing it, Kyoka loving all of it, his hands on her ass slapping it red, his cock ravening her pussy, and his tongue and lips on her jack, so much so that’s so willed the second one to join it which Izuku gleefully captured.

“Fuck, I’ll give it all to you,” Kyoka crooned, holding his head as she laid kiss after kiss on his forehead, his lips busy sucking off her jacks like they were her tits. “Yes, keep going, Izuku. I love it; I love it so much!"

Izuku pulled her closer to him as he continued to ram into her, his hands slapping her ass one moment, massaging it the next, cupping it next only to land an even harder smack; each time he did so, her snatch only grew hotter, more of her arousal leaked out onto his crotch, and she grew tighter. Looking down, he nearly came at the sight of his thick, wet cock spreading her little pussy nice and wide as Kyoka pulled back, only to pile-drive herself with a sharp hard drop of her hips. All the while, Izuku kept grinding her against him, ensuring that no part of her pussy went untouched.

Her back arched, head thrown back and exposing her smooth, sweet-tasting neck to him. Izuku couldn't resist; he ceased abusing her jacks, which fell from his lips limp and still throbbing from pleasure, so he could attack her neck, biting and kissing at it as she let out a loud shout; he would think she was in pain if she didn't start riding him harder, her snatch only growing tighter.

"Yes, do that-keep doing that!" She called out, rewarding his efforts with praise and tighter pussy for him to fuck, which Izuku happily accepted as their flesh continued to slap together, her face twisting in gorgeous, pleasure-induced agony. Izuku tracked how his cock moved in and out of her tight, wet snatch, her walls clinging to his meat as she rode on his grinding meat, pre-cum having started to leak out as she doused them.

It was amazing.

"Kyoka…it's incredible," Izuku grunted, pressing as deep as he could into her, his crown forced against her womb as if he was trying to push his pre-cum into her womb. With his hands on her now red cheeks, he ceased slapping her ass and instead went from grinding her against him back and forth to shaking her side to side on his cock.

The unexpected change in angle drew ragged pants and harsh sobs from Kyoka; she lost feeling in her legs and now had to rely on Izuku to continue pressing, grinding, and thrusting into her. It was too much, God, it was too much!

"Izuku!" She cried, Izuku feeling how tight she was getting. "Harder! Just like that, fuck me just like that!" Izuku grunted out a yes as he thrust into her, picking up the pace to pierce as deep as he could into her. His cock demanded entry into her womb. Izuku panting like a dog as sweat trickled down his muscles, muscles still filled to the brim with energy.

Kyoka moaned as she writhed and flailed against him, rubbing herself more into his body as both enjoyed the sensation that came from the wonderful friction of her breasts and hardened nipples rubbing against his chest. The harder, faster, and rougher he got with her, the more she begged for more, and the more her pussy tightened around him as he felt like she would rip it off at this point; he was close, but not nearly as close as Kyoka was.

“You want to cum?” He huffed, leaving her neck, which was now covered with slowly forming hickeys on both sides of it.

“Yes! Yes, I want to cum-I’m gonna cum!” She cried out, a pleading look on her face which only made his cock swell in her, her overly sensitive tight pussy detecting that change instantly as she continued to beg for him to keep going, to make her cum her brains out, and Izuku delivered.

One thrust. Two thrusts, three thrusts, that third was what did her in as Kyoka screamed out as her pussy spasmed out around him, her back nearly bending with how far back she went squeezing him as Izuku groaned from the chest pussy massaged his cock from top to bottom, milking him as she rode the highs of her orgasm. He felt the knot in his belly pulling, but it wasn’t enough.

He brought them to a stop, and Kyoka left trembling as her climax worked its way through her system. When she finally calmed, she mewled, taking heavy breaths as she relaxed against him, having never felt something like this before and smiling, tired but feeling incredibly satisfied, only to grasp when she felt his cock, still as hard as ever throb inside her sensitive cunt.

“You didn’t cum?” She asked.

“No.” Izuku breathed out, to which Kyoka frowned before a determined look formed on her face.

“We’re going again.”

“What?” Izuku asked, as she looked like she could barely stand, much less have another round.

“You heard me. We’re not stopping till you’re done.” Kyoka wouldn't budge on that. Granted, she had thought it would be the other way the first time she did it; guys tended to finish faster, but just because it was flipped didn't mean she would let him leave unfulfilled.

She ignored the fact she had given him such legendary head that he had already blown a fat load down her throat.

"You sure about that? I...well," Izuku asked, looking a little nervous. "I got a lot of stamina." His face and words said one thing, but she could feel how eager his dick was to keep going, pulsing with his desire to keep going.

“Gee, don’t be so humble,” she joked before kissing him a little. Breaking off, she did have to concede on one thing. "Just…give me a minute; I can barely feel my legs right now."

Hearing the admission just snapped through whatever mood they had, at least for the moment. Izuku laughed, leaving Kyoka to smack him with a pout in her face, which just made her seem all the cuter to him. She never 'pouted', as it seemed like the type that rolled her eyes at the idea of being so girly. But here she was, doing it just for him. It was something worth cherishing, the same as the rest of her.

He shifted them around, laying on his back with Kyoka snuggling up to him, the woman slipping free of his dick which like she noted, was still standing at attention, only now it was slick with her juices. Laying her head on his chest, she hummed as she listened to his heartbeat, which calmed down but still raced with a specific energy, anticipating what came later.

Izuku wrapped an arm around her, holding her close as the two just enjoyed the moment; Kyoka needed the time both to regain feeling in her noodle legs but also because she worried she would be way too sensitive right now to properly continue, either that or Izuku would fuck her into an orgasmic mind break which didn't know if that was possible, but wasn't in the mood to try…at least for now.

“So…we did that?” Kyoka started.

Izuku nodded, though he held her closer. “Yeah, and I don’t regret it.” She felt her heart skip a beat as she could hear and feel his pulse. She knew it was genuine.

“Diddo. But I gotta know,” She turned her head to face him from where she lay on his chest.  “How the hell did that happen? You’re dating Saiko.” Her tone remained calm, to the fact, with no accusatory vibes. Why would it be when she knew he was a taken man and still went forward with her plan?

“Yes.” Izuku nodded.

“But she gave me permission to seduce you?” Kyoka asked, now a little confused. The post-orgasm clarity meant she was clear-headed enough to wonder how absurd that was. Saiko had access to this, a monopoly; why would she share it?

"She sent me a message about it last night and said she predicted you'll make your move today," Izuku noted, as sometimes, how insightful his girlfriend could be was terrifying. He had given Kyoka more looks than other girls in their course, not because he was inspecting her quirk and other capabilities. But he hadn't done it where Saiko could have seen it, and he was sure Aoyama hadn't either.

Kyoka recalled her brief conversation with the woman, who called her out for her crush on her boyfriend, only to smile as she told her she had good taste and she had her blessing. “She’s crazy intelligent.”

“Believe me, I know that well. It’s one of her best attitudes.” Izuku nodded as Kyoka reached for his cock and absentmindedly started to stroke him, keeping him nice and ready to go when she was ready, though when she grasped it, it was still throbbing with need, the sort that would be a cruel case of bull balls if they stopped.

"No fight there; an intelligent girl is a sexy girl." Kyoka agreed, as she was a little turned on by Saiko, who also processed the elegant beauty to her but one that apparently hid a wild side. “But is there any reason why she approved? No-that’s underselling it. She seemed eager for us to do the nasty.”

“Well…it’s a little complicated.” Izuku had to ignore her small, soft hand on his cock for the moment. Though he returned the favor when his hand went to her ass and started fondling one of her sore, red cheeks. "We didn't start dating expecting that others would get involved. But as we spent time together and got intimate, we learned a little more about ourselves."

Kyoka nodded, as that was natural for anyone. No way a virgin knew all that they wanted, outside perhaps what sort of porn got them off the fastest, but she learned in health class that porn preference didn't always translate into bedroom tastes. “And?”

Izuku wondered how he could phrase this but ultimately decided to just say it how Saiko would. “She’s a bisexual with a cuckqueen fetish.”

Kyoka blinked. “You’re kidding.”

"Yeah, sometimes it feels like I am, but no. She saw me in awe of Mirko once. Instead of getting jealous or just assuming that I was impressed with the heroine, which I was, by the way," He made that last part clear. However, Kyoka gave him a knowing smile, as she had an ear to his pulse and a hand to his dick. Even if he wasn't eyeing up the tanned bunny woman, she knew he thought she was hot, the same as most. “She said she got horny, and when she realized why…well, we’re here.”

“So…you’ve had sex with other girls then?” Kyoka asked, not sure how she felt about this potentially being a casual lay.

“No, just you.” Izuku shook his head, leaving her confused.

"You just said your girlfriend gets off to you being in other girls because she's into guys and girls," Kyoka noted. Unless he was the one that got off with Saiko being with other girls despite her being the cuck queen, that didn't make sense.

“She is, but that’s only half the issue here. I’m just not the type of guy that would sleep around like that.” Izuku stated. He could explain that it was because his mother discovered through an old neighbor that his father was cheating on her, but that would ruin the mood. Maybe later. "Remember that kid you say got his quirk? And how his body changed? The same happened to me and Aoyama when we were kids."

"But you look…well, you look like your mother, and she doesn't have a quirk close to yours." Kyoka looked him over. With the two just having shoes on, she could eye up all he had, and there wasn't anything out of the ordinary with him. Was it something that wasn't visible?

“That’s because our changes were more subtle. Aside from a pallet and dietary change, for myself, it would be how I view sexual relations. I don’t want to be the guy that sleeps around like some playboy, but instead….I want to date multiple girls, have romantic ties to more than just the one, and…well, kids...as in several." Izuku muttered that last bit, a little embarrassed to acknowledge that to someone who wasn't Saiko or Yuga.

Kyoka was left dumbfounded; out of all the things she expected to hear, that was perhaps the lowest on the list. Kids? What college kid was talking about kids? Most either what the perfect romance, to fuck anything with two legs and a hole, or just to party their nights away. Who would trust college students to be good parents while balancing their studies? Not U.A., as she heard Hagakure and Awase mention how they found condom dispensers in their dorm bathrooms.

