Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

It had been quite some time since Toshinori walked through the halls of his alma mater. Having just been 18 at the time of graduation, it felt like a full lifetime had passed in between then and now. At the same time, the halls felt just as familiar as they did when he would walk through them on the daily. The difference was that now, he wasn’t being greeted by friends and strangers alike with warm smiles and greetings, but instead was met with polite indifference by any passerbys in the hall. Because right now, he was not the first year who won the Sports Festival or the boy who aced every endurance test he was put to; he was Toshinori Yagi, a complete nobody to everyone, save for a select few. 

To most, Toshinori was just another secretary-manager working at All Might’s hero agency who left many wondering just how he managed to get so close to the #1 Hero and Symbol of Peace despite dressing in clothes that never seemed to fit him or constantly stumbling over his words, if not his own feet. Little did they know that the “secretary-manager” they thought they knew was the Symbol of Peace himself; at least, when his time wasn’t up yet. 

It shouldn’t have surprised Toshinori to know that no one had been able to figure it out. Even his protege and successor young Midoriya hadn’t believed it when he saw him transform before his very eyes on that fateful day they met, and quite frankly, he couldn’t have blamed him. All Might’s very presence commanded attention, standing at the full height of 7’2’’ (and that wasn’t including his hair) with a voice that’s volume was only outmatched by Present Mic’s shout. He didn’t even need to announce, “I am here!” for people to know he had arrived, his visage and silhouette instantly recognizable to any and all who knew it. 

Toshinori Yagi, on the other hand, was not so lucky. While he still retained his incredible height, poor posture often hid that fact from everyone, causing many to think he was in the six foot range. It didn’t help that without his muscles, Toshinori was just skin on bones and generally unpleasant to look at (some days he couldn’t even bear to look at himself). People often turned their gaze away from him and actively avoided him, some going so far as to change their course to dodge the chance of crossing his path. Even though five years had passed since his fight with All For One, he still wasn’t quite used to the judgmental stares that were thrown his way and would often shrink under them in a vain attempt to make himself seem smaller. 

He was incredibly thankful when Principal Nedzu’s office door came into view and quickly rushed towards it. With a rapidfire knock, Toshinori’s eyes flitted back and forth down the hallway to check for any potential witnesses before he was greeted with a gentle, “Come in,” from inside. He opened the door and stepped inside, closing the door behind him and turning to meet Nedzu’s patient gaze at his desk. The principal sat in his large chair, paws clasped in front of him, a small smile spread across his lips. 

“I’m so glad you could make it, All Might,” Nedzu said warmly. He gestured to the seat that sat across from him. “Come, take a seat. We have a lot to discuss, don’t we?”

Toshinori shuffled over to the seat, clutching his briefcase handle like a lifeline. Even when sitting down and slouched over, he still towered over Nedzu’s small form, which made him subconsciously shrink further in on himself. He pulled his briefcase into his lap and held it there, unsure what to say.

“I hope that you’ve taken the time to consider my offer,” Nedzu articulated, his smile unwavering.

“I have,” Toshinori answered.

“Wonderful!” Nedzu proclaimed, clapping his hands enthusiastically. “So, will you be joining U.A.’s faculty as a teacher, All Might?”

Toshinori pursed his lips. “I… I’m afraid not, Nedzu.”

Nedzu’s mirth disappeared, surprise overtaking his features. “Oh? Why is that? I would think that you’d love to teach the next generation of heroes!” When Toshinori’s expression didn’t change, Nedzu furrowed his brows. “You look concerned. Tell me, what’s on your mind?”

“For starters,” Toshinori began, clearing his throat a bit, “what would I be teaching? Something to do with heroics, I presume?”

“It makes sense, doesn’t it?” Nedzu asked. “You have a couple of decades of being a Pro under your belt. Surely you have a great amount of wisdom to impart onto them?”

“Wisdom,” Toshinori repeated, snorting a bit. He blinked and covered his mouth, his cheeks burning with embarrassment. “I’m sorry, I didn’t… What I meant was that I don’t think that wisdom alone will aid me in teaching.”

“Ah, but your experience is surely an asset, wouldn’t you say?” Nedzu pondered aloud. 

“I’m experienced in Pro Hero work,” Toshinori clarified, his tone firm, “not in teaching. The two are fundamentally different.”

Nedzu frowned. “That is true… But, you’d be teaching about Pro Hero work to the next generation of up and coming Pros!” His smile returned with a small chuckle. “I mean, to be taught by the Number One Hero… I would call that a once in a lifetime experience. Would you truly deny our students that?”

Toshinori had to hold back a grimace. “Aren’t you worried that having the Symbol of Peace on campus would bring undue attention to the school? It won’t take long for my presence to be noticed and it can potentially put a target on the school and, worse, the student body.” He held his briefcase closer to him without thought. “And that’s not even addressing the issue of… my time limit.”

“Ah, I see,” Nedzu acknowledged, smiling sympathetically, “how long is your time limit, again? Three hours? I imagine that would be quite troublesome, especially if training with the students puts your body under strain.”

“Not only that,” Toshinori continued, “if I’m to teach here at U.A., I’d likely be assuming my muscular form while teaching, which would be using up time I might need for an emergency. And even if I teach like…” He clenched his briefcase tighter, unable to hold back his grimace that time. “ This… It would be putting an incredible burden on the students to remain silent about my… condition .” 

He already had one student to worry about as it was. His successor, young Midoriya, proved that he had only the vaguest idea of what he was doing. The young boy was privy to his injury and time limit, a secret he trusted him with alongside his Quirk, when the time finally came to give it to him. Toshinori hated to assume he couldn’t trust any of the other students, but having too many people in on it would just be asking for trouble.

“And that’s why I think it’s best if I…” Toshinori paused to swallow. “ Decline your offer… I fear the cons outweigh the pros if the Number One Hero resided on campus as a faculty member.”

Nedzu remained quiet, his face fixed in contemplation. Although Toshinori had not known Nedzu for very long, he knew that at his core, Nedzu was a thinker, always searching for new solutions to problems. He had no doubt that his mind was running a mile a minute in order to find a way to convince Toshinori to take up his offer; he was always tenacious that way. 

“While I’m sure you’re disappointed,” Toshinori said, breaking Nedzu out of his stare, “I don’t wish to cause you or your school any issues. So, while I deeply appreciate the offer, I believe it’s in everyone’s best interests if I decline.”

Then, a slow, but knowing smile spread across Nedzu’s face. “You’re right, All Might… It would be dangerous to have the Number One Hero be on campus.”

Toshinori did not trust that smile. “But?”

“But,” Nedzu repeated, holding up his index finger, “just because All Might can’t be a teacher doesn’t mean that Mr. Yagi can’t.”

Toshinori couldn’t stop himself from blinking with surprise. “What?”

Nedzu pointed his finger at his temple. “Take a moment to think about it, would you? Instead of coming in as All Might, you come in as Toshinori Yagi, a man with years of experience working at a Hero Agency.” He paused to scratch his chin in thought. “Our homeroom teachers already cover the basics of hero training, so perhaps you could teach a class on Public Relations as a Pro instead?” 

“But, what about the internships and work studies?” Toshinori asked. “Would I really be needed when your school already offers those programs?”

Nedzu wagged his finger. “Ah, but there’s a lot more to working at an agency than what they see during internships. During internships, they’re treated as guests, meant to take notes and shadow their mentors, not to actively participate in Hero work. Besides, the students won’t be starting their work studies until their second year during summer vacation, remember?”

“That… is true,” Toshinori admitted, recalling his own work study back when he was a second year, “but will it really help them? What kind of work can I give them to prepare them for it? I don’t have a syllabus. I-I don’t have any idea how I should cover material with the students… And, sure , I have experience working as a secretary-manager at an agency, but anyone can teach about that, can’t they?”

“You also have experience running an agency, too, do you not?” Nedzu questioned. His smile widened when Toshinori didn’t immediately protest. “I would say that’s pretty invaluable to students once they graduate, wouldn’t you? Not everyone is like Hawks; the students are going to need some guidance in the event they look into starting their own agency upon graduating.”

Toshinori stared in bewilderment. “You think… I should teach…” He twisted the fabric of his shirt in his hand nervously, untucking it from his pants a bit. “Like this? But… What if I need to leave class because of an emergency? What am I supposed to—” Then, he coughed, just barely managing to cover it with his fist. “Pardon me…”

Nedzu snapped his fingers. “There’s your excuse right there. In the event you need to step out, you can just say you’re feeling under the weather.” He leaned forward with that same, unmoving smile, a devious glint in his eyes. “Plus, by acting as Mr. Yagi, you wouldn’t be pressured to hold your form to maintain appearances, thus, allowing you to reserve your time for hero work. You also wouldn’t be bringing attention to the school and risk putting it under the scrutiny of villains.” He tilted his head. “Does that address all of your concerns?”

Toshinori’s hand didn’t release his shirt. “But… Don’t you think the students would prefer an actual Pro to be their teacher?”

“I can always offer you pointers,” Nedzu told him simply, “I mean, you’re hardly the first Pro we’ve had who has worried they weren’t qualified for the position. Still, I’m sure that with a guided hand, you’ll be ready to teach your first class when the time comes.” He spared a glance at the calendar that hung on the wall, depicting a photo of the Voice Hero, Present Mic, mid-shout as he leaped into the air. A speech bubble in yellow, staticky font that simply read, “August!” burst forth from his mouth. “You still have a few months before the entrance exams in February and when classes officially start in April.”

Young Midoriya jumped to the forefront of Toshinori’s mind. How would his added teaching duty affect his ability to guide the young boy? He was already struggling enough as it was trying to make sure that his protege was ready for the exam when the time came, but even so, Toshinori himself had been given more time to prepare his body for One For All before his own mentor gave it to him. She hadn’t exactly given him a guide on how to teach a successor of his own and Gran Torino’s methods had been… questionable, at best, but they were all Toshinori knew. He was too afraid to reach out to the old man; young Midoriya had a strong heart, but he was sensitive at his core, and Toshinori worried what his instruction would do to his young apprentice. 

“Is there something else on your mind, All Might?” Nedzu asked, startling him out of his thoughts. “It’s just the two of us, so feel free to share.”

Toshinori frowned. “I… I could actually do with some guidance in teaching, Nedzu.”

Nedzu’s brows shot up. “Is that so? Well, I’m happy to be of assistance! Does this mean you’ll be joining us at U.A.?”

“Not… exactly,” Toshinori answered hesitantly, and Nedzu frowned, “it’s just… Earlier this year, I met a young boy who wishes to become a hero… And I took on the task of training him to help him achieve that goal.” 

“You have a protege?” Nedzu breathed, his eyes brightening. “Is he planning on trying out for U.A.?”

Toshinori couldn’t help but smile a bit. “It’s all he ever talks about… It’s his dream school, Nedzu.”

Nedzu’s eyes practically sparkled. “Oh, that’s wonderful! If he gets in, you simply must introduce him to me! I’d like to know what kind of a lad he is to catch your eye!”

“You two would get on well, I think,” Toshinori told him, and he meant it, “he’s very smart. He has a notebook he carries around that he calls his ‘Hero Notebook.’” 

“That’s precious ,” Nedzu observed as if it were a simple fact of life. 

Toshinori chuckled. “It is, isn’t it?” Then, his smile faltered. “It’s just… Well, it’s hard to explain, really…” He clasped his hands in front of him and looked off to the side. “I’ve been struggling in training him. I want to help him, I do, but… Sometimes I struggle to know if what I’m doing is really going to prepare him for the entrance exam.”

“What’s his Quirk?” Nedzu asked, making Toshinori tense up. The principal tilted his head. “Is that part of the issue? Is he having trouble controlling it?”

Toshinori’s mind became a flurry. One For All was a secret to only a select few, Nedzu included; could he tell him that he had chosen a successor outside of his roster? No, he might be too critical about the young boy, Toshinori had to make an excuse. But how was he to explain the issues with a Quirk that young Midoriya didn’t have yet? He at least knew that with each time the Quirk was passed down, it grew in strength and that due to decades of owning the Quirk, its power was sure to have grown exponentially. He wouldn’t know just how strong until he passed it on and saw young Midoriya use it in action, but even then, would all the training they did be able to prepare him for it? How was he supposed to justify a Quirk that could potentially cause great injury to him?

Then, a lightbulb flickered on in Toshinori’s head.

“He’s a late bloomer,” he answered, and Nedzu’s brows shot upwards again, “he spent most of his childhood thinking he was Quirkless. As a result, he didn’t gain any counseling for his Quirk like some of his peers.”

Nedzu brought a paw to his mouth. “Oh, dear, that is an issue… That’s incredibly rare. Most counselors don’t know how to handle a case like that .”

“That’s not it,” Toshinori continued, making Nedzu blink, “because he’s a late bloomer, his body isn’t adapted to the Quirk yet. Activating it could potentially put his body at risk.” 

“What kind of a Quirk is it?” Nedzu questioned. Toshinori could just see the wheels spinning in his head, only this time, he wasn’t nervous about it. He needed all the help he could get and who better than a certified genius? “It sounds like an emitter type.”

Toshinori nodded. “You’re correct. It’s… almost an enhancement sort of Quirk. It allows him to stockpile an enormous amount of raw power, which lets him significantly enhance all of his physical abilities to an incredible level. ”

“Like your Quirk?” Nedzu inquired. He smiled when Toshinori blinked. “Is that why you took a shine to him? You saw a bit of yourself in him, didn’t you?”

Toshinori’s cheeks grew warm and he coughed into his hand. “Maybe…”

Nedzu chuckled. “So, tell me… What exactly are you struggling with at the moment? Is it trying to get him to activate his Quirk without hurting himself?”

Toshinori nodded once again. “Yes. I’ve been trying to help him increase his natural strength and stamina so that when he tries to use his Quirk, it doesn’t cause his body serious harm.” His eyes fell downwards. “I don’t want him to activate it until I’m sure his body can handle it, but with the entrance exam drawing closer, I worry that all the time I’m spending on increasing his physical strength will cut into time we can use to actually have him practice using it. But if I let him use it now , it could…”

“Really hurt him,” Nedzu finished, his expression turning solemn. He closed his eyes in contemplation. “I completely understand your concern. You’re worried that it could cause irreversible damage to his body if he uses it before he’s ready.” He let out a small hum of thought. “That is a tricky situation… Tell me, how long have you been training him?”

“Since April,” Toshinori answered.

Nedzu frowned. “Oh, dear… And the entrance exam is in about six months… When were you planning on letting him use his Quirk?”

“After he finished his training regiment,” Toshinori told him, “but, since we only had ten months to work with, I wanted to use every bit of time we had.”

“It sounds like you were going to let him use it on the day of the exam,” Nedzu observed. When Toshinori didn’t answer, the principal frowned. “ All Might , don’t tell me you actually thought about it.”

“That’s why I’m asking you about it now,” Toshinori said defensively. Then, he let out a sigh and closed his eyes. “I… I don’t know what I’m doing. But, I want to help him, I really do. He has the makings of a great hero inside him and I’m certain that once he learns to use his Quirk…” He opened his eyes to face Nedzu. “But these past four months have shown me that I really don’t have a solid idea of what a teacher is supposed to do… I lost my own mentor when I was just a student and… well, you know Gran Torino. He’s ruthless .”

“And you don’t want to push him like he did to you,” Nedzu offered. He exhaled sharply. “Well, this is definitely a complicated issue, isn’t it? You have a short amount of time to train the boy and even if you succeed, there’s no guarantee his body will be ready to handle it…” He closed his eyes in thought. “I must say, you’ve brought me quite the dilemma, All Might.”

Toshinori looked down. “I know… Listen, I’m sorry if this is burdensome. I know you brought me here to discuss me becoming a teacher, but I truly don’t know how to move forward when it comes to this…” He wrung his hands together. “And if I can’t even teach a single boy, how can I teach a whole class?”

Nedzu held up a hand. “Now, now, don’t go beating yourself up, All Might. I’m not upset you came to me about this; quite the opposite, actually.” He smiled again. “This gives us an idea of where we stand and what we need to do to move forward. You don’t have to shoulder everything on your own, you know.” He wove his fingers together and propped his elbows on the desk, resting his chin on his hands. “Though, I have only one condition…”

“Condition?” Toshinori repeated.

“In exchange for my help,” Nedzu told him, “you come take on a spot as a teacher here at U.A.” Just as Toshinori opened his mouth to protest, a single look from Nedzu silenced him. “Now, like I said before, you wouldn’t be acting as All Might, but as Mr. Yagi. And before you start panicking, I’ll remind you that I can help you with a syllabus and curriculum for your students.” He closed his eyes with a smile. “You won’t have to worry about a thing.”

Toshinori stared helplessly for a moment before he let out a ragged sigh. “I can’t talk my way out of this, can I?”

Nedzu peeked an eye open, revealing that devilish glint. “I’d love to see you try.”

Toshinori stood still for a long moment, not sure what to say. He would be lying if he said he knew what he was doing with himself half the time. Could he really be a mentor for a whole class when he struggled to draw the line between Gran Torino showing tough love or just being harsh for the sake of being harsh? Could he even draw the line with himself when he still didn’t know what he was doing with his own successor? Most days, he would bury himself in whatever work he could to silence the thoughts that plagued his mind, telling him that it wasn’t enough, reminding him of how little time he had left, shouting just how pathetic he was…

But, then, young Midoriya came into his life and reminded him of his own values, of what it takes to be a true hero. A young boy without a Quirk had done what he struggled to do when he himself felt as helpless and pathetic as he did when he was Quirkless; he tried to save someone. He was certain that even without a Quirk, young Midoriya would have found a way to become a hero in his own right and prove what he said on that rooftop wrong. Toshinori could only imagine what he could do with the power of One For All, the Quirk his own mentor had given him to fulfill his dreams of being a hero. 

His mentor… It was because of his mentor that Toshinori was able to become All Might, to become the Symbol of Peace and Number One Hero that fought against evil with a smile on his face. Could he put on that same brave smile as Toshinori and give those students what he lost when he was just a teenager himself: a mentor who would give them the power to achieve their dreams? 

Toshinori’s hand lingered over his injured side once again. How much time did he have left after he passed his Quirk on to young Midoriya? How long would the embers of the flame that once roared inside of him last under a storm with only himself to shield and protect it? And once those embers were gone… What would he be left with? What good would he be without his power? Would teaching the students of his alma mater allow for him to share his knowledge before his time on Earth ran out? Would it be enough? Was he enough?

“I’m not hearing a no,” Nedzu announced, breaking him out of his thoughts.

With a deep breath, Toshinori closed his eyes. “If I say yes… Will you really help me with young Midoriya?”

“Only if you help my students, as well,” Nedzu told him, “I believe you have the potential to be a great help to their journey to become heroes.” He straightened up his posture. “But, first, we can start with your boy.”

‘My boy,’ Toshinori mused. The thought brought a small smile to his face. 

“Alright, then,” Toshinori conceded, “I’ll teach at U.A., Nedzu… Where do we begin?”

Nedzu grinned. “For starters… I’d like to meet your protege in person and get to know him. It’ll give me a sense of what I’m working with.”

“You want to meet young Midoriya?” Toshinori blurted out.

“Of course! ” Nedzu proclaimed. “How can I not? He sounds like a bright young man and I’d love to pick his brain a bit. You can’t hoard him all to yourself, you know. He might wind up being a student here yet.”

Despite himself, Toshinori smiled. “Hopefully, we can turn that ‘might’ into something more definitive.”

“That’s the spirit!” Nedzu cheered. “Now… What’s a good time for you two to come in next week?” 

Chapter Text

Izuku didn’t like keeping things from his mother. He didn’t have many people he could confide in and his mother knew that, so she made it clear quite often that he could come to her about anything. However, when it came to the secret All Might entrusted him with, he knew that he couldn’t share it with her, not yet. While his mentor never explicitly told him to keep it from his mother, he hadn’t said to tell her, either, so he refrained from doing so. Still, it didn’t make it easier on when his mother would catch him by the arm and plant a kiss on his cheek with a gentle statement of, “I love you, stay safe, Izuku,” before sending him on his way.

As he drew closer to the beach, he clutched the lunch his mother packed for his Sunday workout close to his chest with a heavy sigh. It was a simple box wrapped in a handkerchief patterned in All Might’s familiar swoop of blond hair and white stars amongst red and white stripes. She had made his favorite: Katsudon. It made his heart ache. ‘Should I talk to All Might about it?’

Then, as if he had been summoned by Izuku’s thought, his mentor popped into view in an enthusiastic leap, landing in front of him with a flourish. Standing in his muscular form, he stood over Izuku with his hands on his hips and his dazzling smile spread across his face while dressed in a simple blue tracksuit with white stars adorning the sides. 

“Good morning, young Midoriya!” All Might greeted. He spared the boy a onceover. “I see you’re all packed and ready for today’s training session! That’s good!”

“O-Oh, yeah!” he stammered, still hugging his mother’s lunch. “My, uh, mom packed it for me.”

All Might’s laugh was warm. “That was nice of her!” He clapped a hand onto Izuku’s shoulder, making him jump a bit. “Listen, I wanted to talk to you about something before we start in on our training. Come, to the beach!” 

Izuku’s stomach dropped. Was All Might reconsidering him as a protege? He thought he had been making good progress during training in the past couple of months, but he supposed it couldn’t be helped; he hadn’t been especially strong before All Might came along. With a nod, he followed after his mentor, still not letting go of the lunchbox. 

When the two of them finally got to the beach, All Might took a seat at the bottom step and gestured for Izuku to take a seat beside him. Swallowing nervously, he did so, staring straight down at the sand in fear of meeting All Might’s gaze. Then, a familiar poof! broke his staring contest with the ground and his head snapped to his right to see All Might in his skinny form, coughing into a bony fist.

“I’m fine,” All Might wheezed, holding up his other hand just as Izuku was prepared to voice his concern. After a moment, he cleared his throat and straightened up a bit. “I want to make it clear that I’m not upset with you, young Midoriya.”

Izuku’s heart dropped. “W-Why would you be—”

“You’re about to crush your lunch from how nervous you are,” he observed simply, and Izuku blinked, looking down to see the integrity of his lunch was in jeopardy. Fumbling for a moment, he set the lunchbox down beside him and clasped his hands in front of him, his cheeks warm. “Hey, kid, relax, I just said I’m not mad.”

“So…” Izuku drawled out, twiddling his thumbs. “You’re… You’re not reconsidering me for a successor?”

All Might’s eyes were soft. “No, my boy, I’m not. I just wanted to let you know that I’ve sought outside help for your training, is all.”

Izuku’s eyes widened. “W-What? O-Oh, you d-don’t have to do that! I mean, we’ve still got six months until the entrance exam, so I’m sure there’s time for me to get to where you want me to be! I promise, I’ve been following your regiment down to a tee, but if you’re not happy with the results, I can always do more!” That was a blatant lie, he had been doing more for awhile, but All Might didn’t need to know that. “I’m sorry for making you think you need to—”

“Young Midoriya,” All Might interjected, his voice firm, “you haven’t done anything wrong. The reason I’ve asked for help is because…” He turned towards the rising sun. “I fear that I may not be properly preparing you for my Quirk.”

“What?” Izuku blurted out.

All Might sighed. “The original plan was to spend the full ten months bulking your body up so you can handle the Quirk upon receiving it. However, that would give us very little time to actually let you practice using it before the exam and that… could be dangerous.” He brought a hand to his forehead. “You’ve lived your whole life without a Quirk, so even with the extra bulk up, you’re not gonna be an expert at using it on day one.”

“That makes sense,” Izuku replied, “I mean, I was born Quirkless, so I didn’t get any counseling like Kacchan did for his Quirk, so I guess even with a powerful Quirk like yours, I’d be at a bit of a disadvantage experience-wise.” He brought a hand to his chin. “You know, no one even really knows what your Quirk is… It looks like an emitter type, but since your body undergoes a transformation when it’s active, would it also fall under a transformation Quirk?” His head perked up and he turned to face All Might with wide eyes. “Am I going to buff up like you?!”

His mentor let out a raspy laugh. “No, kid, you’re not gonna buff up like that… I sure didn’t when I got it.”

Izuku would be lying if he wasn’t a bit disappointed to hear that. “Oh…”

“C’mon, don’t look so down!” All Might laughed, clapping a hand on his shoulder. Even when skinny, his hands were so large on his body. “You’ll be plenty strong with more training, young Midoriya! Besides, big muscles aren’t all that, you know.” He flexed his other arm with a playful wink. “At least I can fit through doorways this way.”

A snort escaped Izuku and he clapped his hand over his mouth. “Alright, fair enough.”

All Might squeezed his shoulder. “Now, the reason I sought outside help is so that way I can find the best way to shift your training to let you practice using your Quirk safely before the exam. It would be too much of a gamble to wait until the exam to incorporate it into your training.”

“So… when are you going to give me your Quirk?” Izuku questioned. “A couple months before the exam?”

“I’m not certain,” All Might admitted, “that’s part of the reason why I asked Nedzu for help.”

Izuku arched a brow. “Nedzu?”

All Might sighed. “He’s an… associate of mine. I asked him for help the other day and he said he wanted to meet you so he could get an idea of what to do about your Quirk.”

“He wants to meet me?” Izuku blurted out. His hands started fidgeting again. “When are we supposed to meet? What should I wear? Something formal? No, but what if I need to show my physical capabilities? Would a tracksuit be alright?” His head perked up. “Do they have formal tracksuits, All Might? Should I get one and wear that?”

“You’re overthinking it,” All Might told him simply, and Izuku’s ears grew hot, “just come as you are. No need to put on a show for Nedzu; he’d see right through it, anyhow. He’s a smart one.”

Izuku couldn’t stop wringing his hands together. “Does he… know about your secret?”

All Might shifted uncomfortably. “He knows about my injury and my time limit, but as far as he knows, you’re a late bloomer who hasn’t gained any counseling for his newly manifested Quirk.”

“But does he know that I know?” Izuku questioned.

All Might arched a brow. “Does it matter?”

Izuku pursed his lips. “Well, it’s just, won’t he think it’s strange that I know your secret? I mean, I’m just a middle schooler, but I’m in on one of the biggest secrets in the hero world, if you think about it. Won’t that worry him?” 

“He knows you’re my protege,” All Might assured him, “so it would make sense for you to know about my condition.” He waved his hand. “Relax, I’ll handle the details, young Midoriya.”

“Alright,” Izuku replied. Then, he perked up. “You told him I was a late bloomer, right?”

“I did,” All Might said. 

Izuku ’s brows furrowed. “And that I had trouble activating my Quirk… right?” 

“Yes.”

“So, what are we supposed to do if he asks me to try to activate it?” Izuku inquired, making All Might blink. “I mean, what do I do? Pretend I can’t activate it? Say I’m scared I’ll hurt myself?” He brought his hand to his chin in thought. “If we try to deflect, it might come off as suspicious, but if we try to play along, it could make him even more suspicious, so what do we do? I know you said you wanted to wait until my body could handle it until before you gave me your Quirk, but how are we supposed to provide examples about why my Quirk isn’t working for me if I don’t have it yet?”

“Young Midoriya, you’re rambling again,” All Might noted aloud, and Izuku’s ears burned hotter. His mentor offered him a smile and gave his shoulder another reassuring squeeze. “Relax, my boy. Nedzu already made it clear he’s not interested in having you use your Quirk right off the bat. He just wants to get to know you before we settle into doing anything strenuous.”

Izuku’s eyes trailed over to the lunch his mother made him. It didn’t hit him until then, but this was becoming very real very fast. All Might was truly serious about training him and giving him Quirk, to bring him on as a successor… And yet his mother had no idea. How long was he supposed to keep it from her? Until he was given All Might’s Quirk? How was he supposed to explain that? He very well couldn’t say, “Oh, yeah, I developed a Quirk and didn’t want to tell you until I got into my dream school, surprise .” How long was he going to keep up the charade?

“Something else on your mind, young Midoriya?” All Might asked, making him jump a bit. When Izuku didn’t answer immediately, he squeezed his shoulder again. “Talk to me, my boy.”

With a swallow, Izuku faced him again. “Uh, it’s nothing… Just thinking about stuff, you know?”

Although his mentor didn’t look convinced, he didn’t press Izuku, which he was thankful for. “Alright… But just remember, you can tell me whatever concerns you have. Nedzu and I will be more than happy to offer you help for them.”

“Speaking of…” Izuku began, “when are we supposed to be meeting him?”

“Oh,” All Might piped up, “that’s right… He actually wanted to talk to you today.”

Izuku blinked. “What?! Today?! When?!”

All Might stared down at his watch that was styled after his Silver Age hero costume— was the limited edition one? Would it be weird to ask him where he got it? —and then blinked. “Would you look at that, he’ll be here in about 20 minutes or so.”

“20 minutes?!” Izuku repeated. He grasped at his worn, green tracksuit. “Should I go home and change? Oh, my hair is probably a mess , I should at least take a brush to it—”

“ Relax , I told you not to worry,” All Might assured him, “just be yourself, alright? Nothing to be nervous about.”

Just as Izuku was about to ask All Might if he at least had a comb on him, the sound of someone clearing their throat made him freeze. Both he and All Might turned collectively to see a small, stout man with the head of a mouse standing at the top of the stairs. No taller than three feet, he wore a white dress shirt with a dark red necktie, as well as a black double-breasted waistcoat and matching dress pants. Strangely, he wore orange lace-up sneakers that looked to be too big for his small frame to complete the ensemble. He held a small case at his side, a smile spread across his face as he faced All Might and Izuku. 

“I hope I’m not interrupting anything,” said the man. 

“Nedzu,” All Might said simply, and Izuku was certain his heart stopped, “you’re early.”

Nedzu waved a hand. “To be on time is to be late, All Might! I like to be punctual.” Then, he turned his attention towards Izuku, which made him freeze. “You must be young Midoriya! All Might has told me great things about you!” He turned back to All Might and held up his case. “Is there a place where we can sit and talk, All Might? I brought green tea for us to drink.”

“That sounds nice, Nedzu,” All Might affirmed. He stood up and Izuku quickly followed suit thereafter, nearly stumbling before All Might righted him with a single arm. “Would it be alright if we talk at the pier? It’ll shade us from the sun while we talk.”

“What a lovely idea!” Nedzu replied. He made his way down the steps jovially, his eyes latched onto Izuku. “I’m quite excited to get to know you, my boy! I hope you like green tea, because this brand I bought is simply delectable!” Once he reached the bottom step, he paused to stare up at Izuku, which made him tense up in All Might’s grasp. “All Might tells me you’re planning on trying out for U.A. in February. I do hope that you get into our fine establishment!”

“You work at U.A.?” Izuku blurted out. 

Nedzu laughed. “I do more than that; I’m the principal!” Before Izuku could respond, he nodded his head down the beach towards the pier. “Come now, let’s get settled down so we can talk!”

As Nedzu started his way down the beach, Izuku slowly turned to face All Might. “‘Nothing to be nervous about,’ huh?”

“You’ll do fine,” All Might assured him, offering him a smile. He released him, allowing him to stand upright on his own. “Come now, my boy. We have much to discuss.”

Despite his anxiety telling him to book it back to his apartment complex, Izuku merely sighed and picked up his mom’s lunch to follow after him. He just hoped that he didn’t embarrass himself.

* * *

Midoriya was a shy boy, Nedzu observed very quickly. Even when they were sitting down at the seating area at the pier and he had everything set up, the boy had hardly said a thing to him, his eyes fixed onto his teacup. When Nedzu poured him a generous amount of tea, Midoriya stammered out a “thank you” and took a restrained sip, earning a sympathetic smile from All Might. 

“Young Midoriya is a bit nervous,” All Might told him, and Midoriya shrunk further in on himself, “he’s a worrier by nature.”

“All Might…” Midoriya whined quietly, clutching his cup tightly.

Nedzu chuckled. “That’s quite alright. But I assure you, there’s nothing to be nervous about. This conversation isn’t to have any bearing on future enrollment at U.A., so you don’t have to worry about that.”

Midoriya didn’t appear convinced. “The tea is nice…”

“It is, isn’t it?” Nedzu replied, smiling a bit. He set his cup down to bring his paws together in front of him. “So, All Might here tells me you’re his protege. I’m curious to know what kind of a boy would catch his eye.”

“O-Oh, it’s n-nothing really,” Midoriya stammered, his eyes flitting towards Nedzu briefly before falling back towards his cup, “how we met isn’t really that interesting…”

“Quite the contrary,” All Might proclaimed, making Midoriya tense up. Still, the older man took no heed and leaned forward. “You remember that sludge villain attack a couple months back? Young Midoriya and one of his classmates got caught up in the thick of it before I stepped in.”

Nedzu blinked. “Were you the boy who was trapped?”

“No,” Midoriya answered, his voice small, “that was Kacchan… But I saw him out there and… I couldn’t just watch something bad happen to him, so I… I started running.” He clutched his glass tightly. “I know it was stupid to do in retrospect, but no one else could do anything, so I tried to do at least something .” He let out an awkward chuckle. “Too bad throwing my bookbag didn’t help much.”

“That must have been very scary,” Nedzu told him, and Midoriya finally turned to face him, “but you were very brave for doing that.”

Midoriya snorted. “Not really. I was terrified out of my mind. The only thing that kept me going were my notes from my notebook.”

Nedzu’s ears perked up. “Is that the Hero Notebook that All Might told me about?”

“You told him about my notebook?!” Midoriya blurted out, turning towards All Might with wide eyes. He blinked, then settled back into his seat with an uncomfortable laugh. “Sorry… I’m not used to people being interested in it. Some people think it’s silly.”

“Nonsense,” Nedzu told him, which made Midoriya blink again, “I’d love to hear more about it. Maybe next time we talk, you can bring it.”

Midoriya’s cheeks turned a shade of pink. “I, uh… Actually have it with me right now, if you want to look at it.”

“He likes to take notes after training,” All Might commented with a grin.

“That’s wonderful!” Nedzu proclaimed with a small clap of his paws. “May I see it?”

The young boy hesitated for a moment, but then reached into his track bag and fished out a tattered looking notebook. It looked to be burned at the edges and had definitely sustained some water damage, but even so, Nedzu could make out the words, “Hero Analysis of the Future, Vol. 13,” written across the subject line. Midoriya set it on the table gingerly and flipped through it briefly, giving Nedzu glimpses of what looked to be sketches of some Pro Heroes. He finally settled on a page and slid it over to Nedzu.

“These are some of the notes I took,” he said a bit shyly, holding the book open with his middle and index finger so Nedzu could read, “this is a profile I did on Kamui Woods.”

Nedzu’s eyes widened. “These notes are very detailed… You even made comparisons to the different types of wood his Quirk compares to.” His finger trailed across the sketch of him that was labelled his support items and potential weaknesses. “Nice job on the sketch, too. All Might didn’t tell me you were an artist.”

Midoriya’s cheeks turned scarlet. “O-Oh, it’s n-nothing, really… I just have a lot of practice from when I was a kid.” He ducked into the collar of his tracksuit. “I can’t draw hands very well.”

“The effort is still evident,” Nedzu commented, and Midoriya flushed to a darker red, “you’re very observant. That will serve you well as a hero.”

“R-Really?” Midoriya stammered. He withdrew his hand from the book nervously. “Most people think my notes are weird…”

Nedzu exchanged a glance with All Might, who merely shrugged. Well, they were definitely going to have a conversation about that when the boy wasn’t present, that was for sure. Instead, he turned his attention back to the notebook and turned a page, revealing a profile over Mt. Lady. Just like Kamui Woods’ profile, it was well-detailed and neatly organized, along with some questions written in the margins regarding her abilities and limits. 

“How long have you been doing this?” he asked.

“As long as I can remember,” Midoriya answered, “it’s, uh, actually the 13th volume. I have 12 more back home.”

Oh, Nedzu just had to see those when he got the chance. “You’re well-practiced. I’m a bit of a note fiend myself. Have you considered adding tabs?”

“I have!” Midoriya proclaimed excitedly, nearly jumping out of his seat. His cheeks flushed and he settled back down into his chair. “Sorry.”

All Might chuckled. “It’s quite alright, my boy.”

Midoriya twiddled his thumbs. “I’m, uh… Not used to people asking me about my notes. I never get to talk about them with anyone.”

Then, as Nedzu turned his attention back to the notebook, he stared at the burns that marred the edges of the book hard; the love and care that went into the notes inside didn’t match the destruction brought about on the outside. He couldn’t imagine that Midoriya had done that himself. “Well, I think they’re wonderful.” 

Midoriya practically lit up. “You mean that?” His expression dropped for a moment. “You’re… not saying that to make fun of me, are you?”

“Of course not!” Nedzu exclaimed, bringing a paw to his chest in shock. “That’d be cruel .”

“I guess it would be,” Midoriya murmured, fidgeting with his hands a bit. He stared down at his teacup, though his mind seemed to be miles away. 

‘Who on Earth hurt this boy?’ Nedzu pondered. 

All Might cleared his throat, breaking him out of his thoughts. “So, Nedzu… What exactly did you want to cover with young Midoriya today? I know we’re not going to be doing anything physical, but I imagine you had more in mind than tea and small talk.”

“You’d be right,” Nedzu replied. He turned towards Midoriya, who faced him hesitantly. “All Might tells me your Quirk is an emitter type that allows you to enhance your abilities by stockpiling power. However, you can’t activate it for fear of causing damage to your body since you didn’t receive any counseling for it as a child. Is that true?”

Midoriya gave a slow nod. “All Might’s been trying to help me bulk up for when I use it, but… I haven’t had the chance to really practice with it.”

“It’s a tricky situation, for sure,” Nedzu admitted.

“So, what did you have in mind, Nedzu?” All Might asked. 

Nedzu offered up a kind smile. “I was thinking we could ask young Midoriya, actually.”

Midoriya blinked. “Huh? Me? ”

“I’d like to see what you have to say,” Nedzu clarified, and the young boy gaped at him, “act as though you’re analyzing a Pro; what observations would you make? What advice would you give them?” His smile spread further. “I’d like to see your analysis in action.”

“Oh, you’re in for it,” All Might teased, which made Midoriya blush again. 

“Don’t be shy,” Nedzu assured him, prodding his notebook back towards him, “go on. I’m sure you have a lot on your mind.” He fished a pen out of his breast pocket and offered it to him. “Write down anything that you think is important.”

Midoriya gingerly took the pen from him and flipped to a fresh page. “A-Alright… If you insist…” He straightened up and cleared his throat. “Well, it’s like you said before, my body isn’t adapted to my Quirk yet since it didn’t develop with the rest of my body, so it hasn’t really ‘matured,’ so to speak. I have to work harder in order to be strong enough to handle it like a normal person whose Quirk developed normally, so I have to exercise and shift my diet to bulk up.” When the tip of his pen reached the paper, it practically flew across the lines. “But it's a huge risk to activate it even after that point because there’s no guarantee that muscle mass alone will be enough to allow my body to handle it, and yet, at the same time, I can’t gain any experience with it because I haven’t been able to incorporate it into my training. At its core, the main issue is that I can’t activate my Quirk without training, but without practice, I won’t have control over it.” The boy paused in his writing to glance at Nedzu. “T-That all makes sense so far, doesn’t it?’

“It does,” Nedzu told him, and Midoriya visibly eased up, “go on, my boy.”

“Alright,” Midoriya began again, bringing his attention back to his notebook, “well, it’s also an issue to think about how I’ll be able to even move with my Quirk activated. If it puts my body under incredible strain, will I be able to dodge or even deliver attacks? Would it also be effective to incorporate combat into my training in the event I’m not able to utilize my Quirk? I mean, Eraserhead has a Quirk that isn’t naturally combative, but he found a way to work as an underground hero by being adept at combat. Strength training is good and all, but is it the only thing we should be thinking about?” His head snapped towards All Might, a near-manic glint in his eyes. “Could we make an obstacle course out of the trash heap to practice parkour?”

Nedzu spared All Might a faux accusatory look. “Where have you been hiding this boy, All Might? I might try to steal him from you!”

“He’s a smart one, isn’t he?” All Might said, reaching over to ruffle the boy’s messy green locks. “A little too smart for his own good, if you ask me!”

Midoriya playfully pushed his hand away. “You didn’t answer my question!”

“An obstacle course, eh?” All Might repeated, chuckling a bit. “Well, it would certainly repurpose some of those items, that’s for sure. But do you think you can compete with the Number One Hero , kiddo?” He ruffled the boy’s hair again. “Or just maybe you’ll leave this old man in the dust?”

“You’re not old!” Midoriya protested. 

Nedzu cleared his throat, causing them both to look at him. “I must say, you made some important observations. They’re definitely things to think about.” He focused on Midoriya. “What notes have you been taking after your training sessions?”

Midoriya flipped back a couple of pages. “Mostly I’ve been keeping track of what items I’ve moved and the estimated weight of them, as well as what muscles I was working out when doing so. I’ve also been detailing the diet All Might planned for me to put in comparison to my calculations in order to better assess where I need to make changes for the next session. Though, one of my main concerns is that because each training session is so different due to the different ways I have to carry and move things to clear out the beach, it’s not giving any specific part of my body consistent exercise. I’ve thought about incorporating other exercises in order to make sure my entire body is exercising the equal amount so that my body is more versatile in its capabilities whenever I’m using my Quirk. Realistically, I also can’t expect All Might to be present at all times due to his job as the Number One Hero, so maybe it’d be good if I had other training exercises to do throughout the week whenever we’re not training together, but that would also be putting me at risk of overdoing it and have the opposite effect of what we’re trying to accomplish, so it’s hard to gauge where the middle ground is.”

“Ah, so I see,” Nedzu affirmed, leaning back a bit, “you want to intensify your training without lessening your gains.”

Midoriya’s cheeks turned pink once again. “More or less… Sounds so simple when you put it like that.”

“You do bring up an excellent point, young Midoriya,” All Might observed, causing the boy to turn to him, “I came up with the Aim to Pass: American Dream Plan with your current body in mind so that way it was able to handle it. But, you are right in observing that the beach clean up isn't always consistent.” He brought a hand to his chin in thought. “The initial reason I chose this place was because heroes’ origins lay in doing community service, but perhaps I can adjust the plan to have you do some exercises at home when I’m not here with you… Though, that would also call for some adjustments to your diet.”

“A fine idea!” Nedzu declared. He took a sip of his now warm tea. “I could also get in touch with a nutritionist and fitness trainer in order to give you some second opinions.”

“You’d do that?” Midoriya asked.

Nedzu nodded. “You’ve brought up some excellent observations. I’ll be sure to keep them in mind for when I discuss it with the specialists.” 

“T-Thank you,” Midoriya stammered out.

“Much appreciated, Nedzu,” All Might added, his smile warm, “your input has been pretty helpful.”

Nedzu smiled. “Anytime, All Might.”

* * *

Toshinori’s anxieties had been misplaced, he realized. He wasn’t sure why he was so worried about Nedzu getting to know his protege, but he was quickly proven wrong when young Midoriya showed off his analysis abilities and he just knew the boy had won Nedzu over. While Toshinori was sharp in his own right, young Midoriya was smart as a whip for his age, so it was nice to see him connect with someone who also shared a high intellect. It was also nice to see the normally reserved boy brighten up and get to share his notebook with someone who just understood; he knew that young Midoriya didn’t get to have that anywhere. 

As the sun began to rise higher and higher, Toshinori decided to offer Midoriya a day off from training for the day so they would have a fresh start when they reconvened next. Naturally, his protege protested, but when Toshinori assured him it was alright, Midoriya finally relented, offering another thank you and a goodbye to Nedzu before gathering his things and leaving with a wave. He and Nedzu watched from the top of the steps as the boy jogged back to his home, a smile spread across Toshinori’s face even as he grew further away. 

‘That went far better than I thought it would,’ Toshinori mused. 

Then, as Midoriya finally faded from view, Nedzu finally turned towards him. “You haven’t given him your Quirk yet, have you?”

Toshinori nearly choked. “W-What?”

“A boy who grew up Quirkless and yet somehow managed to develop a Quirk not unlike your own later on in life when it's exceedingly rare for such a thing to happen?” Nedzu continued, his smile never leaving his face. “It was a nice cover story, but I’d like to think I’m smart enough not to take it at face value.”

“Nedzu, I—” Toshinori tried to say.

“It was also strange that you suddenly changed your mind on the day you were supposed to meet the successor Sir Nighteye had picked out for you… And how funny is it that it happened on the day of the sludge villain attack where you met young Midoriya?” Nedzu’s eyes glinted knowingly when he gazed at Toshinori. “A strange coincidence , wouldn’t you say?”

Iron coated the inside of Toshinori’s mouth and he brought a hand to his lips to keep it from spilling out. He tried to think of something, anything to say, but when nothing came to mind, he simply kept his mouth shut. 

‘Of course he figured it out,’ Toshinori thought, ‘of course he did, why did I think he wouldn’t?’

“Relax,” Nedzu said, breaking him out of his thoughts. He held up a paw, “I’m not angry. A bit disappointed, if anything, but only because I thought we could trust each other. You already told me about One For All and that you were looking for a successor. So, why lie to me?”

Toshinori frowned. “I… I didn’t know how you’d react… When I talked to Sasaki about young Midoriya, he flat out told me I was making a mistake.” He sighed and brought his hand to his face, his eyes drifting down in shame. “I suppose I just didn’t want to risk hearing the same thing from you.”

Nedzu’s gaze turned sympathetic. “And on the day he brought in a potential successor for you… Togata Mirio, if I recall correctly. Bright young lad with a sense of humor.” He smiled. “He and your boy would get on well.” 

“Good God, they would,” Toshinori agreed. Still, he knew that Nighteye wouldn’t be keen on allowing his top intern anywhere near Midoriya anytime soon. 

Nedzu sighed. “Nighteye was always a bit hard headed about these sorts of things. He probably took it as a personal insult after…”

“Everything,” Toshinori finished, sighing a bit raggedly. He dropped his hand and faced Nedzu once again. “I apologize for lying… I guess I was just worried that if you knew off the bat that he was my successor, you’d be a bit more…”

“Critical?” Nedzu suggested, and Toshinori’s shoulders slumped. “I understand your concern, but just remember I trust your judgement.” His smile returned. “And I must say, you picked a bright young lad. He’s very intelligent for his age.”

“He is,” Toshinori told him, and he meant it, “but his true strength lies in his heart. He’s got the makings of a great hero in him.” 

Nedzu’s gaze turned soft. “I can understand why you’d want to mentor him… and I’m more than happy to offer you advice for any questions you may have. You’re going to need it when you start at U.A.”

Toshinori tried his best not to frown. “Right. I forgot about that.”

“Oh, relax! ” Nedzu laughed, waving a paw. “You’ll do just fine! More than fine, I’m sure! Give yourself some credit, Yagi!”

He couldn’t help but bring a hand to his head. “It’s going to be strange teaching young Midoriya amongst his peers if he gets into U.A…” Toshinori blinked and his hand clutched his head tighter. “Oh, God , I haven’t even told him that I’m going to be teaching there yet.”

“Well, he’s going to find out eventually,” Nedzu replied, “best to tell him so he’s prepared when classes start.” Then, he straightened himself up and held his case at his side. “Well, I should be heading off now. I have some paperwork to do and I should make a note to get in touch with those specialists for young Midoriya’s training. Hope you have a nice Sunday!”

“The same to you,” Toshinori responded, offering up a small wave. 

Then, just as Nedzu started to turn, he stopped. “You know… I always liked the more clever Pros than I did the more strong, flashy ones. While I have no doubt that young Midoriya will be a strong hero with your Quirk…” He turned back to Toshinori with a smile. “It’s going to be interesting to see a hero who is both strong and clever.”

Toshinori returned his smile. “'Interesting’ doesn’t even come close.”

Nedzu laughed. “You’re right about that! Well, I’ll be on my way! Ta-ta!”

Toshinori offered Nedzu another way while he made his way down the path and then paused. He turned towards the section of the beach horizon that was covered in trash, only small increments having been removed due to young Midoriya’s hard work. They still had six months left before it would come time for his power to be put to the test at U.A.’s rigorous entrance exam, which felt so close yet so far away at the same time. Still, he knew that his protege wasn’t one to back down from a challenge and that he would find a way to brave the trials ahead of him with that bright smile of his. 

‘Interesting doesn’t even come close,’ Toshinori thought, ‘he’s going to be incredible.’

Chapter Text

Izuku’s feet were heavy when he managed to make it back to the door to his family’s apartment. He had braved a smile for All Might and Nedzu as he waved goodbye, but the moment his back was turned towards them, a frown settled across his features for the remainder of his journey home. His mother’s lunch was still in his hands, though while light in his grasp, it weighed even heavier on his heart. 

Meeting All Might had been a dream for him. Then, when his idol offered him the chance to be mentored by him and gain his Quirk to become a hero, it was far beyond anything he could ever hope for. He could still recall how light his heart felt on his way back home as he played over All Might’s words over and over again: “You can become a hero.” 

Then, it all came crashing down when he opened the door to his house and his mother crushed him in a hug. She had just arrived home and caught the news that he had been involved in a villain attack, her words overtaken by sobs as she held him close. All Izuku could do was hug her back and tell her that he was fine while she cried into his shoulder, his heart dropping as reality came crashing down on him.

It would be a stretch to say he told her everything going on in his life. She knew he wasn’t popular at school and that he didn’t have many friends, but she didn’t know about the extent of the bullying. He had never wanted to worry her, not when she had bigger things to worry about, like her job and paying bills. Still, whenever she held onto him and checked him for any injuries, Izuku couldn’t shake the way his heart clenched anytime he found himself biting his tongue. 

‘What’s worse?’ he thought, his stomach churning. ‘Lying to my mom or betraying All Might’s trust?’  

Both were terrible, Izuku knew. Still, keeping All Might’s secret was for the good of everyone, wasn’t it? If word got out about his condition and the fact that he could pass on his Quirk, it would be disastrous. Still, he hated lying to his mother, and while he hadn’t always been truthful, All Might’s secret was far bigger than just a white lie about how his notebook ended up in such a state by claiming he had been clumsy. He wanted to tell her the truth, but at what cost? 

By the time he reached the doorway to his apartment, he felt ill. His mother was inside, he knew, and she was definitely going to ask him why he was back so soon when he was usually gone for the full day with All Might. Would he have it in him to make another excuse? 

‘Don’t think too hard about it,’ Izuku told himself, ‘just stay vague and you’ll be fine.’

Then, he unlocked the door and stepped inside. Just as he predicted, his mother was home, seated in the living room. She was reading a book, a romance novel, judging from the cover, with a coffee mug resting on a coaster on the table. Izuku quietly closed the door behind him in hopes that she was too engrossed in her novel to pay him any mind, but the moment the door clicked close, her eyes flitted up to glance at him. She did a double take and jumped, nearly dropping her book in the process before pressing it to her chest. 

“Oh, Izuku!” she exclaimed, breathing in a bit sharply. His mother chuckled nervously and set her book down. “You startled me.”

“Sorry,” Izuku murmured, though he wondered just how much he was apologizing for when he said it. 

Her expression shifted to worry. “You’re back earlier than usual… Is everything alright?”

