Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

“Are you still working on that case, Nao?”

Naomasa looked up, eyes squinting at the sudden light that filled the small office he was holed up in. At the door his long-term friend stood and stared at him with a judgmental- and frankly hypocritical- look on his face.

Naomasa rubbed his eyes tiredly.

“If I could just figure out where all these damn drugs are coming from,” he muttered, shuffling some papers aside to make space for the steaming cup of coffee that was placed on his table. “Thanks, I really needed a fresh one.”

The clock on the wall made an ambient tick-tock noise as the hands inched closer to three in the morning.

Shota sighed deeply.

“I just got back from patrol. It was a quiet night- thank god.” Shota said as he dropped down on the couch, which made an alarming groan that had Shota freezing for a second before relaxing in a practiced way that made the springs hug his back rather than stab him. The couch had seen better days but Naomasa was reluctant to get rid of the first piece of furniture he’d dragged into this office the day he was promoted to Detective.

Outside the rain pitter-pattered against the windows. Yes, Naomasa thought to himself, it’s good it isn’t too busy tonight.

“Any updates from your little analyst?” Shota asked, blowing over his steaming cup and sipping it even though it was clearly too hot. Naomasa sighed, rubbing his eyes tiredly.

“They sent a report earlier,” he admitted. “That’s why I can’t sleep. It’s all just so … we’re missing something, Shota, and we both think it’s something huge- way huger than just a couple murders and drug activity- but we need more proof. We need them to slip up.”

“And your analyst-”

“Argos,” Naomasa said automatically. Shota squinted.

“Right, Argos,” he said with pursed lips. “How do you know he’s trustworthy?”

Naomasa closed his eyes, leaning back in his chair and gathering his emotions. It wasn’t Shota’s fault for questioning Argos’s loyalty, but Naomasa had already had to defend this analyst for what felt like months now despite having worked with him for years already.

“Shota, I’ve known this person for almost five years now,” Naomasa said, every inch of his exhaustion clinging to his voice. “I may not know their face or identity, but they’ve helped with so many cases, so many villain attacks that were prevented due to their intervention. The HPSC technically defines Argos as a vigilante and cautions us against using their help but they give it so freely that it’s impossible not to use their help!”

“Don’t you pay them?” Shota asked dryly and Naomasa rolled his eyes.

“I do, but it isn’t actually required. Argos has an account on the Hero Network that they take payment on but usually for cases like these they don’t ask for payments.” Naomasa explained. “They have a specific rate for analysis done on heroes and villains, and that analysis has saved so many lives.”

“Argos sounds like a regular hero.” Shota teased lightly. “I wonder why they’re so secretive…”

Naomasa had wondered the same thing many times over the years. In the beginning he hadn’t trusted the new analyst but one day he’d opened his email and there, sitting suspiciously in his inbox, was an email that closed a five-month case that had been torturing him with its lack of information. That analysis had opened so many doors and new viewpoints on the case that Naomasa had ended up taking the lead on the case and solving it within three days of the email.

After that email he’d begun a back and forth with the analyst who called themselves “Argos” and to this day he still knew almost nothing about them other than that they were likely young, had at least one or two children- whether those children were siblings or their actual children Naomasa didn’t know- and were usually up at odd hours of the night. He didn’t even know what gender they were.

“Wouldn’t I like to know…” Naomasa sighed softly, picking up his mug and taking a deep swig from the coffee. “I just wish I could thank them in person.”

“You’re a softy, Nao,” Shota said, already closing his eyes and settling down to nap. He grunted when Naomasa threw a pencil at him but didn’t open his eyes.

Perhaps he was going soft, but he’d frequently got the impression- especially when he thanked Argos after a hard case- that not a lot of people were kind to the mysterious analyst.

There was always something slightly vulnerable in his written text of - oh. No problem, Tsuka-san - that struck Naomasa as very young.

He hoped Argos wasn’t too young. Hoped against all hope that the analyst was older, wizened, and perhaps even a bit hardened to the harshness of life. He hoped that Argos wasn’t some kid who was too smart for their own good, or with some intelligence quirk they were using to solve cases.

Staring at the bright new email that had just arrived in his inbox coming from Argos, he had a truly unsettling feeling that his hopes were for nothing. With a sigh, he picked up the pillow he was using to rest his head on and chucked it right at Shota’s face, ignoring his loud curses and complaints.

“Perk up, Sho, Argos just sent me another email about the case. It’s the second one tonight so something must have happened.”

Shota groaned loudly but sat up. There truly was no rest for good to triumph over evil and Argos was living proof of that.

As the hands on the clock ticked closer to four, they stared at the screen in front of them, unmistakable dread pooling in their guts, and both felt intensely that things were about to get… complicated.

❋

Midoriya Izuku stared deeply into the swirling, chaotic crimson of his childhood friend’s eyes.

“Do us all a favor, yeah?” Bakugou said cruelly, his brow furrowed- and for a single second Izuku remembered him as he had once been, small and fierce, protective as he defended Izuku to the ends of the earth- “Take a swan-dive off a roof and hope for a quirk in your next life!”

The laughter of their peers echoed around them but Izuku hardly cared for their chattering laughs. His eyes were only for Bakugou.

Where are you, Kacchan? Where is my protector?

The blonde turned on his heel abruptly and Izuku almost thought he’d heard the soft thought that echoed in his head, but no, Katsuki Bakugou had long ago deafened himself from hearing any of Izuku’s heart and today was no different.

Izuku trudged, feet heavy and burdened with the day, and picked up his burnt and singed notebook from the koi pond outside their high school.

“That’s not food,” he scolded lightly, fishing a piece of burnt paper out of the water so that the fish didn’t try eating it.

Fortunately the contents were easily replicable but it was still a loss for him. He paged idly through the encoded notes and sighed before stuffing it into his backpack to go through later.

As much as he wanted to let his heavy shoulders drag him down, down, down to the floor and sometimes yes, off the edge of a building, Izuku could never bring himself to actually do it.

He had too many people looking up to him. Too many people that were depending on him, that loved him, that wanted to see him live.

Izuku had been to too many funerals. He had a funeral to attend that evening as well and there was no conceivable way that he would damn his mother to attend a funeral for him and sit there accepting those grief-filled flowers as some paltry offering for his life.

It was all people could do and Izuku appreciated it and could see the beauty and sorrow in it- but he’d always loathed funeral flowers.

He’d meant to walk home but the long day was wearing on him and he found himself treading off the beaten path. He took passages underground instead of in the more populated areas and he appreciated the silence as he gave his face a rest from having to smile- from having to put up with everything all the time.

He was sure that sometimes even All Might surely had to stop smiling.

“Lucky me~!”

Izuku whipped to attention, flattening himself to the floor as some viscous green sludge swiped the air where he had been standing just seconds ago.

“What the fuck?? Where’d you go? Oi!” The Sludge seemed to have a voice and Izuku found himself staring at a pair of poisonous green eyes that seemed to float impossibly within the sludge.

“There you are, kid, hey come on,” the sludge whined. “It’ll just hurt for a minute, 45 seconds at most, and you’ll be my hero!”

Izuku slipped his fingertips against the ridge of his butterfly knife that he kept tucked into his boot and let his leg kick right out and through the thick sludge. He judged that he would be kicking the legs out from a human if it weren’t for the sludge’s amorphous visage. As expected, his leg passed right through the sludge right to the other side where he’d dropped his backpack, but the action did seem to topple the sludge slightly before it reformed.

“That’s not very heroic of you, kid, now really, I’m a little pressed for time!” The Sludge spoke, voice sounding stressed. Izuku flicked his knife out and gripped it in a tight fist.

“Going somewhere, villain?” Izuku said coldly. He really wasn’t in the best mood for an interaction with a villain that didn’t even seem good enough to be ranked, and if he was then surely it was at the end of the scale. “You’ve got a great pair of eyes there. I bet if I took them away you’d be forced to return to your real body, huh?”

A quiver shook against those eyeballs as the villain seemed to realize he was at a disadvantage. Izuku kind of admired that he still made the attempt though.

His knife jutted out, stabbing into the globulous body of the villain rather than attacking his eyes. It seemed to just sink through but the villain did scream when he brought the knife right through his entire body.

“You’re pissing me off now!” The Sludge screamed and Izuku wanted to retort something but he didn’t get the chance as a car alarm went off somewhere in the distance and the split second of distraction was all the sludge needed before suddenly all Izuku could see was green.

His breath cut off immediately and it felt like how he imagined drinking acid would feel. His senses were all burning thickly with the lack of oxygen and despite himself, panic filled his scrambling mind.

He had to do something. Anything. 

“There we go, just a second more…!”

Izuku had to fight. He had to bite down on the sludge sliding down his throat- he had to fight for his mother, for his kids, for his dreams- but his vision was going dark and his arms that had been so full of strength earlier were fast losing energy.

He couldn’t do anything.

“TEXAS …” What the- “SMAAAASH!”

All Might?!

Izuku definitely passed out for a minute there because he was sure he’d hallucinated All Might’s voice. The force of the explosion that rocked the concrete he was standing on threw him backwards and he released a hoarse groan as his head smacked against the back of a car tire. The car immediately started crying with a safety alarm and honestly Izuku kind of wished he could cry along with it.

“Hey, wake up!” Someone was smacking his face. “Kid? Wake up!”

Izuku blinked his eyes open with some great difficulty. His chest was burning and he was sure he could still taste the strange bitterness of the sludge in his scratchy throat. His head was throbbing and he’d definitely sprained an ankle or something but none of that mattered to him as he took in his savior.

All Might sent him his signature beaming smile.

“Hey! You’re alright!” He straightened up, towering over Izuku even as the hero pulled him to stand up. “Sorry, I can’t stay too long but don’t worry! I signed your notebook!”

Izuku blinked. Was that greenish tinge around the corners of his eyes leftover sludge?

He noted in a strangely apathetic way that yes, his burned and damp encoded notebook was open on the ground with All Might’s signature right on the pages of his private analysis.

The hero had two large soda bottles attached to his hips and Izuku could see the sludge villain trapped inside them, his eyes rolling around in agitation. 

“All Might, I-”

“No need for thanks, young man! I’d best be off!” All Might said, smacking his shoulder in a friendly manner before stepping back and preparing to leave.

Izuku was going to regret this. He could feel it in his gut but he had to know.

With a great leap, and the last of his energy, he gripped All Might’s leg firmly just as the hero took off in a spectacular jump that had them soaring up into the clear afternoon sky. The wind rustled through his hair and he idly thought that it was good he didn’t have a flying quirk because this was not for him.

“Hey! Let go! I love my fans but this is a bit much, kid!” All Might shouted, shaking his leg and Izuku clung onto the hero’s leg tighter.

“If I let go I’ll die!” He shouted right back and All Might seemed to consider that because he gripped Izuku by the back of his jacket and guided them to land on an empty rooftop.

Izuku sprawled on the floor for a second. The combination of sludge in his lungs plus the brisk air from the flight was making it kind of hard to breathe.

“Now really, I have to go!” All Might sounded stressed and as he prepared to leave Izuku found his voice again. 

He sat, sprawled on the floor, looking pretty pathetic- and honestly he felt pathetic too- but he asked, voice trembling,

“Do you think someone quirkless can become a hero?!”

All Might froze.

It was all the time he apparently had for Izuku because instantly the rooftop was filled with steam and Izuku stood up, utterly confused, flapping his hand through the air to clear his vision a bit. 

“All Might? Where-” Had he left? What was this steam? The area cleared slightly and Izuku paused his fluttering hand and gaped as the air thinned and revealed a man standing there in All Might’s place.

He wanted to deny it immediately. His lips moved to form a chaotic shout of denial and confusion but something held him back.

Perhaps it was the look on the man’s face. Maybe it was the gaping clothes he was wearing that seemed to fall off his thin, wraith-like body, or the familiar corn yellow hair that had just moments before looked so bold and iconic, whereas now they hung flat against the man’s sunken face. This … this man was All Might.

The real All Might.

“Yeah,” All Might sighed. “It’s me, kid.”

“What … what happened to you?” Izuku whispered, unable to help the concern bleeding out of his voice, his question forgotten in the moment.

So, Izuku heard a story. A great and terrible story. He sat there on the cold floor, ignoring the shivers and aches in his body as he listened to All Might speak about a battle, a battle so awful that no one even knew about it, one that had taken more than just his health from him. 

All Might frowned deeply, staring at him with an almost sympathetic expression.

“You asked whether or not you can be a hero without a quirk?” He reminded and Izuku blinked, watching as the man stood up from his slouched seat on the floor and Izuku mimicked him, feeling his legs tremble slightly.

“I’m sorry but the answer is no.” All Might said and it felt like Izuku’s chest was being ripped open. Like someone was reaching into the cavity and tugging on his heart until it felt like it would just pop right out.

“As you can see, I barely made it out even with a powerful quirk like mine. I’m afraid that in the field you would be more of a liability then a help, kid,” he said, trying to make his voice gentle but it didn’t really matter because Izuku wasn’t listening anymore.

No.

“-being a policeman or a doctor-”

The answer is no.

“-really sorry, but I have to go. You’ll keep this a secret, right-”

You can’t be a hero.

“-on the door and someone will let you down-”

And just like that, Izuku was alone on the rooftop. For a moment he just stood there in silence as he processed everything that had happened and then he was laughing.

He laughed and laughed and laughed until tears poured down his cheeks.

“Take a swan-dive off the roof and hope for a quirk in your next life, Deku.”

Yeah, fucking maybe then.

Chapter Text

Toshinori flew away but it felt somehow like he was falling through the air.

Everything was right. The fires of One For All flickered through his veins and he could hear the wind whispering against his ears, so why did it feel like he was free-falling through the air?

“Do you think someone quirkless can become a hero?”

Dammit. That damn kid. 

He was alone up in the air so it was fine if his smile flickered away and his tears were lost in the moisture of the air and sky. Dammit.

For just a second he’d seen himself standing there. Sure, the kid was smaller than he’d been at the same age, smaller and calmer and there had been something almost unsettling in his eyes when he’d asked that question, but the desperation was the same.

The way he’d held onto Toshinori so tightly. His trembling voice as he begged for an answer to his question.

Dammit. You shattered his dreams, Toshinori. 

“Someone has to do it!” He shouted into the air. But did they really?

He couldn’t- he couldn’t hold onto those embers anymore, it was dragging him down and down there he had to be a hero. Up in the sky, in the brief moments where everything melted away, he was just Toshinori.

He landed with a deep groan on the rooftop of the Musutafu Precinct. His body ached and trembled as he released his quirk to rest and recharge while he dealt with the sludge.

He’d go back. He’d just deliver this sludge villain and then he’d go back and find that kid and-and-

And what, Toshinori?

He stood there on the roof for a moment feeling utterly disconnected from the world. Regret was a piercing wound and it twisted in his gut like fire and brimstone, and- as if answering his dark thoughts- One For All flickered in his chest and seemed to tighten around his heart.

What right do you have to say anything to him after saying he couldn’t be a hero?

Toshinori closed his eyes.

No. He couldn’t go back.

Please kid, don’t listen to me. Go out and be a hero, you can do it, you can be a-

Toshinori froze, his fingers tracing the empty handles on his pants where two thick soda bottles had been containing the sludge villain.

No. No. No. 

What right did he have to preach to some kid when he himself was such a damn failure?! DAMMIT!

He had to make this right. Somehow.

❋

The explosions reached Izuku’s ears before the dark ground could entice him any further than it already had.

He stood on the rooftop, his head tilted to the side. He knew those explosions as intimately as he knew the skin on his own palms.

In a second his phone was in his hand and he stood still and serious as he hacked into the surrounding cameras of the neighborhood they lived in.

It didn’t take him very long to find the source of the trouble- it would be kind of embarrassing if it did, considering his job- Izuku’s feet were moving before he could even comprehend the footage in front of his eyes as his fingers flew from camera to camera- angle to angle- trying to see what was being done.

Katsuki Bakugou was there, right in front of the arcade Izuku knew he frequented after school with his friends- if you could call them that- and surrounding him was the familiar sludge that was still filtering Izuku’s vision green.

How had it escaped All Might? Was it when they were flying? Was he distracted because of Izuku? Was this his fault?

For all his faults, Izuku could never bring himself to look away from Bakugou. They were all grown now and there was so much between them but a small, childish part of him that just wouldn’t die- no matter how hard Bakugou tried to kill him- still clung to the memory of the blonde and desperately wished his friend would return to him. Would be his brother again.

His feet were carrying him without thought. He was practically flying in all the little hidey-holes and alleys of Musutafu to get to the scene of the chaos and the second he broke into the light of the arcade, he tucked his phone away and took in the situation.

There were several heroes on-site and Izuku could already hear the whine of the ambulance on its way. In the middle, surrounded by that sludge villain, was Katsuki Bakugou.

“-can get close to him because of all the explosions! We have Backdraft on duty but-”

“-just wait for the right quirk to combat the situ-”

It was like someone had stuck Izuku’s head underwater. All the voices faded away and he stared at Bakugou’s fighting body. His eyes were bloodshot and whereas before, mere hours ago, they had been full of cruelty and spite, now there was only fear.

Izuku hated that look on his face.

“Hey! Stop! What are you doing, kid?!”

He was running. He grabbed the first thing his hands could reach in his bag and it closed around his water bottle- yeah, that would do the trick. He hurled the bottle right at the spot between the sludge’s eyes, hitting it and forcing it to release Bakugou’s mouth, letting him gulp in lungfulls of much needed air.

“Deku! What the fuck are you doing here?!” Bakugou shouted, voice hoarse and damaged. Izuku could sympathize.

“I couldn’t just let you die!” Izuku said angrily, reaching out and taking his hand- Bakugou didn’t even seem to realize it but he gripped back so tightly Izuku was certain he was going to bruise- pulling him and desperately trying to get him out of the sludge’s hold.

“Oh, it’s you again!” The Sludge spoke and Bakugou’s eyes widened, his eyes travelling over Izuku’s body as if he were trying to see any hint of truth in the words spoken.

“What did I say about your damn eyes, villain,” Izuku snarled. The villain blinked, releasing Bakugou ever so slightly. “Now, Kacchan, the eyes!”

His old friend didn’t hesitate. He never had.

The sludge villain released a spew of curses as Bakugou’s explosions were concentrated right by his vulnerable eyes, causing him to release even more of Bakugou to freedom and Izuku gripped his arms tightly, pulling as hard as he could.

“Alright kids, I’ve got it from here.” Izuku flinched, staring up at All Might with some strange, swirling emotion somewhere between guilt, horror and dissatisfaction.

Al Might tugged them gently but firmly aside, easily ripping Bakugou from the last constraints and the moment they were free they were pulled aside by other heroes on site.

Izuku watched, his jaw hanging slightly open, as All Might literally changed the weather with the force of his power.

In that regard, no, Izuku could never be a hero like All Might. He knew that better than anyone, however-

“-what you were thinking running in there like that?! We had it under control and you-” Kamui Woods was talking but all Izuku was hearing was excuses. 

That green tinge was slowly becoming red as Izuku’s anger grew. He could plainly see that Bakugou was already being treated at the ambulance station, and there was a huge crowd of people filming, along with news crews and sidekicks crawling over the space.

Why was he the only one getting scolded?

“What were you doing?” He blurted, interrupting the impassioned Hero’s spiel.

Kamui Woods snapped his jaw shut, looking astounded.

“We were handling it!” He shouted and Izuku’s eyes narrowed.

“He couldn’t breathe!” Izuku said passionately, standing tall and proud but not screaming, refusing to stand there and yell like a child- like Kamui Woods, who had barely started to make a Hero name for himself yet had so much audacity.

“You were standing there doing nothing while he was fighting for his life. You were standing there waiting for “the right quirk” to come along and save the day, but tell me, Kamui Woods, what quirk did I use?”

“But you didn’t save him, it was All Might who saved the day!” Some sidekick piped in, looking incensed and Izuku made a mental note of their uniform, intent on finding out who they were so he could add all of their names to his blacklist.

“At least I tried.” He said coolly. “It’s more than you can say for yourself, and you call yourselves heroes. Bravo for you.” He clapped sarcastically and turned on his heel to grab his fallen backpack. He let the water-bottle go since he didn’t care about it and just wanted to get the hell out of there and away from their judgmental eyes.

Again, he took quieter paths as he made his way home. He really didn’t need anyone coming after him to continue the fight or to run into Bakugou or anyone who wanted more from him today.

He just wanted to go home. He wanted his mother to hold him and he wanted to go to the kids and read them silly stories and forget about the awful day. He wanted to go and pay his respects to his fallen friends tonight and kiss their foreheads and then he wanted to fucking sleep.

“YOUNG MAN!”

Izuku skittered around as he grabbed his butterfly knife to defend himself, realizing that it wasn’t there anymore and feeling a surge of panic. He calmed down only slightly to realize it was All Might in his smaller form.

The man was beaming at him widely, his floppy hair covering his eyes. He looked just as emaciated as he had before but this time there was a strange energy around him- it looked like anticipation or excitement.

“All Might.” He murmured in greeting. He couldn’t help but cringe inwardly. What trouble was he in now?

“You are not an easy man to find!” All Might announced. “When I got to the precinct to deliver the villain I realized I’d lost him along the way so I got distracted trying to find him again but I was on my way back to you!”

Izuku lifted his brow. What?

“You were trying to come back for me?” He questioned softly. “Um, why?”

All Might flashed those brilliant pearly whites again.

“I was wrong!” He declared. “I was really, really wrong, young man! I owe you an apology and I hope you accept it. You can be a hero. Anyone can be a hero with enough hard work and passion, I forgot that for a moment when looking at you because for a moment you reminded me of myself and I was scared.”

He looked a little embarrassed now, his smile fading somewhat as a more solemn air surrounded them. He sighed.

“I reminded you of yourself? But you’re so … powerful, and I’m just a- well, a quirkless nobody, really.” Izuku said, and he didn’t even mean to be self-deprecating. Those were just the facts but All Might was already shaking his head, looking deeply upset.

“I didn’t always used to be this way, young man.” He said seriously. “I was once powerless just like you, and I had a dream to save people, just like you. You asked me that question and I remembered how I used to be and how much I’ve failed, how-how damaged I am now … I’m sorry,” he said sincerely. “I shouldn’t have projected my failures onto you. You can be an amazing hero.”

Tears spread down Izuku’s cheeks and he was helpless to stop them. He blinked a few times but that just made it worse and he reached up to clutch at his chest where it felt like all that sludge and slime was rising and trying to choke him.

“Th-that- that m-means a lot t-to me, A-All Might,” he managed to choke the words out but his overwhelm was a little much and All Might gave an awkward chuckle, looking a little amused at the sheer amount of tears.

When he managed to calm down slightly, All Might reached out and held his shoulders, squeezing gently.

“Can I ask your name?” He asked and Izuku laughed wetly, giving it freely, and his hero smiled.

“You’re powerless now, Midoriya, and while you could make a truly amazing quirkless hero, you’ve put me in a position where I want to give you the means to become a hero unlike the world has ever seen.” All Might said earnestly. Izuku blinked.

“Pardon?”

“I want to give you my quirk!”

“Pardon?!”

Chapter Text

Once Izuku stopped choking on his own spit, All Might explained more.

“My quirk is called One For All,” he said in a voice that made Izuku feel like this moment was going to change his life forever.

“It was passed down from Hero to Hero, each of us determined to find a successor to carry the torch of herodom. My own predecessor passed it to me and told me to find someone that made me believe in what it means to be a hero, and you, Midoriya, make me believe in heroes again.”

Izuku gaped.

“You’re … not joking …” he deduced and All Might chuckled and shook his head. “All Might, that’s … why - you don’t know me. You don’t know what kind of person I am, or- or what I’m capable of- why would you offer this to me?”

“Because of how you saved that boy!” All Might said eagerly, bouncing on the balls of his feet. “I watched you from the crowd. No one else was doing anything but you were watching and analyzing the situation and you moved even though you weren’t sure if you were going to be able to do anything helpful. That’s what it means to be a hero, Midoriya, doing something. Anything you can possibly do to help someone, to save them.”

“I-” Izuku had no words. A part of him wanted to latch onto the ridiculous notion that there were quirks that could be passed on, but another, much larger, part of him was cautious and hurt.

“I can’t- I can’t just accept this, All Might.”

For someone who was usually so much larger, it was quite something to see All Might wilt even more than his now small frame and Izuku hastily blurted,

“I’m not saying no! I just- there’s so much I- I was supposed to be a quirkless hero, All Might,” he said seriously, his brow furrowed. “That was the dream I contented myself with and there’s- there’s a whole community of quirkless people who I wanted to protect and- and show them that it’s possible. If I accepted your quirk … wouldn’t I just be saying it’s not possible after all?”

Somehow All Might didn’t suit such a serious face, but Izuku didn’t interrupt his thoughts as he seemed to be gathering himself and trying to formulate an answer to the question.

“I think,” the hero said carefully. “That there’s no appropriate answer to that, Midoriya. You very well could become an amazing quirkless hero, but I cannot lie to you and tell you that it’s going to be easy to get yourself to a position where you can speak about these issues and be heard.”

“To my shame, I didn’t focus specifically on advocating for the quirkless communities. I know how hard it must be to live in a world where you don’t have a quirk, something that makes you special, but-”

“I’m sorry,” Izuku interrupted. “Special?”

All Might fell silent.

“Special?” He repeated coldly. “All Might … Do you have any idea what it’s like to be quirkless? Do you- do you even know what I’m fighting to protect so hard?”

“I-I’m afraid I don’t, young Midoriya,” All Might admitted shamefully. Izuku straightened up.

“I can’t accept your quirk, All Might, not until you understand what accepting it really means.” Izuku said strongly. “Are you free for the rest of the evening?”

All Might looked a little wary but he nodded.

“I can no longer do hero work today,” he admitted. “My work-time has long ago ended and I don’t have the stamina to work further today.”

“I’m going to take you to my home, All Might, but the people there … although they admire you and look up to you, they won’t take kindly to you showing up out of the blue like this. Do you have something else I can call you?” Izuku asked, leading the way to his home. It wasn’t far away at all, the walk wouldn’t take them five minutes at this point.

“Oh, um, my name is Toshinori Yagi!” All Might said awkwardly. “You-you can call me Yagi, I guess.”

“It’s an honor to meet you, Yagi-san, I really do mean that.” Izuku said quietly. “I’m sorry I can’t just accept your offer easily. I’m sorry that I have to introduce you to such a macabre reality, but if-if you’re serious about this then you need to understand the kind of people I want to save.”

“I understand, young man,” Yagi said softly. “You don’t need to apologize. I actually admire that you’re this serious about it and didn’t just accept it, it shows a strong mind and makes me all the more determined to have you as my successor.”

Izuku blushed despite himself.

“My family are … well, we’re big.” Izuku explained as they drew closer to his home. “I call them my family but it’s not really like that. We’re a community and we keep each other safe and protected and it’s not just here in Musutafu, I usually spend holidays travelling to Chiba and Yamanashi where we have homes too.”

“You have family all the way over there?” Yagi asked curiously.

“We’re not related, but we’re all some of us have.” Izuku said simply. They’d arrived and at the large doors to the building, he paused and knocked on the door in a simple pattern that signified that he was there.

The door opened and Cherry beamed at him.

“Izu-nii!” Cherry squealed. “You’re home, we saw you on the news and we were so worried! Auntie Inko is going spare up in the hospital wing!” 

Izuku winced.

“Uh-oh, I was hoping she’d be too busy to watch the news.” He groaned and Cherry giggled before it cut off as she noticed Yagi standing there awkwardly. Izuku moved them all to stand in the foyer instead of hanging in front of the open door. He closed the door securely behind them.

“Who is this, Izu-nii?” she asked distrustfully, hiding behind him. He rubbed her cherry red hair gently and knelt down so that they were eye-level.

“This is Yagi-sama, he’s a new friend of mine. Aren’t you gonna say hi to him?”

Cherry blushed.

“Hi Yagi-sama! I’m Cherry Fujino!” Cherry introduced herself, bowing respectfully and Yagi smiled at her softly, returning the bow.

“It’s my pleasure to meet you, Cherry-san.” Yagi returned and Cherry giggled shyly at being addressed so formally. She peeked up at Izuku.

“Everyone’s getting ready for the service tonight, Izu-nii, I’m s’possed to be helping Haruna-san with the food but after we saw the news I was sent here to wait for you.” She told him, her tone utterly matter-of-fact.

“Really? Well, could you go let them know I’m back and we can start soon?” Izuku sent her away gently. “I have to speak with Yagi-san and show him around a little.”

“Ok!” Cherry saluted them and ran off to join her friends in the kitchen.

When they were alone, Izuku turned to Yagi and shyly supplied the secret hero with warm house slippers before leading him up and through the building.

“This place is called Hydrangea.” Izuku said abruptly, when the silence between them was growing too loud. Yagi looked at him sideways. “It’s, um, a safehouse for the quirkless or the low-quirked or “villainous” quirked people who society doesn’t want to see.”

“This is the first Hydrangea building but we have one in Chiba and one in Yamanashi, like I said,” he explained, leading Yagi upstairs. “I um, I originally started this so I’m kind of the founder.”

“You’re the founder of a safe-house for quirkless individuals?” Yagi asked, surprised and looking quite touched. Izuku pinkened a bit and nodded. 

“I know first-hand what it was like to be quirkless and after meeting others like me, others who lived those same realities … I couldn’t turn my back on them.” Izuku said simply. “Yagi-san, do you know that as of twenty-five years ago, modern hospitals are allowed to refuse treatment to all quirkless people?”

Yagi blinked.

“Truly?” He breathed. “But why?”

Izuku smiled wryly. It was kind of amusing, in a morbid way, to see a hero like All Might so surprised at hearing quirkless truths and statistics. They passed one of the living area spaces and Izuku picked Tofu up from the floor. She was an aging cat that struggled to walk sometimes and he vaguely noticed her limping a bit so he usually picked her up to hitch a ride whenever he saw her.

“There’s a palatable answer to that question, but the honest answer is that no one cares if we live or die.” Izuku said calmly, then gestured to a row of cheerful painted doors. “These are the kids’ rooms, by the way, we have a few more empty rooms but we’re filling up fast since there are more people coming from other prefectures.”

Yagi looked around himself, seeming almost like a lost puppy with his confusion. Izuku scratched Tofu’s head gently and passed her off onto one of the many cat stands they kept inside the building.

“I didn’t know that it had gotten bad enough to require a safe house.” Yagi said in a soft voice. “You … you must have had a hard time growing up.”

“You could say that,” Izuku said evenly. “I’m one of the lucky ones though. My mother is an amazing woman who supported me even through the hardest of times and her own struggles too. Not a lot of us are lucky like that.”

“What service are they preparing for?” Yagi asked as they watched from the doorway as people moved around with a solemn air around them.

Izuku sighed deeply.

“A funeral service, Yagi-san.” Izuku said simply. Yagi didn’t look surprised, but he did look saddened and understanding. “Come, I’ll take you to get some flowers and find someone to explain the proceedings to you. We can talk about, um, that, afterwards.”

Yagi nodded, looking determined. Izuku didn’t ask what he’d just thought to fuel that determined glint in his eye.

In the Hydrangea vegetable gardens they grew all sorts of produce which the older members of the house sold at morning markets. The flowers were always good sellers and they mostly used those funds for the household, such as food and electricity while Izuku took care of things like the kids’ school fees and building maintenance as well as non-returnable loans to community members who were aging out of school and needed to find work.

Izuku explained all of this to Yagi- glossing somewhat over how he was able to afford this- as they gathered a few wreaths of flowers that had been prepared on a table. Miko was there as well, sorting through some flowers and he looked up and smiled at Izuku warmly.

“Hey Izu-chan, who’s your friend?” He asked casually. Izuku was familiar enough with the body language of all those he lived with to see that Miko was cautious and on edge around someone new, much like most quirkless people were whenever they were faced with someone new who could potentially be a quirkist or some crazy cult person who wanted to kiss their feet. 

“Miko, this is Yagi-san. He’s new to Hydrangea, not a member but just a guest for now.” Izuku introduced. “Yagi-san, this is Miko, he’s a great florist and he’s definitely to thank for these great bouquets we have tonight.”

“They are some truly beautiful flowers.” Yagi offered earnestly and Miko blushed, thanking them and scampering away.

“He’s only fifteen,” Izuku explained. “He has a quirk that makes dead flowers bloom. His parents are in the Hero Support industry and have pretty powerful quirks, they were disappointed that Miko had such a weak quirk and they disowned him.”

“Disowned him?!” Yagi exclaimed, looking horrified. “But- that’s- that’s-!”

Izuku nodded.

“I understand that it’s a lot to wrap your head around, Yagi-san. But this is the world we live in and it’s my job to take care of these people as best I can.” He paused in the hallway in front of the hospital wing. “I found Miko wandering the streets three years ago and brought him here after he collapsed from hunger. He has a quirk, Yagi-san, an amazing quirk. It’s just not good enough for the world.”

Izuku pointed out another of his friends. She was busy helping a bunch of the kids unwind rows of fairy lights to decorate the rooftop with and didn’t even seem to notice they were standing there watching her.

“That’s Natsuki, she’s quirkless. She’s my age and she’s been here since she was eight years old.” Izuku spoke about his oldest friend in the community. “Her parents abused her after her diagnosis and she ran away. She tried getting help at police stations but they all turned her away or took her to orphanages where she was accepted only to be kicked out since no one would adopt her anyway.”

Yagi was growing steadily paler by the second and Izuku felt bad that he had to say these things to him. He made sure to make his voice gentler.

“Do you understand yet, Yagi-san?” he asked softly. “It’s not about being special for us. We just wanted to exist but people … they don’t want us. Nobody- nobody wants us.”

Yagi seemed too overcome to speak and Izuku let him have his silence, leading him into the hospital wing.

His mother was there, sifting through their supplies and making some notes while she hummed a lullaby she used to sing for Izuku when he was young. Immediately something in his chest loosened and he felt more relaxed than he had the entire day.

“Mom, I’m home,” Izuku greeted. Inko turned around, startled.

“Oh, Izuku, dear, you’re here! I saw the news! Did you get checked out on site? Are you okay?” She worried, coming over and fussing over him. She turned his head this way and that and before he knew it there was a flashlight shining in his eyes and she tsked.

“After the service we’re coming down here and you’re going to have a checkup,” she insisted. “I just let Hibiki-san and Yuka-chan go for the service but they’ll have to come right back afterwards.”

“How are they?” Izuku worried. “Is Hibiki-san gonna be okay with his ribs all messed up like that?”

Inko sighed deeply. Hibiki Moari, one of their community, had been involved in a hate crime that Izuku was still trying to get resolved with the local police department- stepping in as Argos was unfortunately too telling and he couldn't risk letting his personal life become involved with his job.

“Kazuki promised to keep him under control. He had to be at the service though, you know how close he was to Sayuri-chan.” Inko said softly and Izuku nodded solemnly.

“Mom, this is Yagi-san, by the way. He’s a guest of mine tonight.” Izuku introduced and Inko blinked, giving Yagi a once-over. She looked concerned.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Yagi-san, are you, erm, alright?” She asked and Yagi laughed awkwardly.

“I’m alright, I’m a little sickly but I have a good doctor keeping me alive.” He promised and Inko gave him a small smile. “I’m lucky to have met your son today, Midoriya-san, he’s been showing me around and explaining … the world, I suppose.”

“It’s a sad one, isn’t it?” Inko sympathized and Yagi gave an almost tearful nod.

“I’m going to have to leave you here for a while, Yagi-san,” Izuku apologized. “I have to get ready for the service and most of the guests are probably already on the rooftop. My mom will take care of you and show you the ropes, and we can meet and talk afterwards, alright?”

“That’s fine,” Inko said cheerfully. “Go on and do what you need to do, Izuku, I’ve got your friend!”

Izuku smiled, hugging his mother tightly and nodding to Yagi. He hurried to his room and raced himself through a shower that didn’t take him a full five minutes, just so he could get the absolute worst of the day off of him.

He got dressed in a pair of slacks and a dark grey button up shirt. Around his arm he fastened a simple black mourning band and he took a minute to comb his wild hair but didn’t put too much effort into taming the dark green curls.

Izuku almost never took off the dark band on his left arm. As the founder of Hydrangea, he felt close to the people in the community and when they lost someone it hit him extremely hard. It had only been a day since he’d removed the black armband, thirty days after the last funeral they’d had for a young girl they’d lost in Yamanashi.

This was Izuku’s life. It was for these people that he wanted to be a hero.

He couldn’t deny the allure of Yagi’s offer, but he needed Yagi to understand that whatever vision he had of Izuku- whatever preconceived notion he had that Izuku would somehow live up to- it just wasn’t going to happen. Izuku had carved the kind of hero he was going to be into his very soul and for nothing would he give that goal up.

He was going to save people. That was always going to be his goal.

 ❋

“So, how do you know Izuku?” Midoriya Inko asked pleasantly as they made their way to the rooftop. Toshinori fought the urge to gulp.

There was something dangerous in the sway of this woman’s hips, and her utterly polite exterior that concealed a fierce protector within. Toshinori could see it glittering in her eyes and he thought, vaguely, that it was a good thing this woman wasn’t a villain or he’d have a hard time not fearing her.

“We met today,” Toshinori said honestly. “I’m … I’m a Pro-Hero, actually, I saved him from that sludge villain and it was due to my negligence that the villain escaped and managed to attack others.”

Inko hummed, looking curious.

“A Pro, huh?” It was almost like she was talking to herself. “Why did Izuku bring you here?”

“I offered him something. Training. To, um, to be a hero.” Toshinori said, skirting the truth a bit. “I believe I offended him while offering that but fortunately your son is a very forgiving young man and he offered me an opportunity to understand him better before we agreed on anything. I couldn’t dare pass up the gift he was giving me to truly know him.”

Inko looked surprised.

“Interesting,” she murmured. “Very well, Yagi-san, let’s go up. Everyone is waiting for Izuku to start the service, but I’ll explain some things to you once we’re inside.”