Who wanted the responsibility that came with having a kid? Apparently, the guy she happened to sleep with, as, like everyone else, she could feel his heartbeat and pulse, knew he was genuine, so apparently, he was a future family man. “You want a harem.” On that would be multiple lovers popping out, kids.

“You can blame me for that,” Faunalution formed across from them, laying on her stomach, propping her head up with a hand. Smirking at the two, Kyoko yelped out in shock at seeing her, the quirk also being naked to match the mood. “I know foxes are meant to be monogamous when it comes to coupling, but I just can’t help but seek out more partners, and it bleeds into him.” She pointed towards her partner, who didn’t deny the claim.

"That…. a lot to take in," Kyoka muttered.

"It's why I don't tell people about it. People are grossed out enough by what I can put on my plate and eat like it's a 5-course meal from Lunch-Rush. Last thing I need is this getting out." Izuku noted as Aoyama gave him enough crap for it, but he at least had the courtesy to keep it to their dorm room, far from others could hear.

“Yeah, no shit.” “Kyoka sighed, though she continued stroking him, her hand picking up speed as her thumb played with his cock’s crown whenever it got that high. I don't know what's weirder, the fact that the first guy I slept with has the libido and quirk-induced instinct to build a harem like this is some hentai or the fact that I don't care nearly as much as I should."

"Pardon," Izuku asked before grunting as she squeezed on his dick. Rising from his chest, she laid a quick kiss on his neck, returning the favor for how much he marked hers.

"Listen, I gave you my first time because I like you. I don't think it's love; if I said that, I would need to get my head examined, but, " she ceased and shifted to mount him, looking him in the eye. "You're a pretty solid guy, with a good head on your shoulders and a good heart to boot."

“He also has a dick that could fuck your brains out, don’t forget that detail because I know your pussy won’t.” Faunalution teased her, pointing to how his cock leaned against her buttcheck.

“The point being,” Kyoka glared at the quirk spirit but still leaned into his cock, letting it rest between her ass cheeks which she squeezed, drawing a moan out of her. In contrast, Izuku just let out a horny breath. "That I came into this knowing that I wouldn't win you over from Saiko, and I sure as hell wasn't trying to. I wanted to express how I felt, even if Saiko was only giving me the chance before she cut me off. Knowing that isn't that…"

"Well, I want to give it a shot and keep this going. I want to hold your hand, snuggle close to you, go to movies, and all the other couple shit; I want it all with both you and Saiko." Kyoka told him that this was insane, but she wanted insane. And she wasn't the only one, as she felt Izuku throbbing more than before.

“Looks like someone’s eager to see us do that,” Kyoka smiled at him, not noticing Faunalution vanish as she started rolling her hips back and forth, Izuku’s dick sliding about between her ass cheeks. “Or maybe you want to see me and Saiko in bed together, naked as we finger and tease one another, exploring one another’s bodies while you choose which you’ll fuck first.”

Izuku grasped her waist, rolling his hips beneath her to try and create more friction. "You have no idea how turned-on I am."

“How about you show me?” Kyoka smirked, daring him, which Izuku followed through, manhandling her so that it was now her on her back. She thought he was going for missionary, a basic but reliable position, but Izuku had other ideas.

Izuku grabbed onto her legs and bent her, Kyoka grasping as her face grew redder as she realized what he wanted before he did it; he settled her legs in a tucked position, her knees close to her shoulders as his legs pinned her in that position.

Being in a mating press was a lot hotter than seeing it in porn.

"You really are into the breeding stuff, aren't you?" Kyoka moaned, feeling his cock resting against her pussy lips; his rod flexed and throbbed with want. "You want me to stop taking the pill?"

"Not yet; see this as practice for when I put my kid into you," Izuku told her as she grew flushed at the image. God, turns out she also had some sexual awakenings to get through, and one of them was that she really….really wanted him to breed her. Izuku shifted, and Kyoka's hand reached for his cock, loving how it pulsed when she touched it and guided it so that his crown rested against her pussy.

Feeling her do that, he gave her a heated look that could have made her cum.

“You aren’t wasting time.”

"Shut up and fuck me till you dump a few hot loads into me." She snapped at him as she wanted to return to the fun part. Izuku answered through his actions as he pressed forward. Despite the fact he had been inside her not even 10 minutes ago, she was still tight as ever, but just like then, he wouldn't be denied as his head popped into her vice-like grip and started to sink in, inch by inch. As he sank deeper into her tight, hot depths, both groaned with pleasure as Izuku felt his balls tighten, and he just knew that he would reach his end soon.

"Just like that, Izuku. Just like you, it's a pretty tight fit, right?" Kyoka moaned, leaning forward and nipping at his ear. Now that she knew what turned him on, she would use it to blow his mind. "Will it be enough to make you cum? I want it so badly, you know. You want women to love? You have one right here, just waiting to be bred."

His cock flexed at her words, Izuku grunting as he slammed the last couple of inches into her, ripping an excited, pleasured scream from her. Unlike before, when it took a moment to sink in, he had slid all he had into her in record time, and just as quickly, he started to thrust. Kyoka started to moan and cry out as his crown started to smack against her cervix yet again, only now she mewed in delight, knowing what he wanted.

Was it early to think about that? Of course, it was. But was it hot to think about him letting out a load just thick and lasting as his first into her pussy? Was it hot to imagine herself growing fat with his child as he fucked her and Saiko, praising the two all the while? Oh, God, yes. She was getting wetter just thinking about it, making it easier for Izuku to ram into her like a beast.

Izuku, in turn, was grunting, groaning out compliments and praise for her. How she was such a small woman, yet she was ideally suited for his dick and how well she was making him feel. He wouldn't just stop with this, but he would take her again and again in any position he could.

Kyoka panted and mewed, a drunken-looking smile forming on her face as she became more sensitive than she thought and could feel every inch of his throbbing, hot rod as it cleaved apart her insiders, every ridge, every bomb, every pulsating vein, she thought it all, and it was drying her insane as she screamed out, her pussy wet again and flowing down her crotch into her stomach and butt.

Izuku grunted in this position, able to fuck her faster and harder than before, withdrawing his cock till just the head remained inside, her pussy left crying out for it to return, which it got when he rammed the rest back in.

He repeated it over and over as he picked up speed as Kyoka clenched on his cock, moaning lavishly as he brought her closer to another orgasm. Their eyes met, both filled with desire, lust, and something more, and they let instincts take them from there. Izuku shifted to hold her legs nicely and tucked them against his chest. Still, she pulled him in for a kiss, Kyoka moaning into the kiss as Izuku's tongue quickly overpowered hers and forced its way into her mouth.

When Izuku shifted, she took the opportunity. Her legs opened up, giving him more space to press into her. Instead, they wrapped around him again, drawing in as close to her as he could get. The message was clear: He would be pulling out.

Izuku let out a deep, lustful moan as he continued to ram his cock into her, loving every part of it as her snatch squeezed and twisted around him. Kyoka started to cry again, crying out as he fucked her to another orgasm, her third of the day, but he didn't stop. He kept on thrusting into her overly sensitive pussy, Kyoka losing strength in her limbs again as he kept at it.

“I’m cumming! Don’t stop, don’t you dare stop!” Kyoka whined as Izuku adjusted them yet again, grabbing onto her breasts and aggressively fondling them as she kept on sobbing. Every time he thrust in, he went deep, bumping against her cervix, grinding against it before he retreated, leaving her nerves burning and wanting more as he prolonged her orgasm.

"I'm close, so very close," Izuku grunted, his pace speeding up as did the force of his thrusts. He didn't ask permission, he didn't ask if she wanted him to cum in her, and that alone brought her to another climax, Kyoka crying out as Izuku just kept going, even as she clenched down on his cock, making it hard for him to move, he just grunted and powered through it, jackhammering his cock in and out of her pussy, his balls smacking against her sore butt.

Izuku's cock was throbbing, it felt so hot in her as she thought it about to bust, but Izuku wouldn't just let this end. Kyoka's strength was spent; her legs could hardly keep him in place as it was easy for him to fold the back into him, shifting so that he was kneeling, he grabbed at her earphone jacks, screaming a whimper out of her as everyone felt sensitive to the touch.

Izuku was moments away from cumming, but he wanted to get one last orgasm out of her before he did. His gaze burned her as he held onto her jacks. "Extend them, I want to suck on them." He ordered, Kyoka smiling, a little out of it, but so turned on by the force of his demand that she followed it, allowing him to pull her cords into his mouth where he bit down on them. Kyoka whimpered out a scream and moaned as he took them into his lips like he had done her nipples, aggressively, thoroughly, and unrelenting.

That done, he grasped her ankles, both to keep her legs in place and also as handholds as he only added to the pressure, his grunts coming out breathless, harsh, and loud as he felt how close he was. Kyoka could feel it too, each time his balls smacked her butt; they were filled to the brim with his cum, ready to burst into her as her pussy only grew tighter as she approached another orgasm. Kyoka was too weak to cry out, and instead only whimpered and mewed, begging for more, for him to finally cum in her, to give her a child.

Izuku slapped into her several more times, each harder than the last till, at last; he drove his swelling cock as deep as it could go, pressing the crown of his cock against her cervix. “Cumming.” Izuku grunted, his balls tense before he fired off another shot of thick, hot cum into her once-virgin womb. Kyoka bit her lip as she whimpered under him as she came once more, tightening around him, milking him as he fired off another shot into her, followed by another and then another, each just as large as the last.

They remained locked together, Izuku thrusting every few seconds as he continued to unload into her as her pussy wrung him out for all he was worth; he had so much that it was escaping between his pock and her pussy lips and dripping down to the floor. Neither cared for it as Kyoka wrung him dry.

When their high finally stopped, they were left panting in the silence; Kyoka, feeling like she had just gone an entire night of lovemaking, started to giggle deliciously. Izuku pulled out and gently laid her down, the girl spotting the fact that despite cumming so hard in her and leaving her pussy a mess, he was still rock hard.

"No wonder you want that harem; no girl can keep up with a beast like that." She giggled, Kyoka experiencing something she had only seen in porn: Being fucked stupid. "That was amazing."