“I need to tell you something,” Izuku blurted out. His hand slapped over his mouth the moment he said it and he stared straight ahead, unable to meet her gaze. Well, so much for staying vague.

“Did something happen?” his mother questioned. She was off the couch in an instant and she took his things from him, setting them aside to better inspect him. “Are you hurt? Was there another villain attack? Izuku, I told you to be more careful after what happened with the sludge villain—”

“I’m sorry,” he repeated, cutting his mother off, “I’m sorry…”

The sludge villain. That had been what started it all. Now, he was stuck standing in his living room with a lie caught in his throat and the truth weighing heavy on his heart. Of course he had said yes to All Might’s offer, why wouldn’t he have? It was like a dream come true to him to become a protege to the man whose very existence inspired him to become a hero, too. There was nothing else for him to think about; not even his own mother. It didn’t hit him until he felt her arms come around him when he got home that afternoon all those months ago that he had made such a big decision without her involvement. His eyes trailed down to the lunch that his mother had set aside and his hand clenched into a tight fist. 

She brought a hand to his face, causing him to look at her worry-stricken face. “Izuku, what’s the matter? You can tell me.”

“I know,” Izuku whispered, his voice ragged, “I know I can tell you… But… I don’t know if I should .”

“Izuku, did someone hurt you?” she questioned. When he didn’t answer, her grip on his shoulders tightened. “Did someone threaten to hurt you? Oh, Izuku, honey, please, don’t hide something like this from me if it puts you in danger! We can go to the police and they’ll—”

Izuku shook his head. “It’s not that. No one… No one threatened me.” It wasn’t a lie; Kacchan had backed off from the most part and without him to lead the others, most of his peers left Izuku be. Still, even if they hadn’t, it wasn’t anything he wasn’t used to. “I’m OK, Mom, I promise.”

“Then what’s wrong, sweetheart?” his mother asked. 

He couldn’t help but chuckle, albeit a bit humorlessly. “That’s just it, Mom… nothing is really wrong. Everything is… great , actually.” A frown settled onto his features and he looked away from her. “But you might not think so.”

She squeezed his shoulders. “Let’s take a seat, sweetheart.”

Helpless to do otherwise, Izuku did as his mother suggested and took a seat beside her on the couch. He couldn’t bring himself to meet her gaze and stared down at his hands that had grown so worn from his training. How long was he going to keep this from her? It was only going to get harder to do so the longer time went on and by the time he received All Might’s Quirk, it was going to become practically, if not outright impossible. Still, he knew that All Might’s safety would be put in jeopardy if he told her about his condition, which made things only more complicated.

“Izuku?” his mother asked, her voice gentle. When he managed to bring his gaze up to meet hers, her eyes were soft and he could feel his resolve start to shake. “Talk to me, honey.”

Izuku swallowed. “You… You know how All Might saved me from the sludge villain all those months ago?”

“Of course I do,” his mother replied, a laugh in her voice, “you were so excited when you came home. You even showed me his autograph.”

He had, hadn’t he? “Well… I… I actually got to talk to him after everything calmed down.”

His mother’s eyes widened. "Really? Izuku, that’s wonderful, what did you two talk about?” Then, her face dropped. “Oh, no, honey, did something bad happen?”

“No!” Izuku exclaimed, far louder than he meant to. He looked down in embarrassment. “I’m sorry… No, nothing… nothing bad happened… The opposite, actually.” He clasped his hands in front of him tightly. “I… I actually ran into him earlier that day. He saved me from the sludge villain while I was walking home alone.”

“You mean that wasn’t the first time you were attacked?!” his mother shouted. She grabbed a hold of his hands. “Izuku, why didn’t you tell me?”

“It… was kinda the last thing on my mind, to be honest,” he answered, though her grip didn’t loosen, “I… I thought no one was going to save me and then… He saved me, Mom. And then I followed him and I got to talk to him, Mom. I told him I was Quirkless and that I wanted to be a hero one day, and he…” He swallowed hard. “He told me it was dangerous to be a Pro and that… without a Quirk, I couldn’t be one.”

His mother’s knuckles turned white. “He said what to you?”

“It wasn’t anything I didn’t already know,” Izuku replied, and the fury dropped from her face, “but… then, when I was walking home, I saw the sludge villain again and…” He hunched over, unable to meet her gaze. “It’s my fault it got out again… I distracted All Might and the sludge villain got free because of me… And then it attacked Kacchan .”

“Oh, Izuku ,” his mother lamented, “you didn’t mean to—”

“I know I didn’t," he interjected, his voice weak. His eyes began to sting and he clenched his fists with frustration. “I know I didn’t mean to, but… Kacchan got attacked because of me and…” His vision began to blur. “And he looked so scared , Mom… I’ve never seen him like that . But none of the Pros could help because their Quirks weren’t suited to help and I…” He choked out a sob. “I ran out before I knew what I was doing and I… I threw my notebag at it, but it did nothing . I could barely even slow it down .” 

Izuku would never admit it to anyone, but he had multiple fantasies not unlike that fateful day. Kacchan, his childhood friend and tormentor, left prone in the hands of a villain while countless Pros were left helpless to stop him. He would imagine that his Quirklessness would grant him an advantage of sorts that allowed him to swoop in and knock the villain back, rescuing Kacchan from its clutches. He would be greeted by cheers from Pros and Kacchan would tearfully admit he had been wrong about him being a worthless Deku, making the world become much brighter than it had been before.

But that hadn’t been what happened. If anything, all that fight with the sludge villain did was show just what a Deku he was in the first place. 

“Then…” he croaked, sniffling a bit, “All Might came in… And it was just over . He saved me and Kacchan like it was nothing and…” His cheeks grew wet. “The Pros all yelled at me for being so reckless and Kacchan got told he was brave . One of them even asked if he would intern with him if he was going into the hero course.”

“Idiots,” his mother muttered, and Izuku was so startled he looked up at her to blink. She seemed to realize what she said and shook her head. “Sorry… It just bothers me that a child was attacked by a villain and their first thought was to ask him if he was going to become a hero . I thought Pros were supposed to be personable . None of them must have kids.”

Izuku couldn’t help but laugh at that. “Well, you’re not wrong about that.”

His mother smiled, but then it faded. “Izuku, I’m so sorry that you were scared and that you had to see Katsuki like that… But please don’t blame yourself for what happened.” Her hand still clutched his. “There’s no sense in going over the ‘what if’s and ‘what might be’s. You’ll only drive yourself mad.”

“I know,” Izuku acknowledged, sniffling again, “but… that’s not the only thing I wanted to tell you.”

She blinked. “Did something else happen?”

“Yes,” Izuku answered, and he felt her tense up, “but it’s nothing bad , I promise." He faltered. "Well, actually… you might not agree, but…” He swallowed. “I ran into All Might again, after the villain was put into custody. I was walking home and then he stopped me to tell me that… I had been brave for doing what I did and that… That a true hero’s feet carried them before they knew it and that…” His eyes grew misty and he knew his voice was about to break. “Seeing someone like me inspired him .”

His mother’s breath hitched. “He said that?”

Izuku nodded and the tears started to run freely. “He told me that… that I could be a hero , Mom. And that he wanted to train me.”

“He wanted to do what?! ” she exclaimed. His mother grabbed him by the shoulders and stared deep into his teary eyes. “He wanted to train you?! Izuku, what was he—” She sputtered for a moment before she could bring herself to continue. “How is he supposed to train you?”

“That’s… part of why I didn’t tell you sooner,” Izuku admitted, causing her to blink, “he… told me something about himself. Something that he doesn’t want people to know. And I don’t know how much I should tell you because it could be dangerous for him.” He held up a hand to silence her. “It doesn’t put me in danger, Mom. It’s just… he’s the Number One Hero . It’s a huge secret.”

Her gaze didn’t lose its resolve. “What did he tell you?”

Izuku inhaled sharply. “Mom, I—”

“I know you don’t want to betray his trust,” she interjected, squeezing his shoulders a bit, “but I need to know what he told you, Izuku.” She sighed. “Look, if there’s a way for you to tell me without betraying his confidence, then that’s alright. But if it puts you in danger—”

“It doesn’t,” he told her firmly.

“If it does,” she stressed, holding him tightly, “then I would really rather know about it.”

Izuku let out a deep breath. “Alright… I’ll tell you about how he plans on training me since… Well, it was gonna be hard to hide it when…”

“When what?” she questioned.

“He’s going to give me his Quirk,” Izuku blurted out before he could stop himself.

Her eyes widened to the size of saucers. “What?!”

“Listen, it’s hard to explain, but—” Izuku swallowed. “Apparently he inherited his Quirk from someone else and it’s been passed down for generations. He said he wants to pass it down to me, Mom.”

“How,” his mother began, her voice small, “is that possible?”

“I have no idea,” Izuku answered truthfully. When she stared him down, he frowned. “I really don’t! He just told me that it got stronger with each person it was passed down to and that if I was going to inherit it, I needed to train for it.”

Her stare didn’t break. “Is that where you’ve been going? You’ve been training with him? ”

Izuku looked down. “Yes… And all those meals I asked you to make for me were part of his diet plan.”

“Izuku!” she breathed. 

“I know!” he exclaimed. “Trust me, I know! I felt… horrible keeping it from you, but I didn’t want to tell you because it wasn’t my secret to tell!”

“Izuku,” his mother repeated, and he didn’t even have to look at her to know she was about to cry, “you can’t keep something like this from me. Not something this big. You should have told me before you agreed to do anything like that.”

“You weren’t there to tell,” Izuku said quietly.

“You’re fourteen ,” she stressed, and his heart ached at her tone, “you’re so young to be making this sort of decision. Do you even know the full weight of what he has planned for you?”

Izuku finally brought himself to face her. “He made a training plan and has even asked for outside help to make sure that we’re doing the best training for me possible.” He unclasped his hands and brought them to the hands on his shoulders, slipping them off of him. Gently, he held her hands in between them both and looked her in the eye. “And all I know is… this is my only chance of becoming a hero.”

“You don’t know that—” she tried to say.

“You told me you wish things could be different for me!” he exclaimed, causing her to jump. “You said that you wished that things weren’t… like this .” His eyes started to burn and he had to choke back a sob. “But now, they won’t be. All Might is training me and…” He swallowed hard. “I know if I back out of it now, I’ll always regret it.” 

He could already see his mother’s resolve start to crack, even as she matched his stare. “You might get hurt.”

“That’s true regardless,” he told her, and she bit her lower lip, “I’m always at risk of getting hurt, Mom. But, with his training and his Quirk… I’ll actually be able to do something about it.” He thought back to Kacchan, eyes wide as he tried desperately to scream while the sludge wrapped itself around him. “I know what it’s like to feel helpless, Mom. That’s why I want to make sure no one else feels that way, either.”

His mother pursed her lips as tears sprang to her eyes. “Sweetheart… I’m so sorry that you were scared and I’m so sorry you couldn’t help Katsuki when he was in danger.” She pulled him into a hug and he buried himself in her embrace. "I just... I don't want you to feel less than, alright? I know how much All Might means to you, but I don’t ever want you to think that him choosing you is the only thing that makes you special.”

“I know,” he replied, though he wasn’t sure if he believed it. It was so easy to say that everyone was special in their own way and had a role to play in the world, but it was so much harder to believe it when everyone else seemed so much luckier. Kacchan had been blessed from birth and knew his worth; Izuku wasn’t sure what his worth was at all. 

“I know you want to do this,” his mother continued, “and I know you want to be a hero… But I can’t help but be worried for you Izuku.” Her arms tightened around him. “But… I also know that this is a rare chance and that it means the world to you. And I know if I stop you, I might never forgive myself for it.”

Izuku blinked and pulled away to look at her. “You mean…?”

“I want you to be safe ,” she told him firmly, still holding him. Then, her gaze softened. “But I know you, Izuku. You’re stubborn and where there’s a will, there’s a way. I’m sure that even without a Quirk, you would have found a way to try to be a hero.” She offered up a warbly smile. “At least with All Might, you’re less likely to go vigilante and end up getting arrested.”

“You know, technically , the vigilante laws only apply to people with Quirks—” Izuku began.

“Izuku Midoriya,” she cut in, and Izuku went still at her gaze.

“Sorry,” he murmured, his eyes falling from hers. 

His mother sighed. “I know how dangerous Pro Hero work is, Izuku… And I really want you to be safe.” She squeezed his biceps gently. “But, I also want you to be happy . So… As long as you keep me in the loop and I know that you’re alright… I’ll help you.”

“Help?” Izuku repeated.

She smiled at him. “You’re going to need someone to keep you on task when All Might’s not around, you know. He may be your mentor, but I’m your mother , Izuku.”

Izuku brightened. “You mean you’ll—”

“Yes,” she cut in, making him Izuku beam. Then, she held up a hand. “But, no more secrets! I know you don’t want to betray All Might’s trust, but I’m your mother.  I have a right to know what’s going on with my son. If the Symbol of Peace has a problem with that, tell him to take it up with me .”

Izuku snorted at the image of his 5’3’’ mother scolding All Might, who easily had two feet on her. “I’ll be sure to.”

“I’m not kidding!” she stressed, and he couldn’t help but snicker. “Izuku, I’m serious , if that man tries anything , I will not hesitate to give him a talking to! I don’t care if he’s the Number One Hero, he’s still a man .”

“OK, Mom,” he laughed, though he tried to cover it with a hand, “I promise I’ll send you his way if he does anything, alright?”

Her expression softened. “So… has he given you his Quirk yet?”

“No,” Izuku answered, “he hasn’t. He wants to make sure my body can handle it before he does.”

She blinked. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“It gets stronger each time it’s passed down,” Izuku reminded her, “and he’s had it for a long time, so when he passes it down to me, it’s probably going to be stronger than it was when he got it.”

“Oh, dear,” his mother said, “that… is a bit worrisome, Izuku.”

“That’s why he’s been training me these past couple months,” Izuku told her, though her expression didn’t change, “and he’s seeking out help to make sure that I’m getting the right amount of training so I can handle it when I do.”

“Do they know that he’s going to pass it down to you?” she asked. 

Izuku shook his head. “No. They just think I’m a late bloomer whose Quirk didn’t manifest until now and the reason I can’t use it is because my body didn’t develop with a Quirk.” When she stared at him, he held up his hands. “Hey, I’m not the one who came up with it! I just went along with what he said! That’s what he said we should say when I try out for U.A.”

His mother’s eyes practically bugged out of her head. “You’re trying out for U.A.?!”

“Uh…” Izuku drawled out. He awkwardly shook his hands in what he hoped came across as a festive manner. “Surprise?”

“Oh my, God,” his mother whispered, her eyes still wide, “oh my, God, you’re trying out for the same school as Katsuki.”

Izuku faltered a bit. “Yeah… I am, aren’t I?”

“Izuku, if you’re going to get into U.A., you’re gonna have to work really hard to get there,” she told him. Then, a determined look settled across his mother’s face that rivalled that of All Might’s. “That’s why I’m going to help you as best I can.”

He blinked. “Wait… really? How?”

“Give me All Might’s meal plan,” she told him, “and whatever exercises he has planned for you when you’re not training together. I’m going to make sure you aren’t overworking yourself so that you're ready for when you test for U.A.” She squeezed his arms again. “You are going to get into that school, Izuku. I’ll help make sure of it.”

Izuku chuckled. “Geez, Mom, I didn’t know you could be so intense.”

“Where do you think you get it from?” she teased, reaching over to tickle his chin and make him laugh. As soon as he settled down, she pulled him into another hug, holding him close to her. “I just want you to know that you’re not alone in this, Izuku. You never are, not as long as I’m here. And you can always come to me about anything. Alright?”

The twisted scar that marred All Might’s torso jumped to the forefront of Izuku’s mind. He hated that he didn’t tell her about it, but he figured that would be too much of a risk on top of everything else he told her. Instead, he opted to hold her closer. 

“Alright,” he answered finally, burying his face in her shoulder.

Then, she pulled back to look at him. “So… Where exactly have you been going to train?”

Izuku offered her a smile. “Want me to show you after lunch?”

* * *

Inko wasn’t sure what she was expecting when Izuku took her down to the Takoba Municipal Beach Park, but it certainly wasn’t heaps of trash. She stared in absolute wonder at the sheer amount of junk that littered the sands and stopped to wonder just how long this had been going on for it to have gotten to this point. How had no one done anything about it sooner?

“You weren’t kidding about it being a trash heap,” she said finally, not taking her eyes off the beach.

Izuku couldn’t help but laugh a bit as she stared at the littered sand. “All Might says that heroes' origins lie in doing volunteer work and community service. He wanted me to clear up this section of the beach to restore the horizon.” 

Inko turned towards him. “He’s not asking you to do the whole thing?”

“No,” Izuku answered, gesturing down to the rest of the beach, “he said it would be too much work before the exam. He doesn’t want to push me beyond my limits.”

“Well, that’s good, at least,” she told him. Inko grimaced when she took a step and heard glass shift. “Heavens above, this place is a mess! Who’s in charge of cleaning this place?” 

Izuku shrugged. “I dunno. But, at least I’ll be able to clear some of it when I’m down here with All Might. It might not be much, but it’ll be better than nothing.”

“Well, I wish there were more people who were willing to help,” Inko admitted, staring down at the beach. She looked at the piles and piles of trash with a heavy heart. “Sometimes I wonder if there’s any good people left in the world.”

Then, her son gave her a smile, that same smile that seemed to brighten even her hardest days. At first, she simply thought his smile to be a reflection of his love for All Might, but now that he was older, she knew better than that. While All Might’s smile may have been as bright as the sun, her son’s smile was her North Star and source of light in its own right, completely original. 

“Of course there are good people in the world,” he said, still smiling softly. Then, he turned to the horizon before them both, watching as the sun began to dip down. “We just have to be them, is all.”

Inko’s hand went to her heart without thought as she looked at him. He seemed to be off in his own world, and for a moment, she wondered what he saw through those eyes of his. Instead of voicing her question, though, she simply smiled.

‘You picked a good one, All Might,’ she thought, watching her son, ‘you better take good care of him.’

Then, Izuku turned back to her and blinked. “Mom, are you crying? ”

Inko touched her cheek and was greeted with wetness. “Maybe a bit.”

“Aw, Mom .” He walked over and slipped an arm around her shoulder. “C’mon, don’t do that, you’ll start making me cry, too.”

She chuckled and wiped away a tear. “Can’t help it. I’m just… really proud of what you’re doing, you know?”

“What we’re doing,” he told her, and she blinked, “you said I wasn’t doing this alone, remember? You’re a part of this now, too, Mom.” Izuku laid his head on her shoulder. “Though, I don’t know if All Might is gonna be cool with you picking up anything from my section, so if you pick anything up, maybe stay out of there. 

Inko laughed and wrapped an arm around his waist to pull him closer. “I’ll be sure to, Izuku.”

Izuku pulled away from her. “Are you ready to head back to the house? It’s getting kinda hot and I’m pretty sure All Might will get mad if I do anything after he gave me the day off.”

“Sounds like a plan,” Inko replied. She gave his arm a squeeze and started leading him back to the steps. As the both of them started their way back to the house, Izuku’s words kept replaying in her mind and her eyes threatened to turn misty again.

‘There are good people in this world,’ she thought, ‘you’re proof of that, Izuku. That’s why he chose you.’

Chapter Text

Mitsuki really hated how picky an eater Katsuki could be. It made making a grocery list and meal prepping an absolute nightmare to get through, since Katsuki would either loudly complain about the quality of the food or outright refuse to eat it. Despite Masaru’s gentle nudges and encouragement to at least try the food, Katsuki would always snap back and Mitsuki would find herself launched into a screaming match with her son at the dinner table as her husband was helpless to do anything to calm either of them down. 

‘He better not complain about dinner tonight,’ she thought, staring down at her list as she walked through the aisles of the supermarket. With the entrance exam to U.A. coming up, Mitsuki knew she was going to have to give Katsuki a healthy diet to match with his exercises so he'd be in prime condition for the day of the exam. Katsuki was dead set on becoming the first student from his middle school to make it to U.A. and as long as she was there, she’d do well to help him achieve his dreams. 

Mitsuki’s heart dropped a bit at the recollection of Izuku. He had wanted to be a hero, too, and she could still recall the early days when he and Katsuki would run around her house together dressed in their little All Might onesies. Even as toddlers, her son and the boy she came to love like a nephew had big dreams of matching up to the Symbol of Peace, their eyes sparkling with joy and rapt attention anytime All Might’s beaming smile graced the TV screen. Then, Inko called her one night after a scheduled doctor’s appointment in tears and Mitsuki found herself holding back tears of her own when her best friend told her Izuku was officially deemed Quirkless. 

“He asked me if he could still be a hero,” Inko told her, choking back a sob, “he asked me if he could still be like All Might.”

There was nothing wrong with being Quirkless, Mitsuki knew. While it was rare now, it was only somewhat uncommon when she was growing up. Several of her own classmates had been Quirkless and had made incredible accomplishments without the aid of a Quirk. However, she knew that the Pro Hero world belonged to those with Quirks and that even the most talented Quirkless person would have to work twice as hard to get even half the credit, and that there would be no guarantee that they would last in the long-term. Just wanting to be a hero wouldn’t be enough to become one.

Still, even so, Izuku wasn’t deterred. The boy just didn’t know when to quit and Mitsuki had to admit she found it a bit admirable. Despite the challenges the world threw at him, Izuku still found a way to put on a bright smile and be kind. Whenever he would come over, he’d ask Mitsuki and Masaru all sorts of questions about their Quirks and scribble down everything he could about them in his notebook (Inko said he was on his thirteenth iteration now). Mitsuki didn’t find her own Quirk to be that interesting and certainly not heroic, but she was nonetheless touched when Izuku showed her the entry he made with a picture drawn in her likeness alongside entries of real Pros.

‘He’s such a good kid,’ Mitsuki mused as she began to reach the end of the aisle, ‘I miss having him over.’

Just as she was about to make a turn, however, another cart suddenly appeared in her view. She jerked the cart back, a curse readying itself to spring past her lips before she recognized the person pushing the cart in front of her. 

“Oh, hey Inko!” Mitsuki greeted, laughing a bit. “You startled me.”

Inko blinked in realization and a smile spread across her face as her eyes settled on Mitsuki. “Mitsuki! I wasn’t expecting to run into you here.” Her smile turned sheepish. “Literally… Sorry about that.”

Mitsuki chuckled. “It’s alright, it happens. I’m happy to see you! Been a hot minute, hasn’t it?”

“It has,” Inko replied, adjusting her cart so she wasn’t blocking Mitsuki’s way, “I hope I’m not holding you up, though.”

“Of course not!” Mitsuki exclaimed. “C’mon, you should shop with me! I still have a couple more stuff I need to get. What were you getting?”

Inko beamed. “I was about to head down to the produce aisle, actually.”

“So was I,” Mitsuki told her. She held up her list with a sigh. “You know how Katsuki is about his veggies, though. If it’s not how he wants it, he won’t eat it.”

Inko spared her a sympathetic smile as Mitsuki settled her cart by her side. “He always was a picky eater.”

“Right?” Mitsuki groused. She spared a glance at Inko’s cart and blinked with surprise at the long list in front of her. “Are you stocking up for winter early?”

“Huh?” Inko blurted out. She looked down at the list and blinked in realization. “Oh, that? I’m just trying out some new recipes and stuff to try with Izuku.” 

Mitsuki couldn’t help but grin. “Speaking of Izuku, what’s he been up to? It’s been awhile since I’ve seen him.”

“He’s taken up exercising,” Inko answered. Her cheeks turned pink and she tucked a lock of hair behind her ear. “I actually decided to join him, so we’ve both been dieting and exercising together. We plan on taking a walk this afternoon when he’s done with his homework.”

Mitsuki’s heart went soft. “Aw, that’s so cute . It’s sweet that he wants to spend time with you.” She frowned. “I can’t ever get Katsuki to do anything with me or Masaru. I offered to help him train for U.A., but he gets so huffy about it, so I just dropped it.”

“Maybe he just doesn’t do well with an audience,” Inko suggested, “he might not be able to focus with someone there. I’m sure it’s nothing personal, ‘Suki.”

Mitsuki sighed. “I keep telling myself that, but… Well, lately it feels like he’d rather be anywhere but home. I try my best to let him know he can come to us about anything and yet he spends as much time as he can away from us. When he’s home, he usually holes himself up in his room and goes to bed early.” She clutched the shopping cart tightly. “He got himself into some serious trouble with that sludge villain because he would have rather been out late with friends than come home on time.”

Mitsuki had been on the train when she got the news notification on her phone. She had been mindlessly flicking past posts when the link to a live feed of a mysterious sludge villain holding a middle school student hostage caught her eye and she clicked on it, only to be left frozen still when she saw Katsuki’s face. Mitsuki could only watch in horrified silence as her son struggled to break free from the villain’s grasp while the Pros on site tried their best to handle the situation, though they were left just as helpless as Mitsuki was on the train miles away from the action. 

Inko’s eyes softened and she put a hand on Mitsuki’s arm. “I’m sorry, Mitsuki… That must have really scared you, didn’t it?”

Mitsuki’s knuckles turned white. “It did… But when Katsuki got home, he wouldn’t talk to me or Masaru about it at all and yelled at us when we asked if he was alright.”

“He probably wasn’t ready to talk about it,” Inko told her. Then, her gaze fell from Mitsuki’s. “Izuku didn’t talk to me about it until a few weeks ago… He said he was upset he couldn’t do more to help.”

The image of Izuku running towards the sludge villain flashed to the forefront of Mitsuki’s mind. She could still recall how her heart dropped the moment he broke from the crowd and threw his book bag in a vain distraction attempt before he clawed helplessly at the sludge villain with tears streaming down his cheeks. Despite being just a child without a Quirk to his name, he had rushed into the epicenter of danger to try to save Katsuki from the villain without a thought. She would be lying if she said she didn’t sometimes think about how horrible it could have been if All Might hadn’t been able to step in and save both of her boys. 

“He shouldn’t feel bad,” Mitsuki assured Inko, “he was so brave for doing what he did.” She snorted. “ Stupid , sure, but brave . I can’t believe he came running in like that. He didn’t even blink.”

Inko’s smile was soft. “He said he wasn’t thinking when he did it, but… He couldn’t just leave Katsuki there.”

“God, he’s such a sweet kid,” Mitsuki complimented, returning Inko’s smile, “Katsuki could take a page or two from his book. I wish they’d spend more time with each other.”

“I do, too,” Inko lamented. Then, a laugh escaped her as they pulled into the dairy section. “But I don’t know if Katsuki would be interested in picking up trash around the beach when he’s so focused on training for U.A.”

Mitsuki came to a screeching halt. “Wait, what? You don’t mean Takoba , do you?”

Inko suddenly turned sheepish. “O-Oh, well… Izuku was just trying to do some community service, you know? He wants to do his part in whatever ways he can.” She shrugged at Mitsuki. “You know how he is.”

“But that place is a mess ,” Mitsuki stressed, “he’ll be cleaning there for months .” 

“And he has been,” Inko told her, making Mitsuki blink, “I didn’t find out about it until he told me a few weeks ago. When I went down there to see what he had been up to, I was shocked at how bad it was.”

Mitsuki grimaced. “And to think we used to take the kids there for summer vacation when they were little. Now it’s a dump .” She shook her head with a sigh. “Are there any good people in the world?”

Then, Inko smiled, a direct mirror to the smile that Izuku would give. “I said the same thing to him when we were down there… And you know what he said to me?” Her gaze fell a bit out of focus, as if she were in a different time and place. “‘Of course there are good people in the world. We just have to be them, is all.’”

Mitsuki’s hand went to her heart without thought. “Did he really?”

“He did,” Inko confirmed, her voice soft, “I started crying at the beach over it.”

A snort almost escaped Mitsuki. ‘I see where he gets it from.’

“Oh, we’re here!” Inko announced suddenly, a small laugh bubbling from her throat. She lifted up her shopping list sheepishly. “Almost forgot what we were doing for a second there.”

Mitsuki chuckled. “Well, when you try out some of those recipes, be sure to let me know how you and Izuku like them. I might try some of them with Katsuki and Masaru.” 

“Sure thing,” Inko replied. She reached for a head of lettuce and placed it in her cart. “Maybe you and Katsuki can come on a walk with us sometime. Izuku might like having someone to race while he’s running laps.”

“That sounds like a great idea!” Mitsuki agreed. It had been such a long time since the four of them had been able to do any sort of mother-son activities and her heart swelled at the thought of getting to do it again. “I missed seeing Izuku’s little freckles.”

“And he missed coming over,” Inko told her, still smiling. She sighed a bit wistfully. “It’s crazy to think how much has changed, you know? Our boys are growing up.” 

Mitsuki’s smile turned bittersweet. “They really are… It’s crazy to think that Katsuki is trying out for U.A. already. It seems like just yesterday he was in elementary school talking about doing that.”

“It does, doesn’t it?” Inko affirmed. “I’m so proud of him… I can't wait to see how he does.” She beamed. “Hopefully the boys will be able to see more of each other in the future. Just like old times.”

“Old times.” The days where Izuku and Katsuki would race each other around and try to declare themselves the next Number One before devolving into a game of playful wrestling that Masaru would have to break up before Katsuki started pulling out his explosions. The days where Izuku would come to their house and exchange hero names with Katsuki, most of which were direct allusions to All Might’s name. The days where Katsuki wouldn’t shrug away from her hugs or roll his eyes anytime she tried to talk to him. 

“I’d really like that,” Mitsuki answered, smiling softly, “I’ll be sure to ask him about it when we get home.”

* * *

The moment that Katsuki heard the front door open from inside his room, he grimaced. He knew it would only be a matter of time before his mom got back from grocery shopping, but he at least hoped he would have been done with his homework and been able to relax for a little before she got back. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes, praying she wouldn’t call for him to come down.

“Katsuki!” his mother exclaimed, and he winced at the sound of her voice. “Can you come down? I need help putting up the groceries!”

Katsuki dropped his pencil with a huff and stood up from his desk, pushing his chair back unceremoniously. He tried not to stomp as he made his way down, knowing his mother would snap at him for it, though he couldn’t help but clench his fists at his side. As soon as he made it to the entrance of the kitchen, he was greeted to the sight of dozens of grocery bags and he had to try his best not to growl. She knew that he liked to do his homework and study in the afternoon and yet she insisted on making him waste his time putting up groceries because she didn’t have any self control when it came to shopping. 

“Katsuki!” she called again, and his whole body tensed up.

“I’m right here ,” he ground out, his nails digging into his palms, “what do you need me to put up?”

His mother greeted him with a frown, but she didn’t scold him. “I got some stuff for dinner and to prepare your lunches. I know you gotta stick to a diet for your exercise regiment, so I went ahead and got some good stuff to help you stock up on protein and nutrients.”

“You didn’t get any broccoli , did you?” Katsuki questioned.

She rolled her eyes, which is something she constantly got onto him for doing, but was somehow alright when she did it. “No, Katsuki, I didn’t get any broccoli. You’ve made that very clear in the past.”

‘Because you kept making me eat it even after I told you how much I hate it,’ Katsuki thought to himself, though he didn’t dare say that out loud. He could viscerally recall one night when she screamed at him over eating everything on his plate but his broccoli and told him he couldn’t leave the table until he finished it. Stupid Deku had been over for dinner and offered to eat them since Katsuki didn’t want them, but his mother told him that it was alright and he could go ahead and have dessert. Katsuki sat sulking with tears in his eyes while Deku had the nerve to look sad while eating an All Might popsicle as his mother continued to berate him for not wanting to eat a meal she “slaved over like a spoiled little brat.” 

“I ran into Inko today,” his mother told him, breaking him out of his thoughts, “she asked about you.”

Despite his annoyance, Katsuki softened a bit at the mention of Auntie Inko. He always liked going over to her house, even when Deku would get on his nerves. Their apartment may not have been as nice as his parent’s home and Deku may not have had as many cool toys, but Inko was nice to be around. She didn’t force him to hug her (even though she gave really good hugs) and she never made him meals he didn’t like. Once she found out he didn’t like broccoli, she took the time to pick it out of any meals she made for him and would apologize profusely if he found even a trace of it in his food. If he wasn’t able to finish a meal, she’d always smile and put it up for him to finish later, if he wanted. 

“What’d she ask about?” Katsuki inquired, starting to take some snack boxes out of one of the grocery bags. 

His mother shrugged. “She just wanted to see how you were doing and I told her you were training hard for U.A. She says she’s proud of you.”

Katsuki would never admit to it, but his heart swelled . “That all?”

“No, actually,” Mitsuki replied, and he looked up to face her, “she told me that she and Izuku have started exercising together.” She smiled at him. “She invited us to join them for a walk. Maybe you and Izuku could race each other.”

Katsuki’s hands froze on the snack box. “What?”

His mother blinked, but then immediately frowned. “I never said we’d do it, just that I’d ask you about it. If you don’t want to, that’s fine.” She pulled out a head of lettuce with a huff. “Don’t need to snap at me like that.”

“Why do you keep trying to make me and that damned nerd hang out?” Katsuki snapped before he could stop himself. The moment his mother turned back towards him, he immediately regretted it. God, why did she have to come home so early? 

“I was just trying to do something I thought you might enjoy ,” his mother retorted, putting the lettuce down a bit too roughly. She pulled out a bag of asparagus next and Katsuki had to grip the counter to keep himself from just turning and storming away from her; it’d only make her even angrier. “I don’t get what your problem with Izuku is, anyway. He’s a good kid. You could really learn something from him.”

He grit his teeth. There she went again, acting like that stupid Deku was better than him. That pathetic weakling was Quirkless and had the nerve to act like he was somehow on the same level as Katsuki, and now, apparently, he was out exercising and training to make up for the shitty hand he was dealt with. 

“You just like him because he does everything you say,” Katsuki snarled, and he could feel the sweat on his palms threaten to spark. She still had a copy of that stupid entry page from that stupid notebook that stupid Deku carried around printed out and hung up in her office while Katsuki’s own creations sat on their fridge away from the view of others before he threw them all away a few years later. Katsuki wished he had burned that volume when he had the chance. “You’ve always liked him more.”

His mother’s hand slammed down onto the counter. “Because he’s not a selfish little brat like you!”

Katsuki found the resolve to release the counter. “I’m going back to my room. I still need to finish my homework.”

“Don’t you dare walk away from me!” his mother shouted at his back as he turned. Katsuki picked up the pace as much as he could without running. He wouldn’t give her that sort of satisfaction of letting her know that she got to him. “We’re not done talking! ”

“Yeah, we are! ” Katsuki exclaimed, rounding the corner to go down the hallway. As soon as he was out of her view for just a few precious seconds, he booked it down to his room and slammed the door, forgoing his anxiety about how she’d react. He locked the door behind him and pressed his full weight against the door, holding his breath as he heard her thunder down the hall. He forced himself to stand still when her fist pounded against the door. 

“Katsuki Bakugou, you come out right this instant! ” his mother screamed. “You don’t get to walk away!”

“Like hell I don’t!” Katsuki shot back, hoping his voice wasn’t shaking. He knew that if he gave any indication that he was upset, it could go either one of two ways: his mother would take it as a personal affront to her character, which would cause her to lash out, or she’d break down crying over it and make it all about her, dumping her emotions onto him in a heap that would only leave them both exhausted and tired. He’d never get a word in about how he was feeling, not without making her even more upset. 

His mother let out a loud growl. “You’re impossible! ”

As she stormed down the hallway, Katsuki didn’t allow himself to slump against the door until he couldn’t hear her footfalls. His eyes started to burn and he wanted to scream at how he could let himself get so weak over something so small . Why couldn’t he have just kept his mouth shut? Why did he let himself get so angry? Why couldn’t he just put the groceries up and go back to his room so his mom could make dinner and leave him alone?

“Stupid fucking Deku,” Katsuki muttered, sinking down low to the ground. If that stupid idiot hadn’t been so insistent on acting like he was somehow better than Katsuki, then the hag would have never tried to make him hang out with him. He even had the nerve to come running in and try to save him, like there was something he could do when it took All Might for Katsuki to be properly rescued. They were leagues apart from each other and yet he wanted to drag Katsuki down all the way down to his level to make himself feel better about himself, offering him help to suit that stupid little savior complex of his. Why did he insist on trying to copy Katsuki and undermine everything he did? Why did he want so badly to be a hero when it was just a pipe dream for someone like him? And why, despite all of that, did his mother want Katsuki to be anything like him?

‘Once I get into U.A., I’ll show him,’ Katsuki thought, ‘I’ll show them all.’

Chapter Text

As soon as training picked back up, Izuku was given little reprieve before diving right back into clearing out his section of the beach. All Might had also stayed true to his word in shifting his training plan and gave Izuku a copy of exercises and dietary restrictions for him to keep in practice while he was at home, which his mother was elated to receive when he returned home from his grueling training session. Izuku couldn’t help but grin at how excited his mother was when he helped her in the kitchen to make the meals. 

“We can be diet and exercise buddies!” his mother proclaimed. “I may not be trying to be the next Number One Hero, but I can still try to be the Number One Mom!”

“You already are,” Izuku had told her, and then he laughed when she flushed. 

Still, he couldn’t quite push past the guilt in his gut anytime he was reminded that All Might wasn’t privy to his mother’s involvement. When All Might asked how his mother was so quick to jump on board with the diet plan, Izuku just muttered that she wanted to join him in dieting and exercising, which wasn’t a lie , but it wasn’t the whole truth, either. All Might’s positive reaction only made his guilt burrow deeper into his chest and he wanted the world to swallow him whole so he wouldn’t have to face it. He supposed it was what he deserved for keeping the full truth away from his mother about All Might’s condition. That, and the fact that All Might was working him pretty hard during training proved to be enough karmic justice as it was. 

“Nice job, sweetie!” his mother proclaimed as he tossed the tire onto the stack. She stood a few feet from him in a pink tracksuit and matching baseball, a clipboard in her hands. “You’re doing wonderful!” 

His mother did well to keep him on task, at least. She wasn’t able to keep up with him at times, but that didn’t deter her from supporting him the best she could. Whenever she wasn’t doing exercises alongside him while they watched a program together, she would help him keep track of how many reps he had done when he lost count (which was often) and would time his runs around the block. Despite the ache in his lungs, getting to see his mother brighten up anytime he broke one of his records made it all absolutely worth it. While he somewhat hated that no one else could see the kind of progress he was making, having his mother there to cheer him on felt better than any crowd of people put together and he wouldn’t trade it for anything in the world.

The only downside was that he was still in school, which Izuku honestly considered to be more egregious than any training that All Might could possibly put him through. Even without Kacchan there to rally people against him, his academic journey didn’t exactly run smoothly with other classmates to occupy Kacchan’s role as antagonizers, though Izuku certainly preferred their ribbing over anything Kacchan could potentially throw at him (literally). All Izuku could do was duck his head down and try to keep a low profile until the weekends and, eventually, the entrance exam. 

‘Just a couple more months,’ Izuku told himself as he hauled another tire over his shoulder. 

Then, just as he was getting ready to pick up a discarded microwave sitting atop a lopsided armchair, she caught him by the shoulder. 

“Hold up there,” his mother told him, her grip surprisingly firm enough to bring Izuku to a full stop, “it’s break time. Time for you to eat.”

Izuku blinked. “Already? It doesn’t feel that late.”

As if on cue, his stomach growled loudly for them both to hear. His mother chuckled and Izuku’s ears grew hot. “Your stomach begs to differ. Come on, let’s take a seat.”

Izuku and his mother took their usual seat down at the bottom of the steps and pulled out their packed lunches to eat. They had identical meals, both of which were wrapped in All Might themed cloth, Izuku’s being inspired by his costume from the Silver Age and hers being dotted with little stars and stripes. No time was wasted in unwrapping their bento boxes and Izuku dug right in, forgoing manners to fill his empty stomach.

“Slow down, Izuku!” his mother chided with a laugh. “You’ll make yourself too sick to work!”

Izuku came to a still and sheepishly smiled. “Sorry…”

She reached over to ruffle his hair. “Oh, don’t be like that! Just slow down and enjoy your meal! We still have the rest of the day to finish up.”

Izuku tried his best to suppress a frown. While it was true that he had made an incredible amount of progress in clearing out the section of the beach All Might assigned for him to clean and was nearly done with a couple months to spare, it still bothered him to see the beach in such a state of disarray. He knew that All Might wouldn’t want him to push himself, however, and that his mother would likely yell at him for putting his body under such strain when he was already training heavily.

“Do you think I’ll finish in time for the exam?” Izuku asked her after taking another bite of his lunch. 

His mother nodded. “Without a doubt! You’ve been making an incredible amount of progress!” 

Izuku couldn’t help but stare at the mountains of trash in front of them both. While he knew deep down that trying to clear the whole beach by himself would probably prove too much for his body, he would be lying if he said that he didn’t sometimes sneak some stuff from outside his assigned section to the pile for transport. 

‘If only I had more time,’ he thought, frowning a bit.

His mother’s hand fell onto his shoulder, nearly making him jump out of his skin. “I know you want to do more, sweetie. But, now’s not the time for you to be getting ahead of yourself. You gotta stay on track.” 

Izuku sighed. “Yeah, I know…” 

“Oh, don’t worry, Izuku,” his mother assured him with a smile, “there will be plenty of opportunities for you to come back and finish the beach clean up down the line. You can’t rush that sort of progress, especially by yourself.” Then, she gasped and clapped her hands together excitedly. “Maybe we could organize a beach clean up crew and get other people involved!”

Izuku chuckled. “It would be nice to have an extra pair of hands with the other sections.”

Still, Izuku couldn’t quite erase the voice in the back of his mind that was telling him he wasn’t doing enough. If he was really going to inherit a Quirk as powerful as All Might’s, then shouldn’t he be working himself a bit harder? He already knew that his body was going to struggle to handle the power when he got it, but surely there was something he could do to make sure it wasn’t such a shock to the system. Even with All Might’s adjusted diet and exercise plan, there wasn’t a guarantee that he would be ready to inherit All Might’s power when the time eventually came for it. What exactly was going to happen when he tried to use his Quirk for the first time? Would his limbs really shoot off his body or was that an exaggeration made by All Might? Just what exactly—

“Izuku, honey, you’re mumbling,” his mother cut in gently. 

Izuku slapped his hand over his mouth, nearly dropping his chopsticks in the process. As a hot wave of embarrassment washed over his cheeks, his mother squeezed his shoulder with a giggle. 

“Sweetie, I know you’re worried,” she told him, “but you’re the one who told me to trust All Might with his training for you, remember? I suggest you do the same, too.”

Izuku’s hand fell from his face. “I know, but—”

“Izuku,” his mother interjected, her voice firm, but not unkind, “you have to remember that this is all a part of the process . You’re not going to get where you need to overnight.” She turned towards the section that Izuku had been clearing out. “I mean, just look at what you’ve done here in just a few months. I can’t imagine how bad it looked before.”

“It was pretty bad,” Izuku conceded. He shuddered a bit. “There was a fridge that was deadbolted shut by chains that All Might and I couldn’t get open that we’re pretty sure had something that used to be alive in there.”

His mother’s face scrunched up a bit, but she decided not to dwell on it. “The point I’m trying to make is that you’re not going to reach the end goal right away. This is a marathon, not a sprint.” She gave his shoulder another squeeze. “Just take it a little at a time. One foot after the other and you’ll get there in due time.” 

“One foot after the other,” Izuku repeated to himself. He closed his eyes for a moment and took a deep breath. He knew that she was right; All Might hadn’t made his hero debut until he had already graduated from U.A. and even then, he was still figuring some things out and had to build himself up from the ground up like any other hero. Meanwhile, Izuku hadn’t even started his first year or even had One For All yet. 

He still had a ways to go before he’d make it to his end goal. 

“Just remember you’re not doing this alone,” his mother told him. She slid her arm around his shoulders in a hug. “I’ll be right here to cheer you on when you’re still figuring this stuff out!” 

Izuku smiled. “Thanks, Mom. I’m really happy you’re out here with me.”

She released him. “Now, let’s finish our lunch so you can start back up again! We gotta be ready for whatever All Might has planned for his lessons!”

* * *

Toshinori had no idea what he had planned for his lessons. 

Trying to come up with a curriculum to teach at U.A. was much easier said than done, even with Nedzu’s assistance on the matter. The two of them had put aside time on select afternoons to meet up and discuss potential plans for the upcoming semester, from grading scales to assignments that could potentially coincide with other projects going on in the students’ other classes. Nedzu had a plethora of ideas to include, which was both a blessing and a curse, as it made it hard to choose which ones would make the cut for the final plan. 

“Alright, so how do we feel about the Sports Festival evaluation project?” Nedzu asked him. He held up a makeshift rubric he made, his writing a pristine print. “The students could watch the Festival and write about which students they would choose for their own agency and why. It might also give students some feedback on what they might need to change or work on.”

Toshinori arched a brow. “Hm, that’s an interesting idea. Though, would students be alright with having to take notes for an assignment during a school event?”

Nedzu waved a hand. “Oh, I’m sure it’ll be fine! Besides, it’ll be a good way to make sure students pay mind to their classmates and what they’re capable of. Being a Pro does involve working with others and seeing how you might fit together, after all.”

“That’s true,” Toshinori replied. The corner of his lip quirked up a bit. “If young Midoriya gets in, he’d have a field day with that assignment.” 

“He would ,” Nedzu agreed, chuckling a bit, “I imagine he’d have notes on every single one of his classmates.”

Toshinori let out a small chuckle himself. “He’s observant, that’s for sure.”

Nedzu smiled. “Speaking of, how is he faring under our new training program? Is he making great progress?”

Instantly, Toshinori felt his smile drop. While it was true that his successor had been doing an incredible job with his training and was well on his way to meeting the goals that Toshinori set out for him, the joy that Toshinori thought he would feel was instead occupied by dread. 

“Is something the matter?” Nedzu asked, stirring him out of his thoughts. “Has young Midoriya been struggling?”

Toshinori let out a sigh. “No… Quite the opposite, actually.”

Nedzu tilted his head curiously. “You seem worried. What’s on your mind?” 

“It’s…” Toshinori began, trying to find the words to say, “it’s complicated . Young Midoriya is getting closer and closer to finishing his section of the beach and he’s been staying on top of his exercises, but…”

“You don’t think he’s ready yet?” Nedzu guessed.

Toshinori shook his head. “No. I don’t think I’m ready yet.” 

Despite the swell of pride in his chest at the initiative his successor was showing, he faltered as he realized that would mean young Midoriya would receive his Quirk and they would begin training on One For All. He had his diet and exercise regimen for young Midoriya down to heart and he knew logistically speaking what the next steps were supposed to be when it came to training him, but that didn’t mean that he was necessarily ready for when they got to those next steps or that he even had a clear vision in mind for how he would go about teaching his successor.

‘It’ll only be a matter of time before he’s finished with his section of the beach,’ Toshinori thought to himself. He was certain that if he had a full stomach, it would be churning at the very thought. He wanted to believe that Midoriya would be ready to begin training on his new Quirk, but Toshinori knew from experience that the months of training that went into training his body wouldn’t necessarily factor into his first day with One For All. Setting a solid foundation didn’t mean that young Midoriya would be able to stick the landing right off the bat. 

“Ah, I see,” Nedzu said finally, “you’re worried that you won’t be preparing him for how to use your Quirk properly, are you?”

Toshinori sighed. “I… I know he’ll find his way. He’s a tenacious young boy and he’s already proven his merit, but…” He clasped his hands in front of him anxiously. “What if he hurts himself, Nedzu? What if I tell him to do the wrong thing and it ends up causing irreparable damage to him?” 

“Your Quirk is very powerful,” Nedzu affirmed, his brows furrowing, “and we still don’t know just how strong it’ll be once you finally pass it down to young Midoriya. Trial and error is to be expected, but it would be good to minimize the likelihood of such errors having a lasting negative impact.” He reached for his teacup and gave it a stir. “Tell me, how did you fare when you received your Quirk?”

“Very well, actually,” Toshinori answered, “I didn’t really struggle with it at all. It came… pretty natural to me.”

Toshinori had been lucky; after fumbling a bit, he took to One For All rather quickly. The Quirk felt like an extension of himself and his ability to manipulate it was intuitive, even at the beginning. His mentor had barely needed to give him instruction on how to use it before he got the hang of it and he only needed small adjustments for how he used it, which had been wonderful for him when he was a student. Now, decades later, he had nothing to fall back on to use for when he became a teacher himself, his own mentor’s words giving him little to pass onto young Midoriya. 

‘I wish I could talk to her,’ Toshinori mused, his frown deepening. Even when Gran Torino took over his training after he lost his mentor, everything that Toshinori learned with him always circled back to what he learned with his late mentor. Gran Torino’s training was more focused on increasing strength and stamina so that he could effectively attack and defend against opponents while using One For All, his attack drills becoming pure muscle memory to Toshinori that he slipped into without thought. Still, he couldn’t imagine doing the same process with young Midoriya, especially so early in his training when they weren’t certain how his body could handle the Quirk.

“I see,” Nedzu commented. He brought his cup to his lips and took a small sip. “So, you’re worried that if Midoriya faces any complications you won’t be prepared to handle them due to not having firsthand experience with it?”

“Yes,” Toshinori replied, “I fear I won’t be able to provide any meaningful feedback for him to incorporate into his training.” He let out a sigh. “And I can’t exactly ask my mentor for advice on the matter, either.”

Nedzu tilted his head. “What about Gran Torino? Maybe he could give you some tips.”

Instantly, Toshinori’s entire body tensed up. “That… That might not be a good idea.”

“Ah, scared he’ll run your boy off?” Nedzu teased. He chuckled and set his cup down on the table. “Understandable. It might be a bit too soon to ask for his input when Midoriya has only just begun his journey.”

“So what do I do, then?” Toshinori questioned. He brought a hand to his face with a ragged sigh. “I’ve only ever been the student , not the teacher, and that was decades ago. How am I supposed to teach him like my mentor did me?” His eyes fell down to the sheets of paper covered in curriculum plans and he grimaced. “How am I supposed to teach a whole class if I can’t handle one student?”

Nedzu offered him a kind smile. “I know you don’t like to worry, All Might. But, the fact that you’re worried means that you care and that’s invaluable to a teacher.” He leaned forward and placed his chin on his interlocked paws. “And judging from how you speak of your mentor, it seems like she cared an awful lot, too, didn’t she?”

Despite his anxiety, Toshinori smiled. “She did… She cared so much .” Then, his frown returned. “But she also seemed to know what she was doing more than I do now. When I was with her, everything just… it just made sense . Anytime I had a question, she seemed to know just what to say to get me to understand it.”

“Did she always have it right off the bat?” Nedzu asked. 

“Well…” Toshinori drawled. “No, but if I didn’t get it, she’d say it in a way that made sense.”

“So, she adjusted her way of teaching to suit you,” Nedzu confirmed.

Toshinori arched his brow. “What’s your point?”

Nedzu smiled knowingly. “The best teachers know when and how to adapt, All Might. Sticking to one method isn’t always going to cut it and can sometimes slow progress. The reason why you were able to take to your mentor’s training so quickly is because she was able to mold her teaching to you, not vice versa.” That glint still shone in his eyes. “How do you think young Midoriya would like to learn from you?”