The rooftop was quite large. It made sense, it was a large building, but Toshinori was still somewhat surprised by the amount of people there. Not quite as surprised as he had been to note the sheer amount of cats this building hosted as well. As a matter of fact, the cats were all over the rooftop too, lounging against people or playing in the center of the floor with a variety of toys. No one seemed at all perturbed by them and even Midoriya hadn’t blinked or mentioned the cats so Toshinori assumed the cats were just a thing there.

Along the pillars and poles there were fairy lights strung all around and in the very center, at the right side of the rooftop, there was an altar set up, draped in fine silks, and a large portrait of a woman. Beside the portrait sat an urn that was decorated and engraved and sitting on an equally decorated wooden stand.

Toshinori took in the sight of all the people mourning, dark black bands around their arms and the band that Inko had wrapped around his arm felt painful suddenly, as if it didn’t belong there.

What right had he to grieve this woman who he didn’t even know?

“Her name was Saito Sayuri,” Inko told him softly. He latched onto her voice, unable to handle the harsh, bitter cries that echoed the rooftop.

“She was twenty years old. She’d been here for quite a few years now, almost seven years if my memory is correct,” Toshinori wondered just how old Midoriya had been when he founded this place, “She was well beloved here even though her life wasn’t easy by any means. Sayuri always struggled with her quirklessness and though she tried her very best to keep moving forward it was too much for her and she, well, she had to go, I suppose.”

Toshinori understood what she meant immediately.

“This is our life, Yagi-san,” Inko said, and Toshinori could see that same glittering passion that had drawn him to her son shining in her eyes. “We’ve had seven funerals this year and that’s just in Musutafu. Izuku only just took off his mourning band a day ago for a funeral he attended in Yamanashi.”

“They’re all suicides?” Toshinori asked, a pit of darkness in his stomach and Inko shook her head sadly.

“Not always, but most of the time.” She said factually. “Some are accidents, some are hate crimes. Mostly they’re suicides. These kids are baited into it at schools, in the streets, in their neighborhoods. They’re given nothing and expected to be happy with it but they can’t, and it’s- it’s devastating each time but you can’t be upset at them for leaving when staying is so hard.”

“Do you…” Toshinori didn’t even want to ask the question but Inko looked at him openly, waiting, and he pushed down his fear and discomfort and asked, “Do you fear losing Izuku to this fate?”

Her face crumpled slightly and he wished he could suck the words back in. She straightened up and offered him a tight smile.

“Every day of my life.”

No other words passed between them as music began to play and the lights drifted slightly in the wind. And then Izuku was there.

Midoriya Izuku.

He was such an interesting boy. Toshinori had never in all his years met someone that he wanted to pass his quirk to. He’d come to Japan to start the search with Sasaki’s recommendation but he knew in his soul that he didn’t even need to meet whoever Sasaki had because it wouldn’t be him.

There was something indescribably heroic in the slant of Midoriya’s shoulders as he walked right up to the photograph of the forever young Sayuri and bowed several times right on the ground.

Like all other mourners, he wore dark clothes and Toshinori felt somewhat out of place in his lighter colored clothing, though no one spared him a second glance in light of their own grief.

Midoriya stood, placing his flowers beside the photograph and proceeding to light a thick stick of incense which he placed before her photograph. Finally he faced the crowd and Toshinori’s heart lurched to see tears spreading down his cheeks.

He’d previously thought that Midoriya wasn’t that affected even though it was a funeral. He’d seemed completely at ease, even toned and tempered as he showed Toshinori around, but now he could see that it was all a facade that was hiding a boy that hurt and felt so much. Beside him, Inko was sobbing.

Midoriya seemed to be gathering himself and his emotions. He reached up to dry his cheeks and no one dared to rush him.

“I keep thinking that one day I’ll be able to come to one of these services and not cry.” Midoriya said after a moment. “I don’t want to cry when I remember my loved ones that are watching over us now.”

“I don’t want to have this moment be full of sorrow and tears of grief and p-pain.” Midoriya said, and his voice cracked slightly on the last word. “Before I remember that Sayuri left us, I want to remember how good she was while she was here. I want to remember her light and the way she loved.”

“Sayuri is gone, yes, but she spent so long loving all of us so tenderly that she gave us all a piece of her heart and that heart lives on with us now!” Midoriya said strongly, tears spreading down his cheeks and making his voice tremble.

“It feels like a goodbye, but I promise you that it is not,” Midoriya said, and he stared at a group of children who were openly bawling, holding onto each other and onto their friends, “It’s simply a ‘see you later’. Life is so hard to live, it would be harder still to go through it and carry only the grief of a goodbye in our hearts so please, please don’t say goodbye to Sayuri.”

He looked out at them all. 

“Say, see you later, Sayuri-chan,” Midoriya smiled thickly through his tears. “Say, this life was hard for you, friend, but we don’t begrudge you needing to go away for a while. We’re keeping you alive in our hearts where it’s safe and sound, so rest easy, Sayuri!”

“Rest easy, Sayuri!” The crowd cried and though Toshinori didn’t join in on the shout, he could feel tears slipping down his cheeks and he couldn’t fathom it.

He was crying. Really, truly crying.

All of a sudden that black band around his arm didn’t feel so heavy anymore. He genuinely mourned for this girl, for this girl and the one in Yamanashi, and all the others that were mourned that no one even knew about. 

No one cared about them. No one except for-

Midoriya Izuku stood there, smiling through the tears.

He was smiling for the soul of a girl lost in the stars. He was smiling, and Toshinori could swear that he was as glittering and captivating as a star himself.

A true hero.

Chapter Text

The service came to an end about an hour later after they sat in a circle and told stories of Sayuri’s life. Izuku had pitched in where it was necessary and had told his own story of meeting Sayuri for the first time when she was just thirteen and he was ten.

He was exhausted after the day he’d had but he didn’t let any of that show on his face while he talked with his friends, with the kids, the people who were all grieving another lost star. Izuku was grieving for her too. 

Each loss felt like another failure to him. Logically he knew he couldn’t save everyone and he knew that just being a small-time hero who saved one or two people wasn’t going to change anyone’s life.

He looked up, finding his eyes wandering over to where Yagi was sitting beside his mother. They’d served a meal already- just a home cooked meal that Sayuri had enjoyed the most- and Yagi had a plate in his lap and was chatting warmly with a few of the kids while his mom watched and pitched in every now and then.

It was hard to reconcile the emaciated man there with the All Might and yet somehow it was true. Somehow it was a reality that All Might had stood there in front of him and offered him his quirk.

No, that wasn’t exactly it- he’d offered to make Izuku his successor. To give Izuku the opportunity to be great- to be an advocate for his community even if he no longer belonged to it wholly by now having a quirk.

They’d have to come up with a pretty spectacular lie and Izuku knew there was going to have to be some extreme paperwork to go through.

He’d have to lie, too.

He’d have to lie to these people around him. He’d have to sit there and tell them something about how he suddenly had a powerful quirk, one that would take him to hero school, possibly even UA.

Do I deserve it? 

Yagi suddenly looked up, meeting his eyes and Izuku couldn’t help but flush at being caught staring at the man. Yagi smiled widely and even like this, small and too thin, his wide smile was so completely All Might that it was a wonder no one else noticed the resemblance.

It isn’t about whether or not you think you deserve it, Izuku. We don’t get to decide who is born with or without quirks and if he- if he has decided that I’m worthy of his quirk … who am I to question it?

So, Izuku decided that if All Might hadn’t changed his mind, he would accept this quirk, this honor and platform, and he’d do his damn best to make sure the world knew where he came from.

Yagi seemed to see something in his eyes because he beamed and said something softly to Inko before standing up and walking over. Izuku stood up to meet him halfway.

“Let me show you to the kitchen, Yagi-san, perhaps we can have some tea and talk for a bit.” Izuku offered and Yagi gave a beaming nod, clapping an almost proud hand on Izuku’s shoulder as they made their way down from the roof.

The building was mostly empty since everyone was either on the rooftop or in their rooms mourning in their own ways. When they passed one or two people Izuku greeted them warmly but for the most part, since they could see he had a guest, they didn’t approach.

The kitchen was empty and Izuku gestured for Yagi to take a seat while he made a tray of tea for them to enjoy. It was simple enough to prepare the hojicha- his choice for the evening since it was low in caffeine- though he did find himself reaching towards the back where they kept the better cups. 

“Your speech,” Yagi broke the silence between them when Izuku placed the tray in front of them. “It was very moving. I have lost many good friends in my life and struggled to say goodbye to them. It was- it was a true comfort to think of seeing them again one day.”

“Oh,” a small part of Izuku had expected the hero to immediately rescind his offer, now faced with him actually finding beauty in the funeral Izuku presided over was a bit startling. “Thank you. I’m glad I could help you to see your grief in a new way. I have a lot of practice with it, so I’ve been trying to get the people here, especially the kids, to be able to meet it often without growing too despondent.”

“You are a remarkable young man, Midoriya. I believe I owe you an apology,” Yagi said seriously. “I did not mean to imply that you simply wished for a quirk to be special, to-to- well, nevertheless what I meant is irrelevant to how I feel now.”

Izuku held his breath as Yagi put his cup down and placed his palms on his knees, looking almost sicker with how nervous he seemed.

“Please, Midoriya Izuku, please accept the role as my successor!” He said, placing his palms together in a prayer that he lifted to his forehead, staring at Izuku desperately. “I would not dare to mold you, Midoriya. I wouldn’t do you- you who is already a hero to so many- a disservice by trying to make you into a Symbol of Peace as I have been. That’s not what the world needs anymore and you-you’ve made me see that.”

“I-I did?” Izuku blurted breathlessly and Yagi nodded eagerly.

“You did,” he pressed. “Up there on the roof. Those people that you’ve been taking care of for so long, they do not need things to remain peaceful- to stay as things have stayed- they need a hero that inspires! A hero who is unafraid to stand and say that things are bad now but-but with a little hope they can be better.”

“Hope.” Izuku whispered. His chest ached. 

Yes, he had hope. Hope was almost all that kept him standing most days even when everything in the world wanted to crush him down, down, down to the cement floor and even beyond that sometimes.

Yagi looked so hopeful himself. His eyes were gleaming with it and Izuku couldn’t help but lean forward and take his weary hands in his.

“Yagi-san, I-” it was Yagi’s turn to hold his breath, “- I accept.”

Yagi beamed brighter than the sun.

❋

Naomasa sat at his desk glaring at his laptop fiercely.

There had been another murder in Saitama. After a week of chaos-filled days that the HSPC were forcing the police to cover up, another body had turned up near Ōmiya-ku that fit the MO of their suspected serial killer.

Naomasa had sent the case documents to Argos the second he got them and had received a simple and empathetic “well shit” in reply and then nothing since then, which had been about an hour ago.

“Nao!”

Naomasa looked up, startled out of his stress-soaked thoughts. It had been ages since he last heard that voice in person.

“Toshinori? What the hell are you doing here?” Noamasa stood and embraced his old friend. The years had not been kind to his friend and he inwardly marveled at the work of the doctors when he looked at Toshinori’s healed body.

“I had to come by to let you know, I just couldn’t keep it to myself!” Toshinori was practically bouncing in place with excitement. “I found a successor!”

Noamasa blinked. True.

For some reason he felt a shiver run down his spine on behalf of whomever had the fate of stepping into the Symbol of Peace’s shoes.

“A successor? Who? Are they a student?” Naomasa questioned, leading him to sit down. “How did you meet them? When did you arrive?”

Toshinori chuckled.

“Whoa, slow down there!” He laughed. “I actually arrived just this morning, and I met him this afternoon! I’ve just come from his home where he agreed to be my successor!”

“You just met this boy today??” He blurted, stunned as the words all registered as true. “Toshinori, how can you be sure-?”

“I’m certain.” Toshinori said, and Naomasa shuddered slightly as he felt his quirk flare at the statement. True. 

“Well, who is he then?” Naomasa was already preparing to do a background check. “Who charmed All Might so much that he just had to give over his quirk?”

Toshinori chuckled awkwardly, scratching his neck and Naomasa felt a certifiable headache coming his way at the look in his friend’s eyes.

“Well, he’s- he’s quirkless, like I was.” Toshinori admitted. “His name is Midoriya Izuku, he’s seventeen years old and Nao, he’s- he’s incredible, honestly.”

Naomasa frowned. Midoriya … Midoriya … why was that name familiar?

“He sounds amazing.” Naomasa said truthfully. That name was familiar but he couldn’t quite place it so he resolved to do more research once Toshinori left.

They spoke for a while, catching up, but Naomasa had to send him away when his phone made a noise that was personalized to Argos’s number.

He whipped his phone open the second Toshinori was gone.

Argos

It’s getting closer to Musutafu, Tsuka-san. By my calculations the next round should be in Tokyo. 

Argos

They’re targeting big and small cities making it hard to pin them down but Tokyo is a hotspot for drugs and villain activity, it would be foolish not to sell there

Argos

Kanagawa needs to have more hero and police support too, if they make it to Tokyo then Kanagawa is right next to it

Tsukauchi

It’s possible that they’ll go to Yamanashi next and if they follow that trajectory then they’ll be in Musutafu in no time.

Argos

Despite my name I’m not an All Seeing Eye. I can’t always find people in other prefectures, but if they step foot into Musutafu it will be their first mistake.

Naomasa shuddered slightly. He could feel the threatening energy practically emanating from his phone. There was a slight thump outside his door and he didn’t even flinch as the door swung open to reveal Shota in all his Eraserhead glory.

“You’re fucking lucky Sansa was still here to deal with the scum I just brought in.” He said, by means of greeting, and Naomasa rolled his eyes.

“Lucky me,” he said dryly.

Argos

They lack a definitive pattern for the most part but I have eyes in Yamanashi and Chiba that let me know about any drug related crimes. They’ll notice if there’s an uptick of T in the city and I’ll attempt to track the trajectory

Tsukauchi

I’m pretty sure I don’t want to know what “eyes” mean…

Argos

Tsuka-san, you know everything I do is perfectly legal ;)

Naomasa snorted despite himself and Shota turned and lifted a brow at him from the coffee station set up in the corner of his office. 

“Argos,” he explained. “It’s rare that they tease me so it’s kind of funny whenever they do.”

He turned the phone so that Shota could read over his shoulder. The hero gave a soft chuckle and slouched against the chair.

“Here I thought we were the only night owls. What are they doing up at 2 in the morning?” Shota mumbled tiredly. 

“That’s my fault, I sent them new casefiles.” Naomasa sighed. “There was another murder in Saitama and we think they’re gearing up to arrive in Musutafu soon. We’re hoping to catch them.”

Tsukauchi

As legal as a cup of tea at 2 in the morning, I’m sure

Tsukauchi

What I don’t know won’t kill me

Argos

Tsuka-san, this is why I like you the most out of all the detectives I deal with!

Naomasa couldn’t help but feel a bit flattered even as Shota snorted at the message and nudged his shoulder teasingly.

“Wow, Tsuka-san~ careful there or I might have to tell your wife that you’re sweet on your illegal vigilante analyst.”

“It’s not like that,” Naomasa rolled his eyes. “I told you, I’ve been working with Argos for five years now. I suppose I’m kind of fond of them. I wish they’d trust me a bit more with their identity.”

“Nao, you’re such a softy. No wonder Riku-san loves you so much.” Shota teased, letting his head fall on Naomasa’s shoulder as they both laughed. After a while of back and forth with Argos, he suddenly had an epiphany.

Tsukauchi

Do you do analysis on private citizens, by the way?

Argos

How private are we talking? And no, not usually, but it is you asking so I could possibly be persuaded

Again, Naomasa fought the flush that threatened to rise on his cheeks, ignoring Shota’s snickering as the hero read over his shoulder.

Tsukauchi

I’m looking for information on a kid. I only know their name but they’re not a suspect or anything. A friend just told me about them and I want to make sure they’re a good sort.

Argos

Color me intrigued. What’s the name?

Tsukauchi

Midoriya Izuku

It took a long time for Argos to reply back. Naomasa frowned at his phone and even started pacing while Shota just watched amusedly.

“Maybe they fell asleep?” He offered helpfully and Naomasa shook his head.

“Argos isn’t like that. They’re almost as bad as we are about sleep.” Naomasa replied testily. “No, something happened or something’s wrong.”

Before Shota could reply, Naomasa’s phone dinged.

Argos

I’ll send you a report with Midoriya’s basic info and public records. If you need something further then I can’t help you, Tsuka-san.

Argos

From what I could see at an arbitrary glance you have nothing to worry about, but then again I don’t know why you’re looking into him.

Argos

I have to sign off for the night. Contact me if there are any changes in the case. Goodnight.

Naomasa stared at his phone, processing the abrupt dismissal he’d just been given. Even Shota was quiet, perhaps seeing the turmoil on his face.

“Why … why did they get so weird when I mentioned that name?” Naomasa wondered with narrowed eyes. Something was suspicious and he thought that it all had to do with Midoriya somehow.

Just who was this kid?

❋

~10 Months Later~

Izuku felt a bit like he was dying.

His muscles were screaming at him and it felt like he was about to puke out his entrails but somehow- some miraculous way how- he’d made it to the finish line.

Or was it the starting line?

“You’ve worked harder than I could have ever hoped for, Izuku,” Toshinori’s voice was filled with pride and Izuku felt blood race to his cheeks as he stood there heaving in front of his mentor. “You’ve gone above and beyond multiple times. A lesser man would have given up so many times but not you- you have the spirit of a true hero!”

Toshinori had reacted remarkably well, all things considered, to finding out that his chosen successor was a wanted vigilante that knew his old detective friend. Izuku could vividly remember the panicked call he’d made to his mentor, mere hours after agreeing to be his successor, to ask if he’d told someone about him.

Toshinori had been so confused and admitted that, yes, he’d told his good friend Detective Tsukauchi about him. Needless to say, Izuku had to sit the Number 1 Hero down the next day and admit that not only was he a rather well known analyst that had been active for five years now- really, how else would he have afforded the three Hydrangea buildings under his care??- but that he worked closely with the Detective and now had to provide an analysis on himself so that Tsukauchi could be persuaded that he was a safe bet.

All Might had laughed himself hoarse to learn that Izuku was the same “Argos” that had been the cause of so many sleepless nights for Tsukauchi- who was apparently a huge complainer at home- and Izuku vowed that one day when the man found out his identity he would tease him mercilessly for that.

“I can think of no one more worthy, more destined for this power!” Toshinori brought his attention back with his passionate speech. “Izuku you are not a hero to the world just yet, but you are my biggest pride and you are my hero!”

Toshinori beamed at him so wide that Izuku could probably count his teeth if he were so inclined, but tears were choking up his throat and he could hardly focus on the speech let alone anything else.

“I am proud to pass on the torch to such a fine young hero!” Toshinori said and promptly reached behind himself and plucked out a single gleaming, golden strand of hair from the back of his head.

“Now go ahead and eat this!”

Izuku blinked.

Huh??

Chapter Text

Shota hated this time of year.

Entrance Exams.

There were so many hero hopefuls that came and went through the large UA doors and they had the thankless job of whittling through them all to pick out the top forty. Twenty of which were for his class.

Class 1A was infamous for its hero production rate. It wasn’t just useless bragging either- Shota’s students went on to be worldwide heroes, not just heroes in Japan.

Despite being among the younger teachers in UA– he was thirty– his success rate with students was unlike any other Hero school in the country.

Shota pushed his students to their limits and didn’t accept anyone he didn’t think had the guts to really do it. There were plenty of powerful kids he had taught in the past and expelled before the preliminary exams. Some had given up on their dreams, and others had entered other hero schools and debuted to be small-time heroes who ended up retiring after a few years of not making it “big” enough.

Shota wasn’t heartless. He just knew the real horrors of being a hero, and he had no time for people who were just there to show off or be the second coming of All Might.

The hustle and bustle in the offices was giving him a veritable migraine and he couldn’t help but wish he was just in bed and didn’t have to deal with any of this. His patrol had ended up lagging on with problem after problem and he’d only gone to bed around five in the morning before coming to UA a scant two hours later to deal with the fresh hell of entrance exams.

“Oh come on, it’s not that bad,” Nemuri teased. “We only do this every year, Sho, you’d think you’d be used to it by now!”

Shota barely contained his scowl. 

“Just kill me and put me out of my misery if I ever get used to this, Nemuri,” he mumbled from behind his thermos of coffee. “You’ll know my body was hijacked if I ever show up to entrance exams day and look used to it all.”

Nemuri laughed loudly, mussing his hair in the same annoying way she used to do when they were kids- not unlike the kids pouring into the wide open UA doors now.

“You crack me up, Sho-chan,” she sang and Shota just huffed. He’d long ago given up trying to make her stop calling him that stupid nickname.

They made their way to the observation deck and Shota’s eyes ached with the sheer amount of screens that were pasted on all sides of them. 

Nezu sat at the head of the table, a tablet in his hands-paws??- with a scarily excited expression on his face that sent shivers down Shota’s spine.

He looked towards his colleagues and Sekijiro shook his head, looking mildly ill.

“Someone completed his “extra credit” section on the Heroics entrance papers and had the guts to ask for more paper,” Sekijiro muttered when Shota took his seat beside the other Heroics Homeroom teacher that presided over Class B.

Shota shuddered.

Yep, that would cause the inner demon hiding in Nezu to rear its head. Shota wanted absolutely nothing to do with a student that … interesting, but he had a sneaking suspicion that things weren’t going to go his way.

By the time afternoon rolled around they’d already been through several batches of students and now it was time for the sixth batch. In the previous batch there had been a lot of students that showed promise and a lot that Shota was sort of glad to be rid of.

He didn’t have a lot of patience dealing with students- a surprise considering his job was literally to teach them- but he had even less patience for students who only had a fancy quirk going for them.

People who had explosive quirks that had grown up being told from birth how amazing they were only to get to UA’s entrance exams and be faced with the reality that they were nothing without their quirks. Every year it was the same deal without fail. So much promise foiled by ego and a lack of motivation or drive past being “the best”.

Shota sipped his coffee leisurely- his thermos had already been refilled twice- eyeing the screens as the buses finally arrived. The examinees poured off and Shota accepted a new stack of application papers for this group of examinees.

“Anyone to watch out for?” Nemuri asked, her eyes glued to the screen while she fiddled with some fidget thing in her hands.

Shota speed-read through the stack of papers in front of him.

“Tensei’s younger brother is in this batch,” he mentioned, noting Tenya’s name and profile. Tensei had been horrified when his brother failed the Recommendation exam, but none had been more downtrodden than Tenya himself so Shota was kind of crossing his fingers that the kid pulled through today. “Hm, there’s a gravity quirk that’s kind of interesting, something to do with plants- there’s a quirk here that just says “superpower.” 

There were a few snorts.

Shota looked up, holding the paper in his fingers and stared at the screen briefly. He was about to go back to rifling through the papers when he caught sight of one of the screens and before he could fully realize what he was doing, he’d used his flat screen pad to navigate the cameras closer to the examinees, unintentionally forcing everyone else to see what had caught his attention.

It was a boy. He was average height, maybe a bit short but not overly so, and pale with a few freckles brushing his nose and cheeks. His stark emerald hair contrasted with the more natural colors of the boy’s peers. Shota noticed that his eyes were closed tightly and he seemed to be breathing rhythmically. In his hand he was clutching something that was hanging on a chain around his neck, but what really stood out was the dark strip tied around his left arm that showed that he was in a period of mourning.

“Wha-” Nemuri was going to ask, but she paused when the boy lifted the chain to his mouth, pressing a kiss to whatever was on the necklace. He held the pendant properly and held it up to the sky, as if offering it to the heavens.

“This is for you, my stars.” The boy mouthed the words and Shota cocked his head, releasing the camera back to Nezu’s control. The stout looked curious.

“I thought he had something in his hands, sorry,” Shota said, though it was a lie, he just thought the gesture was sweet and had moved before thinking.

He looked back down at the papers in his hands, lifting the “superpower” one and blinking when he realized it was the same boy.

“Oh, he’s the superpower kid,” He mentioned. “Midoriya Izuku.”

Where had he heard that name before? Something niggled in the back of his head and he could swear he’d heard the name Midoriya somewhere but for the life of him he couldn’t remember and he just knew it was going to bother him.

“He must be quite powerful.” Sekijiro hummed approvingly. “Look, he’s the first into the arena.”

Shota looked up, paying attention to the screens as Hizashi’s enthusiastic voice started the exam. Sure enough, Midoriya was the first to streak into the arena and Shota liked that, but the boy didn’t go towards anywhere expected. Instead he seemed to run, and then veer off into one of the alleys. The camera angle switched, as if Nezu was curious about the boy too and they watched, eyes habitually catching onto other cameras to mind the other examinees too, as the boy first watched the sheer chaos of fights in the area and then seemed to determine something before beginning to rifle through a trash bin.

His expression was odd, as if he were thrilled. He strapped several metals to his body and selected a large pipe from a pile of scrap they chucked there from Maijima’s classes.

“What on earth-” Ken blurted, expression utterly bemused. “He has a quirk, what’s he going through the trash for?”

“Not many people look through the trash, this is quite a first. And he’s exceptionally smart too, look he’s strapped metals to his body to confuse the robots.” Nezu pointed out. “When we programmed them, we added the failsafe that they wouldn’t destroy each other or the buildings, otherwise we’d have buildings coming down all the time.”

“He’s figured that out and found a way to make the robot sensors see the metal first and deem him “safe” as they are not programmed to fight each other.” Nezu said gleefully. The expression on the stouts face was nothing short of downright creepy . 

Shota watched, feeling quite impressed, as the boy raced through the arena. The first robot he came across, a two-pointer, he easily dispatched by stabbing the pole straight through its head. From there, he seemed to be making extremely fast work of going through the robots, keeping up with other students who were using all kinds of quirks.

“I want him in my class.” Shota spoke before he even computed it.

There were a few chuckles but Shota was deathly serious. He’d never seen someone with a quirk use so many different methods to win and he was impressed with it. It was obvious in the lithe way Midoriya Izuku moved- the way he utilized his environment, using the pole to vault faster through the debris of the arena- that he had been training himself for the exam for a while.

He had obvious dedication and drive and that was what Shota wanted to see in his students. He was only more impressed when he watched the boy step in during several different instances to help his fellow competitors, losing villain points in favor of rescue points- not that the boy, or anyone else, knew this.

“Time for the Zero Pointer.” Nezu said gleefully, pressing a glaringly red button on the dashboard. Shota was prepared for the rumbling but as always it startled the examinees who immediately booked it for the opposite direction.

Shota noted that Midoriya Izuku was no different. What was different though, was the way he came to a freezing stop in the middle of the street. His head whipped to the side and the camera just barely captured the horror on his face before he took off, running directly at the zero pointer.

“Tag him.” Shota said, pushing down a sudden worry in his chest as he took control of the cameras to tail Midoriya. Nedzu took control of a different camera to see what had caught the boy’s attention.

One of the other examinees, a girl, was trapped under some fallen rubble and they watched as several students ran right past her, ignoring her cries for help.

Shota barely contained his snarl of disgust. These students, regardless of if they had the points or not, would never know the inner halls of UA if he had anything to say about it.

“Nezu, the Zero Pointer,” Snipe pointed out but he was ignored. Shota frowned, holding in his own urge to press the Stop button on the exam, focusing instead on the monitors as Midoriya reached the girl and they spoke.

“Audio.” Nemuri requested immediately and Nezu fiddled with something before a filtered audio reached them, taking out the ambient sounds of explosions, robots, and whistling air, and leaving only the voices.

“-limit. I can’t move!” the girl said, sounding terrified.

“Hey, don’t worry, ok? I’ve got you.” Midoriya assured. He leveraged his pole under the rock and looked up, slightly stressed. They could all clearly see why, since the Zero Pointer was getting closer at an alarming speed, yet Nezu showed no sign of slowing anything down.

“You think you can wait here for a second while I deal with that robot? That robot-chan is getting a little too close for comfort, huh?” He said, keeping his voice light and teasing but Shota could hear the thread of anxiety in it as the girl giggled tearfully.

“I’m fine, but are you gonna be okay, that thing is huge!” She worried and Midoriya turned a blinding smile on the girl. Nemuri beamed at the smile, tapping her fingernails against the table in front of her, her expression clearly showing her approval.

“Don’t worry about me, I’ve got this.” He said, teeth gleaming, and he was off. Shota swallowed.

They barely had a second to process his words as he suddenly began to run up the body of the robot. This was no small feat and Shota’s lips parted slightly in shock as he watched the boy jump from limb to limb, never staying in one place long enough to slip or fall, until he was balancing right on the zero pointer’s shoulder.

“Sorry, robot-chan, I wanted to do this whole thing without this quirk but a hero’s gotta save first!” Midoriya said and lifted his arm. Shota didn’t even dare blink as the boy punched right into the robot’s face. He could feel the backlash even from the watchtower and he cursed out loud as he watched the boy fall.

Jesus, was his arm broken?? Shota could see it sort of flailing around as he fell, and the cameras clearly picked up his alarmed and pained expression.

“What the hell even is this kid??” Maijima blurted, gaping at the screens. He was holding one of the small screens in his hands, bringing it closer to his face in shock.

The robot was coming down fast, scattering debris all over the place and Midoriya used even that to his advantage, descending the height by racing across each shard as if they were simply steps for him to use. And yes, his arm was clearly broken, the skin peeking through his sleeve was bruised and mottled. When he was close enough to the ground, he fell in a neat roll next to Uraraka Ochaco- the gravity girl- who was thankfully unharmed by the debris, tucking his broken arm against his body so that he didn’t damage it further.

“WOW!” The girl exclaimed and Midoriya stood up, hurrying over to her. “THAT WAS INCREDIBLE!” she shouted.

Midoriya gave a small chuckle. He held his arm against his body a bit tighter and every inch of his body was trembling with pain. Shota was deeply impressed with the boy’s behavior and clear practice and training but he found himself disappointed after seeing how little control he had over his quirk.

“Let’s get you out of there now, you’re definitely gonna need some medical attention, and I- well, yeah, I’m probably going to need some too, haha,” He laughed awkwardly, not even showing an inch of his pain in front of the girl. “If you don’t mind, could you get out of there as fast as you can once I lift this?” Midoriya asked kindly, and with that he pressed down- using his good arm- on the pole he’d put there earlier. Gravity did its work and the rock lifted off the girl with a lot of wind, crashing into the floor beside them as the girl literally raced to Midoriya’s side.

She fell almost in a heap with a small cry and Midoriya did his best to heft her on his good side, though his arms were trembling.

“Hey now, I’ve got you, you’re good. You did amazing!” Midoriya assured. “You got enough points?”

“No idea,” the girl admitted. “I was getting points up to when that monster robot got here. Someone caused a rockfall out of that building over there and I was caught under it. They totally left me there when they saw me.” 

Midoriya frowned at that and he wasn’t the only one, they all scowled at what they were hearing as Hizashi called the final seconds of the exam.

“Point them out to me, okay?” Midoriya said, beginning to walk to the entrance. They were walking arm in arm together, lending each other strength. “If you’re scared to talk to the administrators then I’ll let them know what happened so they know not to accept someone like them into the hero course.”

“He’s confident, sweet, heroic, and handsome, oh, this one is going places!” Nemuri cried. “Look at how sweetly he’s holding her!”

The audio cut off as Nezu returned the cameras to their normal positions in the arena. Medical bots were filling the spaces and Shota watched as Midoriya placed the girl safely on a stretcher before obviously attempting to walk away from another stretcher himself. He wasn’t sure what possessed him but he reached for the little microphone and spoke, letting his voice ripple through the arena.

“Examinee 4356, get on the damn stretcher and go get that arm healed. Now.” He couldn’t help scolding and he let go of the microphone, snorting at the obvious panic from the boy as he looked down at his own shirt and realized he was the examinee being scolded. His colleagues laughed too and Shota said, eyes narrowing,

“I reiterate, Nezu, I want that one in my class.”

Midoriya Izuku. There was something about him and Shota was determined to get to the bottom of it.

It irked him that someone who had displayed such ingenuity and quick-thinking had seemed to put zero effort into controlling his quirk. It was a liability. Even late developers put in the work to control their quirks and with a power like Midoriya’s it was understandable that it might have come in a bit late but the latest quirks came in was still seven or eight. That meant he’d had, give or take, at least that same amount of time to hone his quirk.

Shota was going to get to the bottom of Midoriya and he was going to do it with the same methods that had taken his students either to the highest of the high or, inevitably, to the lowest of the low.

That was life. To some it could be cruel, but to Shota who had lost too many people to the field of Heroics, it wasn’t cruel enough sometimes.

I won’t let you idiots kill yourself on my watch, Shota vowed silently as he sifted through the next batch of examinees.

Not again.

❋

Izuku was going to kill Toshinori.

He was exhausted after the exam and more than a little devastated over having used One For All, but he couldn’t regret it with the girl’s warm- alive - body hanging off his good arm. Seriously, Toshinori was going to get a talking to about his advice.

“Just clench your butt-cheeks and yell smash!” Seriously. It was bad enough that he’d given that advice but it was more than a little mortifying that Izuku had actually followed it and had ended up with a shattered arm. Twice!

“By the way, I don’t know your name.” Izuku mentioned and the girl walking along with him turned bright red.

“Uraraka Ochaco!” She blurted. “Thanks for saving me!”

Izuku smiled warmly.

“Midoriya Izuku, and it was no problem. You saved me earlier, remember? Saved me from eating the concrete, haha,” he inwardly cringed at even mentioning that embarrassing moment but it seemed to cheer Uraraka up.

“Oh, here comes some stretchers, let’s get you settled down.” He placed her right on the stretcher and stepped back, trying to ignore the other stretcher that was obviously meant for him. The little medical bot that was pressing against his shin seemed pretty insistent but Izuku was kind of hoping if he didn’t acknowledge his broken arm that meant it didn’t happen. Futile, he knew, but oh well. However, it was not to be as a crackly voice sounded over the speakers-

“Examinee 4356, get on the stretcher and go get that arm healed. Now.”

Izuku blanched, looking down as he recognized his vest number and Uraraka burst into soft giggles at his mortified expression when he finally sat down and let the bots carry them back to the front of the arena.

He wasn’t sure who had just scolded him but his cheeks were bright red because of it and he was only barely holding in a childish pout.

At the front, Uraraka shyly pointed out the students who had ignored her under the rocks and Izuku worked hard to contain his scowl at the raven haired boy who was walking around quite smugly announcing the amount of robots he’d taken down and how he was sure he’d be getting into UA no matter what.

“I’ll deal with it, don’t worry, Uraraka-san.” Izuku promised.

Recovery Girl looked at him as he arrived and scowled so deeply that Izuku was certain the crockety old woman would never be able to smoothen her face out of that scowl again.

It wasn’t exactly Izuku’s first time meeting the Heroine as she had been the first to meet Izuku after he’d inherited One For All barely a week ago. The first time he’d used it he’d broken his arm badly enough that Toshinori had nearly puked blood from how worried he was. Granted, Izuku had been in so much pain that he’d nearly been puking blood himself but it had worked out in the end with his mother- wide-eyed and aghast at learning Izuku had “manifested” a quirk out of the blue while training- setting his bones for him and Toshinori calling over his doctor which had turned out to be Recovery Girl.

After the scolding they’d both gotten Izuku had decided not to use OFA during the exam, and he’d desperately wanted to complete the exam quirkless either way, but it seemed both of those goals had been futile in the end.

With his arm now healed and set in a simple bandaged cast, Izuku made his way to where a clone- presumably- of the Pro Hero Ectoplasm was standing and taking back their visitor badges at the exit. He quelled his inner fanboy as his turn approached.

“Good afternoon,” Ectoplasm greeted politely when it was his turn in front of the hero. Izuku smiled and pulled out his badge, passing it over.

“Is there, um, somewhere I can lodge a small piece of unsolicited advice before I leave?” He asked embarrassedly and Ectoplasm stilled for a second before having to actually cover his mouth to stifle his snort of laughter. The guy behind Izuku in the crowd looked alarmed.

“I was warned you might approach and was told to let you know that the cameras captured everything and there’s no need to worry.” Ectoplasm said after he’d regained control of himself and Izuku pinkened.

“Right on,” he said awkwardly. “Um, it’s really good to meet you, Ectoplasm-san!”

The hero grinned at him and held his hand up for a high five which Izuku immediately took advantage of before hurrying past him and out the hallowed doors of UA Academy.

There was nothing more to it now than to wait.

Chapter Text

For all that Izuku wanted to scold Toshinori for his terrible advice, he never actually got around to it as they waited for the test results to come back. It had been shaping up to be the longest week of his life, but Izuku had plenty of things to distract him other than trying to hound Toshinori into telling him the results. His mentor was surprisingly tight-lipped and refused to say anything.

“Are you all packed, honey?” His mother poked her head into his room and he looked up, sending her a warm smile. 

“Yep, I’m just waiting for Toshinori-san to get here.” He explained. He was sitting with his laptop open and doing some work as Argos while he waited. 

His mother was fully aware of his “other” job and had in fact been the one to support him learning how to code and hack. She’d tussled his hair gently and had told him,

“Good job, honey, if the world is determined to be bad under the cover of their precious quirks and laws, then you should just be determined to catch them in the act and show the world how pathetic they all are.”

Those words had stuck with him and to this day he admired and feared the mean streak his mother could sometimes hold towards those she deemed unworthy or pathetic.

“Alright, let me know before you leave, honey. I’m going to head out to work now but don’t worry, I’ve got Natsuki-chan in charge of the kids and Aiko-san in charge of Natsuki-chan.”

Izuku laughed at that.

After the explosive inheritance of One For All, they’d returned to Hydrangea and had revealed to Izuku’s whole community that he had a quirk now.

A tiny part of him had been expecting them to kick him out. He’d been expecting to see jealousy, or sadness, or even distrust- all the things he was sure he might have felt if he’d been in their places, but they’d all proved to him just how much better than him they all were by treating him with absolute love and celebration.

Izuku wasn’t sure he’d even stopped crying at all that day.

With five days left before the test results came out, Izuku was travelling to Yamanashi and then Chiba to visit the two other Hydrangea Houses he owned in order to tell the people there about his quirk in person so that they didn’t find out later and think him more a liar than he actually was. 

When he heard about it and saw how anxious Izuku was over the whole prospect of revealing his quirk to the people he was closest to Toshinori insisted on coming along for moral support and to see the other Hydrangea Houses.