Izuku hummed as he settled next to her, feeling her from her thighs to her crotch, stained by his copious seed, to her stomach, pausing he longest there as he felt up her sensitive skin. "If you weren't on the pill, you'd be carrying my child right now." He whispered into her, moving his dick so that his girthy throbbing length pressed against her side.

Kyoka turned towards him and locked lips with him, breaking long enough just to add. “Not yet…not yet.” She needed to become a hero, achieve her dreams, then she’ll let him fuck a few kids into her.

His hands continued, grasping at her tits which were still incredibly sensitive. Still, she was too weak to resist his advances as he played with her nipples and nipped at her earphone jack. Izuku smiled, making her feel butterflies in her stomach, and he leaned in.

“We’re not done.”

Kyoka's exhausted eyes, half-lidded and close to sleeping, shot open as Izuku flipped her onto her stomach before he mounted her in the prone position, Kyoka feeling his cock smack into her ass. Turning back, she whimpered when she saw the look in his eye, the same one he got when they had their first hero class. Only now, it wasn't because he was determined to win…

"I can barely move." Kyoka reminded him as Izuku smacked her ass with his cock, each impact only making her cum filled pussy tingle.

Izuku moved in, taking her lips as the two kissed, one supporting him. In contrast, the other pushed his cock to her pussy lips, rubbing against it as she whined at the sensation, she was still leaking cum, and he wanted to give her seconds? "Do you want me to stop?" He asked her; the ball landing in her court.

Kyoka was left sore, flustered, and utterly drained. She still needed to be able to take the train home, so it would have been responsible to say no, end things, and have him help her shower so she could leave.

“Fuck me till I pass out.” Kyoka pressed his pussy into his cock.

Once more, there was a reason U.A. provided contraceptives. College students weren't known for making good decisions.

Chapter Text

“Text” – Normal speech

‘Text’ – Thought

“Text” – Quirk Spirit speaking in the human world

“Text” - Attack

“Text” – Radio/Communication lines

“Text” – None Japanese speech

(text) – Subtext/meaning behind a spoken word

After the two finished, or more accurately, after Kyoka was left too weak to stand, Izuku scooped them up and snuck them to the men's showers so that they could clean up before hurrying back to clean the danger room before anyone saw what they did. On the way out, they did run into Aoyama, who acted like nothing was wrong but smiled and whispered that he made sure the security footage of their 'training' was erased. Midoriya left shocked and humiliated when he recalled that the danger room had security feeds! Kyoka was worse as she didn't want her first time recorded like amateur porn.

After they thanked their French friend for convincing J.E.N.N.Y that the footage wasn't worth keeping, the rest of the time leading up to the festival went normally, well with Kyoka needing a day off training as she was still sore from it, which their friends just took as Midoriya training her too hard, much to their relief.

When the day of the festival finally arrived, Midoriya was up bright and early, the excitement getting him out of bed before his alarm could go off, with Aoyama being the same as he spotted his friend in the kitchen, still in pajamas as he finished making his breakfast, his plate being 4 thick cricket flour pancakes which Izuku could see Yuga added a healthy helping of sunflower seeds to the batter, a small bowl of Greek yogurt and a bowl of apple slices and berries.

Midoriya also saw that his friend had made him breakfast. "You've been up for a while," Midoriya smiled as he sat, picking up his fork and knife as he looked at his Rabbit and Sweet Potato Hash with Eggs, three slices of toasted baguette, and a cup of orange juice.

Yuga smirked as he nursed his cup of coffee, brewed just the way his mother's favorite café back in Lyon made it. "Izuku, my good man, I struggled to get a full 8 hours of sleep, but alas, my excitement over claiming gold trumped my desire to get proper beauty sleep."

“Like you need more of that; I'm surprised that you haven't managed to get a girl back here yet," Izuku stated.

"That is not a matter of skill but of desire. Unlike a certain someone, I've been focused quite hard on our training." Yuga shot back, making Izuku blush as he turned to his food. Yuga took the discussion as they ate in silence. When he finished, he let his roommate shower first as he cleaned up the kitchen, which they both did in record time.

Getting dressed for the day, Izuku's mom went off with a good luck message from his mother, who promised she'd attend to cheer him on. The sentiment widened his smile as he met up with Yuga at the door.

"Morning," Ojiro called as he was locking up their apartment, Hagakure bouncing in place as she conversed with Tetsutetsu.

“Morning, are you all excited?” Midoriya asked as he locked their door, allowing the group to head downstairs to the bus stop.

“Of course! This will be our time to show the world what we’re made of.” Hagakure cheered, making the others laugh at how extroverted she could be. You didn't need to see her face to know how eager she was.

“And make those bitch-ass villains see that their little attack only made us more determined to become the best heroes we can.” Kamakiri cracked his neck as he was still pissed about that entire day, but he wouldn’t let it shake him, not villains, not quirk spirits, not anything.

"Well, that is why the school's still going through with it, but I do wonder if that's all there is to it," Midoriya noted.

“What do you mean?” Kamakiri asked as the rest turned to him as well.

Midoriya shook his head. “Nothing, I’m just getting lost in my thoughts.” He didn't want to needlessly worry them over something that could be nothing. Besides, U.A. might be known for how out there they could be, but they would never take things too far.

“Are they yours or…?” Ojiro stated but didn’t finish as they were out in public.

"They're mine; the others don't always tend to have conversations with me. They could be talking now, and I wouldn't know unless I checked." Midoriya answered, keeping it vague enough that others wouldn’t know the truth without context.

“Isn’t that like that whole experiment with the dead cat in the box?” Hagakure asked as she remembered hearing about that in science class, though she hadn't been paying much attention, something she could get away with as most times, as long as she acted like it, her teachers couldn't see it.

Midoriya paused and thought about it, cupping his chin before letting out a little laugh. “I’ve never thought about it like that, so maybe.”

As it was such a busy day, and people tended to arrive hours early to be the first in line and first to enter, U.A. directed most of the crowds towards their main entrance. At the same time, students and staff were allowed entry onto campus grounds through another, smaller entry point. Some tried to sneak through or get interviews from the students if they were part of the press, but they were quickly identified and escorted off.

This was a fact a certain journalist knew well, as she was often tasked with covering youth heroics. She was lucky she hadn't been banned when she admittedly got too pushy with some ^second years. So when she received her pass for the day, she thanked the heavens and ensured she followed all the rules.

She just thought that they would be in by now!

Really, she could hear and see the fireworks being shot off into the sky, but only from outside the gate. Despite arriving 2 hours early, which required waking up 3 hours early, mind you, she was still stuck out here as the school moved at a snail's pace, checking everyone's persons, identification, and anything they were carrying. She scratched at her clean, professional-styled dark brown hair and looked towards her cameraman in disbelief.

"They're taking forever! What was the point of issuing press passes if they will be this thorough when we arrive?" She asked the man, who shrugged it off. Sure, he had to get up early for this, but at least it was only something he had to do once a year. His friends regularly stayed up late and woke up early chasing stories.

"They were just attacked by villains, which happened after someone let a bunch of us in. Of course, they'll be super strict with security." The cameraman reminded her, though he looked slightly uncomfortable when he recalled something else. "I'm more surprised they still went through with the festival this year. Rumour is that the USJ attack was a lot more gruesome than the authorities reported, with a monster of all things present."

She waved that off. "Save the baseless rumors for the 10 PM gossip slot; if U.A. wants to go on as normal, I say let 'em. Controversy means higher ratings! And this year, it's the freshmen hero class that are the ones to watch. Fending off villains so soon into their school career, you just know they'll be a cut above the rest."

“Weren’t these the same kids that kept dodging your questions?” her cameraman asked, causing the woman to stumble as she recalled that little fun time.

"I say, let's bury the hatchet,” she stated. But if I can cover one of them failing and blow that up on the 6PM slot…well, it wouldn't be false reporting, now would it?"

“You can be ruthless, you know that?” her cameraman deadpanned, and she laughed, tapping the NHA armband she proudly wore on her left arm.

“I wouldn’t be the field reporter for this if I wasn’t. Besides, don’t act like you haven’t willingly followed me into some sticky situations for the best shot.” She shot back as being a journalist was far from easy, and one needed to be ready and able to chase the stories, even with danger and pissed-off people around every corner.

"True on both fronts." The man adjusted his cap as he saw their checkpoint; others were already on the school grounds, not just the media and representatives of agencies there to scout but also regular folk numbering in the hundreds if not thousands.

Many of them didn't immediately enter one of the 3 stadiums U.A. purpose-built for their 3 years but remained around the main school buildings or around the arenas where dozens of stalls selling all kinds of wares had set up, most being for food and drink while others sound hero accessories from Endeavour masks, Mirko key-chains, All Might shirts, etc. if it could be made to resemble a top hero. It was on sale, doubly so if that hero graduated from these halls.

He continued, hoping to snatch up something to take home. "Making it out of a legit villain attack will surely affect the public interest. Typically, it’s the 3^rd years that get most of the spotlight, being the most trained of the bunch and this being the last chance to see them in action before they graduate."

His colleague snickered as she could think of another reason so many eyes would be on the first years. "Well, I heard that one of the students in the first year is Endeavour's son."

"Wait, really? No wonder that managed that; we'll set up shop fast to get some great shots of him." Oh, there was that excitement she loved to see out of him.

Inside the grounds, the groups in attendance were heroes, with a trio of them led to one stand by their shortest member, who, in an instant, could become their largest. “One order of Takoyaki, please.”

The man manning the grill looked up when he heard the order, saw it was the young up-and-comer Mt. Lady, and beamed at her. "Oh, Mt. Lady? I can't believe I'm meeting you. You know you saved my friend's life the other day."

Mt. Lady nodded automatically. She didn’t dislike that he was grateful, but when you save at least one person a day, those sentiments of gratitude kinda lost some of their punch. And more to the point, she was hungry. "Oh, it was just a part of my job; otherwise, I wouldn't be Mt. Lady, would I? Now, could I please have my order? No green seaweed."

“Coming right up! That’ll be 500 yen.” He quickly picked the ones she would like and placed them into a box, Kamui Woods noting how Lady froze. He held back the groan when he realized what it meant.

Lady put on the soft, demure, pretty lady act. "Oh…You see, I don't have that much on me; could I have a discount?" Death Arms didn’t bother hiding his exasperation as Mt.Lady worked her charm on the poor stall vendor, who fell for it hook, line, and sinker.