A snort escaped Toshinori. “He’d probably like to hear every single thing I could possibly tell him so he could write it all down.” 

“So why not tell him, then?” Nedzu replied. 

Toshinori blinked. “What?”

“If he processes information better by writing it down, then let him,” Nedzu told him, “he’s a very smart boy, All Might. You’d be doing him a disservice not to let him use that to his fullest capability. As long as he isn’t pettifogging, it’ll be good to take the time to answer whatever questions he may have.”

“Pettifogging?” Toshinori repeated.

“Focusing on petty details,” Nedzu clarified, “but it’s also important to remember that sometimes, the devil is in the details. He’ll do much better with the full picture of what he’s working with in mind.” He perked up with a small gasp. “Oh, maybe you could let him do an in-depth profile on you and your Quirk! He’d love that.”

“He would, wouldn’t he?” Toshinori murmured, chuckling a bit. 

Nedzu gave him a warm smile. “Just remember, All Might. I’m here to help you if you ever need it. Don’t be afraid to come to me about any concerns you have with young Midoriya.” He picked up his teacup and took another sip. “Now, how about we get back to getting a handle on your first semester’s curriculum?” 

As Nedzu began to rummage through the papers, Toshinori’s mind kept replaying his advice. It sounded so simple when Nedzu said it and yet, Toshinori couldn’t help but feel inadequate. He was the Number One Hero and Symbol of Peace, the eighth in line of holders to One For All, but despite all of that, he struggled to teach his own successor. The power of One For All was not something to be taken lightly and while the responsibility associated with it had lessened significantly in light of All For One’s demise, that didn’t make the task of teaching a successor any less daunting. He could only hope that young Midoriya wouldn’t ever have to face a villain like the one who he and his predecessors had fought against for generations. 

‘There’s still so much he doesn’t know,’ Toshinori thought. His hand came to his injured side and his fingers curled around the fabric of his shirt. ‘But what good would telling him of All For One do?’

He didn’t remember much from his fight with All For One. When he stepped up against the man who took his mentor and the predecessors before her from the world, he tried his best not to let emotions get the better of him. However, he underestimated the levels of low his opponent would stoop to in order to defeat him and before he knew it, he found himself in the fight of his life. Everything that came before fell completely dark in the wake of the devastating blow that left him on the brink of death, his only clear memory of the being the end. Despite how much Toshinori hated All For One for what he had done, he hated him the most for forcing him to commit such an act to end their fight. 

“So, did you have any questions about the curriculum?” Nedzu questioned, startling Toshinori out of his thoughts. He peered at Toshinori with his head tilted curiously. “I feel like this is a solid start for your first semester here at U.A.”

Trying his best to quiet the storm in his head, Toshinori put on a smile. “Sure. Would you like to look at the second semester?”

As the two of them continued to brainstorm and sort the curriculum out, Toshinori found himself circling back to his previous concerns. Would he really be able to adjust his teaching style to suit Midoriya and aid him in his journey to mastering One For All? Would he be able to navigate the potential errors that come with the young boy’s trial run of the Quirk? And would he be able to handle the responsibility of teaching him while working at U.A.?

‘There’s a lot I have to tell him,’ Toshinori thought, ‘if only I knew where to begin.’

Chapter Text

Izuku wasn’t sure how he was supposed to feel when he finally cleared out his section of the beach. With each day bringing him closer and closer to meeting his goal, he supposed he should have felt some form of gratification or at least a sense of accomplishment, especially when he had managed to do it with a couple months to spare before the exam. Instead, as he stood amongst the cleared horizon and faced the setting sun, he couldn’t quite put a word to what he was feeling. 

“Well done, young Midoriya,” All Might told him, breaking him out of his thoughts. His piercing blue eyes shone with pride as he gazed at Izuku’s sweaty face. “You restored the horizon for the whole section.”

Despite his exhaustion, Izuku managed a smile. “I can’t believe I did it… I thought it’d take me much longer.”

All Might chuckled. “Well, it’s a good thing you finished up in time for the exam. That gives us more time to focus on training you once I give you my Quirk.”

Izuku should have felt excited. Every single day he was clearing out his section of the beach or he was working out with his mom, the one constant that helped him to push through the pain and exhaustion was the fact that it would all lead to All Might giving him his Quirk. He always figured that once the day finally came, he’d be jumping for joy or crying out of sheer gratitude, and yet… 

His eyes trailed over to the hills and valleys of trash that still littered the beach. He pursed his lips and clenched his fists. ‘Did I really earn it?’

All Might’s hand fell onto his shoulder, making him jump. “I know what you’re thinking, young Midoriya. But I assigned you only this small section because I knew that was what your body could handle at this point in time.” All Might turned to the piles of trash with furrowed brows. “Clearing out the whole beach would be too much for you.”

Although he knew it was true, it didn’t make it easier to accept. “Yeah, I guess…”

“Relax, my boy,” All Might assured him, smiling a bit, “you’ve done amazing work here these past few months. And just think: once you get the hang of One For All, the rest will come easy to you.”

Then, it hit Izuku all at once. “Wait, so does that mean—”

“Congratulations!” All Might told him. He clapped his hands together and beamed at Izuku. “You’ve finally reached the end of this phase of training! That means you can graduate to the next one!” 

“You mean…” Izuku began, stopping to swallow. “You mean you’re going to give me your Quirk? Have I really earned it?” He felt his eyes start to burn and he tried to blink back the tears that he knew were coming. “You’ve done so much to help me… How did I get so lucky?”

All Might’s eyes were soft as he gazed down at Izuku. “My boy, it was your hard work down here that did this, not mine. That’s why I wanted to reward you properly.” 

Then, to Izuku’s total surprise, his teacher pulled a small wrapped box out of his large jacket. The paper was a deep blue adorned with stars and red stripes, a bright, golden bow rested on the top of it. A tag hung from one of the loops of the bow and there Izuku saw his own name written on it in neat script. 

“Surprise!” All Might proclaimed, and Izuku jumped when he took on his muscle form. “I wanted to get you something to commemorate today!”

Izuku did his best to choke back a sob. “Y-You didn’t have to…”

“Nonsense!” All Might told him. He held the present out to Izuku. “Why don’t you open it up?”

With shaking hands, Izuku took the gift from All Might. He gingerly removed the bow and wrapping paper, some part of him too afraid to see what was inside. Despite knowing All Might wouldn’t do such a thing, he couldn’t help but feel like this was all some cosmic joke and that when he opened the gift, he would be greeted with something to confirm his worst fears. It wouldn’t be the first time he had gotten a joke gift from someone and become a laughingstock for assuming someone cared enough to get him a present. However, as soon as Izuku’s fingers broke past the paper, his breath hitched. 

“Is this…?” Izuku questioned, the words escaping him. As soon as the rest of the wrapping paper fell away, his eyes widened and his jaw dropped. Laying in his hands was a brand new notebook, the pages crisp and pristine beneath his touch. The emerald green cover was sturdier than the campus notebooks he used in the past and already had black text etched across the surface: “Hero Analysis of the Future, Vol. 14.” 

“I know you already have your other notebooks,” All Might acknowledged, “but I figured you could do well with a notebook for one special hero in particular. So, I had this one custom-made for you to write about your own hero experiences and analyze yourself!” He pointed a finger at the cover with his trademark smile. “Becoming a hero isn’t a distant dream for the future now, young Midoriya. It’s going to become a part of your present quite soon!”

Izuku stared at the title on the cover, his gaze unbreaking. He kept reading it over and over again to check the validity of it and ensure that it was real. When it finally hit him that he wasn’t being pranked or that it wasn’t a figment of his imagination, a shaky smile spread across his face and he could feel a lump begin to rise in his throat. Thick, hot tears started to roll down his cheeks and his attempts to hold back a sob were weak at best. He managed to bring a hand to his lips in time to muffle it, but even so, he couldn’t stop the flood coming from his eyes. 

“Oh,” All Might said, “oh, do you not like it? I thought you’d like a new notebook since your last one got burned, but if you’d rather I take this one back—”

Izuku hugged the notebook to his chest. “N-No! Don’t take it back!”

“Oh!” All Might exclaimed, retracting his hand. “So, you do like it?”

Izuku nodded, a small sob escaping past his lips. “I l-love it… I-I’ve never gotten such a n-nice present from someone b-before…”

All Might blinked. “Oh… Really? I… didn’t think it would mean that much to you.”

“Of course it means a lot to me!” Izuku blurted out. He swiped at his cheek furiously as he regarded All Might. “M-Most people think my notes are w-weird… The only p-person who ever b-buys me new notebooks is my m-mom.” He thought back to the burns that marred his thirteenth volume and his face crumpled a bit. “I-I won’t l-let anything b-bad happen to it, All Might!”

“Oh, my boy,” All Might said softly. He placed his hand on Izuku’s shoulder and gave it a gentle squeeze, which nearly broke Izuku all over again. “I have no doubt in my mind that you’ll take good care of it.”

Izuku choked back another sob. “T-Thank you…”

His mentor said nothing for a long moment, his piercing blue eyes gazing down at Izuku’s shaking form as he tried to gather himself. He hated that he could get so caught up in his emotions at times, but once the faucet got to pouring, it was hard for him to turn it off. The notebook remained flush to his chest like an old stuffed toy he never thought he’d see again and Izuku could only wonder what he’d fill its crisp new pages with. 

“Young Midoriya,” All Might began, causing him to blink, “there’s… something I need to talk to you about.” 

Izuku faced All Might with wide, teary eyes. Had he changed his mind? Had he decided not to have Izuku as a successor after all? Was this gift just a consolation prize for all his efforts? Izuku hugged the notebook tighter and bit his bottom lip at the very thought. 

“Come,” All Might told him, releasing his shoulder, “take a seat. I have a lot to tell you.”

Unsure of what else to do, Izuku followed after All Might, his feet dragging on the cleared sand. When his mentor took a seat at the bottom step, Izuku joined him, his hands still clutching his new notebook like a lifeline. Then, the silence was broken by a puff of smoke and there All Might sat in his true form, his jaw set in contemplation.

“I struggled with telling you this,” All Might admitted suddenly, his eyes not meeting Izuku’s, “but now that we’ve reached the end of the first phase of your training, I feel it wouldn’t be right for me to keep this from you, especially before I give you my Quirk.” His eyes stared endlessly out into the open horizon that Izuku cleared out and his hands clutched his knees. “The Quirk that I chose for you to inherit is unique in nature and… you should know of its origin.”

Izuku’s breath hitched. “Its origin?”

All Might nodded, though he still didn’t turn to Izuku. “One For All has been passed down many generations and has been held by seven other holders than myself.” His eyes fell out of focus for a brief second before he shook his head and they fell back into concentration. “But its beginnings came from another Quirk, one that is very old and came about when Quirks had just begun to manifest. Society had yet to find a way to navigate living with the newly powered among the populace and many struggled with knowing what it meant to be a ‘normal’ person.”

“It… used to be something else?” Izuku asked. Were he not so transfixed, he would have tried to see if he had a pen or pencil on him. Instead, he stared at his mentor with rapt attention, his eyes wide. 

“The name of that Quirk,” All Might began, his voice growing firm, “was All For One. It allowed its user to take Quirks from others, either to pass on to others or to keep for himself.”

A chill ran down Izuku’s spine. “You mean… he could just take someone’s Quirk? He wasn’t just duplicating it or mimicking it, but actually just stealing it?”

All Might’s hand clenched tighter on his knees. “Yes. During the era of chaos and confusion where the world’s populace argued over human rights and laws about Quirks, All For One came about. The world already had its fair share of issues and the introduction of Quirks only exacerbated tensions, throwing a wrench into the mechanics of society as we knew it.”

“Society stalled,” Izuku observed aloud, “I… I remember hearing someone say that if Quirks didn’t show up, people would be having interstellar holidays by now.”

“It’s true,” All Might replied, “the progress society had made was overcome by discourse and debate amongst the world’s powers and the populace faced the brunt of it. During that chaotic period, one person managed to rally the restless together. ” His gaze hardened as he stared out into the setting sun. “That man went by All For One, the name of his power. He stole Quirks from others, gaining an overwhelming amount of power that granted him influence across the entire country. His followers fell prey to his manipulation while he committed unspeakable acts with little resistance and soon enough, he had gained control of villains all over Japan.” 

Izuku stared at All Might, his eyes unable to blink. In his years of analysis and research, he had delved into the origin of Quirks and how they manifested throughout the generations, partially out of some naive hope that he would find a sliver of a chance that he would manifest a Quirk of his own. Still, the early generations of Quirks were mostly shrouded in mystery and were brushed over in any history classes covering the subject. Speculation ran amok online and Izuku himself was engrossed in it as a young teen, but even so, he found most theories to be too unsubstantiated to be taken seriously. 

“Isn’t that all just made up theories?” Izuku questioned, his hands shaking a bit. “I’ve read about it online, but… If it was true, they’d teach it to us in school, wouldn't they?”

All Might’s expression turned grave. “History isn’t always told through a truthful perspective, young Midoriya. Much has been omitted to keep the newer generations unaware of the facts of that era.” He looked down. “There were many campaigns and efforts made by organizations to lobby for that era of history to be all but struck from the record of the public out of utter shame for what took place.” 

“But…” Izuku tried to say. He swallowed thickly and clutched his notebook tighter. “But what does this have to do with One For All?”

“All For One was able to give Quirks to others, young Midoriya,” All Might answered, and instantly, Izuku went very still, “he was able to get people to trust him or outright submit to his will by altering their abilities. Those who were unable to handle the power they were given became mindless puppets for him to use, incapable of even speaking.” Then, he finally turned and met Izuku’s wide-eyed gaze. “Meanwhile, some Quirks began to evolve as they were passed on or even combined with other power sets.”

‘Like Kacchan,’ Izuku thought to himself. In Volume 2 of his notebooks, he had a full spread on the entire Bakugou family, with Auntie Mitsuki being able to secrete Glycerin from her skin and how Uncle Masaru would sweat acid in lieu of normal sweat. While Masaru couldn’t sweat at will and would need to clap in order to cause explosions, Kacchan was able to secrete Nitroglycerin and cause explosions at will like how his mother could secrete Glycerin. It made for a terrifying combination and made him especially powerful in combat, as the more he fought, the more he was able to sweat and create bigger explosions. 

“All For One had a sickly younger brother,” All Might continued, breaking Izuku out of his thoughts, “and he was assumed to be Quirkless, but despite that, he had a strong sense of justice and doing what was morally right.” He chuckled humorlessly. “The two couldn’t have been more different.” Then, his frown returned. “Despite his sickness, the brother fought back against All For One and deeply despised the man that he was.” 

“He fought back while being Quirkless? ” Izuku blurted out. 

All Might nodded, and something akin to a smile spread across his lips. “Remind you of anyone?”

Despite the burn in his ears, Izuku pressed on. “But… What happened to him? He couldn’t have possibly been able to stand up to All For One while being Quirkless, could he?”

“You’re right,” All Might replied, “but he didn’t remain Quirkless for long.” His eyes fell away from Izuku’s gaze. “All For One gave his brother a Quirk… One that would allow him to stockpile power. Whether it was a gift to aid his sickly brother or something he forced upon him to make him submit… I can only assume it was the second.”

“That…” Izuku began, the shake in his hands returning, “that sounds like—”

“And you’re right,” All Might interjected, “it turned out that the brother wasn’t actually Quirkless. After All For One gave him the Quirk, the brother realized that he had been born with a Quirk that was useless before his brother gave him that power… the ability to pass on Quirks to others.” He finally brought his gaze up to meet Izuku’s once again. “The brother to All For One… was the original holder of One For All.”

Izuku couldn’t stop himself from gasping aloud. He stared at All Might in total shock and bewilderment, unable to find what to say. His mind was running a mile a minute, faster than his words could possibly begin to catch up to, and he was only left grasping for dear life as the full weight of everything All Might said came down. For years, he wondered what the source of All Might’s power and ability came from, but he couldn’t possibly ever have imagined it being anything like what he was hearing. To think that something that made All Might so powerful once came from something so evil… it felt wrong . 

“What happened to All For One?” Izuku found himself asking. “He’s not still alive, is he? He can’t be, it’s been generations— ”

“There are Quirks to halt aging, young Midoriya,” All Might reminded him, and instantly, Izuku felt a weight settle at the pit of his stomach, “and due to the sheer number of Quirks he stole, he was practically immortal.”

The tremors in Izuku’s hands only grew. “But… h-he’s not still around, is he? W-We’d know if he was.”

All Might met Izuku’s fearful gaze with a steely stare. “The original holder of One For All knew that he wouldn’t be able to stand up to his brother in his current state… So he entrusted it with the future generations so that it would grow in power and eventually, one of the future holders would hold the strength necessary to stand up to All For One.” He brought his fist to his chest and closed his eyes. “I was the one to finish it… once and for all.”

“You fought All For One?” Izuku exclaimed. 

“I did,” All Might answered. Then, when he opened his eyes, they fell out of focus, like he wasn’t looking at Izuku anymore; it was almost as if he were in a completely different time and place. “It took almost everything in me to do it, but… I finally finished it.”

The twisted scar that marred All Might’s side flashed to the forefront of Izuku’s mind. “Was… Was he the one who…?”

All Might’s knuckles turned white. “Yes. He was.”

Suddenly, it hit Izuku just what All Might meant by “finished it.” The fight had taken place five years prior, long before he met Izuku or could have possibly been looking for a successor to take on after him when he eventually lost his power for good. With a hole blown into his side and no successor to take on the burden, he could have only been left with one option…

“You had to kill him, didn’t you?” Izuku whispered. 

All Might’s focus snapped back onto Izuku. His mentor said nothing for a long moment, his eyes widening with shock. Izuku could only guess what was running through his mind at the moment and for a flicker of a moment, he thought he saw fear flash in All Might’s eyes. Finally, All Might’s expression settled into something not quite calm, but not entirely pensive, either.

“I’m not proud of it,” All Might said finally, “I didn’t go into the fight with the intention of killing him, but… I had no other choice. I hadn’t been able to find a successor by that point and I knew that if I didn’t finish him then, there’d be no one else to take on my burden.” He closed his eyes. “Perhaps someone without the power of One For All would have been able to stand up to him if I hadn’t been able to finish him, but… I couldn’t risk dying if it wasn’t a total guarantee.” 

Izuku’s brows furrowed. As reprehensible he found the act of killing to be… he ultimately understood what All Might meant. It was a situation where no matter what he did would have had terrible consequences, but… would the death of a villain who had wrought generations worth of chaos onto society really weigh heavier on the heart than countless innocents who would continue to suffer under his wrath? 

“Now you know the truth, young Midoriya,” All Might said, breaking him out of his flurrying thoughts, “I… I know that you’ll never have to worry about facing All For One, but… It didn’t feel right keeping this from you.” His expression turned into something softer, though Izuku thought he caught a hint of sadness within it. “I was about your age when my mentor passed One For All onto me… and while I was faced with the possibility of having to go up against All For One, I still wanted to grant you the same honesty she did me.” 

“It’s…” Izuku tried to say, swallowing a bit. “It’s a lot to take in, that’s for sure.”

“You’ve done some amazing things while training, young Midoriya,” All Might told him, “but, as honored as I would be to have you as a successor…” He closed his eyes. “You need to know the full weight of this Quirk before you decide to inherit it. It is an incredible power that must not be taken lightly… And it will only grow stronger once you have it. I don’t want to force such a burden—”

“I’ll do my best!” Izuku proclaimed.

All Might’s eyes snapped open and he stared at Izuku with wide eyes. “What?”

“I’ll do whatever it takes to become a hero,” Izuku vowed, holding his notebook close to him, “all my life, all I’ve ever wanted to do is help people and be a shining beacon of hope like you.” A smile spread across his face. “And it’s because of you that I’m able to focus on fighting other evils beyond All For One. So, I want to be able to use this power for more than what it was made for!” 

“You…” All Might began, his voice trailing off for a moment. “You still want to be my successor?”

Izuku nodded. “Of course I do! I want to be able to help as many people as I can and I can only do that with your Quirk to help me!” He faltered for a moment. “I know what it’s like to be helpless… To not be able to save the people you care about…” Kacchan’s wide terrified eyes flashed across his mind. “And I don’t want anyone to ever feel the way I did during those times.”

All Might’s bewilderment didn’t fade. “You… You really mean it? You still want me to train you?”

“Of course!” Izuku replied. “Before you, everyone kept telling me I never had a chance of becoming a hero…” He looked down at the emerald green cover of the notebook in his grasp and his smile only grew. “But then you gave me one… and now, I want to see it through to the end.” He faced All Might with a bright smile. “With you by my side, I’ll be able to do anything! ”

All Might’s hand went to his heart, his mouth falling agape. Words seemed to escape him, as nothing fell past his open lips for a long moment and Izuku wondered if he had said something wrong. Had All Might told him the truth in an attempt to get him to back out of it? Was Izuku not wanting to back out of it not what he expected, or, worse, wanted? Was he asking Izuku if he wanted out not out of concern, but out of a desire to end their training?

Then, a soft smile spread across All Might’s face and all of Izuku’s worries went away. “Thank you, my boy… I’m happy to hear that you still want to train with me.” 

“You are?” Izuku replied. He tried to ignore the burn in his eyes. “You… You don’t regret picking me?”

“Of course not,” All Might answered instantly, and his lack of hesitation sent a wave of great emotion through Izuku, “I don’t regret that one bit, young Midoriya.” He laid a hand on Izuku’s shoulder. “I know you said that you’re lucky to have me a mentor, but if I’m honest, my boy, I’m the lucky one. I’d be lying if I said I didn’t sometimes wonder how different my life would be if you hadn’t grabbed a hold of my leg and didn’t let go.”

Izuku snorted and clapped his hand over his mouth to smother a laugh. “Not exactly my best moment, All Might!”

All Might chuckled. “Be that as it may, it certainly made an impression, and I’m glad for it.”

Then, his mentor stood up straight and his bulky muscles returned with a baritone laugh that made Izuku fall back in surprise. Despite being in a casual outfit, All Might had never looked more heroic under the light of the setting sun, his fists rested on his hips in his signature pose. 

“Now!” All Might proclaimed. “It’s time for your award ceremony!”

Izuku straightened up and scrambled to stand up. “Y-Yes, sir!”

All Might laughed as Izuku managed to stand up before him. “My boy, someone once told me that there’s a difference between being lucky and being deserving! One is an accident, but the other is a reward! ” He clapped his hand onto Izuku’s shoulder, nearly making him fall over. “ Never get the two confused. Take that to heart, young man!”

The tears began to blur Izuku’s vision and his smile started to waver as a sob threatened to bubble up in his throat. He could only wonder if All Might once stood before his own mentor with tears in his eyes and heard those same words be spoken to him, his future becoming as bright as the smile that inspired Izuku’s own. 

“This gift,” All Might continued, his form growing blurry, “you earned it with your own valiant efforts and determination!”

Through his tears, Izuku could see All Might’s hand reach towards him and Izuku reached back towards him, his tired, Quirkless hands ready to take All Might’s power into his grasp. All the work he had been doing for the past several months had culminated into this moment, granting him the ability to continue running down his path to become the world’s greatest hero. He stopped trying to blink back the tears and let them flow freely so that he could face All Might clearly. Izuku wished his mother was here to be able to see this incredible moment. 

“Now,” All Might proclaimed, and it was then that Izuku saw a long, blond strand of hair in his grasp, “eat this!”

Chapter Text

Toshinori had barely been able to catch a wink when he finally managed to get home and into bed, his night spent in quiet contemplation of the morning to come and the challenges it would no doubt bring. His eyes bore endlessly into his ceiling for what felt like an eternity before they startled open at the sound of his custom alarm that simply proclaimed “I am awake!” over and over again until he finally stirred enough to snooze it. He dragged himself out of bed with a sigh and got dressed, not even bothering to spare a look in the mirror on his way out. Toshinori had never liked looking at his reflection.

The drive down to Takoba was a quiet, albeit tense trip for him as he mentally prepared himself for his lesson with young Midoriya. He tried to keep his focus on the road, but with his anxiety creeping deep into the place where his stomach used to reside, he found it hard to keep his mind from wandering. Despite all the discussions he and Nedzu had about his protege, Toshinori would be a liar if he said he felt completely prepared for everything that was to come with their next phase of training. He could only hope that he could measure up to what young Midoriya needed.

‘Master, I pray that the wisdom you imparted onto me will allow me to aid him the same way it did me,’ Toshinori mused, ‘may your light shine down on him this morning…’

Once he pulled into the parking lot and put it in park, he was greeted by the familiar silhouette of the heaps of trash that littered the beach. Toshinori could only wonder how the beach was allowed to get to such a state and how long it would have taken for someone else to take action were it not for young Midoriya’s efforts. A small smile tugged at his lips when he stepped outside and saw his protege standing at the top of the steps, practically dancing on his feet while he stared out into the small section of the horizon he restored. The light of the rising sun cast a gentle glow across the young boy’s head as he turned to look at Toshinori, his smile bright and his eyes practically shining with excitement. 

“You got here early,” Toshinori observed, walking closer to meet up with him. He arched his brow when he noted the lines beneath Midoriya’s eyes. “Did you even sleep last night?”

Midoriya chuckled and rubbed the back of his head. “Yeah, but only a bit! I was just excited, you know?” 

Toshinori’s smile grew. “Well, I’m glad that you’re pumped to start your next phase of training.”

“How could I not be?” Midoriya exclaimed. He closed his eyes and started rocking back and forth on the balls of his feet. “I’ve been waiting for this day!” He stopped and opened his eyes with a beaming smile. “I promise, I won’t let you down, All Might!”

“I’m certain you won’t,” Toshinori told him. He nodded towards the stairs. “Let’s go ahead and head down so we can get started, shall we?”

Midoriya practically darted down the stairs, forgoing the last few steps in an enthusiastic leap that sent sand everywhere upon impact. Toshinori snorted mirthfully and stepped down to join him. A cloud escaped his lips, causing him to draw his coat further in on himself. Meanwhile, Midoriya danced on his feet a bit in anticipation and seemed mostly unbothered by the cold air despite being only in a tracksuit.

“So what are we starting on first?” Midoriya asked. “Are we going to be covering your State Smashes? Or are we going to go over some lesser-known attacks?” He gasped with sparkling eyes. “Are we going to make a whole new attack just for me? ”

Toshinori chuckled. “Settle down, my boy. We’ll cover all of those things in due time. But, for now, we need to set a solid foundation for you to even use your Quirk.” He held up his index finger. “You may have had months of training under your belt to prepare your body, but today is day one , my boy. We can’t have you firing if you don’t know how to load the cylinders first.”

Midoriya nodded, still bouncing from foot to foot. “Makes sense!”

“Indeed,” Toshinori replied, “now… let’s try to see if you can activate it.” 

“Right!” Midoriya acknowledged. Then, he paused in his footwork. “Uh… How exactly do I do that?”

“It’s something you feel deep within you that you call upon,” Toshinori answered, “once you grab ahold of it…” He placed a hand over his heart. “You just know .”

Midoriya tilted his head curiously. “Is that how it felt the first time you used it? Was it hard to do?”

Toshinori shook his head. “Not really. It came naturally to me. One For All felt less like a superpower and more like… an extension of myself.” His fingers clutched the fabric of his jacket. “It felt as natural as my own heartbeat… As if it was always a part of me. It felt as simple as breathing.”

“Wow,” Midoriya said, “so it’s this intuitive thing you don’t even have to think about?” He brought a hand to his chin in thought. “I see… It makes sense, considering you’ve had it for so long… Thinking about it probably makes it harder to use it, too.” He perked up. “And with breathing, if you focus on it too much, then it can actually make it harder to breathe. Is it the same way with One For All?”

“It is,” Toshinori answered, “it’s just… Well, I can’t put it into words. It feels kind of like—” He swept his hand through the air sharply. “Whoosh!” 

“Whoosh?” Midoriya repeated.

Toshinori blinked and stared at his hand before retracting it with a sigh. “That… probably doesn’t make much sense, does it?”

Midoriya shook his head and waved his hands frantically. “N-No, it does! I mean, it’s just like—” He pumped his fist into the air. “Kapow!” His eyes met with Toshinori’s. “That’s how you do your smashes, right?”

“In… a sense,” Toshinori replied, trying not to let his anxiety show. He held back the urge to sigh. Why was this so hard? When he was with his own master, everything just made sense . Why couldn’t he do the same for his protege? “It’s like… It’s this thing inside of you that’s a part of you, but you still have to control it.” He placed his hand back over his chest. “Once you bring it out, you know the feeling deep down to your very core… Like this heat that spreads throughout your body anytime you use it.” His eyes fell to a close and he clutched his jacket. “But if you don’t keep it contained, you run the risk of letting it run wild.”

One For All’s beginnings may have been humble, but that had just been the spark to ignite the flame that had been passed down for generations. The seven holders that came before Toshinori all held the torch and added onto its flame, his own mentor imparting words of wisdom to not only help it grow but keep it controlled. Sometimes, it felt like the only thing keeping Toshinori alive was that flame inside of him and that all he could do was sit beside it for warmth in the midst of the storm growing around him. He knew more than anyone how dangerous that flame could be, however, should he not be careful. Using One For All was simply not enough; it had to be controlled and measured.

“Just like an egg in the microwave!” Midoriya proclaimed.

Toshinori nearly choked. “What?”

“An egg in the microwave!” Midoriya repeated. “If you put it in for too long, then it can explode!” He held his index finger up. “But, if you balance it just right, then the heat spreads evenly throughout and you make something great!”

Toshinori stared in silence. He was certain that if he had said something like that in front of Gran Torino back when he was a student, the old man would have laughed in his face for such an absurd comparison, if not be outright offended by comparing such power to something as mundane as food. 

“Sounds like your eggs are a little scrambled , kiddo,” his voice echoed in his head, almost as if he were speaking to Toshinori in person. Gran would have cuffed his ear for good measure, too, knowing him. 

‘It’s… not what I would have thought of,’ Toshinori thought to himself. Then, his mind traced back to what Nedzu said to him the other day:

“The best teachers know when and how to adapt, All Might. Sticking to one method isn’t always going to cut it and can sometimes slow progress.”

With Midoriya still smiling, Toshinori managed to mirror it back to him. “If that’s what makes the most sense to you, then sure.” He brought a hand to his chin in thought. “Just, uh, think of activating it like pressing the microwave start button.”

Midoriya nodded. “Got it! And if I’m having trouble balancing it, I can just adjust the wattage or the cook time!”

“Now you’re getting it,” Toshinori said, “that’s the key to controlling One For All: balance . You have to make sure to keep a focus on how you use it so you don’t lose control of it.” His smile widened. “We don’t want that egg exploding, now do we?”

“Nope!” Midoriya replied. He made a fist and held it up. “Should I try to imagine my fist as the egg to start?”

Toshinori nodded. “That’s a good place to begin. We can work our way up as you learn to control certain limbs.”

“Awesome!” Midoriya proclaimed. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes. “Just pretend you’re the microwave, Izuku…”

Toshinori bit his bottom lip to hold back the urge to smile. ‘C’mon, Toshi, keep it together. Can’t make him lose focus.’

“You’re the microwave,” Midoriya repeated, inhaling deeply through his nose. Toshinori tried his best not to snort. Had he been like that when he was a teenager? “You’re the microwave and you have the egg in your hand…” He clenched his fist tighter. “Now just make sure it doesn’t explode.”

There was a definitive crackle of energy in the air and Toshinori went still. He stared with wide eyes as Midoriya’s fist seemed to come aglow with power, causing him to bring his hand to his mouth with surprise. By God, had that done it? Had he really summoned One For All for the first time?

“Don’t let it explode,” Midoriya whispered, “don’t let it explode .”

Then, the glow started to spread from his fist all the way up his arm. Panicked, Toshinori’s hands clasped together in front of his chest. Was he struggling to control it? In an instant, the energy went away and Midoriya gasped aloud. He grabbed his forearm with a heaving breath, his eyes wide as he stared down at it. 

Toshinori’s brows furrowed when Midoriya winced. “My boy, are you alright?”

“I…” he began, his voice soft. Then, Midoriya’s eyes shot up to meet with Toshinori’s and they practically sparkled . “I did it! I summoned it! And it didn’t explode! ” He breathed out a laugh when he looked down at his hand and flexed it, only to wince again. “ Ow… But why did it hurt? ”

“How much energy did you use?” Toshinori questioned. His brows furrowed with worry. “Did you try firing off at full power?” 

“No!” Midoriya answered quickly. His resolve faltered when his mentor didn’t appear convinced. “But…  maybe I bit off a bit more than I could chew.”

Toshinori offered him a soft smile. “Well, now you know that was too much for you for now. I’m just happy you didn’t try to fire off at all cylinders.”

Midoriya blinked. “Wait… So that wasn’t even full power?” He flexed out his fingers. “But… I was trying so hard to contain it… How close was I to achieving full power?”

Toshinori shrugged. “It’s hard to say. One For All is stronger now that it’s been passed down to you, my boy. You’re going to struggle to reach full power at the beginning.” He crossed his arms over his chest. “Right now, it’s better to focus on more manageable goals. You can’t just jump to 100%.”

“So… what’s a good percentage for me to start at?” Midoriya asked.

“Well, when I first started, I worked at about…” Toshinori drawled, looking up as he searched the recesses of his mind. He snapped his fingers when it clicked. “I’d say about 5%.”

“5%?” Midoriya repeated. 

“Your body still isn’t used to it, remember?” Toshinori reminded him. “You’re not going to be able to go at full power just yet.” 

Midoriya’s brows furrowed. “Well, how long until I am able to use it at full power?” 

“It’s a process , my boy,” Toshinori replied, “you’re not going to have it down pat the first day, you know.”

Midoriya frowned. “I guess you’re right…”

Toshinori arched his brow. “What is it? Is something bothering you?”

“It’s nothing,” Midoriya answered, far too fast for Toshinori’s liking. When he didn’t let up his stare, however, Midoriya let out a sigh. “Well, it’s just… I… I always wanted a Quirk, you know? And now that I have one, I guess I thought it would be… different, somehow?” He held his hands up. “N-Not that I’m ungrateful, it’s just— I’ve seen so many different Quirks from my classmates and they can do amazing things with them.” He looked down at his hand and flexed his fingers again with a frown. “But it feels like I’m not measuring up to them…”

A tug of pain hit Toshinori’s chest upon hearing that. While it had been about forty years since he had been Quirkless, he could still viscerally recall how it felt to be a young lad without a power to his name. Quirklessness may not have been a rarity while he was growing up, but it was still a trait that made him a prime target for any who wished to do him harm, whether they be peers or criminals. Now, with Quirklessness growing increasingly uncommon with each passing generation and Quirks becoming more powerful than ever, he could only wonder how it felt to be a young lad sitting on the sidelines while everyone ran a race he would never get to experience. 

‘That’s why you like to write them down, isn’t it, young Midoriya?’ Toshinori mused. ‘You wanted to learn everything you can about what you thought you’d never have.’

Toshinori placed a hand on his shoulder, causing the young boy to jump. “ Hey . I know that this might not have been what you were expecting… But you have to remember that your peers have had years to hone in their power.” He gave his shoulder a squeeze. “Meanwhile, you’ve only had a couple of months to prepare your body for it and you’re only on day one of actually using it.” Midoriya blinked when Toshinori smiled and tapped him on the nose. “Don’t pay them any mind. You’re still playing catch up.”

A weak smile spread across Midoriya’s lips. “I guess so.”

“Besides, that was only your first try ,” Toshinori stressed, “and I know you’re not ready to give up after that.” He nodded towards the rising sun. “We’ve still got a whole day ahead of us, my boy. Let’s not put it to waste.”

Midoriya’s smile brightened back up. “Alright, yeah!” He pumped his fist into the air. “My egg isn’t cooked yet!”

Toshinori snorted. “It sure isn’t, my boy. It sure isn’t.” 

* * *

Izuku had barely been able to catch a wink when he finally managed to get home and into bed, his limbs still aching from training and his mind racing. His eyes bore endlessly into the ceiling while he waited for sleep to take him, but despite his exhaustion, he just couldn’t seem to get his eyes to close. Even with a full belly and a shower to reward him for his efforts, Izuku was unable to shake the thoughts that ran rampant through his mind. 

‘All those months,’ he thought, ‘all those months on the beach to train for One For All…’ Izuku lifted his hand up and stared at his palm. ‘And I can barely do a thing with it.’

Logistically, Izuku knew that he couldn’t expect to jump to All Might’s level on his first day. Still, he couldn’t quite shake the feeling of disappointment in knowing that he wasn’t capable of doing much more than call forth his power, let alone control it. Despite the oddity of having to swallow All Might’s hair, he had been raring to go on training his newfound ability and had launched off into asking a litany of questions about the logistics of it, how they would train for it, and what came next. His momentum came to a screeching halt when All Might had to inform him that it would take a couple of hours minimum for his body to process his DNA and, in turn, integrate with his own system. As disappointed as he was, All Might lessened the blow by telling him they would be getting a fresh start in the morning, when it was guaranteed to have finally processed through his system. Izuku returned to his house in time for dinner, only for his mother to nearly drop the dish entirely when he broke the news of his graduation to her. After she managed to set the dish down on the table, she tackled him in a hug and lifted him up by a mere inch out of sheer excitement and pride, her cheeks wet with tears.

“My baby’s going to be a hero!” she exclaimed, the memory of which still made Izuku’s heart swell.

Dinner may have been small, but it was a celebration nonetheless. She asked him for all the details of his graduation and Izuku was met with wonder and awe as he recounted the speech All Might gave to him while he stood before him with tears in his eyes. Then, when he showed her the notebook All Might got him, tears flooded her eyes and she broke down all over again. Izuku couldn’t really blame her, considering he hadn’t fared much better when he got it just a couple hours prior. 

Bedtime came faster than he expected and although his heart felt light, he found himself unable to sleep well into the night. It was so strange to think of how different his life was in just a few months’ time and how what could have been the worst day of his life quickly turned into the beginning of something great. Less than a year ago, he had been Quirkless and left to the mercy of whatever the world threw at him; the night before, he was mere hours away from being able to exercise a power of his own to combat the chaotic forces that threatened the safety of their world. 

Now, he felt like he didn’t deserve the fanfare at all. 

“Don’t pay them any mind,” All Might’s voice echoed in his head, “you’re still playing catch up.”

Izuku snorted. That was easy for him to say, wasn’t it? All Might didn’t have to grow up as the only Quirkless kid at his elementary school and watch as everyone around him got their Quirks while Izuku had to stand by and wonder why his hadn’t come in yet. All Might didn’t have to overhear his mother talk on the phone with Auntie Mitsuki and tearfully tell her that the doctor said he wouldn’t ever develop a Quirk. All Might didn’t have to watch as everyone in his life started to shift their tone around him as if he were a fragile little thing that could break at any given moment if someone so much as breathed on him too hard. All Might didn’t have to play the citizen or helpless bystander anytime his classmates played Heroes, and that was if he was invited to play at all. All Might didn’t have to watch as his friends started to drift away from him while he was helpless to do anything but ask “Why?” over and over again, only to be met with the simple answer of, “You know why.” 

“Worthless Deku.”

Izuku closed his eyes with a frown. Although Kacchan had backed off of him in light of the incident with the sludge villain, that didn’t mean that he had exactly been warm towards Izuku, either. Judging by the intensity of his gaze anytime they crossed paths in the hallway at school, it was still very clear that Kacchan had yet to let go of his grudge against Izuku for wanting to try out for U.A. 

‘How is he going to respond when he sees me with my new power?’ Izuku wondered. His hands clutched his covers tightly. ‘What if I’m not able to control it and I fail?’

He could hear the taunts already, loud and clear. Kacchan always did have a way of reminding him of the long-growing distance between the two of them. Izuku could almost consider it a talent how he managed to find new ways to insult him and discredit everything he did, no matter how big or small it was. 

“Fought your way just to get to the bottom,” he could hear Kacchan say, “well, at least you proved us all right, eh, Deku?”

Izuku hated that it was instinctive for him to duck his head down at just the thought of Kacchan’s voice. He knew deep down that he didn’t mean the things he said — who on Earth would actually say something like that to someone and mean it? — but it still hurt to hear, nonetheless. Still, he knew that it wasn’t his fault, he was just stressed because he was trying to get into U.A. and Izuku knew how Auntie Mitsuki was, so he couldn’t blame Kacchan for being so frustrated all the time. Kacchan had bigger things to worry about than Izuku’s feelings, so he wasted no time in mincing words to get his point across. Usually, it didn’t bother him. He may not have always liked what Kacchan had to say, but he got pretty used to hearing it with time. Besides, Kacchan was naturally talented and Izuku could stand to learn a lot from him — that was why he had multiple sections on him throughout his different volumes detailing his growth and evolution. It wasn’t his fault that Izuku was so sensitive sometimes.

‘I just need to do better,’ Izuku told himself, ‘I need to work harder to gain control.’

When Izuku sat up and swung his feet over the edge of the bed to stand up and stride over to his closet, he wasn’t sure what his plan was. It wasn’t until he slipped on his tracksuit and his red sneakers before making his way out of the house without his mother hearing that he realized where his feet were carrying him. The light of the moon cast a soft glow across Takoba when he arrived, illuminating the silhouette of the heaps of trash that were still left behind. Despite the ache in his bones and the burn in his tired eyes, Izuku still made a break for the beach once it came into his sights. 

“One foot after the other and you’ll get there in due time.”

“I know you’re not ready to give up after that.”

‘I have to earn this power,’ Izuku thought, ‘I need to be more than just a vessel for it to use.’ He cracked his knuckles and readied his stance. ‘I need to be the one using it.’

He stared at the heap before him and dug his heels into the sand to steady himself. As much as he wanted to summon One For All to come to his aid, he kept the flame inside of him down to a simmer.

“My egg isn’t cooked yet,” Izuku told himself, “time for me to turn up the wattage.”

Chapter Text

Inko would be lying if she said she wasn’t a little nervous when the day of the entrance exam finally approached. As happy as she was to finally see how Izuku would fare after months of hard work and determination, it was in her nature to worry about him. She wanted to believe that the past two months of training with All Might had been enough to prepare him, but with the way he struggled to get out of bed on some mornings, Inko’s anxieties often robbed her of a good night's rest. 

‘It’s so strange to think he has a Quirk now,’ Inko thought as she went to bed on the eve of the exam, ‘so much has changed these past few months…’

Just ten years ago, Inko had held Izuku in her arms and shed tears alongside him as she apologized for the hand he had been dealt and prayed that things could be different for him somehow. That dreaded night felt like such a distant memory when he returned the night of his graduation and she held him in her arms with teary eyes, thanking the gods above that her prayers were finally answered after all those years of turmoil. The shy, timid boy she watched grow up had started to blossom into a more confident and determined young man whose smile had turned as bright as when he was just a toddler running around the living room in a little All Might onesie. 

‘I’m so proud of you, Izuku,’ she thought, ‘I feel like I don’t say that enough.’

Those were her final thoughts before she drifted off into a deep sleep that she would later stir from once her alarm finally went off. With a bounce in her step, Inko climbed out of bed and rushed into the kitchen in her pajamas to make breakfast for Izuku while he slept off his training session from yesterday. His alarm wasn’t set to go off for another hour or so, giving her ample time to make him his favorite breakfast dish before the exam. He had been working so hard and she knew that he had been stressed with how training for his new Quirk was coming along, so she wanted to alleviate as much stress as possible in whatever way she could, even if it was something as small as making him a nice meal. She wanted him to have a full stomach and a bright smile on his face when he finally went down to show U.A. what he was made of.  Inko carried on as quickly and as quietly as she could so that he wouldn’t have to rush to eat, ignoring the growl of her own stomach to focus on meal prep. 

‘He needs as much rest as he can get,’ Inko thought, ‘he looks like hasn’t been sleeping so well these past couple weeks…’

Ever since Izuku returned home from his first lesson after his graduation ceremony, there had been an undeniable shift in the way her son carried himself. As soon as he stepped inside, she babbled a litany of questions about his lesson and what he learned, only to be taken aback by how reserved his response was. At first, she thought it was because he was tired and figured that he would be in better spirits in the morning when he got some rest. However, when Izuku stepped out of his room the following morning with heavy feet, it became pretty clear that there was more to it than what he let on. 

“We still have a lot of work to do,” he told her while scooping up his breakfast, “I just need to keep practicing until I get it right.”

She supposed it couldn’t be helped. Working with a Quirk when he didn’t have one for the first fourteen years of his life was sure to lead to some trial and error, so perhaps she should be thankful that the worst thing to come out of it thus far was lack of sleep. Besides, it wasn’t like Izuku set the gold standard for healthy sleeping habits prior to having a Quirk, especially considering he used to stay up late and read All Might comics and magazines under the light of his flashlight as if she couldn’t see the light peeking out from the bottom of his door. 

Inko snorted and shook her head with a smile. That boy was going to be the absolute death of her.

Once she finally finished up breakfast and set it down on the table, Inko tossed aside her dirty apron with a relieved sigh. She turned towards the wall clock to check the time and went still, noting it was a couple minutes past when Izuku’s alarm was supposed to go off. Had he forgotten to turn it on the night before? Frowning, she tiptoed down the hall until she reached his door and leaned in to listen for the sound of his All Might alarm. When she didn’t hear it, she gave his door a light knock.

“Izuku?” she sang out softly. “Did your alarm go off?” 

No answer.

“Izuku?” Inko said, her brows furrowing a bit. “Are you awake, dear?”

Again, no answer.

Inko sighed and grabbed the doorknob. “Alright, honey, I know you’re probably tired, but you have to get up—”

Then, as she opened the door to her son’s room, she froze. The bed where he should have been sound asleep in was left unoccupied, the blankets and sheets still made up nicely. Inko blinked as if her eyes were playing tricks on her, only for them to widen with terror when it only confirmed her worst fears. 

“Izuku,” she breathed, panic creeping into her voice, “Izuku, where are you, sweetie?”

She rushed into his room and opened up the closet doors, only to be met with his clothes and shoes, but not him. With a shuddering breath, she ran out of his room and down the hall to the bathroom, nearly swinging the door off its hinges when she stepped inside. 

“Izuku!” Inko exclaimed. “This isn’t funny, where are you?”

Once again, she wasn’t given an answer.

“Oh, God,” Inko whispered, “oh, God, where is he?”

Her feet carried her before she knew it. She grabbed her coat off from the coat rack and slung on her scarf over her pajamas, deciding to forgo actual shoes in favor of her bunny slippers. They may not have been the most practical choice, but Inko didn’t have the time to think about it. She grabbed her phone from the counter and fumbled for a moment when searching through her contacts before she tapped on Mitsuki’s profile.

“C’mon, ‘Suki, pick up,” Inko stressed, “I need you to pick up .” Then, to her dismay, it went straight to voicemail. “Oh, you’ve got to be kidding me!”

Frustrated, she went back to her contact list and tapped onto Izuku’s profile. As the first round of rings started to make their way through her speaker, she wrapped her jacket tighter around herself and made a beeline straight for the front door. The scent of the breakfast she had made brought an unexpected sting to her eyes and she tried desperately to blink back the tears she knew were coming as she made her way outside.

‘Come on, baby,’ Inko thought as she locked the door to the apartment, ‘where have you gone off to?’

* * *

Toshinori wasn’t sure what he was expecting to see when he came to Takoba on that cold February day to meet up with young Midoriya. After the past couple of months of training, he was hoping that he would come face to face with his young apprentice on the day of the exam to offer him words of wisdom and encouragement like his own mentor had all those decades ago. The night before, he kept cycling through his speech over and over again until he felt he got it down right, not wanting to set a poor tone for young Midoriya’s day. He felt like the boy could use the boost after all the hard work he had been doing. 

The past two months of training with One For All felt both long and yet like not enough time at all. So far, Toshinori and Midoriya had worked on honing in on his control and ability to summon forth his new power so that it became less of a chore. Now, young Midoriya could summon One For All to both of his arms and was capable of using his newfound strength to his advantage. Still, Toshinori knew that they were just barely scratching the surface of his potential, considering he was just scraping by with 5% or less. 

‘You’re about to reach the light at the end of the tunnel,’ Toshinori mused as he laid in bed the eve of the exam, ‘from here on out, your light will only continue to grow.’

Just forty years ago, Toshinori himself had stood in front of his mentor on the day of his entrance exam at U.A. with burning eyes and looked into her sterling gray orbs as she rested both of her hands on his shoulders and gave him that bright smile that always seemed to ease his anxieties on even his hardest days. That day still felt so fresh in his memory as he stepped out of his car and made his way down to the beachline to meet with his own protege, hopeful that he could give the young boy the same feeling of assurance in his chest that his own mentor did. The shy, timid boy he came to know had started to blossom into a more confident and determined young man whose smile shone bright throughout his long journey.

‘You’ve come so far, my boy,’ Toshinori thought, ‘now’s the time for you to go the distance.’

Then again, his young successor always seemed to have a way of surprising him, and nowhere was that more apparent than when he arrived to see the young lad standing atop a trash heap while screaming at the top of his lungs. His shirt was gone from sight as he stood in the light of the rising sun, his back arched forward while he screamed to the high heavens. Startled beyond words, Toshinori ran towards the railing just as Midoriya’s cry finally died off with a shuddering gasp and stared off in wonder at his protege’s handiwork.

“Holy crap,” Toshinori blurted out, his eyes sweeping across the coast, “you cleaned up the entire beach .”

The coastline that had become a dump seemed like such a far-off nightmare in comparison to the image of perfection that laid before him. With wide eyes, Toshinori could only gape as he searched for any sign of the litter that had robbed so many locals of the horizon, only to find that there was none. His lips pulled up into a stunned smile and he huffed out a laugh through his nose. 

“There isn’t a single speck of trash on the beach,” he breathed, still in disbelief, “and on the day of the entrance exam, no less…” Toshinori’s hand went to his heart without thought as he trembled in the cold morning air. “Holy… Stinking…” His excitement practically erupted from his being when he took on his muscular form. “Supercrap!”

As the young lad collapsed from the top of the heap, Toshinori found himself in the sand just in time to catch the boy out of the air with a beaming smile. By God, was this kid insane?

“ Excellent work!” Toshinori proclaimed, barely able to contain himself. 

With tired eyes, young Midoriya managed to smile back at him. “I finished everything… All Might…  I did it.”

Toshinori let out a loud, booming laugh. “You sure did , fanboy! You really went all out, didn’t you?” 

Part of him knew that he should have been stern with the boy for working himself so hard the night before the exam, but at the same time, he couldn’t help but feel prideful. The young lad went out of his way to show his dedication and exceeded his expectations multiple times over by clearing out the entire beach. Heavens above, how did he do this?

Then, he went still. How did he do this?

“Were you training your Quirk on your own out here?” Toshinori questioned. He set Midoriya down on the sand and made sure he was steady before letting go. “Did you manage to do this with just 5%?” 

Midoriya shook his head. “N-No… I didn’t use One For All at all.”