His mentor had become something of a regular within the walls of the safe house that was home to so many world-weary quirkless and homeless children and adults. He’d become increasingly popular with the kids especially after taking over in the kitchen one night and making an American feast for dinner.

He had no doubt that Toshinori would charm all the occupants in both Yamanashi and Chiba with ease and he looked forward to seeing it too. It was rare that he got to visit the other Hydrangea houses outside of vacations when it wasn’t for a funeral so he was looking forward to the visit. The mourning band around his left arm felt as heavy as ever and he knew that many of his family thought it was unhealthy for him to wear the mourning band for a full month every time but for Izuku it was the least that he could do for these souls that slipped him by. For the dreamers who could no longer dream.

His phone dinged and he picked it up, snorting at the message there.

Toshinori

I am here

Izuku

Somehow that still doesn’t get old. 

I’ll be down in a minute!

Downstairs, Toshinori beamed at him the second he stepped out of Hydrangea after a round of goodbyes and tearful hugs from the kids. He had a huge bundle of letters and gifts for all their friends in the other prefectures to deliver.

“Ready to go?” Toshinori made sure and Izuku hummed as they set off for the train station. It was a short 3 hour train ride to Yamanashi Prefecture and they’d spend two days there before making their way to Chiba and then back to Musutafu in time for the letter of acceptance- or rejection- to arrive.

For the most part the journey was spent talking about the Entrance Exam, the quirk, and Izuku trying to find any scrap of information that he could use to make this quirk work for him.

Toshinori was the best mentor he could ever ask for but his specialty wasn’t exactly in the field of analysis and he didn’t have a lot of actually helpful advice for Izuku in terms of how to not break his arms so Izuku had to figure that part out for himself at some point.

The Hydrangea House in Yamanashi was quite a bit bigger than the first one Izuku had opened. It was a large building just outside a residential area, on the outskirts of Kofu city in the lower income area. Izuku tapped a gentle pattern on the door and waited for someone to let them in.

They didn’t typically use special knocks or have very many rules but there was an existing rule of the houses not to bring guests back unless they were thoroughly vetted by Izuku first. Izuku had a knock he used that everyone in the community was familiar with to let them know that it was him there.

In less than a minute the door was ripped open and there was a loud shout of,

“Izu-nii! Guys, it’s Izu-nii!!”

Izuku laughed, crouching down to accept the scrambling hugs from all the kids that poured out of the building at the shout.

“Is that you, Mizuki-chan? When did you get so tall?” Izuku teased, ruffling the dark haired nine year old’s hair until it was all mussed up. She bounced on her heels, trying to look taller.

“I’m a big girl now, Izu-nii! I’m the tallest in my class!” she bragged and Izuku laughed, picking her and Ichiro- a stocky twelve year old- up at the same time to spin them around. The sound of their laughter was beyond healing.

“You’re all getting so big! I’m so happy to see everyone!” He proclaimed, setting them down and greeting a few others before finally drawing their attention to Toshinori, who was standing back and watching them with a smile.

“Everyone, this is Yagi-san, he’s Izu-nii’s hero sensei!” Izuku introduced, using a bit cuter lingo for the kids. A few of the grownups looked surprised and Izuku spied Kotaru-san sending him a confused look. “Are you guys gonna be good and say hi to him?”

The kids lined up and turned to Yagi, bowing respectfully and chorusing,

“Hello, Yagi-sama! Thanks for teaching our Izu-nii!”

Izuku couldn’t help but laugh at the overly formal greeting. The kids were so cute and he always hated having to leave them whenever he visited because they always cried, breaking his heart and Izuku always felt like he was leaving behind pieces of his heart with them to protect them in his stead.

“Well now, it’s my pleasure!” Toshinori beamed. “You’ll all have to come and tell me your names, else I’ll have to call you all Cutie Number One, or Cutie Number Two!”

The kids shrieked with laughter and ran over to Toshinori to introduce themselves properly while Izuku went up to Kotaru, the oldest member of their Yamanashi family. Kotaru and her husband Yukiko were the oldest ones here in Yamanashi and they took care of managing the Hydrangea building there and taking care of all the younger kids who stayed there.

“It’s so good to see you, Izuku-kun,” Kotaru hugged him tightly. “We were surprised when you mentioned you’d be visiting. How long are you staying?”

“Just a day or two, Kotaru-san,” he said apologetically. “I wish I could stay longer but Yagi-san and I are heading up to Chiba to visit the home there as well before heading back to Musutafu.”

“Has something happened?” Yukiko asked worriedly, coming forward. Yukiko was something of a father to all the kids here and had always parented Izuku whenever he visited, which was a large part of why he loved Hydrangea so much. It truly was as if he had a huge family wherever there was a home opened and it was part of the reason he was so determined to open another house soon.

“There’s been a lot of changes in my life, Yukiko-san, I just had to come here and talk to you all about it in person. It’s- it’s kind of crazy.” Izuku admitted and he allowed himself to be pulled inside and fussed over for a bit.

In Hydrangea, no matter where it was, everyone helped out so in no time at all they were all settled in the large recreation room with snacks and tea. Izuku found himself with a whole room full of people staring at him and waiting for him to explain things.

“I- I was really hesitant to come here and talk about this but I could never dream of keeping it from any of you,” Izuku said softly, but everyone heard him. He sat nervously, anxiously knotting his hands into fists on his knees as he sat before them all. “The truth is… I-I developed a quirk.”

“HUH?!!” Mizuku screamed. “Really?? That’s amazing, Izu-nii! I bet it’s something really cool!”

“Wait, but how is that possible, Izuku?” Kotaru was the voice of reason in the storm of sudden excitement and overwhelming chatter. “It’s unheard of to develop a quirk so late. You’re eighteen, Izuku, that’s impossible!”

“Because of the nature of Izuku-kun’s quirk it would have hurt him egregiously had it developed any sooner than it did,” Toshinori explained evenly. “As it stands, his quirk has a major setback that makes him break his bones whenever he uses it because of its power.”

Izuku was slightly mollified by the sheer horror in the faces of his friends and family in Yamanashi. 

“You all know I wanted to be a hero,” Izuku said earnestly. “I wanted to be a hero that could stand up and-and change the world. Maybe it’s arrogant to want to change the world but it was my dream and I was going to try anything to achieve that.”

“I started training for UA with Yagi-san, and as my muscles started getting stronger my body started becoming compatible with m-my quirk. It developed fully a week ago, just before the entrance exams, and it made me break both my arms.” Izuku told the story they’d told to the others back home as well.

“Oh Izu, this is- so you’re-” Kotaru was utterly speechless.

From the back, standing against the wall, one of the kids around Izuku’s age straightened up and drew all attention to himself.

“You look so anxious, Midoriya,” Kaito said strongly. “You’re worried we’re all going to be upset or jealous, and if I know you at all then I guess you’re worried we’re all gonna think you’re betraying us or something, but you’re not.”

“Kaito is right, Izuku-kun. We don’t get to decide who gets quirks and who doesn’t,” Ichiro added gently, and tears filled Izuku’s eyes. “You are the one who taught us this. Your courage and kindness, your conviction and strength- it doesn’t surprise any of us at all that you’re going to make an amazing hero. Having a quirk or not doesn’t change that.”

Tears spilled down his cheeks and Mizuku laughed, racing forward and hugging him tightly, inspiring an honest to god cuddle pile all around him.

“We’re happy for you, Izu-nii! You’re gonna be a great hero!” Izuku couldn’t even tell who said that over the sound of his sobbing but he cracked his eyes open and saw Toshinori beaming at him proudly.

Maybe everything was going to be okay?

Izuku wasn’t one for heedless dreaming, not after so many of his dreams had been bruised and battered and crushed in his youth. Not after the box in his bedroom that contained all of the letters, the hopes and dreams, fears and sadnesses of all the family he’d lost.

But… maybe just this once he could let himself hope.

❋

After a similar trip to Chiba, it was an extremely happy and hopeful duo who returned to Musutafu five days later. Izuku had been overwhelmed with gifts and letters for all the people back home and Toshinori had to help him carry it all inside in two hefty duffle bags.

They both froze in the doorway, finding the entire household standing in the living room and practically brimming with excited energy. Even the cats were there, loudly lounging in the patches of sun streaming throughout the room.

Cherry was bouncing on her heels and smiling gleefully as she pointed to a nondescript envelope on the table in front of them all.

“It came this morning,” his mother said happily. “We didn’t open it, of course, but we all just had to see if you made it!”

It felt like Izuku’s heart was going to explode out of his chest.

He put the bags down slowly and approached the letter as if it were a bomb. A few of his family snickered at him but no one interfered in the process as he picked the letter up, feeling the weight of it in his palm.

Behind him, Toshinori was silent but there was an air of pride that just seemed to radiate from him as Inko stood by his side to wait for the results.

Inside the envelope there was a thick metal disk and a folded letter. He placed the letter down without opening it and held the disk with shaking hands.

There was a button on the disk and he swallowed past a lump in his throat- feeling the pressure of everyone’s eyes on him- and pressed it, bracing himself for anything that would happen. He wasn’t the only one who tensed, waiting for something to happen and it was the right move for all of them as a holographic form of his mentor popped up, looking every bit as iconic as he did in the news.

There were a few startled screams and Izuku stared at the hologram in dazed shock despite the hero literally standing behind him.

“I AM HERE!” Holographic All Might laughed awkwardly. “In holographic form!”

“You may be wondering why I am here, and it is my pleasure to announce that I will be the new UA teacher for Foundational Heroics!” All Might announced brightly, and Izuku already knew this but he still felt a thud of happiness that his mentor of almost a year wouldn’t be leaving his side after all. Behind him, Toshinori came forward and placed a bracing, calming palm on his back while his mother touched her hand to his shoulder gently in support.

“Young Midoriya! You have scored an impressive sixty-seven villain points with your strategic takedown of robots in your section! Your quick thinking and innovative actions have done you well!” All Might praised, and the number was way higher than Izuku had thought it would be. “That’s not all! Due to your bleeding heart and your kind actions in saving your fellow competitors-” the hologram showed several instances of Izuku helping the other students, including his final act of saving Uraraka, “You have also received forty-five Rescue Points!”

Izuku’s mouth felt dry.

“This, paired with your above excellent written exam marks, places you right as the top scorer in UA this year with one hundred and twelve points overall! You totally beat my record of one hundred and ten points!” All Might sounded thrilled at this. “And so it is my pleasure to welcome you, Midoriya Izuku, to your Hero Academia!”

With that the disk went silent. The room was deathly silent and Izuku thought this was what it must feel like to die and be reborn. It felt like the world was racing past him and yet inside there, inside their little home, everything was still.

And then the world exploded.

"HE DID IT!!"

Chapter Text

Standing at the gates of UA, Izuku wondered if anyone would ever be able to understand how much of an imposter he felt like.

He didn’t know if he belonged there or not. He didn’t know if the people there were going to accept him or if, like all his life, they’d look down on him with sneers painted across their noses. He was terrified to step through the gates and acknowledge that yes, he was a student of UA. A Hero student, at that.

His phone chimed in his pocket and he took it out, taking any opportunity to procrastinate. All week friends from Hydrangea had been texting him good luck messages that had left him feeling warm and supported, but this wasn’t from a member of Hydrangea- at least not officially.

Toshinori

Good luck today, my boy. I believe in you!

He smiled, feeling something settle in his chest. That's right. Toshinori was there.

Everything was going to be okay, so he stepped forward and through the gates, scanning his student ID card and brought up a map of the school on his phone. It still took him a minute and asking for a few directions before he finally came across the right classroom. The door itself was impressive, spanning almost the entire way to the roof with 1-A in large red lettering that made the whole place feel larger than life.

He took a deep breath and entered.

The classroom wasn’t full by any means. There were a few early birds like him but mostly the room was empty with numbered rows of chairs and desks.

According to his seating chart that he’d been sent, he was to be seated in number eighteen, which was right next to a window.

Since there was still time before orientation started, judging by the lack of students there yet, Izuku cracked open his notebook and started taking some notes for his work as Argos. He’d been commissioned by a hero company to do analysis on all of their sidekicks and it had been taking all of his spare time recently but it was paying for several of the kids' school supplies and tuitions so he couldn't complain.

His notes were obviously all encoded with a code he’d made himself years ago to protect his analysis, and which he now used to protect his work that he did for heroes pretty much all around the world.

Whereas as a child he’d done analysis for fun, now he did it for the pretty hefty fee and he was paid well to analyze different quirks for different heroes and sometimes villains- depending on who was asking for the analysis since he exclusively worked with heroes. By the time he lifted his head the classroom was teeming with students and Izuku stilled, feeling a prickle down his spine.

“Deku.”

Izuku swallowed, lifting his head up and meeting Bakugou’s crimson eyes. 

“Bakugou.” He said, boldly. Bakugou’s eyes widened and for a split second he was his again, but just as fast those eyes narrowed and he sat down heavily in the seat in front of Izuku’s.

Izuku smiled awkwardly as he made eye contact with a few of his new classmates. He recognized the dark blue haired boy as the guy who had told him off for mumbling during the written exam, and he recognized Uraraka and waved at her in greeting.

He had the strangest feeling that they were all being watched though. It was just a feeling, a weird prickle down his spine but it was uncomfortable. His eyes scanned the room and found nothing out of the ordinary other than a few students standing around and chattering, so he dropped lower, catching sight of a- ew?? What was it? A worm? A human?

It was a man. He was lying right on the ground in a garish yellow sleeping bag and blatantly staring directly at Izuku, who blinked in confusion.

The man smirked, despite that he looked exhausted- which, honestly, same- and kind of like he didn’t even want to be there.

When two or three other students finally noticed the man lying there, he stood up fluidly, leaving the sleeping bag behind him on the floor. He was holding a clipboard in hand and Izuku’s eyes sharply took in all the details he could.

He was tall, much taller than Izuku, with pale skin and dark hair that tumbled wildly over his shoulders. He wore a dark jumpsuit, or were they pants and a shirt that was dark enough to blend together? There were rounds and rounds of thin bandage-like scarves around his neck and Izuku caught the glint of something gold beneath the grey scarves. He inhaled sharply.

This was the Pro-Hero Eraserhead.

“It took you all way too long to notice I was here. Do better.” The man’s voice was gravelly and though soft it echoed around the room as he glared at them all. “I’m your Homeroom teacher, Aizawa Shota. Put your gym uniforms on and make your way outside for a quirk apprehension test. You have fifteen minutes, anyone late will regret it for the rest of their time here.”

With that, the man slapped several sets of uniforms on the table and left the classroom. Everyone was slightly frozen.

Izuku did not want to find out what this man’s bad side looked like so he was the first out of his seat and he grabbed the uniform with his name on it and made his way to the boy’s locker room. He was endlessly grateful that he’d studied the map so obsessively that he knew where the locker rooms were- he politely pretended that he hadn’t in fact gotten lost just that morning.

To his relief, they had private stalls and Izuku grabbed the first one to get changed in as the other boys trickled in behind him. By the time he exited his stall he noticed the other boys there but he didn’t stay to chat. Was he a coward? Probably. 

Aizawa was standing in the middle of the field, holding his clipboard and a tumbler and looking like he wanted to be buried under several heavy blankets.

He noticed Izuku’s timid arrival and arched his brow.

“Six minutes, not bad.” Aizawa commented.

Izuku wasn’t sure what to say to that so he just smiled a bit nervously. There seemed to be a wait ahead of them so he took a moment to scan the grounds. He could see several of UA’s buildings and there were plenty of students roaming around now as they prepared for the welcome assembly.

Izuku checked his watch, noting that the others only had a few minutes before they were late. Fortunately they were joined by others, most of the girls and a few guys. The last to arrive was a really short boy with four grape-like balls on his head, and a girl that was solid pink with green eyes and little horns protruding from her head.

“You guys cut it pretty short,” Aizawa scolded. “Either way, as I said before, this is a quirk apprehension test-”

“But what about the welcome assembly?” The pink skinned girl asked worriedly. Aizawa scowled at being interrupted.

“The assembly is irrelevant. If you’re just here to make friends then I’d go ahead and leave now. The school lets me teach however I like, and I say you’re going to do a Quirk Apprehension test. If you have problems with that then feel free to leave.” Aizawa said a bit darkly.

“Midoriya,” He said suddenly and Izuku swallowed as the attention went, quite suddenly to him.

“Y-yes, sensei?”

“You’re our top scorer this year, come up here and throw this ball. What was your furthest throw in high-school?” Aizawa asked, tossing him a ball. Izuku had never done PE in high school, nor before that. As a quirkless he wasn’t expected to have the strength to play with his stronger, quirked peers let alone pitch a ball.

“It was 60 meters,” he lied, using an average standard that he remembered from weaker quirked students back in high school. “I wasn’t much of a pitcher.”

Aizawa looked faintly amused at that.

“Throw this ball using your quirk in any way you deem it possible.”

Izuku blinked at the ball. Well. That wasn’t going to work. He couldn’t risk using One For All on a simple apprehension test.

Behind him, he could hear Bakugou snort derisively.

Trying to ignore the weight on his shoulders, he stood in the circle and threw the ball as hard as he humanly could. It would be unimpressive, sure, but not all quirks could be calculated by how far you could throw a ball so it should be fine.

The ball soared and fell a bit anticlimactically a few meters away. A device beeped in Aizawa’s hand.

“68 meters.” Aizawa announced, and Izuku had to contain his full body shiver at the man’s absolutely dark tone. The crowd behind him were deathly silent save for Bakugou’s soft cackling. “You’ve been told since birth to not use your quirks, well, today you’re going to throw all of that aside. Today you’re allowed to use your quirk in whatever way you deem it possible to get through this test, and unlike whatever the hell Midoriya just did here, I expect you all to actually put some effort in.”

Izuku pressed his lips together in an effort not to gape at the man like an actual idiot. 

Um, what?!

It felt like the ground was sinking beneath him, swirling like the maelstrom that had just erupted in his chest. No. No. This was supposed to be different!

U.A… U.A was supposed to be different. Toshinori had said- and- and Izuku had a quirk now!

He had a quirk now so why- why was everything still the same?!

Izuku decided that this had to be an isolated incident. Surely. It would be different now because he had a quirk and even though he couldn’t use it that well, it surely had to count for something or else he’d really be too pathetic.

This was Eraserhead. He fought basically quirkless all the time. The man was an icon to Izuku and to Izuku’s entire family of quirkless or low-quirked people as the only hero in Japan that made them believe that they too could be heroes.

He couldn’t- he couldn’t be like everyone else. He just couldn’t.

“Oh! This is going to be so much fun!” The pink girl squealed, now much happier about missing the assembly. It was the wrong thing to say, apparently, because Aizawa’s scowl, which had already been impressively scary, seemed to darken even more. It was quite a terrifying visual and Izuku silently walked back to his place among the other students, his head hanging low and avoiding eye-contact with everyone else.

“Fun, huh? How’s this for fun? The student in last place will be expelled at the end of the test.” He said with a note of finality in his voice and Izuku knew, without a doubt, that he meant every word he spoke. The silence would almost be amusing if Izuku weren’t inwardly panicking much like the rest of the class.

“Now stand in line, the first test is a standing long jump.” Aizawa said, stepping back and Izuku had a sneaking suspicion that his hope and good feelings from earlier that morning were about to come and bite him in the ass.

He didn’t do too bad in the tests. While he’d only had his quirk for less than three weeks now, he’d been working for months on strength training and had taken several martial arts courses on Toshinori’s advice in order to fully prepare for his place in the world of heroics.

For the long jump he took it at a small run and his results were on the higher end of average for a person without a strength related quirk. He did better on the jump than one of his classmates that was invisible and another that could shoot lasers from his navel- which would be helpful in theory, but he threw up after a second of using it which Izuku could honestly relate to.

For the side-steps and grip tests he did his best but he felt like he constantly had Aizawa’s dark eyes glaring at him and it was kind of throwing him off. But no, it was different. It had to be different.

He had already thrown his ball so he stood to the side while the others took their turns. Bakugou seemed thrilled with his 807 meter throw- which he’d thrown with an empathetic “DIE!” at the top of his lungs- though no one could do better than Uraraka’s infinity or Yaoyorozu making an actual cannon.

“Not going to throw the ball again, Midoriya?” Aizawa said suddenly, after the last student had gone and again Izuku froze. What was his problem??

“I-I don’t think the result will be any better, sensei.” He said truthfully. There was only so far he could throw a ball after all.

Aizawa scoffed, looking down at his clipboard and calculating the results. Izuku pressed his lips together as the screen behind him started flickering with names, His eyes nervously tracked all the way down the list, noting Bakugou in fifth place, and his stomach curled in horror the lower his eyes dropped until there- at the very bottom, dead last behind Hagakure Toru and Aoyama Yuga who he knew he’d beat at almost all of the exercises- 

Midoriya Izuku.

There wasn’t a noise on the field.

All eyes were on him and it felt like he was sinking through quicksand. There was no way. There was no way those results were accurately calculated.

Izuku hadn’t been as impressive as other superpowered students but he’d been far better than several students that lacked strength-based quirks. He’d beat Aoyama and several others in the grip test and he knew he’d done the running course faster than a lot of them, but somehow- somehow he was last.

It wasn’t supposed to be this way!

“You impressed me in the exams but your lack of dedication to honing your quirk and your inability to do your best or even try disappoints me and makes me believe that you cannot be a hero. Pack up your things and leave, Midoriya.” Aizawa’s voice seemed to echo through a tunnel before reaching his ears, all warbled and echo-y. “You’re expelled from the hero course.”

Expelled.

The word echoed around his ears and for a moment he was certain he was about to pass out. The others were all whispering and he could hear Bakugou laughing- laughing cruelly at someone he deemed lesser, pathetic, useless- while Yaoyorozu seemed to be melting down at realizing the threat was real.

Someone said his name in a gentle, trembling voice, but Izuku barely heard it. Everything was roaring in his ears and it felt like he was standing in the eye of a tornado with his life swirling around him in a never-ending storm until everything went utterly still and one single word slipped past his lips, quieting the storm entirely,

“No.”

Silence.

“No?” Aizawa’s voice sounded dangerous. Izuku looked up, meeting the man’s dark eyes. He wasn’t afraid.

His body was trembling but he realized suddenly that it wasn’t fear making him tremble like this. No, it was anger.

“I’m not going to let you expel me based on an obviously biased test and a skewered opinion of my character.” Izuku said strongly.

His chest was burning, there was something rearing its head within him and he was helpless to hush it when the anger felt so powerful. He felt someone slip their hand into his and he squeezed despite himself, accepting the offer of support though he could hardly even see who it was.

“Heroics isn’t about a quirk, Eraserhead,” Izuku purposefully used his hero name and the man’s body tensed. “You’ve been an idol to me for years, and not just to me but to a whole community of people who don’t have quirks at all, or who have quirks that society deems pathetic. Villainous. Useless.” He spat the word out and he could hear a sharp inhale behind him. Fuck, how was he supposed to go back and tell the others that the one hero they’d managed to find in Japan with a quirkless fight-style was- was …!

“You said I lack dedication in honing my quirk? I developed a quirk through a traumatic incident three damn weeks ago and every time I use it it shatters my bones.” Izuku snarled. “It’s only thanks to my mentor’s fast action and the fact that he was acquainted with Recovery Girl that I managed to regain full function of my arm in an incident that was completely out of the blue for a quirkless person like me.”

The hand in his tightened and he turned sideways slightly, noting that it was Uraraka standing at his side. Her expression was deeply upset and Izuku thought this girl was extremely brave to stand with him while he was yelling at a teacher. At his other side he noticed a spiky redhead take a step forward in support and stand on his other side with a conflicted frown marring his face.

“I’m trying my best to control it but I thought that coming here would help me- would teach me-” he sucked in his breath shakily. “But if you really think that a powerful quirk is all there is to being a hero then you aren’t the hero I thought you were, Eraserhead, and I’m sorry but that- that really disappoints me, so fine,” Izuku drew himself up to his full height, holding his head high. “Go ahead and expel me then.”

He was breathing heavily, the fight leaving his body as he stood there waiting for the verdict. He didn’t slouch, he didn’t dare lower his gaze from those dark glaring eyes staring a hole through him.

Aizawa was the first to look away.

“Go grab a syllabus from the classroom, you’re all done for the day.” He said stiffly. “I’ll see all of you tomorrow for class.”

The breath wooshed from Izuku’s lungs. It felt like his entire body was strung up and someone had just cut the strings holding him up. He released a shaky breath and braced his palms against his knees to breathe deeply.

Aizawa said nothing more, simply turned on his heel and actually stormed away.

The second he was gone and out of earshot Uraraka released a wheezy breath and released his palm to shakily run her fingers through her hair.

“That was terrifying!” She hissed. “Oh my god, Midoriya, you’re amazing! I didn’t do anything but I would have died on the spot if he’d actually looked at me like that!”

Izuku thought it was best not to mention he’d almost died a few times himself.

“I thought he was going to kill me,” he mumbled and she laughed, traces of fear still present. “God, Uraraka, thank you for supporting me like that. I really thought I was going to pass out!”

The other boy, the redhead with spiky hair, patted his back firmly.

“That was way manly, Midoriya!” He said enthusiastically. “It was so uncool of him to literally expel you just like that!”

“Yeah,” Hagakure piped in, sounding guilty. “I did way worse on those tests! I thought for sure I’d be in last place but he kind of had it in for you.”

Izuku shuddered. They had no idea … Izuku didn’t even know how to process it himself. 

“We shouldn’t be praising this!” The blue haired boy who scolded Izuku before snapped, “It was disrespectful to the esteemed UA! He’s our teacher and a Pro Hero, how could you question his judgement like that?!”

Izuku licked his parched lips. From the corner of his eye he could see Bakugou walking ahead of them all, as if he didn’t even care to listen to their chatter. There was a red and white haired boy mere steps behind him but there didn’t seem to be any familiarity between them, it was more like neither of them wanted to be involved in the situation.

“How can you say that, Iida?!” Uraraka cried. “Midoriya was super heroic during the Entrance Exams! He totally saved my life! I couldn’t just let him get expelled because of a stupid test!”

“What happened at the Entrance Exams?” The pink skinned girl who Izuku vaguely recalled was “Ashido Mina” asked eagerly, cozying up to Uraraka’s side.

“That huge robot was coming right at me and I was caught under a whole bunch of rubble that some kid caused with his quirk!” Uraraka told eagerly. “Midoriya came right out of nowhere like a hero and bow-smash-kchow! He totally smashed the whole robot and he was falling and I kid you not, he started running on the debris until he landed right next to me and even though his arm was kinda gross- sorry- he still managed to get the rocks off of me and we walked back to the nurse station together!”

Uraraka was quite an enigmatic storyteller and by the time she was finished Izuku was bright red under the admiring and stunned gazes.

“Dang, I can’t wait to see your quirk in action, smash boy!” Ashido said excitedly. “You were really cool standing up to Aizawa, by the way. I thought that was totally rude of him!”

Behind them, Iida made a choked noise as if he couldn’t believe his own ears but said nothing, thinning his lips into a line and storming ahead of them.

“Thanks,” Izuku said weakly. “I felt like I was going to throw up.”

He was glad the experience was good for a round of laughter and getting to know his new classmates better but Izuku was an old champion at hiding his feelings behind a pleasant mask.

In truth … he was shattered.

I believe you can’t be a hero.

Just like how he’d felt when Toshinori had willfully shattered his dreams, Izuku was left standing with the shards of his admiration at his bleeding feet. 

He was devastated.

Chapter Text

Shota was pissed.

Actually, that didn’t even begin to cover it. He was furious.

For all that he’d been scolded- scolded!- in front of his new students, and had been thoroughly mortified because of it, he was furious not because Midoriya had scolded him- but because he was right.

Shota loathed just how right he was and it ate at him as he stormed to the faculty offices to find himself a thermos of coffee and possibly to take up day-drinking.

“Ooh, what’s got your panties in a twist?” Hizashi chirped the moment he walked in and Shota sent him a dark look. Hizashi straightened up, looking concerned when he realized Shota was actually in a mood. “Oh damn, what happened?”

A few others looked up and Shota desperately didn’t want to have to explain himself because he knew without a doubt that everyone would say Midoriya was right and he himself couldn’t even be on his own side because dammit all Midoriya was right.

“Our Shota just discovered what it is like to be teaching such a truly fascinating individual as Midoriya Izuku!” Nezu’s cheerful voice came from behind him and Shota cringed, slouching to the coffee machines.

“What happened?” Ken asked curiously, putting down a stack of papers he’d been sorting through.

“Shota tried to expel Midoriya-kun and, well, Midoriya-kun said no.” Nezu giggled. “In a truly inspiring speech, supported by his peers, some of whom he had only just met, Midoriya-kun accused Shota of expelling him based on a biased test and a skewed opinion on his character.”

Shota didn’t have to be facing them to know their jaws were hanging on the floor. He clenched his fist around the thermos while his water boiled.

“He said that Shota, Eraserhead, had been an idol to him and to other quirkless individuals, presumably because of his own quirkless fighting style.” Shota flinched at that and poured his coffee with stiff motions.

“Midoriya explained that the reason his quirk hurts him is because he developed it in a traumatic incident three weeks ago,” Shota heard multiple gasps. “I actually knew of this as an associate of mine and Recovery Girl happens to be Midoriya’s mentor and requested her aid in healing him after he broke both arms when it manifested.”

Shota wished he had a wall right in front of him to slam his head into a couple of times. He turned around and faced the shocked looks of his colleagues.

“He said … he said if I really think that a powerful quirk is all there is to being a hero then maybe I’m not the hero he thought I was.” Shota said miserably. “After that all I could do was say I’d see them all in class tomorrow then I left.”

Hizashi covered his mouth, as if trying to contain his laugh.

“Wow,” Snipe drawled amusedly. “He really put you in your place, Shota.”  

Shota couldn’t even muster the will to glare at the man.

He was fucking right.

“Needless to say, Midoriya will not be expelled just yet,” Nezu said, stifling another giggle. “Shota, he would benefit from some additional training in order to hone his quirk. You are a registered quirk counselor, of course, so it should be a breeze for you to offer your assistance tomorrow while you apologize to him for your ill-thought actions.”

Shota sat down at his desk heavily, letting his forehead smack against the table and flashing a morose thumbs up to the principal- who just laughed as he left.

“... I need to see that footage.” Hizashi blurted and Shota lifted his head, scowling and feeling his quirk flare up in response to his emotions. This seemed to be all that was needed before all of his colleagues burst out laughing.

Shota groaned, resting his head down again and sighing.

What a shit day.

The rest of the day seemed to drag on and Shota was relieved to start his patrol if only to get away from his thoughts but even that didn’t give him relief.

How could he have been so stupid?

There was no excuse for what he’d said to Midoriya but he couldn’t stop thinking about it. It was affecting his ability to concentrate and he’d taken more than one hit that had been thoroughly unnecessary in hindsight.

By the time midnight rolled around it had been one of Shota’s busiest nights in a while, and by extension Naomasa’s too.

His phone rang while he was taking a short break on a dark corner of a residential building’s roof. His leg had taken a pretty nasty hit in the last fight and he desperately needed the moment of rest to recuperate before he could even think about heading out again.

“What crawled up your ass and died, Eraserhead?” Naomasa said the second the call connected, he sounded distinctly unimpressed and Shota winced. “I feel like I’ve been chasing your heels all night cleaning up your catches. What happened today?”

It felt like all the tension in his body fell to the ground in a neat shatter.

He said nothing. What could he say over the phone like this?

“Come back to the precinct, Shota,” Naomasa sighed. “I’ll put the coffee on.”

And that was that. Shota’s patrol ended with the soft thud of his feet against the rooftop of the Musutafu precinct. He slipped in through Naomasa’s open window and noted that the detective was already pouring two cups of coffee as if he’d timed it to his arrival.

For a while they were both silent and Shota let himself sink into the fresh, hot coffee and the familiar comfort of Naomasa’s shitty couch.

“I tried to expel a kid today.” Shota said bluntly, breaking the silence and the chair squeaked as Naomasa shifted slightly.

“Tried? You usually succeed at that, so “tried” is quite a feat. Why didn’t you?” He asked curiously.

“The kid looked up at me and said “no”, if you can believe it,” Shota said tiredly. “Accused me of being biased and said that if I expelled him I would be proving that I’m a pathetic excuse of a hero and a disappointment to the world of quirkless people and to him.”

Naomasa spat out his coffee.

“He said what?!”

“I may be projecting,” Shota admitted. “He didn’t put it like that, but the meaning is still there. He wasn’t even wrong, Nao, I just-” 

“Just?”

Shota mulled over his thoughts for a moment.

“He looked happy.” Shota whispered shamefully. “He-he looked so happy to be there, Nao, and I remembered how he was during the exam. He had so much potential and power despite never using his quirk- he-” Shota pressed his lips together tightly. He squeezed his eyes closed.

“He reminded me of Oboro.”

Silence, and then,

“Oh Shota…”

Shota put his cup down and pressed his fingers against his eyes, trying to stem the emotions building in his chest.

“He came in with so much, Nao, so much potential and this vibe of heroism to him and I just- that damn quirk of his is so destructive and all I could think was fuck! He’s going to die if I let him become a hero!”

Shota was breathing heavily with the weight of the truth off his shoulders. Naomasa was quiet, letting him work through the roiling thoughts in his head.

“I told him he couldn’t be a hero and tried to expel him- I wasn’t even going to actually expel him, I just wanted to scare him a little to make him take this seriously, I don’t know- but I made a mistake, Nao, I miscalculated and I have to- I have to apologize to him. I just hope he accepts it.” Shota said, head in his palms.

“Just who is this kid anyway?” Naomasa asked interestedly, lifting his coffee to his lips again as he observed Shota in all his morose glory.

“His name is Midoriya Izuku, he’s some highly superpow-eugh?!”

Naomasa spewed his coffee from his lips as he coughed splatters of the liquid all over Shota’s cringing body.

“You told The Midoriya Izuku he couldn’t be a hero??!” Naomasa cried, sounding horrified. Shota’s eyes widened.

“Huh? How do you know him?”

“Jesus, Shota, who in this precinct doesn’t know him?” Naomasa face-palmed. “I can’t exactly blame you. Even I forgot about him until I had Argos research him for something and it hit me why his name was so damn familiar.”

Naomasa leaned forward, as if he were about to whisper a secret,

“He’s almost an urban legend around here, you know…”

“Who the fuck did I just piss off, Nao?” Shota asked, wide eyed and Naomasa snorted. He rolled over to his desk and brought up a few files on his laptop, tilting aside for Shota to see a full profile of Midoriya Izuku.

Name: Midoriya Izuku

Quirk: Superpower (LB - age: 18)

Affiliation: Aldera Highschool, U.A. University

For the most part this information was standard and Shota skimmed over the details of his student’s previous schooling, and quirk status- there was a note that confirmed that, yes, his quirk really had only emerged three weeks ago- and followed Naomasa’s fingertip to a section labeled “Philanthropy”.

His eyes widened.

Midoriya, Iz has been affiliated with several charities since the age of ten. He began a charity home for homeless individuals that caterers mostly towards the quirkless community but accepts all sorts of people from discriminated demographics. He started it with help from his mother (see enclosed profile, Midoriya In) but at age fourteen he began online work as a freelance firewall engineer which helped fund the opening of two more charity homes in Yamanashi and Chiba Prefecture. (See enclosed title deeds and NPO registration)

Midoriya has been involved with the Musutafu Trash Pickup for several years, but his recent achievement of cleaning the trash zone on Dagobah Beach (see enclosed news article as well as a statement from the Musutafu Trash company) is most notable by far.

Further research has shown that Midoriya volunteers at local homeless shelters and specifically volunteers every Sunday at the Pro Hero Present Mic’s Charity Foodbank initiative. (See enclosed, copy of Midoriya’s Volunteer registration card)

There have been several incidents of Midoriya rehoming homeless animals and he has been caught multiple times attempting to feed stray cats around Musutafu (while this is not illegal, he caused several “armies” of cats around the area which received a number of complaints) resulting in a visit to the Musutafu Precinct where he was told to cease and desist this endeavor. In response, Midoriya made several donations over the span of a few years into developing local pet shelters and adoption drives. (See enclosed, Police statement)

Currently, Midoriya is a student at UA University, though he remains involved with all of these initiatives and has goals to expand on these points in the near future.

Naomasa smirked slightly, his lips twitching with amusement.

“Sansa was the one who had to tell him to stop feeding the stray cats,” Naomasa said with a snicker. “Apparently he showed up with a bunch of kids and a whole load of cats following behind him. It was a whole ordeal and his mother had to come and pick him up and stuff all those cats in her car. She was not impressed.”

Shota sat down on the couch heavily.

“Basically, what I’m trying to say is that you told a kid who has been an everyday hero since he was ten years old … that he couldn’t be a hero.” Naomasa said, somehow managing to sound both apologetic and amused.

Shota didn’t even know what to say. He summed it up with a single phrase,

“Well, fuck.”

❋

The next morning, Izuku was beyond anxious when he arrived at school.

In the end he hadn’t been able to bring up the incident with anyone. He hadn’t even told Toshinori about it despite the Hero enthusiastically asking how his first day went. A small part of him hoped that if he didn’t bring it up then he could pretend it had never even happened.

Outside of UA, Izuku noticed Uraraka standing there as well and joined her.

“Oh, Midoriya, hey,” she greeted warmly. “You doing okay? You look a little peaky.”

“Just hoping I’m not about to get expelled,” he admitted weakly. “I feel like I’m probably going to be on eggshells for the next ten years after what happened, honestly.”

She giggled and they both made their way inside. He felt a bit better now that he was with someone who had shown they were brave enough to stand up for a veritable stranger. He admired Uraraka a lot and chatting with her was extremely helpful as she seemed to know all of their classmates and easily helped him put names to all their faces.

She’d laughed raucously to learn that he’d been calling them “Invisible girl” or “Cool Ears girl” or in the case of Kirishima “Spiky Hair boy” in his head the whole time.

“Those nicknames are definitely going to stick,” she teased and he blushed. “What did you call Iida?”

Izuku’s cheeks turned pinker.