“That’s hot! It’s free!” The vendor changed the prize without a second thought.

“Thanks a bunch!” Mt. Lady dropped the act like a hot potato, giving the vendor a thumbs-up like a mother with two kids who had just secured a deal on a family-sized chicken pack.

"You are shameless," Kamui Woods told her as if he were wondering about her character, not for the first time.

Having collected her order, they made their way off, keeping an eye out for anything out of the norm. “I had also hoped to get some scouting done, but we might have the time.” Kamui walked with his arms crossed.

Death Arms shrugged his frankly, massive shoulders. "Can't be helped; we were asked to work security. We can watch the events later." He might have worked in the area, but he often chose to patrol the city during the festival and watch the events afterward, so this wasn't as big a change for him.

Mt. Lady happily ate her food, sticking a toothpick into one Takoyaki ball and plopping it in her mouth. As she savored its flavor, she couldn't help but wonder about something. “Still, they gotta be just a little spooked, wouldn’t you say? They invited pros from all over the country for this.” She stated that she knew this attracted plenty of pros and that she was still a rookie with this being her first, but there seemed to be more costumes around them than she would think.

Death Arms also noticed an increase in the number of heroes, and his brow creased in thought. “It’s the sensible concession when they decided to go through with this despite that villain attack. If I were on their board, I would have aired on the side of caution.”

Kamui Woods interjected. "Surely you could have been convinced otherwise. I admit that an attack by dastardly villains would have been surprising. Still, by all accounts, they were repulsed, and most of them arrested."

“That’s not why I would be against it,” the veteran of their group said, looking around, seeing that most were preoccupied. He kept his voice just loud enough for the two to hear. “I heard that one of the villains was like our ice friend.”

Both their eyes narrowed, as that could only mean one thing. “Another one? On school grounds?” Mt. Lady asked. Ever since they failed to stop that strange villain, one that needed Endeavour and some vigilante calling themselves 'Caretaker' to defeat, they had been looking into other cases with similar weirdness. They found several over the last couple of years alone.

But what was strange was that in all of them, they were sure that some vigilante managed to handle the issue, capture the villain, and escape without being identified.

“Then how did they handle it?” Kamui Woods asked the million-yen question, as none recalled anything about a vigilante also breaking into school grounds.

"No clue; all I know is through whispers and after-hours talks. What I would bet my next pay cheque on is that whatever happened, the school knows more than we do and seems pretty confident that they can handle it." Death Arms looked up towards the H-shaped towers that made up U.A.’s main building.

Mt. Lady frowned. "Let's hope this isn't a case of them getting too big for their boots.”

Inside the stadium bowels that would host the first-year students, the different courses had each been assigned wait rooms with men's and women's changing rooms attached. This allowed the assembled student body to change into their P.E. clothing, which Ashido did not like and made known.

"It's to keep everything fair, remember? Some of us have support items with her gear." Ojiro reminded her as he did some warm-up stretches.

“What about me?” Hagakure asked, to which the tailed boy awkwardly laughed; lucky for him, Jiro was more than happy to say it

"I'm pretty sure there're laws against having a nude girl running around when this is being aired in the middle of the morning and afternoon.” She smirked, as everyone had picked up on her happy mood these last few weeks, but she's been cagey about it, just saying she got a good workout in, which helped with her confidence.

Toru stomped her foot at that. "But it's not like anyone can see anything! Besides, we're heroes; of course, we have an advantage over them just by being here."

"She's not wrong; sure, some of them are gunning for us, but it's an uphill battle for them—not us," Kaibara reminded them as they recalled how the other courses eyed them up that day.

“Still, we shouldn’t allow ourselves to be influenced by arrogance. We should take this challenge with the seriousness and humility that it requires.” Shiozaki sat with her hands held in prayer, her head bent forward as she mentally recited hymns.

"Right, and we must also remember that the Sports Festival is primarily for the hero course, so whatever challenges the teachers will have for us won't be easy and could, in fact, be designed to trip us up while giving the other courses better chances." Shishida agreed with her on that front.

“That sounds like something Aizawa-sensei would do.” Iida frowned, but he couldn't deny that it would better prepare them for the rigors and trials that come from being a pro-hero.

"Oh man, that just makes me all the more nervous, especially as we have no clue what the first event will be, " Sato said as he started to sweat a bit.

Tokoyami crossed his arms. He, too, was worried, but not to the same extent as his classmate. “Regardless of what may come, we have no choice but to face it head-on."

“Right.” Shoji nodded as the door opened, and Kendo returned from the meet-up to which the class reps had been called.

"Everyone, get ready. They'll be calling us to the field soon." She announced, with Midoriya getting up along with Aoyama and Mineta at their side, signing their names onto his palm and swallowing them to try and stem his nerves.

“In through the nose,” Midoriya said, taking a deep breath. His head pulled back before he learned it forward, exhaling through his mouth. “Out through the mouth.” He repeated it a couple more times before he reached for his belt.

“Midoriya.” Midoriya turned when he heard his name being called, seeing that it was a surprising person.

“Todoroki, is there something you need?” He was curious to know what Todoroki wished to speak about, and now, of all times, as while he wouldn't say they were hostile, Todoroki wasn't close to anyone in class.

Todoroki’s face didn’t shift as he answered with a blunt assessment. "Looking at it objectively, I think I'm stronger than you, with perhaps Aoyama, Uraraka, Tokoyami, and Bakugo having comparable power to my ice."

“That…makes sense.” Midoriya conceded, though he was slightly insulted by it, but Todoroki wasn't done.

The ice user's eye went down to Midoriya's belt buckle. While some assumed one thing about his gaze, Midoriya, and others knew what he was really looking at. Returning to looking the shorter man in the eye, he continued. "However, in terms of versatility, your quirk is leagues above the rest of us, and it's a toolset that will only keep growing should you keep doing what you do."

Midoriya's frown grew as he explained all this and how he viewed the fact that he had so many quirks as is. He didn't see this as a game or some means to strengthen. Each person needed a hero, who needed just one person to help and didn't get it. They were robbed of justice in life and could only get the bitter hollowness of seeing it posthumously.

Again, Todoroki continued before things could be taken the wrong way. "I won't talk down the life you, Aoyama, and others have chosen, not when you're doing such an admirable thing, but I will say this." He stepped forward, his height all the more apparent than Midoriya’s. “I’m going to defeat you. You can use any one of those powers of yours, but I will claim victory against you and everyone else.”

“What the? Why are two of our best declaring war on each other? We already have others gunning for us.” Fukidashi asked as Kirishima got up.

"Hey, this isn't the right time for this; why are you picking fights, Todoroki? It's not your style." Kirishima asked Todoroki, putting a hand on his shoulder only for the white and red-haired boy to brush him off.

"We're not here to make friends; I'm just making my stance clear, " Todoroki said as he turned to make his way onto the field.

"My, how rude!" Aoyama commented, smiling, though his eyes were narrowed at how disrespectful Todoroki was toward his friend.

Midoriya would have left things lay. It was probably the sensible move, but it just didn't fit him, so he had to speak up. "Todoroki, I don't know what you're thinking or why you picked me out of everyone, so I'll just take your words at face value," Midoriya started, with Todoroki pausing and turning to look at him over his shoulder. "I already knew you have a higher power output than me and better control over your ice than I do."

“Like you said, out of our class of already competent and capable people, you rank a cut above the rest.” Midoriya continued, gesturing towards the entire class filled with people who had almost twice as long as Yuga and him. He had to train with their quirks, an even shorter time for him as he started gaining other abilities years after he got his first.

"Midoriya, you shouldn't talk like that, man; you're still one-" Kirishima started, but Aoyama stopped him, shaking his head as he figured his friend had a point.

Midoriya proved that as he marched up to Todoroki, staring the taller boy in the eye. He pointed towards the door, towards what lay behold it for them.

“The other courses are coming for us with everything they got. The people out there are expecting to see what their future heroes can do. Even the villains are probably watching us to try and figure out ways to better fight us. That is a lot of pressure, and we're still here. Each of us still chose to wake up today and fight even with all that pressing on us." He opened his arms, encompassing the entire class as everyone, from Mineta to Tokage, all stood here; that was something that some might not have done.

“It was never about power, or skill, or versatility." He gestured first towards Todoroki, then towards Shiozaki, and lastly, himself. "It was about the heart, our desires to overcome; it was why we worked so hard to get into U.A. and are still working to be the best. It's the same for you, me, and everyone else. So, you didn't need to declare war on me,"

His arms fell, not from lack of guard but because he was wound up and hyper-alert. “Because it was an all-out war from when we put on these uniforms, so don't think I'll roll over and let you win. You want my best? You'll get it, and you'll lose."

Todoroki was silent for a moment, digested that before he nodded, his gaze narrowing at the challenge. “Good, I won’t achieve my goals if you don’t put up a fight.”

Midoriya's words might have been his way of affirming his resolve, but they strengthened the resolve of everyone present. Yes, they were under a lot of pressure. This could be the day that they see themselves forced out of the hero course or make fools of themselves that no agency wants to work with them. And yet, they all came.

Sato felt his nerves calm, Mineta felt emboldened by them, Kendo and Yaoyorozu both nodded in agreement, Iida smiled as he clenched his fist, and Kirishima and Tetsutetsu either smacked their chest with a fist or punched their palm, both activating their quirks. Uraraka breathed a sigh of relief. Sure, she struggled with OFA, but she still had a chance and wouldn't squander it.

All around, the mood seemed to shift as the hero course could stand just a little taller, all of which had. Jiro gave Midoriya a fond smile as even when he hyped himself up, he couldn't help doing the same for others.

But not all were hyped by this, as Bakugo kept it to himself how much he hated seeing those two exchange declarations of war as if they only saw one another as someone worth defeating when he sat right there. The worst part was that a part of him couldn't disagree. Both were far above the extras he'd spent his entire life around and no matter how much he hated them, he couldn't ignore that they were strong.

So he'll have to prove them wrong. They can have that little USJ claim, and he'll show them and the entire world that he was destined to be number one, and no amount of genes or lab-made quirks would change that.