Toshinori blinked. “You didn’t? ”

“No,” Midoriya affirmed, and it was then that Toshinori saw the way his body trembled. What happened to his coat and shoes? How long had he not been wearing those? “I-I wanted to prove I could handle it…” 

Then, the young boy looked at him with teary eyes. Still shaking, Midoriya choked back a small hiccup and met Toshinori’s gaze with determination.

“I-I wanted to p-prove I d-deserve this,” he continued, his voice wavering, “y-you put s-so much time and w-work into h-helping me…” Midoriya let out a choked sob and swiped at his cheeks furiously. “S-So I d-did this all by myself to p-prove I can d-do it…” He put on a warbling smile. “I-I wanted to s-show that I-I’m not h-helpless— ”

When Midoriya let out another shuddering sob, Toshinori’s heart tugged in his chest. Had he really been worried about that all this time? Did he really think that Toshinori would have any doubts after everything he had shown him already? 

‘Oh, my boy,’ Toshinori thought, ‘how can I prove to you that you’re already more than enough?’

The boy jumped when Toshinori’s jacket landed on his shoulders. He blinked with surprise and stared up at Toshinori, who crouched down to meet his level with a beaming smile. 

“Look at this,” Toshinori told him, holding up his phone for Midoriya to see, “this is a photo of you back when we first started all those months ago, my boy…” He rested a hand on his shoulder and chuckled. “And now look at you! You’ve come so far! ”

Midoriya’s smile returned. “You… really think so?”

“I do!” Toshinori affirmed. He stood upright and planted his fists on his hips. “You may still have a long road ahead of you before you’re ready to take on my full power and claim it as your own…” Then, he held his arms up and gestured to the heap that stood behind him. “But you’ve proven that you’ll be able to handle any hurdle that you come across when it comes your way! And that , young Midoriya, is what makes you a worthy successor and hero!”

A sniffle escaped Midoriya and he drew Toshinori’s coat tighter around himself. “I-I don’t know what t-to say…”

Toshinori let out a brassy laugh. “Well, my boy, I’m sure that you can—”

“Izukuuuuuuuuu!” exclaimed a shrill voice.

Startled, Toshinori turned in time to spot a woman he hadn’t seen before come barreling down the stairs and onto the beach. Her green hair was pulled back into a messy bun and her pink coat was haphazardly buttoned over a pair of lavender pajamas that were adorned with little bunny rabbits that matched her bunny slippers. After she stumbled upon hitting the sand, she looked left and right frantically before her emerald eyes locked onto Midoriya, who froze beneath her gaze. Tears practically flooded from the woman’s eyes and she charged towards them with a choked sob.

“Izuku!” she repeated, her voice breaking. She all but tackled Midoriya into a tight embrace and buried her face in Toshinori’s coat. “Honey, I was worried sick about you! You scared Mommy so bad when she couldn’t find you!”

‘Mommy?’ Toshinori thought. 

“M-Mom—” Midoriya tried to say, his eyes darting between Toshinori and the crying woman.

With a blink, Toshinori very quickly noted how Midoriya’s cheeks went scarlet red and the way his messy hair matched the woman’s. 

Oh.

His mother pulled back and slapped her hands onto the young boy’s cheeks so she could look at him. “Sweetie, why did you leave the house so early in the morning without telling me? You scared me half to death when I couldn’t find you!”

“Mom—” Midoriya sputtered out through squished lips.

“And you didn’t pick up your phone, either!” she continued. “I thought that something bad happened to you! For all I knew, you could have gotten into an accident or been kidnapped by some villains!” She squeezed his cheeks with a sniffle. “I don’t know what I’d do if someone tried to hurt my baby boy—”

“Mom!” Midoriya exclaimed, pulling her hands away from his face. “Look, I’m sorry I left without telling you, alright? I didn’t mean to scare you.” He let out a small sigh and released her hands to rest his palms on her shoulders. “I just came out here because I was working on a surprise before the exam.”

His mother blinked. “Surprise? What kind of surpr—”

Then, she went still. Her eyes widened and her head snapped left and right, as if she just noticed her surroundings. She spun around in a circle to look behind her and back to Midoriya with her mouth still agape. Before Toshinori could think of what to say or do, she screamed so loud that it almost made him jump out of his muscle form. 

“You cleared out the beach!” she exclaimed. Her lips pulled up into a bright smile and she clapped her hands excitedly. “Oh, my God, Izuku, you cleared out the whole beach by yourself!” Then, her smile dropped and her eyes widened. “Oh, my God, Izuku, you cleared out the whole beach by yourself?! Are you insane?! ”

Midoriya wilted beneath her gaze. “I-I was j-just—”

His mother gasped aloud. “Baby, where is your shirt?! ” She did a quick once over and gasped again when she landed on his feet. “Are you barefoot? Izuku, we’re on a beach, that’s so dangerous! ”

“I got hot while I was working!” Midoriya protested. “Besides, the sand got in my socks and it was rubbing my feet raw—”

“There could be glass out here!” his mother replied. “You could have cut your feet!”

‘Should…’ Toshinori thought, his head turning back and forth as each of them took turns speaking. ‘Should I stay here or…?’

“Mom, I was just trying to—” Midoriya tried to say.

“ Izuku Midoriya , you promised me you wouldn’t be keeping any more secrets!” she interjected. Secrets? What secrets was she talking about? “And today, you decided to sneak out on the day of the entrance exam without telling me just to clean up the beach?! ”

Midoriya grinned a bit sheepishly. “Would you be mad if I told you that I’ve been working on it for the past couple of months?”

She gasped. “Izuku!”

“It was supposed to be a surprise! ” Midoriya told her. “I wasn’t trying to sneak around, I just wanted to—” He let out a defeated sigh. “I just wanted to show you what I could do…”

Almost instantly, her gaze softened. “Aw… Izuku, sweetie, I think it’s nice that you wanted to finish doing your work out here on the beach.” She placed her hand on his shoulder and smiled. “I know how hard you’ve been working to clean this place these past few months…” Then, she frowned at him sternly. “But you scared me this morning. I mean, I had no idea where you were. I didn’t know if you were with All Might or—”

Toshinori was certain he tasted iron when he coughed. “What?”

Midoriya’s mother blinked and she turned quizzically to regard Toshinori. Her confusion lasted for only a moment before a gasp startled out of her throat and she clapped both of her hands over her gaping mouth, her eyes wide with shock. Midoriya, meanwhile, looked as though he wanted the world to swallow him whole and tucked himself further into Toshinori’s jacket. Unsure of what to do, Toshinori slowly lifted his hand up in a little wave.

“Hello, there!” he greeted, trying to hide his discomfort. “I don’t believe we’ve met before! I am—”

“All Might,” Midoriya cut in, his voice incredibly small, “I don’t think now’s a good time for that.”

“You’re…” she began softly, her eyes still wide. Slowly, her hands dropped down from her face and she gulped heavily. “You’re…”

“Yes!” Toshinori proclaimed, laughing a bit. He held his arms up in a flex, deciding to settle back into his public persona. “Fear not, for I am—”

“You told my son to keep a secret from me!” she exclaimed suddenly. 

Toshinori froze mid-pose. “I… beg your pardon?”

“You’re darn right you do!” Midoriya’s mother shouted, causing him to blink. She set her hands on her hips and stared up at him defiantly. “What kind of a hero tells a boy to keep a secret from his mother? I have a right to know what goes on in my son’s life, especially when his well-being comes into question!” 

“Mom—” Midoriya tried to interject.

“Not now , sweetie, Mommy is talking,” she replied, holding a hand up to silence him. While Midoriya burrowed deeper into Toshinori’s coat, she raised an accusatory finger and stared Toshinori down with such an intensity that it almost put Gran Torino’s staredown to shame. “I get that you’re the Number One Hero and the Symbol of Peace, but that doesn’t mean you can just do as you please!”

“Oh, well, I—” Toshinori began. He chuckled uncomfortably. “How, uh… How much did your son tell you—”

“Oh, I’m not done yet!” she cut in. Toshinori found himself stepping back when she took a step towards him. “It really bothers me that you would bring a change as big as giving my son a Quirk and decide that he shouldn’t tell his mother about it. While I trust in my son’s judgment and his ability to make decisions, I don’t like being kept in the dark when it comes to his safety!” Another step caused Toshinori to back up again. “And the fact that you’re so surprised that he told me only bothers me more!”

Toshinori’s hands went up as soon as his back hit the beach wall. “Now, now, I wasn’t trying to—”

“Mom!” Midoriya blurted out. It took all of Toshinori’s self control not to slump with relief when his protege stepped into his mother’s sights. “Oh, my God , can you please stop?”

The fire in her eyes dimmed a bit, but didn’t fade. “Izuku—”

“Mom, please ,” Midoriya protested, “please don’t yell at him over that, OK? I-It’s my fault for not telling you sooner… I should have told you as soon as possible.”

Despite the way his form shivered beneath Toshinori’s coat, Midoriya’s resolve was apparent. He had to be absolutely exhausted and yet, he had put himself at the epicenter of his mother’s ire to take the heat off of Toshinori and take the brunt of her anger. 

‘You truly are a brave kid, my boy,’ Toshinori mused.

Still, he also knew that his mother raised a very solid point. He hadn’t taken her into consideration when he offered his Quirk up to young Midoriya nor had he thought about the consequences of what would come once Midoriya made it into U.A. She raised the boy for his entire life and was present when it became clear he wouldn’t develop a Quirk, of course she would have questions about how he managed to acquire a power like One For All. 

The memory of all the lunches that young Midoriya would bring to their training sessions caused a weight to settle where Toshinori’s stomach used to be. Having to eat the meals his mother made for him while she was left unaware of what her son was training for was likely a cause for stress and inner conflict for the young boy, especially on top of all his training. Toshinori could only imagine how that felt; he didn’t have any parents to worry about when it came time for him to inherit One For All all those decades ago.

Resisting the urge to sigh, Toshinori placed both of his hands onto his protege’s shoulders and nudged him to the side.

“I appreciate the gesture, my boy,” Toshinori told him softly, “but… your mother has a point.” Once he was in Mrs. Midoriya’s line of sight, he bowed his head. “My apologies, ma’am… You have every right to be upset with me.” 

She blinked. “I… what?”

“It was a lapse of judgment on my part,” he continued. When Toshinori lifted his head, he placed his hand over his heart. “While I never actively encouraged your son to keep things a secret, I also didn’t encourage him to tell you, either. And for that, I do apologize.”

“All Might,” Midoriya breathed. 

Toshinori’s eyes drifted towards his protege. “I never meant to put you in such a difficult position, young Midoriya. I imagine that keeping such a secret from your mother weighed heavy on your heart.” He turned back to Mrs. Midoriya. “I never meant to come between you and your son, ma’am. I do hope you can forgive me.”

“Oh,” she said, clearly taken aback, “I…” She shook her head and resumed her glare. “You still had my son up late the night before an exam cleaning up a beach! ”

“That wasn’t his fault!” Midoriya protested. He pulled the coat around his shoulders tighter as another shiver ran through his body. “I-I did this all on my own… He only ever asked me to do that one section.”

“Trust me, I was just as surprised as you,” Toshinori told her, causing her to turn back to him, “I mean, there’s not a single speck of trash on this beach.” He nearly knocked Midoriya over when he clapped his hand down on his shoulder. “You raised quite the hard worker!”

A light hue of pink went across Mrs. Midoriya’s cheeks. “O-Oh… W-Well, I don’t know if I can take credit for that… Izuku has always been determined when it comes to his goals. That’s why he’s so intent on going to U.A.” Then, she perked up. “Oh, heavens , Izuku, your exam! You still have to get ready!”

Midoriya’s eyes practically bugged out of his head. “Oh, crap , what time is it? Do I have time to eat? Oh, I still gotta shower and make sure I don’t miss the train—”

“I can drive you two,” Toshinori offered, causing them to both turn to him, “it’d probably be quicker than walking back.” His eyes trailed over Mrs. Midoriya. “Besides, I’m sure you’re freezing in that.”

Mrs. Midoriya arched her brow in confusion before she looked down and froze. Her cheeks bloomed into a rosy shade of red and she clutched her coat tightly. “Oh, I’m still in my jammies! ” She clapped a hand over her eyes. “Of all days to look like a hot mess and I run into All Might… ”

Toshinori managed a chuckle. “Oh, you’re quite alright! You should see how I look when I first wake up in the morning!” He pulled his keys out of his pocket and jingled them. “How about we get you two home so you can get nice and ready? We’ve got a big day ahead of us!”

“R-Right,” Midoriya stammered, “lemme just grab my shoes and my shirt…”

His mother tutted. “Izuku, honestly , you’re going to catch a cold if you aren't more careful…”

As Toshinori made his way up the steps with his protege and his mother in tow, he huffed a sigh out through his nose. He was going to have to have a word with Midoriya once he got the chance. For now, however, he was going to make sure that the boy was primed and focused on the exam. 

‘It all comes down to today,’ he thought as he ascended the stairs, ‘all those months of training are finally going to culminate into this test of strength and agility.’ He managed a small chuckle. ‘Besides, after this, there’s no way that this day can go wrong.’

Chapter Text

A lot of things went wrong. 

First, Izuku lost track of time while he was working on the beach and wound up scaring his mother half to death when she couldn’t find him. As a result, he had to lay witness to his idol and mentor getting yelled at by his mother in her bunny pajama set while All Might was backed against a wall with his hands up like a kid who got caught with his hand in a cookie jar. Even though All Might had been able to take it in stride, Izuku still rode that wave of mortification for hours to come. Second, when All Might was kind enough to offer them a ride back to their apartment, Izuku and his mother very awkwardly sat in the backseat together as the Number One Hero and Symbol of Peace drove them back to the apartment. The sight of All Might’s hair pressing flat against the ceiling of his car while he sat hunched over in his driver’s seat was an image that left him in a daze as he stepped out of the car with his mother. With a beaming farewell, All Might drove off and Izuku could only wave him goodbye with a blank look on his face. 

“That was weird, right?” his mother said as soon as All Might was out of sight. 

Izuku nodded. “It was.” 

“Alright,” she affirmed, “I was just checking.”

Third, Izuku had to eat a cold breakfast. Were he and his mother not so focused on trying to get ready, he probably would have been stunned to tears over the fact that she made him a nice breakfast for his big day, but instead, both of them scarfed their food down in record time before Izuku had to hop into the shower to wash off the sweat and sand that covered his body. Even after he shook all the sand out of his boots and changed into new socks, he was certain he could feel the remnants of grit between his toes with every step he took. 

Fourth, Izuku just narrowly made it in time to U.A. and nearly tripped on his way in. A nice girl with brown hair managed to stop him with her Quirk, though, so it wasn’t exactly the worst thing to happen that day. However, hours later, it finally hit him that the fifth mishap of the day was that he hadn’t said a single word to her during their interaction at all. To make matters worse, he made an idiot out of himself in front of Kacchan on the way inside, so that became mishap #6.

Then, for mishap #7, as Izuku was getting ready for his written exam, his thoughts found their way out of his mouth and into the ears of his peers without meaning to, gaining the ire of a fellow test-goer. Izuku’s ears still burned at the thought of the nearly six-foot student staring him down and scolding him in front of everyone, including Kacchan and that nice girl he ran into. He would later have the misfortune of getting scolded again by that same student before the physical test began, which became the preamble to mishap #8, where he fumbled on his start into the exam.

Despite that, however, Izuku was not going to allow himself to be deterred. He had spent far too long training with All Might and working alongside his mother to allow all of his efforts to go to waste, especially during a day as pivotal as the exam. Months ago, he likely wouldn't have stood a chance up against the arsenal of robots that U.A. had sent his way were it not for the support of his mentor and mother throughout the changing seasons. So, with tired feet that couldn't rid themselves of the gritty sand between their toes and aching shoulders that had no business hauling heavy items so early in the morning, Izuku pushed ahead. 

He'd be lying if he said that he kept track of how many robots he took down during his run. Driven by pure adrenaline and caffeine, the foes all began to blur into one another with every single flick and punch he sent their way. Besides, even if he were trying to keep track of all the points that he had accumulated, he was certain that he would have lost count the second that he came across the behemoth that left its shadow across the makeshift cityscape. Even the skyscrapers were no match for the pure destructive qualities of those mechanical beasts, their mere movements to advance forward tearing the streets and buildings asunder. Perhaps that had been why, despite his insomnia-driven fearlessness, Izuku found himself turning tail to run from the robots alongside the rest of his fellow examinees. 

'I just need to focus on the ones with points,' he remembered telling himself, 'it's not worth it to go up against that thing.'

Then, his feet came to a still when he heard a voice cry out in pain. He whipped around and his heaving, sweaty body felt as though it turned into ice upon seeing a familiar head of brown hair. Trapped beneath debris, his heart leaped into his throat when he recognized the sweet face of the girl who had saved him from face-planting just moments before coming into his dream school. His mind screamed at him to run, to turn back around and run, that U.A. wouldn't let a student die for the sake of an exam-- but those shouts were drowned out by the pounding of his feet across the pavement. 

When his fist first made contact with the Executor, his lips had spread into the most incredulous smile as the metal crumpled beneath his knuckles. That had approximately lasted for a total of five seconds as his eyes trailed down to his fist and, with a shuddering gasp, found his sleeves destroyed. He didn't even have the grace of mourning the loss of one of his favorite track suits when he registered just much pain he was in. That was what led him to realize that he had come just shy of rounding out his long morning of mistakes and misfortune with his ninth mishap of the day: Breaking a majority of his bones and nearly dying in front of everyone. 

Then, as his limp body drew closer and closer to the debris-covered cityscape below, a harsh slap across the face snapped him out of his teary prayers for survival. His momentum slowed to a still and he peered out with blurry vision to see that same girl, floating in the air just a couple yards from him. She shakingly brought her hands together and uttered a word that he couldn't quite hear. Gravity quickly took hold and the both of them fell to the ground, his savior falling into a slumped pile on top of the Executor's now-severed artillery. Izuku willed his upper body up from the gravel with his good arm and sucked in a gulping breath in an attempt to stifle the pain. He wanted to find something, anything to say to thank his guardian angel for saving him, and opened his mouth:

"I really scrambled my egg, didn't I?" he blurted out instead. 

Instead of responding, his savior ducked her head down and retched into her hands. Overtaken by equal parts of immense pain and incredible shame, Izuku fell facedown onto the pavement. 

All in all, it wasn’t exactly how he wanted his day to go. 

So, one could only imagine how he felt while he sat in his living room a week later, trying not to let his thoughts get the better of him as he squeezed a grip strengthener absentmindedly. His mother flitted to and fro around the house to keep busy while he sat still on the couch and stared at the wall for an indiscernible amount of time. She was naturally very concerned when she found out he got hurt after the exam and burst into tears when she saw his arms wrapped up in bandages when he came home that afternoon, and ever since then, she had been worried and fretful. He assumed that she was trying to bide her time by being productive, which only made him feel even more useless. He could hardly focus on anything without his mind circling back to the exam and the inevitable rejection that would come as soon as his letter came.

‘I wonder how All Might is handling it,’ Izuku mused, ‘I haven’t seen him since that morning…’

He couldn’t imagine that All Might was pleased with his performance. After all that time and work, he just had to go and mess it up on the day of the test, didn’t he? It was just his luck for things to go wrong like that. Although All Might had sent him texts of reassurances and told him when they’d be free to meet up again, Izuku found it hard to respond to his messages. How was he supposed to face him after he failed both of them? 

‘But I couldn’t just leave that girl there…’ Izuku thought. With a sigh, he set down his grip strengthener and picked up one of his weights to start lifting. ‘What good would passing have done if I had just left her?’

The image of the girl’s pained expression as she struggled to escape the debris was enough to cause a weight to settle at the pit of Izuku’s stomach when it came to the forefront of his mind. It would have been so easy for him to turn and run in a last ditch effort to gain some points, but his heart got the better of him in the end, so he threw all caution to the wind and ran towards her before he realized it. He couldn’t bear to see someone in pain like that and not do something about it, not when he finally could fight back with the power All Might gave him. He knew more than anyone just how scary it was to be rendered helpless and unable to do anything but pray for someone to come save him; were it not for All Might, he could have been killed by the sludge villain, never to be seen or heard from again.

Kacchan’s wide, terrified eyes flashed across his mind, causing him to nearly drop his weight. Izuku closed his eyes and inhaled deeply through his nose. What good was his power if he couldn’t control it? He saved that girl just like All Might saved Kacchan, but it wound up breaking everything inside of him in the process. How was he supposed to measure up to his mentor if he couldn’t throw a punch without hurting himself? 

“Sweetie?” his mother said softly, breaking him out of his thoughts. Izuku turned to see her standing nearby with a duster in hand. “Are you feeling alright?”

Izuku almost put on a smile. However, as he tried to, his eyes fell downcast and he frowned instead. “Not really, no.”

“Oh, honey,” she replied. His mother set the duster down on the coffee table and took a seat beside him on the couch. “I know you feel pretty disappointed right now… You worked so hard these past few months to train for the exam and it didn’t go how you planned.”

He managed a snort. “Yeah… I wound up going way over what I could handle.” Izuku plopped back against the couch. “I let the egg explode.” 

“You just turned the wattage up a bit higher than you meant to,” she told him, which nearly made him smile. He liked that he didn’t have to explain his metaphors or thought process to her; she just understood. “But just because you made a mess doesn’t mean you can’t clean it up and start over.”

“I made a pretty big mess,” Izuku responded. He leaned back and closed his eyes. “I wound up with egg all over my face.”

It was his mother’s turn to snort. “Well, for what it’s worth, I still think you’re pretty cool. It takes a lot of courage to do what you did and I’m very proud of you for seeing it through, even if it didn’t go the way you wanted it to.” She tapped him on the nose, causing him to open his eyes and look at her. “And I bet All Might is proud of you, too, sweetie.”

Izuku smiled weakly. “You think so?”

“I know so,” Inko replied, nudging him playfully. Then, her eyes softened. “I know that it’s probably embarrassing to hear from your mom, but I am really, really proud of you Izuku. You’re doing something amazing and…” She sniffled. “I’m really happy for you.”

Izuku blinked. “Mom…”

“Sorry,” she said, bringing her hand to her eyes as they welled up, “I didn’t mean to get emotional… But I still mean it, sweetie. I am proud of what you’re doing.” She put her hands on his shoulders and gave him a warbling smile. “It feels like just yesterday that you were running around the house in your little All Might onesie.” 

“Mom!” Izuku protested, his cheeks burning.

“Oh, relax , it’s not like I’m gonna go and tell All Might about that!” she exclaimed with a laugh. Her smile faltered a bit. “But, I am proud of you, Izuku. I wish I made that more clear sometimes.”

As he tried to ignore the sting in his eyes, Izuku smiled back at her. “I already know you are.”

Her bottom lip warbled and before Izuku could process it, she pulled him flushed to her chest in a fierce hug. A sob broke past her lips and she hugged him tighter. 

“I can’t wait to see what you do as a hero,” she whispered, sniffling a bit, “you’re gonna be amazing , Izuku.”

Izuku could feel a lump start to rise in his throat and he leaned into her hug. “Thanks, Mom.”

She pulled away to look at him and Izuku saw the tears rolling down her cheeks. “Sorry for falling apart… That’s probably not the energy you need right now.” His mother swiped at her cheek fiercely with a watery chuckle. “I should probably go grab the mail. The sales circulars are supposed to be coming in today.”

With one more gentle squeeze on his shoulders, Izuku’s mother got off the couch and departed shortly after. As soon as she was out of the room, his smile started to drop. Even if he managed to get into a different hero school sometime down the line, U.A. had always been his dream school since he was just a little kid and he couldn’t imagine going anywhere else. He let out a weak sigh and slumped back against the couch.

‘I’m sorry, All Might,’ he thought, ‘I really messed things up…’

Then, the door to the living room opened up and Izuku turned in time to see his mother drop to the floor frantically. “ A letter! Izuku, they came, Izuku, look!” She held up a white envelope. “You got a letter! ”

Izuku froze when he spotted the red wax seal. “Is that…”

“They’re here!” she exclaimed, still panicked. His mother shot up from the ground in a hurry and scrambled over to him. “Your test results from U.A.!”

Still frozen, Izuku stared as his mother drew closer with the envelope in hand. With shaking hands, he took the envelope from her, fearful of what was inside. 

“Do you want to open it by yourself?” she asked, noting his hesitation. 

“I…” he began, stopping to swallow. Then, as he looked into his mother’s eyes, he shook his head. “No. Let’s open it together.”

She blinked, but after a moment, she smiled. “Alright… We’ll do it together.” 

Izuku offered the other half of the envelope to her and met her gaze as she took it. He gave her a shaky nod.

“On the count of three,” she told him, gripping her end tightly, “one…”

“Two…” Izuku drawled, still not sure if he was ready. Then, he closed his eyes and prepared himself to pull. 

“Three!”

* * *

It was times like this that Toshinori became fundamentally aware of how out of his depth he was when it came to teaching. As a student, all he had to do was enter with an open mind and heart, then let his teachers right whatever he got wrong in the process. However, after he saw young Midoriya take down that behemoth of a robot during the entrance exam and fall to a crumpled heap to the ground, Toshinori realized that being the one to right the wrongs was far more challenging than he had realized. After all those months of work, his young protege lost control and wound up hurting himself so badly that Recovery Girl was left stunned.

So, one could only imagine how he felt while he sat alone in Nedzu’s office a week later, trying not to let his thoughts get the better of him as he drank the tea Nedzu’s secretary brought him. His associate was busy at the moment, likely tending to all the preparations that were to come with the coming school semester. That, and he might have been trying to distract himself like Toshinori had been for the past week. Alongside Toshinori, Nedzu had been present for the entrance exam and saw Midoriya’s performance firsthand, his shock nearly causing him to drop his teacup as the young boy launched off into the air and took down the Executor model with a single hit. His elation only lasted for a moment, however, when he watched alongside Toshinori as Midoriya came falling down with his limbs practically destroyed and nearly hit the ground before one of the test-goers stopped him with her anti-gravity Quirk. They both stared in stunned silence as the time ran out and Midoriya simply passed out on the pavement to be hauled off by Recovery Girl, and ever since then, Toshinori had been trying to keep himself busy so that he wouldn’t have to let his mind circle back to the exam and its results. 

‘I wonder how young Midoriya is handling it,’ Toshinori mused, ‘I haven’t seen him since that morning…’

He couldn’t imagine that the boy was pleased with his performance. After all that time and work, Toshinori had still dropped the ball, hadn’t he? It was just his luck for things to go wrong like that. Although Toshinori had sent him messages to reassure him and try to plan a time to meet up with him again, Midoriya had yet to respond to his messages, which he supposed he couldn’t blame him for. How was he supposed to face the young boy after he failed both of them? 

‘But he couldn’t just leave that girl there…’ Toshinori thought. With a sigh, he set down his cup and picked up one of the napkins to dab his lips. ‘What good would passing have done if he had just left her?’

The image of his protege’s pained expression as he struggled to get up was enough to cause a weight to settle at the pit of Toshinori’s stomach when it came to the forefront of his mind. Even despite all the pain that he was feeling and how broken his entire body was, the young boy just didn’t know when to quit. Had he been more prepared, he might have been able to land some more points, but Toshinori’s instruction had ultimately failed him. 

“I know what it’s like to be helpless,” Midoriya’s voice echoed in his head, “to not be able to save the people you care about…” The flash of sadness in his eyes brought forth a twinge of pain in Toshinori’s chest. “And I don’t want anyone to ever feel the way I did during those times.”

The memory of the young boy who was held in the sludge villain’s clutches flashed across his mind, causing him to crumple his napkin up in his hand without meaning to. Toshinori closed his eyes and inhaled deeply through his nose. What good was his power if he couldn’t use it when he needed to? It was his fault for being so reckless and letting the sludge villain fall out of his custody in the first place. He saved that boy from the villain, but it wound up costing him less time on his hero form in the process. How was he supposed to measure up as a mentor if he couldn’t even save someone without destroying part of himself in the process?

“All Might?” Nedzu said, breaking him out of his thoughts. Toshinori looked up to see him take a seat back at the chair across from him. Had he come in without Toshinori hearing? “You said you wanted to speak with me. Something on your mind?”

Toshinori huffed out a sigh. “I suppose so.”

“I see,” Nedzu replied. He leaned forward and set his own cup of tea down. “You’re worried about your protege’s performance on the entrance exam, aren’t you? It didn’t exactly go as planned.”

A snort escaped Toshinori. “It really didn’t…” He leaned back in his chair with a sigh. “He let the egg explode.” 

Nedzu arched his brow. “What?”

“Nothing,” Toshinori amended, “it’s just… it’s just a metaphor young Midoriya started using for One For All.” He closed his eyes with a frown. “And after all that work we did together, he wound up hurting himself. God, he must be so disappointed in himself…”  

“Oh, All Might,” Nedzu chided, “you’re being too hard on him.” 

“I’m not ,” Toshinori countered, his tone holding far more sharp than he meant it to be. With a sigh, he put a hand over his eyes. “I’m not angry with him… I’m angry with myself .”

Nedzu’s gaze softened. “You feel like you failed him.”

“I’m his teacher , Nedzu,” Toshinori stressed, dropping his hand to look at him, “it’s my job to instruct him and set him right, but… How am I supposed to offer him aid when it’s my shortcomings that got him hurt?” He pursed his lips. “If Recovery Girl wasn’t there…”

“Now, now, don’t you go down that road,” Nedzu told him, his tone firm, but not unkind, “you’ll drive yourself mad if you keep asking yourself all the things that could have gone wrong.”

Toshinori frowned. “But things did go wrong, Nedzu… really, really wrong. And on the day of the entrance exam, no less.” He closed his eyes and leaned back in his chair. “How am I supposed to be a teacher to an entire class of hero students if I can barely handle one student? It’s my fault that Midoriya won’t make it in—”

“Who said he wouldn’t make it in?” Nedzu interjected suddenly.

Almost instantly, Toshinori went still. He stared at Nedzu’s face in bewilderment, unsure of what to say or do until the full weight of his words sunk in. 

“Nedzu,” Toshinori breathed, “Nedzu, don’t tell me you let him in because of me .”

Aghast, Nedzu’s paw went to his chest. “ All Might! I can’t believe you’d assume such a thing about me! And after all we’ve been through!”

Toshinori wasn’t convinced. “How could he have possibly passed? I-I know he scored his share of combat points, but he broke his arms and legs in the process. Surely such an injury disqualifies him from being considered for entry?”

“‘Disqualifies him from being considered for entry?’” Nedzu repeated. A chuckle rumbled out of him. “Oh, All Might… Did you really think that we’d only grade examinees on their combat abilities?” 

“There… were other elements to the exam?” Toshinori questioned. He furrowed his brows. “Like what?”

“Think, All Might,” Nedzu told him, and the smile on his face caused Toshinori’s irritation to rise. Why did he always have to make everything into a guessing game? “What kind of things do we cover during the hero program here at U.A.?”

Toshinori’s lips drew into a thin line. Taking into account the litany of things that he covered throughout his three years at U.A., there were a lot of things that could have been the answer. Combat was a thing, sure, but Quirk assessment was a core factor in a lot of exercises and simulations. That wasn’t even taking into account the different scenarios that they had to run through to prepare themselves for disasters, like search and rescue—

Then, the lightbulb lit up over his head. 

“You mean…” Toshinori began, his eyes wide.

The smile on Nedzu’s face only grew. “Now what kind of a hero school would we be if we rejected a student that has committed himself towards saving others, no matter the cost to himself?” His eyes closed blithely. “After all, that’s part of what makes you such a good hero, All Might.”

The image of Midoriya leaping up into the air with his fist raised flashed across Toshinori’s mind. His shaking hand went to his lips with shock and he could only stare at Nedzu with wide eyes, his words eluding him. 

“You may have seen the panel of judges for combat,” Nedzu continued, “but we also had a panel of judges for rescue.” He opened his eyes to meet Toshinori’s wide-eyed gaze. “And your boy got tens all across the board.”

“Did…” Toshinori said, his voice small. He swallowed hard and dropped his hand from his face. “Was that enough for him to pass?”

Then, his phone rang loudly. Blinking, Toshinori pulled his phone out and was startled to see “Young Midoriya” pop up on his screen. He looked up to Nedzu, who gave him a nod.

“If I’m to guess by the look on your face, then young Midoriya is calling you,” Nedzu stated. He nodded again. “Now why don’t you see what he has to say about the letter he got today?” 

With a swallow, Toshinori tapped the “answer” button and brought his phone to his ear. “Hello—”

“I got in!” Midoriya screamed, causing him to jump in his seat. A choked sob garbled its way out of his phone speaker. “All Might, I got in!”

“My baby is going to U.A.!” he heard Mrs. Midoriya cry out in the background. “You’re going to your dream school!”

An unexpected sting came to Toshinori’s eyes and he let out a shuddering breath. He hadn’t realized just how heavy the weight on his chest had been until it was finally lifted in that single moment. He had done it. Despite all odds, the boy had actually done it . 

“Congratulations, my boy,” Toshinori finally said, unable to stop himself from smiling “you’re a part of the hero academia.”

* * *

A lot of things went wrong. 

First, the hag barged into Katsuki’s room while he was in the middle of getting ready and knocked him off his routine to yell at him to get up. That led to a shouting match that caused him to lose track of the time and bring on another bout of screaming that his father had to break up with the reminder that Katsuki still needed to get ready. Even though he was silently thankful that his father managed to step in to keep things from escalating further, Katsuki still rode that wave of anger for hours to come. Second, when Katsuki finally did manage to get his things ready, he realized that he left his favorite pair of headphones in his pants and found out too late that they had been run through the wash. Much to his frustration, the sound of his favorite playlist became garbled with static, meaning he would have to suffer through his trip down to U.A. while listening to the sounds of the train and strangers. Third, his mother scolded him for failing to take care of his things and complained about how she would have to buy him a new pair as he shoveled his breakfast into his mouth, trying his best to ignore her. 

Fourth, stupid Deku showed up to the entrance exam in his school uniform to show off that Katsuki wasn’t the only one from Aldera Junior High that was trying out for the school. Katsuki should have figured that the stubborn little worm wouldn’t leave well enough alone and decided to make his life hell, but it was still annoying nonetheless. As Katsuki made his way past that bumbling idiot, he encountered annoyance #5 when some stupid extras recognized him from the sludge villain attack and he nearly blew a gasket over it. He already had to put up with people staring at him everywhere else and stupid Deku just made it worse by calling attention to the both of them. 

Sixth, Deku wouldn’t shut his stupid mouth until some nerd from another school stood up and told him to can it. Were Katsuki not so annoyed, he almost would have been pleased to see that whelps like Deku weren’t welcome at other schools and that he would have been dealt with similarly to how Aldera’s populace handled him. Still, the fact that the nerd showed up was enough to annoy Katsuki to the point that he struggled to focus on his exam and wound up blanking on some questions despite all the hours of prep work he had done to get ready. Annoyance #7 was the knowledge that it would definitely be reflected in his score, which he couldn’t change at all. 

Then, for annoyance #8, as Katsuki was getting ready for the physical exam, all the other extras started paying attention to stupid Deku again when he gained the ire of that nerd from before. Everyone laughed and made jokes at his expense, which only made Katsuki more frustrated. If everyone else could see what a pathetic loser he was, then what did it mean for Katsuki that the damn nerd thought he was on the same level as him? His irritation became the preamble to his annoyance #9, where he failed to immediately take the lead because he let himself get distracted and lost focus on the goal at hand. 

Finally, rounding out his long morning of irritation and aggravation, it was all topped off with annoyance #10: Deku somehow managing to pass the entrance exam and getting into U.A. like Katsuki. 

All in all, it was the exact opposite of how Katsuki wanted his day to go. 

He didn’t care that he got into U.A. He didn’t care that he scored higher than he thought and landed first place in the hero course division. He didn’t care that his mother and father were proud of him. Because none of it, absolutely none of it mattered when that goddamn nerd made it in, too. He didn’t know how that nerd was lucky enough to make it in or what he did to convince the top hero school in Japan that he was somehow on the same level as someone like All Might or even Katsuki. All he did know was that Deku had managed to undermine him in the one thing that he thought he never could.

Katsuki ignored the gasp of pain Deku let out as soon as his back hit the wall. He gave him no reprieve and grabbed him by the collar to slam him back into the wall, his teeth grit with anger. 

“What’d you do to pass the exam?” Katsuki demanded. “You must’ve cheated somehow, right?” When Deku’s answer was a shuddering breath, he slammed him into the wall again. “ I’m supposed to be the first and only student from this crappy school to get into U.A., but you had to go and screw all that up!” For added measure, he pushed Deku back into the wall more firmly. “I warned you not to apply!” 

He was always trying to one-up him, always trying to undermine every damn thing he did. He had done it since they were kids and people just kept letting him get away with it. His own mother pitied the damn nerd and even had the gall to tell Katsuki to be more like him. Anytime he would try to argue and tell her he didn’t want to be Deku’s friend, she would rebuke him because “he already has it hard enough,” and “why can’t you just be nice to him?” It gave the nerd a complex where he felt he could get away with anything because people would always feel sorry for him and as result, Deku had yet to come to terms with the simple fact that there was no way in heaven or hell that he would ever be able to come close to All Might. So he kept trying and trying and trying , and in the end, all he did was show Katsuki just how worthless and pathetic he was. Why did Deku have to make a fool out of him by applying? Why did he have to make Katsuki look so damn weak?  

He went still when a hand gripped his wrist. Startled, he looked down and saw Deku’s hand wrapped around it. 

“Kacchan,” Deku said, and were Katsuki not so angry to hear him use that stupid nickname, he likely would have been startled to hear the resolve in his voice, “someone I look up to told me… That I can become a hero.”

Almost instantly, Auntie Inko’s face came to the forefront of Katsuki’s mind and it caused his grip to weaken. 

“ That’s why I applied,” Deku continued, “ that’s why I’m going.”

Then, as he lifted his head up, Katsuki went still. His emerald eyes shone with a determination and fire that he hadn’t seen before, giving him pause. Deku grit his teeth and held Katsuki’s wrist with a steely resolve that actually hurt . 

“Like it or not ,” Deku proclaimed, his voice rising, “you can’t stop me!” Katsuki’s eyes widened when he wrenched his hand off of his collar. “I had to fight to get into U.A., Kacchan… And I’m going to keep fighting until I become the Number One Hero!” Then, to Katsuki’s absolute shock, he smiled at him. “My egg isn’t cooked yet! ”

“What?” Katsuki blurted out. 

Deku blinked, and just like that, the fire was gone. Scarlet spread across his freckled cheeks and he let go of Katsuki. “I… What I meant was…” He straightened up and practically darted past Katsuki, who was still stunned. “I gotta go!”

Before Katsuki could even think of how to respond, Deku was out of sight. With another surprised blink, he stared at the wall for what felt like an eternity, his anger and frustration completely gone from his mind. Then, with a scoff, he turned to face where Deku ran off to. 

“Oh, your egg is gonna get cooked alright,” he snarled to himself. Katsuki raised his hand and watched as an explosion sparked from his palm. “I’ll make sure of it.”

Chapter Text

U.A. was a lot more intense than Izuku was expecting. He supposed that with his luck, he shouldn’t have been surprised to run into Kacchan and the tall first year who scolded him before both the written and physical exam. He supposed that with his luck, he shouldn’t have been surprised to gain the ire of his homeroom teacher by talking to the nice girl from the day of the entrance exam. He supposed that with his luck, he shouldn’t have been surprised that his class wouldn’t be attending orientation and would be thrust into an intense Quirk Assessment test that would end in the expulsion of whichever student landed in last place.

Logistically, Izuku knew that he should be ready to take on whatever Sensei Aizawa threw his way. Even without the months of training that he and All Might put into training his body, he had One For All in his arsenal now. Surely he could handle whatever trials laid ahead of him, right?

Except, he wasn’t sure he could. Not after he flubbed it at the exam and broke his limbs in front of everyone to see. Despite the additional training that he had done and how much he had practiced with no mistakes, Izuku still couldn’t ignore the voice at the back of his mind that kept telling him he would mess up again. So, as he rocked on his feet back and forth before the tests began, he hoped and prayed that his strength and endurance training would be enough to keep him above last place. 

Then, as each test passed by, those toxic thoughts only grew louder. Kacchan breezed past him like it was nothing during their sprint and nearly knocked him back with his explosions while Izuku tried not to exhaust himself. That alone seemed to set the tone for each of the tests, as everyone else’s Quirks granted them advantages while Izuku’s remained dormant. His temptation to use One For All during the long jump was dead in the water upon remembering how his running leap during the entrance exam had been instrumental in the destruction of his limbs, so he wound up fumbling during his jump. He nearly summoned it to his hands during the grip test before the image of his broken and bruised hand flashed across his mind and he had to stop just to calm down until he could continue. It didn’t matter that he was stronger and faster than he was at the beginning of middle school, because there was always, always someone that was better than him.

‘Don’t pay them any mind,’ he told himself, trying to latch onto All Might’s words, ‘you’re still playing catch up.’

All Might had been considerably understanding whenever they met up the day after he got his results. He assured Izuku that it was his own efforts that got him into U.A. and that he didn’t pull any strings whatsoever, which caused a weight he hadn’t realized he’d been carrying to fall off of his shoulders. He was just as stunned to find out that All Might hadn’t known what the results would yield, either.

“You did that all on your own, kid,” All Might told him, “and while it may not have gone as planned, it at least gives us something to work with.” He smiled down at Izuku and set his hand down on his shoulder. “Your egg isn’t cooked yet, kiddo.”

Still, those words did little to assuage his anxieties when he finally made it to the pitching test. As always, Kacchan had blown everyone out of the water during the demonstration of his abilities, which only showed the distance that was still between them both. Even if he could be a bit loud about it, Izuku knew that he could walk the walk behind his talk and show up anybody who dared to tell him otherwise. It was part of what was going to make him such a wonderful hero.

“One foot after the other and you’ll get there in due time,” his mother’s voice echoed in his head. 

‘One foot after the other,’ he repeated silently, ‘one foot after the other and I’ll get there.’

Izuku ignored the way his stomach churned as he stood at the plate. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, willing himself to ignore the stares and quiet whispers of his classmates. The way the dirt shifted beneath his feet reminded him of the sands of Takoba, allowing him to bring his mind away from U.A. and back to the sandy beach that had become home to his training. It was there that he was given One For All and proved his merit by clearing out the entire beach with his own strength to aid him in the process. Even though he wasn’t there with him, he could feel All Might’s presence as if he were standing right behind him at the pitcher’s spot. 

“There’s a difference between being lucky and being deserving!” All Might’s voice boomed in his head. “One is an accident, but the other is a reward!” The memory of his beaming smile brought one to Izuku’s lips. “Never get the two confused. Take that to heart, young man!”

Izuku opened his eyes and stared down the field before him with determination. The familiar heat of One For All spread down to his arm and he wound up for the pitch, poised to throw it as far as he could and then…

The ball landed within his sights.

“46 meters!” the device exclaims, loud and clear.

With wide eyes, Izuku stood upright and stared down at his hand. “W-What…?” 

“I erased your Quirk,” Sensei Aizawa proclaimed, and instantly, Izuku turned to see his scarf unfurl around him. His eyes glowed a deep red that seemed to bore endlessly into Izuku as he stood there in stunned silence. “The judges for this exam were not rational enough. Someone like you should never be allowed to enroll at this school.”

Izuku’s hands started to shake. Were he not so frightened at the fact that his Quirk was taken away so suddenly, he might have winced at the insult. It wasn’t until he spotted the goggles that laid around his neck that it finally hit him. 

‘Eraserhead,’ he thought, the tremor in his hands growing stronger, ‘he can cancel out anyone’s Quirk just by looking at them.’

“You can’t control your Quirk at all, can you?” Sensei Aizawa accused. His stare caused a weight to settle at the pit of Izuku’s stomach. “Were you planning on breaking your bones again? Planning on someone to save you from your mistakes?”

Izuku finally found his voice. “N-No! I-I wasn’t going to—”

Before he knew it, he was wrapped up in Aizawa’s scarf and dragged towards him. Upon coming face to face with his teacher up close and personal, his heart dropped. The same expression of disdain and annoyance that all of his teachers showed towards him throughout the years was plastered over his face and just like that, Izuku was no longer a student at U.A. Instead, he was back at Aldera, under the scrutiny of his teachers and peers. 

“Don’t get your hopes up, kid,” said Sensei Abiko back in elementary school. 

“You wouldn’t last a day,” asserted Sensei Chidori from his daycare. 

“You’ll be worthless as a hero,” proclaimed Sensei Azume during middle school.

Each one of their faces took the place of Aizawa’s at that moment, leaving Izuku frozen. His teacher’s voice felt so far away as he tried to fight back the lump that began to form in his throat and blinked back the tears he feared were coming. 

“I’m sorry to say it, Izuku Midoriya,” Aizawa said definitively, breaking Izuku out of his panicked thoughts, “but with a power like that, you’ll never become a hero.”

Izuku wished he could think he was wrong. However, as Aizawa started to unravel his scarf from around him, he couldn’t find a way to combat his words. The voices of all his teachers came flooding back into his head at full force and left his entire body shaking. His peers all watched him with quiet stares, which only made him feel even more alone. 

“I’ve returned your impractical Quirk,” Aizawa told him, stepping back, “take your final throw. Hurry up and get it over with.”

Izuku’s shoulder slumped as he looked down. He had come to U.A. in hopes of things being different for him, but just like that, he was back to where he was all over again. No one was in his corner and no one believed in him. 

“I know you’re not ready to give up after that,” All Might’s voice echoed in his head. The memory of him smiling at him back at Takoba caused Izuku’s fists to clench subconsciously. 

“My baby’s going to be a hero!” his mother’s voice cried out shortly after. Even then, Izuku could still feel the way her arms came around him as she tried to pick him up through choked sobs. 

“You’ve proven that you’ll be able to handle any hurdle that you come across when it comes your way,” All Might proclaimed, and with it, Izuku’s heart started to lift, “and that, young Midoriya, is what makes you a worthy successor and hero!”

“My egg isn’t cooked yet,” Izuku murmured quietly.

Aizawa paused, then turned to look at him. “What’d you say?”

Izuku looked up to meet the gaze of his teacher and classmates head-on. “I said my egg isn’t cooked yet!” 

A look akin to surprise spread across his teacher’s face. “What?”

That… Well, it sounded a lot cooler in his head and he was certain he heard Kacchan sputter somewhere amongst his stunned classmates, but he couldn’t find it in him to care. His eyes locked with Aizawa’s and he clenched his fists at his side as he walked over to grab another ball. Their shared gaze only broke when Izuku finally returned to the pitching circle. 

‘Almost all of my teachers have said the exact same thing you have,’ Izuku thought, staring him down, ‘and for the longest time, I believed them.’ Then, All Might’s smile flashed across his mind and he found himself smiling, too. ‘But then I found someone who believed in me…’ His mother’s face appeared next and he practically beamed. ‘And he’s not the only one.’

Izuku readied his arm for the pitch and felt the heat of One For All make its way down his arm. Despite his conviction, he still wasn’t sure if he could trust himself not to lose control like he did at the entrance exam. If he blew his arm out during his swing in the event he messed up, then he was going to have to forfeit the rest of the events and risk falling into last place regardless…

His smile only grew. Besides, if he flubbed it, what was a broken finger compared to a broken arm?

* * *

Shouta wasn’t sure what the most surprising thing about Midoriya’s throw was. At first, he would have said it was the strange proclamation the kid made before he got another ball. Then, he would have said it was the fact that the kid chose to use his Quirk at all. After the throw was done and over with, though, he could argue that it was the fact he only came out of it with a broken finger instead of all his limbs. 

‘Well, well,’ Shouta thought, ‘that was quite the development.’

But, most surprising of all was how Midoriya smiled at him afterward. He had to be in an intense amount of pain and yet there he stood, smiling as if he won the lottery. His fingers curled into a fist and he stared Shouta down with tears in his eyes.

“You see, Sensei?” Midoriya said, grinning through his wince. “My egg isn’t cooked yet!”

Still, that hadn’t been enough to save him from earning last place in the assessment at the end of it all. The display of power and quick-thinking had been good, sure, but that wasn’t going to win him any accolades at U.A. Shouta would suppose it was a good thing he never planned on expelling any of the students in the first place. He’d never grow tired of the way that all of his students would exclaim and cry out upon hearing that; it was one of the highlights of his job. 

With a simple dismissal and instruction to grab a syllabus from the classroom, Shouta dropped a nurse pass off into Midoriya’s hand before he made his way off the training grounds. Since the first week of the school year was always the hardest on him, he was sure to be dead asleep by the time he made it to the teacher’s lounge and likely wouldn’t wake up until Hizashi dropped by to take them both home. 

‘Enjoy it while it lasts,’ he thought to himself as he rounded the corner of the building, ‘you’ll be up to your nose in papers to grade sooner or later.’ 

“Aizawa, that was a rotten move,” said an unexpected voice.

Holding back the urge to sigh, Shouta turned in time to come face to face with a stranger. He blinked slowly and took in the full sight of him from the bottom up, from his large, brown loafers to his clearly oversized black suit up to his messy head of blond hair. His lips were drawn into a thin line and his brows were furrowed as he stared Shouta down. 

“And you are?” Shouta asked. 

The stranger blinked, then looked down at himself as if for the first time. When his eyes met with Shouta’s again, he straightened up and cleared his throat. 

“Pardon me,” he said, smoothing out the bottom of his large blazer, “I’m Yagi. I’m a new faculty member here at U.A.”

Shouta arched his brow. “And just what are you doing here on the training grounds? Are you an assistant or something?”

Yagi frowned. “No. I’m a teacher, like you.” 

“I see,” Shouta replied. Was he a Pro? He didn’t look like anyone he recognized. He must have been someone’s sidekick or something. “So you were watching the students during the assessment. Trying to get a feel and find out what to expect from them?”

“I was,” Yagi affirmed, “and I also saw that little stunt you pulled with the first years.” The slouching man crossed his arms over his chest and let out a small huff. “‘A rational deception,’ eh? That’s cute, but you’re not exactly known for being light-hearted now, are you, Aizawa?”

Shouta almost had it in him to scoff. “Meaning?”

“While I was doing some reading to prepare for the school year, I read your file,” Yagi told him, and were Shouta not so tired, he might have shown some hint of surprise, “last year, you expelled an entire class of freshman students.” His gaze intensified. “You clearly have no trouble kicking out students if you deem them unworthy.”

“Your point?” Shouta questioned.

“You were planning on sending last place home,” Yagi accused, his tone sharp, “but you chose not to.” He arched a brow. “Why is that? You clearly didn’t seem to think that young Midoriya measured up to your standards.”

It was Shouta’s turn to arch his brow. “What is this about? Were you rooting for him or something?” Yagi blinked, clearly taken aback by his response. Oh, had that touched a nerve? “You know, I think it’s a bit too early in the year for you to be picking favorites, newbie.”