“He scolded me during the Entrance Exams so I was just calling him “Guy-Who-Scolded-Me”, it’s not very original.” He admitted as they approached 1A’s classroom. Uraraka giggled.

“What’s funny?” Ashido bounced up to them with a warm smile. “Hi, by the way!”

They both chorused her greeting back to her and Izuku took his seat, waving at them as Uraraka began to whisper to the girl about the embarrassing nicknames.

Bakugou was already there, sitting in his seat and sending Izuku a withering scowl as he passed. Izuku tried his best to ignore it.

He couldn’t stop his knee from jangling slightly and he didn’t even realize until much later that he was getting a lot of sympathetic looks from the other students. He sunk a bit lower into the chair and pulled out his notebook to distract himself until homeroom started.

When Aizawa stepped into the room Izuku’s spine straightened on its own and he tried to look as unaffected as he possibly could when he was getting so many stares. It felt like everyone was trying to surreptitiously peek at him all through Aizawa’s morning assembly.

At the end of his short speech about what to expect that day and a few school rules, he finally said,

“And to assuage all of your obvious curiosity- no one was expelled yesterday as you can clearly see,” his voice was irritated and Izuku bit the inside of his cheek, meeting the man’s gaze boldly. “That being said, I would like you to see me after class today, Midoriya. You can find me in the Teacher’s Offices, just ask another student if you can’t find it on your map.”

Izuku wanted to die a little.

“Yes, sir.” He said respectfully and Aizawa nodded and promptly rolled himself back into that hideous yellow sleeping bag that Izuku thought looked like a worm. Izuku relaxed ever so slightly and turned a mournful expression to Uraraka, who stifled a giggle into her fist and sent him back an especially sympathetic look.

They were all distracted by the arrival of Present Mic, who arrived in full Hero gear and with a loud and enigmatic,

“What’s up, Listeners!”

Izuku smiled at the familiar address. He’d been a long-time listener of Present Mic’s radio station and he volunteered at the man’s foodbank every weekend. He’d seen the hero there a few times out of his hero gear and had recognized him after only two weeks just by the man’s inability to contain his personality.

It was one of the things Izuku found most charming about the Voice Hero, noting in his notebook at the time that the hero’s hero persona seemed to be exactly the same as who he was as a person.

Aizawa stood up, folding his sleeping bag over his arm and pausing briefly to say something to Present Mic before leaving without looking back. A bit of the tenseness eked out of Izuku's spine once he was gone.

“I hope you’re all ready for some English!” He said, in English, and Izuku understood him fairly well. He’d been studying English since he was younger than five because of All Might’s numerous English content.

He knew for a fact that Bakugou was just as good at English, and for sure, his old friend looked pretty at ease in the class whereas several other students looked abruptly horrified. Kaminari- he could do something with electricity according to Uraraka, and Izuku was extremely eager to see that in person- looked like he was about to throw up when he received his worksheet.

“Is anyone fluent in another language? It doesn’t have to be English!” Present Mic engaged them with a wide grin. Some students lifted their hands, including Izuku. “Right on!! What languages?”

“Seulement la langue la plus romantique du monde, monsieur!” Aoyama said, a flamboyant smile etched on his face, as he raised his hand and scattered what seemed to be confetti around him. Izuku was impressed by the dedication to the bit, as the boy promptly knelt down to scoop it all up while Present Mic laughed.

“I speak a variety of languages,” Yaoyorozu Momo said confidently. She was tall and extremely pretty, with long black hair gathered in a ponytail. “Mandarin, English, and conversational Spanish!”

“Ooh, a budding polyglot!” Present Mic sounded excited, then turned to Izuku, “What about you? Euh,” he peeked at a list on his table, “Midoriya? Midoriya? Hey, I know you!”

Izuku pinkened at all the eyes suddenly on him again.

“I speak Japanese and fluent English, sensei, and I’m conversational in Mandarin too but I’m hardly fluent at all.” Izuku answered the first question and then, embarrassedly, “I know you too, Present Mic-sensei, I’ve met you out of your hero costume over the weekends.”

Present Mic blinked and then seemed to realize.

“Ohh! That’s right, I remember where I’ve seen you now, little listener!” He beamed. “Awesome!”

“Wait, where have you seen each other before?” A boy named Sero- that was the one with tape elbows- asked curiously, and he wasn’t the only curious one.

“Can I tell them, Midoriya? Or would you prefer to keep that private?” Present Mic asked and Izuku shyly gave his permission, so the Hero said, “Midoriya here volunteers at my foodbank every weekend! My radio show hosts a foodbank in a couple prefectures and Midoriya volunteers here at the Musutafu one so I’ve met him a couple times!”

“So heroic!” Hagakure squealed, “I can’t believe Aizawa-sensei almost got rid of you, Midoriya! You’re a gem!”

Izuku choked on his own spit at that and Present Mic gave an awkward sounding laugh, hurriedly moving on with the class and bidding them all to call him Yamada-sensei.

For the most part, school followed a standard protocol and Izuku tried to enjoy getting to know his classmates throughout the day. At lunch he sat with Uraraka, Kirishima, Iida, and Ashido and they all expressed their concern for his meeting with Aizawa later in the day. Well, most of them did, Izuku chose to politely ignore Iida’s advice of just apologizing to Aizawa to make things right.

He had nothing to apologize for. He knew that, though the thought didn’t make him feel especially better.

At the end of their last period most students made their way home except for the school’s Hero students who would be staying for their first class of Foundational Heroics.

There was a palpable excitement in the air as they waited for the teacher to arrive and even Izuku, who had known his mentor for almost a year now, couldn’t contain his excitement as the door burst open with a flurry of dramatic smoke and a shout of,

“I AM HERE!”

Chapter Text

“Coming through the door!” Toshinori laughed awkwardly. “Like a normal person!”

Izuku wanted to facepalm at his mentor’s endearing mannerisms.

The rest of the class seemed to be utterly uncaring of anything other than that All Might himself was standing in their presence. Izuku looked him over in approval- it had been his suggestion to go with the Silver Age costume instead of the Bronze Age one when Toshinori had called him at two in the morning just to panic over his first day of class- the man was already well aware of Izuku’s terrible sleep schedule.

“I know you’re all looking forward to a nice, quiet theoretical lecture- hahaha!- but the heart of heroics lies not in talking but in action!” Toshinori said proudly- he’d texted that line to Izuku in the middle of the night and had been so proud of it that Izuku had fallen for his bumbling mentor all over again- “Today we’ll be doing Battle Training in Ground Zeta! Now, show me what great heroes you all are and go get changed into your new hero suits!”

He pressed a button on his screen monitor and the wall beside him disappeared into a panel, revealing a neat row of variously sized suitcases- one of them was ridiculously oversized and Izuku wondered what on earth was in there.

“They’re numbered for your seat numbers so please be sure to grab the right ones then meet me back here so we can get started!” Toshinori said excitedly. He’d put a lot of thought into his first lesson and Izuku hoped everything went well for him. Originally he was supposed to do an outfit check for class but he’d argued with the Principle to start with Battle trials instead and apparently he’d succeeded though he hadn’t mentioned the reasoning to Izuku yet.

Izuku’s hero costume was something deeply personal and had been crafted by Shiomori Iroha, one of the quirkless members of Hydrangea in Chiba Prefecture.

Iroha was only fourteen but she longed to be a fashion designer, specifically for Pro Heroes. When she’d heard Izuku was really going to UA she’d begged to design his suit and Izuku, who knew well how talented she was, had already been planning to ask her to do it for him. In the end, his costume was a collaborative effort from the members of Hydrangea.

He slipped into a private changing stall, avoiding Bakugou’s glare and Iida’s deep frown whenever they made eye-contact. The large suitcase turned out to be Iida's.

The suitcase was sleek and metallic and it made a shing as he unlatched it to peek inside. His chest ached proudly and he took his phone out to snap a quick picture of his suit and the suitcase before putting it into the Hydrangea group chat that connected all three homes together.

Hero-kun

Thank you for all your hard work and support everyone 

Hero-kun

@fashiongirl-Iroha thank you for your perfect designs, Iro-chan! <3 

Hero-kun

Wish me luck!

His phone buzzed in his pocket with all the well wishes but he couldn’t reply to anything as he speedily put his suit on. The base of it was fairly simple, a pair of fitting and breathable black pants and a forest green turtleneck with dark embellishments sewn into the fabric that Iroha and the younger kids had designed. There was a dark red utility belt and, as requested, it was filled with all sorts of medical equipment not only for Izuku- who had grown up with a nurse for a mother and knew the basics of emergency care- to use but also for any of his comrades or civilians who needed immediate care.

There was a pair of sturdy boots with absorbent soles, steel toed and easy to lace up, as well as a pair of gold tipped and weighted knuckle gloves- because Iroha thought they looked “badass”.

One thing Izuku had insisted on, despite the protests from his loved ones that such a thing wasn’t necessary, was the black mourning band that he tied around his arm, removing the daily one he wore for Sayuri, and others he had lost. The band was plain black with a single golden star embroidered onto it to represent the people he carried with him on his journey to be a hero.

He was ready.

Izuku exited his stall and took in his fellow peers’ costumes. A lot of them were … well, unpractical.

Iida was wearing a full metallic suit of armor that made a slight squeak with his every movement. It was obviously designed after the Turbo Hero: Ingenium and Izuku, mentally slapping his face, realized that Iida was probably a son of The Iidas, as in Iida Tensei and the long line of pro heroes that were produced from Team Idaten.

Kirishima, while looking, for lack of better word, manly, in his costume Izuku could see a lot of problems arising if the boy ever had quirk exhaustion and couldn’t use his hardening quirk to protect the exposed skin.

Todoroki was wearing a fully white jumpsuit with decorative ice clinging to his right side and Izuku preemptively winced at the thought of anyone giving him a hard shove against his right side. All those decorative ice pieces would either shatter or pierce through his suit, not to mention the weird glowing monocle thing on his eye that could also, ostensibly, shatter and injure him in a fight.

Aoyama was wearing a cape, enough said, and again- metallic armor.

Of the boys, Izuku liked Kaminari and Sero’s the most. Kaminari looked comfortable and the outfit fit his quirk’s theme with decorative lightning bolts and gold embellishments while Sero looked stylized and charmingly goofy with an easily recognizable and marketable suit. Ojiro, Tokoyami, Koda and Sato looked … interesting, or rather, in some cases, a little uninteresting but still, comfortable and movable! Izuku was a fan of Shoji’s costume as well but he thought the boy would look better in darker colors.

For a moment he thought that was all of the boys but when he got to the classroom he laid his eyes on Bakugou and Mineta and had to press his lips together tightly.

First of all, Bakugou … he looked impressive, that was for sure. Izuku remembered the design of his uniform and had to physically stop himself from running up to his old friend and demanding to know why he was still using their childhood designs for his costume. The gauntlets were new, though, and Izuku wondered what their function was. If he knew Bakugou at all it would probably be dangerous and needlessly explosive.

Mineta … Izuku pressed his lips together tightly. There were no words.

Was he … wearing a diaper …? Izuku resolved not to question it too much.

As much as he wanted to analyze the girls’ costumes, All Might arrived in all his splendor and ushered them out of the classroom so he told himself he’d do it, for his own curiosity and for Iroha, during the trials.

“Wow, you look so cool, Midoriya!” Uraraka came up to his side and Izuku beamed when he saw her. She looked so cute! Iroha would be dying if he could see her suit and he swore to ask her for a picture later for the girl.

Her suit was space themed and futuristic, done in soft pink with clear round shapes making her look very friendly and approachable, which was exactly her personality. 

“Not as cool as you! You look amazing, Uraraka, I love your suit!” Izuku enthused, admiring her costume. Uraraka beamed, looking thrilled.

“Both of your costumes are badass,” Ashido commented succinctly. “The company I went with totally messed up my color scheme.”

Izuku could see as much, but other than the uncomplimentary colors, her outfit was pretty good. He liked the little furry jacket and told her as much.

“Alright! Wow! Look at all of you,” All Might beamed. “You all look impressive, like real heroes! Now, for this exercise, we’ll be forming two person teams with one team acting as the villains and one team acting as the heroes!”

“We will decide the pairings by drawing lots!” All Might produced an actual little bag with their names all written on slips of paper. Izuku was charmed by his mentor’s childlike approach to things once again.

Not everyone was, though, and Izuku was somewhat unsurprised that Iida had a problem with the method. He couldn’t help but interject,

“Lots of heroes are paired together without prior training, Iida. It’s random and it’s possible that during an incident your quirks aren’t going to compliment each other but a real hero finds a way to work with their partner to do the job no matter what. I think drawing lots is a really realistic way to do this.” He said, calmly, hoping that he could salvage Toshinori’s crumbling confidence.

Iida looked startled.

“I see!” He announced. “Forgive me, All Might-sensei. I agree with Midoriya-kun’s assessment, please continue!”

Izuku blinked, shaking his head.

“R-right, well, let’s get started then!”

Izuku was paired with Uraraka and he thanked his lucky stars that his first practical lesson would be done with a friend. Uraraka looked just as pleased and she practically pranced over, hooking their arms together happily.

For all that he was relieved to be paired with a friend, his momentary relief turned quite fast to horror when they were revealed to be the first group and they were up against Team D which was … Iida and Bakugou.

Izuku gulped.

Bakugou was staring at him with a dangerous look in his eye. This look was familiar, this was the look he had before he conquered. Bakugou had always been a winner even from their youth and today was no different.

Watch me, his eyes seemed to say, I’m going to beat you and show you exactly why I’m the best.

Izuku swallowed past his fear, narrowing his eyes. 

You watch me, Izuku replied silently, only in the tilt of his head and the firm set to his shoulders, I’m not going to let you win so easily, Kacchan.

Bakugou scowled and stomped away, dragging Iida along with him and leaving Izuku to release a shuddery breath. He turned to Uraraka.

“Bakugou will come for me no matter what.” He said bluntly and she blinked. “We have … history. I know his fight style pretty well, and more than that I know his quirk and what he’s capable of. If it’s alright with you, I think we should divide and conquer.”

They’d been given a working set of communicators which they both hooked in and connected. Izuku unfurled the blueprints and studied it while Uraraka peeked over his shoulder.

“Look here, this is the highest point,” he pointed out. “Bakugou is not a team worker so he’ll definitely have Iida guarding the bomb. I think they’ll be holed up here since it’s the furthest away from the entrance.”

“That seems likely,” Uraraka agreed. “It’s what I would do if I were the villain here, and look- there’s a neat little hack for me in this building,” she pointed to the side of the building where there was a fire escape. “I won’t have to expend too much energy getting all the way up there so my quirk will be more effective when I get to Iida.”

Izuku beamed. He was so relieved that Uraraka wasn’t only kind but also competent and helpful. 

“So, I’ll go deal with Iida and you’re going to take Bakugou?”

Izuku nodded determinedly.

“Are you going to be okay? Your quirk-” she looked worried and Izuku flushed.

“My quirk is fine, I promise. The only reason I broke bones last time was because I used way too much power since that robot was so huge. Bakugou is human, if I used that much power I’d kill him.” Izuku said factually. “I’m not even going to use a fraction of my quirk, don’t worry.”

Uraraka beamed and held out a fist.

“Then let’s win this, teammate!”

Izuku grinned and bumped his fist to hers, rolling up the blueprint just as a clock started ticking down.

“The heroes may enter the building.” Toshinori announced.

Izuku took a deep breath. Alright. This is it.

Get ready for me, Kacchan.

The moment the buzzer sounded, Izuku and Uraraka split up and went in opposite directions. They did one or two soundchecks for their comms and once Izuku made it to the front entrance he requested a status report,

“Come in, Uraraka, what’s your position?”

“I’m at the west window. I’ll make my way up now, ETA four minutes to the top.” Uraraka replied. Okay, that was fine, four minutes wasn’t long but he could make it work. His goal today was a quick and decisive defeat.

As Izuku had predicted, upon entering the building, he could immediately hear Bakugou patrolling up the corridors and calling out for him.

“Where are you, Deku?” Bakugou called in an almost sing-song way, but there was nothing pretty about his dark tone. “Stop hiding from me and let me beat you once and for all!”

Izuku had noticed a stairwell that led to each of the floors that wasn’t the main entrances to the floors so he located that and powered One For All through his legs, making him way faster as he raced up the stairs to find Bakugou.

It was kind of a funny story how he’d learned he could power the quirk through his legs to speed him up. While waiting for Toshinori one day, he’d been playing around with maintaining the quirk in certain parts of his body and was just doing his legs when his mentor burst in and startled him. He’d run so fast he’d actually shot right through a wooden door and had scared Toshinori to death.

It suited him now, as he got up to the third floor in under thirty seconds.

Now, standing at the door, he could hear Bakugou a lot louder.

“I won’t hurt you too bad, Deku, just enough to teach you a much needed lesson.” He was clanging his gauntlets against the wall, catching onto exposed pipes and making a general ruckus. Izuku could hear the familiar crack and pop of his explosions in his palm.

“FIGHT ME!” He shrieked and Izuku flinched in surprise. His heart was racing. His comm crackled to life.

“Come in, Midoriya, are you okay? That scared the crap outta me and I dropped a few meters. I’m on the fourth floor right now. There was an open window.” Uraraka sounded as startled as Izuku felt.

“I haven’t engaged him yet. Engaging now, good luck on your side, Uraraka.” Izuku whispered and he heard her determined little breath before everything was silent again. He could hear Bakugou’s heavy footfalls getting closer and he had to time his attack perfectly in order to get a good start with the surprise attack.

Izuku couldn’t explain the second he knew Bakugou was in place but it felt like someone scratched the inside of his brain with a slightly too-long fingernail. His stomach clenched and he decided to trust the instinct and slammed the door open with his quirk barely at 2%.

“Fuck!” Bakugou swore, holding his bleeding nose. Izuku didn’t give him time to gather himself. He swung, gripping onto the swinging door and using it as leverage to wrap his leg around Bakugou’s neck, splintering the wood as he forcefully slammed him to the ground.

They rolled, tumbling around the concrete and Bakugou managed to throw him off of his body, scrambling up immediately. He punched, leading, as always, with a right hook that Izuku dodged and he responded by crouching his body and taking Bakugou at a powered run. He could feel Bakugou punching his back, slamming him with the metal gauntlets and cursing but he didn’t let up until they both crashed into the nearest wall- Izuku moved before his head could become a splatter against said wall.

“You bastard!” Bakugou insulted, but his eyes were alight and fiery and Izuku had never really seen him like this before. He looked … he looked excited.

Izuku grinned.

“You didn’t think I was going to make this easy for you, did you?” He asked easily. “We’re Hero students now, Kacchan. I can fight back.”

“Fuck yeah,” Bakugou snarled, there was blood on his teeth from where Izuku had broken his nose with the door. “You can just fuckin’ try, Deku!”

This time when Izuku made the first move, Bakugou retaliated and, for all that they’d fought before, this was the first time in their lives that they were actually fighting each other and both giving as good as they got.

Izuku had never fought back when they were kids. He’d protected all of Bakugou’s victims, and he’d done his best to stay out of the explosive boy’s way, but he’d never actually bothered to fight back against him, preferring to just quietly focus on what he deemed more important- saving people and growing his little community.

For the first time, Izuku considered that he had done the boy in front of him a disservice. He’d known Bakugou Katsuki for almost eighteen years already and this was the first time he realized that he’d never really known him at all.

“I’ve been toying with you, Deku!” Bakugou said eagerly, his voice was breathless, winded and so full of life. “These gauntlets have been storing my sweat this whole time. Just one of these babies will have you seeing stars!”

Izuku’s eyes widened. He vaguely heard Toshinori yelling something but all he could see was Bakugou’s bright eyes as he took aim. 

No, yeah, he’d definitely called it. Bakugou, despite having layers, was still kind of an asshole and as Izuku hurriedly took cover, his quirk powering to little over 4% to get him to safety faster, he grinned to himself.

Kacchan … you think you’ve won but I’m just getting started.

BOOM!

Visibility was low, there was smoke everywhere and Izuku thought the explosion had actually caused a wall to collapse right through the building, making a gaping hole in the building that let in the afternoon light. Izuku could smell smoke, ash, and burning plastic. His hair, he reached up and patted his body for fires as his comm crackled to life.

“Are you alive? Status report, Midoriya!” Uraraka sounded incredibly stressed. “The audio is down on your level, All Might needs a status report now!”

“I’m fine, Uraraka, I’ll be up in exactly forty seconds. At my signal, give it your all to get to the payload, okay?”

“What’s your signal- yes, he’s fine to continue, sensei! - how will I know the signal?”

“You’ll know.” Izuku said simply, then he was moving. 

In the midst of the carnage, Bakugou stood, his body heaving and his expression- Izuku didn’t have time to analyze the expression on his face. He kicked, his quirk flaring in a crackle of green lightning that pierced through the smoke of the explosion, and connected with a weight-baring pillar he’d seen on the building blueprints. Bakugou flinched at the noise and in a swift movement, Izuku reached him, pulling him out of the way as the concrete shattered and caused the building to shudder as the floor gave way and crumbled to the ground.

“You’re out, Kacchan.” Izuku said, breathless, and hid his face against Bakugou’s neck to avoid the cement dust. His busy fingers had already tied the capture tape around his opponent's limp arms.

“BAKUGOU IS OUT!”

When he looked up, Bakugou was standing perfectly still. The look in his eyes… if Izuku were stupid or idealistic, maybe a bit more naive than he actually was, he could swear the boy looked almost proud.

Izuku used his quirk to jump, leaping up the floors as fast as he could and trying to grab onto sections of the floor that weren’t likely to crumble under his grip.

“You good, Uraraka?”

“I- wait- pfft- don’t underestimate me, Midoriya- Iida, I thought something like this might happen-” Izuku wasn’t sure what “this” was, but he listened intently as he made his way up. “-so I made sure to stock my hero suit with ammo!”

Izuku arrived at the top floor just in time to see Uraraka pelting Iida with what looked to be marbles but they were obviously reinforced because they were leaving small pea shaped spots on Iida’s face. His helmet lay discarded, exposing his face to the attack.

Izuku felt incredibly proud of his classmate and, doing his part, he sped up and took her hand, pulling her to the payload while Iida was distracted.

“THE HERO TEAM WINS!” Toshinori yelled out, and there was no mistaking- at least not for Izuku who knew him personally- the pride radiating through the speakers.

Uraraka squealed excitedly, hugging him and spinning him in a circle.

“We did it!” she cried. “You were amazing, Midoriya!”

“You were incredible too, Uraraka. You really impressed me and it’s so smart to keep ammo on you.” He praised and she just beamed.

Izuku was exhausted, honestly, but he felt accomplished and later when he got back to the control room he tiredly accepted their praise and acknowledged the criticisms as well.

“Yes, Midoriya was clearly the MVP, however do remember, especially for those playing the heroes, it’s important to not cause too much damage to the building!” Toshinori laughed. “In this case, it’s okay since I was expecting something like this from you powerhouses, but in real life property damage is not only dangerous but will saddle you with a lot of paperwork!”

Izuku blushed and accepted the laughter good-naturedly. Toshinori frowned.

“Bakugou, it ended up being okay but let this serve as a warning to you,” his voice was serious and there wasn’t a noise in the room. “Never use an unknown attack against a classmate and never, ever use it when a teacher has told you not to do it. You need to understand that if Midoriya hadn’t gotten to safety in time he would be dead and there is no way for me to prepare you for something like that so you must learn to listen and to trust the judgement of your teachers.”

Bakugou stood tall, silent and strong.

“Yes, sensei.”

Toshinori stared at him for a moment longer and he must have found what he was looking for in his gaze because he gave an approving nod and then,

“Alright! Team E and Team B! You’re up!”

Chapter Text

“Thank you for meeting with me.”

Izuku inhaled a deep breath to fill his lungs and hopefully take away the deeply uncomfortable feeling that was sitting on his chest.

After the Battle Trials, he’d returned to the main school with his classmates and after getting changed back into his usual uniform he’d awkwardly said goodbye to them and went to the Teacher’s offices to find Aizawa.

The man had been sitting at one of the desks and Izuku noted that he had the messiest of the desks, narrowly stealing the prestige from a table that Izuku could only assume was Present Mic’s based on the amount of merch decorating it.

Sitting in front of him now, ensconced privately within Conference Room B, Izuku didn’t really know what to say to him past the awkward conversation that had taken place on their way there. An excruciating back and forth of, “how was class, good, oh okay then,” that had nearly eaten Izuku’s stomach from the inside out.

Aizawa seemed to steel himself.

“I owe you an apology, Midoriya.” He said determinedly. Izuku couldn’t help but admire the way he was holding himself despite that he clearly looked extremely reluctant to be there and in this position on the second day of school. Izuku could relate to that intimately.

“Everything you said to me yesterday was entirely justified and I’m deeply sorry that I put you into such an uncomfortable situation where you had to stand up for yourself and advocate for yourself against someone who was supposed to teach and guide you.” His head lowered in a bow and Izuku’s breath hitched in his chest, making an aborted attempt to stop him from bowing.

There was something disquieting about witnessing a man like Aizawa bow his head to him like that. Izuku didn’t know how to feel.

“I know it doesn’t mean anything to you now, and it might even make you more angry, but it’s my duty to inform you that despite manipulating the results on the board, I never meant to actually expel you.” Aizawa rubbed his face tiredly. His jaw was clenched so tightly that Izuku imagined it making a creaking noise when he opened it to speak.

“You’re right in saying I was biased and underprepared for my class. It’s no excuse, but I truly didn’t know about your quirk. Your papers were at the bottom of the file and I freely admit that I didn’t finish reading them before class started.” Aizawa admitted to his faults. “For this, you have my apology as well.”

“I-It’s okay,” Izuku said weakly. “Everything is fine now, I guess? As long as I’m not expelled for, uh, raising my voice at you?”

Aizawa cracked a small smile at that and shook his head.

“Not at all. Like I said, you were right and justified.” Aizawa promised. “I made a mistake thinking that you were underprepared and I said things I deeply regret. I hope you can forgive me for that.”

Izuku held his breath.

Forgive him for … that …?

He was silent, staring at his sensei and Aizawa stared back, seeming to be trying to give him time to think and simultaneously growing more and more anxious, by the way his fists tightened in his lap.

“I…” Izuku gathered himself, steeling his gut and trying not to look too terrified. “For the things that happened that day, sensei, I forgive you. The test, the chart manipulation, and the fake expelling.”

Aizawa was quiet, letting him think when he paused but after a moment he said, in a soft and hesitant voice,

“But?”

Izuku released a shuddery breath.

“But what you said to me … Eraserhead-san,” the man flinched at his Hero name. “You are not the first Hero to tell me I couldn’t be a hero.”

Aizawa looked at him, expression stricken as if Izuku had smacked him to attention.

“Midoriya, I-” He fell silent when Izuku held his hand up to pause him in his tracks. If he didn’t speak now he’d surely lose his courage.

“Almost a year ago I met a hero after a villain attack I was involved in. I asked him if I could be a hero if- if I could be a hero without a quirk.” Izuku had long ago healed these hurts with Toshinori but recalling it did still aggravate the invisible ache in his chest that those times wrought.

Aizawa was deathly silent.

“He said no. He told me to be realistic. He told me that I’d be a liability in the field and to give up.” Izuku smiled dryly, gesturing to himself. “Obviously I didn’t listen and what’s more, I changed his mind. That hero became a mentor to me, he worked everyday for a year to prove to me that I really had changed his mind and that I to-o-” Izuku swallowed his tears, mortified at his voice cracking like that, “I too can be a hero.”

Aizawa exhaled, his fists clenched so tightly in his lap that his knuckles were turning white.

“You’re asking me to forgive your hasty opinion of me, and I do- I really do, but I-I’m sorry, Eraserhead, growing up quirkless and being told from all sides what a waste of space I am, that I’m useless and unfit to be a hero, that- that I was born destined to take a swan dive off a roof-” okay, so maybe Kacchan had gotten in his head today more than he cared to admit. The words came out shaky and wet, causing Aizawa’s eyes to flash in some strange look of agony and fear and burning anger.

“My mother had to raise me strong enough to deal with it all.” Izuku said hollowly. “And she’d be horrified if I just forgave you for treating me that way without being absolutely sure that you’ve changed your opinion.”

“I have,” Aizawa said immediately, trying to impress it on him and shifting in his seat uncomfortably. “I really have, Midoriya. I was wrong- so, so wrong.”

“Sensei,” Izuku said carefully, “Your opinion of me may have changed, but … what are you going to do when a quirkless kid really does make it into the hero course?”

Aizawa’s breath hitched.

Izuku, despite feeling shaky inside and like he was going to throw up from nerves, stood up from the swivel chair and gathered his things in the almost desolate silence in the conference room.

“I was lucky,” Izuku said, with a note of finality to his voice. “I trained hard and I got my broken up little quirk, but not everyone gets the quirk at the finish line, sensei. I carry the hopes and dreams of all my family with me,” he looked down at his arm where his mourning band sat and Aizawa’s eyes followed his movement and he stared at the band silently, “they’re quirkless and discriminated against, and- and inside I’m still just the same quirkless deku who wants to save people and be a hero even without a great quirk and you- you didn’t think he could do it.”

With that, Izuku bowed and left the room before Aizawa could say anything more. He was pretty sure the man wasn’t going to move from that position anytime soon and Izuku’s chest ached.

He didn’t want to have to say that to him. He didn’t realize that changing someone’s perception of him- of quirkless people- would be so- so agonizing. 

Not everyone was Toshinori. Toshinori who made a mistake and then showed up every single day to atone for it and who went to their little community with so much love to spare.

Aizawa … he had some problems, but Izuku didn’t think he was a lost cause at all. Actually, he’d been kind of touched at the apology and though Aizawa was missing a few points, he had a feeling the man was going to step up to the challenge with the same admirable and determined set to his shoulders that he’d approached Izuku with.

All in all, it had been a good day. He’d fought Bakugou and he’d won. He’d made friends, real friends who didn’t see his baggage before they could see him. And Aizawa, for all his faults, had apologized to him and though only half of his apology was accepted, Izuku felt hope.

Don’t disappoint me, Aizawa-sensei. You were my hero and now you’re-

“Midoriya.”

Izuku whirled around, startled at Aizawa’s voice. Had he followed him out?

Aizawa looked as determined and stoic as ever. He stared at Izuku with dark, swirling eyes, skin pale and the rims of his eyes a bit too pink.

“I’m going to prove to you that I’ve changed.” He said strongly. “You may not believe me yet and that’s- that’s okay- even good, it’s-it’s good. It gives me the chance to really prove it to you and not just- not just to you, but to all of the people I’ve disappointed.”

“I believe that with hard work and dedication, anyone can be a hero, regardless of their quirk status.” Aizawa stared at him and this time it felt like he was staring right through Izuku’s soul. “You taught me that, so if it’s alright with you, Midoriya, despite this feeling in my chest that’s telling me I don’t deserve to call myself a hero, let alone a teacher, I’ll still try my best to teach you now. Unbiased and unashamedly teaching you my trade even though I am clearly not a master of it either.”

Aizawa bowed his head, turned on his heel and left- his capture weapon floating behind him and jostling with the speed of his power walk away.

Izuku blinked at the suddenly empty corridor.

Aizawa… no, Eraserhead… you’re really-

He beamed, trying not to show how flustered he was feeling at such an intense declaration.

You’re really so cool, Eraserhead.

❋

The next day Izuku was in good spirits when he arrived at school. He met Uraraka in front of the school again and greeted his new friend warmly. 

“Midoriya, you’re here! How was your meeting with Aizawa sensei yesterday?” She asked concernedly. “He apologized, right?”

“He apologized,” Izuku confirmed. “There’s no need to hold a grudge or anything. Sensei was a little confused about my quirk because he didn’t get around to reading my file but we cleared everything up.”

Uraraka beamed.

“Awesome, it would be kind of awkward to be beefing with sensei on the third day of class, you know.” She said and Izuku snorted, agreeing vehemently.

The classroom wasn’t full but they were among the last few to arrive and they took their seats hurriedly. He greeted Bakugou with an even tone, smiling slightly at his responding grunt even when others stared at him like he was crazy for even bothering.

When Aizawa arrived for roll call, he decided to casually announce their next task in the most dramatic way possible.

“Today you’re going to be making a choice that will affect the rest of your school careers,” he said darkly. Izuku gulped. “This choice can only be changed so many times before it becomes permanent and I would prefer to only handle the paperwork once so when I say choose wisely, I mean it.”

He let them stew for a moment.

“You’re picking class representatives.” He said blandly and Izuku released a puff of air as he exhaled.

“Sensei!” Kaminari complained. “You scared us for such a normal thing! I thought we were about to face villains or something!”

Aizawa snorted at that.

“As if you’re ready for that. I watched your battle trials, you know,” he lifted a brow. “I know full well what levels you’re all at.”

Izuku wasn’t the only one to redden and duck their heads. Iida straightened up, puffing out his chest proudly as he suggested a vote.

“Won’t everyone just vote for themselves though?” Kirishima asked dubiously, though he did rip a piece of paper out from his book to write on.

“Naturally,” Iida affirmed, already going about writing down his vote on a slip of note paper. “So whoever gets more than one vote will surely be the best for the job!”

Izuku took out a slip of paper and debated for a moment. Iida was the obvious choice, being such a stickler for the rules, but somehow he thought the boy’s... eccentricities... wouldn’t exactly translate well if he were in a position of power, capable of bossing the class around or representing them as a whole.

He thought back to the Battle Trials. Both Yaoyorozu Momo and Asui Tsuyu had stood out to him as highly capable students, though in the end he wrote down Yaoyorozu’s name since he didn’t know if Asui would be able to handle representing the whole class.

The results only showed the top three, considering some people really had voted for themselves but Izuku was left gaping at the screen when Bakugou made a noise under his breath at the results.

Midoriya, Izuku - 10

Yaoyorozu, Momo - 3

Iida, Tenya - 2

“It’s settled, Midoriya will be class president.” Aizawa said in his usual apathetic voice. “Yaoyorozu will be vice.”

“But I- I’m not Class Rep material! Who on earth voted for me?!” Izuku blurted, horrified and there were a few giggles. Uraraka flashed him two thumbs up and beamed proudly, making him suspect her.

Despite his protests, he was still Class Rep by the time lunch rolled around. He made his way there with the class, complaining a little about it to a snickering Uraraka. Behind them, Kaminari and Ashido were eavesdropping and laughing too.

“Don’t be so moody over it, Midoriya, I voted for you!” Kaminari said cheerfully, slinging a casual arm over Izuku's shoulder. “You’re going to be a great Rep!”

“You voted for me?!” Izuku exclaimed. “No way, I thought you voted for yourself!”

“Haha, I voted for you too, Midoriya,” Uraraka admitted. “At first I thought it would be cool to be Class Rep but honestly you were really cool yesterday and you didn’t stop even though I definitely would have if I’d been against someone as strong as Bakugou. I was impressed by you and you led us to victory.”

Izuku was bright red by the time she finished talking. He sat at their table with a soft thump of surprise.

“Yeah, you were my vote too, Mido,” Ashido announced, settling down. Iida was sitting there as well, expression carefully polite and Izuku inwardly cringed on his behalf. Anyone with eyes could see that he’d wanted to be Class Rep. 

“A-are you okay with this outcome, Iida?” He asked, quietly and curiously. Iida gave a too-wide smile.

“Of course, Midoriya. Although I apologize since my vote went to Yaoyorozu, but I’m sure you’ll make a great Class Rep.” He said tightly. Izuku wasn’t sure what he’d done to the boy- other than raising his voice at Aizawa- to make him so overtly hostile and he was sure by the expressions on the others’ faces that he wasn’t the only one to notice that tension.

“Um, if you’re, uh, concerned over the incident with Aizawa sensei, I just wanted to make sure you knew it’s all cleared up.” Izuku offered, scratching his head a little. “Sensei apologized for what happened and I’m really not holding a grudge or anything. It was just a misunderstanding.”

“Did you apologize to Aizawa sensei?” Iida asked sternly and Izuku blinked. Was that what his problem was? That he thought Izuku had something to apologize for? Izuku frowned, feeling kind of offended.

“I have nothing to apologize to him for.” his voice was a bit cold. “Actually, if we want to be really specific about it- I didn’t even fully accept his apology. I can forgive what he did as a teacher, but what he said to me and his opinions as a hero… sensei is going to have to prove himself way more to me. Does that make you mad, Iida?”

Iida looked at him, his face almost purpling with rage. He stood up, quietly, and left the table. Izuku exhaled sharply, instantly regretting being so harsh.

“I didn’t mean to snap at him, damn!” he cried, hiding in his arms.

“Hey now, it’s okay! Iida is way out of line, Midoriya!” Ashido assured, patting his back. He was about to give a morose reply but before he could say anything, alarms started blaring, cutting into his eardrums with their volume.

“What’s going on?!” Uraraka cried, covering her ears tightly. Izuku frowned.

For all that it was concerning that there was an alarm going off, they were still in a building with a lot of Pro-Heroes and further than the blaring alarm there were no other announcements. Izuku whipped out his phone and as the crowd jostled them around and about, he hacked into the cameras from the little cafe in front of the school. It didn’t take him long at all to see what the problem was.

Reporters. It was just the Media getting rowdy at the front gates because of All Might teaching at UA.

“Hey, Uraraka,” Izuku got his friend’s attention. “It’s just the Media! I need a way to tell everyone to calm down or we’ll start a riot here!”

Uraraka frowned and then had a lightbulb moment. She lifted her hand, wiggling her fingers and Izuku immediately got her drift and grinned, however- before they could go through with it- a better plan squeezed through the crowd in the form of Yaoyorozu.

“Yaoyorozu!” Izuku cried, relieved and Uraraka pouted. “Could you make me a megaphone or something? It’s just the media and all this panic is going to get someone seriously injured!”

Yaoyorozu didn’t even hesitate and in less than a minute, after Izuku’s voice filled the cramped hallway, they were all making their way back to the cafeteria to finish their lunches or to the nurses office to get a trampled foot fixed.

"How did you know it was the media?" Yaoyorozu asked curiously on their way back to class and Izuku coughed awkwardly, mind scrambling to find an excuse.