“Hey, adoring fans!" Present Mic's voice and image appeared on the big screen to the roar of the audience and fireworks going off overhead. The voice hero was shown in full HD on the massive screen for the over 100 thousand people in the stands cheering for him and the coming event.

Waving towards the crowds, or more accurately, towards the unique ring set aside for the hundreds of cameras and photographers. “Get our good sides, mass media!" Those media personnel, representing local and international media groups, were responsible for broadcasting the events to Japan and the world.

For many in Japan, the U.A. Sports festival had replaced the once venerable Olympics in terms of public interest as the ancient sporting event that came once every 4 years had long fallen out of favor with quirks compromising much of the games of old and heroes becoming such an internationally loved career. However, it wasn’t just Japan that tuned in for this as millions from across the world did the same to scout for talent as pros and support students alike could be offered employment abroad, much like how, for a time, All Might worked in the US, and Captain Celebrity worked in Japan.

Because of such factors, the previous year’s games drew in a peak live viewership of well over 38 million people, with tens of millions more watching it after the fact, and now, all signs pointed towards this year's games drawing over 40 million people, but the excitement had been especially high this year with most analyst leading up to the games predicting that they could draw in over 50 million. A massive boost for the student's prospects, but it also meant that tens of millions more for the U.A. were earned through advertisements and other sponsors.

Present Mic would have known all that as he gave the people a show as the ringmaster of it all. "It's time for your favorite time of year, a chance to watch the best of brightest that the U.A. has to offer to compete to see who stands head and shoulders above them all, the U.A. Sports Festival!”

“I'm your commentator for this event. Clap your hands for the one and only Present Mic!" Present Mic introduced himself to the roar of his small but dedicated fanbase. Soaking it in, he directed the cameras within the commentator's book toward the others he was with.

“But as great as I am, I can't cover such an amazing performance by myself, so I'm joined by my co-hosts. Say hello to the media queen with a booming streaming channel, Supercharge!” Present Mic called out as the woman flashed a peace sign to the audience. The events were even broadcast over her streaming channel, which already had thousands, mainly younger viewers, watching.

“Hi!” She smiled.

“And to my left is the perceptive and mellow lover of some good music, Inversal!” Present Mic directed things to the other side, and Shinji chuckled as he nodded along with it.

Snapping his fingers, he winked towards the cameras. “Happy to be here.”

“And with the gang assembled, let’s kick things off with a bang for our first-year sports festival! Are you ready? " he asked, with the crowd cheering somehow getting louder. Banners with course letters or even names were waved, most of which were the more recognizable names of Todoroki, Yaoyorozu, and Iida. But a small number were for other students, being flown by friends and family who managed to get tickets.

In one of the skyboxes, Inko watched the events along with the Aoyama, who had made sure to make time in their busy schedules for this. Intelli was also watching in the stands, as U.A.'s sports festival was a public holiday where even other hero schools didn't have classes, allowing her to attend and bring the group of friends she'd made in her time at Seiai. Lastly, the teachers watched things from a smaller viewing box, All Might, out of his hero form. He couldn't cheer for his successor, but he would surely send all the goodwill he could to young Uraraka through other means.

With fireworks still going off overhead, coloring the clear blue skies in all manner of hues, Present Mic and his fellow announcers continued to hype things up. "This is always a fun time to see. We're about to witness a real battle of skills, wit, and some good ole luck from these baby heroes," Inversal noted as his fellow commentator laughed.

“But they always manage to make things entertaining, so don't take your eyes off them, or you'll miss something important. Count on it!” Supercharge stated.

“They've already made their mark on the world by going up against a baptism of fire and coming out stronger for it—it's the hero course!” Present Mic called out as the hero course watched into the pitch to the audience's cheers and the flash of what had to be thousands of cameras.

"There's more people here than I thought." Midoriya stuttered out as Aoyama wrapped an arm around him.

“Come now, my friend, where that spirit from earlier is. Heroes are but the show's stars, so of course, all eyes will be on us.” Aoyama smiled as he waved towards the crowds, looking for any cuties he could impress.

"Hey, if your parents are watching, how would you see them in such a huge crowd?" Uraraka asked.

“I'm not sure, but I know my parents weren't able to make it, but they should be able to watch things as they happen," IIda replied.

“Next up, the masters of the pen and directors of the play that is life, the business classes of B, C, D, and E!" With their classes called out, the business students took to the field with a similar sense of purpose to their hero course counterparts. Though Jiro could tell from how they were breathing and muttering amongst themselves that they weren't nearly as excited as the hero course, they just hid it well.

“Following them, we have the gearheads and tech wizards, the support classes of F, G, H, I, J, and K!" As those in the hero class paused and looked in surprise as the massive group of support students took to the field, more than doubling the number of students on the field, Midoriya noted that plenty seemed excited to be there. Some were already wearing some support items, which confused him. Weren't those banned?

“And last but certainly not least, we have the jacks of all trades, general course classes of L through X!" As the 12 classes made their way into the field, once more adding more than double the current number of students to the field, Aoyama noticed that many seemed to understand that the Sports Festival was a hero course-centric performance with many general students looking far from happy to be there, no doubt most wouldn't have competed if it wasn't mandatory.

As the last of them made it onto the large green pitch, all eyes went towards a certain pro who strutted onto the stage with the confidence and sex appeal of a supermodel mixed with a stripper, as no one swung their hips like that on accident. Midnight commanded their attention and raised the arousal of many, both the students and the millions who watched the events in the stands or from wherever they might be. Not even those in the hero course were immune, as while they had seen her every day, she could still cause plenty of them to blush and look away while adjusting their collars.

Inversal and Supercharge both crackled at the sight of their students acting so mesmerized by the sex icon that was their co-worker, one that they knew relished drawing such a reaction out of people, with Supercharge being the one to introduce she who needed no introduction.

"And serving as the umpire for this year's first-year games, warmly welcome the Rated-R heroine: Midnight." At her name, the woman posed for the thousands of cameras as people from all walks of life, men and women, from teens to the middle-aged, and even some older folk gave enthusiastic applause for her. Jiro's brow twitched as she could hear increased clicks from cameras. She had a feeling that searches related to their tall buxom would skyrocket.

“Do these people have no shame?” Shiozaki asked, looking towards the crowds in disgust at how openly horny many were acting to Midnight’s presence. Her teacher was only making it worse by leaning into it.

"Is it that surprising, though? Midnight's sure to bring in eyeballs, almost as much as if they got All Might to handle this." Sero responded that he wouldn't pretend he didn't have a higher chance of watching stuff cause they had sexy ladies in it.

Having taken to the small stand, Midnight whipped out her cat o' nine. "Representing the students will be Midoriya Izuku of the hero course!" With that statement, everyone turned to Midoriya, who remained stiff but internally was screaming why he picked? Why not one of the class reps or one of the more recognizable faces?

The others wondered the same thing as he forced himself to stiffly march forward. "Any clue why they picked him? He really doesn't look like he wants to do this." Tetsutetsu asked.

"If I'm not mistaken, he scored the highest in the entrance exam, so they probably want to put him front and center," Ojiro noted as Midoriya continued to march like he was heading for the gallows.

“The highest of the hero course exam, you mean?” Someone from the general course corrected, her face being a mix of annoyance and boredom.

“Of course, our apologies!” Iida bowed towards them.

“We really don’t have friends among them, do we?” Honenuki noted as it wasn’t just the one, but it looked like most of general were eying them like something they scrapped off their shoe, or meat to be snatched up.

"It's partly Bakugo's fault; he made us look bad." Kaminari reminded them as Midoriya made it to the top of the stage, where Midnight had taken a step back to allow him the space to use the microphone. Looking out towards the gathered students, numbering close to 1000 people, was hard enough, but that was a drop in the bucket compared to the tens of thousands in the stands and the untold millions watching this in other locations.

Midoriya felt he would panic under such scrutiny, but he felt Seijū Genrin manifest and rub against his leg. “You got this, Izuku. Just take a breath and say what you need to.” She encouraged him before she vanished back into the realm in his head.

Izuku did as she suggested and felt some of his anxiety fade away, not all of it, but enough that he could focus on just a few select faces in the crowd of students and pretend everyone else was just statues and dolls.

At least, with the entire stadium silent and waiting on him, he spoke. “I pledge…” Midoriya started, locking eyes with Aoyama, Uraraka, Iida, Jiro, Todoroki, and Bakugo. Each had something different to their expression. “To compete fairly, to respect my opponents and the rules by giving this my very best. To live up to the ideals of sportsmanship and U.A's motto so, what I want to say is,”

He tapped into just a little of Seijū Genrin’s prideful nature as he performed a ‘come here’ gesture. “I’m aiming for the top, try and stop me.”

His declaration, one made as he eyed up Todoroki, only infuriated Bakugo, confused the rest of the hero course, and made enemies of the entire courses who started screaming about how cocky he was being and how he would no doubt be the first the lose. Still, he ignored them as he walked off the stage, eyeing up each of his friends, all returned his look with either the confidence to take him up on his offer or the determination not to let him just take victory without a fight.

Chapter Text

“Text” – Normal speech

‘Text’ – Thought

“Text” – Quirk Spirit speaking in the human world

“Text” - Attack

“Text” – Radio/Communication lines

“Text” – None Japanese speech

(text) – Subtext/meaning behind a spoken word

(Previously)

“I pledge…” Midoriya started, locking eyes with Aoyama, Uraraka, Iida, Jiro, Todoroki, and Bakugo. Each had something different to their expression. “To compete fairly, to respect my opponents and the rules by giving this my very best. To live up to the ideals of sportsmanship and U.A's motto so, what I want to say is,”

He tapped into just a little of Seijū Genrin’s prideful nature as he performed a ‘come here’ gesture. “I’m aiming for the top, try and stop me.”

His declaration, one made as he eyed up Todoroki, only infuriated Bakugo, confused the rest of the hero course, and made enemies of the entire courses who started screaming about how cocky he was being and how he would no doubt be the first the lose. Still, he ignored them as he walked off the stage, eyeing up each of his friends; all returned his look with either the confidence to take him up on his offer or the determination not to let him just take victory without a fight.