Yagi’s shock faded into irritation. “I’m not picking favorites, I’m just—”

“Interrogating me on how I teach my students?” Shouta interjected. He snorted and got ready to turn away from Yagi. “Well, if you’re curious , I’ll admit that the kid doesn’t have zero potential. If not, I would have sent him home after class without hesitation.” He started to step away. “It’s cruel to let a kid keep dreaming about something that will never come true.” 

“And what makes you such a good judge of that?” Yagi countered, causing him to pause in his step. “Just what exactly are you trying to accomplish?”

Shouta barely turned to regard him over his shoulder. “Do you know why so many students try out for U.A.?”

Yagi’s brows furrowed, though he didn’t lose his resolve. “Because it’s the top hero school in Japan.”

“No,” Shouta answered, causing the frail man to blink, “it’s because when people think of U.A., they think of Pro Heroes like All Might. He was a student here at U.A. and went on to become a hero, one that saved over a thousand people by himself and became a legend.” He couldn’t stop himself from grimacing at the memory of the Symbol of Peace’s ever-present smile. “He created an ideal of perfection that many people look up to and can only hope to aspire to.” 

But people were not infallible, Shouta knew. Everyone is capable of making mistakes and as a Pro, the cost could be deadly. He knew that more than anyone. 

“I’ve learned to recognize people’s intentions when they come to U.A. to be a hero,” Shouta continued, “there are those who genuinely want to make a change…” His eyes trailed back over towards the training grounds, lingering a bit on the pitching area.  “And then there are those who are overzealous and idealistic like All Might.” His gaze returned to Yagi. “Midoriya seems to fall into the latter.” 

Yagi stared at him for a long moment, his mouth falling agape. He seemed to struggle with what to say back to Shouta, but whatever it was, it was probably just another retort that would keep him from his nap. 

“It’s like I told him,” Shouta said, snapping Yagi out of his stare, “no matter what his intentions are, he would be nothing more than a liability with that lack of control.” He almost had it in him to tut. “He’s driven, sure, but that reckless passion could easily be his undoing.” 

Then, he turned away from him and started to walk away, leaving Yagi to stare at his back. As soon as he rounded the other corner, he huffed out a sigh and tucked himself further into his scarf. Well, that was certainly a strange way to acquaint himself with a new faculty member. 

‘U.A. isn’t for the faint of heart,’ Shouta thought as he made his way back towards the entrance. Then, he snorted. ‘Those kids are gonna eat him alive.’

Chapter Text

Considering Izuku was only partway through his second day at U.A., he wasn’t sure if it was fair for him to say that his new school was already shaping up to be a much better experience than his middle school years. The sting of fumbling during the assessment had been all but forgotten when he was approached by Iida after class was dismissed and he asked him how he was recovering, the once scary student far more kind and compassionate than Izuku thought him capable of. If he had gotten hurt back at Aldera, no one would have even spared him so much as a second thought and would have likely given him a jab for added injury. Uraraka joined shortly after, and for the first time, Izuku heard the name Deku spoken not with malice or disdain, but with a smile that was pure and genuine. He almost didn’t have the heart to correct her and tell her that Kacchan called him that as an insult. 

“Well, that’s unsportsmanlike,” Iida had said, further surprising him. Izuku was sure that was the first time anyone had ever called something that Kacchan did anything less of the standard to aspire to.

Then, Uraraka took him completely off-guard and told him that she actually liked the name for him. 

“It sounds like ‘you can do it!’” she told him, pumping her fist into the air. “Plus, I think it’s kinda cute! It’d make for a great hero name!’

Hearing that had been nothing short of an entire paradigm shift for him. Were it not for her bright smile and enthusiasm, he likely would have assumed that it was just another ploy to insult him. However, hearing her say those words made his heart soar above the pain and discontent that his first day had brought him. He returned home with heavy limbs, but his heart light as a feather with the memory of their conversation on the way down to the train station. 

Izuku still rode that high throughout the rest of his second day. When he came into his homeroom class, Uraraka and Iida both greeted him with bright smiles, which was such a world of difference from the way his old classmates would snicker and jeer or outright ignore him. He didn’t even mind it when Kacchan scoffed and rolled his eyes from his seat because his chest just felt so light in comparison to how things were back at Aldera. No one sent him dirty looks or tossed spitballs at him during class so he’d duck his head down like a good little punching bag; he was just another classmate and peer. He even had people who wanted to sit with him at lunch and talk to him about how cool it was that they had a Pro Hero like Lunch Rush to make their lunches in the cafeteria. 

‘If someone told me that this was what was waiting for me all these years, I wouldn’t have believed them,’ he thought as he walked with Uraraka and Iida back to their classroom. He smiled when Uraraka laughed at how Iida scolded a classmate for running in the halls and brought his hand down in a vicious chop. ‘It’s crazy how so much can change within a year.’

The trio returned just a couple of minutes before their next class was set to start and as soon as they passed the threshold, Iida zeroed in on Kacchan, who had his feet propped up on his desk again. While he stormed over to lecture him on treating school property with respect, Uraraka flashed Izuku a knowing smile and Izuku returned it. There was something unspoken between them, a conversation shared with their eyes that made Izuku’s heart soar. The only person he had been able to do that with was his mother. 

‘Is this how friends are supposed to act?’ Izuku wondered as he sat down in his seat. His eyes trailed over to Kacchan, who finally relented and set his feet down on the floor. ‘I guess Kacchan is just harder to read.’

He settled into his desk and pulled his pencil case out. He wasn’t quite sure what the Hero Basics and Public Relations class was going to entail, considering that it was a new part of the curriculum. His extensive research on online chat rooms about school life at U.A. hadn’t mentioned the class before and the rumor was they had hired a new faculty member to teach it. Whatever came next, he just hoped that he was prepared for it. 

‘It sounds like a class for paperwork,’ he mused while he grabbed one of his All Might pencils, ‘I wonder what Pro they hired to teach us.’

Then, the door to the classroom slid open and Izuku turned in time to meet the gaze of his mentor. He clutched the pencil in his hand so tightly that it almost snapped, his eyes widening as All Might entered, not as the Number One Hero and Symbol of Peace, but the skeleton of a man that he had been reduced to. His skinny frame was swallowed by his suit and made him look like a teenager dressed in his father’s clothes, his blond hair wild and messy. He coughed into his fist as he entered and just like that, the entire room was reduced to silence as they all turned to regard him. 

“Hello, class,” All Might greeted, his voice raspy, “I see you’ve all made it to your seats.” He stepped up to the desk and set his briefcase down. “Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Mr. Yagi. I’ll be teaching your Hero Basics and Public Relations class this year.” 

Izuku suddenly felt like he couldn’t breathe. All Might was going to be teaching at U.A.? Why hadn’t he said anything? Did he not want Izuku to know in case everyone else thought it was strange that he seemed to know before they all did? And why wasn’t he teaching as All Might?

“Welcome,” All Might continued, straightening up a bit, “this class will be covering a litany of subjects related to heroics, as I’m sure you’ve guessed.” He held up an index finger. “But some of you may be wondering about the Public Relations part, aren’t you? Well, to sum it up, this class won’t just be covering how to act like a hero; it will be teaching you how to act like a Pro .” His eyes scanned the silent classroom. “Now, can anyone guess what I mean by that?”

Almost instantly, Yaoyorozu’s hand shot up into the air. “May I, Sensei?”

All Might blinked but then nodded. “Yes, young lady, you may.”

“Pro Heroes have a litany of duties outside of heroics,” Yaoyorozu replied, her voice crisp and clear, “because their actions are so deeply entrenched in society as we know it, they have to be regulated and organized. As a result, many Pro Heroes have hero agencies where they have a team of sidekicks and organizers that handle what jobs they take and their relationship with the public they serve.” 

“Very good,” All Might answered, clearly impressed, “and you guessed correctly, young lady. This class will also be covering what kind of work Pros do when working at an agency.”

The class broke out into murmurs, some excited, some quizzical. Izuku’s eyes trailed over towards the rest of his classmates and he saw Kaminari lean over to whisper something to Kirishima behind him that made him light up. A scoff from Kacchan brought Izuku’s attention back to the front of the room, where All Might stood. His teacher and mentor watched the class with an unreadable expression on his face, his piercing blue eyes scanning the whispering students. 

Then, Iida’s hand shot up. “But sir, doesn’t the school offer internships and work studies as a way for students to understand how agencies work firsthand?”

All Might nodded. “That they do. However, there is a lot more to working at or even running an agency than what students might learn during these excursions. While experience is good, having book smarts to fall back on will serve you in the future.”

“Are we going to do any special projects?” blurted out Kirishima. “Like, are we going to do any exercises for agency work?”

“Yeah!” Kaminari exclaimed. “Are we gonna come up with cool names for agencies?”

A small chuckle huffed out of All Might’s nose. “We will be doing some simulations and projects that cover things akin to that, yes.”

“Cool!” Sero gushed. “I wonder what kinda names we’ll all come up with!”

“Mine will be tres magnifique! ” Aoyama proclaimed. “Just like moi! ”

“Now, now, settle down,” All Might said, though a smile ghosted across his lips, “there will be time to discuss those projects later as they come up on the syllabus.” He clapped his hands together. “As for today, however, we will be running a different sort of simulation.” 

He held up a card in his hand that had the word “BATTLE” etched across it in bold lettering. Izuku could practically feel Kacchan’s energy change upon spotting it and he almost sank back into his seat. 

“Fight training,” Kacchan growled, his smirk apparent in his voice.

Izuku stared with wide eyes. “ Real combat?”

“That’s right,” All Might affirmed, his eyes practically sparkling as he watched all the students perk up with excitement, “but you won’t be going into it in your gym uniforms.” 

As soon as he said that, slots began to slide out of the walls, revealing the glass cases that contained boxes with numbers on them. With each new slot that slid out, Izuku very quickly realized that the numbers correlated to the class seating chart.

“These contain the costumes that were designed based on your Quirk registration form and your personal requests before school started,” All Might told them, causing each of the students to gasp aloud and cheer with delight. 

“Costumes,” Izuku murmured, unable to stop himself from smiling. His eyes threatened to sting as he recalled the costume his mother handmade for him after she saw his sketches. After she surprised him with it, she spent the last couple of days before school making sure it was a perfect fit for him. He didn’t care that it wasn’t flashy as much as he did that she cared enough to make him something so thoughtful. 

“We’re in this together, Izuku,” she told him, “and I promise, I’ll support you with everything I’ve got!”

“Get yourselves suited up,” All Might said, breaking him out of his thoughts, “and then meet me at Ground—”

Then, he doubled over with a heavy cough, causing everyone in the class to stare at him. After a moment, he straightened up, his hand still over his mouth.

“Sorry,” he wheezed, “I just got something stuck in my—”

Blood spilled from his lips and everyone in class let out startled gasps and exclamations of shock. 

“Mon Dieu!” Aoyama breathed, his hand rushing to clutch his chest in an instant.

Uraraka’s hands went to her mouth. “Oh, goodness, is he okay? ”

Iida shot out of his chair. “ Everyone , remain calm! ”

He practically sprinted over to All Might and rushed to his side. Iida grabbed a tissue from the desk and held it up to his mouth, his brows furrowed with worry. 

“Are you alright, sir?” Iida questioned. “Are you feeling faint? Do you need to go to Recovery Girl—”

All Might held up a hand with another small cough. “I’m quite fine, young man…” He took the tissue from him and dabbed at his lips. “I appreciate your concern, but I assure you, it’s nothing to worry about.” 

Iida didn’t seem convinced. “But, sir, you’re our teacher! It’s natural for us to worry about your well-being!”

“Debatable,” Kacchan muttered to himself, chuckling a bit, “but have at it, teacher’s pet.”

Izuku clutched his backpack to his chest. None of them had any clue of just how serious All Might’s condition was or how long he had been living with it. The twisted scar that marred his side was a grave reminder that even the strongest of humanity could fall prey to mortality, no matter how much no one wanted to believe it.

“I’m quite fine,” All Might assured Iida once again, “it’s just a health condition. It’s nothing I’m not used to.”

Iida’s eyes softened. “I see… I apologize for fretting, sir.” He straightened up and cleared his throat. “But is there anything you need?”

All Might clutched the tissue in his hand tightly. “No… Thank you, young man.” 

“You’re more than welcome, sir,” Iida replied. He turned back to the class and held up his hand. “False alarm! It’s nothing to worry about!”

The class broke out into whispers and Izuku wanted to shrink. He couldn’t imagine that was the impression that All Might wanted to leave with the class.

“Right…” All Might drawled, his voice lacking the conviction it had before. He closed his eyes and sighed. “Get dressed, everyone… We’ll be meeting back up at Ground Beta for the exercise.” 

He patted Iida on the shoulder before he grabbed his suitcase and made his way to the classroom door, his hand still gripping his tissue tightly. All Might’s lips were drawn into a thin line and he seemed to slouch a bit more than before, his eyes lost in thought. As soon as the door closed behind him, everyone in the class collectively turned to look at one another.

“Man,” Kacchan said, “where’d they get that guy?”

Iida’s eyes were sharp when he landed on Kacchan. “That’s our teacher, you delinquent! Don’t be disrespectful!”

Kacchan scoffed. “Hey, I’m just saying what we’re all thinking, Glasses.”

“Is he a retired Pro?” Asui asked. She placed a finger on her chin. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen him before…”

Ojiro shrugged. “Maybe he was an underground hero?”

“He doesn’t look like a Pro,” Jirou observed, “he seems a bit too frail for that.”

“Maybe he got injured,” Kirishima guessed, and Izuku’s knuckles turned white from how tightly he clutched his bag, “could explain why he was hacking up blood.”

Iida slammed his hand down on the desk up front. “Alright, that’s enough! No more gossiping! We need to get dressed so we can meet up with Sensei Yagi at Ground Beta!” 

“Quit your whining, Glasses,” Kacchan groused as he stood up, “we’re getting a move on.”

Even as Izuku’s classmates all started to get up and gather their things, he couldn’t stop staring down at his desk. Of all the ways he was expecting for his day to go, this was not one of them. 

‘Poor All Might,’ Izuku thought, finally gathering the strength to stand up and head down to the changing room, ‘hopefully things go a bit more smoothly once we get to the battle exercise…’

* * *

Toshinori was incredibly thankful that he didn’t have to face young Midoriya’s class by himself once they got to Ground Beta. As he read over his script for the simulation over and over again, Nedzu stood at his side with a teacup in hand, his eyes lost in quiet contemplation. His associate had been kind enough to offer to oversee the exercise alongside him, and while the more prideful part of him felt wounded, Toshinori was grateful nonetheless. 

‘Anything to take some of the attention off of me,’ he thought, trying not to grimace. The way that all of young Midoriya’s peers stared at him back in the classroom stuck to the forefront of his mind like a paper caught in the windshield. He couldn’t stop thinking about how all of them regarded him with equal parts worry and pity as he tried to regain his composure, their collective gaze causing him to want to crawl into a hole where no one could find him. He knew how he looked to others and just how weak he was now, but it didn’t make it any easier for him to see it up close and personal, especially when they were students he was trying to guide. 

“Are you nervous?” Nedzu asked suddenly. When Toshinori turned towards him with a blink, his associate smiled softly. “It’s alright if you are.”

Toshinori frowned. “I can’t be nervous if I want to teach them…” He looked down at his script again. “Then they won’t take me seriously.” 

Nedzu let out a hum of thought. “I think you’re being a bit too hard on yourself. Sure, your introduction may not have been perfect , but it was still a start.” 

“I coughed up blood in front of them,” Toshinori said flatly, his eyes flitting back to Nedzu briefly, “I think one of the students was on the verge of fainting because of it.” 

“Well, they’re going to need to have a stronger stomach if they want to go into hero work,” Nedzu replied simply, “it’s not for the faint of heart.” 

Toshinori snorted. “Still not a great way to make an impression on a bunch of teenagers.” 

“Oh, hush ,” Nedzu chided playfully, “the day isn’t over yet. You’ve still got a whole class to teach, Sensei.”

Sensei . It still felt strange to hear others call him that, even after all those months of hearing young Midoriya refer to him as such. 

‘That’s gonna take some getting used to,’ he mused, ‘hopefully I’ll be able to live up to the title.’

A gentle tap at his side caused him to look up from the script. “Look alive. It appears your students have arrived.”

Toshinori folded his script up in time to watch as the first couple of students stepped out of the dark hallway and into the light of the sun. As each one of their costumes came into focus, he couldn’t help the smile that spread across his lips. It had been one thing to see them back in the classroom, but to see them all dressed in suits of their own design felt like he had gained an inside glimpse into each of his students’ minds. Whether they stuck to the design or would change it later on as their school careers continued, Toshinori could see the heroic quality shine through in every single one of them. 

“There’s a saying that the clothes make the Pros,” Nedzu commented as each of the students drew closer, “and you, ladies and gentleman, are the proof.”

Oh, they looked even more amazing up close. He could see the effort of the costume department from where he stood and it made his heart soar. A wide range of colors spanned across the crowd of students, showing each of their preferences and stylistic choices. Some were more daring with their designs while some paid tribute to classic Pros that Toshinori had worked with personally over the years, and others took on stylistic choices that Toshinori hadn’t seen before. It just went to show that no two students were the same and that while they were all inspired to become heroes, everyone had their own inspirations that brought them to where they were now. 

“Take this to heart,” Nedzu told them, his eyes scanning across the group of teens, “from now on, you’ve officially become heroes in training.”

Toshinori had so much he wanted to say. When he first walked into U.A. in his first-ever hero costume, the feeling had been indescribable. Now, as he stood on the other side of it, he finally understood how it must have felt for his own teachers to see him. Gran Torino may have been tough at times, but the words that his homeroom teacher offered to Toshinori on his first day had been one of the driving forces that kept him going through his school career. He wanted to give his students the same level of assurance and motivation that he had gotten all those years ago.

Instead, he found himself saying, “You all look so cool! ”

Silence greeted him for a long moment. Then, a small snicker broke out amongst the crowd and Toshinori realized what he said. He straightened up, trying to ignore the heat in his cheeks while the rest of the class tried to hush their giggles. By God, why did he just say that? 

“Ahem,” he continued, clearing his throat, “now, uh, shall we get started?”

Nedzu let out a traitorous chuckle beside him. “Is that everyone? Are we all ready to begin?”

Then, as if to answer him, Toshinori spotted one last silhouette within the darkness of the tunnel. He didn’t have to guess that it was young Midoriya, as his costume matched the color of his tracksuit from when they had been training on the beach together. He brought a hand to cover his mouth when he noted the long ears and smiling mask that was just a bit too familiar for his liking.

‘You’re so obvious,’ Toshinori mused, though the corner of his lips threatened to tug upwards in a smile.

“Now that you’re all ready,” Nedzu announced, gaining everyone’s attention, “it’s time for combat training.” He raised his hand up with a smile. “For those who do not know, I am Principal Nedzu. I will be overseeing today’s exercise with Sensei Yagi.” His hands clapped together. “I always enjoy getting to see what our class of first-years can do!”

Then, one of the students dressed in armor raised their hand. “Sir! This is the fake city from our entrance exam. Does that mean that we’ll be conducting urban battles again?”

‘So that’s young Iida under there,’ Toshinori realized. He had been the young man that rushed to his aid and offered him a tissue back in the classroom. He seemed kind and polite, though Toshinori should have expected that from a member of Ingenium’s family. He had met him a couple of times and always had a delightful time talking to him. ‘Looks like he’s taking after the rest of his family with his suit design.’

“ Excellent question,” Nedzu replied, “but no, we won’t be doing urban battles during this exercise. We’re going to be taking things to the next level.” His eyes trailed over to Toshinori. “Care to explain, Sensei?”

With a swallow, Toshinori nodded. “As Principal Nedzu said, we’ll be doing things differently from what you experienced during the entrance exam. While I’m sure most of you are used to seeing villain fights on the news take place outside, statistically speaking, that’s only a fraction of where most incidents occur.” He held up his index finger. “Some of the most dangerous crimes take place indoors .” 

He knew that very well from experience. Toshinori hated to think about all the crimes that took place that he and his associates simply didn’t know about because they had no way of being made aware of it. Had he not been chasing after the sludge villain all those months back, he likely never would have found young Midoriya within its clutches.

“Think about it,” Toshinori continued, raising his finger up to tap his temple, “backroom deals, home invasions, secret underground lairs. Intelligent villains will often hide in the shadows.” Then, he smiled. “And it’s a Pro’s job to make sure that what is made in the darkness is brought into the light.” 

Nedzu nodded. “It’s true. So, in this exercise, you’ll be getting a taste of what a battle taking place indoors may be like.” 

“But you won’t be fighting robots like you did at the exam,” Toshinori clarified, and he couldn’t help his smile from spreading when he saw his students blink with surprise, “you’ll be fighting against each other .”

One of his students— young Bakugou, he realized — grinned like a predator. “Oh, hell yeah.”

Rather than chide him for his crass language, Toshinori cleared his throat. “You’ll be splitting into teams of heroes and villains, then will fight two-on-two while indoors.”

Asui tilted her head. “This seems a little advanced…”

“The best training is often with experience,” Nedzu chimed in, “it will allow for you to test your decision-making skills and your strength.”

“You’ll also have to test how you do against actual people,” Toshinori added, “which is very different from fighting against automated robots like in the exam.”

Yaoyarozu raised her hand. “Sir, will you be deciding which team wins?”

“How much can we hurt the other team?” Bakugou interjected before Toshinori had a chance to reply.

“Do we need to worry about the losers getting expelled like yesterday?” Uraraka questioned meekly. 

Iida’s hand shot up. “Will you split our teams up by chance or by comparative skill based on our results from the Quirk apprehension test?”

“Isn’t this cape tres chic?” Aoyama blurted out, holding out his shiny cape with a beaming smile. 

Toshinori cleared his throat. “ Ahem . I still have to go over the rest of the simulation.” 

As soon as the chatter died down, he exhaled sharply through his nose. Then, he paused. Crap, what came next? The kids knocked him off-script. With a sigh, he reached into his pocket and withdrew the sheet of paper.

“The situation is this,” he continued, ignoring the way they all stared at him. Toshinori just didn’t have it in him to care at that point; he had already made a fool out of himself a couple of times already. What was another time to add to the pile? “The villains have hidden a nuclear missile somewhere in the hideout and the heroes are tasked with trying to foil their plans.” His eyes lifted up to fall back onto the crowd. “In order to do that, you must either capture the villains or recover the weapon.” 

Nedzu nodded. “Likewise, the villains win the exercise if they protect their payload until time runs out or capture the heroes.” 

“Time is limited,” Toshinori affirmed, “and we’ll be choosing teams by drawing lots.” He gestured to the boxes behind him. “We have one for villains and heroes.”

Iida tilted his head. “Isn’t there a better way?”

“Think about it,” Midoriya replied, and it made Toshinori’s heart swell when he saw how enthusiastic he looked, “Pros often have to team up with other agencies on the spot. Maybe that’s why we’re doing it here!”

‘God, you’re so quick, kiddo,’ Toshinori thought, ‘I just know you’re gonna have a ball with this.’ 

Then, Nedzu hopped up and landed on top of one of the boxes with a flourish. “Precisely! Besides, I personally think it makes this whole exercise a bit fun!”

Iida nodded. “I see… Life is a random series of events.” He bowed his head. “My apologies, I didn’t mean to question your thought process, Sensei.”

“It’s not a problem,” Toshinori replied quickly, his neck growing hot. Man, this was still gonna take some getting used to. “Now, ahem , how about we get to drawing?”

“Oh, let me draw, too!” Nedzu said, clearly giddy. “You draw first, and then I will! It’ll be so fun! ”

Toshinori tried not to chuckle. “Sounds like a plan.” 

A hushed murmur fell over the class as Toshinori and Nedzu both took turns drawing up lots from the boxes, forming each of the ten teams as they went along. By the time they finished, each of the teams had started to settle next to their teammates, allowing for Toshinori to get a good look at what the lineup would be.

‘This will certainly make for an interesting match,’ he thought as he looked them all over. His gaze lingered on Iida and Bakugou, who seemed to barely tolerate the other’s presence. ‘I hope that they’ll be able to get along during this exercise, at least.’

“Now,” Nedzu said, breaking him out of his thoughts, “let’s get a look at who our first battle will be!” He ran to the “Villain” box with a gleam in his eye. “You ready, Sensei?”

Toshinori nodded and placed his hand over the “Hero” box. “Whenever you are.”

Both of them dipped their hands into the box and withdrew a ball. The black ball in Nedzu’s hand read “D,” and the white ball in Toshinori’s read “A.”

“Team A will be the heroes,” Toshinori stated, his eyes flitting over to Midoriya and Uraraka. 

Nedzu smiled. “And Team D will be the villains! My, how exciting!”

Midoriya’s eyes widened and he turned to look at the opposing team. Much to Toshinori’s surprise, Bakugou rebuked him with a harsh stare, his gaze practically murderous. Hm, what was that about?

“Everyone else can head down to the monitoring room to watch the match,” Nedzu explained, breaking him out of his stare, “let’s get a move on, rookies!”

“Yes, sir!” the class replied in unison.

As the group started to move forward, Toshinori’s eyes trailed back to young Midoriya. He hung back for a moment alongside Bakugou, whose stare had yet to relent. As soon as their eyes met again, Midoriya looked away from him, his gaze dipping down to the pavement. Were his hands shaking?  

Then, after a moment, Midoriya’s hands clenched and he looked up. His eyes held a fire that nearly gave Toshinori pause and for Bakugou to flinch upon meeting his gaze. With a growl, Bakugou turned away from him and stomped to catch up to the others. As soon as his back was turned, Midoriya’s shoulders slumped and he closed his eyes with a sigh. 

‘That seemed… personal,’ Toshinori concluded silently. Still, now wasn’t the time to ask Midoriya about it, not when the others could potentially hear. He’d have to ask him about it when he got the chance. ‘Hopefully, it’s nothing to worry about.’

Chapter Text

It was, in fact, something to worry about. 

But All Might didn’t know that. He had no way of knowing, because really, how was Izuku supposed to even begin to describe the full history he shared with Kacchan? He very well couldn’t say, “Kacchan is angry with me for trying out for U.A. and used to pick on me for being Quirkless,” without causing a huge issue. The last time a teacher addressed the problem, Kacchan and his friends took it out on him for weeks until they got the point across that Izuku should know to keep his mouth shut. He wasn’t about to tempt fate by trying it again.

‘Not to mention that it could look like they’re showing favoritism,’ Izuku mused as All Might handed them both capture tape and explained the objectives to them. He just barely registered the fact that they were supposed to use it to “apprehend the villains” for the simulation. ‘I can’t depend on them to make this easier for me just because I’m All Might’s protege.’ 

Izuku knew where he stood on the pecking order in class. He was at the bottom beneath the rest of his classmates and they all knew it, too. What would it look like to them if someone like him was given special treatment because he was too afraid to face off against Kacchan? It would look unfair to everyone else and only make things harder for All Might, who was still trying to build a rapport with the rest of Izuku’s peers. Not to mention it would only make Kacchan angrier and want to lash out even more. 

“Young Midoriya,” All Might said, causing the boy to look up. It was still so strange to see him in a suit and tie like any normal teacher. “Are you feeling alright?” 

Izuku frowned but gave his mentor a nod nonetheless. “Y-Yeah… I guess just a bit nervous.”

“I getcha,” Uraraka piped up, “but at least we’re not being threatened with some sort of punishment like expulsion!” She blinked, then turned to All Might with a frown. “We aren’t going to be punished if we lose, right?”

Thankfully, All Might focused on her and shook his head. “No, young Uraraka, you won’t be. You’ll only be graded on your performance in the simulation.”

Uraraka exhaled. “That’s good… I was so scared when Sensei Aizawa said we’d get kicked out yesterday.” She smiled again. “You’re not nearly as scary as he is!”

“That’s… nice of you to say,” All Might replied, clearly not sure how to take the compliment. Izuku supposed he should take it as a win that Uraraka seemed to like him, if only because he wasn’t as stern as Aizawa. His gaze lingered on Izuku and immediately, Izuku looked down, not wanting to meet his mentor’s gaze. “Just try to focus on doing your best in today’s exercise and I’m sure you’ll both do fine.” 

“Thanks, Sensei!” Uraraka responded, and oh, Izuku envied her enthusiasm. 

All Might seemed as though he wanted to say something more, but he blinked and looked down at his side, where Principal Nedzu stood. Izuku nearly jumped at his sudden appearance and clutched the map All Might gave him to his chest. How did he come up so quickly without making a sound? 

“Sensei, the rest of the students are in the observation room,” Principal Nedzu told him, and instantly, Izuku’s stomach dropped, “they’re waiting on the match to begin.”

The corners of All Might’s twitched downwards for a fraction of a second. “Right. Let’s head down.” Then, he turned back to Izuku and Uraraka. “If things get out of hand during the match, we’ll be sure to step in. Just try your best out there.”

Izuku tried not to let his relief show too much on his face. “Y-Yes, Sensei…”

“Good luck!” Principal Nedzu gushed with a beaming smile. “I look forward to seeing how you four do today!”

Even as All Might stepped away with Nedzu to join the others in the observation room, Izuku couldn’t erase the feeling of unease that settled in his chest. His mentor spared one last glance over his shoulder at him and caught his eyes from afar, a silent question etched across his features. Still, despite the anxiety that bubbled in his gut, Izuku gave him a nod of reassurance. With a small smile, All Might nodded back at him before he faced forward. 

‘I can do this,’ he told himself, though he wasn’t sure how much he believed it, ‘I can do this…’ His eyes fell down to the map in front of him and he pursed his lips. ‘I just gotta make a strategy.’

He knew he had months of practice with One For All under his belt now. Even though he was able to flip to 5% with little issue and could deliver punches with it, his anxiety could just as easily make him lose control. He spent the time between the entrance exam and his first day at U.A. trying to eradicate his margin of error, but the Quirk apprehension test knocked him back to the same mindset he had on his first day of training with it. Anytime he would let the familiar heat of One For All spread to his limbs, Sensei Aizawa’s piercing red eyes would flash to the forefront of his eyes and in an instant, Izuku would feel control slip from his grasp. 

“With a power like that, you’ll never become a hero.”

‘I just need to work harder,’ Izuku thought, ‘I have to work harder than everyone else here to get to their level.’

“Sensei Yagi seems really nice,” Uraraka commented, breaking him out of his thoughts, “I know he’s not a Pro, but I don’t really mind that so much.” She turned to Izuku with a smile. “I’m really glad that he isn’t threatening to expel us. It means we can relax—” With a blink, she jumped a bit. “Oh, you’re sweating right through your costume!”

Izuku swallowed. “W-Well, it’s just… because we’re going up against Kacchan. And Iida, too…” He clutched the map tightly. “We need to be on guard in case they pull something crazy…’

Uraraka’s brows furrowed. “Right… Bakugou is the kid who keeps making fun of you, isn’t he?”

“Yeah,” Izuku affirmed with a sigh. His eyes fell downcast and he slumped forward. “Plus, he’s… amazing.”

Despite all their troubles, despite all their history, despite everything that Kacchan ever put him through, Izuku knew deep down that Kacchan had the makings of a great hero. He saw it from the day he first heard Kacchan talk about becoming a hero, back when they were just little kids who didn’t know how the world worked or even knew what their Quirks would be yet. Whenever he would come over to Izuku’s place, the two of them would sit and watch videos of All Might on repeat, their eyes sparkling and their hearts aflutter as their shared hero and idol seemed to shoulder the weight of the world’s troubles on his shoulders with no sweat. Kacchan would flap his hands excitedly while Izuku would rock back and forth in the computer chair beside him, unable to contain their shared glee. 

Izuku couldn’t place when the shift first started. He could just as easily say that it was when Kacchan’s Quirk came in, but it wasn’t that fast. One moment, he and Kacchan were watching a video of All Might, and then, as Kacchan’s hands began to flap, a small explosion popped out from one of his hands. It wasn’t big, but it was startling enough to cause them both to start crying and Izuku’s mother to cradle Kacchan to her chest while he held his hands over his ears. Auntie Mitsuki and Uncle Masaru came down to check on him and once Kacchan managed to calm down, it became clear that his Quirk had finally manifested. 

Weeks went by where Izuku didn’t get to see him while Kacchan underwent different examinations to find how he activated it and how to better control it. When both their parents finally felt confident enough to let them play again, there was an undeniable difference. Kacchan didn’t flap his hands while watching All Might videos anymore and would sit so incredibly still, his fingers clutching his knees for dear life while they sat and watched together. At the time, Izuku didn’t think anything of it and simply started to rock back and forth just like he always did before Kacchan elbowed him in the arm.

“Why do you have to do that?” Kacchan snapped suddenly. “Why can’t you just sit still, you weirdo?”

Izuku could still remember how his eyes stung while he clutched his arm. “Kacchan, that really hurt…”

“Whatever,” Kacchan replied, “just quit doing that. It’s weird.”

It all seemed to go downhill from there. With time, Kacchan’s visits to Izuku’s house became less and less frequent, and on the rare times he came over, he never wanted to do any of the things he and Izuku used to do. The once beaming smile that graced his lips had turned into something far cockier and mean-spirited, the spark in his eyes now fanned to a full flame. 

“I’m gonna be the next Number One!” Kacchan would proclaim. “And I’m gonna be even better than All Might!”

Izuku let out a heavy sigh. “I know he can be a bit of a pain… But he’s so strong and confident… And his Quirk is amazing .” He looked down at his hand, where his now-healed finger was. “He’s so much more controlled and experienced with it than I am with mine.”

Uraraka frowned. “I kind of get it… If I use my Quirk too much, I get sick and wind up puking. But I guess that’s not as bad as breaking your bones…” She smiled sheepishly. “I feel bad that you did that for me.”

“O-Oh, t-that wasn’t y-your fault!” Izuku said hastily, waving his hands. He forgot he was holding the map and quickly snatched it out of the air before it could drop. After he clutched it to his chest, he turned back to Uraraka. “I-It’s my fault for losing control like that… I should have been more careful…”

“How come your Quirk does that?” Uraraka questioned. “I’ve never seen someone’s power hurt them that badly before…”

Izuku let out a sigh. “It’s… a little embarrassing to admit, but… My Quirk came in late.”

Uraka blinked. “Wait, really? That can happen?”

“It’s really rare,” Izuku added quickly, which wasn’t a lie . He had read a plethora of miraculous cases where some people’s Quirks came in despite having two joints in their pinkie toe; it was one of the things that gave him false hope for a Quirk of his own when he was growing up.  “The doctors said it wouldn’t come in, but then…” He shrugged. “It just did .”

“Wow,” Uraraka breathed, “when did it come in? A couple of years ago?”

It was Izuku’s turn to be sheepish. “More like a couple of months ago.”

Uraraka’s eyes nearly bugged out of her skull. “What?!”

“Gah!” Izuku exclaimed, nearly dropping his map again. “T-Trust me, I was just as surprised as you were…” The image of All Might standing before him with that long, blond strand of hair still stuck in his mind even then. He straightened up and smoothed out his map. “I’ve been practicing with it ever since I got it and I thought I had a handle on it, but…” He exhaled tiredly. “Then I let the egg explode at the entrance exam.”

“You what? ” Uraraka blurted out.

Izuku’s cheeks burned. “I-It’s just a metaphor… Whenever I use my Quirk, I imagine I’m holding an egg in my hand and that I’m trying to heat it up in the microwave.” A frown tugged at his lips. “At the entrance exam, I wound up turning the wattage up too high and it exploded.”

“Literally,” Uraraka added.

“Yeah,” he affirmed, “literally…” Then, he forced himself to stand up straight and put his mask back over his mouth. “But that just means I need to get better. I can’t lose just because I’m not sure of myself.”

A smile spread across Uraraka’s lips. “Yeah, that’s the spirit! We can totally win this!” She pumped her fist into the air. “Our egg isn’t cooked yet!”

Izuku’s head snapped around to look at her. “W-What?”

Uraraka giggled. “You said that at the Quirk assessment! I thought it was kinda funny to say, but it also makes a bit of sense now that you explained your Quirk.” 

“O-Oh,” Izuku stammered, and already he could feel his ears start to burn, “I-I did say that, didn’t I?”

“You did,” Uraraka affirmed with a laugh. She nudged Izuku playfully, which nearly made him flinch. “But we’re not about to get scrambled today!”

Her smile and laugh were so contagious, Izuku found himself beaming alongside her and he nodded at her. Even though he was still nervous, it felt nice to know that he could rely on Uraraka during the exercise. 

“Alright!” exclaimed Principle Nedzu’s voice from an unseen intercom, causing both Izuku and Uraraka to jump. “Let’s begin the indoor training! Team A and Team D, your time starts now!”

Izuku’s smile faded, but his determination did not. He clenched his fists at his side and stared down the facade of the building before him and Uraraka, his jaw set hard enough for it to hurt.

‘I can do this’ Izuku told himself as they both made their way towards the building, ‘and even if I can’t use One For All, I’ve done enough reading on indoor fighting to give me something to work with.’ He spared a glance down at his fist. ‘Besides, Uraraka is right… Our egg isn’t cooked yet.’

* * *

It was an interesting experience to be on the other side of the battle simulations. Toshinori had done plenty of rescue and battle scenarios when he had been a student at U.A. all those decades ago, but to be the one watching and evaluating them was completely different from what he knew. Even if he didn’t take into account the upgrades in technology and the higher budget the school had, he was not limited to the perspective of an assigned team and could watch both the hero team and the villain team as they went to work, allowing him ample opportunity to plan and predict what they might do. 

‘I trust in your abilities, young Midoriya,’ he thought, watching as he and young Uraraka snuck inside together, ‘and it seems your teammate does, too.’ Toshinori smiled to himself. ‘Now that you’re in the pan, try not to let your egg get scrambled, kiddo.’

“Pay attention, students!” Nedzu announced, breaking Toshinori out of his thoughts. “Take this opportunity to see what you would do in this scenario!”

Toshinori’s grip on his clipboard grew tighter. He knew he couldn’t show favoritism during the exercise; he had an entire class that he needed to keep an eye on and pay mind to now. However, he couldn’t help but quietly root for his little protege to show off what he was capable of, especially in light of the Quirk assessment the day before. His peers no doubt had him down for the count, which gave him ample opportunity to prove them all wrong, should he perform well in the simulation. 

‘Keep your guard up,’ Toshinori warned silently, ‘anything can happen in these exercises, just like in real life.’

As if to prove his point, Bakugou popped out from behind a corner in a flash of explosions, causing both Midoriya and Uraraka to go reeling backward to try to dodge. Fear gripped Toshinori’s heart when he saw that half of his protege’s mask was gone from sight while he asked if Uraraka was alright and he stared with wide eyes, trying not to break his clipboard in half. 

“Deku, are you alright?” Uraraka cried out, her eyes wide.

“It’s just my mask,” Midoriya replied, and Toshinori tried not to let his relief show. However, the tension in his shoulders quickly returned when the smoke began to clear and Bakugou stood before them both, a deep scowl etched into his features. 

“What’s the matter, Deku?” Bakugou taunted, staring Midoriya down. He didn’t seem to pay any mind to Uraraka whatsoever. “You afraid to stand up and fight me?”

Toshinori arched a brow. ‘Why do they keep calling him that? Is that a nickname?’

Midoriya stood up, and even through the screens, Toshinori could see the fire that burned deep within them. “I knew you’d try something like that… You wanted to take us by surprise.”

“He almost got them both!” Mineta exclaimed.

Kirishima let out a loud growl. “A sneak attack, Bakugou? What kind of a man pulls a cheap move like that? ”

Nedzu let out a chuckle. “A villain, so would it seem. He’s not playing hero right now, remember?”

“It’s a viable strategy,” Toshinori observed, though he wasn’t sure if it was that simple. Judging from how the two stared each other down just a while ago, he couldn’t help but think there was more to it. “He’s leaning into the part he was given.”

“You’re all a bit lucky,” Nedzu commented, causing him to glance at him through the corner of his eye, “since you all get to go after them, you all get to see what did and didn’t work for the first two teams.” 

“Like that sneak attack!” Ashido exclaimed. “Midoriya totally dodged it!”

Toshinori couldn’t help but smile. “That he did.”

“Oh, crap , there he goes!” Kaminari shouted, and instantly, Toshinori turned in time to see Bakugou charge towards Midoriya. His lips were pulled up into a cruel smile and his eyes bore endlessly into Midoriya like he was a predator chasing its prey.

“I’m not gonna hurt you bad enough for them to stop the fight!” Bakugou proclaimed. He raised his gauntlet and prepared to throw a sharp hook. “Just close!”

However, right as Bakugou was about to make contact, Midoriya grabbed ahold of him. Bakugou only had a moment to blink with surprise before Midoriya turned on his feet and slung his opponent’s full weight over his shoulder as Bakugou tried to send out another round of explosions with his free hand. Midoriya let out a rallying cry and sent Bakugou’s back hard into the ground with a resounding slam. Toshinori couldn’t help but feel a pang of sympathy for the boy; he learned firsthand how brutal that move was when Midoriya used it on him at the beach during training and wound up leaving his back aching for a solid two weeks afterward. Although Midoriya had been apologetic to Toshinori and was reduced to tears, he did not regard Bakugou with that same level of remorse.

“Heavens!” Nedzu exclaimed. “How did he know he’d do that?”

Toshinori’s brows furrowed. ‘I know he’s observant, but that couldn’t be it… That felt more like…’ His eyes widened. ‘Like he’d seen it before.’

“Kacchan,” Midoriya heaved through grit teeth, “you always use a big right hook to start a fight.” His shoulders moved with each breath he took. “I know because I’ve watched you for years.”

Kacchan… That was in reference to Bakugou’s first name, wasn’t it? Were they close? Is that why he referred to Bakugou with so much familiarity? A name like that could only come from someone who was like family. But if that were the case, then why had they stared each other down like that earlier? Was that just an inside joke between them that Toshinori didn’t understand? 

“I analyzed every amazing hero,” Midoriya continued, “even you. I wanted to learn everything I could about them.” His hands began to shake in front of him. “It was all in that notebook you burned and threw away!”

The memory of Midoriya’s notebook came to the forefront of Toshinori’s mind. When he first saw it that fateful day he met the young boy, he didn’t pay much mind to the burns that marred the cover and pages. However, now, as Bakugou stared Midoriya down with seething anger, the puzzle pieces began to click into place. 

“Sorry… I’m not used to people being interested in it. Some people think it’s silly.”

“Most people think my notes are weird…”

“You’re… not saying that to make fun of me, are you?”

Toshinori’s gaze met with Nedzu’s from the corner of his eyes and he grimaced. It was apparent that his associate seemed to be thinking the same thing if the glint in his eye was any indication. When he turned back to the screen, he saw Midoriya straighten up and meet Bakugou’s glare with a fiery gaze of his own. His entire body shook and yet, his resolve was still apparent on his features even from where Toshinori stood.

“You can call me Deku, but I’m not the same helpless, defenseless kid anymore!” Midoriya proclaimed. Toshinori thought he heard his voice shake through the comms. “You hear me? I’ve changed!”

‘Deku…’ Toshinori thought. ‘What does…?’ 

Then, he remembered back to the day he went to go pick up Midoriya’s new notebook. He had it specially made for him and wanted to make sure that they had the spelling of his name right. While he was putting in the information, the shop owner let out a laugh and said that he misread the name as saying, “Deku,” which meant… 

Oh. 

“I-I wanted to s-show that I-I’m not h-helpless— ” Midoriya’s stammering voice echoed in his head. He had said that back on the day of the entrance exam through messy tears and shaky sobs, the memory of which made Toshinori’s heart tug in his chest all over again.

‘Is that what he meant by that?’ Toshinori thought. 'Had it been because of...?'

“From now on…” Midoriya’s loud voice proclaimed, breaking Toshinori away from his thoughts. His eyes widened as he saw his protege stand before Bakugou with his fists raised and eyes burning with unrelenting determination. “Deku is the name of a hero!”

“Deku,” Bakugou snarled, finally standing up from the ground. He turned to face Midoriya head-on and raised his gauntlets. The tremors in Midoriya’s body only grew, but he didn’t stand down. “You’re shaking in your boots, you’re so scared…” 

He let out a round of explosions from his palm and Midoriya flinched, causing Toshinori’s hands to shake. ‘Good God, what has he done to you, my boy?’

“But you wanna fight me anyway,” Bakugou continued with a growl. He dug in his heels and clenched his fists. “That’s why I hate you!”

Toshinori clutched his clipboard for dear life. ‘We can’t let this keep going. He’s going to—’

Before Toshinori could even think of what to say or do, another voice cut onto the comms. “Bakugou, come in! Give me a status report! Where are you?”

‘Young Iida,’ Toshinori realized, his eyes trailing up to check the screen for his position, ‘he must have stayed behind to watch the weapon while young Bakugou went to go find young Midoriya and Uraraka.’

Bakugou growled and brought his hand to his comm. “Just shut up and defend the weapon! I’ve got more important things to worry about!”

“Are you forgetting what our mission is? ” Iida argued. His annoyance was evident on the screens as he spoke into his comm, only for it to be overtaken by bewilderment when there was a definitive click on the line. “Hello? He hung up on me!”

“Who is Bakugou talking to?” Kirishima interjected suddenly, causing both Toshinori and Nedzu to turn to him while Iida complained loudly over the comms. “I’m not hearing anything from them… Is it possible to get some sound?”

“He has a radio in his ear to talk to his teammate,” Nedzu answered, and then he tapped his ear, where his own comm was, “we gave them to both teams before the match started, as well as a map to the building and a roll of capture tape to use to signify that you’ve apprehended the opposing team.” 

Toshinori frowned. “Although, young Bakugou doesn’t seem to be listening to his teammate… It appears he’s gone rogue.”

“Well, that’s not very strategic,” Yaoyarozu commented bluntly, “that’s only going to set both of them up for failure.” She crossed her arms over her chest and shook her head. “He could bomb the exercise for both of them if he doesn’t get it together.”

“I don’t know,” Ashido replied, “I mean, the hero team only has fifteen minutes to apprehend both of the villains or capture the weapon right?”

“Yes,” Nedzu affirmed.

Ashido frowned. “Well, then, the heroes are at a disadvantage regardless! They have no clue where the weapon even is . All Bakugou has to do is keep them away from the weapon and avoid getting captured!”

“That is true,” Nedzu told her, “but Pros have to deal with these sort of disadvantages all the time, Miss Ashido. It’s part of what makes hero work so dangerous.” He held up his index finger. “Even though the odds may not be in our favor, however, it doesn’t mean that the battle is lost. There’s always a way to turn it around.”

Toshinori spared a glance at his successor in the monitor and tried not to purse his lips. Was that his way of saying he wasn’t going to stop the fight yet? Was he trying to test young Midoriya and see how he did? 

Then, he thought back to that fire that burned in his eyes as he stood off against Bakugou and he felt himself simmer a bit. His successor’s voice only showed that much conviction and determination whenever he spoke of becoming a hero. On that day on the beach when he shared the origins of One For All with his successor, he thought that his protege would turn him down and run away, but he didn’t. Instead, he met Toshinori’s gaze with a beaming smile and that same fire in his eyes. 

“I know what it’s like to be helpless…” his voice echoed in his head. “To not be able to save the people you care about… And I don’t want anyone to ever feel the way I did during those times.”

Toshinori took in a deep breath. Even though he was worried about how his protege would fare against someone with whom he seemed to share a lot of personal history, he supposed that he shouldn’t count his boy out so soon when the match had barely started. Still, he wasn’t about to let them continue should things step up.

“Principal Nedzu is right,” he relented, “it’s not wise to count the heroes out so soon.” Midoriya’s determined gaze almost made him smile. “And if young Bakugou isn’t careful, he could easily learn that the hard way.” 

Nedzu raised his paw up with a beaming smile. “All together now!”

The students all seemed to brighten up a bit at that and they raised their fists in unison. “Let’s hear a Plus Ultra!”

“Monsieurs!” Aoyama cut in. “They’re on the move!”

Toshinori turned in time to see Bakugou take on a running start against Midoriya. His protege managed to tell Uraraka to make a break for it right as he blocked a flying kick from his opponent and Bakugou let out a loud growl over the comms.

“Ballsy move!” he exclaimed. “Think you can take me on your own?”

As much as Toshinori trusted the young boy’s abilities, he couldn’t help but worry. During practice, he could handle One For All, but during stressful situations like the entrance exam and the Quirk assessment, he had lost control due to nerves. There was no telling how bad the fallout could be if he lost control in a closed space when facing off against an opponent.

‘You need to get out of there, kid,’ Toshinori thought, his heart beginning to race. Then, he saw a flash of white in the boy’s hands and he blinked. ‘Wait, is that—’

Bakugou seemed to catch on, too, since he got ready to throw another big punch. Midoriya ducked down in time and sprang away from his opponent, the capture tape flying behind him as he landed a few feet from Bakugou. 

“The little guy is doing better than I thought he would!” Sato exclaimed, and were Toshinori not so tense, he might have smiled at that. 

Sero let out a small laugh. “He’s holding his own and he hasn’t even used his Quirk yet!”

Toshinori let out a heavy breath. ‘I suppose that shouldn’t surprise me… He always has been the type to take action, hasn’t he?’ The memory of him running towards the sludge villain and chucking his bag at its face nearly made him chuckle. ‘Even during crisis situations… That fanboy information is really paying off, huh, kiddo?’

“He’s not backing down,” Nedzu observed quietly beside him, “that’s a bit surprising, all things considering.” His eyes cut to Toshinori briefly. “Perhaps he has something he needs to prove.”

“This does seem…” Toshinori drawled, trying to find the words. “ Personal , for both of them.”

Nedzu nodded, almost a bit gravely. “That could prove to be troubling.”

The memory of Midoriya’s previous statements came flooding back to him and he grimaced. While he didn’t know the full history or nature of his protege’s relationship with young Bakugou, he knew that it wouldn’t be wise for him to ignore it if they were going to be in class together in the future. No matter what the results of the match would turn out to be, one thing was very clear to him:

They were going to have to talk about that as soon as class was over.

Chapter Text

After all the years Izuku spent watching Kacchan, he might have thought that he had a grasp on what to expect from him. That turned out to be his mistake, considering that Kacchan looked as though he wanted to murder him then and there, exercise be damned. He stared Izuku down with that same level of vitriol that he did the day that he confronted him outside the school about making it into U.A. 

So, Izuku did exactly what he did that day when push came to shove: he ran away. 

It wasn’t the bravest or even the most strategic move, but he wasn’t about to be risky. They were in close quarters and Izuku wasn’t about to let himself get caught between the wall and one of Kacchan’s blasts when he was growing wilder by the second. 

‘Not to mention he’s got to be breaking a sweat now,’ Izuku thought as he rounded a corner while Kacchan chased after him, ‘that makes him even more dangerous.’

The longer a fight went on, the more Kacchan sweat, and the more he sweat, the more powerful his explosions were. Izuku knew that from experience; he found that out one day when they were tussling together and Kacchan wound up making an explosion that knocked both of them back off their feet. Needless to say, Auntie Mitsuki hadn’t been pleased about that. 

A loud growl echoed through the halls. “ Damn you! You’ve been tricking me for years , haven’t you, Deku?”