"They've been out there all morning. I noticed them getting through the gate from the window." He said hurriedly and fortunately no one picked up on the lie. Yaoyorozu just hummed and shook her head.

"I didn't even notice there were reporters here. The car my driver uses is completely sound-proof and it has darkened windows so I didn't even notice them." she said embarrassedly and they laughed at that. Uraraka nudged his arm playfully.

“And you thought you’d be a bad Class Rep,” Uraraka teased. Izuku just blushed.

Later in class, just before they were to be released for the day, he was supposed to stand in front of them all and give a short speech with Yaoyorozu. He’d originally planned on handing over the reins to someone else but something stopped him.

In all honesty, he didn’t really have the time for being Class Rep. With his work at Hydrangea, training with Toshinori, and his work as Argos, Izuku was busy as ever, but as he opened his mouth to pass the baton, his eyes caught on Bakugou.

The blonde arched his brow and lifted up a slip of paper. There, written in his childhood friend’s awful chicken scratch handwriting-

Deku.

Something in Izuku’s chest reared and then settled. He couldn’t help but roll his eyes slightly. Yes, he was busy, and yes Iida was glaring at him, but ten people had voted for him to be Class Rep and among those ten was Bakugou.

That wasn’t something small.

“I’m honored to represent us as a class. You’ve chosen me and I’ll strive to make sure that you never regret that choice.” Izuku bowed deeply. “Thank you for your faith in me.”

The class applauded and after Yaoyorozu’s speech they made their way to their respective tables. On his way past Bakugou’s desk he reached out and tugged softly on one of his hair spikes. When they were kids it had been their little thing. Izuku would tug on his hair whenever he was nervous or scared and Bakugou would be there, loud and with explosions ringing in his palms to protect him.

Now Bakugou stiffened slightly, but he didn’t say or do anything further than a small grunt.

Things weren’t fully okay between them, not by a long shot, but like with Aizawa Izuku had a lot of hope. 

He was determined to become a hero that not only saved people but that changed the perceptions of people for the better. He was starting small, little by little, and one day… one day he was going to change the world.

Chapter Text

Izuku’s eyes were going cross-eyed with how long he’d been sitting in front of his desk working.

His setup was intense and it had taken him a while to get used to each of the screens on his desk and the fact that they were all monitoring different things. When he’d just started out as Argos he’d done it on his shitty laptop with all the All Might stickers on, but as he got better and started charging money for his services, his setup had graduated into what it was now.

His desk was kept behind a private section in his room that served as his office. It was conveniently hidden behind a door that looked like a cupboard and it led into a room with a view of the gardens- not that he spent much time in there looking at the flowers.

Most of his attention was usually split between the three large computer screens weighing down his desk. One screen monitored the street cameras in Musutafu, mostly in the suburbs he “patrolled” in. It was tied to a program that he himself had developed and trained to recognize scuffles or villain activity.

The second screen kept track of police reports- in and surrounding Musutafu- and was split in half to keep an eye on Hosu and Yamanashi Prefecture as well.

The third was the one that contained the coding that kept both the other screens going, and in front of all of them was Izuku’s laptop- a far more advanced specimen than his childhood laptop but still containing more All Might stickers than was strictly necessary.

For all that his attention was on the three screens in order to call in necessary activity, Izuku was mostly focused on Argos’s newest mission. He’d tried to refuse payment for this particular feat but Toshinori had put his foot down and insisted that he follow his usual rates for analysis done.

After the Battle Trials, Toshinori had walked him home and had asked him to do analysis on his classmates for feedback on their performances, costumes, and current weaknesses to work on.

“I purposefully skipped the costume check because I wanted them to experience the problems first-hand,” Toshinori explained. “A lot of their costumes were terrible but it wouldn’t do any good for me to tell them that if they didn’t see first-hand how terrible they were.”

That much was true. As expected, a lot of the trials that had taken place had been filled with bumbling errors due to the awkward costumes everyone was wearing.

“Besides, I already told Nezu I was outsourcing analysis and he provided the budget.” Toshinori said smugly. “I think he was unnecessarily curious as to who I was using but I didn’t say your name!”

So, Izuku had spent the weekend working on detailed analysis for each member of Class 1A. After so many years as Argos, it was practically second nature to stamp each file with his seal of identity. By the time he realized what he was doing he’d already done more than half of the physical folders so he went ahead and continued stamping each file.

The next morning he met Toshinori in front of the Teacher’s offices and passed over the stack of folders surreptitiously. His mentor beamed at him, ruffling his hair and giving his shoulder a nudge towards the 1A classroom.

Despite how tired he was, he entered the classroom with what he hoped was a comforting smile. He felt a flicker of relief when most of his classmates returned his smile with waves or warm greetings. Bakugou grunted when he passed and that was as warm a greeting as he was ever sure to get from the boy.

The only one who didn’t greet him was Iida and Izuku pursed his lips, vowing to try and treat the boy cordially despite that he was kind of pissing him off.

“You look really tired, bro, are you okay?” Kirishima asked, looking worried and Izuku offered him a smile. Uraraka looked at him closer, frowning.

“I’m okay. I was extremely busy this weekend so I didn’t get much sleep.” he admitted embarrassedly. After the amount of work he’d done on the analysis, he’d still gathered up the kids at Hydrangea and dragged them out to do volunteer work with him in the mornings.

“Were you volunteering with Present Mic’s agency again?” Hagakure piped up. “I think Yamada sensei mentioned you did that on weekends, right?”

Izuku blushed.

“I was, yes, I volunteer there every weekend, this one was just a bit busier than normal.” Izuku said honestly. Yaoyorozu perked up at her table.

“Perhaps I could join you this weekend, Midoriya? It would be great to get to know you better, since we’re Class Representatives together. I do some charity work too, though not usually in person so it will be a great learning experience for me too.” She said eagerly and Izuku smiled.

“I’d be happy if you came along, Yaoyorozu. I’ll text you the details and help you get registered, alright?” He offered and the girl beamed and nodded.

“Hey, I wanna come too!” Kirishima announced. “Charity work is super manly and as a hero-student we shouldn’t be slacking on that side of heroics either! Sign me up!”

Izuku blinked, lifting a brow as more of his classmates piped up, volunteering to join the effort. He scratched his head a little bemusedly, vaguely noticing Aizawa leaning against the chalkboard and watching them with an impassive expression.

“Then, everyone who wants to come along can come along for sure. We can meet up on Saturday morning, I’ll let you know the time later but for now it’s homeroom, guys, so please greet Aizawa Sensei.”

More than one student whipped around, realizing that their teacher was there and Izuku was sure Iida was about to have a panic attack at not having noticed him standing there.

“Good morning, Aizawa sensei!” 

Izuku bit his lip. Somehow they’d all chorused the greeting today like a group of obedient preschoolers and there was a ripple of laughter at the realization. Aizawa quirked a brow.

“Good morning.” He said back, pushing away from the wall and getting started with roll call.

For the most part classes were normal and Izuku kind of enjoyed an ordinary day at school. By the time their last class for the day ended they were all pretty excited for Foundational Heroics again and this time when All Might arrived they were more prepared for it and there was less squealing. Izuku was pretty sure he heard at least one person quietly hyperventilating at their teacher and he could honestly relate.

“We’re in Gym Gamma today! Get your hero costumes on and meet me there!” Toshinori cried excitedly. “Hurry, hurry, hurry, we don’t have all day!”

They changed into their costumes in record time, though Izuku was still tying his mourning band around his arm by the time he exited his changing stall.

“I’ve been meaning to ask, dude, but what’s up with the arm band?” Kaminari asked bluntly. “It’s kind of reminding me of one of those funeral bands, no offence.”

Izuku smiled thinly.

“None taken, that’s exactly what it is.” He said honestly, tying it tighter and shaking out his gloved hands. The boys around him came to a stop and Kaminari looked horrified.

“Oh my God, I’m so sorry! I didn’t mean to sound like such an ass!” He cried, horrified and Izuku shook his head, lifting a hand to quell his anxiety.

“It’s fine, Kaminari. I wasn’t offended,” he promised. “It’s a mourning band that I wear for the people I’ve lost. Being a hero… being somebody in the world, that was their dream and it’s my job to fulfil it and carry them with me while I do.”

There were actual tears in Kirishima’s eyes as he released the most empathetic,

“That’s so manly.”

Izuku couldn’t help but snort at that and fortunately he wasn’t the only one. The group of 1A boys arrived in fairly good spirits, finding a few of the girls already there as well as All Might, and Aizawa. When everyone was finally there, All Might got started on the lesson.

“Alright! I’m sure you’ve all been curious about what we would get up to in this lesson, well, after the excitement of our Battle Trials I decided to go right back to what we were technically supposed to start with!” All Might announced eagerly, pausing for dramatic effect. “Costume checks!”

Almost every student in the gym groaned and Ashido practically collapsed to the ground in emotional agony.

“I thought we were going to beat things up today, but you’re just gonna criticize our outfits? No fair!” She complained and All Might gave a booming laugh.

“HAHA! Not quite, young Ashido!” He produced the stack of files from out of nowhere- literally, Izuku was watching him the whole time and still couldn’t figure out where he got them from- “I took the liberty of sharing the footage of your battle trials with a good friend of mine who did some splendid analysis on each of your performances and costumes!”

Aizawa looked just as surprised as the other students. He frowned quizzically at the stack of files.

“You shared footage of our students with some analyst? Just who is this friend of yours, All Might?” He asked seriously and Izuku held his breath. Surely Toshinori wouldn’t-

“Ah-haha, erm, his name is Argos! He’s very talented and super trustworthy, not to worry!”

Toshinori?!!

Izuku wished that Cementos Sensei was here to provide him with a few concrete slabs to bash his head into, or if he were feeling up to it to bash his mentor’s head into. What was the point of not telling Nezu his name but then blurting it out in front of the one Hero who would probably recognize him, and a bunch of curious teenagers?!

Aizawa choked on his own spit, coughing alarmingly for a moment and staring at All Might like he had suddenly sprouted two extra heads.

“Did you just say Argos?” Aizawa demanded and All Might thankfully didn’t look his way, laughing awkwardly and tugging on the tips of his hair in that way that told Izuku he was panicking.

“Y-yup! Argos, he’s a professional analyst so don’t turn your nose up at any offer of help and come get your folders!” All Might gave the stack to Yaoyorozu, who started handing them out to each of them.

Izuku took his with a murmured thanks. It had been a nightmare trying to analyze himself and his hero costume in an unbiased way but he thought he’d actually done pretty well on the analysis after pretending that he was someone else entirely.

“How the hell do you know Argos? Have you met him? In person?” Aizawa questioned All Might under his breath but Izuku could still hear them, and if he could then others could too. All Might laughed, though he was sweating now.

“As I said, Aizawa-san, Argos is a good friend of mine. I have met him personally, but if you’re aware of him then I guess you already know he’s protective of his identity, so please don’t ask me more now!” All Might said firmly and Izuku was relieved when Aizawa dropped it, though he still looked suspicious and while the class was reading through their files Izuku watched his teacher fiddling on his phone surreptitiously in the corner.

A flicker of dread filled him and he shuddered, sending a slight scowl Toshinori’s way. His mentor shrugged unhelpfully and Izuku rolled his eyes heavenward, knowing in his soul that he was going to get an annoyed text from Tsukauchi later.

“Alright, come on up one by one and let’s go over what your files say! Young Ashido, since you expressed your excitement at our lesson today, perhaps you’d like to go first?” All Might beamed. Ashido looked up from her file with an utterly morose expression on her face and Izuku- who knew exactly what he had written in her file- pressed his lips together tightly to keep from laughing and buried his nose in his own file.

She stepped up to the middle of the room, repeatedly smacking her face with the file.

“Why don’t you read the section on your hero costume? It is your own prerogative whether or not you wish to share your whole file with your friends but do be aware, the back includes a list of weaknesses to concentrate on and only I, and eventually Aizawa-san, as well as Argos knows the contents of these files.” All Might promised.

There was a shuffle of movement as people awkwardly eyed each other and held their files closer to their chests.

“Right, well,” Ashido pouted, flipping the file open. “Apparently my color scheme is trash, thanks I knew that already! According to this Argos guy, my costume lacks stylistic or functional advantages, particularly the vest he says is cute but not functional and possibly detrimental to my range of motion. Wait, how the heck did he notice from the footage that my costume was damaged because of my acid? That’s crazy!”

“He’s very thorough.” All Might replied helpfully.

“Right, so, my costume does have acid proofing but according to him this means that there’s a potential aspect to my acid that is stronger than the sample I sent in for the design in the first place.” Ashido looked pleasantly surprised at the thought that she was more powerful than she’d originally thought. “He thinks my jumpsuit is ridiculous because it’s strapless- honestly I agree with that one. He thinks I need more protection around my torso and arms and that my boots are really cool, haha.”

All Might clapped proudly.

“So, you see, young Ashido! It’s not criticism, more just a chance to take a real look at the uniform that you are starting your hero career with and making sure that you are not only well protected but also set up with advice that will help with future marketing problems, safety regulations, as well as personal comfort!” He declared proudly. “Yaoyorozu! Perhaps you could be next?”

Yaoyorozu stepped up looking extremely reluctant. She was covering herself a little self consciously and Izuku bit his lip, feeling a little bad about how much he’d ripped her costume apart.

“Acording to Argos-san,” Izuku coughed lightly at the overly formal address. “My costume is overly sexualized and lacks basic support and protection. He… vehemently dislikes the fact that my legs, arm and torso are all unprotected despite that I need skin access and recommends a- a streamlined mecha-suit that has the technology to open and close again to protect the skin.” She sounded a lot better about herself at that part. “He hates my belt that carries my books and suggests a smart gauntlet that functions as a tablet where I can store information faster.”

There was a moment of silence while she read and then she flushed.

“He hates my heels too.”

There were a few snorts at that, mostly from the other girls who had similar comments made. Aizawa looked pretty satisfied with the outcome of the analysis and when Yaoyorozu stepped down he went over to her and asked to see the file for a moment while the other students went.

Hagakure had the longest file and by the time she finished reading she was practically vibrating with excitement as she announced,

“I didn’t even know some of these things were options! We took one of the cheaper options UA provided and since I wasn’t sure what I wanted out of a uniform they just did whatever they wanted!”

Izuku felt a flicker of anger at that and he made a mental note to investigate the company later. Aizawa looked similarly annoyed.

“I apologize, Hagakure. I honestly thought you were wearing a suit with that kind of technology already implemented. That was my mistake to assume.” He apologized and Izuku couldn’t help but smile at him slightly.

Aizawa looked up, meeting his gaze and Izuku wiped his smile away with a flush. 

“Midoriya, perhaps you, next?” Aizawa mentioned and Izuku cleared his throat and obediently stepped up, opening his folder even though he already knew what it said inside.

“Midoriya’s hero costume is comfortable and breathable. The turtleneck protects vulnerable points on the body and the colors are aesthetically pleasing in terms of stealth, as well as marketability. He likes that I carry a utility belt with medical equipment, my knuckle gloves and that my boots are steel-toed but dislikes that I lack protection around my torso and arms.” Izuku read faithfully. “Since my costume is fairly breathable he suggests that I include a lightweight under-body suit to make up for any perceived lack of protection.” 

“He thinks the mourning band I wear is admirable but morbid, pfft,” he couldn’t help his snicker at that part too, since the addition of that line had been on his mother’s request. “Sorry, my family thinks the exact same thing so that’s kind of funny but if they couldn’t convince me not to wear it then Argos surely won’t either.”

Aizawa frowned and there were a few whispers but no one said anything direct about it until,

“Kero, sorry to be blunt but I’ve noticed that you wear a mourning band even outside of your hero uniform.” Asui Tsuyu, his frog-quirked classmate, spoke up a bit hesitantly and he cocked his head.

“Yes, because I’m currently in mourning.” He said, his voice a bit sedate. “I lost a friend that was like a sister to me recently, so wearing a simple band to keep her close to my heart for a while is nothing.”

“I’m sorry for bringing up painful memories.” Asui apologized genuinely and Izuku stepped off the podium and shook his head, reaching out to squeeze her shoulder.

“It’s no problem. I don’t mind explaining.” He promised and she smiled.

It took a while to get through everyone’s files but by the end they were informed that after their upcoming special training the next morning they would get a chance to have their suits redesigned. The students all left in good spirits, though Izuku could see some were a bit more pensive- mainly Todoroki, Iida and Bakugou, neither of whom had been pleased by their files, though all of them took it with them.

On his way home, Toshinori caught up with him.

“I’m sorry, my boy, I really didn’t mean to blurt it out like that!” He cried. “Aziawa asked me who it was and he’s so blunt and kinda scary so it just came out!”

Izuku laughed at that. 

“You’re scared of Eraserhead?” He accused and Toshinori blushed, giving his shoulder a little shove out of embarrassment.

“He’s an intimidating fella!” Toshinori defended and that set Izuku off into hysterics again. He vowed that if he ever got the chance he would make sure Aizawa knew that All Might thought he was an “intimidating fella”.

❋

“Did you know All Might has met Argos in person?”

Naomasa looked up at the arrival and blinked slowly, trying to wrap his head around the absurd statement.

“What do you mean?” He asked evenly, and Shota sat down on his couch belligerently, tossing his capture weapon to the side with a huff.

“He walked into class today waving around twenty files of thorough analysis on each of my students that all have Argos’s seal on it!” He said tiredly. “I verified the seal myself, it’s definitely Argos’s work but I have no idea how on earth All Might knows him personally.”

Naomasa blinked rapidly. He was fighting somewhat with the overwhelming feeling of annoyance coursing through his body. His heartrate was elevated and if he were a stupider man then he would think the sudden dizziness was him getting sick but unfortunately he knew better.

His eyes narrowed.

“Well that’s… not fair.”

Shota pressed his two pointer fingers to his lips and looked at Naomasa almost sympathetically, garnering a dark scowl in return.

“Nao, are you seriously jealous of the Number 1 hero for meeting a vigilante analyst before you?” Shota asked, only a little teasingly. Naomasa picked up a blue highlighter and threw it at his head, scoffing when Shota just dodged it.

“I’ve known him for years, Shota, years and all I barely know anything about him and you’re telling me Toshinori knows him personally? How is that fair?!” Naomasa stopped just short of stamping his foot like a child. He grabbed his phone and navigated to the contact he had for Argos.

“Are you seriously hitting him up and complaining that he has other friends? That’s so lame, Nao, do I have to call your wife and let her know that you’re having a mental bre-” Shota ducked out of the way of a pencil sharpener and laughed raucously as he went to grab a coffee for them.

Naomasa

It’s been what? Five years? Since we started walking together and you’re telling me All Might has met you before me?

Naomasa

Why are you trying to hurt me, Argos?

Naomasa 

So much for being your favorite. You’re a liar, you vigilante fiend.

He was a little embarrassed reading the messages again and when Shota came back with two coffees he hid his phone to avoid his friend from seeing the messages either and fortunately Shota just laughed and flung himself back on the couch.

Ding! He lunged for his phone and scowled when Shota did the same, reading over his shoulder and laughing at him.

Argos

I think you’ll find I said you were my favorite detective.

Argos

Are you jealous, Tsuka-san? Don’t be like that, All Might just knows about me because he’s my family, of a sort.

Argos

You’re the first person I’ll reveal my identity to, I promise, Tsuka <3

Naomasa’s brow furled in confusion. Family? Toshinori didn’t have family, to the best of his knowledge, so hearing he was close enough to Argos that they called each other family was a bit shocking. 

“He’s playful today.” Shota commented, abandoning Naomasa in favor of the couch and coffee. Naomasa would have replied but his phone buzzed with more messages from Argos.

Argos

Not to shit on the mood but my eyes picked up a lot of villain activity recently and I’ve been keeping my eye on it but a lot of the people I’ve been monitoring seem to be preparing for something.

Naomasa

Preparing for something? Why didn’t you mention that there was villain activity?

Argos

I wasn’t sure if it had to do with the case we were working on or if it was something else. There have been some concerning whispers that some villains are planning a big fight but I’ve been struggling to pinpoint it

Argos

This requires an in-person touch

Naomasa straightened up in his seat. He hated it when Argos said that because it was always bound to be more paperwork for him.

“Argos is going to go out tonight.” He said grimly. “Apparently there’s some concerning villain activity in the area and it needs him to go out and check it himself.”

Shota straightened up from his slump.

“Does he need backup? I can go with him to keep him safe and it’s not like we’re going to arrest him.” He pointed out and Naomasa prayed Argos would accept the help even though he knew it was futile.

Naomasa

I have Eraserhead here offering backup, Argos. Please take him with you. I swear we’re not going to arrest you or unmask you but backup is always good especially if you don’t know what you’re getting into.

Argos

I appreciate the offer, Tsuka, but I’ll decline for now. I’m going to try and follow this lead undercover so that I can see exactly what they’re gathering for.

Argos

This is either a huge drug-deal or something more sinister and I need information that I won’t get from cameras.

Naomasa

That’s exactly why you need backup, Argos! Please take Eraserhead with you!

Argos

I will take an earpiece with me that will be connected to ones you can wear so that we can keep in contact. If things go wrong, I’ll let you know and you can do a rescue mission. That’s my final offer, Tsuka.

Naomasa

Very well. Be careful, Argos. I’ll find you and kill you myself if you die before we can even meet.

Argos

I knew you loved me, Tsuka, what would your wife say?

Naomasa

How the fuck do you know about my wife??

Argos

Don’t be ridiculous, Tsuka, I’m a hacker. You think I haven’t seen your files before I chose to start working with you??

Naomasa

Why am I not surprised? Keep in touch, Argos. We’re both on standby.

Looking up from his phone, he shared a grim nod with Shota. There wasn’t a chance in hell they were letting Argos die while investigating whatever these villains were gathering for.

“I have rescue training with the students tomorrow morning but I’ll wear the earpiece during it if his case is still ongoing,” Shota decided. “Thirteen and All Might will be with us so if I have to leave halfway through then it should be fine.”

Ding!

Both of them looked towards Naomasa’s phone but it was Shota’s phone that had actually made a noise and the moment he saw who it was he frowned.

Midoriya Izuku - CR

Sensei, I know this is sudden but I think I might miss school tomorrow. There was a family emergency and it might take up some time. Can I do a makeup class later or will this be a problem?

“That’s weird, Midoriya says he’s missing school tomorrow.” Shota mumbled. “He’s usually quite punctual and he’s the Class Rep too…”

Naomasa, who knew exactly who Midoriya was, shrugged a bit too casually.

“It must be pretty serious then. What happened?”

Aizawa Shota

That’s fine, Midoriya. As you know from the schedule you and Yaoyorozu were sent, the class is doing Rescue Training tomorrow. There isn’t really a makeup class for that but I’m sure your classmates won’t mind catching you up.

Aizawa Shota

Is there something I can help you with? 

Midoriya Izuku - CR

Thank you so much for your understanding, sensei. There’s nothing you can do to help right now, it’s just that I’m the sole caregiver for a group of people and there was an incident that I need to take care of.

Midoriya Izuku - CR

I’ll let Yaoyorozu know as well. Stay safe at the Rescue Training tomorrow and good luck, Sensei!

Shota was left with more questions than he had answers for.

“I told you he was involved in several charities specializing in quirkless and minority communities. Something probably happened with one of them and he has to deal with it. It’s admirable of him that he’s taking responsibility like this.” Naomasa said in a matter of fact tone.

Shota hummed. There was something niggling at him but he put it aside and went about connecting his communicator to Naomasa’s, sticking it in his ear for the off-chance that it would crackle to life with Argos’s voice.

Hopefully, it wouldn’t.

Chapter Text

Izuku was in a bit of a … situation, you could say. How he got here, well, needless to say he was massively regretting not taking Tsukauchi up on his offer to investigate with Eraserhead at his side. At least then he might have a hell’s chance of getting out of here alive.

“-to kill the Symbol of Peace! All Might!” 

Here, that was to say, the warehouse he’d painstakingly tracked using a program that pinged certain keywords from suspicious individuals he’d been keeping an eye on. He’d been following them for most of the night and had come across a frankly huge gathering of criminals.

It was too much to call them villains. These were just petty criminals, maybe one or two had potential to be real problems, but for the most part Izuku could swear he’d called in a few of these guys for pickpocketing, of all things.

Why were they all gathered?

“Welcome, everyone, to the League of Villains!” 

Izuku’s eyes narrowed on the leaders standing at the back of the large group of lowlifes. He reached up surreptitiously and turned on his communicator.

It barely took a second for soft voices to reach him.

“Argos, it’s Tsukauchi. What’s your status?” The detective sounded on edge and stressed and Izuku could faintly hear the sound of something crashing.

“Eraserhead here too.” Aizawa’s distinct gravelly voice.

Izuku said nothing, he couldn’t risk explaining the predicament he was in but he did manage to slip his phone- the one he used as Argos- out of his pocket and send his location through to the group chat he’d started with both Tsukauchi and Eraserhead in it, for this exact reason.

“I got your location, I’ll organize a rescue detail immediately, Argos, hang in there!” Tsukauchi blurted.

Izuku focused his attention on the three biggest perceived threats. The largest of them was a hulking beast of a- a thing? It looked vaguely humanoid but its brain was entirely exposed and Izuku had never seen something of that size and strength.

The second was a tall, shadowy man who wore a crisp looking suit and a gold embellished helmet that covered a face that may as well have been a black hole. 

“As we speak and loiter here, All Might grows stronger and stronger!” The third, the speaker, was a man of average height. He had pale, almost flaky looking skin and Izuku could barely see his facial features through two menacing looking hands that covered his face and pale blue hair. A pair of bloodthirsty red eyes scanned the crowd, completely glossing over him despite his unusual attire compared to the other thugs around them.

There were several hands all over him, two that he could see on his shoulders, five on his arms, and two braced across his chest but there were possibly more that couldn’t be seen from his vantage point. For the most part, his clothing was plain, just black pants and a shirt, though he wore a pair of eye-catching red shoes.

He radiated an aura of evil that had Izuku momentarily breathless. When he spoke, his entire being demanded that people listen.

“The root of all evil is those that try to control us,” he sneered. “They try to conform us, all while spitting on us for our villainous quirks, our miserable lives- and they parade around, saving the good common folk and raking in yen all while we suffer!”

Izuku felt a chill go over his spine at the loud cheer.

“No more!” He cried. “My name is Shigaraki Tomura, and I’m going to kill All Might, once and for all so that all villains can be free to do as they please!”

It was a completely ridiculous speech, somewhat childish and it lacked any gravitas, but it seemed to be enough for this group of thugs because the cheer that rang out was positively deafening.

“Hang in there, Argos, we’re dispatching police and heroes now. Eraserhead, status?” Tsuakuchi sounded even more stressed after hearing the statement from Shigaraki.

“Currently at the USJ with students. All Might isn’t here even though he was supposed to be. I’ll leave the students with Thirteen and be there as soon as I can.” He decided.

“Wait.” Izuku barely opened his mouth to say the word but both men gasped at hearing his voice. He thanked God that he’d worn his mask that contained a voice modulator that disguised his actual voice.

“Join us, join us as we take down the Symbol of Peace today!” he heard twin gasps from his comm, “Where he’s currently teaching the new generations of hero scum at the USJ!”

With that, Izuku watched, anxiety crawling up his throat, as a large, gleaming purple mass of darkness opened against a wall and with loud cheers people started walking through it and hollering as they followed the leaders through.

“I’m going with them. Eraserhead, get your damn students out of there immediately. I’ll see you there.” He snapped. “Tsukauchi, change course for UA.”

With that, he stepped through the darkness and into the bright, blinding light of the USJ that was now crawling with vermin.

Well, Aizawa, I guess I’ll make it to class after all.

❋

Shota was stressed, to say the least. 

After a long night where he’d barely slept in order to keep an ear out for Nao’s little analyst, he’d been forced to escort twenty- no, nineteen- students to do a rigorous rescue exercise with only one other teacher keeping an eye on things.

It was a hassle, and mentally he lambasted All Might to his heart’s desire while he let Thirteen take the lead.

It happened while he was stepping backwards, the silent and unnoticed communicator stuck in his ear crackled to life and all he heard for one stressful second was-

“-League of Villains!”

The voice was young, but not as young as his students and Naomasa had probably been just as alert as he was, because his voice came across next.

“Argos, it’s Tsukauchi. What’s your status?”

He looked up and flashed a Look at Thirteen, moving towards the back of the class at her acknowledging nod. A few students noticed him moving but they didn’t say anything further than a curious look.

“Eraserhead here too.” Jirou, one of the students with advanced hearing, cocked her head at him and he realized that she could probably hear him and Argos through the earphone he was wearing. His phone buzzed and when he looked down at it there was a location pin from Argos. He clenched the phone tight enough that he swore the screen would crack.

“I got your location, I’ll organize a rescue detail immediately, Argos, hang in there!” Naomasa said hurriedly, and now Jirou wasn’t paying attention to Thirteen at all. He was about to give her a scolding look when the next words from the comm had him completely stilling.

“As we speak and loiter here, All Might grows stronger and stronger!” The voice was gravelly, like someone extremely young had started smoking too early and now had a perpetually dry throat. “The root of all evil is those that try to control us. They try to conform us, all while spitting on us for our villainous quirks, our miserable lives- and they parade around, saving the good common folk and raking in yen all while we suffer!”

He knew he was pale. Jirou looked just as pale and she took several steps forward, standing right in front of him and he couldn’t even tell her to go away because he couldn’t stop her from hearing. Other students were noticing and even Thirteen fell quiet, looking at him worriedly.

“No more!” The voice cried. “My name is Shigaraki Tomura, and I’m going to kill All Might, once and for all so that all villains can be free to do as they please!”

“Hang in there, Argos, we’re dispatching police and heroes now. Eraserhead, status?” Naomasa’s voice was a welcome reprieve from the grating voice of the villain speaking through Argos’s end.

“Currently at the USJ with students. All Might isn’t here even though he was supposed to be. I’ll leave the students with Thirteen and be there as soon as I can.” He said, clearly, and no one was even pretending to not be eavesdropping. He looked to Thirteen and opened his mouth to speak but the words got stuck in his throat at a barely there whisper,

“Wait.”

That voice was obviously altered somehow, but it was Argos. He vaguely heard Naomasa gasp. 

“Join us, join us as we take down the Symbol of Peace today!” he couldn’t help his own gasp and a brief flash of guilt at his annoyed thoughts towards All Might just moments before, “Where he’s currently teaching the new generations of hero scum at the USJ!”

Shota’s eyes widened and he barely had a second to even consider warning Thirteen, or trying to get the students out of the damn building before they were there. A dark black hole opened right in the center of the building and villains were pouring out like flies.

“I’m going with them.” Argos snapped in his ear. “Eraserhead, get your damn students out of there immediately. I’ll see you there. Tsukauchi, change course for UA.”

“Thirteen, protect the students and get them the hell out of here!” He shouted, leaping into motion and pulling his capture weapon into his hands to ready himself for battle.

He couldn’t focus too much on his surroundings. He was in a maelstrom of activity and he couldn’t slow down for a single second, but all of a sudden there was someone pressed against his back. He panicked, jutting his elbow out to punch them right between the eyes but the person just ducked and released a light chuckle, then,

“Easy there, Eraserhead. My eyes aren’t as helpful as yours but I still need ‘em to give you a hand.”

And he couldn’t still, he couldn’t slow down, but the realization that Argos was at his back eased the burden he was carrying somewhat.

“Nice to meet you, finally.” Shota said simply, and then they were fighting.

He didn’t really have the time to notice a whole lot other than the push and pull of battle, but from the corner of his eye and the amount of time he had during quirk use, he noted that Argos was a pretty decent fighter.

The vigilante fought mainly with a pair of knives and mixed martial arts, which was fascinating, and he didn’t seem to be using any kind of quirk.

“The students were split up throughout the building,” Argos said, in a second where they passed each other, and Shota’s heart clenched. Argos twirled back, “Stop using your quirk so consistently, that guy is watching you too closely.”

Almost on instinct, his quirk fell and he used his capture weapon exclusively for a few seconds before needing his quirk again.

“Who the fuck even are you?!” That same scratchy voice from earlier whined. He sounded childish and Shota made a mental note of it. The guy wasn’t talking to him, and Argos made a loud, humming noise as he dispatched two villains at once, sliding between them and using his knives to slice into their kneecaps.

“I’m surprised you didn’t notice me earlier, Shigaraki Tomura.” Argos spoke, his voice confident, though Shota thought he could hear a slight shake even through the voice modulator he was wearing.

The villains were thinning out due to their combined efforts and it gave Shota a moment to take in his comrade.

Argos was shorter than he’d thought he would be. He wore basic black army pants with a strange collared, black and dark blue jacket that was pushed up to show his forearms. Over the jacket, there was a red obi tied around his waist, and he wore black gloves that stopped at his knuckles.

His head was covered with a hood that seemed firmly attached despite all his moving around, and a metallic mask covered his lower face so that his identity was protected. Despite this, Shota noticed that his eyes were bright blue.

“Who are you, you cheat!” Shigaraki cried indignantly. “Kurogiri, you let a damn cheater into the game!”

Argos latched onto the villain’s lingo surprisingly fast.

“Don’t blame your comrade for your shortcomings, Shigaraki. You’re the one playing this game, aren’t you? You’re the one who didn’t notice me sneaking through your servers.” He taunted, and Shota was gripped with a desire to drag the vigilante away, keep him out of Shigaraki’s view and protect him.

“Whatever,” Shigaraki snarled. “I’m not the final boss either way. Meet my Nomu!”

He gestured almost flamboyantly towards the hulking beast that Shota had barely even noticed for how quiet it stood. Argos came to his side, sucking in a slight breath.

Without the fodder in their way anymore, all they had to focus on were these main villains. Just what the hell was this Nomu?

The Nomu was fast. In barely a blink of an eye it was upon them and Shota tried to fight back but he wasn’t a match for this kind of monster- the only thing he could do was push Argos aside and swallow the hit into his body.

Every nerve in his body was alive and tingling with pain. It was like someone had dropped a boulder right on his head and for a few seconds everything was completely white. When he opened his eyes there was a tinge of red in them that he knew was blood. He heard Argos shout his name but he didn’t have the energy to reassure him.

Argos stood before him, facing the villains with his two blades gripped in tight fists. 

“All Might isn’t here, Shigaraki. Why bother with us when your real target is missing? Let Eraserhead go!” He demanded, raising his blades, but Shigaraki just laughed. Shota’s heart, which was racing in his chest- racing with adrenaline and fear- stuttered to a horrified stop when Shigaraki pounced forward to attack Argos. They fought but Shota could barely pay attention to the battle through the searing pain he was in. All he could hear was Argos’s pained scream and the shing of blades whipping out in immediate defense.

“How dare you?!” Shigaraki cried. “You hurt my father!”

Shota had no idea what had just happened. He was fast losing energy and he feared what would happen if he passed out. Death had never been closer for him and he was struggling to come to terms with it.

“Shigaraki Tomura,” The shadowy villain, Kurogiri, appeared at Shigaraki’s side, giving Argos a second to gather himself. “I’m afraid a student has managed to escape. Perhaps it would be better to fall back.”

Shota felt abject relief that, at the very least, one of his students was safe.

“The police and heroes are on their way too.” Argos piped up. Shota lifted a heavy eyelid and noticed the vigilante bravely standing between them. His jacket sleeve was completely disintegrated and Shota couldn’t see his skin because of all the blood coating his trembling arm. “You didn’t think I was here alone, did you? Backup is already on its way.”

“Kurogiri, you damn fool!” Shigaraki cursed, stomping his feet in an actual tantrum. “Whatever, I don’t care anymore- All Might isn’t here, but that doesn’t mean we can’t still deliver a brutal blow to the Hero society.”

His maniacal grin turned sharper as he looked at Argos.

“I wonder how All Might will feel when he gets here to a bunch of dead kids.”

Argos was prepared for him. Everything from the set of his shoulders, to the bracing of his blades, showed that he was ready to fight.

But it wasn’t him Shigaraki went for. No, he raced off and veered to the right where Shota caught sight of his students watching them.

Asui Tsyusu.

Shota’s quirk flared up at just the right second as the villain’s disgusting hand touched her face.

“No!” Argos screamed.

“Eraserhead, dammit, you really are so damn cool.” Shigaraki praised. “No-”

He didn’t have a chance to give the Nomu another command. Argos was trembling from anger and possibly fear and even in his pathetic state right now, Shota felt awe fill him as a veritable beast burst from the vigilante’s chest.

Tendrils of black seemed to burst from his chest, lifting him up in the air as the world around them swirled with energy. The pressure holding Shota’s head down eased and all of a sudden he was surrounded by warmth and the most gentle touch.

Black vines cradled him softly, lifting him from the ground and depositing him all the way on the USJ steps, far from the activity happening below. It allowed him to see what was happening without the threat of certain death.

Shigaraki was screaming and Argos, still in the air, was like an avenging angel of death. Those black whips of his quirk were beyond strong and they attacked the villains mercilessly. When one tendril was disintegrated, another took its place.

Shota gasped as Argos deposited Asui and Mineta at his side. He seemed completely focused on the villains, but those same demonic looking whips that were fighting the Nomu had simultaneously brought them to safety so gently.

Argos … Shota had felt neither here nor there about the vigilante. 

He’d only agreed to wear the comm because of Nao’s affection for the man. He knew that his friend would have never recovered if something happened to his friend, and he had been mildly curious about him as well but now … now it was different.

Argos was incredible. He’d saved their lives, despite being heavily injured himself, and he was still going- fighting through every hit and every blow.

Shota only relaxed when the doors behind them burst open with the force of All Might’s anger. Backup had finally arrived and he heard a blaring gunshot echo throughout the building as Snipe and Tsukauchi arrived.

With everyone safe now, Shota succumbed to the temptation to just … rest.

“Eraserhead!”

Chapter Text

Izuku had never felt such abject fear in his entire life.

From the moment he’d stepped foot into the USJ he had felt fear coursing through his veins more potently than any drug could ever replicate. His every step, while confident and sure, was just masking this oppressive fear.

From the moment he’d decided to be a vigilante, he’d been training in martial arts to make up for his lack of a quirk. Now that he had One For All, he was put in the position of not being able to use it without giving away his identity. 