Having said what he had to, Midoriya left the stage to rejoin his classmates and friends, ignoring how the other courses were still yelling at him. He knew how it came off, and in most situations, he would never have done something so bold, but…

He couldn't afford to take this half-seriously. This wasn't just a festival; it was a showcase to the world what he, his classmates, and every other student on the field would bring when their time came to claim it. As a hero student, as a protector and avenger of the scorned, forgotten, and scarred, he had to give it all he had and then some, and part of that was by aiming for the top, settling for nothing else.

Aoyama seemed to understand that, patting his shoulder with a knowing smile on his sparkly face. Jiro bumped his other side, grinning but looking away from him. Yeah, they still needed to wait until after the festival to come clean about their new relationship, as it wouldn't be fair to put that thought into their classmates' heads when they should focus on this.

“Now, folks, before we begin things, we gotta a little surprise for you and our many willing and able contestants! U.A. always puts on a show, but that's a fact of life, baby. We decided to go back to our roots with this one!” Present Mic took things from there, drawing attention to himself and his fellow commentators.

Supercharge excitedly clapped her hands. “Yup, yup, yuppie! The festival has always been pretty solo, which makes sense-don't it? There's only room on the throne for one and all, but that can get predictable and boring! And besides, plenty of people out there get more done as part of a team; even our dear number one has worked with people in the past.”

“So we wanted to incorporate that into this year’s events, and this year, it will be a team-centric event.” Inversal took over from there, lifting his hand to show four raised fingers. “They'll be 4 teams. They'll be the Mighty Golds, Burnings Sunsets, Swift Blacks, and finally, but not least of which, the Stylish Sapphires.”

As he listed them, the screen changed to show the symbols for each of them. For the Golds, it was a bright lightning bolt atop a hammer. For the Burning Sunsets is a burning sunset with the shadow of a horse galloping in the middle.  For the Blacks, a black background with a white-winged boot. Lastly, for the Saphires, it was the gem surrounded by three white rings.

“Wait, if I’m not mistaken, wouldn’t that be….” Midoriya started.

"The colors of the top four heroes." Tokage finished, as the blacks were the biggest giveaway. Sure, she knew her Greek myth, but how many people did as well? They'll take one look and think of Hawks with that. Putting Stylish in that last team made it clear it was Jeanist if the color wasn't obvious enough.

“And just like any proper Sports festival, we went through the liberty of assigning students to their teams by a randomizer; the only condition was that each team was to have 10 hero students, no more, no less.” Midnight handled that part, eyeing up the hero students who looked at each other, wondering who would end up on which team.

“It wouldn't be all that fun if one squad had all the recognized heavy hitters, but don't go thinking that they'll be the only ones to watch out for! U.A. only accepts the best, and I can bet my costume that each student lives up to that ideal!” Supercharge explained, which managed to get some excitement out of the general studies students.

“What an odd change.” A brunette in the audience mused, a slight frown on her face as her dark blue eyes took in the field. She was Akemi Alessia, a first-year student at Seiai Academy's hero division.

Her friend, a woman with short maroon hair and green eyes, nodded. "No kidding. Isn't this about making their hero students look good for agency offers? Do they intend for agencies to recruit groups?” Ishizuka Franceska, also a first-year and hero student at Seiai, asked.

The shortest of their group didn’t think so. "Maybe it has something to do with the USJ incident, though this being the takeaway still feels…off like there's something we're missing." Motoi Rose, a woman with short dark blue hair and light green eyes, suggested. Like the rest, she was in Seiai’s hero course.

‘Is this about…?’ Saiko, however, knew more than the rest, but she couldn't just tell them now, could she? To her, perhaps he was getting the idea of them working together into their heads early. It wasn't as if they could handle the unseen threats, but from how Izuku talked about the USJ, they could certainly help. She could see Nezu having realized them as well.

Alas, she'll speculate later. Right now, she was meant to be having a relaxing day of entertainment. "We'll just have to see, ladies. Be sure to watch them carefully; this information will come in useful."

Nagato Motoko, a plump young maiden with pink hair styled into two large buns and perpetual closed eyes, opened one of them to look Saiko's way. "And this has nothing to do with your boyfriend declaring war on the entire field."

“Nothing of the sort.” Saiko lied as easily as she breathed, and if the rest of her group didn’t buy it, they didn’t call her out for it.

“This is going to…different.” Back on the field, Ojiro commented on the situation.

"Hey, I'm ready for any challenge they throw at us; a real man never backs down! I'm hoping I'm placed into Burning Sunsets!" Kirishima hardly seemed to care; the same was true with Tetsutetsu.

“Hell yeah, we’ll show them what it means to be made from steel! It’s gotta be Stylish Sapphires.” His arms shifted to steel as he smashed his fists, sounding like two hammers clashing.

"You two realize how little those two things fit you, right?” Yanagi asked.

"I don't think they care," Asui added as Yaoyorozu turned towards Todoroki, who looked agitated.

“You have any idea for the change, Todoroki?” She asked her fellow recommendation student.

“Does it matter?” Todoroki rudely turned on her, more focused on the fact there was a team based on his father than her question.

“n-No, I suppose it doesn’t.” Yaoyorozu, caught off guard by his dismissiveness, decided that it wasn't worth it to try to continue conversing. She was saved from having to excuse herself as the screens changed again, showing a slot machine-type wheel spinning so fast you couldn't see what it was.

“Now, before we get to the rest, let’s divide our young, passionate heroes into their four teams, starting with those that will represent the Mighty Golds!" Midnight was announced as the slot machine, loaded with names, spun for a moment before it released the names to the audience.

Midoriya, Izuku

Tsunotori, Pony

Kirishima, Eijiro

Kaminari, Denki

Sero, Hanta

Shoda, Nirengeki

Tokoyami, Fumikage

Kodai, Yui

Bondo, Kojiro

Awase, Yosetsu

“Oh man, I missed out on the Sunsets…” Kirishima tearfully clenched his fist.

Tokoyami wasn’t disappointed; he was confused. He didn't fit in with such a bright connotation as All Might. "What a…peculiar choice for my, but it was assigned by machine." It didn’t matter in the end; it was merely a means to increase audience interest.

“Oh man, I bet being on All Might’s team’s gotta mean more pressure.” Sero nervously added as thousands of people were already cheering for them in the stands.

"Well, as far as spreads go, it's not a bad group. We have people who cover just about everything we might encounter." Shoda noted that he was happy that his team had two powerhouses in it in the forms of Tokoyami and Midoriya, but also close-ranged fighters like Kirishima and Kamakiri, while he and the rest could fill in gaps. If they were lucky, whoever they got from the general and support would only enhance that.

“Moving on, we have those who will be representing the Burning Sunsets!" Midnight continued as the slot machine restarted. The already selected names were removed from it by a cute digital Nezu who waved at them before dashing off the screen. Again, they waited before it presented the names that it had selected.

Asui, Tsuyu

Kendo, Itsuka

Ojiro, Mashirao

Jiro, Kyoka

Kuroiro, Shihai

Hagakure, Toru

Yaoyorozu, Momo

Shoji, Mezo

Tetsutetsu, Tetsutetsu

Kaibara, Sen

“I didn’t get into my team either.” Tetsutetsu cried just like Kirishima had done.

"Is it that big a deal? It's not as if we will be treated differently for it." Shoji asked him.

"Ojiro, we're on the same team, isn't that great?" Hagakure approached Ojiro, holding his arm and pressing it to her chest. Ojiro figured that she was just being her bubbly self, but he couldn't stop thinking about how his bicep was pressed into her chest.

"Oh yeah, it'll make things a little easier, though truth be told, I'm just happy I wouldn't have to fight you." He was a little red face as he looked away, and lucky for him, Hagakure didn't see it.

“Right back at yeh.” She replied.

"I wonder. They say they're wearing the colors, so will we be given a change in uniform?" Kuroiro asked. While he wasn't against the idea, he did think it would be a challenge for his quirk if he had to wear something as bright as red.

"It seems that both of us will be on the same team, which makes it easy to plan then as we know what our classmates can do." Kendo rubbed the back of her, directing her statement towards Yaoyorozu.

"Quite so." The heiress nodded. She was grateful she had someone like Kendo on her team; it meant one less variable to worry about when it came time for it.

“That was a nice spread if I do say so myself, but let’s see whose coming up to bat for the Swift Blacks.” Midnight flashed a wink and air kiss to the cameras, pulling attention off her momentarily as the slot machine worked its magic one last time."

Yanagi, Reiko

Ashido, Mina

Shishida, Jurota

Komori, Kinoko

Tsuburaba, Kosei

Honenuki, Juzo

Monoma, Neito

Mineta, Minoru

Shiozaki, Ibara

Todoroki, Shoto

Ashido groaned, slumping even as she remained on her feet. “Oh man, we got the team with the perv.”

“Hey, I’m right here!” Mineta yelled at her, only to feel a threatening presence to his rear.

"We're aware, and while we're to work together, you're to keep any inappropriate comments and your hands to yourself." Shiozaki's vine hair slithered about like seaweed in the water, which, along with how blank her face was, terrified him into compliance.

“While we don’t have power like the first team, someone like Monoma is something of an equalizer regardless," Shishida commented, though with people like Honenuki and Shiozaki on their team, they would excel in area denial, which would make it easier for Todoroki to serve as their cannon.

"That's correct, my friend, and since I know everyone else's quirk, I know which I should go for to maximize our chances." Monoma laughed.

“And last but not least, we have those who will wear the blue for Stylish Sapphires." Midnight declared as the slot machine didn't start up. Instead, the digitized Nezu walked onto the screen, opened it up, and pulled out the remaining balls with names on them.

Koda, Koji

Aoyama, Yuga

Uraraka, Ochaco

Bakugo, Katsuki

Kamakiri, Togaru

Tokage, Setsuna

Rin, Hiryu

Iida, Tenya

Sato, Rikido

Fukidashi, Manga

Iida frowned when he saw what he had expected once he didn’t see his name drawn in that 3^rd group. "We might have gotten the best draw regarding raw battle power, but…" Uraraka, while still learning the finer details of her quirk's newly discovered powers, was a solid member to have. Aoyama even more so, and on a bright sunny day like this, he could be something of a reliable fighter, but Bakugo…

He wasn't the only one who had their misgivings as everyone turned to eye up Bakugo, which only angered the short-tempered blonde. "Not to be that guy, but would I team, you know…function with Bakugo?" Fukidashi asked, recalling the last time Bakugo had been allowed to let loose.