Hearing that almost gave Izuku pause as he continued down the hall. “W-What? What are you talking about, Kacchan?”

“Don’t play dumb!” Kacchan snarled. A round of explosions sounded off somewhere nearby, causing Izuku to pick up the pace. “You’ve been pretending to be weak and probably laughing behind my back this entire time!”

Izuku just managed not to trip over his feet as he continued running. He couldn’t let Kacchan rile him up by trying to provoke a reaction out of him; Uraraka had already gone to look for the weapon and he wasn’t going to ruin their chances of winning just because he couldn’t control his emotions. 

‘Focus,’ he told himself, ‘you can do this, Izuku.’

“Where’s that flashy power of yours now? ” Kacchan demanded, his footsteps echoing throughout the hallways. Another blast alerted Izuku that he was drawing closer. “You spent all these years hiding it! Might as well show it off now!” 

‘So that’s what this is about,’ Izuku realized, ‘he’s mad that I didn’t tell him about my Quirk.’

Izuku paused to take a breath and hid behind a corner while Kacchan stormed down the halls. “I wasn’t hiding it!”

“Bullshit!” Kacchan rebuked. Izuku flinched when he heard concrete crumble with another explosion. “Auntie Inko said the doctors told you that you’d never get a Quirk! You saying she’s a liar? ” 

“She didn’t lie!” Izuku replied hastily, only for him to wince. “I-It’s just that it came in late! It’s rare , but it can happen!” 

“Oh, yeah?” Kacchan taunted. He banged his fist on the wall that likely left a crater in its wake. “How long have you had it then? A few years? That why you wanted to try out for U.A. all of a sudden?”

Izuku growled. “It didn’t come in until a couple of months ago!”

A laugh rang out through the halls. “Get real! You just don’t want to admit it that you lied so you could show me up and make a fool out of me by trying out for U.A.!”

“I wasn’t lying to you!” Izuku argued as he got up and began running again. He needed to find a plan, something, anything to get him away from Kacchan. Fighting him could prove to be too much a risk. “I was going to try out for U.A. before my Quirk ever came in! It never had anything to do with you!”

“Oh, that’s rich! ” Kacchan barked out. “In what world would U.A. have accepted someone like you when they could have someone like me? ”

Just like that, Izuku found himself frozen. He stood in the hallway for a moment, unable to move as Kacchan’s words sank in. All those months ago, back on the day when everyone found out he was going to try out for U.A., back when Kacchan burned his notebook and tossed it in the fountain, back when he faced off against that sludge villain and his life changed for the better, he had heard Kacchan say almost those exact words to him. He had been shaking and afraid, cowering beneath Kacchan while he held up his hands that could so easily tear his world asunder.

But Izuku was not that boy. The boy who cowered beneath Kacchan didn’t know that later that day, he would meet his idol and be told he could become a hero. The boy who stood above the fountain and tried not to cry while he looked down at his soiled pages didn’t know that just months from then, his mother would look at him with teary eyes and take him into her arms to say that she couldn’t wait to see him become a hero. The boy who helplessly clawed away at the sludge villain while it tried to make its way into his throat and thought he would die alone didn’t know that on just his first day at U.A., he had made two friends who went out of their way to greet him at school and would surely miss him if he was gone. That boy didn’t know any of these things because he didn’t have the gift of foresight. 

“Young man, you, too, can become a hero.”

“Well?” Kacchan exclaimed. He let out another explosion and Izuku knew he was just around the corner. “What do you have to say to that, Deku? ”

Normally, hearing his nickname would have made him wince. However, as Kacchan shouted it out loud and clear, he found himself thinking back to what Uraraka said:

“It’d made for a great hero name!”

Her smiling face appeared in his mind, causing Izuku to clench his fist. He still may not have foresight, but he had hindsight working in his favor this time around and he wasn’t going to let it go to waste.

‘Uraraka is depending on me,’ he thought, ‘I can’t let her down.’

“I don’t know, Kacchan,” Izuku finally replied. Then, he tucked his capture tape into his belt. “But I do know one thing…” He crouched down to the ground. “You remember what I said that day when you found out I was trying out for U.A.?”

Kacchan scoffed and his steps drew closer. “You mean besides you crying like a little baby?”

“No,” Izuku responded, and his tone was far too calm for how his hands shook, “I said that I wasn’t trying to compete with you. But now…”

In a flash, he leaped into the hallway, right beside Kacchan. He blinked with surprise upon spotting him in his peripherals and he turned to raise both of his gauntlets, his eyes burning with fury. Izuku raised his own hand up and Kacchan’s fury was underlined by a flicker of confusion. 

“I take back every bit of it!” Izuku screamed. 

Then, he flicked his finger and a big gust of air burst forth from it. Izuku fell backwards onto the ground due to the pushback while Kacchan could only stare with wide eyes before the large gust sent him reeling down the hall and into the opposite wall, leaving a crater in the shape of his body. Izuku could hear his breath knock out of his lungs upon impact and Kacchan’s crimson eyes widened. Then, as his body slumped forward, they rolled back into his head and fluttered shut. He fell facefirst into the ground in an unceremonious heap while Izuku struggled to gather his bearings. 

With shaking legs, Izuku stood up from the ground and grabbed his wrist, bracing himself for the wince. However, when he wasn’t greeted with pain, he blinked and stared down at his hand, his eyes widening to the size of saucers.

“The egg didn’t explode,” he whispered, and for a moment, he thought his voice would break. Then, he raised his fist and let out a rallying cry. “The egg didn’t explode!”

God, Izuku felt like he could cry . He hadn’t intended to use his full power on Kacchan, not at all, but now that the moment had passed, he couldn’t help but feel proud of himself for not losing control. Had it been because he was too focused on trying to attack for him to get nervous about it? Or had he subconsciously held back because he knew he didn’t want to hurt Kacchan?

“Deku!” Uraraka’s voice cut in through the comms in a harsh whisper. “What the heck was that sound? I could hear it from all the way up here!”

“My Quirk!” Izuku replied. He could feel his eyes start to burn and closed them to stop the waterworks. “I-I just used it and—” He let out a broken laugh. “The egg didn’t explode!”

Uraraka gasped aloud. “Wait, really? That’s crazy!”

“Who goes there?!” barked Iida, and instantly, Izuku blinked. “Is that a Pro Hero, trying to sneak their way in?” He let out a cartoony cackle. “You fool! You think you can stand up against me on your own? How pathetic!”

“Oops,” Uraraka whispered, “do you, uh, think you can get down here? We’re in the middle of the fifth floor.”

Izuku sniffled but nodded nonetheless. “Y-Yeah! I-I just gotta tie up Kacchan real quick…”

As soon as he turned back to Kacchan, a frown tugged at his lips. He didn’t like that he had to resort to sneaking up on Kacchan in order to incapacitate him, but in the end, he knew that it was probably his only shot of making sure he wouldn’t be a problem for the rest of the exercise. However, he also knew that once Kacchan woke up, he was going to be in an absolute world of hurt; he always was more wily when he caught his second wind.

“I’m sorry, Kacchan,” he whispered softly as he slipped his gauntlets off his wrists. Izuku set them aside and carefully wrapped the capture tape around them. Once Kacchan was tied up, Izuku set him against the wall and stood upright. He fixed his gloves up and readjusted his mask; those were definitely going to need to be repaired.

Then, Izuku took off in a sprint down the hall. As he made his way down the labyrinth of hallways and up the stairs to the higher floors, he could feel his heart getting lighter and lighter with each step. A smile tugged at his lips and he let out a small laugh. He wasn’t sure what his plan was for when he finally met up with Uraraka upstairs, but with time still left on the clock, he knew that things weren’t over yet. 

‘I meant what I said before,’ Izuku thought as he made his way up, ‘like it or not, you can’t stop me.’

* * *

Despite how intimidating Iida was on his own, Ochaco couldn’t help but find it hilarious that he leaned so hard into the villain schtick. Everything from his mannerisms to that silly voice he put on was enough to nearly send her into a laughing fit. Sadly, it wasn’t nearly as funny when she realized that he already prepared for the possibility she’d be on her own by getting rid of anything she could use to fight him with. She supposed she should have been grateful that she was only facing off against him and not Bakugou.

‘He seems like such a butthole,’ Ochaco observed quietly as she stared Iida down. He continued on with his monologue while he stood on guard, poised for any potential attack. ‘I kinda feel bad that Iida had to team up with him.’

“My dastardly tricks have rendered you helpless!” Iida proclaimed. He pointed at her with a flourish. “You’ve blundered , dear hero!”

Ochaco choked back a snort. ‘Well, at least Iida’s committed…’

Still, it didn’t make her situation any less dreary. Even if Midoriya were to make his way down to the room, Iida would see him come in and try to take them both on. The power of numbers alone might not be enough to compete with his speed and control. 

“Uraraka,” Midoriya whispered into her comm, “I got Kacchan handled. Do you think you can keep Iida occupied while I make my way up?”

“I can try,” she replied quietly, not taking her eyes off of him, “just try to hurry, okay?”

Iida’s head snapped up. “What’s this? Is your teammate having trouble dealing with my partner?” He let out a cheesy villain laugh that made Ochaco purse her lips. “I should have figured! That blast sounded like it was a doozy! ”

Ochaco blinked. ‘Wait… he thinks Bakugou did that?’

Then, it hit her; Iida couldn’t hear Midoriya on the comms. As far as he knew, Midoriya couldn’t control his Quirk that well and was probably at a disadvantage with Bakugou. That meant…

Holy crap, they could still win this.

“Deku, you gotta get out of there!” Ochaco exclaimed, trying to sound panicked. She tried to remember how it felt when Bakugou first charged at them both and forced herself to tremble. “Bakugou’s gonna hurt you!”

“Huh?” Midoriya replied into the comms. “Uraraka, what’re you talking about? I’m just fine.”

Ochaco gasped aloud. “Oh, no! Deku, get down before he sends another blast your way!”

“What?” Midoriya blurted out. “Uraraka, that wasn’t—”

“Hehehe!” Iida cackled. “I should have figured! Bakugou is a loose cannon! I bet he has your partner shaking in his boots after that blast!” He struck a dramatic pose. “You two will never defeat us!”

“Ohhh,” Midoriya drawled into the comm, “he doesn’t know what’s happening with us, does he?”

“Nooo!” Ochaco exclaimed, bringing her hand to her face in false panic. “He’s gonna get you, Deku!”

A snort crackled through the comm. “Right. You want me to make another blast so I make it sound convincing?”

“ Hurry , Deku!” Ochaco replied, and that time she was trying so hard not to laugh. “Before it’s too late! ”

Iida banged his fist against his chest. “You heroes truly are incapable! Thanks to your incompetence, we shall be unstoppable! ”

Then, another loud bang! left the floor shaking beneath them, nearly making Ochaco and Iida topple over with surprise. She tried not to smile as Iida straightened up and brought a hand to his comm.

“Bakugou, take it easy! ” Iida snapped. “You’re threatening the integrity of the stronghold!” After a moment, he let out a huff. “ Answer me, damn it! What’s going on down there?”

As he let out a litany of grievances against his teammate, Ochaco took off in a running start towards the weapon. ‘Now’s my chance!’

Iida quickly turned back to her as she drew closer and charged towards her. “Not so fast , hero! I’ve got you now!”

With a smile, Ochaco tapped her hands together and leaped into the air. Iida stared for a moment in stunned silence as she floated over him and sailed towards the weapon. 

‘I just have to touch the weapon,’ she thought, keeping her eyes locked onto it, ‘one move and this will all be over!’

As she drew closer, she practically beamed. “Release!”

However, just as it was within her reach, it quickly disappeared. In a blink, Ochaco found herself spiralling into the floor and crumpled in an upside-down heap. She peeked her eyes open to peer at Iida with a groan, her blurry vision taking in the sight of him and the weapon on the opposite side of the room. 

“ Admirable attempt!” Iida adulated. “But your Quirk’s no threat if you can’t touch anything!” Oh, that villain voice was grating on her now. “I can easily keep this weapon out of your reach until time runs out!”

Ochaco sat up with a grimace. “This isn’t over…”

Iida cackled. “I’m afraid it is! There’s absolutely nothing you can do now! You’re helpless on your own!”

“I guess it’s a good thing you aren’t on your own, then,” said Midoriya, causing Ochaco to go still. She had to force herself not to smile so as not to alert Iida. “I’m right outside, Uraraka. Where’s the weapon at?”

With a flourish, Ochaco shot to her feet and pointed at Iida. “If you think that I’m done for, then you’re crazy! Just because you’re by the entrance now doesn’t mean that this is over!”

“Nice,” Midoriya replied, “think you can get him to run towards you?”

Iida threw his head back with another cartoony laugh. “Oh, how foolish and naive! Can’t you see I have the high ground, dear hero?”

Ochaco grinned. “If you really wanted the high ground, then you would have tied me up when you had the chance! I’d say that was a rookie mistake on your part!”

“‘Rookie’?” Iida blurted out, dropping the voice. Then, he straightened up and clenched his fists at his side. “Antagonizing me won’t do you any good!”

“Then what are you gonna do about it?” Ochaco taunted. “If you want to stop me, then come and get me!” 

She brought her hands together and felt the familiar tug of weightlessness overcome her body. With a single leap into the air, she floated up towards the ceiling. She knew it was a risky move to do the same move twice, especially when the first one hadn’t been successful, but it was a risk she had to take if they wanted to win.

“The same move again? ” Iida exclaimed. Then, he wrapped his arms around the weapon and kicked his jets into gear. “My, you just don’t learn , do you?”

Ochaco couldn’t help but grin. Oh, but she had learned from her last mistake; that was why she wasn’t aiming for the weapon . 

“You wanna know the funny thing about buildings like this?” Ochaco exclaimed as she drew closer to the ceiling. She reared her foot back in preparation and watched as Iida started to take off across the tile floor. While she may not have been going into construction like her parents, she still remembered all the things her parents taught her during visits to their worksite. That included the fact that most buildings, even the practice ones at U.A., came with a specific addition:

“They all come with sprinkler systems! ” she finished. Her foot came into direct contact with the sprinkler head and just like that, water came spraying from it. She knew that it took a lot of force to activate it this way, but it was a gamble she was willing to take. 

Too late, Iida kicked his jets off and his feet slipped into the water. He struggled to regain his footing and let out a loud yelp of surprise, his heels trying desperately to gain some traction on the slippery floor. The weapon came tumbling out of his arms and clanged against the ground beside him while he tried not to slip. 

“Deku, now! ” Ochaco exclaimed.

In a flash, the door to the room opened and Midoriya came sprinting inside his. His mask was still torn and his gloves were now missing some fabric around the fingers. Had Bakugou done that? 

“I got it!” Midoriya proclaimed as he slid over to the weapon. The tile floor allowed him to quickly make his way over and he landed in a heap on top of it. “I got the weapon!”

 “ Noooo!” Iida cried out. He finally slipped to the floor and nearly faceplanted before he caught himself. His hands continued to slip on the tile floor as he tried to reach out towards the fake bomb. “The weapon! ”

Ochaco couldn’t stop herself from smiling. “Release!”

As she landed, she fell into the spray of the sprinkler and nearly slipped. Ignoring the way that her stomach churned, she grabbed the capture tape from her belt and wrapped it around Iida’s raised hand at the wrist. 

“And now you’ve been caught!” Uraraka added. She tightened it around his wrist with a laugh. “Guess it’s time for us to call the cops and have them take you in!”

“You monsters! ” Iida bellowed, shaking his fist dramatically. “You’ve foiled my plans!”

A crackle echoed over the intercom and soon, Principle Nedzu’s voice came on. “Congratulations to the hero team! Team A, you’ve won the exercise!”

“We won,” Ochaco breathed. She made a running start towards Midoriya and slipped down to her knees to meet his level so she could wrap her arms around him in a hug. She didn’t care that they were both wet and cold; she was just so happy .  “Deku, we won! ”

He went still as she squeezed him. “ O-Oh! I-I guess w-we did…”

“All students who are capable, please report to the observation room,” Sensei Yagi’s voice drawled out over the speakers, “we will be reviewing your performance in the mock battle.” He cleared his throat. “Also, we’ll be sure to provide towels so you all can dry off.”

Ochaco pulled back to look at Midoriya. “Oh, how exciting! I wonder what they’ll have to say!”

Iida let out a ragged huff. “Well, I suppose there’s always something I can take from this… I can only hope that I can apply whatever critiques they give to future performances.”

“That’s a great way of looking at it,” Midoriya commended. He leaned over and began to unwrap the capture tape from his wrists. Once the tape was undone, he offered his hand to him. “Although, you didn’t really do anything wrong. You did the best you could with what you had.”

Iida blinked, then smiled at Midoriya. “That’s kind of you to say… Your performance was commendable as well, Midoriya.”

Ochaco let out a small squeal. “Oh, this was so fun! I can’t wait to see what other exercises we do!” After she stepped out of the sprinkler’s spray, she shook her hair out to get rid of the excess water. “Come on, guys! Let’s go see what they have to say!”

“O-Oh, s-sure!” Midoriya stammered. He nearly slipped and fell into her when he tried to take a step. “Oh, that’s slippery!”

“I sure hope that we don’t track water everywhere,” Iida said as he tried to follow them both out. He held his arms out to keep his balance. “That’d be bad for the custodial staff.”

Ochaco couldn’t help but laugh as Midoriya and Iida tried to keep up with her on the way down to the observation room. Man, what a way to start off the school year. She hadn’t expected the exercise to go the way it did at all, but at the same time, she couldn’t deny that it had been a fun experience. Things were a bit touch and go at the beginning and she worried that they wouldn’t make it out on the other side, and yet, there she and Midoriya were, about to take a victory lap down to the observation room.

‘I guess you were right, Deku,’ she thought, barely able to contain the bounce in her step, ‘our egg isn’t cooked yet.’

Chapter Text

Were it not for the fact that one of his students wound up in the infirmary, Toshinori might have said that the first battle of the exercise was a perfect success. As young Bakugou was hauled off to be treated by Recovery Girl, he waited with bated breath as the remaining members of the two teams returned to the observation room amidst the clamoring students. Right as the door opened to reveal the dampened trio, however, several of their classmates came running towards the entrance. 

“Hey, it’s Midoriya!” greeted Kirishima. He flashed a beaming, fanged smile at him. “ There’s the man of the hour!”

Young Midoriya could not have looked more surprised. “Huh?”

“Man, I can’t believe you held your own against Bakugou! ” Sero exclaimed. He landed a playful hit on Midoriya’s arm that caused him to nearly lose his balance. “That guy is absolutely ruthless , isn’t he?”

“Uh, y-yeah, I guess,” Midoriya replied, taking a step back, “h-he can be…”

Nedzu cleared his throat. “ Everyone . You can all chit-chat after class is over.” He gestured to the students who remained with the group. “As for the two teams, can you please step to the front of the room?”

The students who crowded around the trio all sheepishly returned to the group while Midoriya, Uraraka, and Iida made their way over to Nedzu and Toshinori. A light flush fell upon Midoriya’s freckled cheeks when he fell under the scrutiny of all his classmates and he looked down at his hands as he fiddled with the towel around his shoulders. Even with half a mask to cover his features, it was apparent that he looked embarrassed. 

‘Not used to being the center of attention, huh, kiddo?’ Toshinori thought. ‘Well, you better get used to it. You’re gonna have to deal with that a lot as a hero.’

“Now,” Nedzu continued, “after evaluating the first battle of today’s exercise, I think we can all agree that this was quite the spectacle to watch unfold.” He turned to the trio and smiled. “You all performed wonderfully today. Kudos to you for giving it your all.”

While Uraraka and Midoriya both flushed, Iida bowed, causing drops of water to come down from his head. “Thank you, sir! Your compliments are highly appreciated!”

Toshinori almost had it in him to snort. “Your two teams really set the tone for today’s exercise.” He focused on Iida. “However, despite the results, Principal Nedzu and I both agreed that it was young Iida who was today’s MVP.”

Iida blinked and straightened up with wide eyes as the entire class gasped. Midoriya smiled and pat him on the arm, his eyes shining with barely restrained glee.

“I told you that you did good,” Midoriya said quietly.

Asui raised her hand. “But, sir, shouldn’t it be one of the heroes instead? They won the exercise.”

“A fine question, young Asui,” Toshinori acknowledged, giving her a nod, “but there’s more to being the MVP than simply winning the game.” He held up his hand. “Can anyone guess as to why young Iida was chosen over the winning team?”

Yaoyorozu’s hand shot up. “I can answer for you, sir.” 

Toshinori smiled. Just from her first impression in the classroom, he could already tell he was going to like her. “Let’s hear it.”

“Iida embraced the challenge from the very start,” she replied, still holding up her hand, “and while Uraraka and Midoriya were both commendable in their performances as heroes, Iida truly adapted to his role as the villain in this exercise. The same cannot be said for Bakugou, whose actions were far more erratic to settle a personal grudge against Midoriya.” 

Toshinori thought he saw Midoriya flinch out of the corner of his eye upon hearing that last statement.

“He also lacked communication with his teammate,” Yaoyorozu continued, “while Iida was open to communicating, Bakugou did not reciprocate whatsoever. Still, despite this, Iida continued to persevere and made contingency plans for Uraraka’s inevitable arrival.” She opened her eyes to look at Uraraka. “And while Uraraka was determined, she let her guard down when she called Midoriya after he incapacitated Bakugou, which is why Iida was made aware of her presence. Not to mention the fact that she was a bit reckless in trying to grab the weapon in the way she did. If she had treated it like a real one, she would have exercised more care in trying to get it from Iida.” Her eyes trailed over to Midoriya, who stiffened upon falling under her gaze. “As for Midoriya, he took a gamble in taking on Bakugou by himself. Not only that, but he used an attack that very easily could have threatened the integrity of the stronghold not once, but twice, the second time for the express purpose of tricking Iida, which was a gamble.” Yaoyorozu closed her eyes and crossed her arms over her chest. “Both he and Uraraka took advantage of the fact that this was a training exercise and didn’t respect the spirit of the trial.”

As silence consumed the room once again, Toshinori could only stare at her. Well, that certainly explained why she had been let in on recommendations. 

“An astute observation!” Nedzu adulated. “Well done, Miss Yaoyorozu!”

Yaoyorozu nodded. “One should always start with the basics and devote themselves wholeheartedly to learning. That’s the only way to become a top hero.”

Nedzu clapped his paws. “Oh, I couldn’t agree more! I can’t wait to hear what you have to say about the other matches!”

“Alright, everyone,” Toshinori announced, gaining their attention as some of them were still left reeling from Yaoyorozu’s evaluation, “let’s move on to the next team.” He held up a hand. “Try to remember everything that we discussed as you tackle this training exercise for yourself.”

The students all gave a nod. “Yes, sir!”

Toshinori spared a glance over at Midoriya and he saw his protege’s eyes practically sparkle as he stared at Yaoyorozu. His lips were pulled up into a gleeful smile as he rocked back and forth on his feet, his hands trembling with excitement. 

‘Looks like he just found someone he has something in common with,’ Toshinori mused, trying not to smile knowingly, ‘I wonder what he’ll have to say when it comes time to evaluate the other matches.’

He wasn’t left waiting for long when he and Nedzu pulled out the balls for the next exercise: Team B with Todoroki and Shoji as the heroes and Team I with Ojiro and Hagakure as the villains. As soon as he and Nedzu called out the teams, Midoriya’s hand slipped to his chin and his brows furrowed as he started to mumble quietly to himself. He couldn’t quite make out what he was saying through his hand, but he picked up a couple of words that confirmed he was definitely making an assessment of the two teams. Toshinori almost chuckled; he bet that the boy wished he brought his notebook with him.

Then, Iida rested a hand on Midoriya’s shoulder, breaking him out of his trance. “Midoriya, you’re mumbling.”

Almost instantly, Izuku’s hands clapped over his mouth. He stood there for a long moment and his ears reddened to the point that Toshinori didn’t know whether to laugh or feel sorry for him.

“S-Sorry,” Midoriya said finally, his words caught up in his palms. He slowly dropped his hands with a sigh. “Just got caught up in my thoughts, I guess.

A huff of laughter escaped Iida’s nose. “You get lost in your own little world, don’t you, Midoriya?”

“I think it’s kinda cute,” Uraraka commented, and in an instant, Midoriya’s cheeks reddened, too, “you do this little thing where you furrow your brows and your eyes look super intense!” 

“O-Oh…” Midoriya replied. “R-Really?”

Uraraka giggled. “It’s not a bad thing! I actually think it’s adorable.”

Oh, if Midoriya hadn’t been blushing before, he definitely was then. He clapped both his hands over his scarlet cheeks and slid them up over his eyes, his frantic mumbles caught up in stammers and heavy breaths. He finally slid them down to peer at the ground with his brows furrowed in confusion.

“Adorable,” he murmured softly, “have I wound up in an alternate reality…?”

“Huh?” Uraraka said.

Midoriya dropped his hands and waved them frantically. “N-Nothing! F-Forget I s-said anything!”

Toshinori covered up his laugh by coughing into a fist. Had he never talked to a girl before? If so, that would explain some things.

“Now, then,” Principal Nedzu said, gathering the class’ attention, “if we’re all settled…” He leaned up to the mic. “Match #2 is ready to begin! Team B and Team I, your time starts now!”

With one final look to his protege and his friends, Toshinori turned back to the screen. He watched with rapt attention as Todoroki and Shoji made their way into the building and looked to a different monitor to see Hagakure slipped her gloves and shoes off. What material was her suit made from? Had she requested for her gloves and shoes to be made from a different material? He wondered why that was. 

When his eyes settled back onto the lower screen, he saw Shoji’s arms extend outwards and he blinked. Were those ears at the ends of them? Had those always been there? Then, to his absolute surprise, they shifted into the shape of mouths and actually opened up. 

“One’s in the hall on the north side of the fourth floor,” the mouth said. Oh, so Shoji used his arms to talk? Was that why he wore his mask? “And I think the other’s on the same level somewhere. Both are barefoot.” His arms adjusted themselves and the other mouth leaned forward. “I bet the invisible one plans to sneak up and surprise us.”

“I wonder what they’re talking about,” Uraraka murmured behind him, “we can’t hear anything…”

“It was the same way during your battle,” Kaminari whispered out of the corner of his mouth, “we couldn’t hear you guys at all.”

It didn’t pass Toshinori’s notice when Midoriya’s shoulders seemed to slump at that. 

“For your own safety, go outside,” Todoroki said through the comms, causing Toshinori to look back to the screen again. Todoroki stepped in front of Shoji and set his hand on the wall with an intense stare. “I’m sure our opponents intend to fight a defensive battle.” 

Then, as Todoroki continued to walk through the hallway, a frosty mist spread out from his hand and into the air. Just seeing it was enough to make Toshinori shiver out of instinct. 

“But we’ve already won,” Todoroki stated simply. 

Once his palm laid against the wall, ice spread out from his fingertips, causing Toshinori’s breath to hitch in his throat upon seeing how fast it moved across the entire building. He had gotten a glimpse of Todoroki using his Quirk back at the assessment, but this was far more than what he had been expecting. Had he been holding back during the assessment? Or was he just applying it differently since it was combat? Another shiver ran through his body and Toshinori wrapped his arms around himself. Whichever it was, it was powerful nonetheless. 

Uraraka huddled closer to him and Iida. “It’s s-so c-cold…”

“Y-Yeah,” Midoriya affirmed, “I-I s-see why he t-told S-Shoji to g-go outside…”

Todoroki made his way up to Ojiro and Hagakure at a leisurely pace and simply walked past them while they struggled to break free. He looked far too calm, almost like he was taking a walk at a park rather than participating in a simulation.

“H-He incapacitated them w-without c-compromising the w-weapon or his t-teammate,” Toshinori noted through shivers. A shudder ran up his body and he wrapped his arms around himself. “T-Take note of his t-technique, s-students.”

‘I can see that Endeavor did well in training him,’ he thought through shudders, ‘it makes sense his son would take after him.’

“Whoa, he’s so strong! ” Kirishima breathed. 

Midoriya sniffled. “And r-ruthless…”

“The hero team wins!” Principal Nedzu announced as soon as Todoroki laid his palm on the weapon. He straightened up with a smile. “It’s times like this that I’m thankful I have fur!”

Toshinori sneezed and retreated in on himself. “L-Lucky you…”

Then, just as quickly, the ice started to melt, and before Toshinori knew it, the heat kicked on full throttle. He tugged at his collar to allow for better airflow and shook off the melted ice from his body.

“Whoa!” Mineta exclaimed. “Did he just melt the ice, too?”

Principal Nedzu nodded. “That he did. Todoroki is doubly blessed by being able to produce ice and fire!”

Midoriya’s eyes widened. “He has a hybrid Quirk? Those are so rare!”

“He also got in on recommendations,” Asui added, “it makes sense that he’s this good.”

“Man, that just makes him even more intimidating,” Kaminari commented, shivering a bit, “he’s kinda intense, isn’t he?”

Toshinori was inclined to agree. Even as Todoroki made his way out of the building with Hagakure and Ojiro in tow, his demeanor had yet to change. 

‘He went into there expecting to win,’ Toshinori thought, ‘it wasn’t a matter of if… just when.’

“Congratulations to the hero team!” Principal Nedzu exclaimed when the door to the observation room opened up again. He clapped his paws together. “Nicely done!”

Toshinori nodded and tried to ignore how damp his suit felt. “What a grand display of power and precision. I have to say, I’m impressed, young Todoroki.”

Todoroki closed his eyes and bowed his head. “Thank you, sir.”

‘So polite, too,’ Toshinori mused, ‘you have yourself a good one, Endeavor.’

“Now, then,” Principal Nedzu continued, “I’m sure that we can all agree that Todoroki is this match’s MVP! Care to explain why?”

Yaoyorozu raised her hand. “If I may?” 

“Of course,” Toshinori replied, “we’d love to hear it.” 

“Todoroki came in with a clear plan of what he had to do when he stepped inside the building,” Yaoyorozu stated clearly, “and from the looks of it, he decided the quickest, easiest way to incapacitate them was from afar so they wouldn’t know what hit them. Plus, by freezing the entire building, he eliminated the possibility of them being out of range of his attack. By doing that, he both trapped them and the weapon, allowing for easy capture and retrieval. The villain team didn’t have the chance to put any potential plan they had into action.”

“Very good!” Nedzu complimented. “A thorough observation as always, Miss Yaoyorozu!” 

Yaoyorozu nodded. “Thank you, sir.”

“Does anyone have any additional comments for the hero team?” Toshinori asked. When everyone’s eyes failed to meet his gaze, a frown tugged at his lips. “Anyone?”

Then, Midoriya sheepishly raised his hand. “Um… Can I…?”

Toshinori’s smile returned. “Yes, young Midoriya, you may.”

“Um, alright,” Midoriya replied, “well, it’s just, uh, I-I noticed during the match— well, more at the beginning than during, but—” He cleared his throat and straightened up. “It… Well, it looked like Todoroki only knew where the weapon was because Shoji told him.”

Nedzu tilted his head. “Interesting. How could you tell that?”

“The ears,” Midoriya answered, a bit more clear now, “I-I saw Shoji use them in the video…” He turned towards Shoji. “Do you have a higher hearing range in comparison to most people’s when you use your tentacles? Is that why you were able to tell where the other team was so easily?”

Shoji nodded. “Yes. My tentacles allow me to hear things that normal ears usually can’t.”

Midoriya smiled. “Really? That’s so cool! I bet you’d be great for stealth missions.”

“Hm,” Todoroki hummed quietly, “he’s right. I was only able to find the weapon so quickly because Shoji told me what floor they were on.” He closed his eyes. “He even told me they’d be barefoot.”

“Whoa, that’s some mad hearing!” Kirishima commented. “How come you get to be strong and have super senses?”

“A nice addition to the discussion,” Principal Nedzu said, “well done, Mr. Midoriya.”

“O-Oh, thank you!” Midoriya replied. His smile was soft, but it was still bright. “I-It was nothing…”

‘Don’t count yourself out, my boy,’ Toshinori thought, ‘you’re far more observant than you give yourself credit for.’

Nedzu’s eyes lingered on the villain team, who looked a bit downcast. “Now, does anyone have anything for the losing team?”

Midoriya’s hand shot up, though he almost instantly appeared to regret it as soon as everyone’s eyes fell on him. He wilted a bit and his hand dropped down as he slumped forward, his grin turning sheepish. 

“O-Oh,” he said, “uh, c-can I…?”

Toshinori gave him a reassuring smile. “You may, young Midoriya.”

Midoriya straightened up. “Uh, well, it’s just… I-I think that the villain team just got dealt a bad hand, you know? I think you two both have powerful Quirks that could be well-suited for different scenarios and that you both just got caught off guard.” His eyes lingered on Ojiro, who met his gaze. “Like Ojiro. Your tail probably comes in handy during combat and can help you block attacks so you can counterattack while they recover. I’m sure if the other team was forced to fight hand to hand, you’d be able to hold your own pretty well.” Then, his eyes trailed to the pair of gloves and shoes that indicated where Hagakure stood. “And Hagakure! I bet you’re amazing at sneaking around, aren’t you? You kinda gotta be, if you’re invisi—”

Then, he stopped dead in his tracks. Midoriya’s eyes scanned across the room while his classmates stared in silence and he retreated in on himself. His cheeks turned a new shade of red and he looked down, his gaze downcast. 

“S-Sorry,” Midoriya mumbled quietly, “I-I didn’t mean to ramble… I get a little caught up in analysis sometimes…” He wrung his hands. “Sorry if I wound up boring you guys.”

“Hey, dude, it’s cool,” Kirishima said, “you were doing great!” 

Midoriya perked up. “Huh?”

“Yeah, Kirishima is right!” Kaminari commented. He gave him a thumbs up. “Don’t be so down on yourself, man.” 

When Midoriya didn’t seem convinced, Toshinori thought back to the day he introduced Nedzu to the young lad. He had been just as incredulous when his associate showed interest in his notes and was skeptical when Nedzu wanted to learn more. 

“Sorry… I’m not used to people being interested in it. Some people think it’s silly.”

The memory of the burns that marred his protege’s notebook was almost enough to make Toshinori grimace. After what he saw during the match, he had a very good guess of who “some people” was in reference to.

“You seemed to have some notes,” Ojiro added on, breaking Toshinori out of his thoughts, “and after a match like that, I’m more than happy to hear whatever tips anyone has.” 

Midoriya brightened a bit. “R-Really…? You wanna hear what I have to say?”

Hagakure’s hands waved excitedly. “Yeah! And you’re right, Midoriya! I am pretty good at sneaking around.” Judging from how her fists rested downwards, Toshinori guessed she placed them on her hips. “Too bad I got stuck, though. That was kinda my bad.”

“It was just a bad match-up,” Midoriya told her, “it can happen to Pros, too.” 

“That’s true!” Nedzu affirmed. “Sometimes, even a Pro can wind up in a situation where their Quirk is at a disadvantage! It’s an inevitability that you have to learn to prepare for.”

Toshinori nodded. “Today’s exercise is meant to be a learning experience for you all. Throughout the school year, you’ll have plenty of opportunities to prove yourself and show your growth through trial and error.” His eyes lingered on Ojiro and Hagakure. “Even though you two lost today, there’s always something you can take from this experience.” 

“Yeah!” Uraraka chimed in. “And even though Deku and I won, there are still things we can improve on like Yaoyorozu said.” 

“Precisely,” Toshinori told them all, “and that’s what we do here at U.A. Whether you win or lose, there is always something new to learn so that you can keep trying.” His eyes scanned across his students’ faces. “You can try time and time again, but you only truly fail when you give up.” 

Months ago, when Toshinori first took on Midoriya as a protege, his heart had been filled to the brim with something absolutely inspiring. The moment that the young boy looked him in the eye and took him up on his offer was one that he would never forget. That same feeling that pulled at his heart all over again as he looked upon his class of students and just like that, his smile grew.

“All together now?” he asked, raising his fist slightly.

Nedzu nodded and raised his paw. “Let’s hear a—”

Then, with bright smiles, his class raised their own fists high. “Plus Ultra!”

Amongst the crowd, Midoriya stood with his classmates, his smile wide and his eyes sparkling. It was such a far cry from the shy, timid boy he met all those months ago and Toshinori couldn’t have been more proud to see the change. 

‘You’ve grown so much my boy,’ he thought, ‘and I can’t wait to see how you do in the future.’ Then, with the reminder of their upcoming discussion, a frown threatened to pull at his lips. ‘Which is precisely why we need to talk.’

* * *

Izuku was riding a high when class finally came to a close. With every single match that passed by, he learned more and more about his classmates and their Quirks. He had gotten a good glimpse of them back at the assessment, but to see them applied in a combat setting was a completely different experience and he was absolutely enthralled by each match. Oh, if he had known the full details of the battle exercise prior to coming in, he would have thought to grab Volume 13 so he could fill up its pages with content about his classmates. He would just have to cope with filling it up from memory and hoping he could revise them when the opportunity arose. 

‘I have to ask Uraraka and Iida questions over lunch when I get the chance,’ he thought, ‘I wonder what things they learned in their first combat scenario.’

His mind trailed over to Yaoyorozu and he had to suppress the urge to giggle excitedly. Even though she had been candid and even a bit blunt in her observations, he just had to pick her brain for more of her thoughts. Everything she had said back at the evaluation was pure fuel for his notes and he absolutely had to know what her thought process was so he could see about applying it to his own. Did she have her own notes? She seemed the type. 

“You got a bit of a bounce in your step,” Iida noted as they both made their way back to the classroom after changing, “still happy about that win?”

“Huh?” Izuku replied. Oh, right. He and Uraraka had won, hadn’t they? That wasn’t even on his mind at the moment. “Oh, I was just thinking about all the matches. They were all so intense .”

Iida chuckled. “That they were. All of our classmates really showed their stuff today. After everything we saw, I’d say that we’re in for an interesting school year.”

“Heck yeah!” Uraraka piped up, causing both Izuku and Iida to jump back. She giggled when they both stared at her with bewilderment. “Sorry, couldn’t help myself! I saw you two and had to catch up!”

Izuku breathed out a laugh. “Well, today’s exercise really was something else… It’s a good boost for us to get through the rest of the afternoon, wouldn’t you say?”

Then, as if the universe were just waiting for a chance to prove him wrong, someone cleared their throat behind the trio. “Young Midoriya. May I speak to you for a moment?” 

With a blink, Izuku turned to see All Might— ah, Mr. Yagi, standing there. Oh, that was gonna take some getting used to, wasn’t it? “O-Oh,” Izuku stammered out, “um, i-is everything alright?”

His mentor nodded. “Everything is alright. I just wanted to have a quick chat with you, is all.”

“Oh,” Izuku replied. His eyes flitted to Uraraka and Iida, who both seemed as confused as he was. “Um, alright… I’ll see you guys…?”

“We’ll be in the classroom,” Iida told him.

Uraraka nodded and gave his arm a squeeze of reassurance. “See you in a bit, Deku.”

Izuku nodded back and turned back to his teacher. “Should we…?”

“We can go to a private room,” All Might replied, “let’s go.” 

As soon as Izuku joined him at his side, All Might turned his back towards Uraraka and Iida. He offered up a small nod and a smile, which caused both of his friends to relax, if only a bit. Once they fell into step with each other, though, Izuku clutched the straps of his backpack. Was he in trouble? Or was this about something else?

After a short walk, All Might opened up the door to a small room and, to Izuku’s surprise, Principal Nedzu was already in there. He sat at the small couch with a teacup in hand and perked up when he spotted the pair. 

“Oh, good,” Principal Nedzu commented, “you found him. Now we can talk.”

Izuku’s shoulders tensed up. So he was in trouble? Was it because of the match? He practically jumped when a hand landed on his shoulder.

“Relax,” All Might told him gently. He gave his shoulder a squeeze and smiled at him. “You’re not in trouble, young Midoriya. We just wanted to talk to you, is all.”

Izuku let out a small breath. “S-Sorry…”

“It’s no trouble,” Principal Nedzu said, “now, come take a seat.”

With no other option except to run away and never look back, Izuku took a seat at the chair opposite to Principal Nedzu and watched as All Might took a seat beside him. Both of their gazes on him was enough to make him look down. 

“Um,” Izuku said quietly, “is this about the match?”

All Might’s lips drew into a thin line. “It is, my boy.”

Oh, here it comes. He had messed up, hadn’t he? He should have known not to use his Quirk, but when push came to shove, he had no choice! Kacchan was so angry and he didn’t want to run the risk of winding up on the opposite end of one of his explosions after he had accumulated so much sweat, there was no telling what he could do if he had waited a moment longer. Besides, he hadn’t hurt Kacchan, had he? He just knocked him out! Then, Izuku froze. Oh, God, did he hurt Kacchan? Was he in pain because of something he had done—

“Midoriya, you’re breathing really hard,” Principal Nedzu noted, and instantly, Izuku went still, “try not to do that, you might hyperventilate.” 

Izuku clapped a hand over his mouth. “Sorry!”

“My boy, we told you that you weren’t in trouble,” All Might reminded him, “and don’t worry, Recovery Girl is taking good care of young Bakugou. He’s just resting for the time being.”

“Oh,” Izuku replied, and his shoulders slumped with relief. He let his hand fall from his lips. “Um, alright… so what did you want to talk about?”

Principal Nedzu let out a hum of thought. “Well, during the match, Sensei Yagi and I noticed that there seemed to be some… history between you and young Bakugou.”

“I thought you couldn’t hear anything on the monitors,” he blurted out, and then he clapped his hand over his mouth again. Why did he say that?

All Might’s frown only deepened. “Principal Nedzu and I both had earpieces that let us hear the match. It was so we could evaluate communication skills.” He clasped his hands in front of him. “But during your match, we heard you and young Bakugou exchange some… interesting dialogue.”

Izuku remained still, unable to speak. In the heat of the moment, he hadn’t really put much thought into what he was saying, so now, he was scrambling to try to remember what he said. Kacchan had come after him and then when he stood up to fight him, he… 

Oh . Oh, that wasn’t good. 

“Young Midoriya,” All Might began, his voice soft, “why didn’t you tell me that young Bakugou was bullying you?”

Izuku’s hand dropped from his mouth and he waved both of his hands frantically. “I-It’s not what you think! K-Kacchan wasn’t—” He swallowed thickly, trying to find the words. “H-He was just upset with me, is all!”

“You said he burned your notebook,” Principal Nedzu interjected, “and I saw the damage for myself when you showed me your notes all those months ago.” His brows furrowed. “How long has this been going on , my boy?”

“Kacchan isn’t a bully!” Izuku exclaimed. “I-I know he can get really angry, but he isn’t—” He clenched his fists so tightly his knuckles turned white. “He isn’t a bully! ”

Izuku was not an idiot; he knew very well how Kacchan treated him sometimes fell under the definition of bullying. But he also knew that not everyone else saw it that way and that if he tried to raise a voice against him, it’d only make things harder for him. How would it look to everyone else if Kacchan got in trouble just because he played into the role of a villain during the battle exercise like he was instructed to do? And how would Kacchan react if he found out?  

“My boy, he kept calling you names ,” All Might stressed, “he called you—” He paused for a moment and closed his eyes, his lips pulling into a tight grimace. “He called you Deku .”

“T-That’s just a nickname,” he replied, “h-he calls me that because he misread my name once when we were four…” It wasn’t a lie , but it wasn’t the full truth, either. “It just wound up sticking, is all.”

Principal Nedzu tilted his head. “When you were four? So you’ve known each other for a while, then?”

Izuku nodded. “We grew up in the same neighborhood… Our families are friends with each other.” 

Once again, not a lie. His mother and Auntie Mitsuki had been friends since before Izuku and Kacchan had even been born. With only three months between them in age, they had known each other since they were in diapers and wound up growing up together like they were family. Izuku’s mother had a whole scrapbook full of photos where the two of them would sleep in the same crib or go waddling around the house in their All Might onesies. 

“We grew up together,” Izuku continued, “I’ve known him my whole life.” He smiled a bit as he recalled a time when he had been crying and Kacchan made silly faces to make him laugh instead. It seemed like such a distant memory, but it always made his heart light. “He’s always just been there.”

Principal Nedzu’s gaze softened, if only a bit. “His behavior is still a matter of concern nonetheless. He kept taunting you and calling you names during the match.” 

“Kacchan is just competitive,” Izuku defended, “it’s just how he is.” He managed a weak laugh. “Just ‘cause we grew up together doesn’t mean he’s gonna go easy on me, you know?”

All Might didn’t seem convinced. “It didn’t look like he was trying to avoid going easy on you…  He looked like he really wanted to hurt you, young Midoriya.”

Izuku’s fists only tightened. “H-He’s just mad at me right now… I-I made him really upset, so he’s angry with me.”

“All because you didn’t tell him about your Quirk?” Principal Nedzu guessed. He let out a small hum. “Well, I could imagine why that would make him angry, especially since you two grew up together. But he seemed a bit excessive , wouldn’t you say?”

“I-It’s not just that…” Izuku told him. He let out a heavy breath and looked down. “H-He’s mad because I tried out for U.A. just like he did.”

All Might snorted. “So he’s petty , then?”

“No!” Izuku exclaimed. He shrunk down under All Might and Principal Nedzu’s startled gaze and looked away with flushed cheeks. “S-Sorry… I-It’s just that… Kacchan has always wanted to go to U.A. high school and no one at our school has ever made it in…” He finally brought his eyes up to meet with theirs again. “When he found out I was trying out, too, he thought I was trying to undercut him.”

“So he started picking on you?” All Might questioned. “Is that supposed to make it all alright, then?”

Izuku pursed his lips. “It’s not like that… He just got angry at me and then he wound up burning my notebook in the process… B-But he put it out before it got too bad!” Not a lie— Kacchan had thrown it into the pond shortly after, so it didn’t get terribly burned. “He threw it away because he thought he ruined it, but when I checked, I saw it was still alright for me to use.” 

“But your notebooks are your world ,” All Might argued, “young Midoriya, how could you be alright with him doing such a thing without punishment?”

“He was punished!” Izuku blurted out. OK, now he was lying— that is, unless he counted Kacchan being attacked by the sludge villain as some form of divine punishment. He decided that it did, if only because Kacchan came out of it alright in the end. “And he never did anything like that again afterward!” 

He was only telling half the truth, he knew. Kacchan may have avoided him during the last year or so when he first started training with All Might, but it didn’t erase everything that came before or after. He had still been angry with Izuku when he found out he got into U.A. and just like that, he was back to his old ways, threatening him and slamming him into the wall to teach him a lesson like the worthless little Deku he was. 

But he wasn’t that worthless little Deku anymore. Izuku had told him as much during the match and he had put the walk behind his talk to make sure that it stuck. The difference between a year ago and now was that, unlike before, Izuku could fight back . 

“Hm,” Principal Nedzu hummed, “well, that still leaves the issue of his behavior towards you. He acted erratically and clearly had an axe to grind with you during the exercise.” He lowered his teacup. “Midoriya, I don’t think you understand just how serious his behavior was.”

“But he barely did anything to me!” Izuku shot back. “H-He barely even touched me! It’s not like he blew a hole into the side of the building or anything!”

All Might let out a sigh. “Young Midoriya, I trust you when you say that young Bakugou was punished for his behavior in the past and that he hasn’t done anything to you since—” Hearing that felt like a knife in Izuku’s heart. “—but he threatened you. He said he wanted to hurt you. If he truly moved past his feelings, he would have told Principal Nedzu and I about it before the match so we could rearrange it.”

Izuku met his gaze. “But I didn’t tell you, either. So does that mean I should be in trouble, too?”

“My boy, that was different—” All Might tried to say.

“No, it wasn’t,” Izuku argued, “I didn’t tell you about my history with Kacchan, either, but you’re only mad at him for it.” He straightened up his posture and met All Might’s gaze head-on. “I didn’t want to tell you because I wanted to prove I could handle going into the match. And at the end of the day, Kacchan is a lot more prideful than I am.”

That was the most truthful statement he had made thus far. Kacchan was, by all rights and means, very prideful. It was one of the things that both vexed and entranced Izuku, ever since they were both kids. It was a double-edged sword because he absolutely had every right to be prideful about his abilities, and yet, it was one of his biggest weaknesses. That was how Izuku had been able to get the upper hand on him. 

“Plus, he only found out about my Quirk just yesterday ,” Izuku continued, causing All Might to blink, “he had no idea I even had one until the Quirk assessment with Sensei Aizawa.” He furrowed his brows. “But if he said that to you before the exercise and asked you to switch us out, he would have hated it. He’s always hated getting special treatment because he wants to prove himself.”

Now he was just sharing his analysis of Kacchan. Ever since they were little, Kacchan always wanted to prove he was the best. He absolutely hated it when anyone he competed against held back because he wanted for it to be clear that he was the best and that he had won because he was just better . If he caught even a hint that someone wasn’t going all-in like he was, he’d be furious .

“That’s why he was angry with me, too,” Izuku concluded, “he was angry because he thought I was holding back against him.” He set his jaw. “He wants to win, but only against the best . And if he thought I wasn’t giving him my best this entire time, then it felt like a betrayal.”

All Might stared for a long moment, his expression unreadable. As he sat there, Principal Nedzu watched Izuku in quiet contemplation and took another sip of his tea. 

“He’s competitive,” Principal Nedzu commented, “that’s a quality trait here at U.A.”

All Might whipped around to face him. “Principal, you’re not serious —”

“Now, now, I’m not saying he’s without fault ,” he continued, setting his cup down, “it’s good that he wants to prove he’s the best, but he’s been going about it the wrong way.” His eyes met with Izuku’s once again. “I trust your assessment of Bakugou, Midoriya. While it’s apparent you think highly of him, you’re also willing to admit his shortcomings.”

Izuku tried not to let his relief show in his features. “H-He’s like family… Sometimes I feel like I know him better than I know myself.”

“That being said,” Principal Nedzu went on, causing him to tense up, “his behavior in today’s match was still something of concern. Now, while I am aware that he’s been punished for his past behavior, I do think it would be negligent to ignore it.” 

“W-What do you mean?” Izuku stammered out. His eyes widened and his knuckles turned white again. “Are you going to expel him, like Sensei Aizawa said he would?”

Principal Nedzu huffed out a laugh. “Heavens, no. I’m not a grouch like he is. But we will be paying attention to him.

“And make it very clear that his behavior isn’t to be tolerated,” All Might added, “I’ll be sure to have a talk with him.” He crossed his arms over his chest and closed his eyes. “His ego may be justified, but a school like U.A. is bound to shatter it. As his teachers, we’ll have to do our best to counsel him.” 

Izuku almost had it in him to snort. His old teachers at Aldera had said the same thing, too, but that hadn’t really stopped Kacchan. Not that he would say that to his mentor or principal because, at the end of the day, he didn’t want Kacchan to be punished, not if it cost him the chance of becoming a hero. He didn’t hate Kacchan, just the things that he did sometimes. Kacchan was capable of doing amazing things as a hero and holding a grudge against him wasn’t going to solve the issues they had with each other. 