He kept up with Aizawa pretty well, but there was a churning guilt in his stomach with every blow his teacher suffered because of him.

Because you’re weak, he cursed himself. Your identity is more important to you than their lives. What the fuck is wrong with you, Izuku?!

He couldn’t help his self-abuse even while he fought for his life. His mind was racing, scrambling to keep up with everything happening around him.

Don’t be so hard on yourself.

Izuku stilled at the voice. His moment of inactivity was enough for one of the villains to get the drop on him, kicking into his ribs hard enough to crack them. Izuku grunted, trying to swallow the pain as he retaliated with a roundhouse kick that sent the guy sprawling against two others in a dead faint.

His mind was buzzing all of a sudden. Like something in him had just come alive and somehow everything that he was before was just a barely living facsimile. Now- now he was alive.

We are One For All, the voice told him. It echoed slightly, like it was talking from a distance.

He needed time. He needed time to understand what the hell was happening in his head but he was in the middle of a fight that he was ill-prepared for and his chances of making it out alive were fast dwindling.

On your left! That was a different voice. Who was that?

Izuku obeyed the order without a thought, his fist swinging out to beat aside a mutant quirked villain that seemed to have some kind of skin mutation that gave him spikes all over his skin. Blood spilled from his fingers where they were pierced but his knuckles were thankfully protected by his gloves.

Listen, get angry kid. My quirk works with anger so get really fucking angry and use my quirk to get ahold of this shitshow.

His quirk? Izuku wasn’t sure how he was supposed to use One For All without giving himself away but if he was being honest he didn’t care all that much about his identity when the lives of his classmate and Eraserhead were on the line here.

My quirk is called Blackwhip, kid, it’s not the same as your iteration of One For-

The voice didn’t have a chance to continue as Shigaraki suddenly screamed,

“Who are you, you cheat?! Kurogiri, you let a damn cheater into the game!”

Izuku barely thought about it before retorting,

“Don’t blame your comrade for your shortcomings, Shigaraki. You’re the one trying to level up in this game, aren’t you?” This guy seemed like an immature gamer kid who became a villain after playing one too many games. He vaguely heard a few snorts of laughter ringing in his head. “You’re the one who failed to notice me trawling through your servers.”

Shigaraki looked furious but seemed to have at least some marginal ability to keep himself calm, though it looked difficult for him.

“Whatever,” the villain snarled. “I’m not the final boss either way. Meet my Nomu!”

Izuku’s eyes reluctantly turned to the beast that he’d taken note of at the warehouse. It looked no less imposing the second time he caught sight of it. He couldn’t help but suck his breath in slightly, mentally trying to scramble up some kind of analysis that would somehow save their lives.

The brain is definitely a weakness, this was a different voice too- female and soft and he shuddered at the way it brushed against the shell of his ear, almost like a ghost whispering in his ear.

The first thing Izuku noticed was that the Nomu was really fucking fast. Before he could so much as blink, Eraserhead shoved him out of the way and he went sprawling to the floor in surprise. The next thing he knew, his teacher was slammed to the floor and Izuku would never be able to erase the sound of bones crushing against cement.

“Eraser!” Izuku blurted, the sound echoing around the eerily still expanse of his mind even though he was sure he screamed the word. He scrambled to his feet, fighting to keep himself calm and level-headed even though he wanted to grab Aizawa and bolt.

No, don’t get calm Izuku. Get angry. Really fucking angry! Again, the man’s voice echoed, this time with urgency. It will be fine, I promise you my quirk will respond!

“All Might isn’t here, Shigaraki. Why bother with us when your real target is missing? Let Eraserhead go!” He demanded, raising both of his blades, but Shigaraki just laughed, launching forward and trying to get the upper hand on Izuku. He fought back to the best of his ability, trying to dance out of the way of Shigaraki’s attacks. He wasn’t fast enough, though, and he paid for it when Shigaraki wrapped his hand triumphantly around Izuku’s elbow.

The knife he was holding clattered to the ground and he couldn’t help his pained scream. It echoed off the walls and pain seared through his body.

Disintegration, he thought apathetically.

With his free hand, he slashed outwards, catching on the back of the embalmed hand clutching Shigaraki’s face. The villain screamed in fury, letting go of him and leaping backwards, clutching the hand to his face, looking furious.

“How dare you?!” Shigaraki screamed. “You hurt my father!”

Izuku felt sick. His father? Just what kind of psychopath was he dealing with?

Izuku, please, use my quirk. You need extreme anger to manifest blackwhip but it will serve you well, I promise. You can trust us, Izuku. Please.

He felt the desperation of the voice as viscerally as if it had come from his own chest. He wanted to say something back to the voice but before he could even think anything, Kurogiri was suddenly there, standing beside Shigaraki.

“Shigaraki Tomura, I’m afraid a student has managed to escape. Perhaps it would be better to fall back.”

Izuku prayed desperately that it was Iida. No one had as good a chance to get to help as the engine quirked boy. Where the hell was Tsukauchi anyway?

“The police and heroes are on their way too.” He boldly bluffed, even though he wasn’t fully sure. “You didn’t think I was here alone, did you? Backup is already on its way.”

“Kurogiri, you damn fool!” Shigaraki actually stomped his feet like an angry child throwing a tantrum. “Whatever, I don’t care anymore- All Might isn’t here, but that doesn’t mean we can’t still deliver a brutal blow to the Hero society.”

Izuku shuddered at the smirk the villain turned on him.

“I wonder how All Might will feel when he gets here to a bunch of dead kids.”

Izuku was prepared. He scrambled to try and push aside his overwhelming fear and try and harness whatever anger the voice was trying to get him to feel but it was useless. Fucking useless, because Shigaraki didn’t bother coming for him. He ran, veering left and Izuku’s heart stopped beating when he caught sight of what Shigaraki must have noticed earlier in their fight. There were two students watching them with matching looks of horror painted on their faces.

Izuku recognized them as Asui and Mineta. Both looked paralyzed from fear and Izuku couldn’t get to them fast enough!

“No!” The scream was cracked and broken, and he wasn’t going to make it in time. Shigaraki’s fist closed around Asui’s small face and he couldn’t look but he couldn’t rip his eyes away from the sight either.

Nothing happened.

His head whipped to the side and he nearly collapsed from relief to see Eraserhead’s eyes glowing through the blood coating his face, through the fist of the Nomu holding him down- staring directly at Asui.

“Eraserhead, dammit, you really are so damn cool.” Shigaraki’s voice was deadly cold. “Nomu-”

There. There was the anger the voice had been trying to coax him into feeling. The thought that with just a few words Shigaraki could crush Eraserhead out of existence- could make him into nothing more than a macabre memory forever seared not only into Izuku’s brain, but also poor Asui and Mineta who were forced to watch this battle- it was too much.

Anger filled his body and he felt almost relieved, as if he’d won the battle already. From his chest, an almost eldritch monster of darkness and shadow burst and Izuku couldn’t think clearly except to get Eraserhead and the students out of danger and to crush the vermin who had put them in danger.

Yes, good, that’s perfect, Izuku, perfect, the voice hissed proudly.

“You dare hurt my students?!” Izuku snarled, anger making his heart race even faster and harder than normal. Asui was his classmate, he was supposed to protect her and make sure that she made it to graduation and out into the world as a hero. That was the role he’d taken on as Class President, and the righteous anger growing in his chest writhed viscerally at the threat against one of the students he’d promised to look after. One of the black tendrils smacked out and hit Shigaraki away and into the porcelain fountain in the middle of the room. 

As he fought Shigaraki- each whip of pure power and energy that the villain disintegrated just grew back stronger and stronger- he sent two whips out to collect Asui and Mineta, cradling them to safety beside Eraserhead.

He faced the Nomu then, anger fueling him and raising him into the air. He could feel a strange sense of pride and bloodthirstiness that he knew didn’t belong to him but he couldn’t help but embrace those emotions and use them to power his blows more as he went to heads with the Nomu.

Behind him, the doors of the USJ burst open, slamming out of their hinges with the force of All Might’s fury. Izuku didn’t relax even though his mentor was here.

Don’t stop now, Izuku. Toshinori is strong but he’s waning more and more. He’s going to need your help, the woman’s voice spoke gently but with urgency. Izuku hummed almost idly, feeling that his mind was floating on pure adrenaline.

“You take the left flank, All Might,” Izuku ordered, and thankfully his Mentor knew exactly who he was and obeyed immediately, not even pausing to wonder about his quirk.

Together, they managed to go beyond any perceived weakness that the Nomu had been built to supposedly combat. 

“Together, young Argos?” All Might asked, and beneath the hardness of his anger, Izuku could hear pride. He couldn’t help his small smile.

“Always, All Might.” He replied, and together, combining the strength of All Might’s embers, and Blackwhip, managed to beat the Nomu right through the roof, sending him straight out of the shattered roof of the USJ.

Shigaraki screamed his rage out.

“Game over, Shigaraki.” Izuku’s voice was cold as he faced the villain. Shigaraki was trembling from rage as he touched Kurogiri’s shoulder.

“Next time, next time I’ll fucking kill you, Argos,” he must have heard All Might calling him that. “You and All Might, you’re dead.”

And then they were stepping through the same dark swirling portal that had brought them to the USJ in the first place. It was unsurprising but still shocking that they had left the fallen villains right where they were, showing absolutely no loyalty to them whatsoever.

“Argos, I don’t have much time left,” All Might whispered urgently and, without thinking, Izuku let his black tendrils surround his hero, protecting him from eyes and letting him safely deflate.

He turned to the entrance where heroes, police and medics were spilling into the room. His eyes caught on Cementoss.

“Cementoss-san,” He called out, calling attention to him. He tried not to flinch under the sudden suspicious looks. “A wall, please.”

The Hero seemed confused but Nezu, who was sitting on his shoulder, said something to him and a cement wall was raised, blocking All Might from the world as students started emerging from the other zones. 

Let go, sweetheart, you did great, the woman’s voice murmured and Izuku felt a ghostly touch against his hair. It’s over.

Izuku let the quirk slip away and found himself lowered to the floor, lacking any of the gentleness that he’d helped the others with. It felt like the adrenaline just poured right out of his body and suddenly he was nearly crippled under the pain.

“Argos,” All Might hissed worriedly, seeing him slump slightly. He lifted a weary hand to show that he was alright but didn’t move from the ground. 

“Argos,” this voice was different but no less familiar and he looked up, meeting the concerned face of Tsukauchi Naomasa. He couldn’t help his small, weak smile beneath his mask.

With difficulty he tried to pry his shaking body off the floor with sheer force of will.

“H-hey, Tsuka-san,” he said a bit shakily. He slipped slightly but Tsukauchi caught him in his arms and held him up.

“Fucking hell, Argos, I didn’t want to meet you like this,” the Detective complained and he managed a short laugh. 

“It wasn’t exa-ctly my p-plan to meet you like this either, Detect-ive.” He defended weakly, gripping the man’s forearms tightly. “Ex-extenuating circumstances, y’know.”

“You need medical attention, come on.” Tsukauchi insisted and Izuku stilled, digging his heels into the ground.

He wasn’t about to let them find out his identity. Not only would he be forced to stop his activity, probably, but he was sure he’d be expelled from UA as well, and not to mention All Might would struggle because of this as well.

“I-I can’t-”

“I’ll be with you the whole time, Argos,” Tsukauchi said firmly. “I swear on my honor as your friend that no one will remove your mask.”

Izuku released a shuddery breath.

You’ve got some great friends, kid, came a man’s proud voice in the back of his head. It wasn’t the same man as before and Izuku wondered vaguely if he was going insane.

“You can keep your mask on the whole time, and I’ll stay by your side while my associates handle the investigation,” Tsukauchi insisted, holding him a bit tighter and letting his eyes dart all over his body to see just how injured Izuku actually was. “... please, Argos. For my sake?”

“How can I deny you the chance to fuss, then.” He murmured and Tsukauchi rolled his eyes, but looked pleased. Beside them, All Might beamed.

“I’m good,” the hero assured them. “Don’t worry, Nao, Argos knows about me so it’s fine that he saw me like this.”

If Tsukauchi was surprised by that revelation, he didn’t show it, just nodded and wrapped an arm around Izuku’s shoulder, leading him away and to a stretcher.

“Eraserh-” Izuku didn’t even get the panicked word out before Tsukauchi soothed his worries,

“He’s not doing too hot, but he’ll live.” He promised. “No other students were gravely injured. Just you and Eraser.”

Izuku was so relieved he just slumped into the stretcher.

Trust him, Izuku, he’ll take care of you. I get no sense of danger from him, another voice spoke. Just how many of these voices were there?!

He felt a flash of amusement from somewhere in his chest.

There are seven of us, dearest, but that’s talk for later. Rest now, the woman spoke softly, if amusedly. My name is Nana, we’ll take care of you, so just rest.

Izuku’s eyes fluttered closed.

Nice t’ mee’ you Nana… even his thoughts felt soupy, like he was slurring them out. Fondness, affection, worry.

Rest.

And Izuku slept.

❋

When Izuku came to, he immediately noticed that there was something different in his mind and body. He could feel the pain and weariness of the battle he’d fought, and simultaneously he could feel the strength and power coursing through his mind- that same buzzing, alive, feeling he’d had in the USJ.

You’re awake, a woman’s voice greeted, Nana, he recalled with some difficulty. That’s right, I’m Nana. 

Not now, Nana, the Detective just went to get a nurse. Let the boy get his bearings before we overwhelm him!

Izuku blinked long and slow. Right, well, he was definitely either going crazy or he would need to sit Toshinori down and have a very serious discussion about him hiding secrets about One For All from him.

Secrets like, oh, by the way, the quirk is fucking haunted?!

He heard a muffled laugh and then a youthful sounding voice,

Toshinori wouldn’t know about us, the speaker was male, but sounded younger than the others who had spoken before, we never materialized for him.

Izuku wanted to reply but before he could, Tsukauchi came into the hospital room with a nurse and a doctor. 

“Argos, you’re finally awake,” Tsukauchi said, hiding a small shake to his voice. “Don’t worry, no one removed your mask.”

Again, Izuku blinked, realizing that yes, he was wearing a hospital gown but he was still wearing his voice modulating mask, and his hair still had its dark hairspray in, and his eyes must still be the fake blue from his contacts, if his scratchy eyes were any indicator.

“I trust you, Tsuka-san,” Izuku said evenly, when he willed his tongue to finally move. A nurse flitted around him doing multiple checks. 

Tsuakuchi looked pleased.

“You did quite a lot of damage to yourself, Argos-san,” the Doctor said sternly. “You had two cracked ribs and one that broke. If it had broken any harder it would have punctured one of your lungs.”

Izuku swallowed. 

Shit, that’s dangerous. I nearly had a punctured lung once, it’s not pretty, that was the voice that had lent him the quirk in the USJ, he was sure of it.

Shut up, Dai, now’s not the time, that was Nana, the only woman he’d heard so far.

“Now, we’ve taken care of all of that as well as the general bruises and lacerations,” the doctor continued, oblivious to Izuku’s horrified expression. “The biggest damage was to your arm. We had to do some delicate reconstruction to your elbow and it’s still not fully healed. You’ll have to remain in the hospital for a while until you’ve regained enough energy for Recovery Girl to come in and heal the rest.”

Izuku was sure he looked puzzled because Tsukauchi spoke up,

“You did a lot to protect the students and teachers of UA, Argos. Nezu has fully covered your hospital fees and entrusted your care to Recovery Girl, completely free of charge.” 

Izuku swallowed. There was an approving feeling in his gut that he knew didn’t belong to him and it took him a second to wrap his head around the sensation.

“Other than that, you’re doing quite well. Now that you’re awake, your only job is to conserve strength and meet with Recovery Girl later.” The Doctor bowed and left the room. The nurse followed him out a moment later after advising him not to move unaided.

This left him alone with Tsukauchi.

“How is-” he didn’t even get the words out before Tsukauchi was smirking.

“Eraserhead is alright,” he read Izuku’s mind with ease and he couldn’t help his small blush. Was he that obvious? “He sustained a lot of damage and had to have emergency surgery but he woke up a little while ago and he’s out of danger. His eyes will heal and Recovery Girl is sure that his quirk will be fine.”

Izuku sank against the bed in relief.

“I was worried about his quirk,” he admitted in a small voice. “The damage … and he used it through all of that, he- he’s incredible.”

Tsukauchi hid a smile.

“I’m sure he’ll be flattered to hear the truth of your statement.” He offered and Izuku immediately blushed. The seven beings- spirits?- in his mind snickered at him, doing nothing to help his all-over-the-place emotions.

That’s right, Tsukauchi had a quirk that could tell when someone was lying. Izuku would have to be careful.

“He asked about you the moment he woke up too,” Tsukauchi continued. “He said he passed out when All Might arrived so he wasn’t sure if you’d made it or not.”

Izuku was a little touched to hear that.

“How long has it been since the attack?” He asked, trying to straighten up in bed. Tsukauchi reached out and helped him to sit up properly.

“It’s two in the morning right now,” Tsukauchi told him. “The attack happened yesterday morning at noonish, so you’ve been here for around fourteen hours now.”

Fourteen hours?! His mother was going to kill him. He only prayed that Toshinori had managed to let her and everyone at Hydrangea know that he was alright.

“My um, my effects?” He cringed at the words and Tsukauchi hummed and went over to the couch, fetching a pile of things.

His clothes were washed and folded neatly, his two blades- also cleaned- lying on top of it along with his comm and his work phone.

“No one touched them but me and All Might. It was All Might who had these cleaned and told me to tell you that he had spoken with your family to assure them of your health.” Tsukauchi told him, not hiding his curiosity.

Izuku sighed in relief.

“That’s a relief. Thank you for everything you’ve done, Tsuka-san. You have no idea how much I appreciate it.” He said genuinely and Tsukauchi shook his head.

“We’ve been colleagues for over five years now, Argos. I’ve considered you a good friend for nearly as long, it’s nothing for me to help you out.” Tsukauchi sounded so earnest that there was no way he wasn’t being genuine and Izuku was so, so touched.

Seriously, keep your friends close, kid, you’ve got some good ones in your corner. I can’t sense a single lick of danger from this guy.

“I consider you a friend too, Tsuka-san.” He said truthfully and Tsukauchi sent him a smile, registering the statement as true. He sat at Izuku’s bedside.

“You know that you can trust me, right? I’m not going to pressure you into telling me who you are, you know that I’m not like that,” Tsukauchi said quietly. “I just need to make sure that you know that I’m not going to arrest you or make you stop the work you do. I might encourage you to go for a license but I won’t stop you.”

Izuku was so damn touched. He didn’t know what to fucking say.

Just tell him your truth, Izuku. It’s not a crime to not be ready, Nana advised softly and she filled his body with such comfort that he nearly teared up.

“That means a lot to me, Tsuka-san. I-I was afraid if you knew who I was then you’d stop me and I-I really trust you, I do, I’m just… I’m not ready to remove my mask right now.” He said apologetically. If he was disappointed, he didn’t show it at all.

“Very well, then whenever you are ready I’ll be here,” Tsukauchi said genuinely. “However, now that we’ve officially met, you have to stop hiding behind a screen. You’ll come meet me at the Precinct for meets from now on.”

Izuku choked slightly and Tsukauchi just shook his head.

“I’ve had it up to here from doing your paperwork for you, Argos,” Tsukauchi sounded teasing. “You’re going to come into the Precinct and do your own damn paperwork.”

Izuku couldn’t help his laugh if he tried.

“I guess I can live with that.” He said warmly and Tsukauchi just shook his head, smiling before turning a bit serious.

“Are you feeling up to giving your statement or would you like to rest longer? We can get your statement tomorrow morning too.” He said, not pressuring him at all. Izuku thought about it for a moment.

He wanted to get it out of the way so that he could lie there and pretend to sleep while he secretly figured out what the hell was going on with his quirk. He heard a light chuckle but no one spoke up.

“Now is fine,” he decided. “I can’t sleep right now.”

Tsukauchi nodded and brought out a recording device which he clicked on and set on the bedside table.

“For the record, Detective Tsukauchi Naomasa here,” he introduced himself for the recorder. “Collecting the statement of the Vigilante known as Argos.”

“Argos, you are aware that my quirk, True Man, is able to detect any lie spoken in my presence, correct?”

“Yes.” Izuku said simply and Tsukauchi nodded.

“Do you consent to being recorded?” He asked and Izuku verbally agreed. “Let the record show, Argos is wearing a voice modulator that slightly distorts his voice for his own protection.”

And then he nodded to Izuku.

“Alright, Argos, starting from the moment you contacted myself and Eraserhead, please explain what happened on the morning of Wednesday, April, twenty-first.” He prompted. Izuku took a deep breath and launched into the whole messy story.

The only time he stumbled slightly was when Tsukauchi asked,

“What is your quirk, by the way? According to the statements from the UA students who witnessed the fight, it was some kind of octopus?”

That set off the voice in his head in a fury.

An octopus?! Why I never-! The fucking audacity of those little turds!

Izuku reddened.

Dai, language! Fucking hell! Someone else shouted and Izuku mentally felt someone facepalm.

“Er, my quirk, it’s um, it’s energy?” He offered unsurely. “It’s- you know, I don’t really use it all that often, so I can’t really tell you much about it, so, can I pass this question?”

Tsukauchi looked extremely curious but let it go. The voice in his head was still grumbling annoyedly by the time he finished the story.

“You fought extremely hard, Argos. You have my thanks and admiration on behalf of the police,” Tsukauchi said earnestly. “Without your help this might have gone exceptionally wrong and it’s thanks to you that the students, and Eraserhead are alive.”

Izuku felt inexplicably choked up.

“You should rest,” Tsukauchi insisted. “This is a secure room in the Hero ward and only myself, All Might and the hospital staff are allowed inside, none of them will remove your mask so you don’t need to worry.”

Izuku nodded tiredly, watching as the detective left.

Finally alone, he sunk into the uncomfortable bed and closed his eyes, taking a deep breath.

Okay, he thought hesitantly, I’ve made peace with the fact that I’m probably not going crazy which means that there really are seven ghosts haunting me. C-could you all introduce yourselves, maybe?

Fondness, amusement, affection. He blushed.

Hello, Izuku, my name is Nana Shimura. I was a Pro Hero and my quirk was called Float. I’m also known as Seven, because I held One For All before Toshinori.

Izuku gasped, sucking in his breath and holding it there in surprise. He wasn’t sure why he was so surprised, in hindsight it was kind of obvious that it wasn’t him being haunted but rather his quirk.

My name is En, but you could call me Sixth, if you wanted to, this voice was friendly, a bit reserved and Izuku recognized it as the one who had told him he had good friends. My quirk is called Smokescreen.

I’m Daigoro Banjo, this voice Izuku instantly recognized as the one he’d been speaking to most of the time, you used my quirk Blackwhip! I’m Fifth, but you can call me Daigoro or Dai.

There was a moment of silence before a slightly more hesitant man spoke. Izuku tried to quiet his mind, giving these ghosts time to introduce themselves.

I’m Fourth. My name is Hikage Shinomori, but you can call me Kage. My quirk is called Danger Sense. This was the voice that had told him there was no danger coming from Tsukauchi, and he felt a little comforted to know that at the very least the ghosts haunting his quirk didn’t seem to have it out for him because that would honestly be a little too much to handle.

This time, the silence between introductions was a bit longer.

Introduce yourself Third, Nana scolded, stop being pouty.

I’m Third, this voice was cool and serious, deep and kind of reminded Izuku of Aizawa if Aizawa were colder and less caring. My name is Bruce Lee, my quirk was Fa Jin.

Izuku awkwardly murmured a greeting back to this voice, feeling a little intimidated and wondering if he’d had that thought about these ghosts not having it out for him too soon.

We don’t have it out for you, I promise, Lee is just persnickety, Nana assured him but he didn’t exactly feel comforted.

I’m Kudo, or Second, another voice introduced. This one also sounded reserved, but slightly more so than Third. My quirk is Gearshift.

By Izuku’s mental calculation there was only one left, and he thought he was missing a voice, one that had sounded younger, closer to his age-

I’m First, there he was, and sounding a bit nervous, My name is Yoichi. I was quirkless for the most part. You can call me whatever you like.

Izuku took a second to wrap his head around these names, these-these people who had once been alive and who had held this same quirk in their bodies.

Yoichi … Kudo… Lee… Kage… Daigoro… En and Nana … they had all held One For All in their bodies, strengthening it and refining it with hard work and diligence before passing it onto Toshinori who had looked at Izuku and had deemed him worthy to hold, not only his power, but also the spirits of all the previous holders.

Izuku was torn between feeling incredibly honored and kind of overwhelmed.

Someone chortled.

Overwhelmed is understandable, En said and Izuku could hear the smile through his words. We’ve been… here, but this is the first time we’ve actually managed to speak to a current holder. It’s … new for us too.

We felt your panic and fear and did everything we could to reach you, Nana said carefully, after Toshinori, you’re our youngest Holder yet, so we felt more urgent to help you even if you weren’t ready to deal with us yet.

Are you going to just, erm, be here? Izuku wasn’t sure how to phrase it. Like, permanently? I don’t mind, I just, I’m curious, I guess it’s like any other sentient quirk I just didn’t expect One For All to be sentient, but in hindsight it kind of makes sense, I mean it is a stockpiling quirk, isn’t it, so it would make sense that it stockpiled more than just strength, but your quirks and spirits too, which is just fascina-

Kid! Daigoro interrupted with a laugh, Boy, you can really ramble! Don’t worry, it’s cute but take a breather!

Izuku took a shuddery breath. His thoughts had run away with him for a second there.

Unfortunately, now that the connection has been made and you’ve used one of our quirks, closing the connection is somewhat impossible, Kage explained apologetically. We can close the door sometimes, so to speak, but for the most part we’ll always be connected like this.

Izuku exhaled, trying to stem his rising anxiety.

So like, all the time, twenty-four seven, you’re just going to be here reading every little thing on my mind? He almost felt sorrier for them. He blushed when they laughed at that.

Kind of, Nana said, again with the apologetic tone, it’s why we don’t usually manifest for our Holders, it’s why we didn’t for Toshinori or the others didn’t for me. It’s a life-long connection- or as long as you have One For All.

It was a lot to take in, but because of Daigoro’s help, Izuku had not only protected his identity, but he’d been able to save the lives of Asui, Mineta, and Eraserhead. He would have paid any price to save them and in the end, examining his current situation- he concluded that this price wasn’t too steep to pay after all.

Hello, he thought as bravely as he could, his brow furrowed, my name is Midoriya Izuku and I was quirkless. If we’re going to be together for a long time then- then please take care of me!

His cheeks turned bright red as he heard multiple coos of affection and he could feel someone ruffling his hair. He could feel Nana gently touching the tip of his nose and he could hear Daigoro’s boisterous laughter, Lee and Kudo’s grumbling acceptance, and Yoichi’s soft, affectionate,

It’s our honor to meet you, Ninth. Let’s be together for a long time?

Izuku smiled, relaxing into his bed.

The honor is all mine, Yoichi-san.

Chapter Text

Living with the spirits of seven ghosts in his head was … an experience.

When the nurses came to check on him later in the morning, he’d been in quiet conversation with the vestiges, learning a bit more about them after a few hours of restless sleep.

Nana, Yoichi and Daigoro were the most talkative by far, and En and Hikage were polite but a bit distant. Lee and Kudo didn’t speak at all.

We can’t see your whole life’s story, we only started getting hints of your existence after the transfer, Yoichi explained patiently, it was a first for us. I’ve been here the longest, of course, and this was the first time I’ve ever been able to see through the eyes of a user.

How long have you been in the quirk? Izuku couldn’t imagine existing within a quirk, it was a purely existential concept.

Around 100 or so years, give or take, Yoichi sounded amused at the flash of shock that came over him. Time moves differently in here, to be honest. If you asked me, I could probably remember what I did the day before I died, it feels like just yesterday to me.

Is it the same for everyone else?

We died a bit more … traumatically than Yoichi did, Nana said carefully. Our memories are a bit patchier, but if we concentrate then we usually remember.

I’m sorry to ask. 

Don’t worry about it, kid, Dai said with a chuckle. We’re just as curious about you, so it’s only natural that you have questions for us.

How did you meet Toshinori? Nana asked eagerly. 

I … Izuku wondered how to say it. How did he admit that he’d met his idol after getting told to kill himself, only for said idol to crush his dreams, then he’d ran into a villain attack to save the boy who had bullied him for years, only to then get scolded by the heroes on scene and finally, his idol had told him he could be a hero and gave him his quirk.

The silence in his head was morbidly amusing.

I guess you heard all of that, huh? He thought, mortified.

I’m going to kill him, Nana decided, what in the hell was he thinking telling you that you couldn’t be a hero?! 

It’s okay, Nana-san, really! I love Toshinori a lot, and he made up for everything he did in so many ways! You should be proud of him.

I am proud of him, Nana said, calming down a bit, but what he said to you was cruel and unnecessary. Even just knowing you a little, Izuku, you’re so smart and talented- even without us, you’d make an amazing hero.

Izuku felt a little tearful.

Aren’t you a hero student? Kudo, or Second, piped up in his stern voice that sent a shiver down Izuku’s spine. 

I am. I got into UA Academy.

What is this ‘Argos’ business, then? He asked, sounding reluctantly curious. If you’re already training to be a hero, then why do these people not know your identity?

Ah, Izuku thought lamely, I’m … kind of a, erm, vigilante, of sorts.

Izuku flinched at the thrum of disapproval.

A vigilante? What on earth inspired you to become a vigilante, of all things? Nana cried, sounding worried.

Izuku shifted in the hospital bed, feeling a little put on the spot. 

It sounds cliche but I wanted to make the world a better place. I grew up quirkless and people don’t … they don’t care about us. He couldn’t help the slight bitterness in his tone. I wanted to give people like me the chance to get saved as well.

The beep of monitors interrupted his thoughts a little, showing how his heartrate was spiking a little with his stress of having to explain his actions to people who would, ostensibly, be with him forever.

Argos started as a way for me to anonymously send tips to the police. Cases that would otherwise never even be reported, like I would find out that the homeless girl my mom and I took in was abused and kicked out of her home- so I found her family, compiled a case against them and reported it to the police.

Izuku shyly twisted his fingers, fiddling with his phone to have something to do with his hands while he spoke- or thought to the vestiges.

When I was ten years old, I told my mom that even if she didn’t think I could be a hero, a real licensed hero, if I didn’t find a way to save people- to be helpful- to-to do something then I really thought I was going to die young. 

He felt the sensation of Nana resting her arm around his shoulder, and though he didn’t say anything or interrupt him, Yoichi’s spirit touched his waist gently, supporting him in an intrinsic way.

We started a charity home called Hydrangea and started supporting people in minorities –quirkless people, mutant quirks, and invisible quirks, homeless people, anyone who needed help really–

Everyone who got there … they all had these stories- these fucking awful stories, and I kept reporting them, reporting their abusers or their tormentors, the business that refused them, fired them unlawfully– I reported everything to the police, to the heroes and–

Nothing changed? Lee’s voice was quiet, but understanding. 

Nothing changed, he confirmed bitterly, listening to his monitor react to his rising upset. I was twelve when I became a vigilante. I didn’t go out and exact revenge or anything, but I spent years learning hacking and making up case files that I sent to the police, and if nothing changed or nothing happened then I would hack broadcasting agencies and broadcast the information to the public– I became ‘Argos’ when I was thirteen- that’s also when I started working semi-exclusively with Detective Tsukauchi, the guy who helped me today.

That’s an admirable reason to turn to vigilantism, Kudo said in his sober voice. At first I thought you were naive and too idealistic, but you’ve proven in your battle yesterday and in your actions, that you are someone who doesn’t tolerate the rise of hatred.

Let me ask you, little hero, Izuku shivered, if a villain hurt someone you loved … what would you do to them?

Izuku lost the words as they rose to the surface of his head. Those words echoed there but he couldn’t bring himself to reveal them even though he was sure they could all see- “I’d be devastated, but the law is there for a reason and revenge is not the answer-”

He couldn’t help but kill those words in their birth. It wasn’t true.

He thought of Asui Tsuyu who had almost died in front of him. Throughout the whole fight Dai had been begging him to get angry but he’d been unable to muster it until that moment, until that villain had put his filthy hands on his classmate and had turned his eyes to Izuku’s sensei-

I wouldn’t give them the chance to hurt anyone.

An arrogant phrase like that could be misconstrued to be like Toshinori- a hero that quelled crime simply by his existence in the world, but Izuku wasn’t quite so pure.

He was never going to be a hero that purely lifted the spirits and hopes of the nation with a wide smile and brute strength. Izuku was the type of person to never rest until those that had hurt him- or hurt his loved ones … paid.

He felt Kudo shift, humming softly, approvingly. Lee seemed to step closer as well.

Perhaps you are not so lost a cause as I once thought, Midoriya Izuku.

Izuku didn’t exactly reply, as a knock filled the air and he straightened up, reaching up to make sure his mask was appropriately affixed.

His visitors were many. 

Tsukauchi was there, along with Toshinori and Nezu, Recovery Girl and- being pushed in on a wheelchair- Aizawa.

Izuku greedily took in the sight of his sensei to reassure himself that he was actually alive. His entire body was wrapped in bandages, his arms spread in a T on either side of him, braced thickly in white plaster. His face was barely visible, save for his glittering eyes that seemed to be taking him in with just as much curiosity.

“Argos, my boy, you scared the crap outta me!” Toshinori laughed awkwardly, reaching over to hug him tightly, his arms were firm and pressed him tight enough to bruise- showing how honest his fear had really been. 

Language, Toshi, seriously, Nana cried, but she was too overwhelmingly happy to see her successor again. 

“To be fair, this is why I don’t usually go out,” Izuku replied dryly. “If you thought I gave you trouble before, Tsuka-san, you should thank your lucky stars that I don’t typically patrol or do physical vigilantism.”

Tsukauchi actually shuddered and there were a few laughs echoing in Izuku’s head that were hard to place.

“Let’s try and keep it that way, Argos,” he said wanly. “I don’t know what I would do if I had to do that paperwork on top of what you already have me doing.”

Argos shook his head and turned his attention to the people from UA.

“It’s my honor to meet you, Nezu-san, Recovery Girl,” He greeted politely. “... I hope you’re well, Eraserhead?”

Aizawa straightened marginally.

“Been better, but I’ll live. You?”

“I’ve certainly had better days, but alas I’m not dead yet.” He replied dryly and the mummified man snorted.

And we’re going to keep it that way for as long as possible, Nana said sternly.

“I was quite eager to make your acquaintance, Argos, though I of course wish it were under better circumstances.” Nezu said politely. Recovery Girl was busy reading his medical file. “I wish to formally thank you for all that you did yesterday in saving our students, and our teacher. Thanks to your intervention, this disaster was mitigated with no injuries to our students.”

Izuku was relieved to hear that no one had gotten hurt other than them.

“It’s my pleasure, Nezu-san. I admit, I wasn’t originally tailing them on suspicion of them wanting to kill All Might, but it was a happy coincidence that I was there in the end.” He said earnestly.

“If you ever have need of help, Argos, I hope you will consent to coming to me,” Nezu said warmly. “I hope we meet again soon, I’d love to pick your brain a little. Perhaps you could come in and teach a day course for our heroics students, I’m sure they’d love to meet you after you saved them.”

Izuku coughed, ignoring the raucous laughter of the vestiges. Toshinori also choked a bit on laughter.

“Erm, thank you for the opportunity, Nezu, but I think I’ll leave the teaching to the licensed heroes.” He said weakly. “I’m pretty sure the HPSC would have a lot to say on a known vigilante teaching anything at UA.”

“I’m quite sure I don’t care what they have to say, but we’ll get to that later.” Nezu said, never losing his polite tone. Izuku blinked.

“Well sonny, you did yourself a neat old bit of damage but nothing a little smooch won’t fix. With any luck you’ll be out by this evening.” Recovery Girl told him.

“Thank you so much for your help, Recovery Girl,” he thanked genuinely. Without her, he had no idea how he would be able to go into school on Monday and explain away his arm being in a cast- the same cast Argos was wearing.

That would be a disaster indeed, Dai whistled. Dang, I’m so glad I never had to deal with double identity shit, I don’t have that kind of patience.

“Before you do that and he falls asleep, could I have a word with you, Argos?” Eraserhead piped up. “... alone?”

Izuku held his breath.

Izuku, he needs a reply, En reminded and Izuku swallowed past a thick throat.

“Of course, Eraserhead, it’s my honor.” He said hastily, upon realizing he’d been quiet too long.

The others piled out, with Nezu giving his farewell, leaving him and Aizawa alone in the room- or as alone as they could be with the vestiges loudly wondering what the man looked like under his bandages.

“You saved my life back there.” Aizawa said when the door was closed behind them. Izuku swallowed. “Thank you.”

“It’s– we looked out for each other,” He said, trying not to mumble too much, though he was extremely shy now. “You took a serious hit for me too, Eraser. You have no idea how helpful it is to my whole secret identity thing that I’m not a literal mummy right now.”

He didn’t know where the joke came from but Aizawa seemed as surprised by it as he was, releasing a rusty chuckle.

You’re so shy right now, what do you have a crush on this guy or something? Daigoro joked and Izuku wished he could mentally punch a ghost to silence- the thought aroused a round of laughter that he tried to ignore.

“Well, we couldn’t have that,” Aizawa teased lightly. “Seriously, though, you really impressed me on the field. I guess I was just curious … you don’t have to answer if you can’t or don’t want to, but you’re obviously talented, you can fight, your quirk is- crazy, honestly- why don’t you pursue a license?”

Izuku pressed his lips together tightly.

I don’t want to lie to him. He’s someone I really respect- I thought he was a hero with lackluster morals but he’s changed my mind and I-

You don’t have to tell him the full truth. There’s more than one way to get a license, you don’t have to be a hero student, Nana assured, just tell him the basics.

“I … am, kind of.” He said after a long moment. “Because of some reasons, I can’t become a hero the usual way. Argos can never be a hero, not really, but I- who I really am … I’m working on it.”

Aizawa was quiet.