“The hell’s that supposed to mean?” Bakugo barked at him, but his angry response did little to calm their concerns.

"No, no, it's a fair question. This is a team thing, so we don't need any loose…explosives." Tokage pointed at him, to which Bakugo growled as he was getting sick of this. It was bad enough that he was banned from actual hero training till bandages said otherwise; not everyone was treating him like trash? The worst part was that he couldn't just ditch them and prove himself the best. He, of course, could, but he had a feeling that it would go against whatever bullshit rules they had.

“Lovely, we’re off to a good start.” Aoyama rolled his eyes at how the rest were handling things, to which his fellow foreign student, Rin, sighed.

"I'm just hoping we get people who won't set him off. It would be embarrassing if this is what sank us." The Chinese man said a quick silent prayer, hoping for good fortune, as they didn't even know what sort of events waited for them.

With the slots for the hero course handled, it wasn't with nearly as much fanfare that the rest of the students were split into the four teams; those that seemed the most excited by this was the support course, who either carried or rushed back inside to grab some of their items and tools they had brought with them, as some in his class complained, Midoriya remained silent as he recalled that they were allowed to use support items as long as they made them, a means to show off their talents to spectating support companies.

However, there were exceptions to that as one such student approached them, not looking particularly eager to be there or be the one to instigate the conversation.

“Hi…I’m Furasu Maina, I'll be on your team." Furasu, a woman with a build she would describe as average, from her body to her dark brown hair styled into a low ponytail, the only thing that set her apart was her headband with two bluebells on it, the left having a flat screw head and the right having a screwdriver head.

Tsunotori easily compensated for Furasu’s lack of excitement as she happily shook her hand. “Hiya, Furasu! I'm Tsunotori, but you can call me Pony. I'm happy to meet you."

Furasu jolted out of shock at how forward Tsunotori was being. “B-but that’s so-!”

"Don't think too hard about it; she's an American," Bondo told the girl before she could work herself up.

“You say that like it’s an insult.” Tsunotori turned to the taller student, narrowing her eyes at him as he looked away. As small as she might be, one didn't mess with Tsunotori. As that happened, another student approached them, and if she could be called average, he very much could not.

He was tall, far above average, with a large chin and dark hair styled into a pompadour that looked close to how his chin was shaped. If they had to be honest, he had a slightly relaxed intimidation to him. Put him in leather and a couple of tats, and he could pass for a hardened biker.

He presented his hand to them. “Agoyamato Tsutsutaka.”

Shoda accepted it despite being one of the shorter members of their newly formed team. "Shoda Nirengeki, I hope we don't have any issues."

"Likewise," Agoyamato stated. Teams having been settled, robots came out carrying their gear for the event, allowing the students to pick between wearing a color-coded jacket or headband. Kirishima picked for their team, declaring that the headband was manlier and deciding that it would be best if they presented a unified front; all 230 Mighty Gold members picked the bright yellow headbands, which they were allowed to tie to any part of their bodies, as long as it was visible.

Some, like Awase, wore it as intended, while others, like Sero, wore it around their necks. Others went Kirishima's route and wore it like a belt, while Midoriya tied his around his shoulder. Other teams didn't pick just one, taking whatever they wished.

“Now that we got our teams and they got their colors remember not to lose them, as you'll be penalized! Moving on, we have the first stage!” Midnight declared, drawing all attention back onto her. “As happy as I am to see a field of young, eager youths, we can't have all of you stick around for long; only those with the greatest strength in body, will, and character can hope to pass through this first event!”

“And this year, that gauntlet will be…” Having been refilled with new balls by Digi-Nezu, the digital slot machine started spinning, everyone watching and wondering what it would be. While guesses still formed in people's heads, it finally landed on an option. “The obstacle race!”

“A race?” Tsunotori asked.

“Everyone is to participate in this. The course will be the outer circumference of this stadium, about 4 kilometers!” Midnight explained, showing off a rough outline of the track outside the stadium.

“About?” Furasu peeped, as that sounded crazy! Only those in great shape or in the hero course could handle that!

Tokoyami also wasn’t looking forward to this, but if they were allowed to use their quirks, it shouldn’t be too much of an issue, though it certainly favored those with speed—that was, if it was just a race. "That does seem like a long track, but it can just be a foot race. Where's the obstacle?"

“I was getting to that; don't interrupt!” Midnight snapped her whip, apparently having heard them talking. With both apologizing, she fell back into a joyous, media-savvy mood. "Our school's selling point is freedom, and this race will be no exception! As long as you stay on course, you can do what you wish to succeed!”

Yet, she gave the same sort of smile, which was why she was the bane of so many parent rights groups, but it only raised the hairs on the backs of the student’s necks. “However, don't think it'll be a walk in part as all around the track, you'll find many traps and barriers you'll need to navigate, so think hard, work harder, and you'll do just fine!”

It wasn't lost on them or the spectators that she was vague about what traps and barriers they'd find. “Now, our ready racers, take your places!”

As the rest moved towards the starting line highlighted for them, Midoriya tapped on Furasu’s shoulder. “Hey, Furasu.” She jumped at the touch.

“Y-yes?” She asked.

“You’re in support, right?” He asked, having heard her mention it to Bondo and Tsunotori earlier.

“I am, class 1-G.” She nodded, even presenting a briefcase with some of the things she had made, though it wasn't anywhere close to what the insane gearhead from class 1-H managed to cook up. She and the rest thought that girl lived and breathed support and would probably sleep in the lab if allowed…

Oh, who was she kidding? That lunatic wouldn’t even sleep, just down energy drinks and protein bars and work for days at a time. She probably already did.

Pulling her from her depressing thoughts of comparing herself to someone else, Midoriya asked something. “Would you happen to have something we can use for this? It’s a team effort, right?”

She pursed her lips but didn't open her case as she wasn't totally confident in it. "I have something, but I wasn't able to get a full charge for it. The battery keeps short-circuiting, so…" Hearing that, Midoriya’s eye turned to Kaminari and then back to her, an idea forming in his head.

“What is it?”

Moving towards the entrance, Midoriya had them organize into a small unit; Furasu and a couple of her support classmates were in the center, and Kaminari was with them. To the front, Kirishima stood right behind him, and Midoriya stood ready to support him and the rest. For the rest, he could convince others to form their flanks and rear as their plan needed the support to focus on their task while they protected them from whatever the course and the other teams could throw at them.

They noticed that some others had also paired up, but it didn't seem like most had the idea to strategize this early. Also, Kirishima pointed out that the entrance to the track might have seemed large from afar, but up close, it was narrow, and when it was meant to be used by over 900 students of all shapes and sizes, it was sure to turn into a nightmare to get through. Tokoyami suggested that it was intentional, the first barrier to the course, so they'll need to move carefully.

Of course, they weren't the only ones to figure that out. Midoriya looked around them, and whenever he saw one of his classmates, he saw it in their eyes. He planned to win this, now as part of a team, but there was so much they didn't know. What were the obstacles? What were the abilities and weaknesses of the rest of the students outside the hero course? What events lay beyond this?

So many questions and too few answers.

Once more, Seijū Genrin manifested, but this time, in human form. "Hey, focus on what you know and what you can do. You got yourself a pretty good team, so make you take the gold; it'll be fun to rub it into that stupid overgrown chicken's face.”

"Sometimes I wonder if you're just bantering or you just don't like her," Midoriya muttered, to which his quirk just laughed before she vanished.

“You say something, Midoriya?” Furasu asked, having no idea about him or his situation. Kirishima looked back in concern, already having an idea of what it was about, though he wouldn't have heard it as he hadn't packed his contacts.

“Nothing.” Midoriya brushed it off and instead focused on the line of green lights above the exit. As they shut off, serving as the countdown, he prepared himself for what would come. No matter what, he would protect his teammates, and they'd all make it across the finish.

“Start!” Midnight announced, with hundreds not waiting a moment longer as they rushed towards the entrance.

“And look at 'em go, anything to add to that, you two?” Present Mic asked his co-commentators?

“They certainly have the right idea, but they’re going about it all wrong," Inversal stated as the horde of students slammed into the passage. Those at the very front were the lucky ones, as they could run without worry, but those behind? They bottlenecked it, and with each person trying to force their way through, it slowed it more, leading to plenty of yelling, cursing, and elbows thrown.

“Yup! They're treating it like they're trying to buy tickets to an Idol performance before they run out. All that does is slow down the servers.” Supercharge nodded, happy to see that some had not bum-rushed it, and kept her gaze on them to see what they were plotting.

"Everyone, get ready," Todoroki said to the couple dozen students who stuck behind his team. A moment later, he activated his quirk, sending a blast of arctic cold wind through the passage. Along with it, ice flowed like water, freezing everything from the floor to the ceiling, trapping hundreds thanks to ice climbing up all the way to their ankles.

“Owww, that the-!”

“I can’t move!”

“What the hell, he just froze all of us!”

Todoroki didn't pay them any mind as he ran straight through without issue. At the same time, his teammates centered around Shiozaki and Monoma, who copied her quirk and helped the rest of their team through the human wall he had left. “And it looks like the Stylish Sapphires are pulling an early lead thanks to the decisive work on Todoroki of the hero course!” Present Mic called out as on the leaderboard; those leading were dominated by those from Sapphire.

But just as they seemed to be taking the top 50 spots, a group from the Might Golds also started racing up it. Those frozen and trying to break out in the tunnel heard ice shattering like glass. It wasn't coming from around them, but above, so they looked up to see what could be one of the strangest things they'd ever seen.

“Let’s freaking go!” Kirishima, fully hardened, acted as a human battering ram as he was attached by Sero’s tape to the hover cart’s front.

As for his team, hanging out for real life, riding along the ceiling on a fancy-looking hover cart that Kodai had enlarged to increase its carry capacity from just 4 to 20. Still, they had packed close to 30, so they had to keep hold of it and each other so as not to fall. Powering the poor support item's motor was Kaminari, who, along with the motor, was being boasted by Midoriya, who had shifted to his base form, Faunalution mode.