What was Izuku compared to the countless lives Kacchan could save?

“But that will have to wait until he’s awake,” All Might said, sighing a bit, “last I heard, he’s still resting in the infirmary.” 

“Was he hurt that bad?” Izuku asked. He wilted a bit when he remembered how Kacchan slumped to the ground after he fell unconscious and clenched his fists. “I hope he’s alright… Maybe I should go see him and check on how he’s feeling.”

All Might shook his head. “I understand that you’re worried about him, but… Perhaps you should give him a little space. I think he may still feel a bit sore, especially after your match.”

Just as Izuku was getting ready to argue, Kacchan’s voice rang out loud and clear in his head, repeating the words he shouted all those months ago:

“I would never ask for a weakling like you to help me! Don’t think you can look down on me!”

With a resigned sigh, Izuku slumped in his seat and closed his eyes. “Yeah… You’re probably right. I should just leave him alone for now.”

Principal Nedzu smiled sympathetically. “I know things aren’t great between you two right now… But he’ll come around in due time.” He took a sip of his tea. “Once he’s up and walking, I’m sure he’ll be just fine.”

* * *

Katsuki was not fine. Ever since he woke up to a white ceiling and wrapped up under a warm blanket, he had not been fine in the slightest. Then, once he spotted the clock, he had all but shot out of bed once he saw it was the late afternoon. The old bat in the nurse’s office didn’t even have the chance to grab him before he picked up his shoes and made it down the hallways, where he saw the late afternoon sun begin to set through the large glass windows. He grimaced and picked up the pace.

‘Dammit,’ he thought, ‘I missed all my damn afternoon classes!’ His feet slapped against the tile floor as he continued to charge through the halls. ‘That nerd is going to pay for this!’

The last thing he remembered was seeing Deku flick his finger before his world went dark. He had no idea what that nerd did or how he did it, but whatever it was, he hated it. It was Katsuki’s fault for letting the damn nerd get the drop on him. 

“Damn him,” he snarled, “damn that nerd to hell! ”

Then, as he was getting ready to round a corner, a hand clapped down onto his shoulder and he was jerked back. Katsuki turned back with a growl, ready to snap at the old hag for trying to stop him, only to blink when he came face to face with a suit. He sputtered for a moment and looked up to see that skeleton of a man who taught his Hero Basics and Public Relations class standing in front of him. 

“What’re you looking at?” Katsuki snapped. “I gotta go grab my shit from the classroom!”

The skeleton frowned. “Young man, that language is not appropriate for school. It’s unbecoming of an aspiring hero to talk like that.”

Katsuki had it in him to scoff. “ Whatever . Just let me go so I can go grab my things. I need to go pick up my assignments and make sure I don’t fall behind because of that stupid nerd—”

“Young Bakugou,” the skeleton said firmly, “you will do well not to talk to me or your classmates with that tone.” His grip on Katsuki’s shoulder tightened just a tad. God, his hands were so long and bony, like spider legs. It made him seem like the Grim Reaper. “Now, since I’ve caught you, I wanted to have a word with you.”

“Can’t it wait? ” Katsuki snapped. Maybe if he weren’t so frustrated, he might have been more conscious of the fact that he was talking to an authority figure, but his patience had long since worn thin. “I missed all my classes and I need to make sure I have all my assignments so I can turn them in. I’m not about to start the school year with missing work.”

The Grim Reaper didn’t relent. “You can gather your work in just a moment, young Bakugou. But right now, I’d like to have a discussion with you about the battle exercise.”

Katsuki scoffed quietly. “What about it? Is it about how I lost? ”

“No,” the Grim Reaper replied, “it was about the… conversation I heard between you and young Midoriya.” 

In an instant, Katsuki went very still. He heard what they said? Did the entire class hear it, too? Just how much did they know?

“Young Midoriya already explained to me about what went on between you two,” the man continued, which made Katsuki blink, “and he’s assured me and Principal Nedzu that it wasn’t a matter of concern.” 

Katsuki didn’t know whether to be thankful or annoyed. Well, at least the nerd knew when to keep his mouth shut. 

“That being said,” the Grim Reaper went on, and just like that, the tension in his shoulders returned, “I would like to make one thing very clear to you, young man…” He leaned down until he was at Katsuki’s eye level, making his back hunch up a bit. “Your anger will only get you so far. It may be the driving force that keeps you going, but it will not last forever.” 

Perhaps it was the weight in his words. Perhaps it was the way his piercing blue eyes seemed to bore into Katsuki’s. Perhaps it was the gentle, yet firm way he spoke. Whichever it was, it was enough to give Katsuki pause while the man continued to speak. 

“You want to be the best,” he said, “and you want to win. Wanting those things isn’t a bad thing.” Then, his hand grew heavy on Katsuki’s shoulder. “But when they come at the expense of others, then it becomes an issue.”

Katsuki let out a low growl. “What’re you trying to say? ”

The Grim Reaper sighed. “I can see you’re a driven young man. That is a good thing to be, especially at U.A. And you’re quite talented, too—”

“Well, a fat lot of good that did me now, didn’t it?!” Katsuki exploded. He jerked his shoulder away from the Grim Reaper. “What good is being talented if I still wound up losing the damn exercise? And to Deku , no less?!”

His hands started to shake and he grit his teeth. If what that nerd said was true and he really had developed a Quirk late, then what did that mean for Katsuki? Had he really managed to surpass him in just a couple of months when Katsuki had been working hard for the past ten years? What kind of a cosmic joke was that?

“He couldn’t keep up with me,” he continued, his voice low, “he was never even in the damn running… ” Katsuki stared hard at the ground and his boots fell from his grasp onto the tile floor. “But now he has a Quirk and he beats me? Just like that? In front of everyone? ” 

Katsuki could feel his eyes start to burn and it only made him angrier. He always hated to cry and worse yet, he was doing it in front of a teacher he barely knew. What the hell was wrong with him? 

“I had to work hard to get here,” Katsuki snarled, “I busted my ass day in and day out to make sure I knew I was the best!” The tears began to take form and he stomped on the ground to try to ignore them. “I studied for months so I’d score well on the exam and trained every single damn day! I scored first place in the entrance exam, but it wasn’t enough!”

Katsuki wanted to claw his eyes out once he felt the tears start to fall, so he stomped again. Pain jolted up his leg, but he didn’t care, he just didn’t care . 

“When I saw what Deku did at the assessment…” he went on, his voice rising, “when I saw what he did at the exercise… ” Katsuki fought to swallow the lump in his throat. “I realized I couldn’t beat him in a head-to-head fight! He made me look so stupid! ” He slammed his fist into the wall and wanted to scream . “All of my attacks were so fucking stupid!”

“Young Bakugou—” the Grim Reaper tried to say.

“Dammit!” Katsuki cursed. He hit the wall again and again. “Dammit, dammit, dammit! ” 

He felt the same way he did when he was four years old and he couldn’t control his Quirk. His mother and father would try to help him to gain some semblance of control, but he just couldn’t do it. The explosions used to hurt his ears and make him cry, so he’d slam his hands into the walls and the ground in hopes of making them stop, which only made them worse. His mother would grab his arms and his father would restrain him while he screamed and thrashed around, unable to break free of their grasp while his ears rang with the aftereffects of his explosion.

He was just a brat throwing a tantrum and he fucking hated it. 

When his fist got ready to hit the wall again, a firm hand stopped him. Katsuki blinked through his tears and looked up to see his teacher staring at him. His piercing blue eyes shone with pity, which almost made him scream with frustration. 

“Young Bakugou,” he said firmly, “I understand that you’re upset.” Then, he slowly placed his giant hand over Katsuki’s aching fist. “But this is not how you cope when you’re upset.” 

Katsuki bit his lip to keep from cursing. Great, now he was being scolded again. He might as well have gone home and let the hag lecture him. 

“This is only your second day here at U.A.,” the skeleton of a man told him, “and you will have plenty of opportunities to prove yourself.” His hand practically swallowed Katsuki’s as he gave it a gentle squeeze. “You may have lost today… but there is still something you can take from this experience.” 

“Well, so what?! ” Katsuki exclaimed. He could feel a heat start to rise out of his fist, so he jerked his hand away to keep from doing something stupid. As angry as he was, he didn’t want to risk blowing the damn fool’s hands off his body should he lose control. “He only beat me one time! That doesn’t mean a damn thing! ”

He expected to be rebuked. He expected to be scolded. He expected to even be punished. However, the skeleton of a man simply closed his eyes and inhaled sharply. 

“You are a talented young man,” he told him, startling Katsuki, “and there is no denying that you are driven.” 

Then, when his eyes opened, Katsuki froze. There was something deep and untold in his eyes, something that he was too young to understand and know for himself simply because he hadn’t been alive long enough to experience it. He didn’t know this man or what he had been through, but at that moment, Katsuki began to believe that there may have been some credence to his classmates’ assumptions that his teacher may have once been a Pro. The skeleton of a man had clearly seen things that Katsuki had not and faced far scarier things than Katsuki’s wrath. He had gotten a glimpse of something like that when he saw Aizawa use his Quirk, but this was something more intense, something older, something more powerful . 

“But like it or not,” the man continued, “you lost today. And in the future, you may lose time and time again. That is simply life, my boy.” He straightened up and holy crap, just how tall was he? He practically towered over Katsuki. “You may have been at the top for a long time at your old school, but as a first-year at U.A., you’re starting at the bottom with everyone else. You’ll have to work to get to where you want to be. You’re not ready to give up so soon now, are you?”

Katsuki was startled out of his trance and he bristled. “Hell, no , I’m not ready to give up!”

The man tapped his nose. “ Language , young Bakugou. That’s not a heroic trait.” 

“Tch,” Katsuki replied, “like you’d know.”

“I know plenty , young man,” the Grim Reaper retorted, “I’ve been alive on this Earth for far longer than you have. I have faced against things you wouldn’t even be able to imagine while you were still a twinkle in your father’s eye.” He rested his hand on his shoulder again. “But I was young like you once, my boy. So trust me when I say that allowing your anger to get the better of you will not help you to achieve your goals.”

While his eyes remained fixed on Katsuki, it was as if his gaze were somewhere else entirely. It appeared almost as though he were lost in a completely different time and place. 

“Having a fire inside of you isn’t a bad thing,” the Grim Reaper told him, and his words didn’t sound like they were being said to Katsuki, “it can be the thing that drives you to keep moving forward. But, when you allow your fire to take over, it can consume your entire being and you’ll only be left with ashes in its wake.” Then, his eyes focused back on him and Katsuki’s breath hitched. “And once it’s gone, it’ll leave you cold and dead in your grave.”

Katsuki stood there, unable to speak. 

“You’re talented,” the Grim Reaper repeated, though it felt drearier somehow, “and you’re driven.” He gave Katsuki’s shoulder a gentle squeeze. “But when you sort yourself and others into categories of being weak or strong, you only set yourself up for failure. Perfection comes at a hefty price, young man. Do not let it cost you the chance to become the hero our world needs.”

He barely processed it when the man finally let go of him. Katsuki stared straight ahead, his words caught his throat and his cheeks wet with tears he hadn’t realized had fallen. 

“I hope you take this talk to heart, my boy,” the Grim Reaper said softly. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a tissue. “Now, why don’t you get dressed and head on home? I’m sure you could do with some more rest.” 

Katsuki found it in him to be offended. “I don’t need to—”

“I would also suggest you leave before Recovery Girl finds you,” he interjected, causing Katsuki to tense up, “I have a feeling she didn’t just let you walk out of her office barefoot.” He placed the tissue in Katsuki’s hand and gave him a small smile. “Also, before I forget…”

He pulled his briefcase up and cracked it open. Then, he fished out a small folder and offered it up to Katsuki. 

 “I already gathered your class assignments from your teachers,” he said, still smiling, “I stopped by your classes to get them while you were still recovering. I figured you didn’t want to fall behind, so I made sure to get it for you.”

The defiant part of Katsuki wanted to grab the papers and throw them in the man’s face for what he said to him. However, he was too exhausted to rebuke him and figured this was the best option, especially considering that he had shouted at his teacher and cursed in front of him repeatedly. With a begrudging sigh, his shoulders slumped and he looked down at the ground while he took the folder.

“Thanks,” he mumbled out. 

“‘Thanks,’ what?” the Grim Reaper questioned, and Katsuki grimaced at his tone. He sounded just the old hag did.

Katsuki inhaled sharply through his nose. “Thank you… sir .”

The Grim Reaper gave him a thumbs up. “You’re welcome, young man.” 

Huffing tiredly, Katsuki turned on his heel and continued his journey down the hallway. The Grim Reaper didn’t stop him, which he supposed was the man’s way of allowing him to save face. God, what the hell was wrong with him? Why the hell couldn’t he just keep his cool? 

‘It’s that damn Deku’s fault,’ he thought bitterly, ‘it’s always his fault.’ He clutched his boots tightly. ‘Can’t believe I actually lost to that idiot…’

But he had meant what he said before; he wasn’t going to give up, not anytime soon. Deku may have shot ahead of him for the time being, but Katsuki knew that the nerd wouldn’t know what to do with that position. He’d find a way to mess up and once he did, Katsuki would be ready to strike. For now, though, he would just have to focus on catching up on his work so that way he didn’t fall behind. 

‘I can’t worry about what those other extras think,’ Katsuki mused as he drew closer to the locker rooms, ‘or what that damn Grim Reaper thinks, either…’ He shook his head when his words replayed in his head. ‘Whatever… he hasn’t seen anything yet. None of them have.’

Whether or not he was once a Pro, the Grim Reaper had no way of understanding what level Katsuki was trying to aspire to. He could only dream of achieving the same level and status that All Might had while Katsuki knew he was going to surpass the Symbol of Peace one day. And when that day finally came, he sure hoped that the Grim Reaper was there to see it. 

* * *

Teaching was, Toshinori realized, really, really hard. In spite of the overall success of his first class, in spite of the way that his students all smiled and bid him a sweet goodbye when it came time for him to leave, in spite of the way that his heart felt so full when he saw them all light up during all the matches, he couldn’t erase that feeling of unease that lingered deep within his gut whenever he thought back to young Bakugou. The boy’s anger during the match had left a bad taste in his mouth and his feelings only grew stronger when he saw them directed at his successor in such a vicious manner. His instincts were screaming at him not to trust him, to turn him away, to regard the boy with suspicion and protect his protege at all costs.

Then, when he stood in that hallway with Bakugou and stared at his tear-stained face, he was struck with an obvious, but nonetheless heavy observation: young Bakugou was, in fact, a boy. It would be so easy for Toshinori to dismiss his feelings as immature and childish when he himself was an old man, and yet, as he stood and watched while Bakugou fell apart in front of him, he could easily see himself in his shoes because he, too, knew how it felt to be young, angry, and rendered helpless.

Toshinori was only eighteen years old when his mentor was taken from him. When he was fourteen and first gained his Quirk, making it to that point had felt like a milestone of maturity, but now that he was in his fifties, he realized that he might as well have been an infant at the time. Losing his mentor had left a mark on his soul that he would never be without and even though the monster who took her was gone, that same anger he felt when he first lost her lingered deep within him. However, it was that same anger that might have driven him to an early grave had he not been guided by Gran Torino in the wake of her death. 

‘I may not favor your methods,’ Toshinori admitted to himself as he made his way down the hallway, ‘but now that I’m older, I understand what you were trying to do.’

Toshinori had meant every single word of what he said to Bakugou in that hallway: he was talented and driven, there was absolutely no doubt about that. But at the end of the day, his anger could very easily cost him everything that he was striving to achieve. Toshinori could only hope that he would be able to provide a guiding hand to the boy throughout the rest of his time at U.A.

With a tired sigh, Toshinori opened the door to the teacher’s lounge. As soon as he was inside, he closed the door and leaned up against it, his eyes falling to a close.

“So,” said a voice, startling his eyes open. He looked over to see Aizawa laying on the couch in his sleeping bag, tired as ever. “How was your first day, rookie?”

Toshinori wanted to be witty. He wanted to be snarky. He wanted to shoot back a reply that would knock that tired look off Aizawa’s face. However, instead, all he did was let out a long, heavy sigh.

“Teaching,” Toshinori murmured, leaning his head back against the door, “is really, really hard.”

Aizawa snorted, if a bit humorlessly. “Well, then… At least you learned it on your first day.” His eyes fluttered shut and he burrowed back into his sleeping bag. “Welcome to hell, rookie. Hope you enjoy your stay with the rest of us.”

Chapter Text

Izuku wasn’t looking forward to having to face Kacchan when he got to school. By the time he found out Kacchan had left the infirmary, he was both disappointed and yet relieved to find that he had already exited school grounds. While he was glad to know that he was doing alright, it still bothered him to know that Kacchan spent the whole afternoon recovering from their battle. His feelings only grew stronger when he got home and spoke to his mother.

“Just got a call from Mitsuki,” she told him, “she says that Katsuki was really upset when he came home today…” The memory of her sad eyes made his heart clench. “I hope he’s feeling alright.”

‘I do, too,’ Izuku prayed silently. 

Still, despite his heavy heart, Izuku tried to focus on the brighter side of things. At the end of class yesterday, his class was told they were going to be leaving to go on a field trip sometime after lunch and he couldn’t wait to find out what it was for. All Might and the other teachers wouldn’t say. 

“You’ll just have to wait and see, my boy,” All Might told him the day before. He tapped Izuku on the nose and gave him a soft smile. “But I’m sure you and your class will have fun.”

It was still… Strange to have him as a teacher. Sure, he had gotten used to All Might mentoring him during the past year or so, but for him to stand in a suit and actually teach classwork was a completely different experience. After the Hero vs. Villain exercise, the class had been given forms to fill out as practice for filing reports and collaborating with other Pros at agencies, which was both exciting and enlightening to Izuku. While some of his classmates groaned at the idea of doing paperwork after such an intense exercise, Izuku loved writing the report and was happy to turn it in with a bright smile.

‘I was a bit surprised to see him teaching here,’ Izuku mused, ‘but he seems to be doing alright. I think some of the class likes him a bit more than Sensei Aizawa.’

Sensei Aizawa was still taking some getting used to, as well. He was a lot more intense than any of the teachers Izuku had in the past and was a bit stricter, too. After the exercise, he commented to Izuku that getting his power under control during the exercise was a “start”, but that he still had work to do before he proved that he was actually capable of becoming a hero. Izuku hated that it was his first instinct to duck his head down upon hearing that. 

‘I’m still playing catch up,’ he reminded himself, ‘I just have to work harder to get where I need to be.’

As his eyes lifted up to meet the growing familiar sight of U.A., Izuku blinked with surprise. Wait, why was there a crowd of people outside? 

“Hey, kid!” shouted a member of the crowd, causing him to jump. Before Izuku could prepare himself, the stranger darted towards him with a microphone in hand and a cameraman following quickly after. “I gotta talk to you!”

“M-Me?” Izuku stammered. 

All it took was a blink and suddenly, more people from the crowd had come closer. Izuku took a step back, only to back into another person and jump forward with a scream. 

“You’re a student at U.A., right?” asked a reporter. Her hair was pulled into a tight ponytail and her pantsuit was nicely pressed. “Can you tell us what it’s like to have All Might as a teacher?”

Izuku’s eyes widened. “W-What?”

“Look, you don’t have to lie!” shouted the reporter. “I know U.A. can’t afford to have all their students sign an NDA, so you can at least tell me something!”

“I…” Izuku drawled, swallowing a bit. He tugged on his backpack straps. “W-Who told you All Might was teaching at U.A.?”

The reporter’s eyes practically sparkled. “So you admit it!”

Panicked, Izuku waved his hands. “N-No! I-I was j-just ask—”

“Is he teaching the students about heroics?” exclaimed another journalist. 

“How does it feel to have the Symbol of Peace spread his knowledge to the younger generation?” demanded a younger gentleman with a camcorder.

“Is he just as charming in person as he is on television?” gushed the reporter from before.

Izuku practically spun on his feet to try to find an opening for him to escape through, only to find more and more people closing in. 

“P-Please, I-I d-don’t—” he tried to say.

The crowd paid no heed to his words. Their voices joined together became a cacophony of noises that left him unable to even hear his own thoughts, his words catching in his throat. His hands went to his eyes to shield them from the flashing cameras and the loud clamor of voices caused his heart rate to rise to dangerous levels. 

“Why is All Might hiding his new position from the public?” questioned a reporter.

“Answer the question, kid!” one cameraman shouted.

Too many voices, too many noises, too many things all happening at once. Izuku could feel tears prick at the corners of his eyes, which only made his panic increase. Was he really about to cry in front of all these strangers with cameras?

Then, all of the sudden, a pair of hands clapped down onto his shoulders and Izuku looked up with a shuddering gasp. His eyes met with a familiar set of auburn brown eyes and he blinked.

“Uraraka?” he whispered softly. 

Uraraka smiled at him. “Don’t worry, Deku! We’ll get you out!”

‘We?’ he thought. Then, a hand grabbed a hold of the back of his collar and he whipped around to see Iida behind him. ‘Iida, too?’

“Get out of the way! ” Iida exclaimed firmly. “You’re blocking the way onto school grounds!” 

“Hey, you’re ruining our interview!” the reporter shouted.

Uraraka slipped her hand over to Iida. “Hang on tight!”

Before Izuku could ask what she meant by that, he felt his feet start to lift off of the ground. With a startled shriek, Izuku clung to Uraraka and closed his eyes while the three of them rose higher and higher above them. 

“What the hell?” exclaimed a journalist. 

“How’re they doing that?!” questioned another. 

Iida’s arms wrapped around Uraraka and Izuku firmly. “Apologies for my brashness!”

Then, when the familiar sound of his jets kicked on, Izuku braced himself and squeezed his eyes shut tighter. He would just have to pray that the three of them didn’t wind up crashing into the building or, worse, the ground.

“Uraraka, now!” Iida ordered. 

“Release!” Uraraka replied, and just like that, gravity found its way back to Izuku’s body. He let out another terrified scream and clung to both of them for dear life. It wasn’t until his feet touched the ground that he dared to open his eyes.

“They’re getting away!” shouted someone from the crowd. “Get them!”

Iida tightened his grip. “Normally I wouldn’t say to run, but now isn’t the time for manners!” He spared a look at both Uraraka and Izuku. “Hang on!”

Izuku barely uttered out an “OK,” before Iida shot down the pathway and towards the entrance of the school. He spared a glance back at the crowd behind them and froze when he saw them drawing closer, causing him to cling tighter to Iida. Thankfully, they found themselves at the front steps of the school in only a matter of seconds, leaving a good amount of distance between them and the swarming reporters. Once they made it to the doors, Iida kicked the door to the school open and hauled both Izuku and Uraraka inside.

“The barriers will keep them out!” Iida said while he set them down. As the door was getting ready to swing close violently, Iida caught the handle with his hand. Slowly, he closed the door and let it come to a gentle close. With a light sigh, he turned to Izuku and Uraraka. “Are you two alright?”

Izuku let out a wheezy breath. “Pretty sure I saw my whole life flash before my eyes back there…

Uraraka laughed as she fixed her messy hair. “I think that was just the flash from the press’ cameras.”

“Why are the press here on school grounds?” Iida asked. “What do they want to do with U.A.?” He combed his hair out with his fingers and straightened up his uniform. “It’s not time for the Sports Festival and we don’t have any other events going on.”

Upon recalling their questions, Izuku frowned. They thought that All Might was working at U.A., which, while true , wasn’t exactly supposed to be public knowledge. How had they realized that he was actually teaching at U.A. when he was supposed to be in disguise? Was there some sort of leak? Then, he went still. Had All Might’s identity been found out? 

“Midoriya?” Iida questioned, causing him to break out of his thoughts. “You alright?”

Izuku swallowed. “They… asked me questions about All Might.”

“Huh?” Uraraka replied. “Like what?”

“They think that he works at U.A.,” Izuku told her, causing her and Iida to blink, “which is—”

“Ludicrous!” Iida blurted out. He clapped his hand over his mouth and flushed a bit. “Sorry… that was impolite of me.”

Izuku chuckled softly, relief sinking down onto his shoulders. “I mean, you’re still right… I think we’d all notice if All Might was a teacher at U.A., you know? Kinda hard to miss him.”

Uraraka giggled. “ Right? He’s, what? Six feet tall?”

“Seven feet, actually,” Izuku clarified, and she gaped, “and two inches. That’s not even including his hair .”

“Well, I don’t know where the press got that idea,” Iida commented, scoffing a bit, “they must be looking to fill their headlines with something absurd to gain viewership.” He crossed his arms over his chest and shook his head. “And they wonder why people don’t trust the news anymore.”

Izuku felt the weight on his chest lift up a bit. He was sure that if he didn’t know what All Might’s true form looked like, he would never have guessed that his Hero Basics and Public Relations teacher was actually the Symbol of Peace of himself. If he weren’t in the know, he would have thought it was just as absurd as Iida did.

So how exactly did the press come to think that All Might was a faculty member?

“What’re you three doing loitering up here?” drawled a tired voice. All three of them turned and went still when they spotted Sensei Aizawa standing there, looking more annoyed than usual. “And why are your uniforms in such disarray?”

Iida straightened up and held up a rigid hand. “Sir, there are members of the press outside! They tried to bombard Midoriya with ridiculous questions, so Uraraka and I had to forcibly remove him from the crowd so we could enter the school!”

Aizawa blinked slowly. “The press is outside?”

“They were asking questions about All Might!” Uraraka chimed in. “They think he teaches here at U.A.!” 

Something akin to surprise flashed across Aizawa’s features. “They think what? ”

“I know,” Iida affirmed, bringing his hand down in a vicious chop, “absolutely unfounded claims, sir. And they tried to crowd Midoriya in the process of questioning him! It was wildly unacceptable!” 

Aizawa let out a small hum of displeasure. “ Vultures… Where do they come up with this stuff?” 

Izuku shrunk beneath his gaze. “You’re… not mad at me for getting caught up in the crowd, are you?”

“No, problem child,” Aizawa replied, causing him to blink, “the press does what the press does. Not your fault for getting caught up in the worst of it.” He let out a ragged sigh. “I’ll go handle this. Just get to the classroom.”

“O-Oh,” Izuku stammered, “I, um… Thanks.”

He thought he saw the corner of his teacher’s lip tug up. “Don’t thank me just yet. I haven’t had the chance to tell them off for bothering my students.” 

* * *

Toshinori really didn’t know when to quit. It was something he had always struggled with for years, ever since he was a young lad under his mentor’s tutelage. Whenever he’d return from U.A. with tired limbs and slump onto the couch after training, she’d always laugh and stroke his head while telling him to just take it easy. 

“Always a hard worker, Toshinori,” she’d tease, curling a finger around his long bangs. He’d huff tiredly into the couch and she’d chuckle. “You gotta stop burning the candle at both ends, kiddo.”

Now, as an old man, Toshinori still found himself struggling to follow her advice. Even while he was dressed up in his work suit, he had still suited up into his All Might costume underneath just in case he needed a quick transformation. It was a habit he had carried with him for the past few years once he gained his injury and his time limit had shortened to such a degree.

‘And it’s only gotten worse,’ he mused, ‘my power has only grown weaker since I gave Midoriya One For All…’ He grimaced to himself. ‘And since the sludge villain attack.’

Toshinori hated to be on the sidelines when a crisis was happening. However, that trait was just as much of a virtue as it was a vice, because it was that very same disdain for not being able to do nothing that had left him in that position in the first place. He knew logistically that with all the heroes on the scene, young Bakugou would have been saved from the villain, but the hero in him was screaming for him to act. That voice had won over in the end, but all it had done was leave Toshinori worse off than before.

‘I saved him,’ he thought, ‘but by doing so, I’ve cost myself the ability to help more people.’ He closed his eyes with a deep frown. ‘And yet, if I had to do it all over again, I’d go back and save him in a heartbeat.’

That same mindset was the very same reason Toshinori was running late to school on his morning commute. He had already stopped multiple crimes and accidents just by making his way through the city, but they just didn’t let up. Right as he finished one, another one landed right in his lap and he simply couldn’t ignore it, not when there were people crying for help. His classes didn’t start until the late afternoon, but at the same time, he hated to potentially leave his students hanging. He had gotten only just a glimpse of their abilities during yesterday’s exercise and he wanted to see more, he needed to see more because by God, what were they feeding these kids to make them so strong?

Then, his mind circled back to Bakugou and a frown tugged at his lips. He couldn’t stop replaying over the conversation they had in the hallway just the day before. The image of the boy’s tearful eyes and broken voice haunted him well throughout the night, leaving him unable to rest. He had gotten used to dealing with emotional outbursts from Midoriya over the course of their training, but Bakugou’s emotions were far more intense, if not downright explosive. With Midoriya, his emotions had the same ebbs and flows of waves crashing down upon the shore, while with Bakugou, his emotions came with a fuse that could be lit. 

‘Young Midoriya is in tune with his emotions,’ Toshinori mused, ‘they carry through in everything that he does. But with young Bakugou, his emotions are what drive him. He’s subject to their beck and call, not the other way around.’ His frown deepend. ‘I’ll have to see how I can help redirect him towards better control…’

Then, as Toshinori was getting ready to land on an upcoming building for another leap, his phone rang in his pocket. With a frown, he grabbed it from his pocket and sprang onto the roof for another leap.

“Hello?” he asked, trying to ignore the ache in his lungs. God, was he getting tired now? Oh, that wasn’t good.

“Yagi,” said Nedzu, and instantly, Toshinori tensed up, “where are you?”

Toshinori huffed out a sigh when he landed on another roof and leaped. “On my way to work.”

“That so?” Nedzu replied. “Well, then, what’s holding you up?” 

“Just some traffic,” Toshinori replied, which wasn’t a total lie. He did get caught up in stopping a hit and run earlier. “I should be there soon.”

Nedzu let out a hum of thought. “Would that have to do with the string of crimes that happened to occur on your morning commute?” 

Toshinori sighed. He never could hide anything from Nedzu, could he? 

“Nedzu, I can’t just ignore people in need ,” he stressed, “look, we’ll discuss this when I get to the school. Right now, though, I need to see what I can do to help—”

“Yagi, you can’t try to do everything at once ,” Nedzu interjected, and his tone was enough to give Toshinori pause, “you have a duty to your students. They need you, too.”

Toshinori resisted the urge to growl. “Nedzu, I’m sorry that I’m running late, but so long as I get there on time, then it should be—”

“Yagi, I’m not calling you just because you’re running late,” Nedzu cut in, “I’m calling because we have a situation of our own here at campus.” 

“A situation?” he repeated. His eyes widened. “Are the students in danger?”

Nedzu sighed. “The press has shown up to U.A. today. They seem to think that…” He paused, then spoke again with a much softer voice. “That you’re working here at U.A.”

“I am teaching there,” Toshinori replied, blinking in confusion.

“Yagi,” Nedzu said with more urgency, “they think that All Might is working here.”

Toshinori almost stumbled on his feet as he landed again. He fell to a bent knee and clutched his phone tight enough he thought he would break it. 

“They what? ” he blurted out. Toshinori stood up straight and stared hard into the cityscape. “How did they—”

“We have no idea,” Nedzu replied, “but they’ve been swarming the school since early this morning and…” 

“‘And’ what? ” Toshinori demanded. “Nedzu, what did they do? ”

Nedzu exhaled sharply. “I think it’d be easier for you to check for yourself.”

In an instant, a small notification sounded off with, “You have a text message!” Blinking, Toshinori pulled his phone away and opened up his app to see that Nedzu sent him a link. He tapped on it and it took him to a recently uploaded clip onto a news website he didn’t recognize. The site took a moment to load before it showed a media player, which buffered for a moment until it finally played. Toshinori’s breath hitched once he saw Midoriya’s face appear on his screen. 

“Can you tell us what it’s like to have All Might as a teacher?” asked a reporter off-screen. 

“I…” Midoriya said uncomfortably. “W-Who told you All Might was teaching at U.A.?”

Toshinori watched with wide eyes while the reporters around Midoriya drew closer while a voiceover played. “It appears that U.A. has hired Number One Hero All Might to work on-campus!”

“What the hell? ” Toshinori breathed. 

Then, the video continued. “Judging from how students have reacted, they’ve likely been sworn to secrecy!” 

The next clip showed Iida and Uraraka within the fray of reporters and it jumpcut to them rising in the air above them. Iida’s pants were pulled up over his calves, allowing him to blast over the crowd and past the school gates while he held tightly onto his two classmates. As soon as they landed near the doorway, he hauled both Midoriya and Uraraka inside the school building. 

“Other faculty refuse to comment on this development!” the voiceover continued. 

Aizawa’s face appeared next, looking tired and irritated. “You’ve all bothered my students enough. Get out of here.”

“But the news teams have yet to leave!” the announcer said. “The truth will be uncovered and shared with the public! Live updates will be given at U.A.’s school grounds!”

“You’ve got to be kidding me,” Toshinori practically growled, “they’re harassing the students and calling it journalism? ” As soon as the video ended, he put the phone back up to his ear. “Nedzu, are the press still there?”

“They are,” Nedzu replied, which only made him scowl even more, “we’ve had to sneak some students onto campus to get past them.”

Toshinori grit his teeth. Those were kids they were harassing— his kids. Was that all the news had been reduced to nowadays? What was the world coming to? 

“Help!” someone shouted from down below. “There’s a hostage situation happening down at the jewelry store!”

His phone creaked in his hand. Speaking of the world… 

“Yagi,” Nedzu said, causing him to break out of his thoughts, “what are you going to do?”

Toshinori straightened up and let out a sharp exhale. “I’ll be right there. Just… keep a handle on things while I’m on my way, alright?”

“Alright,” Nedzu replied, “we’ll be waiting for you.”

As soon as Nedzu hung up, Toshinori sighed heavily. His eyes fell back to the city below him and he couldn’t help but frown. What kind of a hero was he supposed to be if he couldn’t save everyone that he came across? He was supposed to be the Symbol of Peace, damn it, he was better than this. 

“Oh, thank god! ” someone exclaimed. “Mt. Lady and Kamui Woods are here!”

He forced himself to relax. It would be fine. He didn’t have to jump in, it would be fine . There were plenty of other Pros who could handle the situation without his interference. 

‘Besides,’ he thought as he crouched down to prepare for another leap, ‘my kids need me right now.’

* * *

As if Izuku’s day couldn’t get any more insane, he somehow wound up being voted as the Class President. It was a startling turnout that left him shaken even as he sat to the lunchroom with Iida and Uraraka, the former of which still seemed a bit downtrodden at his loss. A year or so ago, Izuku might have been jumping over the moon at having won, but now, all he felt was this heavy weight at the pit of his stomach. 

‘Three votes,’ he thought, ‘was that really all it took for me to win?’

Izuku had no clue what it was that drew some of his classmates to vote for him. He sure as hell hadn’t voted for himself— why bother if he wasn’t sure he was going to win? Except, he did win, and now he was Class President. How did his life become so strange? 

‘I guess All Might would be happy for me,’ he thought, ‘but… am I really suited for the position?’  

To make matters worse, Kacchan hadn’t said a single word to Izuku. He supposed that should have been expected, all things considered, but it didn’t lessen the sting that Izuku felt anytime Kacchan made a point to avoid his gaze anytime they wound up within each others’ sights. Even an insult would have been a welcome interaction so long as Kacchan was actually interacting with him in some way. 

‘I know he just needs space,’ Izuku thought as he continued to eat his food, ‘but I was hoping that he’d at least look in my direction.’

He sighed. Kacchan’s pride was no doubt wounded after having lost in front of everyone and it seemed that their classmates knew it, too. He was uncomfortably quiet in class and would stare either down at his desk or at the chalkboard upfront while everyone in class talked with one another, then seemingly disappear when it came time to go to the lunchroom. Izuku couldn’t help but feel empathetic; that had been him not too long ago. 

‘He’ll come around in due time,’ Izuku told himself, recalling Principal Nedzu’s words, ‘whenever that is, though, I have no clue…’

“Mmm, this rice is so yummy!” Uraraka said, breaking him out of his thoughts. “So much better than the cafeteria food back at my old school!”

Izuku almost smiled. “Yeah… Lunch Rush really knows how to make a meal, huh?” 

Iida arched a brow and swallowed his bite of food. “Everything alright, Midoriya? I figured you’d be a bit more chipper after class.”

Before Izuku could even begin to think of a reply, however,a tray settled down beside him and he blinked. He turned and nearly jumped out of his seat when he saw Yaoyorozu slip into the empty spot beside him. It seemed Iida and Uraraka shared his surprise, since both of them went quiet upon her arrival.

“Hello,” Yaoyorozu greeted, “I don’t believe we’ve officially acquainted ourselves.” She held her hand out to Izuku. “I’m Momo Yaoyorozu.”

Izuku fumbled with his chopsticks before he finally set them down on the table. “O-Oh! Uh, Izuku Midoriya!” He held his hand out stiffly. “But, you, uh, probably already knew that, didn’t you?”

“You don’t have to be nervous, you know,” she told him, causing him to blink, “we’re going to be working together more in the future. Might as well get used to one another.”

“R-Right…” Izuku replied. He took her hand into his and then just as quickly withdrew it. “Oh, geez, my hand is sweaty…”

Uraraka, thankfully, came to the rescue. “Nice of you to join us, Yaoyorozu! We haven’t really gotten the chance to talk, have we?”

Yaoyorozu shook her head. “We haven’t. But, since Midoriya and I have been voted as class representatives, I figured now would be as good as an opportunity as any to talk.” She picked up her chopsticks and grabbed a bit of rice. “Despite my critical analysis of your performance yesterday, I was impressed by your ability to turn things around. Bakugou seemed like a very wily opponent.”

“Oh, yeah,” Izuku said, laughing a bit. The tension in his chest started to loosen up and he relaxed. “He can be pretty intense when it comes to competition.”

“Well, you proved your merit yesterday,” Yaoyorozu commented, which caused Izuku’s ears to heat up. Her eyes settled onto Iida and Uraraka. “All three of you did. It made for an entertaining match.”

“Your match was pretty amazing to watch, too,” Iida told her, “the way you barricaded the doors to keep the heroes from getting in was a great strategy. Very commendable.” 

Izuku perked up. “Speaking of… I hope this isn’t weird to ask, but… how exactly does your Quirk work? How did you make that stuff?” 

Yaoyorozu swallowed her food. “I can create any non-organic items with the lipids in my body.”

Almost instantly, Izuku brightened. “You can? That’s amazing! How does it work? Does it transform the molecular structure of your lipids? How do you control it? Do you have to be aware of the composition of the item you’re making? What kind of elements can you transform the lipids into—”

“Slow down , Deku!” Uraraka laughed. “Let her answer first!”

Izuku clapped a hand over his mouth. “Uh, right… S-Sorry.”

Yaoyorozu chuckled. “Most people usually don’t ask me questions about my Quirk, but… since you’re curious .” She took in another bite of food and swallowed. “To answer, yes, my lipids undergo a transformation whenever I create items. However, in order to make the item correctly, I have to know the exact molecular composition of it.” Then, to Izuku’s utter surprise and delight, she fished out a small booklet. “I usually carry this around with me. I have multiple editions of it back home in my room.”

“No way! ” Izuku blurted out. “Do you take notes to help you with retention?”

“I do,” Yaoyorozu replied. 

He practically beamed as he turned to face her completely. “How do you usually take your notes? Do you use shorthand to save on time and space? Do you organize the items by function or by type? Or do you usually just take notes on items that you’re likely to use the most?”

Yaoyorozu’s smile grew. “Most times, I use the abbreviations from the element table to make sure I have it right. Plus, I usually sort items out by type, function, and alphabetical standing.”

“Do you use different colored pens and highlighters to allow for easier reading?” Izuku asked. “I was actually thinking about trying out tabs for my notebooks.”

“So was I!” she said. Then, she blinked and her cheeks turned a shade of pink. She brought a hand to her face and chuckled awkwardly. “Sorry… I get a bit… excited when it comes to notes. Didn’t mean to lose my composure there.” 

Izuku held up his hands. “Hey, it’s alright! I like taking notes, too! I actually have a notebook collection of my own where I’ve studied Pro Heroes and their Quirks.” He rubbed the back of his head awkwardly. “When I was little, I would stay up late and watch the news just to add onto my notes…”

“Aw, that’s so cute ,” Uraraka said, which made his cheeks flush.

“Is that why you were mumbling to yourself back during the exercise?” Iida asked. “You were analyzing everyone’s Quirks like they were Pros?”

Izuku’s cheeks only grew hotter. “Uh, yeah… It’s just a force of habit, you know? Some people usually think it’s weird.” 

“I think it’s good to be observant,” Yaoyorozu told him, causing him to turn back to her, “that’s what saved you back during the exercise. You were able to read Bakugou’s movements and predict what he’d do.” 

Iida nodded in agreement. “Your courage and quick thinking under stress will serve you well both as a hero and a leader. Not to mention that you demonstrated an excellent amount of strength and control during the exercise.” He turned back to his food. “Those are some of the reasons that I voted for you.”

Izuku blinked. “Wait, you were one of the three?”

“Whoa, so that’s why you didn’t vote for yourself?” Uraraka commented. “But I thought you wanted to be class representative, Iida.”

Yaoyorozu tilted her head curiously. “It is a bit surprising. I was a bit taken aback when I realized you didn’t even vote for yourself.”

Iida closed his eyes. “Wanting a job and being suited for it are quite different things. Observing the Iida family’s hero agency has taught me that much.” 

“‘Agency’?” Izuku and Uraraka said simultaneously. 

“I completely agree,” Yaoyorozu added. She took a bite of food and swallowed it. “My own family has set the standard for greatness for generations. I can only hope that I can aspire to the same level as the rest of my relatives.”

“Hold up,” Izuku interjected, “what do your families do?” He perked up. “Are you two related to Pros? ”

Together, both Iida and Yaoyorozu tensed up. Their eyes met across from the table and they stared at each other, their eyes lost in a silent conversation that Izuku wasn’t privy to. After what felt like an eternity, they both dropped their heads and sighed dejectedly.

“I was afraid people would treat me differently if they knew about my family,” Iida mumbled quietly. 

Yaoyorozu looked down at her food. “I know exactly what you mean.”

“Are your families…?” Izuku began, trying to find the words to say.

“Filthy stinkin’ rich?” Uraraka finished, nearly making Izuku choke. 

Iida let out another sigh and straightened up. “You see, the Iida family have been Pro Heroes for generations.” He chuckled a bit. “Some people say it even runs in our blood… Like my brother, Ingenium.”

Izuku’s eyes widened. “ The Turbo Hero? He’s your brother? ” He almost started bouncing in his seat. “He’s a super popular Pro with 65 sidekicks at his agency in Tokyo!”

“He’s the eldest son in the family,” Iida continued, and oh, Izuku was so jealous . How cool was it to be related to a Pro? “And as the second-eldest son, I strive to be just like him.” 

“You’re also a legacy kid?” Yaoyorozu blurted out. Her shoulders practically slumped. “Oh, thank god , I thought it was just me and Todoroki here for a bit.” 

Izuku thought he would combust . “You’re related to a Pro, too? ”

Yaoyorozu nodded. “I am. My parents are both Pro Heroes with their own agencies. They’re quite competitive with one another.” She chuckled a bit. “They do a yearly contest to see which one of them will rank higher on the hero charts. It’s a fun way for them to push their limits and try to do their best.”

“My own family is competitive as well,” Iida commented, smiling a bit, “and as the second-oldest son in the family, I strive to do my best, just like my brother.” Then, he closed his eyes and his smile only grew. “But perhaps it’s too early for me to be in a leadership role. I still have some things to learn.” He opened his eyes and turned to face Izuku. “Meanwhile, you’ve shown great strength and determination. Not to mention that you were insightful enough to find out what the judges were looking for in the entrance exam.”

Oh… Right. Iida thought that he already knew about the rescue judges, didn’t he? But Izuku had absolutely no clue they existed until he got his results and opened them with his mother. He had just gotten lucky, was all.

“Uh, listen,” Izuku began, “about the entrance exam—”

Then, with no warning, a loud alarm bell rang out through the cafeteria, causing everyone to go silent and freeze. 

“What is that?” Uraraka questioned.

The intercom crackled for a moment before a voice came on. “Warning: Level Three security breach. All students please evacuate the building in an orderly fashion.”

Yaoyorozu’s eyes widened. “Someone’s managed to get past the school barriers?”

“ That’s what a Level Three is?” Izuku exclaimed. “But U.A. has such high-security measures! They haven’t had a breach like this since—”

The clamor of students drowned out his voice and Izuku stared with wide eyes as everyone abandoned their lunch trays to exit the cafeteria. Before he could figure out what to do, an arm looped through his and hauled him up.

“We can worry about the ‘why’ and the ‘how’ later!” Yaoyorozu proclaimed. “C’mon, we need to make sure that everyone gets out of here safely!” She turned to a group of students who were running past their table. “ Don’t run! You’ll only cause people to panic!”

“There’s been a security breach!” the student barked at her. “People are already panicking!”

Yaoyorozu growled to herself and turned to Izuku. “We need to get to the front and try to slow everyone down. Then we can mitigate the flow of traffic and try to keep everyone safe.”

“We?” Izuku repeated, his voice small.

“We’re class representatives,” Yaoyorozu told him, “it’s our job to make sure that our peers are safe, Midoriya.” She guided him towards the clamoring crowd of people. “Come on. We have to find a way to help.”

Izuku tried not to audibly gulp. Good God, just what had he gotten himself into?

Chapter Text

Shota had seen a lot of things in his lifetime. As a student and teacher, a civilian and a Pro, he had faced off against a lot of things that he might have never imagined. However, in all his years, he had never once seen someone make their way past the barriers at U.A., let alone an entire swarm of people. As he and Hizashi stood at the front entrance to hold back the people at bay, there was some part of him that so desperately wished that he hadn’t chosen to be a hero for his profession.

‘How on Earth does All Might get anything done with these vultures following his every move?’ Shota thought while the reporters continued to scream in his face. He huffed a sigh out through his nose. ‘Doesn’t he ever get tired of the attention?’

“All you have to do is give us All Might!” shouted a reporter. 

Hizashi, who was far more amicable than Shota, remained calm. “We already told you, he’s not here. I don’t know where you heard that he was, but it’s not true.”

“Just give us one comment on the record and we’ll leave!” proclaimed a cameraman.

“I already know how you people work,” Shota droned. God, he did not get paid enough for this. “Give you an inch and you’ll take a mile. Besides, we can’t give you something we don’t have .”

The reporter from before shoved her mic into his face indignantly. “I have good sources that say that All Might hasn’t been as present at his agency lately and that U.A. has hired on a new faculty member! You telling me that’s just a coincidence?”

Shota calmly pushed the microphone away. “You know correlation doesn’t always equal causation, right?”

“You’re avoiding the question!” she exclaimed. 

“I absolutely did not ,” Shota replied, his irritation only growing. 

As the reporters continued to shout and demand answers, Hizashi leaned over in a hushed whisper. “You know, they are trespassing… That means they’re kinda acting like villains. Maybe we should handle them like ones?”

Were he not so tired, Shota might have cracked a smile. “Don’t even think about it, Mic. Unless you want your name dragged through the mud, it’s better to just wait for the cops.” 

God, they were only halfway through their first week and things were already going wrong in every possible way. The moment that Shota and Hizashi heard the alarms go off, they both made their way down to the front of the school and found the press past the barriers. He had no clue how they managed to do that or what else they might have done prior to his arrival, which only made his agitation grow. Weren’t there laws to prevent this exact sort of thing from happening? What happened to holding the paparazzi accountable? 

‘Can this day get any worse?’ Shota mused.

Then, one of the reporters at the back broke from the group. “Look! Another faculty member!”

“Huh?” exclaimed the reporter who had been giving Shota grief. She turned on her heel and pushed her way through the crowd. “Out of the way! I gotta talk to this guy!”

Shota looked up in time to see more of the reporters make their way down to a lone figure standing at the entrance of the school. With a blink, he realized that it was Yagi, dressed in an ill-fitting and disheveled suit. 

“Oh, crap,” he murmured, stepping away from the school entrance, “they’re gonna eat him alive .” He turned to Hizashi. “Mic, stay here, I’ll be right back.”

Hizashi nodded back at him and in an instant, Shota made his way towards the crowd. His eyes burned like hell, but the desire to teach the press a lesson burned stronger, sending his patience to an all-time low. He grabbed a hold of his scarf and prepared for the possibility of having to restrain someone should things go too far.

“Sir!” the reporter shouted. She finally shoved her way through the crowd and made it to where she was right in front of Yagi. “Sir, can we get some of your comments on U.A. hiring All Might as a new faculty member?”

Shota wasn’t sure how he expected for Yagi to react; he didn’t seem like a confrontational person. It wouldn’t have surprised him if he balked and faltered under the security of the press or even tried to run away. However, instead, Yagi met the woman’s gaze head-on and stared down at her with tired eyes. 

“And just where exactly did you hear such a thing?” Yagi questioned. “What makes you so sure U.A. hired All Might to work as a teacher?”

The reporter shoved the microphone in his face. “Stop avoiding the question! Everyone here has been giving us the run-around when all we want is answers! Now tell us—”

“I don’t have to tell you a thing ,” Yagi snapped, causing the reporter to blink. Then, he placed his hand over the microphone and he shoved it away from him. “And neither does anyone else here on campus, especially after you harassed my students.”

“ Your students?” another reporter blurted out. “Are you also a teacher here? Have you run into All Might?”

Yagi reeled on the reporter and instantly, the man shrank down under his gaze. “I haven’t run into All Might because, as my colleagues have told you, he isn’t here .” He crossed his arms over his chest and scanned the group of reporters and camera workers. “I don’t know where you got your sources from, but whoever they are, they got it wrong .” 

Shota stared as the reporters all started to quiet down. ‘Holy crap, is this working?’

“But sir,” the first reporter tried to say, “All Might has been spotted in the area multiple times recently and U.A. says they hired a new faculty member. I understand if you want to stay confidential—”

“Let me make one thing very clear, young lady,” Yagi interjected, “you and your little group of reporters have got the facts wrong . Plain and simple.” His gaze was ice-cold as he stared them all down. “Did you all really come down on the basis of some loosely-knit theory in hopes of getting a story out? Are you all really that desperate for viewership?” 

Shota had not known Yagi for very long and as such, didn’t know much about him. Hizashi and Nemuri had already spent the better part of the last couple of days trying to figure out more about their new colleague and kept making guesses on why U.A. hired him, ranging from him being a retired Pro to being an underground hero none of them had heard of. Initially, Shota rebuked such assumptions and chalked it up to U.A. needing more teachers, especially since a couple had retired from their positions in recent years. However, as Yagi stood there in the sea of reporters with his arms crossed over his chest and his dark eyes staring each and every single one of them down, Shota couldn’t help but begin to think that perhaps his friends had been onto something.

“You come to U.A.,” Yagi continued, “you break onto school grounds and breach our security. Then, on top of all of that, you harass my colleagues and my students . And you, what, expect for us to just offer you kindness and respect when you’ve done the exact opposite to all of us? What kind of backward thinking is that? ”

“We just want answers!” exclaimed a cameraman. “No one will give them to us!”