“I guess I should enjoy my time with Argos while he’s around, then.” He said softly and Izuku couldn’t help the flutter in his stomach. To his mortification, the monitor tracking his heart rate spiked slightly.

Definitely a crush, Daigoro sounded satisfied. 

Leave him alone, Dai, he’s obviously not admitting to it, Hikage teased, something tells me we’re all going to have to live through some pining first.

He’s literally my heroics teacher, Izuku thought, his words biting through his flaming embarrassment. The voices were silent.

So, a teacher-student romance, this is an excellent plot, Yoichi commented mischievously. Izuku choked.

“Erm, haha, yeah, so I-I’m working on the whole legal heroics thing, so I hope- if it’s not too forward to say, that I’ll get to introduce myself to you properly, Eraserhead.” He said, nervously, so that he could fill the awkward silence.

If Aizawa was smiling or not, Izuku had no idea, but something in his voice sounded somewhat lighter,

“I look forward to the day, Argos.”

Well, at least the teacher is obviously smitten right back, Lee grumbled. Ugh, forbidden love- how tragic and predictable, he had better be handsome, at least.

Izuku wished a meteor would fall from the sky and hit him.

❋

Midoriya Izuku - CR

Oh my God, I heard what happened! Is everyone alright??

Midoriya Izuku - CR

I cannot believe that the one day I miss school something like this happens?!!

It took a moment before replies started pouring in, but Izuku, who was comfortably lying in his own bed now that he’d been discharged early, waited patiently for his classmates to respond.

Acidpop (Ashido Mina)

Class Rep! You’re alright! We’re all good, man, dw!

Astronaut (Uraraka Ochaco)

It was insane, I almost can’t believe it happened but we’re all safe, thanks to sensei and that vigilante guy who did our analysis

Midoriya Izuku - CR

Argos??

Killawatt (Kaminari Denki)

Yep! He’s like, mad cool in person! I wish you could have seen him in action, Midoriya!

Rockmannn (Kirishima Eijiro)

Dude, that would mean he would have been at the USJ too

Killawatt

Oh! Er … count your lucky stars that you didn’t see him in action, Class Rep!

Izuku snorted at that. If only they knew.

Kurechan (Hagakure Toru)

Is everything okay with you, Class Rep? You missed class, after all.

Midoriya Izuku - CR

I’m totally fine! I really just wish I had been there to help in any way but I have no doubt that you all did amazingly. 

Midoriya Izuku - CR

I’m really proud of you all. You made it out alive, and experienced villainy at its worst and you’re all still here and fighting. 

Rockmannn

Class Rep! You’re gonna make me cry, you’re so damn manly!

Killawatt

Lololol I’m literally having a sleepover with Kirishima rn and he’s tearing up, it’s hilarious

Izuku’s phone dinged with a private message outside of the group chat he shared with his classmates. He left just as Aoyoama started a dramatic retelling of his fight at the USJ while Sato, who had been with him at the time, refuted almost all of it as politely as he could.

He cocked his head, noticing that it was Jiro messaging him privately.

Ooh, plot twist, the girl has a crush on him but his heart is already his teacher’s, Yoichi commented teasingly and Izuku coughed loudly to cover up the resultant snickering happening from the rest of the vestiges.

Eargasm (Kyoka Jiro)

Can we talk at school on Monday, Midoriya?

I love her sense of humor, Dai chortled. Look at that username haha!

Hero-kun (Midoriya Izuku)

Sure! Is everything okay? I’m always available to talk whenever anyone needs.

Eargasm

Everything’s good, I just need to talk to you.

Hero-kun

Sure thing, how about I meet you at the front gates? Do you drink coffee?

Eargasm

I drink tea, mostly, but you don’t have to bring anything.

Hero-kun

It’s no problem, I’ll bring some tea and we can walk to class together, unless it’s a more in-depth discussion in which case I can book a conference room with sensei.

Eargasm

It’s okay, what I have to say won’t take long. See you then, Midoriya.

Hero-kun

See you, Jiro

I wonder what that’s about, Izuku wondered tiredly. He hadn’t had much of a chance to talk to his classmates all that much and hadn’t spoken to Jiro much at all. He was pretty sure she didn’t have a crush on him, no matter that Yoichi seemed to think it would thicken the plot- he turned out to be an avid romance reader, which Izuku thought was kind of funny.

School had been canceled for the rest of the week while UA updated its security measures. Since he suddenly had a few days off from school Izuku decided to spend most of his time at home with his family.

The Vestiges had been fascinated to see everything that he’d done with Hydrangea and Nana was especially in love with all the little ones running around. For the most part, his mother and the older Hydrangea members took care of the kids but when Izuku had time, he loved spending time with them and taking them to school in the morning.

He stood among a gaggle of children all in their cute gakurans, chatting at the speed of light while he tried to wrangle them all in a neat gathering to get to school in time.

Cherry was hanging on his arm clingy, making him tell her all about UA even though she’d heard the stories a million times.

“Midoriya-kun?”

Izuku looked up at his name being called and blinked. Tsukauchi was standing opposite him and the kid and at the sight of him all of the kids scrambled to stand behind Izuku’s protection.

What does he want? He shouldn’t know you outside of your vigilante persona, right? Hikage questioned distrustfully.

“Er, hello, Detective Tsukauchi,” he greeted politely. “You’re, um, Toshinori-san’s friend, right?”

Tsukauchi smiled and nodded, approaching. 

“It’s nice to meet you. I see you have your hands full.” He commented, waving to the children behind him. Cherry clung even tighter to his arm.

“Izu-nii, who is this creepy guy?” Hikaru asked in an unsubtle whisper and the vestiges snorted. Izuku blushed.

“Hikaru-chan, that’s not very nice. This is Detective Tsukauchi-san, he’s a really cool police detective.” Izuku introduced. “These are the kids under my patron.”

“Wow,” Cherry finally loosened her grip to peek at the detective closer. “Cool!”

“Don’t let me keep you, I suppose you’re on your way to get the kids to school. Can I offer you some help escorting them?” Tsukauchi offered and Izuku got the idea that the man wanted to talk to him, or get a feel for his personality.

He’s not being particularly subtle about it, Lee grumbled.

“That would be nice, wouldn’t it, kids?” Izuku appealed to the kids, who- traitors that they were- all cheered and agreed with ease.

Tsukauchi, to his credit, was pretty good with the children and Izuku watched in amusement as even the shyest of Hydrangea’s kids- Hitomi and Kizu, who were both quirkless- came out of their shells and chatted with the detective.

Izuku waved to the kids in front of the elementary school they all attended. He’d done his absolute best to have all the minors in Hydrangea never step foot into Aldera’s school district. As such, they all had a bit of a walk to get to their school, though the older kids usually walked themselves there someone always escorted the elementary kids.

“I’m sure I was particularly unsubtle in approaching you,” Tsukauchi said when they were alone. “I’ve been meaning to meet you. It’s nice to see that Toshinori’s successor is such a good one.”

Izuku flushed.

I forgive his lack of subtlety based on his praise of Izu, En said humbly and there was some agreement, though Hikage, Kudo and Lee seemed predisposed to distrust anyone and everyone who approached Izuku.

“I hope I live up to expectations,” Izuku said after a moment. Tsukauchi smiled.

“More than,” he promised. “There’s actually something else I’ve been meaning to talk to you about. It has to do with what happened at UA recently.”

Izuku stilled ever so slightly.

Does this asshole suspect you or something? Daigoro cursed the man colorfully. 

He has no reason to suspect Izuku of anything untoward, Nana cried, outraged, neither of them allowing Izuku a moment to even think before Tsukauchi continued,

“I don’t suspect you of anything, I swear, I just have to ask this because of protocol. I asked your classmates the same things,” He promised, looking awkward and the vestiges grumbled annoyedly. “Did you have anything to do with the League of Villains entering the USJ?”

Izuku’s entire body was tense.

Relax your body, if you look that tense it makes you look guilty- Izuku’s body relaxed- tell him you didn’t, because it’s true. They would have entered regardless of you being there as Argos or not.

Izuku followed Kudo’s strict orders.

“I didn’t.” He said simply. “Before hearing their name the other day I had no idea of anything to do with the League of Villains.”

Tsukauchi looked relieved.

“I thought as much, I’m sorry if it seemed like I suspected you. I just had to get the note down so that you weren’t bothered by other detectives.” He said apologetically and Izuku offered him a small smile.

“It’s no problem. Can I interest you in some coffee before you get to work?” He offered, gesturing to the little cafe where they’d inadvertently strolled too.

“In my line of work turning down coffee is practically sacrilege, but I’m going to have to insist that I treat you to a coffee instead, Midoriya, it would be my honor especially after bugging you so early in the morning.” Tsukauchi insisted affably and Izuku wasn’t about to turn down free coffee, so he agreed without fuss.

Walking home with his coffee in hand, he seemed to be lost in thought, but he was just chatting with the vestiges. Somehow, without even realizing it, he’d become utterly comfortable with their existence in his life.

He liked all of them in their own different ways. 

Yoichi was so kind and gentle, but he had a mischievous teasing side that appeared every so often, especially whenever Izuku was embarrassed or shy. Nana was overbearing and achingly kind, always reminding him to eat or drink more water, or to take it easy, while cooing over the little ducklings of Hydrangea that followed him around. 

Daigoro was like a blinding sun, honestly. He had good humor, and an easy-going temperament despite that his quirk required him to be angry. He was the least angry person Izuku had ever met and was forever chattering on as if he couldn’t bear to keep quiet now that he had someone new to talk to.

Hikage was a bit of a weirdo, and was usually quiet, but when he did speak up it was always insightful and he’d pretty much taken over a lot of Izuku’s workout routine since he had spent most of his life training and strengthening the quirk.

En was also pretty quiet, but he was as much a jokester as Yoichi once someone got him started. He was tempered by a calm disposition that always reminded Izuku to be patient, to be calmer and more collected.

Kudo and Lee were interesting mostly in that he could never figure out if they liked him or loathed him. Of all the vestiges, they were the quietest, unless they deemed something suspicious or they perceived something as being a threat to Izuku- like Tsukauchi approaching. They were also the most protective of the bunch, but they  didn’t usually initiate conversation with Izuku unless he addressed them first.

They were all unique and Izuku found that he liked all of them being there. He’d met with Toshinori the day after getting discharged to explain the reason he’d been able to use blackwhip was because of the vestiges.

Toshinori had been so shocked that he’d just sat there numbly, gaping at Izuku in absolute shock for an embarrassing amount of time.

Nana had been mortified -endeared- while the rest just laughed along with Izuku.

Unexpected as they were, Izuku wouldn’t trade them for the world.

Chapter Text

On Monday morning Izuku left a bit earlier to pick up a few drinks to-go from one of his favorite cafes. He got a jasmine tea for Jiro, hoping that it was appropriate, a coffee for himself and a green tea for Toshinori. After a moment of thought, he sent a message to the group chat he shared with the class.

Midoriya Izuku - CR

Can I get anyone a drink? I have extra time this morning so it’s my treat!

If you’re too nice, people will take advantage of you, Nana warned amusedly. I think it’s sweet of you though.

Izuku flushed.

I just want to be a good Class Rep, he defended himself. When I was in high school our class rep was a real piece of work, and that’s the polite way to describe him. Even Kacchan hated him.

This ‘Kacchan’ you keep mentioning, En started, sounding unimpressed, we’ve gotten a few flashes of your memories of him. He looks like an asshole.

Izuku coughed.

I mean, he kind of is but that’s half of his charm, he replied. He got the distinct feeling of someone flicking his forehead. His phone vibrated, distracting him.

Astronaut

I never turn down free things! I’d love a latte if you’re offering!

Acidpop

You are such a freaking dreamboat! I’ll get a peppermint tea!

Killawatt 

Dude how are you so nice? Can I get some tea? My mom forbid me from drinking coffee cuz it makes me hyper lol

Kurechan

Ooh! Can I have a hot chocolate? Pretty pleeeeeeasee ^o^

Candyfloss (Sato)

Can I get a really sweet cappuccino? You don’t have to pay for me though, I can pay you back later…

Midoriya Izuku - CR 

It’s okay! Anyone who wants something let me know before I make an order now. It’s on me even if the whole class gets a drink!

Rockmannn

Class Rep you’re too freaking nice!! I’ll take a coffee since you’re offering!

SparklingSoBrightlyIMustBeAStar (Aoyama)

I will have a mocha with caramel and chocolate drizzles and extra whipped cream, please! You’re the star of the hour, Midoriya!

That’s disgusting, Lee commented, unable to help his visceral shudder. Izuku laughed at that, noting down Aoyama’s interesting coffee order. He got a few more texts then once everyone who wanted a drink made their order he went up to the desk and made the large order.

How are you going to carry all of this? Hikage asked exasperatedly, looking at the large amount of drinks being packed.

Izuku, admittedly, hadn’t thought that through. He’d added a few extra drinks for the classmates who hadn’t ordered anything, like Iida, Mineta and Todoroki, just in case they ended up wanting something, as well as a dark coffee for Aizawa.

“Need help?” His classmate sounded amused. He spun around and smiled at Jiro warmly, if a bit nervously.

“Jiro! And Asui too,” He noticed the frog quirked girl standing behind her.

“Call me Tsu, kero.” She said in her usual blank demeanor. Izuku scratched his hair a little confused. He was a little unsure what Jiro wanted to talk to him about, especially now that Tsu was there too.

“Let us help you carry all of that.” Jiro walked forward, picking up one of the finished packages. “Has anyone ever told you that you’re kind of an overachiever?”

The vestiges all laughed. Even Lee and Kudo gave a snort at that, making Izuku turn a delicate pink.

“Once or twice,” he said dryly.

Once all the drinks had been acquired, he asked about their health after the whole USJ fiasco, trying to keep his tone casual. Jiro and Tsu shared a loaded look and a prickle of anxiety entered his stomach.

They know something, Kudo said darkly. His mistrust seeped through Izuku’s body, infecting him with a jitteriness that he worked hard to conceal from his classmates.

Shh, Kudo, let them explain themselves first, Nana scolded but she sounded just as anxious herself. 

“It was the most terrifying experience of my life,” Tsu said honestly. “Jiro-chan and I were together for most of it along with Mineta-kun. The villain, the one who could disintegrate things, he almost killed me and would have if it weren’t for Aizawa-sensei.”

The mere memory of the incident was enough to make Izuku a little nauseous. He could only imagine how Tsu must have felt.

Jiro was watching him with serious eyes.

“I’m so sorry you had to go through that, Tsu,” he said softly, pushing past his anxiety. “You were- you must have been so very brave. I’m sorry I wasn’t there to help you all out more.”

Again, both girls shared a Look.

“Midoriya, you know what my quirk is, right?” Jiro mentioned casually. They were getting closer to UA’s main gates already and Izuku pressed his lips together tightly, trying not to speak without thinking things through properly.

He knew Jiro’s quirk pretty well, considering he’d done a pretty in-depth analysis on it, but Jiro had never shared that analysis with him so he shouldn’t really know that much about it.

“Sort of. I figure it has to do with soundwaves, right?” He hedged. 

Good, stay vague until they make their point. They definitely know something, Lee coached. His vestige seemed as though it was standing there, arms crossed and scowling at Jiro darkly.

“It does. More specifically, when they plug into something I can channel sounds, like my heartbeat, through them to do a vibration attack.” She explained. “Argos theorized that with some work I would be able to affect the rhythms of my opponents to disable them faster.”

Izuku nodded along, feeling unsure as to why she was telling him this.

“I can also hear really well.” She said bluntly. “Like, really well.”

“Um, okay?” Izuku said, bewildered. “That’s a really cool quirk!”

Both girls shared that same loaded look again and the vestiges were growing restless.

Just spit it out, girl! Dai yelled, startling Izuku slightly. Sorry, Izuku, they’re just getting on my nerves!

“Everyone has a- let's call it a rhythm, Midoriya,” Jiro said, apparently deciding to be even more blunt. “On the first day of class I memorized everyone’s rhythm so I wouldn’t get surprised by them later. It’s kind of distracting to be in a building like UA with so many people and all of them have their own rhythms, their own breathing patterns, their own heartbeats, ticks, and vocal tones.”

Should I design a support device for her? Izuku wondered. That sounds like a hard thing to deal with every day …

“I can hear through even the most sophisticated technology by plugging my ear jacks into the ground and listening through the vibrations of things like voice changers to hear underneath them.” Jiro blurted. “During the USJ I was doing that when Tsu was attacked. I thought I’d be able to disable the villains but Argos acted before I could do anything.”

Izuku paused mid-step.

Fuck. That was Lee. Fuck, they know, Izuku. They know you’re Argos.

It certainly seems like it, Nana said shakily, Jiro probably heard your voice through your voice modulator and since she was with Tsu she probably said something in her shock.

Izuku was frozen, staring at them seriously.

“I mentioned it to Tsu,” Jiro said with a small wince. “I’m sorry, I was just really shocked. Mineta didn’t hear us talking about it, I made sure of that, so we’re the only two that know about it.”

“We won’t say anything, kero, we just wanted you to know that we know because you- you saved our lives, Midoriya.” Tsu spoke up quietly. “You saved my life. I don’t know what that quirk was, or how you did it, but we know it was you there and you saved all of us.”

“Midoriya,” Jiro squared her shoulders. “Thank you.”

Izuku was frozen. He couldn’t move, think or function in his shock. He really hadn’t been expecting something like this.

Izuku. Relax. They’re trustworthy, I promise you of that, Hikage assured him gently. They don’t mean to harm you, if they did I would know and we would protect you.

They seem like they’re being genuine, Yoichi agreed. They really seem like they just wanted to thank you, in which case you should say something, Izuku.

“Oh.” Izuku said lamely. The vestiges kindly stifled their laughter.

He blushed. His hands were full with drink carriers so he couldn’t even run away from this situation- not that he would have run away!

“Um, that’s- I-I can’t really, I mean, you’re the only two outside of my-my family to know about this,” he winced, “I really didn’t expect you to figure this out.”

“It wasn’t exactly planned,” Jiro said frankly. “I’m glad to know though. You were really cool at the USJ, Midoriya. I get that it’s probably a huge secret, I mean, obviously, but whatever your reasons are- they have nothing to do with us so we won’t say anything to anyone.”

“Thank you.” He said in a small voice.

“If you ever need an alibi or something, I’ve got you covered,” Tsu told him, as they finally made their way to 1A’s classroom. “You saved my life, after all, it’s the least I could do.” She whispered the last part and Izuku sent her a stressed but thankful expression as they entered the classroom.

All conversation between the three of them ceased and Izuku tried to greet his classmates without looking like his world was falling apart.

Don’t stress too much, they’re really trustworthy, Hikage assured. My quirk, Danger Sense, can tell when someone means you harm and I’m not getting anything from them.

That was reassuring and Izuku resolved to do his best to put the whole thing behind him. So Jiro and Tsu knew about him, he was just glad it wasn’t Bakugou or Kaminari or something- the whole world would have known if that were the case.

Izuku put a cup of coffee down on Bakugou’s desk even though he hadn’t texted for a drink. He knew Bakugou’s drink order pretty well so he didn’t even have to ask what he wanted.

“What’s with the drinks anyway?” Kirishima asked, gratefully chugging his coffee. “Not that I’m not grateful! I really needed this.”

“Everyone struggled so much during the USJ and I wasn’t able to be there and support the class as a fellow classmate and as Class Rep. I wanted to do something nice to let you know how cool you all are for handling that situation!” He said, earnestly. He pointedly ignored Jiro and Tsu’s knowing looks as he placed a coffee on Aizawa’s desk.

“Is Aizawa-sensei even going to come in today? He was really banged up…” Uraraka said worriedly. 

“I heard he was doing well,” Yaoyorozu said reassuringly, sipping her jasmine tea. “Oh, this really hits the spot, thank you, Midoriya-kun.”

Bakugou arrived, ‘tsked’ at the coffee on his table, but sat down and took a sip out of it. He relaxed into his seat casually, holding the cup. Him just drinking it was practically him saying ‘thanks for the coffee, friend’ and Izuku couldn’t help his small smile.

That’s dysfunctional, Lee commented.

Oh hush, Kacchan is just prickly. He’s … unique.

Unique is one way to put it, Yoichi piped up amusedly. You have such interesting friends, Izuku.

Iida arrived, stared at the coffee on his table and his jaw clenched.

“Thank you, Midoriya. You didn’t need to.” He said stiffly, accepting the drink but it was pretty clear that he didn’t want to even look at Izuku.

Who stuck something up his ass? Dai asked sourly and Izuku coughed, hiding his surprise and amusement at the sentiment. He could feel the vestiges’ annoyance.

I offended him by questioning Eraserhead’s morals and not apologizing to him for it, Izuku explained a bit embarrassedly. I don’t know if you saw the quirk apprehension test or not…

We did, En said thoughtfully. I thought you performed excellently and that your Aizawa was exceptionally short sighted.

He’s gotten better, I think, Izuku thought shyly. He seemed like he was going to take my opinion seriously and he almost died at the USJ for us all.

So defensive, Yoichi smirked. Izuku took a breath to calm himself down before he attacked his own mind out of embarrassment.

Still my teacher, he thought mulishly but they all ignored him.

Despite Uraraka’s concerns, Aizawa arrived right on time.

“Sensei! You’re okay!” Ashido cried happily. “Should you even be here, though?!”

Her sentiment wasn’t for nothing. Aizawa was still bandaged up quite tightly, though he looked better than the last time Izuku had seen him.

“I’m fine,” he grumbled. He stared down at the coffee on his desk. “What’s with the coffee?”

“Midoriya brought everyone a drink!” Hagakure threw him under the bus, taking a large sip of her hot chocolate, “He felt bad for not being at the USJ and wanted to show us how cool he thinks we are!”

Izuku blushed as Aizawa’s dark eyes fell on him.

“Well, thanks,” He said simply, picking the cup up with some difficulty even though his arms weren’t bandaged in a T anymore. He took a sip and sighed in pleasure. “That’s perfect.”

Hell yeah, get him a coffee every morning and you might just get the man in your pants, Izuku! Dai encouraged but Izuku wasn’t encouraged in the slightest. He ignored him as Aizawa straightened up and spoke,

“I know all of you went through an ordeal last week that you should never have had to. None of you should have faced villains so early in your schooling, and to those who suffered the most, I apologize for not being able to do more.” He looked at a few in particular as he bowed slightly to the class.

“Sensei, no, you were amazing!” Kirishima said passionately. “Both you and Argos were so cool, you both saved our lives!”

“How is Argos? Do you know?” Yaoyorozu asked anxiously. “I saw him being escorted out. He looked really banged up.”

Izuku tried not to shift. Neither Jiro nor Tsu even looked at him and he was relieved.

“The last I saw of him he was well,” Aizawa said simply. “I’ll be sure to pass along your gratitude the next time I see him.”

Izuku pushed down the urge to blush as the vestiges needled him.

He sounds handsome but I can’t clearly see him in your memories, Yoichi sounded disappointed. Everything’s kind of fuzzy from the first few weeks of you getting the quirk.

Izuku tried to remember what Aizawa looked like but it wasn’t working well. He got the feeling of Yoichi shrugging.

Don’t strain yourself, we’ll just see him when he unbandages. He better be hot though, because we’re going to be in for a long lifetime if you have bad taste.

Izuku mentally facepalmed.

“What happened was unfortunate and I’m sure it was scary but it’s my duty to inform you that your battle isn’t over yet.” Aizawa spoke suddenly, dragging his attention back to the front of the class. 

What the heck is this now? Nana grumbled. She wasn’t the only one who seemed concerned, as most of the students paled rapidly.

“... it’s the UA Sports Festival up next.” Aizawa said calmly, taking a sip of coffee.

“You scared me!” Kaminari wailed. “I thought it was going to be something super scary!”

“It is something scary,” Aizawa might have been grinning at them but it was a wonder he could even drink the coffee through the gap in his bandages because they couldn’t see his face at all, which made the whole thing even scarier. 

“The Sports Festival isn’t just a national event, it’s an international audition for the rest of your careers,” his voice sounded smug. “Students that have failed to impress at their Sports festivals have a hard time later in their careers so let this be a warning to all of you- don’t slack off. Those seats you’ve grown used to can just as easily seat someone else if you aren’t careful enough.”

Izuku swallowed. The entire class looked terrified.

Don’t worry, you’re amazing, Izuku, En encouraged. You aren’t going to get kicked out of class even if you fail.

Izuku thanked him weakly.

With a fire lit under their chairs, Aizawa gave an approving nod before slumping his shoulders and giving a deep sigh.

“Now that that’s over with, let’s move onto Informational Heroics, we’re discussing forgotten laws today.” 

Kaminari groaned deeply.

At the lunch bell, 1A’s students scraped themselves out of their seats and made their way to the cafeteria. Izuku waved his friends ahead and made his way to the teacher’s lounge to find Toshinori. The green tea he’d bought his mentor was cold now but it could be reheated and it was good for his health.

He poked his head inside with a short knock on the door. Most of the teachers were inside and he pushed down his blush.

“Midoriya, something wrong?” Aizawa asked and he shook his head hastily.

“Um, no, I was just looking for, erm, Yagi-san.” He said honestly. 

Behind them, Present Mic’s brows went all the way up.

“How do you know Yagi-san?” Aizawa asked carefully, probably trying to figure out if Izuku knew who Yagi was.

“Um, Yagi-san is a benefactor of my charity home.” Izuku said, and it wasn’t even a lie. Toshinori had made a considerable donation towards the upkeep of the home and the kids’ school tuition despite Izuku assuring him that his work as Argos was more than capable of maintaining the home. “I brought him a green tea since his stomach is a little weak.” 

“Do you know-” Midnight gestured with her hand, obviously hinting at his identity. Izuku smiled a bit awkwardly and nodded.

“I do, he’s actually a family friend.” Izuku confirmed. They’d had a discussion about what story to give in order to get over any inconsistencies with their behavior and had decided that Toshinori would be a close family friend and that was why they were a bit closer than normal student and teacher.

“Go figure,” Present Mic hummed, looking interested. “Well, Yagi-san is in the restroom but we’ll let him know you stopped by and give him the tea, Midoriya-kun!”

Izuku beamed and placed the tea down for them to pass to Toshinori.

“Enjoy your lunch,” He offered, slipping back out. Aizawa stared at him the whole way out.

Your Aizawa has an intense eye, Dai commented and Izuku blushed.

Please don’t call him 'my' Aizawa, that’s so creepy and it’s not true! He’s just a teacher I respect, nothing more!

Sure sure, Yoichi said airily and Izuku gave up.

He grabbed a lunch set from Lunch Rush, making his way over to the table where most of his classmates were sitting. He slipped in beside Uraraka and smiled a bit awkwardly when he noticed that Tsu and Jiro were sitting with them now.

“Where were you?” Uraraka asked curiously.

“I was just delivering tea to a friend,” he said casually. “He doesn’t eat well so I try getting him healthy drinks to make up for his lack of diet.” 

“You are such a nice friend, Midoriya, thank you for the coffee this morning. It was really great!” Uraraka said warmly and Izuku returned her smile.

You stand no chance, little girl, Nana snickered, I’m afraid this one’s eyes are firmly in the other direction.

It was a little strange to have seven people just Know without him even saying anything. All seven vestiges knew without a doubt, despite it never coming up, that he wasn’t interested in girls. It wasn’t really something he thought about that often, past his original realization of the fact. He’d never had much time to ponder his sexuality, but it was a little awkward to be so exposed in front of them.

He’d be with them forever, though, or for as long as he held One For All. It was strange, but these seven were a part of him, it wasn’t just him in his body anymore and he tried desperately to put those thoughts aside. The cafeteria was hardly the place for such existential thoughts.

I’m so sorry, Nana sounded embarrassed, I didn’t even think that you might feel like this. I was just teasing you a little… if it makes you feel better, all of us aren't all straight either so none of us mind that you're...

I’m not mad, Izuku assured her shyly, it’s just a little weird to be so 'known'. Not bad weird, though.

Nana cheered up a little but she didn’t speak again and Izuku focused a bit on the conversation going around the table. The topic was the Sports Festival, of course.

“I need to prepare a lot more for it,” Uraraka said determinedly, clutching her chopsticks tightly in a fist. “Do you think Aizawa-sensei is going to offer supplementary training or are we just supposed to wing it?”

Daigoro snorted and it was filled with so much amusement that it seemed to seep through Izuku’s body, making him snort with as much amusement. He turned a bit pink at the attention.

What is heroics if not a-

“-bunch of people just winging it?” Izuku echoed Dai’s thoughts as he said them, blinking slightly as he realized he’d said it out loud. His friends laughed amusedly, not noticing anything amiss, so Izuku let it go as well.

“I think we’re allowed to book slots in the training grounds and gyms,” he mentioned. “I’m probably going to do some training after school from now on too. My quirk is a little, well, I need to put some serious work in.”

I really can’t risk accidentally using Blackwhip on national television, he shuddered. I can feel it right under my skin all the time now, just like with One For All. It’s like it wants me to use it.

Yeah, Blackwhip sometimes has a mind of its own but you’ve done pretty great at controlling it, Dai encouraged, it’s going to get harder once you start using all our quirks.

We’re trying to keep them back from you, Nana explained, right now you’re only just getting used to One For All so we’re holding our quirks back until you can safely use at least 30% of the quirk. Dai’s quirk slipped through because we were desperate.

That makes sense, Izuku thought seriously, but he didn’t have time to ponder before Jiro piped up,

“Hey, do you think we could train together once or twice?”

He blinked.

Why does she want to train with you? Does she want to see the competition? Lee grumbled disapprovingly.

Don’t be ridiculous, Lee, she’s obviously asking him because she knows how capable he is.

“Yeah, I’d love to train with you too, Midoriya.” Tsu said, her eyes lighting up a bit. Uraraka nodded eagerly, even though she didn’t know the exact reason why Jiro and Tsu both wanted to train with him.

“Um-”

“Hey, no fair, I wanna train with you too, bro!” Kirishima cried from the other table where he was sitting with Kaminari, Ashido, and Bakugou, among others. He twisted in his seat to stare at Izuku with puppy dog eyes. 

“Are we doing a training montage?!” Kaminari asked excitedly, inspiring a round of laughter. Izuku scratched his head awkwardly.

“I’m going to ask sensei if I can book a gym slot. I don’t mind if anyone wants to come along though!” He assured them. “The Festival is in three weeks, so why don’t we get together twice a week for a big training session and we can do our own thing in between?”

“Sounds awesome!” Hagakure chirped and Izuku startled. He felt a little embarrassed because he didn’t even see her sitting at their table which was awful of him.

Good Lord her quirk is amazing for stealth, Kudo whispered approvingly. I don’t like that you missed her though, she is wearing her uniform.

Izuku ignored him out of embarrassment and felt the vestige knock his head.

“You extras are way too eager to show off,” Bakugou commented. “Training together is the surest way to know exactly what to look out for in each other.”

He stood up, picking his tray up as he went.

“It works out for me, though,” he smirked, “Cuz I’m going to beat all of you no matter what. Especially you, Deku.”

Izuku lifted a brow. He crossed his fingers under his chin, bracing against the table and stared up at his childhood friend amusedly.

“So, I’ll see you at the training sessions then, Kacchan?” He asked sweetly and Bakugou scowled. Their classmates were watching them like they were a ticking time bomb.

“I’d rather die than train with you, shitty Deku!” He snarled, stomping away and trashing his tray. Uraraka shuddered.

“He’s so terrifying, Midoriya, I don’t know how you put up with him!” She cried and Izuku just shook his head.

“He’s an acquired taste,” he said simply, smiling at the laughter.

I don’t want to acquire it, Hikage grumbled. I don’t care for his nickname for you either.

Izuku just shook his head. 

People didn’t usually understand Bakugou Katsuki. He was a strange guy but Izuku knew him better than most people and he knew that for all his bluff and bluster, Bakugou was still the boy who had told Izuku it didn’t matter if he didn’t have a quirk, that they’d still be heroes, just a different kind of hero- that was back before the world took the explosive little boy in its palm and chewed on all of his goodness before spitting him back out and turning him into the abrasive, brash boy he was today.

Somewhere inside, deep inside, Bakugou was still his best friend. It was just a matter of coaxing him back out now that he knew for sure he was still there.

Two days later most of 1A got together to train in Gym Gamma. Aizawa leaned against a wall, not interjecting his opinion or helping them with their training, but just supervising since it was such a big turnout.

Katsuki Bakugou walked in, palms already sparking, leading a wary looking Kirishima behind him. No one had expected him to show up, except for Izuku.

“Alright then, who’s first to spar?” He said menacingly. “I’m gonna fucking kill all of you!”

Izuku was the only one to laugh.

“Sure, why not?” He stood up gamely, ignoring the vestiges complaining, and his friends telling him not to bother. Aizawa’s eyes narrowed slightly.

Bakugou just grinned.

“Deku.” And beneath his bloodlust, anger and expletives, Izuku could see real excitement shining in his eyes. He smiled, feeling his quirk writhe beneath his skin at the prospect of fighting Bakugou again.

“Let’s fight, Kacchan.”

“With pleasure.”

Chapter Text

How are we going to play this, Izuku?

The other six vestiges seemed to take a step back, allowing Kudo to speak, to sit closer to Izuku’s spirit, almost as if they were standing back to back.

Izuku caught a glimpse of his reflection in the mirrors surrounding the gym and for a moment he saw a brief glimpse of a man standing there with him. He was tall, much taller than Izuku, with spikey hair that seemed eerily reminiscent of the boy he was about to fight, though Kudo’s hair was considerably darker. 

He wore a black turtleneck, and a dark green combat jacket that made his impressive muscles even more stark in comparison to Izuku’s somewhat lithe form.

Kudo looked up, meeting his gaze in the mirror. There was a large scar on his face that started above his brow and split over the bridge of his nose before cutting into the space below his eyes. He arched a brow, lip curling at the sides in a smirk.

Stop ogling, Izuku. Focus.

Izuku blinked, flushing slightly and turning his attention away from the vestige and to the sparring mat instead.

“I think Festival rules should apply for the fights,” Yaoyorozu said pragmatically. “Usually when there are one-on-one battles they last only until someone forfeits or someone is thrown out of the ring. Does that work for everyone?”

There was a loud cheer of assent and Kudo hummed gruffly.

“Sensei, will you referee or shall one of the class do it?” Izuku asked evenly, noticing that Aizawa had stepped closer to observe the fight.

“I’ll do it.” Aizawa agreed immediately, sounding almost bored, though there was a tension in his shoulders. “I’m not capable of using my quirk to stop you, so keep it in mind.”

Izuku smiled, sending a cheeky eye to Bakugou, who growled.

“Don’t worry sensei, we’ll be super careful.” He said cheerfully. Bakugou sneered.

“Speak for yourself, Deku, I’m going to fucking kill you!” He only scowled when Izuku grinned. 

The students were gathering around the ring and taking bets on the outcome. 

Arrogant, Kudo insulted. Arrogance means he will make mistakes. You are fighting for sport here, Izuku, and ordinarily I wouldn’t care for it but our close connection makes it hard to ignore the things you do.

The longer we are connected through One For All, your actions will become ours, your enemies will become ours to loathe, and your happiness feels as if it is ours, Kudo seemed to frown slightly. I do not know if you feel our presence as keenly yet, but it will come to pass.

I don’t mind, Izuku assured him a bit shyly, stretching his limb out properly. I’m grateful for any and all of your advice and intelligence, Kudo.

Kudo reached out and ruffled his hair. It was a singularly strange feeling but he decided he quite liked the feeling.

Then, my advice is this-

While Izuku stretched and prepared to fight, he listened and strategized with Kudo about how to handle the fight. They agreed on one thing- winning wasn’t important.

There will be time to beat him later, in the actual event, but here and today you should simply show your fellow students and your teacher that you are capable and strong. These things are the most important when you are trying to inspire your troops.

Kudo spoke in terms of war, but Izuku could read between the lingo and find the wisdom he was providing. As Class Rep, always winning and proving he was the best wasn’t necessarily the way to achieve respect among his peers, showing that he was capable in fighting and protecting, and more importantly that a single loss didn’t define his abilities was more important.

That was why, when Bakugou led with a right hook, Izuku didn’t immediately block it- he swallowed the punch and twisted on his foot to deliver it right back. Kudo stood at his back, dancing this way and that way with him as if they were fighting in tandem.

The flickers of All For One rose in him, at an unhurried four percent -just enough to make his hits really hurt. He ducked, rolled and danced from side to side, avoiding the familiar bursts of explosions as he tasted the cloying scent of nitroglycerin in the air.

The cheers of his classmates were background noise. All he could hear was a light ringing in his ears and Kudo’s strict instructions. It felt like his body was expanding with each movement he made, like Kudo’s fists were sinking into his and once, when he thought to move to the left and parry Bakugou’s attack, Kudo twisted their ankle to the right, turning their body to the side and twirling around the blast with an ease that Izuku alone could never have managed. He braced their hand against the floor, kicking upwards and catching Bakugou’s chin in the kick.

This tandem fighting was utterly new to both of them. While Kudo focused on fighting Bakugou, Izuku cast his eyes at the students, noticing that they were too close and kept jumping backwards with every blast from Bakugou. At one particularly severe blast, Izuku jutted a hand forward and smacked against Bakugou’s forearm, redirecting the blast upwards to avoid it hitting any of the students.

Tsk, if they don’t want to get burned they should step back, Kudo scolded roughly, but there was a sort of thrill in his voice, an energy that must have been dormant for a long time and Izuku leaned into it, enjoying the edge his usually temperate voice had taken.

Ultimately, when both he and Kudo decided that playing around was bordering on cruelty, they twisted their body towards the next blast, allowing it to send them careening out of the bounds that had been set up. Kudo could have dug their feet in tighter, Izuku could have weighted himself down with the sheer energy and force of One For All, but that wasn’t particularly what they wanted for this little spar. 

Bakugou laughed loudly, his laughter coming out between each deeply exhaled breath as he braced his trembling hands against his knees.

“Midoriya!” 

Izuku gave a breathless chuckle, accepting Kirishima’s hand up. Uraraka and Hagakure were there and aggressively checking to see if he had any injuries.