“On the roof?”

“How they even doing that?”

Furasu kept her attention on the intricate parts, which, while bigger, weren't built for such a workload. “Hold on, this isn’t made for so many people!” she yelled.

"It's a good thing I'm here." Kaminari laughed, as he loved not needing to fry his brain^{. Just one-tenth} of his max, and the motor could explode.

“It’s a good thing both of you are here.” Shoda pointed out that without Midoriya keeping the motor's strength well above what should destroy it, they'd be dead in the water. The magnetic hoover cart could cruise along the roof of the passage because of the steel used to construct the stadium. As long as it was in a building, Furasu’s prototype could transverse it, which made for quick recovery of people in emergencies.

“We’re not the only ones getting through!” Tsunotori called out as she pointed below where Yaoyorozu had made Shoji brace knuckles. Along with Kirishima and Kendo, Shoji was smashing through the ice, leaving a rapidly growing path for the rest of their team to take.

For Bakugo and Uraraka's team, Aoyama was melting through the ice along with Fukidashi, who created the sound effect of 'sizzle,' which melted the ice, letting them get through. They could have moved faster, but Bakugo…

"Get back here, you half and half bastard!" He shot off after Todoroki after a second thought. Midoriya and his team didn’t have to think about that, not when the exit was fast approaching. When they breached it, they immediately started losing speed as they fell.

“Flip!” Everyone swung their weight to the right, turning the craft on its side just enough that when they landed, it wasn't a complete wipeout as they deployed wheels, though it was a hard landing all the same. “How is it?” Shoda called out as Furasa freaked out over the massive dent, one which was followed by a small explosion as internal parts just broke, leading to a drop in speed.

"It's damaged; we don't have much time left!" She called back as she worked to try and repair the damage as they moved, but it was slow going with how little space she had to work with and the lack of proper tools, only having what she could pack into a tool belt.

Todoroki looked to their rear and saw those 3 teams making their way through. The smashed and melted ice only made it easier for more to follow, allowing the bottleneck to start to clear slowly. "It wasn't as affected as I hope it'll be."

"No point whining now; we're still in the lead and should work to keep that." Shinso, one of his teammates told him as he struggled to keep pace with how fast those in the hero course could run, seemingly without breaking a sweat.

“Emo’s right,” Shinso repeated Ashido's statement in confusion as the pink-skinned girl used her quirk to skate along. “Come on, people, let’s huff it!”

With the Might Gold’s front team, their hoover craft finally broke down, leading to them having to pull over. “Dang it, it’s broken! I’m sorry, guys!” Furasu bowed to them, but they wrote it off.

"It's fine. It lasted as long as we could hope when we were overloading it." Sero noted that the thing could have, should have, failed earlier, but it at least helped them gain a lead over the rest. Now, they just needed to worry about helping their teammates catch up.

"Pretty durable design for something meant for just 3 people," Tsunotori told her as she got back up.

“Do we keep formation?” Kaminari asked, as his role was kinda done for the moment.

"Yes. Support, please keep it up, and we'll keep the heat off you." Midoriya replied, keeping things in order as the group of largely general students followed.

“You got it, man.” One of the support students gave a thumbs up as Dark Shadow formed, picking some of them up so they wouldn't slow them down. Agoyamato handled carrying their chief mechanic, Furasu, who was left red-faced as she was carried like a bride in the taller, stronger man's arms who, for his part, just ignored it as he kept pace with his teammates.

As they lost second place to Yaoyorozu’s team, up ahead, Ashido got ahead of Todoroki and nearly paid for it as she ground just caved it.

“Holy-! What the hell, did the floor just collapse?!” She yelled out as she fell over on her butt.

“It’s not just that spot, the entire track…” Komori weakly pointed to the track ahead as it just…imploded, large tracks of it vanishing as if they were never there while the rest transformed before their eyes, revealing itself to be an elaborate obstacle course made up of dozens upon dozens of paths marked with ropes, walls, slim bridges, steep stairs, and slopes while robots stood ready to knock them off into what looked to be the largest ball pit in existence that lay several meters below.

Knowing that it wasn't just the students who were left stunned by their little present, Present Mic laughed as he introduced this portion of the track. “And it looks like our students have reached the first obstacle, which I like to call the jungle!”

"This is insane. What do they think is some sort of game show?" Tsuburaba asked as he looked over the place that couldn't see any single path that led to the end, just to interconnected islands and rooms that could lead down another path, the end so far to the other side he couldn't possibly figure out which path was the shortest.

“Before anyone learns the hard way, remember that they’re traps in that part, as there are in the rest of them.” Inversal’s warning stopped Todoroki from trying it as dozens of turrets popped out, either to the sides or directly in front of paths. “Also, paintball turrets, every time you get tagged, adds 5 seconds to your time because this is still a race, so good luck.”

“Don't worry; they won't target your face. We don't want to blind anyone!” Supercharge added.

“How do we know that they can aim that well?” Mineta yelled.

Reaching the same point in the race, Asui looked over the spot. "(Kero) This is going to be hard." She supposed she could jump through, but it would still leave others out. Maybe she used her tongue, but those turrets would need to be handled first…

"Do we split up, try taking it solo, and meet back up at the other side?" Further back, Rin asked his team what they'd do when they arrived.

"Seems like the best play; moving as a group won't help us here. Besides, Uraraka, Bakugo, and Tokage would have an easier time getting through." Aoyama replied, though Bakugo had long since left them to handle things themselves, and while they shared a team, he wouldn’t mind if he got tagged a couple times for it.

“I can take a couple of us with.” Tokage offered. She wasn't the strongest, but she could carry a good amount of weight when she broke up into separate pieces. If she kept her grip, she could take at least two others with her.

“Same here.” Uraraka was the same, as this wouldn't be like the entrance exam. In fact, she could probably render them all weightless, and with the other's quirks and Hatsume's support items, they could probably clear this part the fastest. Rising that point to the rest, Hatsume, who had proven to be….eccentric, started to laugh like a mad scientist, pulling out another one of her 'babies’.

“Oh, I have a baby that’ll work great here!" Her laughter did little to lower their concerns, but Uraraka was sure she wouldn't have been allowed something dangerous….

Seeing others arriving, their only saving grace was that they were just as cautious about this as they were, but Monoma wasn't sure how long that would last. “Todoroki, can you make thin sheets of ice that Yanagi can use as shields?”

"They can't be too heavy; otherwise, they'll pass my limit." Yanagi reminded them that she excelled at control, but she wasn't big on weight limits. That reminder only made Todoroki frown.

“Then you’ll have to shape them as I can’t make something that.” He told them, to which Tsuburaba said he could make do with his solid air. However, it couldn't be carried as well, and Yanagi had tried using her quirk on it with limited success. The best they could do was have him defend a mall section of a single flank.

“Kuroiro, head on head, and take out the guns," Yaoyorozu instructed their shadowy member. While it would be a challenge, she could see him getting to at least one-third of the guns.

“Is that legal?” Kuroiro asked as he didn't want to get disqualified over this.

“Midnight didn’t say we couldn’t break them," Kendo stated. As even when Inversal gave them the info about getting shot, he and the rest said nothing about destroying parts of the track.

"I got it, but you'll need to be quick as soon as we clear a route." Kuroiro nodded before he vanished into the shadows and zipped into the zone to help clear a path for them.

"Oh man, this looks intense," Sero stated as they reached the first obstacle.

“Do they expect only the hero students to make it through?” Agoyamato asked. He knew he was in fairly good shape and that he took care of himself, but there was a difference between having a semi-healthy diet and exercising twice a week and…whatever the hell this was.

"Don't panic. We're not facing this alone, but we need to move fast, or else the other teams get too far ahead." Midoriya, used to such courses in the danger room, spoke up as he looked over the area, trying to spot the best paths. They were not the fastest, as those had to be the ones with the most traps but the most stable and, more importantly, the ones they could sabotage to stop others from following.

Seeing that form, he turned towards Sero. "Sero, you'll make a path for us, and we'll use that. Kodai can enlarge and then shrink it to keep others from using it." He told them both, to which they looked at one another, wondering if that was a good idea, but Kodai could always shrink the tape as soon as they were done with it.

"Tsunotori, you'll with Tokoyami. Dark Shadow will harass those around us." Midoriya handed orders to the two, Dark Shadow pocking out to give a thumbs-up as Tsunotori nodded. That done, he turned to the other two. Bondo and Kamakiri act as the rear guard."

Blocking off, destroying, or just making routes inaccessible would be the name of the game for this. Others might be faster through other routes, but many of them were visible and not designed for groups to use at once, such as the many rope bridges.

“And the rest of us?” Kaminari asked.

“Same as before, we’re protecting the support students.” Midoriya wasn't sure what lay next, but it would be great if they kept their on the field safe and close.

“Actually,” Furasu pulled out a large device from her backpack, looking like a cross between a plasma ball, a motor, and a projector. "I have something that might help us here; it'll mean we don't need to worry about the paintballs."

Forming up, this time, it was Midoriya, who had swapped from his base form to his ice form, who took the lead as he would need to see where they were going. Kirishima was slightly to his right, ready to jump in. In the middle of the group, they had a couple of people carrying the strange device that Furasu supplied, it being carried by a couple of Sero's tape fastened into a hammock carried by four, double what was needed, but they wanted redundancy.

One other change was that Sero stood to his left.  “Let’s go!” Midoriya, retaining his base form, called out.

“Right!” Sero shot out his tap across the way to the small tower; once it latched, Kodai touched the line, expanding it from a single strange big enough for someone to tightrope to a large path. Sero made sure it was as tight as possible so it didn't give and make them uneasy when they jumped into it. Seeing this drew attention from others as this group had seemingly forfeited that while most were plotting, creating countermeasures and barriers, or waiting for members sent in ahead to handle their parts of the job.

“Hol up, hol up! What are they doing?” Supercharge asked as she couldn't have envisioned someone being that bullheaded.

“They're cutting through the course as a group—not a bad play, but don't they remember the paintballs? They'll be slaughtered!” Present Mic called out. They had been lucky so far. Their path put them out of sight of the first set of guns, but it led them right into the middle of the lines of fire for others. They'll be nowhere to run.