“That was insane!” Uraraka cried, practically shouting due to her excitement. “I can’t believe you lost!”

Izuku smiled widely.

“It’s no wonder I lost,” he turned to Bakugou, “Kacchan, you’ve been holding back all these years, haven’t you? You’ve gotten so much better!”

Bakugou looked at him searchingly, his eyes narrowed and his chest heaving. He straightened up and tsked, looking away.

“Obviously,” He sneered. “As for you …” he looked Izuku up and down, as if trying to see right through him. “Not bad.”

That was practically a glowing endorsement and this time the vestiges laughed, feeling Izuku’s childish glee at the subtle praise from his old friend.

Kudo rolled his eyes but he said nothing. Izuku got the feeling he was a little proud of him too.

You did so well, Izuku! Nana cheered, wrapping him up in a tight hug. He almost lost his breath at how tight the hug was and how viscerally he could feel her arms around him even though he was standing completely alone in his reflection. I’ve never really seen you fight like that, and your fighting with Kudo was just breathtaking!

It really was something, Dai said breathlessly. I didn’t even know we could fight like that- the options are o limitless, god, I can't wait to fight you, Izuku. You'll fight with me too, right?

The sentiment, while sweet, was a little funny and Izuku couldn’t help his small snicker. Daigoro flushed, embarrassed at the laughter and he flicked Izuku’s head punishingly, but too gently to be anything but fond.

Hush, you, he said simply and Izuku was hushed.

Later, when everyone had paired up to fight and Aizawa was back to watching by the wall, Jiro and Tsu both approached him nervously.

“Why … why did you lose?” Jiro asked hesitantly. “Not that it’s not okay to lose! I just- you were so- it’s-”

Izuku smiled awkwardly. 

“I get what you’re trying to say,” he put her out of her misery quietly and she turned bright red. Tsu just stared at him patiently, waiting to hear his explanation.

He cast his eyes out but no one seemed to be paying them any attention whatsoever.

“You… want to learn more about my experiences as a-” he didn’t say the word. Both girls nodded immediately and Izuku blushed but he wasn’t exactly opposed to telling them, since they already knew his secret. 

Young padawans, Yoichi commented sagely, I can’t believe he already has little ducks coming to him for training.

What the fuck is a padawan??

Yoichi was so offended that he didn’t speak up again and En snorted,

Talk to your friends, Izuku, and ignore Yoichi, he’s just upset that pre-quirk media is being erased like this.

“It’s important to pick your battles,” Izuku said after a moment of consideration, keeping his voice low. He had Shoji in his line of sight, so he could see the boy wasn’t using his quirk to enhance his hearing and the only other super-hearing student was Jiro. 

“I’ve known Kacchan since we were kids. He’d actually kill me if he knew I lost on purpose, but I wanted him to win today because I want him in a good mood.” Izuku explained factually. “Look,” he gestured discreetly at Bakugou where he was aggressively helping Kaminari with his sloppy form. “Look how helpful he’s being.”

“So … you lost so that Bakugou wouldn’t be a sore loser?” Tsu commented and Izuku snorted. 

She’s so blunt, I love her, Yoichi said, momentarily forgetting that he was sulking.

“Something like that,” he laughed. “I just know how smart Kacchan really is, and if he lost in the first fight and against me, of all people, he’d be pissed enough that he would take his anger out on everyone else. I just wanted our first training session to go well.” He shrugged.

“You’re a strange guy, Midoriya,” Jiro said, appraising him. “I know what you’re capable of, so seeing you fight like that and lose … you didn’t make it obvious but it was glaringly obvious to both of us since we know.”

Izuku turned pink.

“I hope it’s okay if we ask you questions sometimes,” Tsu said cheerfully. “I know sensei is a pro and all, and he’s super cool but after the quirk tests and what he said to you- to you, of all people, and his personality in general, he’s a little intimidating to approach. Knowing that you’re who you are, it feels kind of like there’s another pro to look up to here.”

Izuku almost flatlined at being called a “pro”. He wanted to call the girls back and tell them that he really wasn’t a pro and that most of his vigilante work had been in hacking and analysis, but they were already running off to find their own mat, leaving Izuku alone and having a small mental breakdown. A small part of him also wanted to call them back to defend Aizawa and his actions to them, but he couldn't really justify that since, in all honesty, Aizawa was an intimidating presence even though Izuku admired him greatly. 

Don’t worry so much about it, Izuku, Hikage rolled his eyes. You’re a pro vigilante, that’s more than most of them can comprehend right now.

I know when I was a first year that if I’d met someone like you in class I’d have been totally starstruck, Nana said with a grin. You’d have been elevated to senpai the second I found out.

Nana! Please never say that again!! I’ll die! Izuku was steadily turning pinker and trying not to draw attention to himself. To avoid anyone looking at him he turned to stretches to wring out the lingering aches and pains from his spar.

Eh? What’s wrong Izuku Senpaiii~ Nana teased, laughing amusedly at his answering sputter.

You can’t call me senpai, Nana! How old even are you? He cried, and paused his toe touch when the vestiges calmed down.

A lady never tells her age, Izuku, Nana snarked back.

She’s like thirty five, or something, Dai supplied helpfully and Nana swore at him colorfully, Hey! He’s gonna have to learn about us someday, you crazy dragon lady!

Izuku bit his lips to keep from smiling.

So loud, Lee grumbled, but Izuku couldn’t feel a shred of actual animosity from even him.

“What’s so funny?”

Izuku blinked, turning and noticing that Aizawa had sidled over to his side and was now leaning against the wall next to him. He looked like he’d been there for a while, watching Izuku’s dazed expression as he conversed with the suddenly quiet vestiges.

“Oh, um, nothing much, sensei, I was just thinking a little.” Izuku said, mortified. 

Aizawa hummed.

“Interesting fight you had.” He commented. “I didn’t know that you were so knowledgeable in martial arts. What was that anyway?”

Because of the tandem fighting, Izuku couldn’t really say his fighting style during his spar had been only one thing. In general, Izuku was practiced in melee combat, often utilizing his previous training in Muay Thai when he fought and it was the same style he used at the USJ. However, his fight today had been nothing like at the USJ because of Kudo’s influence with using Capoeira and Judo, which Izuku had never learned before, and the way they utilized One For All together for more ranged attacks against Bakugou’s explosions.

“It’s… a mixture of Muay Thai, Capoeira and a bit of Judo,” Izuku said after a moment, offering a mild smile. “I trained a lot before my quirk came in, back when I thought I’d be a quirkless hero.” He said the words unflinchingly, silently daring his teacher to say anything about the concept of a quirkless hero.

“It was impressive. Once I heal up a bit more, I’d honestly like to spar with you.” Aizawa said gruffly. He sounded almost embarrassed, and Izuku cocked his head and stared at him bemusedly. “I hope you don’t let him win so easily during the festival, though.”

Oh, Yoichi beamed, I'm liking this guy more and more! If only he'd get rid of the bandages already!

Izuku cracked a grin at both men's words, mentally poking Yoichi into shutting up.

“Is Kacchan the only one who didn’t notice that I let him win?” He joked, though he was really screwed if he was that unsubtle. Aizawa scoffed.

“Hardly,” he rolled his eyes, which Izuku could see through the sliver of bandage. “The observation skills here are terrible.”

Izuku just laughed, since he couldn’t really refute it. 

“Midoriya!” Uraraka waved him over eagerly. She was standing with Kirishima, who was licking his wounds from getting his ass handed to him by a smug Kaminari due to and even smugger Bakugou’s teachings. “Come fight us!”

Izuku grinned.

“Excuse me, sensei,” he murmured, and hurried over to join his friends. He felt Aizawa's gaze on and off for most of the afternoon.

❋

One morning, Izuku woke up craving spicy kalguksu. 

He and most of the Hydrangea kids had just returned home after a busy morning of volunteer work with Present Mic's food bank, and they'd all worked up an impressive appetite. Since he was craving soup, he decided to order food online instead of bothering to cook.

There were a bunch of spicy soups and delicious meals to choose from but for some reason, while scrolling through his phone and looking at various recipes, the Korean restaurant kept calling to him, which he found peculiar because he’d never eaten it before to be craving it so much now.

That’s probably me, En realized, sounding mortified. I really liked Korean food and kalguksu was one of my favorite meals.

Izuku blinked, staring down at the Korean restaurant he was busy ordering from.

Oh. Okay, well, any other recommendations? Izuku tried not to make a big deal out of it, even though he was a little confused as to how he was suddenly craving the vestiges' old favorites.

Hm, I really liked kimchi mandu and yuk-jeon, that’s a thin beef pancake…  

Well, all of that sounds pretty damn good to me right now, Izuku acknowledged, searching through the restaurant for the appropriate meals and ordering all of En’s favorites. 

When the food arrived, he took it to the kitchen and just laughed when a hoard of the older kids in Hydrangea followed along his footsteps at the food smell.

“Good thing I ordered enough,” he teased, revealing the large food order he’d made since he knew the kids would probably want some as well. At En’s suggestion he’d ordered a mild eggroll and a few other dishes for the younger kids who were probably not going to enjoy the spicy dishes.

The moment he took a bite of the kalguksu it was as if En melted right into his body and gave a soft hum of pleasure that vibrated through Izuku's bones. 

Damn, I really missed that taste. I can’t really taste it the proper way but I can taste it through your thoughts and feelings, it’s fucking delicious…

Izuku coughed, blushing and choking on a noodle.

It’s pretty good, he agreed awkwardly. He was saved from more conversation with the rapturous En by Cherry grabbing his attention and demanding that he tell them stories of his time at UA.

“You’re so cool, Izu-nii,” Cherry pouted, a piece of eggroll stuck to her cheek. “You got such a cool quirk too and all I can do is make stupid bubbles.” She gasped, covering her mouth and looking mournfully at her friends, most of whom were quirkless, “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to call my quirk stupid, I know I’m really lucky to have one at all …”

“Thank you for apologizing so nicely, Cherry-chan,” Izuku praised, putting down his chopsticks. “It’s okay to feel that way but it’s also good to know how lucky you are.”

Cherry nodded sagely, looking a little sad even as her friends comforted her. Izuku patted his knee and brought the kid closer to cuddle her. Miko and Natsuki, Izuku’s oldest and closest friends next to Bakugou, rolled their eyes but both were smiling and leaning against the table as if they knew Izuku was about to make the whole thing into a life lesson.

“And anyway, I don’t think your bubbles aren’t stupid at all, Cherry-chan,” Izuku comforted, reaching for a tissue and wiping her face for her. “Bubbles are a super cool quirk. And if you wanted to be a hero then all you’d need to do is work hard and distract everyone with your pretty smile and a face full of bubbles!”

Cherry laughed uproariously at that and so did the other kids.

“Can we be heroes too, nii-san? Even though we don’t have bubbles?” Hitomi asked with wide, bright eyes. Izuku smiled softly, ruffling her hair fondly.

“Of course you can, Tomi-chan,” he said, feeling his heart ache a little. The vestiges were conspicuously quiet, listening to the conversation emotionally. “You’re going to have to work really hard, harder than everyone else, and it won’t be easy, but I have no doubt that you can all be great heroes one day.”

The babies all beamed up at him like he’d hung the stars in the sky and he was a little embarrassed so he put Cherry down and ushered them to go play heroes and villains while he finished eating.

“You bring it on yourself by being so cool, Hero-kun,” Miko teased and Izuku pouted.

“I’m not trying to be cool, Miko-chan!” He complained, then smirked just as teasingly, “It’s a natural state of being for me.”

“Wow!” Natsuki crowed, reaching over and aggressively ruffling his hair all over the place. “Izu-chan, maybe you should make your hero name Hero-Kun, the Not So Humble Hero!”

They laughed and Izuku decided to hang out in the common area while he did a bunch of admin work for Hydrangea. He had a huge list of things to do for the homes, mostly in terms of funding and allocation, but there were a few people he had to do background checks on before he could give the Hydrangea “parents” an all-clear to let the kids associate with whoever they were dealing with.

One of the biggest rules in Hydrangea was the background checks. Before anyone, barring the little kids who made friends with other kids at school, could regularly associate with anyone they had to inform Izuku so that he could do a background check to make sure they were safe. A lot of the time it felt like overkill, but Izuku had lost more than one family member to a crazy cult or some quirkist asshole who hurt them for no reason other than because they could.

So, background checks. 

Jeez, the world has really changed, Nana said sadly, back in my day the quirkless were a lot less rare so they weren’t as discriminated against ass they seem to be now. People just kind of ignored them, for the most part.

You’re doing an amazing thing here, Izuku, Hikage praised gently, this whole thing here, Hydrangea, it’s really amazing and it’s nice to see how you protect them even from a distance.

Izuku flushed.

Thanks, he replied, a bit embarrassed at the praise. His phone dinged before he could say much more to them and he blinked when he realized it was his Argos phone that had given him a notification.

Tsukauchi

Hey … do you have some time? 

Tsukauchi

There’s some new information on our case and there’s another case I’d like your opinion on. Come by the station whenever you’re free.

Izuku’s stomach clenched at the very thought of going to the station and meeting Tsukauchi in person again. After Jiro and Tsu recognizing him he was feeling a little protective of his identity but he acknowledged that if anyone were to find out about it he would prefer it to be Tsukauchi, since the man already knew about Toshinori and One For All- clearly he could keep a secret.

I think it should be fine, I didn’t get any pings from him, Hikage assured, though he sounded a bit dubious. Both Lee and Kudo grumbled but said nothing.

Argos

I’ll be there in a half hour.

After the USJ he’d updated his vigilante cotume and replaced the gear he’d damaged during the fight. He dressed in record time and left Hydrangea to make his way to the police station. He stuck mostly to the shadows and empty alleys to get there without coming across anyone else while he was dressed looking like a hero.

Outside of the station he hung outside the back alley and hacked into the cameras inside to see who he would be dealing with. Tsukauchi was in his office along with Eraserhead, both pouring over a truly abominable amount of papers.

He checked the location of the windows and grinned to himself. 

I support you, you cute gremlin, Dai said, giving a hearty chuckle. 

I’m practicing my stealth skills and testing their situational awareness, Izuku defended himself, as he made his way around the building, avoiding detection from the cameras he was monitoring.

That’s one way to go about it, Hikage snickered.

I’m just excited to see Izuku’s Aizawa again, Yoichi teased and Izuku nearly lost his footing on the wall he was attempting to scale.

Stop distracting him while he’s trying to focus on scaling a wall, Lee scolded and Izuku was about to thank him when the vestige added, … he’s trying to get to Eraserhead faster.

You guys are all awful, Izuku sulked. I don’t have a crush on Eraserhead!

Nana patted his hair fondly just as he safely got on a ledge outside Tsukauchi’s office. He’d successfully done it mostly silently and based on the cameras neither of the two inside had heard him so he took a moment to catch his breath.

He checked the window latch and grinned, noticing that it was unlocked. He checked the cameras again and made sure both were utterly focused on their work before easing it open and slipping inside as fast and silently as he could. Thankfully his shoes were muffling and he landed softly on a carpet that was laid beneath the window without either of them so much as twitching.

He has no right to complain about your class’s observation skills, Kudo snarked.

Give him a break, his whole head is wrapped in bandages, how is he supposed to see or hear anything? Nana defended and Izuku agreed with that observation. Kudo just huffed.

Fine, but the detective could be more aware. No one had anything to disagree with there, not even Izuku, though he felt a little bad for Tsukauchi since the man looked genuinly exhausted. 

Izuku took a seat on a single couch that had an ottoman resting beside it and propped his legs up to look as relaxed as possible. Tsukauchi flipped a page sluggishly.

“Wow, I get called in and you can’t even greet me properly.” He piped up.

In an instant both men were on their feet, tense and ready for action. Tsukauchi had his gun in hand and Eraserhead was holding two knives in absence of his capture weapon.

“Argos!” Tsukauchi exclaimed, lowering his gun and swearing loudly. “You scared the crap out of us!”

Eraserhead lowered his knives and sunk back into the shitty looking couch, sighing so deeply that Izuku almost felt bad for scaring him when he was already injured as badly as he was.

“Did you really think I, a known vigilante, was going to walk through the front door of a police precinct?” Izuku asked teasingly, standing up and joining him on the other side of his desk. “Tsuka-san, I thought you knew me better than that.”

Tsukauchi rolled his eyes, flopping back down in his swivel chair, which creaked dramatically.

“I had rather hoped my word would be enough to assure you that you wouldn’t be arrested but I suppose that was wishful thinking.” Tsukauchi said dryly.

Izuku tipped an imaginary hat.

“Hi, Eraser,” he greeted, ignoring the vestiges teasing at his slightly shyer tone. Aizawa looked at him and Izuku just knew he was arching a brow under those bandages.

“...Argos.”

“How may I be of service?” Izuku asked, and both men shared a complex look. Tsukauchi took out a sheath of papers from underneath the big pile with a huge red "CONFIDENTIAL" splashed across the front.

“What do you know about the Yakuza?”

Izuku arched his brow as the detective slid the thick folder across the table, leaving it in front of Izuku. The vestiges stirred within him and one came to the forefront a little, straightening Izuku's back proudly, confidence practically radiating through him.

“The Yakuza, hmm …” Dai murmured through Izuku’s lips, grinning ferally.

“I might know a little something about that.”

Chapter Text

Izuku wasn’t exactly surprised by it so much as he was bemused, but after living with the vestiges in his mind for a while he started picking up some strange habits.

His mom had been the first to notice when he started drinking hojicha every night even though he usually didn’t care much for it, and he only drank a specific brand of it now. Yoichi had coughed embarrassedly and said nothing but every night when he drank it, it felt as though Yoichi’s spirit was resting right beneath his skin, his tongue sitting on top of Izuku’s in order to taste the tea with every sip. It was … unique.

The first time it had happened neither of them had even noticed they were doing it until Dai coughed amusedly and their spirits literally wrenched away from each other, both mortified. Yoichi strived to not make him uncomfortable but Izuku could feel his delight the first time he’d done it, could feel how happy he’d been to “taste” the tea he favored again and so the next time he drank the tea he invited Yoichi back, settling into the feeling until it wasn’t so weird anymore. It just was.

Tea wasn’t the only thing that had changed about Izuku since getting the quirk and meeting the vestiges. He was extremely good in History class now.

Between Yoichi, Lee and Kudo neither would give him a second to think during history class before they were answering for him, or ripping apart their history sensei for making a mistake with some dates. As much as he wanted to scold them for not letting him learn in peace, well, they’d be together forever, ostensibly, so what did it really matter?

The whole class kept up their weekly training in the leadup to the Sports Festival and Izuku tried to juggle his responsibilities as Class Rep, as well as his own training, taking care of Hydrangea, and working on cases as Argos.

Dai’s help with the Yakuza case he’d been presented with was invaluable in knowing the inner workings of the syndicates as a whole, but his knowledge was somewhat dated. Izuku had a mountain of research and work in front of him that kept him up late every night only for him to wake up three hours after having gone to bed in order to fit in some training for himself away from the eyes of his classmates where he could practice with Blackwhip, as well as fighting alongside the vestiges.

At first he’d tried to avoid fighting with the vast experience and knowledge of the vestiges but Kudo had speedily nipped that in the bud.

Cheating? He sneered. We are a part of you, Midoriya Izuku. Everything you feel and experience will be ours and everything that we are is yours.

Izuku sucked his breath in sharply. He wasn’t sure if he was imagining it or not, but he could vividly see the vestiges standing around him. Kudo stood, arms crossed, looking unimpressed and beside him Lee just shook his head.

Kudo is right, Lee said sternly. Whether it is in a silly school festival, or if you are fighting for your life, and the lives of others, we are all of us connected. Using your quirk in any way to help you forward is not a crime.

So, Izuku started training with the vestiges. Toshinori had almost lost his lunch the first time they sparred after he’d gotten used to fighting with Nana standing at his back. Tears poured down his cheeks as he was forced to the ground, fist shrivelled inside Izuku and Nana’s strong grip.

“It is as if she herself fought me,” Toshinori sniffed after tapping out. “That was her signature move in our spars and it never failed to get me. Thank you- thank you for letting me experience it again, my boy.”

Oh Toshi… you sap, Nana sounded just as tearful and Izuku smiled.

“She called you a sap.” He told his mentor and Toshinori laughed. 

“Well, it seems you don’t need my help with combat anymore, young Izuku,” Toshinori said fondly. “I think I shall go up and have a cup of tea with Inko-san, you’ve suitably tired me out.”

Izuku laughed, watching the tall man lumber out of his basement training room at Hydrangea. 

He sure has a lot of “tea” with your mother, En commented in his quiet timber. Izuku blushed.

I don’t want to think about that!

The vestiges all laughed at him and he huffed, continuing his training with a snickering Dai at his back as his new mentor taught him how to use the whips for more delicate work.

You can call us friends, you know, Yoichi said smilingly, we’re connected now. We’ll teach you everything we know, but you don’t need to think of us as your mentors or teachers.

Yeah, you already have one, hopefully, hot teacher to deal with, Nana piped up amusedly and Izuku huffed. 

He’s not- well, he is, but that’s beside the point- he’s-

They didn’t even let him finish his thought before they were roaring with laughter. Even Lee and Kudo were doubled over with laughter, the betrayers, and Izuku groaned, using blackwhip to beat against a punching bag in embarrassment.

You know what? You’re right, Yoichi, you guys are terrible mentors and teachers. From this moment forward we’re friends! Izuku decided, rolling his eyes, immature friends, he added.

Yoichi was undeterred.

I’ve succeeded then, in befriending you, he said happily and Izuku just shook his head.

Imagine living with this for as long as I have, Hikage told him tiredly and Izuku laughed at that, listening to the vestiges bicker with each other while Dai regained his attention for training.

After the events of the USJ the classwide plans to volunteer at the Put Your Hands Up Food Bank had been put aside, but as the Sports Festival neared Izuku decided to put a message into the class group chat inviting his classmates to join him and the kids the next day.

Midoriya Izuku CR

Hey! I just wanted to put out an invite if anyone’s free tomorrow morning around 7AM. I’m volunteering at Present Mic’s Food Bank with some kids I patron. If anyone wanted to join us we’ll be waiting by the cafe near UA so we can all go together!

It took a moment but the message poured in with a speed that almost took Izuku by surprise. He was a little stunned at how many of his classmates wanted to come with.

Yaomomo

I’d love to! Is there anything I need to bring with?

Midoriya Izuku CR - to Yaomomo

Nothing, unless there were some things you wanted to donate, like clothes, blankets, things like that. There’s a donation bin there for things like that.

Astronaut

I’d love to come along but I don’t think I’ll be able to donate anything right now ..><

Sugarmann

Should I bring some desserts? I’ve been baking a lot recently.

Midoriya Izuku CR - to Sugarmann

I’m not sure if they accept food donations. I’ll ask Present Mic for you.

Kurechan

I’ll be there! I look forward to it!

Acidpop

Me too! Oh, I have a lot of clothes I could donate, actually! Anyone want to come over and help me sort through it all??

Astronaut - to Acidpop

I’ll help! 

Izuku stared at his phone for a while longer, watching the messages pop up and trying to calculate how many of the class were all coming. Of all twenty, seventeen were coming with them to volunteer, if Bakukou showed up. He frowned at the messages from the three who had declined.

Todoroki

I can’t make it. Apologies.

Iida Tenya

I cannot make it. You are all very noble to go and volunteer and I’ll be sure to follow your example as soon as I can!

Boobs (Mineta)

Nah, volunteering is no fun!

That boy’s name is … unbecoming, Hikage said diplomatically. It really was, the only reason he didn’t have a problem with Jiro’s explicit nickname was because it was her private one, not the one she used in the group chat. Izuku pursed his lips and tapped on Mineta’s contact to start a private chat.

Hero-kun

Hi, Mineta-kun, it’s Midoriya. I wanted to talk to you about your contact name in the class group. If it’s alright with you, please change it as soon as you can. It’s not appropriate for a school group chat. Have a nice evening!

Mineta Minoru

Oh! Um. Right. Yes. I’ll do that.

Izuku stared at the chat, waiting for him to say something else but that seemed to be it and half an hour later when he checked the group chat again, Mineta’s name now showed up as “Grapejuice” and he sent a thumbs up and thanks to the boy.

The next morning he woke up extra early and gathered Natsuki and Miko to help him organize the things for donation as well as getting the kids ready to go. Usually the kids served the snacks, or helped at the donation tent, or in the care center with the less fortunate kids so that they still helped out but weren’t in the way and always had minders. Usually his mom came with since it was the weekend but this weekend he was taking Toshinori instead, since his mom needed a rest day.

“We’re meeting Izu-nii’s hero friends?!” Cherry shouted, thrilled, when they were told of the extra helpers they were getting today. Izuku silently said a prayer for his poor class.

“Yes, a few friends are joining us. You’ll be polite to them, won’t you?” He warned and the kids clambered around him, blatantly ignoring Natsuki and Miko, who were laughing at him.

“We’ll be so nice and polite, nii-san! I promise!” Kizu promised seriously. 

They’re so cute! Nana cried cheerfully. 

“Yeah, nii-san, we’re always polite!” Toyoshi piped up, looking indignant and Natsuki, Miko and he burst out laughing at that. 

“Sure thing, squirt,” Natsuki ruffled his hair, shoving a hat on his head to tame his curls as much as she could. It was just five kids with them today, which was for the best since there would be so many other volunteers today.

They played an enthusiastic and giggly game of shiritori while Dai helped him lose faster by proving how terrible he was at the game, though it seemed to entertain the kids.

“What are they teaching you at UA, Izu-kun?” Natsuki snickered. “Since when were you so trash at shiritori?”

Izuku huffed, not replying. The cafe near UA was already playing host to a few of his classmates. 

Both Natsuki and Miko tensed slightly when they noticed the kids their age there and Izuku felt the need to reassure them.

“All of them are really nice,” he promised. “I don’t think you have to worry about any kind of discrimination here, and if they do then just let me know.”

“Our hero-kun,” Miko said teasingly, though his tensed shoulders eased a bit.

“What would we do without you?” Natsuki added, beaming and ruffling his already messy hair.

“Midoriya!” Uraraka waved, spotting them first. The rest of the class, or all who were there, looked up and waved as well.

They went inside the cafe and Izuku took care to introduce his friends to his classmates,

“Hi, everyone. This is Natsuki-chan, and Miko-kun, and these are Hikaru, Cherry, Kizu, Toyoshi, and Hitomi!” 

“Hello!” The kid bowed as one and his classmates reeled back in surprise. Tsuyu was the first to beam and come forward, crouching down to greet the kids on their level and with her starting, the rest all followed.

“It’s nice to meet you, um, Natsuki-chan?” Hagakure greeted Natsuki awkwardly. “Is it okay to call you that? It’s so informal…”

“I prefer Natsuki to my family name,” Natsuki told her easily. 

“Oh! Alright then, call me Kure-chan!” She requested happily, not pressing and Natsuki smiled, releasing the small amount of tension she’d still been carrying.

A few more of the class arrived until they were almost all there except for Bakugou.

“I don’t think he’s coming, I mean, he’s not exactly the warm and fluffy volunteering type, is he?” Kaminari asked awkwardly.

“WHAT DID YOU JUST SAY, DUNCE-FACE?!” Bakugou screeched, flying through the door and scaring Kaminari out of his bones. “I’m the best damn volunteer ever!”

Izuku burst out laughing.

“I knew you’d come, Kacchan,” he beamed. “We’re just waiting for Yagi-san to get here then we can go!”

“Who’s Yagi-san?” Yaoyorozu asked curiously.

“He’s a benefactor of the charity home I manage,” Izuku said easily. “The kids really love him and he’s always a winner among the people at the food bank.”

“Hang on, you manage a what now??” Ashido interrupted, pausing all the little conversations around them.

“A charity home,” Izuku repeated a bit awkwardly.

“He’s the founder of Hydrangea House, I don’t know if you’ve heard of it before,” Natsuki threw him under the bus. “There are three homes all together, one here, one in Yamanashi Prefecture, and one in Chiba. We support the homeless, both quirked and quirkless, and all the inbetween.”

Izuku blushed under the disbelieving looks.

“Bro,” Kirishima said emotionally. “Are you like, secretly All Might or something?? How can anyone be that heroic?!”

Even the vestiges laughed at that, thoroughly enjoying Izuku’s mortification. When Toshinori arrived, putting concerted effort into not appearing too similar to All Might, they set off to the food bank in a large group. It wasn’t far away from UA so they walked there, chatting and playing more games of shiritori with the kids. Tsuyu was the best at it, because she apparently had a lot of little siblings and it was a whole ordeal when the kids discovered that their amphibian quirked classmates from school were actually related to Tsuyu.

The entrance to the food bank loomed and Izuku went ahead, trusting the kids to Natsuki, Miko and Toshinori while he went to gather volunteer registration forms for his classmates.

“Oh, Midoriya-kun!” He heard a familiar voice and looked up, tilting his head and blinking when he noticed his teachers standing in front of him.

Present Mic was out of his familiar hero garb, his hair down and soft around his shoulders. He was wearing a butter yellow shirt and comfortable pants and looked so far away from Present Mic that it was a wonder Izuku had ever recognized him. Similarly, Midnight looked completely different in a casual and modest dress with her hair braided back. 

Izuku was somewhat surprised to see Aizawa there. His body was newly unbandaged but his head still had its bandage covering most of his face, presumably because of the severity of that particular injury.

Come on! Yoichi grumbled, He’s doing it on purpose now!

Yes, Yoichi, he’s keeping his face bandaged just so that the ghosts in his student’s head can’t thirst over him, En said dryly and Izuku coughed.

“Sensei!” He greeted, bowing to each of them slightly. “I didn’t expect you all to be here today. Most of the class are here to volunteer today too…”

“Wow!” Present Mic seemed thrilled. “Really? You’re such a trendsetter, Midoriya, I love that! Let me help you with those forms, how many are there?”

“Sixteen of the class, plus Natsuki, Miko, Yagi and the kids.” Izuku said a bit embarrassedly. “I didn’t expect all of them to show up when I invited them to tag along. Are we too many?” 

“There’s never too many for charity, Midoriya-kun!” Midnight sang happily. “Hizashi mentioned that he’d seen you around here over the weekends but this is the first time I’ve come out in a while! Who are Natsuki, Miko, and the kids?”

Aizawa looked interested too but Izuku couldn’t really tell from his facial expression, obviously. He gave the same explanation as before, the truth- that was, that they were from Hydrangea.

“I’d love to talk to you more about your philanthropy, Midoriya, hopefully we can make some time after the Sports Festival?” Present Mic asked eagerly. “I know Yagi is a benefactor there, right? He’s not the only Pro who likes sponsoring things so don’t hesitate to ask if you ever need some support!”

Izuku was genuinely touched at the offer and he thanked him earnestly. It was a little chaotic when everyone arrived but somehow he and Present Mic managed to get all the papers filled in and signed and a few senior volunteers came to disperse the group of them around the place in different jobs. Some were tasked with cleaning, others with serving, cooking, or in the donation zones while Natsuki and Miko joined the kids in the playpen along with the children of those in need.

Izuku was assigned to the serving area and found himself serving yakisoba next to Aizawa, who was plopping ladlefuls of fresh rice on their plates.

“Why-” Izuku looked up at the voice, holding his breath slightly- “Did you call your charity Hydrangea?”

Izuku blinked. 

“Oh, um,” he really didn’t see that coming. Was his sensei making … small talk? “It’s kind of embarrassing, actually.”

Aizawa turned to him and if he could see his face he just knew the man would be arching a brow.

“That just makes me want to know more.” He said and Izuku laughed.

Why is it named that? I didn’t even think about it, I figured it was because of the hydrangea gardens you kept, Nana mused. 

“It’s actually called House Hydra,” Izuku said with a blush. “Back when I first tried to get funding for it, a group that was really against the concept of a charity home for the quirkless tried to get me shut down multiple times.”

“My mother and I went to court against them for almost a year during the process of establishing the home and at the last court date I had to make a speech to the judge and I told them,” Izuku flushed at the memory, giving a portion of yakisoba to the girl in front of him with a small smile before continuing, “I said, no matter how many people oppose us, no matter if you try and cut us down today, I’m going to try again and again. For every time that you try to shut me down, I’m going to open two more houses just like a hydra that regrows two heads for every one head chopped off.”

“Heh, needless to say I won the lawsuit and that’s also the story of how I opened two homes in other prefectures.” He said with a small smile, looking up and turning red when he noticed Aizawa staring at him, motionless even though someone was trying to get his attention for rice.

“Erm, sensei- the rice?” He reminded and Aizawa snapped out of it and apologized gruffly, giving a generous helping to the man who had been waiting for it.

“That’s- that’s really something, so, ‘Hydrangea’ is-” Aizawa seemed a little out of sorts. He stared down at the rice, as if he was looking for the meaning of life.

“I chose Hydrangea in the end because it softened it a little, I didn’t want to scare the kids. Also, hydrangeas mean gratitude and apology, it felt fitting for the lot most of us got in life.” He shrugged. Aizawa looked at him again, staying silent.

I didn’t know it had such a nuanced meaning. That’s really beautiful, Izuku, Nana said softly, rubbing against his hair gently.

“You’re really something,” Aizawa said after a while of comfortable silence. “It makes me more sorry for the way I treated you at the start of term and the things I said. I know I said it to you before, but I’m sorry for that, still.”

“Oh,” Izuku didn’t know what to say. “Oh, I really, um, I’m not mad, sensei! I forgave you for that and I’m really not holding a grudge!”

“I know,” for some reason he felt like Aizawa was smiling under his bandages. “That’s why I’m still sorry.”

Izuku didn’t fully understand but he gave a bemused little smile and they returned to their assigned jobs feeling a little lighter.

Later, when the sun was setting and Izuku and his friends were the last few volunteers still helping out, most of his classmates had already returned home except for Shoji, who seemed reluctant to leave. 

“Why don’t you come over and have dinner with us at Hydrangea, Shoji-kun?” Izuku invited warmly. “I’m sure my mom wouldn’t mind driving you home afterwards if you want to contact your family!”

Shoji awkwardly agreed and they set off to return home, waving goodbye to the senior volunteers and their teachers. Fortunately, Miko could get along with a rock as long as it could listen to him yap and Shoji didn’t seem to mind listening.

Since it was weekend, and the weekend before the Sports Festival, at that, most of the older members of Hydrangea had prepared dinner and everyone chipped in a little. Izuku led his classmate over to the drinks section so they could prepare some pitchers of drinks to take up to the roof.

“I hope we didn’t work you too hard today, Shoji-kun,” he made conversation idly and his classmate chuckled.

“Not at all, it was actually nice doing something like this for a change.” He said cheerfully. “I don’t really get out much but it was nice being somewhere with so little … discrimination?”

Izuku paused.

“Are people not nice to you?” Izuku asked gently. Shoji was quiet for a while.

“I faced a lot of discrimination in my hometown,” He admitted after a while. “My face… it scared people. I started covering up after I scared a little girl so badly she got nightmares.” 

He easily picked up the two full pitchers with his arms while Izuku grabbed a stack of cups, using his body to open the doors for Shoji to fit through.

“I’m an anomaly in my family,” he said casually, “Most of their mutations are easy to dismiss so it’s never bothered them, but the gene mutated a bit more with me and I came out like this,” he gestured with his head to his six arms. “It made my childhood a little hard since my family was kind of prominent in our town and I spent a lot of time inside.”

How awful, Hikage murmured, saddened. He’s so nice, too.

“I’m sorry you had to see the worst of the world so young, Shoji-kun,” Izuku said gently. “You’re really strong, Shoji-kun, for going through all of that and still being so kind.”

Rather than seeing his expression, Izuku could tell he was embarrassed based on his body language. It was kind of endearing to see six large arms flail while trying to hold onto the drinks.

“Do your parents support you now?” Izuku asked curiously, remembering that Shoji hadn’t contacted anyone to let them know his whereabouts. 

“Not really,” he shrugged. “I’m currently living here in Musutafu alone, though I’m fortunate that they at least funded my apartment. After school I’ll have to do some part-time work until I earn enough as a hero to be able to get by, but that’s alright. I’m an uncomplicated sort of guy, I don’t really mind having little.”

What kind of parents- Dai swore. He’s so nice too!!

“Do you prefer living alone?” Izuku asked, ignoring the vestiges’ commentary. Shoji hummed, a little distracted by the scenery on the rooftop and the festiveness as everyone prepared to eat and relax. They put their burdens down on the table.

“Not really, I spent a lot of time alone as a child so I’m not overly fond of living alone now but it’s not so bad!” Shoji said earnestly. Izuku couldn’t stand for it.

“This might seem bold and unwanted, but I just wanted to let you know that you’re more than welcome to stay here if you wanted some company.” Izuku said firmly. Shoji’s head whipped around and he blinked rapidly, staring at Izuku in shock.

You’re so fucking sweet, Izuku, Yoichi siad proudly.

“There’s more than enough space,” he gestured around them. “You won’t have to pay any rent and all you have to do is maybe a bit of cleaning, cooking if someone needs help, and probably walking the kids to school with me in the morning, but not much else. Just … keep it in mind, okay? I really, really would be thrilled if you did choose to stay.”

Shoji murmured his thanks for the offer but didn’t make a choice yet and Izuku left him be. If he later told his mother to especially look out for his classmate while he was there in a bid to make her really lay on the motherly affection then only he and the vestiges were wiser for it.

By the time Inko drove him home, Shoji seemed completely hooked and Izuku theorized that he’d have a classmate as a roommate by the end of the Sports Festival at least, so he casually went about setting up a room for him, if he ever did choose to stay. 

Three days later his phone pinged.

Shogi (Shoji)

Is your offer still on the table? I don’t want to be a burden but I …

Shogi 

I would like it a lot if I could stay

Hero-kun

I already prepared your room, Shoji-kun. Want some help packing?

Shogi

(typing)

Shogi

… you’re really such a … hero.

Hero-kun

Eh? We’re both heroes, Shoji-kun! Give me your address I’ll be right over! 

Shogi

Thanks, Midoriya-kun.

Hero-Kun

Nonsense, call me Izuku, we’re gonna be roommate now!

Shogi

Then, Mezo for me, Izuku-kun.

Hero-Kun

🙂