Yagi scoffed. “You want answers , huh? Well, if you’re so curious , then allow me to repeat what my colleagues have said time and time again.” He straightened up and Shota was struck by just how tall he was. Was that a result of a mutation? “All Might isn’t here at U.A. He was not hired on as a new faculty member. As for why he’s been seen in the area, your guess is just as good as mine.”

“You’re still avoiding the question!” the reporter retorted. “Give me one good reason to believe All Might wasn’t hired by U.A.!”

Then, to Shota’s surprise, Yagi smiled. However, it was not the smile of a happy man or the smile of someone who was putting on a brave face. If anything, Shota likened it to an animal baring its fangs. 

“You’re all involved with the news,” Yagi replied, “so it stands to reason that you all have to stay on top of different happenings in order to make sure you have all the facts. So, tell me, do you really think All Might has the time to teach at U.A.?” He chuckled to himself. “While I’m sure he’d be honored to be offered such a position, I’m afraid he’s just too busy . If you don’t believe me, then check some of the news reports from this morning.”

As if they were one being, everyone in the crowd fished their phones out of their pockets and opened them up. Curious, Shota followed suit and pulled his own phone out to search the news pages. He wasn’t left waiting for long when he saw a litany of headlines that had dropped within the past couple of hours alone with All Might’s face and name plastered all over. When he looked up again, all of the reporters’ faces had either dropped or turned a deathly shade of white.

“Judging by your faces, I’m sure you all realize that he’s had quite the busy morning for himself,” Yagi said, still smiling, “and as I’m sure you can all guess, there’s simply no way that All Might could have the time to do his job as a hero and teach at U.A.” He calmly rested a hand on the reporter’s shoulder and tilted his head. “If you want more answers, then, by all means, you can take that up with his communications team at his agency. But I will warn you; they probably won’t take too kindly to your questions after this.”

“But if All Might wasn’t hired, then who was? ” asked another reporter. “No one’s told us that!”

“Ah,” Yagi replied, “I can answer that for you.” He raised his hand up with a bright smile. “For everyone watching right now: hello, there! I’m sure you’re all a bit disappointed to learn this, but I’m the new teacher here at U.A. I must say, I wasn’t expecting all this fuss over little old me. I just might blush .” 

Shota covered up his snort with a cough. ‘Oh, they’re never gonna recover from this one, are they?’

The reporter looked up at him, the flickers of defiance slowly dying out in her eyes. “But… But my sources…”

“Perhaps you should learn to check your sources a bit more thoroughly,” Yagi said with a chuckle, “Otherwise, you might find yourself a bit disappointed with the truth.” He waved at the camera. “Naomasa, if you’re watching this, then hello!”

Shota had seen a lot of things in his lifetime. As a student and teacher, a civilian and a Pro, he had faced off against a lot of things that he might have never imagined. However, in all his years, he had never once seen a group of reporters look so downtrodden all at once. It was truly a remarkable sight that he would likely carry with him until his dying days. 

“Well, I should really get inside,” Yagi told the reporters, “I have classes to teach today and I don’t want to leave my students waiting.” He patted a reporter on the shoulder and began to make his way through the crowd, who did nothing to resist him. “Take care now.”

Once he stepped out of the now-dispersing crowd, Yagi spotted Aizawa. He held his hand up in a small wave and gave him a nod of acknowledgment on his way down to the entrance. With another snort, Aizawa nodded back and watched him as he joined Hizashi at the door. 

‘Sorry for doubting you, rookie,’ Shota thought, his lips threatening to tug up into a smile, ‘though I gotta wonder… just where the hell did Nedzu find you?’

* * *

To say that Izuku was panicked would be an understatement. As Yaoyorozu continued to haul him through the crowd of people in an attempt to get to the front, he found himself trying to think of what the best course of action was. However, that was a bit hard to do with a bunch of people jabbing their elbows into his sides and face. 

“Quit shoving me!” Yaoyorozu demanded when someone knocked into her. She pushed them away with a loud growl of frustration and straightened up, pulling Izuku up to her level. Her eyes met with his and he faltered when he saw their fire. “C’mon, we have to think of something! We’re not going to be able to help anyone if we just stand here!”

“I-I’m trying!” Izuku replied, though he wasn’t sure how much he was telling the truth. Another shove nearly knocked the both of them over and he quickly pulled Yaoyorozu close to him to keep her from falling. “Sorry, that wasn’t me!”

Yaoyorozu huffed angrily. “This is completely unacceptable! Where are the teachers? Where are the faculty? It’s pure pandemonium! ”

Izuku’s eyes trailed across the crowd. Where were the teachers and faculty? Surely they would have seen to it that they were getting out safely, wouldn’t they? So where was everyone?

‘Level Three security breach,’ he recalled, ‘someone got into the school…’ He tensed up. ‘Are they busy handling the threat?’

“They’re probably out sweeping the building,” Izuku told her, “I don’t think they know who broke in.”

“Damn,” Yaoyorozu cursed, “so I guess we’re on our own for the time being.” Then, she perked up, determination burning in her eyes. “Well, someone has to do something . Maybe if we make our way to the front, we can stop the flow of traffic.”

Traffic . As soon as the word slipped past his ears, an idea came with it. That was it! Traffic!

“Yaoyorozu,” he said, turning to her, “you said you’ve memorized different compositions for items in case you need them for an emergency, right?” 

Yaoyorozu blinked, but nodded nonetheless. “I do. What do you have in mind?”

“Traffic wands!” Izuku replied. “Can you make some and hold them up so we can get people’s attention?”

“Traffic wands,” she repeated softly, and for a moment, Izuku thought she was about to scold him for his idea. Then, she brightened up. “Yes, I can make those!"

Her hands went to her thighs and Izuku was both startled, yet entranced when he saw black, plastic handles start to pop out of her legs. In a matter of seconds, Yaoyorozu pulled out two fully formed traffic wands and held them up for him to see. With a click of a button, they both turned on.

“Alright,” Yaoyorozu said. When someone shoved into her, she grimaced and tried to straighten up. “Now what?”

Before Izuku could answer, however, someone in the crowd seemed to leap above everyone else. He blinked in surprise and his eyes only widened when he realized that it was Iida. Then, in a flash, his friend hiked his pants up over his calves and kicked his engines into full throttle, sending him flying across the hallway. 

“What in God’s name is he doing? ” Yaoyorozu exclaimed. When Iida began to spin through the air, her eyes nearly bugged out of her head. “He’s gonna slam right into the wall!”

Sure enough, within a matter of moments, Iida went flying right into the wall above the exit. His glasses were gone and his body was only staying up by his grip on the pipe on top of his head. 

“Listen up!” Iida exclaimed, his voice carrying through the room. “Everything is okay!”

A hush fell over the crowd and just like that, the shoving stopped. Izuku blinked and straightened up so he could try to see better. Even from where he stood, he could see Iida’s legs trembling while he tried not to fall down. He really hoped that he didn’t. 

“It’s just the media outside!” Iida continued. His face pulled up into a grimace and his grip tightened on the pipe. “There’s absolutely nothing to worry about. Everything’s fine!” When he turned to face the crowd, Izuku was struck by the fire that burned within them. “We’re U.A. students! We need to remain calm and prove that we’re the best of the best!”

A collective sigh of relief seemed to wash over the crowd and Izuku himself could feel it. He turned to Yaoyorozu and gave her a shaky smile, his hand coming up in an awkward thumbs up. 

“Want me to give you a boost?” Izuku asked. He jerked his thumb up. “That way people can see you better?”

Yaoyorozu smiled and nodded. “Sure thing.” 

In one fluid motion, Izuku ducked down to his knees in a crouch and Yaoyorozu swung her legs over his shoulders to sit on them. Once his hands were secure on her calves, he straightened up, allowing Yaoyorozu to tower above the crowd of students.

“Everyone, remain calm!” Yaoyorozu ordered. She held her arms out with the traffic wands in hand. “Midoriya and I will help redirect you through the hallway and ensure you’re safely escorted through!” She waved the wands expertly. “There’s no need to panic or rush. Everything is completely fine, just like Iida said.” 

Izuku let out a small breath of relief as everyone followed Yaoyorozu’s orders and he slowly walked through the crowd to lead people. His eyes trailed up to Iida, who was finally able to come down with the help of some students. A smile spread across his lips and he chuckled to himself.

‘You may not think you’re ready for a leadership position,’ Izuku thought, ‘but I think that there are a few people who wouldn’t be inclined to agree.’

“Hey, Yaoyorozu?” Izuku said quietly once Yaoyorozu paused in speaking. When her eyes fell down to meet his, his smile weakened a bit. “Can I talk to you before class starts?”

* * *

Toshinori was very thankful once he finally made it to Class 1-A and it seemed that he wasn’t the only one. Upon entering, he was struck by the sight of all his students in a disheveled state of wear, their faces all a mix of exertion and lingering tension. Toshinori tried not to frown; while he was happy that the press mostly decided to leave on their own accord until the police arrived and handled the few stragglers that stuck around, his unease had yet to disappear.

‘Whoever bypassed the security system was not just a reporter,’ he thought, his hands clenching into fists at his side, ‘the press may be a bit overzealous at times, but that was not the M.O. of an erratic journalist.’ He almost grimaced and closed his eyes. ‘I can only hope that whoever was responsible is found soon…’

“Oh, we’re here,” said Midoriya. He entered the room with Yaoyorozu in tow— Why was she carrying traffic wands? Was that for a class project no one told him about? “I thought we’d never make it back in time.”

Yaoyorozu huffed quietly. “Today has been quite the trial because of the press. They seriously disrupted our school day and sent everyone into a panic by breaking in. It’s a good thing we were able to calm everyone down.” 

“Ah,” Toshinori said, realization dawning on him. He gestured to the traffic wands in her hand. “Is that why you have those?”

She nodded. “It was Midoriya’s idea. He helped me redirect the flow of traffic to make sure everyone was orderly after Iida managed to calm everyone down.”

“I-It was nothing,” Midoriya said, a light shade of pink dusting across his cheeks, “I just held you on my shoulders, is all.” He rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. “You two were the real heroes today.”

Before Toshinori could reply, Iida came into the room. “Everyone, hurry! Class is about to start!” He offered a stiff wave to Toshinori. “Hello, Sensei! I hope you’re well!”

Toshinori cracked a smile. “Same to you, young Iida. Good to see you’re in high spirits.” He blinked. “Wait… Where are your glasses?”

“Ah,” Iida replied, “my other ones got stomped during the stampede.” Then, he reached into his pocket and fished out a pair. “Luckily I carry extras with me!”

“Well, it’s good to know you’re prepared for anything,” Yaoyorozu commented, smiling a bit. She placed a hand on Midoriya’s shoulder and led him to the front of the room behind the desk. “C’mon, Midoriya. Sensei told us to wait upfront for him when he finally comes in.”

Toshinori arched a brow. Why did Aizawa want to talk to them both? What exactly happened while he was gone? 

“Oh, good, you’re all here,” Aizawa drawled, nearly making Toshinori jump. He turned to see him walk into the classroom and shuffled over to the podium beside Yaoyorozu and Midoriya. “Now that you’re all seated, we can let our class representatives pick out the class officers.”

‘Class representatives?’ Toshinori thought. He turned to see Midoriya practically shaking beside Yaoyorozu and his eyes widened. ‘Wait, so he was voted into the position? And on his third day of school?’

Yaoyorozu nodded at Midoriya. “It’s time, class rep. Let’s begin.” 

Toshinori nearly choked. ‘He’s the lead representative?’

“R-Right,” Midoriya stammered. His entire body looked tense and he swallowed audibly. “OK, so we need to figure out who the other class officers will be… But, um, before we do…” He ducked his head down, his eyes staring endlessly down at the desk. “W-We have something to say… Um, Yaoyorozu?”

Yaoyorozu nodded in acknowledgment. “During lunch, I sat down and talked with Midoriya. After everyone was escorted safely through the halls, we decided to talk a bit more about what we thought would be best for our class.” She closed her eyes. “And Midoriya told me that he was willing to step down so that I could be the lead class representative.” 

The room broke out into small murmurs and gasps. Toshinori stared at Midoriya as his shoulders slumped further down, his eyes pointedly not meeting his own. Was he really stepping down so early? He had only been appointed earlier that day, hadn’t he?

Yaoyorozu held up a hand. “I know this may be a shock. However, Midoriya and I discussed this at length and it was made apparent that this is meant in the best interest of the class.” She bowed her head. “I know I came second in the votes, but I hope that you’re all alright with this decision.” 

“But who will be the vice representative?” asked Asui. “Are we going to do another vote or are you going to appoint someone?”

“God, please, not another vote,” droned Aizawa, “just pick someone and move on.”

“U-Um,” Midoriya said quietly, “I, uh, actually already had someone in mind…” He looked up and stared out into the classroom. “A-And I think that Tenya Iida should be the vice representative.”

Toshinori turned to see Iida nearly jump in his seat. The boy’s eyes widened and he blinked a few times, disbelief permeating off his features. 

“H-He was able to catch everyone’s attention and get us all in line,” Midoriya went on, straightening up a bit. The weight seemed to melt off of his shoulders as he spoke and he smiled a bit. “His courage and quick thinking under stress will not only serve him well as a leader, but also a hero.” His smile only grew when he turned to Yaoyorozu. “Yaoyorozu also agreed with me.”

Yaoyorozu nodded and raised her hand. “I motion for Iida to be voted as the new vice representative. Who else seconds it?”

Midoriya’s hand shot up. “I do!”

Silence hung in the air for a moment and Toshinori felt a frown tug at his lips. Then, to his surprise, another hand rose in the air. Toshinori blinked when he saw it was Kirishima, whose lips were pulled up into a crooked smile. 

“You know what,” he said, “if Midoriya and Yaoyorozu vouch for him, then I’m good.” He brought his hand back down and flexed his arm. “He totally manned up and took control of that situation back there. It’s ‘cause of him we didn’t get trampled.”

Kaminari chuckled. “Yeah, I can get behind Iida, too. He also looked like the dude on the emergency exit signs when he was standing on top of the doorway!”

‘He did what? ’ Toshinori thought. ‘What the hell happened while I was gone?’

One by one, more hands raised up, and with each one, Iida’s eyes only grew wider. While not everyone’s hands raised up, it was clear that the few who did meant the world to him. His lower lip looked as though it were about to tremble before he pursed them together, his hands clenching into fists on his desk. He stood up from his desk and met the eyes of everyone in the classroom. 

“If the class truly wishes to nominate me for this position…” Iida began, his voice growing more clear with each word, “then I humbly accept the position.” He raised his hand up high above his head and locked eyes with Midoriya and Yaoyorozu. “I pledge to carry out the duties of vice class representative to the best of my abilities!”

“Sounds great, Emergency Exit!” Kirishima adulated with a beaming smile and a thumbs up. 

Aizawa huffed tiredly and Toshinori turned to see him sit up in his sleeping bag. When had he crawled into that? “This is a waste of time. I don’t care who the rep is, just hurry up and pick the other officers.”

“Yes, sir,” Yaoyorozu answered. She gestured for Iida to come to the front of the room. “Iida, do you have any suggestions for who our other class officers should be?” 

Iida made his way to the front in almost record time. “I do, Yaoyorozu.” His hand clapped down onto Midoriya’s shoulder hard enough to make him jump. “And I think that Midoriya would make a fine addition as a class officer.”

“Huh?” Midoriya blurted out. He looked around the room and then pointed at himself. “M-Me?”

“I couldn’t agree more,” Yaoyorozu added, causing Midoriya to nearly gape, “and judging from your observation skills, I’d say you’d make a wonderful secretary.” She turned back to the rest of the class and held up a hand. “Now, does anyone second this motion?”

“I do,” Iida commented, raising his hand.

Then, Uraraka practically shot out of her seat to raise her hand. “I third it!”

“Ah, what the heck?” Kaminari drawled. He raised his hand up. “Secretary Midoriya it is!”

“I’m on board with it,” Kirishima said, “we need more men as secretaries!” He raised his fist into the air. “Break those gender norms, dude!”

Midoriya’s head snapped to and fro with each person who raised their hand in support of his nomination. His cheeks bloomed into a rosy shade of red, his hands retracting into his chest. Toshinori hadn’t seen him look so scared since the day of the sludge villain attack. 

“You know, I can get behind it, too,” said Ojiro as he raised his own hand, “you seemed pretty observant yesterday during the exercise.”

Hagakure lifted her hand next, though Toshinori could only tell because of her jacket sleeve raising up. “Secretary Midoriya has my vote!”

“And mine,” added Shoji. 

Toshinori’s eyes scanned across the room and he watched the expressions on each of his students’ faces. Some seemed mostly indifferent while others appeared a bit more enthusiastic about the decision. The only outlier was Bakugou, who pointedly stared down at his desk and avoided everyone’s gazes. 

‘He’s still probably feeling a bit sore,’ Toshinori mused, ‘he’s not used to not being everyone’s first choice.’

“U-Um,” Midoriya stammered, “a-are y-you s-sure?”

“I’d say so,” Yaoyorozu replied. She smiled at him and gave him a wink. “Maybe you can get a notebook just for class officer duties.”

Almost instantly, Midoriya brightened up, which nearly made Toshinori chuckle. “O-Oh… That sounds… really nice, actually.” He straightened up his posture and then bowed forward. “I-I won’t let you down!”

“That’s the spirit,” Iida replied, giving him a thumbs up. He turned back to the classroom. “Now, is anyone interested in being the class treasurer and helping maintain the annual budget?”

“We have a budget? ” blurted out Ashido. “For what?”

Yaoyorozu nodded. “During festivals and school events, it’s up to the treasurer to help coordinate the budget and fundraising for these events. They also have to coordinate with the public relations committee in the classroom.”

“Yooo, can I do that?” Kaminari asked. He raised his hand. “They’re in charge of planning and helping with fundraising, right?” 

“Hey, I used to help with fundraising back at my school all the time!” Kirishima said. “How many people are usually on the committee?” 

Ashido raised her hand. “I want to be on the committee! They also help plan parties and fun events, and I’m great at those!”

Sero chuckled at his desk. “Well, I’d say I can save the committee some money on tape , at the very least. Someone’s gotta help hang up posters.”

“Well, then,” Yaoyorozu said, clearly pleased, “I guess we just need someone to be the lead officer.”

The four students all turned to one another quizzically, murmuring amongst themselves. As they all spoke, Toshinori’s eyes trailed over to Bakugou. He practically slumped in his desk and wouldn’t look up. 

“How about young Bakugou?” he suggested before he could think. 

Bakugou’s head snapped up. “What?”

“Wait, really? ” Kaminari replied. “How come?”

Toshinori shuffled uncomfortably beneath the class’ gaze. “Um, well… It’s just…” The young boy’s tear-stained face crossed his mind again and he straightened up a bit. “Young Bakugou placed in first place at the entrance exam. Taking that into consideration, he’s going to be chosen as a representative to speak on behalf of the class at some points in the future, like at the Sports Festival. It would make sense for him to be more involved in public relations as an officer.”

He didn’t even have to turn his head to know that the young boy was staring intensely into the side of his head and he judiciously decided not to meet his gaze. Thankfully, he was rescued when Kirishima put on a bright smile.

“You know what, I can see that,” Kirishima said, “I can get behind Bakugou being on the committee.”

“Huh?” Bakugou blurted out. He sat up straight at his desk and turned to face Kirishima. “The hell you trying to—”

Then, he paused and blinked. His eyes trailed over to Toshinori briefly and he scowled to himself before looking down at his desk. 

“Tch,” Bakugou said quietly, “yeah, sure, whatever…” He crossed his arms over his chest. “Just don’t be annoying about it, alright?”

Toshinori’s brows raised. ‘Wow… He sounded almost nice that time. I’d argue that’s progress.’  

“I’m sure you’ll do well with the responsibility, young Bakugou,” Toshinori told him, giving him a reassuring smile. He gave the group of teens a thumbs up. “I can’t wait to see what you all do.”

“Um…” Uraraka interjected gently. She raised her hand timidly. “If no one else is interested in the treasurer position… I’d like to take on the role.”

“Do you have experience in working with budgets?” Iida asked. “If so, we could definitely use that.”

Uraraka nodded excitedly. “I do! I help my family budget all the time! I even have a notebook for it.”

“Perfect!” Midoriya exclaimed. He looked like he was about to start rocking on his feet and the sight nearly made Toshinori snort. “I’m alright with it if you guys are!”

Aizawa huffed tiredly from the corner. “You’re not hurrying.”

Iida’s hand shot up. “Anyone who opposes Uraraka?” When no one did, he delivered a sharp chop. “Alright! Uraraka is our treasurer!”

“That just leaves the historian,” Yaoyorozu asserted, “they’re in charge of documenting everything in class throughout the school year.” She raised her hand. “Anyone interested?” 

A small hush fell over the room and Toshinori frowned. Back when he was at U.A., the historian hadn’t exactly been the most sought-after position, either. It wasn’t something that most aspiring heroes usually wanted with their resumes. 

Slowly, a hand raised up. “I can do it if no one else will, ribbit .”

“Alright, Asui!” Midoriya exclaimed. 

“I told you to call me Tsu,” she replied bluntly.

Midoriya chuckled awkwardly and flushed a bit. “Sorry… Still getting used to that.”

“Alright!” Iida proclaimed. “That seems to just about cover it!” He turned to Aizawa and bowed. “We’re ready for you, sir!”

Aizawa snorted quietly and rose up from the ground. “Took you all long enough… Everyone take a seat so we can go over today’s training for your class.” 

He shed his sleeping bag like a second skin and stepped out of it with the ease of memory and practice. How on earth did he get away with doing that? Toshinori couldn’t do that… Could he? No, no, he absolutely couldn’t . He couldn’t back to sneaking in naps during the day, that was a slippery slope he almost wasn’t able to crawl back from. 

“Today’s training is going to be a bit different,” Aizawa went on, “you’ll have three instructors.” He gestured to Toshinori. “I, Sensei Yagi, and another faculty member will be keeping tabs on you.” 

Toshinori frowned. ‘That’s likely due to the break-in earlier.’

“Sir, what kind of training is this?” asked Sero. 

Aizawa answered by picking up a card and holding it out for everyone to see. “Rescue. You’ll be dealing with natural disasters, shipwrecks, stuff like that.”

A chatter of excitement ran across the room and everyone began to murmur amongst themselves. Toshinori found it in him to smile; at least the earlier events of the day didn’t put a damper on their spirits. They were definitely going to need them for the upcoming exercise. 

‘Rescue training will a lot more different than the battle exercise,’ Toshinori mused, ‘it requires a lot of quick-thinking.’ His eyes settled onto Midoriya, who was practically beaming at his seat. ‘It’ll be good to see where you stand on the rescue front after all these months of training, my boy.’

“Guys, I’m not finished yet,” Aizawa droned, and almost instantly, the class went silent. With a sigh, he continued. “What you wear in this exercise is up to you. I know you’re all excited about your costumes.” He lazily turned to the wall and pressed the button, which caused the cases to come out one by one. “But keep in mind that you’re still not used to them and they could limit your abilities in these exercises. Especially considering that this special training will be taking place at a facility off-campus.” Aizawa waved his hand in dismissal. “We’ll be taking a bus to get there. Go ahead and get dressed so we can head down there to start.”

As everyone began to get up, Toshinori couldn’t help but bring his hands together excitedly. Yesterday had given him just a taste of what his class could do and he couldn’t wait to see how they did during rescue simulations. 

‘Now we’re getting into the full swing of things,’ he thought, a bounce threatening to make its way into his step as he followed the class out. His gaze trailed over to Bakugou, who seemed a bit less downtrodden than the day prior. ‘Besides… after yesterday’s exercise, I’m sure things are bound to go a lot smoother this time around.’

Chapter Text

Shota wasn’t a fan of field trips. Back when he was a student at U.A., he and his peers had gone on a litany of trips to different facilities to test out their Quirks and train to better their skills for hero work. To him, it seemed like a whole lot of work that could easily be done on-campus with its many facilities and training grounds, but he supposed he was the only student in that school of thought. One of the things he looked forward to after graduation was knowing that he wouldn’t have to go on another one again, only for him to wind up at U.A. and enter the cycle anew. However, it was very, very different to be an adult acting as a chaperone on a field trip, and nowhere was that made more apparent than when he sat with Yagi for the trip. As the students talked amongst themselves, his associate remained quiet and occasionally glanced away to check on the students, his hands clasped in front of him nervously. 

‘Not much of a talker, is he?’ Shota observed to himself. ‘Wonder why he became a teacher of all things…’

Still, he didn't feel quite so comfortable striking up a conversation to find out, so he merely sat and stared ahead. He barely registered the voices of the class during the bus ride aside from the occasional rise in volume that would prompt him to spare a glance around the bus, only for the sound to die down just as quickly. It was the same usual noise that made being a teacher unbearable at times and he could already tell just from the trip that he was going to need a long nap to counteract the exhaustion he was going to feel. Had the press not pulled that stunt and infiltrated campus grounds due to some unknown assailant, he would have been sound asleep in the teacher’s lounge while his class was out. 

‘I’ll just have to hope I catch some rest on the way there,’ he thought. Shota closed his eyes with a ragged sigh. ‘So long as nothing bothers me, that is.’

“How’s young Bakugou been today?” Yagi asked suddenly, causing Shota’s shoulders to tense up. 

Shota didn’t even open his eyes. “What?”

“Well, its just…” Yagi continued, bit quieter that time. “Has he been acting strange to you?”

Shota huffed quietly. “Considering it’s only his third day, I can’t say for certain if I’m a good judge of what’s ‘strange’ for him.” His eyes fell shut. “He might just not be a talker.”

“I… suppose I can understand that,” Yagi relented. Shota heard the bus seat squeak while Yagi adjusted himself. “I guess I’m just worried that what I said to him yesterday made him upset… He seemed downtrodden and didn’t say much back in class. Perhaps I was too hard on him.”

“‘Hard on him’?” Shota repeated. He regarded him tiredly from the corner of his eye. “What’d you say to him?”

Yagi’s shoulders slumped with a sigh. “You went over the footage… You saw how he was during that exercise.” 

Shota frowned. He had gone over the footage and knew exactly what Yagi was referring to. Initially, he thought that Bakugou’s behavior was a result of him leaning into the villain role, but upon hearing his threats towards the hero team — Midoriya in particular, it seemed — it became clear that there was something clearly amiss between them. However, when he went to Nedzu about it, the principal merely waved him off and told him that it was “handled.” Exhausted by the day’s events, Shota took his superior’s word for it and went to take a nap in the teacher’s lounge.

“I’m guessing you had some words for him?” Shota assumed aloud.

“I did,” Yagi told him, “I also talked with Principal Nedzu and young Midoriya about it to get a better sense of the situation.” His lips drew into a thin line. “Young Midoriya assured me that whatever personal issues they had weren’t as bad as we assumed, but it was still concerning to see. When I tried to speak to young Bakugou about it, however…” 

“He didn’t take it well?” Shota guessed.

Yagi nodded. “He seemed a bit… emotional about his loss yesterday afternoon. I assured him that he’ll have plenty of opportunities to prove himself in the future and that losing is a part of learning, but I’m not sure how willing he was to truly hear that.” His hands clasped together nervously. “I hope I didn’t make a mistake during our talk.”

“You can’t control how people take what you say,” Shota replied bluntly, causing Yagi to blink, “no matter how kind you are, there will always be someone who will fail to see the good in it. It’s impossible to please everyone.” He let out a weak snort. “You can’t expect to win everyone over like All Might can.”

It was a half-hearted joke, one that only he might find funny, but he could hardly find it in him to care. Almost everyone he spoke to seemed to have an admiration for All Might and the rest were villains who opposed his ideals. Quite frankly, Shota didn’t see the appeal; he was far too boisterous and loud for his liking. While he may not know All Might personally, he knew enough to decide that the two of them simply wouldn’t get along under any circumstances.

A small, raspy laugh broke Shota out of his thoughts and he blinked when he saw Yagi trying to stifle his laughter with his hand. Yagi coughed into his fist and then hit his chest to get the rest out of him with a weak wheeze, his lips still pulled up in a strained smile while he recovered. After a beat, he straightened up and faced Shota with another chuckle.

“Ha,” Yagi punctuated, still smiling a bit, “I suppose you’re right. Not everyone is as grandiose as he is, are they?” 

“That’s… one way of putting it,” Shota affirmed. Upon remembering the Symbol of Peace’s beaming smile, he let out a ragged sigh. “He’s a bit…”

“Overzealous?” Yagi finished. When Shota blinke, he chuckled. “You said that the other day. I believe you also said he’s idealistic.” 

Shota vaguely remembered saying something like that. It sounded like something he would say, so he didn’t argue against it. 

“He’s a fine hero,” Shota stated, “I won’t disparage the work he’s done for our society.” The corners of his lips threatened to tug into a frown. “But he acts like he’s invincible and in turn, it creates a false sense of what being a hero is. This job is a dangerous one and shouldn’t be treated the same as being a celebrity. A lot of kids I’ve taught have learned that the hard way.”

Yagi’s smile faded. “Is that why you were so hard on young Midoriya?”

Shota huffed out a sigh through his nose. “He’s got spirit… and I will say, I am impressed with how he handled things during the exercise yesterday. He didn’t even break his bones that time.” Then, he frowned. “But one good exercise doesn’t prove he’s suddenly in control of everything. He still flubbed it at the exam and came dead last in the assessment. The only reason he even made it in is because he destroyed his body.” Shota closed his eyes with another sigh and leaned back. “If that’s how well he’s managed to control his Quirk since it manifested, then there’s not much I can do to help him.”

“Well, that’s not very fair,” Yagi replied, “he only had a couple of months to train with it before the exam.”

Shota’s eyes snapped all the way open. “What?”

“His Quirk,” Yagi repeated. When Shota slowly turned to face him, Yagi’s brows furrowed. “It… didn’t manifest until a couple months before the exam.”

“It what ,” Shota stressed. It was less of a question than it was a statement of shock. He straightened up in his seat and stared at Yagi. “How do you know that?”

Yagi arched a brow. “It’s in his file.”

“It’s what ,” Shota said again, unable to contain his surprise. He replayed Yagi’s words over and over again, trying to make sense of them. “I… His Quirk…” Shota sat up as straight as a board. “He’s a late-bloomer? ”

Yagi stared at him. “You didn’t know.”

Shota did, in fact, not know. He typically didn’t make it a habit to go digging for his student’s files unless something came up in a lesson and considering what he saw at the exam, he felt it would be a waste of time to bother trying to find something in Midoriya. However, now that he knew that he only had his Quirk for a few months…

“God, no wonder his body can’t handle it,” Shota realized, “it’s not used to it.” Such a power in a body that wasn’t used to housing a Quirk was akin to putting a tiger in a cardboard box and hoping for the best. How on Earth had the kid not killed himself? Then, he closed his eyes tiredly. “But be that as it may, he should have known better than to try out with so little practice. He could have—” The words “hurt himself” almost slipped out before he remembered that was already written in stone. “God, why on earth would he do that?”

Yagi shifted uncomfortably. “W-Well, I’m sure that—”

“Whoa, are we here? ” exclaimed Kaminari from behind them both. He sat up and nearly fell over before catching himself by grabbing onto one of the safety rails. “That place looks huge! ”

“ Kaminari , sit back down!” Iida ordered, reaching over to pull him back down by the belt. “You’ll fall over and hurt yourself!”

Shota let out a sigh and grabbed the railing to stand up. “Simmer down everyone. We’re about to pull in.”

Some of the class had the grace to look embarrassed when they turned to face him. “Yes, sir.” 

With a quiet huff, Shota turned back to the front and sat back down. “Let’s just hope the press didn’t come down here…”

“You give them too much credit,” Yagi told him. He held up his bicep and flexed it, which showed barely, if any, change in size. “You forget they’re the same people who confused me for All Might. ”

Shota snorted. “Reporters… I’m convinced they share a single mind.”

“Or brain cell ,” Yagi commented.

Another snort escaped Shota and he almost clapped his hand over his face for it. He blinked in surprise at himself and turned back to Yagi, who merely smiled at him.

“Was that a smile?” Yagi asked.

Shota met his gaze a bit too seriously. “No.”

Yagi chuckled. “Alright, if you say so…”

When the bus finally came to a stop, Shota waited for Yagi to step out into the aisle before following suit. The class clamored excitedly as he and his associate took the lead off the bus and Shota breathed out a sigh of relief upon getting a breath of fresh air. He may have been a homebody by nature, but it was still nice to get out of a cramped space with a bunch of teenagers. 

‘Let’s just hope today goes alright,’ Shota thought as he stepped off the bus, ‘otherwise, I’m gonna sleep like the dead when the day is over.’

* * *

When Toshinori first heard that one of his associates was making a facility to train future heroes for search and rescue all those years ago, he was nothing short of delighted to hear the news, especially when he heard it was being spearheaded by someone he worked with personally. While U.A. was always ahead of the curve on ways to help their student body improve and reach their potential, Toshinori had to admit that he was a bit jealous that he couldn’t experience the U.S.J. as a student himself. He supposed he should be thankful he got to come now, albeit as a teacher.

“Make sure you have all your things and let’s head inside,” Aizawa told everyone as they trailed out behind him, “if you realize you forgot something once you were inside, then tough luck.”

Despite his associate’s tone, Toshinori offered the students a smile. “But first, it’s about high time we introduce you to the faculty member that will be helping us in today’s simulation.”

The class all exchanged looks that spanned from quizzical to excited as they gathered their things and made their way off the bus. It seemed that Thirteen was just as excited to start the exercise as the students were, her unmistakable silhouette landing within Toshinori’s sights the moment he drew closer to the entrance. As the Rescue Training Specialist at U.A., Toshinori knew that if he were going to be a part of a lesson revolving around rescue, there was no one better suited to aid him than them. He witnessed her heroic debut firsthand in Japan when she was still in her early twenties and was left absolutely speechless when he witnessed her use her Quirk to put an end to a catastrophe. 

Thirteen waved a gloved hand. “Hello, everyone! I’ve been waiting for you!”

“Hello!” Toshinori greeted, waving back excitedly. How long had it been? A couple years? It was so hard for him to tell sometimes. “It’s nice to see you again!” 

Thirteen paused in her wave and tilted her head. “Oh, you must be Yagi! I didn’t realize we already met.”

Toshinori’s fingers curled subconsciously and his hand withdrew to his chest. ‘Right… she doesn’t know who I am, does she?’

“It’s the Space Hero, Thirteen!” Midoriya exclaimed excitedly, breaking through the awkward air. He bounced on his heels with sparkling eyes. “The chivalrous Pro who’s rescued a ton of people from disasters across the world!”

Uraraka let out a cheer. “Thirteen is one of my favorite heroes!”

Straightening up a bit, Toshinori found it in him to smile. Just because he couldn’t speak to Thirteen as a fellow Pro didn’t mean that the exercise still wouldn’t be fun. The rescue training was sure to be an excellent way for both the winners and losers of the prior day’s exercise to try to apply what they learned in a new setting and allow them to get a fresh start if their results hadn’t been favorable before. His eyes briefly flickered back to Bakugou, who hung at the back of the group. 

‘I’m sure young Bakugou will appreciate the chance to show his stuff,’ he mused, ‘he said himself he wasn’t ready to give up.’ He turned back to the front. ‘Let’s see how much he means that.’

Thirteen gestured to the door. “Welcome! I can’t wait to show you all what’s inside!” 

The students all let out shouts of joy and clamored with one another, which only made Toshinori’s smile grow. He would dare to say he was just as, if not more excited than they were to see what the rescue simulation had to offer and it only grew with each step he took. Thirteen held the door open for the class and Toshinori gave her a nod as a silent thanks while he stepped inside. Then, as he stepped aside to let the rest of the class file in, his eyes widened to the size of saucers as he took in the full sight of the facility and its contents. Connecting from the central plaze, Toshinori could see peeks from different sections, his gaze darting to and fro in an attempt to see them all at once.

“Holy crap! ” Kirishima blurted out. Were Toshinori not so awestruck, he might have reprimanded him for the language, but he supposed it couldn’t be helped. “It’s like an indoor amusement park!”

Thirteen nodded. “A shipwreck… A landslide… A fire… A windstorm… You name it.” Her arms spread out to gesture to all the sections at once. “I created this facility in order to train future heroes to deal with different types of disasters. I call it the Unforeseen Simulation Joint!” She pointed to the class excitedly. “But you can call it the U.S.J.!”

Toshinori clasped his hands in front of him. “What a grand facility! I’ve heard amazing things, but I’ve never seen it for myself.” He tapped his fingers a bit shyly. “What kind of decisions went into making a place like this? I imagine it was very intensive.”

“It was,” Thirteen affirmed, nodding, “it took a lot of work to design this place in order to do what I wanted. I worked with specialists to see how we can simulate disasters and how to best maximize the space.” She clapped her hands. “I was so excited the day that we finally opened this place up!”

Toshinori’s smile weakened a bit. With how busy he was as the Symbol of Peace, he never quite had the time to pioneer a project quite like this. Still, it wasn’t as though he had any grand ideas like Thirteen’s so perhaps it was for the best that he didn’t have the time. 

“Time’s ticking,” Aizawa interjected, causing Toshinori to blink, “we should get started.”

“Excellent!” Thirteen replied. She straightened up and cleared her throat. “But before we begin, I would like to say something to you all… Or, well, two things. Maybe three. Or four, or five—”

As the students groused, Toshinori smiled sympathetically. ‘I guess I should feel glad I’m not the only one who struggles with public speaking.’

“Listen carefully,” Thirteen continued, “I’m sure you’re aware I have a powerful Quirk. It’s called Black Hole. I can use it to suck up anything and turn it to dust.” 

“Yeah, you’ve used Black Hole to save people from all kinds of disasters, haven’t you?” Midoriya chimed in. 

Thirteen nodded sagely. “That’s true… But my Quirk could also very easily be used to kill.” 

An unexpected hush fell over the class and Toshinori himself could feel the tension rise. He turned to face Thirteen and gone was her cheerful energy, replaced instead by a serious and even demeanor. Thirteen gestured to the now silenced class.

“Some of you also have powers that can be dangerous,” Thirteen went on, “in our superhuman society, all Quirks are certified and stringently regulated, so we often overlook just how dangerous they can be.” Toshinori’s fist subconsciously clenched as she spoke. “Please don’t forget that if you lose focus or make the wrong move, your powers can be deadly. Even if you’re trying to do something as virtuous as rescuing someone.”

Toshinori’s lips drew into a thin line. He knew that very well; One For All may have dimmed in flame, but even so, he had to be mindful of how he used it. If he were to stay at 100% at all times, he could wreak havoc on his surroundings. His eyes trailed over to his young protege, whose power had the potential to far exceed his, and his fist only grew tighter. 

“This job is a dangerous one and shouldn’t be treated the same as being a celebrity,” Aizawa’s voice echoed in his head, “a lot of kids I’ve taught have learned that the hard way.”

“Thanks to Aizawa’s fitness tests, you have a solid idea of your Quirks’ potential,” Thirteen said, gesturing to Aizawa briefly. Then, she gestured to Toshinori, causing him to straighten up quickly. “And because of Sensei Yagi’s combat training, you likely experienced how dangerous your powers can be when used against other people.” She brought both hands forward and clasped them together. “Carry both of those lessons to this class. Today, you’re going to learn how to use your Quirks to save peoples’ lives. You won’t be using your powers to attack or each other, only to help. After all, that’s what being a hero is all about: ensuring the safety of others.”

Toshinori’s gaze found Bakugou amongst the crowd and there, their eyes met. The boy’s expression was unreadable, but his eyes betrayed a maelstrom of emotions that nearly made Toshinori look away. Within it, Toshinori saw the same determination and heat as the afternoon prior, brewing into something far more intense.

“That’s all I have to say,” Thirteen concluded with a bow, “thank you so much for listening.”

The class let out loud cheers, but Bakugou didn’t break his stare. Toshinori brought himself to look away in order to regard Thirteen and clapped along with the rest of the class. 

“Right,” Aizawa announced, gaining everyone’s attention, “now that that’s over…”

As if on cue, the lights in the immediate area began to dim. Toshinori blinked and turned to watch as each of the lights crackled and slowly powered down. Was this a part of a performance? Was Thirteen trying to immerse the class into the training by setting the tone?

Then, a chill ran up Toshinori’s spine and he went still with unmistakable dread. His hand clenched as he whipped around to face the central plaza and his eyes widened upon spotting a strange, violet energy around the fountain. In a flash, it expanded into an unidentifiable shape, filling the air with an awful sound. Toshinori wanted to turn to see if Aizawa was reacting poorly as he was, but he couldn’t move.

‘This energy…’ Toshinori thought, his nails digging into his palms, ‘where have I…?’

“Stay together and don’t move!” Aizawa ordered suddenly, breaking Toshinori out of his trance. His associate readied his stance and held an arm out to block anyone from running in front of him. “Thirteen, Yagi! Protect the students!”

Amongst the startled gasps, Kirishima’s voice rang out. “Whoa, what is that thing?”

Then, as if Toshinori’s terror couldn’t grow, more and more figures stepped out from the mist. His eyes widened and he stared, his fingers curling around the fabric of his shirt. It wasn’t until he felt a surge of pain through his torso that he realized he was clutching his injury. 

“Stay back!” Aizawa shouted. Toshinori turned in time to see him slip his goggles over his eyes. “This is real . Those are villains .”

Villains. That word rarely did much to strike fear into Toshinori’s heart, but as he watched more and more unknown figures slip out of that god-awful mist, he could only find himself able to clutch his injured side for dear life. This wasn’t right , this wasn’t how it was supposed to go . 

“Were you the ones who broke into the school?” Toshinori accused before he could think. He stepped forward, but didn’t let go of his side. “Did one of you let the press in so you could break in and find out where we’d be?!”

To Toshinori’s horror, the mist flickered and from it, came a voice. “How strange… the schedule we retrieved from U.A. said that only Thirteen and another staff member would be here… But it seems we’ve got another Pro here, as well.”

“Eraserhead,” said the first figure who emerged. Judging from how he stood and watched, Toshinori guessed he must have been one of the main orchestrators. He was covered in hands all over his body, the sight of which just made Toshinori’s skin crawl . “Well, well… I guess we made an impact during our little excursion to U.A.”

Toshinori’s grip tightened. “You little—”

“Yagi,” Aizawa cut in sharply, “stay back here. Keep the students safe.”

“What?” Toshinori barked back. His eyes trailed over to the dozens upon dozens of villains who continued to walk out of the mist. “Aizawa, you aren’t seriously considering fighting them alone.”

Aizawa grimaced. “Even if you help, we’d be overwhelmed in the long run. Focus on getting the kids out and call for back-up.” He turned back to face the ever-growing threat. “They don’t need to be here for this.”

The prideful part of Toshinori wanted to argue, but the words died in his throat when he heard a whimper behind him. Upon facing the class, his fire simmered down when he saw the unrestrained fear that painted each and every single one of their faces. His lips drew into a thin line when his eyes landed on Midoriya, whose eyes had widened to the size of saucers.

‘No,’ he thought, watching as his protege’s hands shook, ‘no, please… he’s not ready for this, not now.’ Toshinori’s heart leaped into his throat when he saw each of the students step back. ‘None of them are… they’re just children .’

“Such a shame ,” taunted the ringleader, “when I found out all those rumors that he was teaching at U.A. were just lies, I was so disappointed… And to think, I went through all the trouble of inviting all my friends down just to meet him.” He held his hands out and gestured to the growing crowd of villains. “They want All Might… The Symbol of Peace . I suppose he’s too prideful to teach the next generation of coming heroes.”

‘They came here for me,’ Toshinori realized, his eyes widening, ‘they’re all down here because of me .’ He looked down at himself and grit his teeth. ‘But we were so careful .’

How did something like this happen? Surely the USJ was secure. Then, it dawned on Toshinori. Why weren’t any of the alarms going off? Were they silent so as to not alert intruders?

A weak, scratchy laugh brought Toshinori’s attention back to the central plaza. “Maybe if I kill a few kids, he’ll come out to play.”

One For All threatened to burn its way through his muscles, but Toshinori held the flames at bay. He couldn’t transform, not now , not when there were so many eyes on him. He had to get his kids out before it was too late.

“We have to leave ,” Toshinori growled. He turned to Thirteen. “Why aren’t any of the alarms going off?”

Thirteen’s mask hid her emotions. “I have no clue. They should have gone off the moment they touched ground in here.”

“Is this the only place under attack?” questioned Todoroki. “Or is the campus also under siege?” His expression grew grave. “Either way, it must be one of the villain’s Quirks whose masking their presence here… They planned this meticulously to ensure whoever was here would be isolated from the rest of the school and the Pros on-campus.” 

“We can troubleshoot the how and the why later,” Toshinori snapped. He wrenched his hand free from his shirt and turned to the rest of the students. “We have to clear out now and alert the main campus and the authorities of what’s happening here.” He searched the crowd until he spotted Kaminari. “Young Kaminari, try to use your Quirk to contact the school in case they’re jamming our communications.”

Initially startled, Kaminari quickly nodded. “Yes, sir.”

“Are you crazy? ” Midoriya shouted. “Sensei Aizawa can’t fight them all alone! There’s way too many of them.” He started fidgeting with his hands. “Even if he can nullify their Quirks, his fighting style’s not suited for this! He works best in stealth and one-on-one fights!”

Before Toshinori could try to reassure him, he heard Aizawa chuckle from behind him. “Can’t be a Pro if you only have one trick.”

In a blink, Toshinori watched as Aizawa leaped from the top of the stairs down into the fray of villains. His eyes widened as the first wave made a beeline straight for him and horror gripped his heart.

“Aizawa!” he exclaimed, only to be pulled back by Thirteen. By God, did he really expect to fight everyone at once by himself? How long would he hold out? His mind flipped back to Midoriya’s analysis and he clenched his fists. “God, how is he going to—”

His fears were left unrealized, however, as he watched his long scarf extend beyond his body. Within a matter of moments, the tendrils wrapped around a trio of villains and brought their heads together unceremoniously, eliciting screams and groans of pain before they were dropped to the ground in a pile. Without missing a beat, Aizawa set his sights on another villain and made a running start.

‘Holy shit,’ Toshinori thought, unable to break his stare for a moment, ‘I’ve heard things about his fighting, but I’ve never seen it up-close.’

The two of them came from different worlds; the mainstream world of heroes and the underground circuit. Toshinori heard talk of Eraserhead mastering a style of fighting using a capture weapon, but it never occurred to him that it would be something as mundane as an accessory. Was that to make him seem unassuming? What kind of material was it made from?

“Bet you can’t erase the Quirk of a hetero-morphic type like me, can you?!” shouted a four-armed villain. 

“Yeah, you’re right,” Aizawa replied dryly. Then, he delivered a punch that sent his opponent flying away from him. Just before he got too far away, however, he shot his capture weapon out and latched it onto the villain’s ankle, dragging him back towards him. “But a villain like you is only dangerous if you get close to me!”

To punctuate his point, he ducked backward to avoid another villain and landed a kick that sent him reeling back into another set of villains. As the group fell onto their backs, Aizawa pulled his captured prey down onto them in a vicious slam. 

“Good thing ,” Aizawa proclaimed, “I’ve taken measures to ensure that never happens.” He straightened up and faced the crowd, who paused to regard him with equal parts terror and fury. “Now which one of you gutter punks is next? ”

“This is no time to be analyzing!” shouted Iida, breaking Toshinori out of his stare. He turned to see the rest of the class making their way back to the entrance while he and Midoriya hung back. “We have to go!”

With one final look out to his comrade, Toshinori turned on heel and joined Midoriya to run with the others. He laid a hand on his back to push him forward, ignoring the burn in his destroyed lungs. Iron threatened to make its way up his throat, but he forced it down, not wanting to stop for fear of slowing everyone down. 

‘Is ths all I can do right now?’ Toshinori thought. ‘Can all I do is run away?’

Beneath his clothes lied his hero suit, made with material to stretch to his form. It was an investment Nedzu suggested for days he needed to run out and handle an emergency, and he was thankful he made it. He underestimated just how soon he would need it. 

‘Maybe I can slip away,’ he concluded, continuing to run, ‘once they’re all out, I can make an excuse and run back inside to—’

Then, as the group made its way to the front, purple mist erupted from the ground and blocked their way. Toshinori gasped aloud and subconsciously gripped Midoriya’s shoulder to pull him back, his eyes wide with terror as yellow light surged from the purple mist like a cat’s eyes in the dark. Was his Quirk warping? Was that how he got here so quickly?

“It’s a pleasure to meet you,” greeted the mist, its voice a blend of echoes and a strange energy that Toshinori couldn’t identify, “we are the League of Villains. I know its impolite, but we decided to invite ourselves in to this haven of justice to say hello .” 

A growl escaped Toshinori. “You infiltrated U.A. in order to make sure you could isolate us here. What are you hoping to gain from this?” He pulled Midoriya behind him, shielding him from the villain’s view. “Are you hoping to get publicity for your little cult? ”

The mist let out a dark chuckle. “Oh, I assure you, we have far grander plans in mind… After all, isn’t this a fitting place for All Might, the Symbol of Peace, to take his final breath?”

Midoriya let out a gasp behind Toshinori, which only added to the fire that burned within him. “All Might isn’t here . You really think that the Symbol of Peace has the time to be a full-time teacher at U.A.?” He stood up straighter to face the monstrous mist from across the crowd of students. “After all, even if he were here, than what makes you so certain you can put an end to him?”

“My, aren’t you argumentative?” the mist crooned. “How interesting… The schedule listed Thirteen here as a Pro, and yet, I don’t recognize you. Are you an old face looking to pass on his knowledge to the next generation of heroes?” When Toshinori’s reply was a steely stare, the mist chuckled. “Ah, well… Either way, I suppose it doesn’t matter… Regardless of whether or not All Might is here, I have a role to play.” 

Before Toshinori could even think, two forms leaped from the crowd with their fists raised. Terror jumped into Toshinori’s throat and he pushed through the crowd to get through just as an explosion went off. Smoke billowed into Toshinori’s vision and he coughed as it flooded the remnants of his respiratory system, leaving iron coating the insides of his mouth. 

“Did you think we were just gonna stand around and let you tear this place to shreds?” taunted Kirishima while Toshinori’s ears rang. 

As Toshinori recovered, the smoke cleared, and he stared out to spot a flicker of purple peek through the smoke. The mist spread out, dissipating the smoke around the class and revealing its form once again, left unscathed.

“You live up to your school’s reputation,” the mist stated calmly, causing everyone to tense up collectively, “but you should be more careful, children…” The mist’s eyes reformed and narrowed to thin slits. “Otherwise, someone might get hurt .”

“You two, get out of the way, right now!” Thirteen ordered, and it was then that Toshinori saw her hand raised with her cap undone. Knowing what was coming, he swept the students around him to stand behind him, his arms raised to keep them from stepping forward. He had seen firsthand just what Thirteen’s Quirk could do that fateful day he saved all those people in that disaster and he didn’t want a single one of his kids to be on the receiving end of it. 

“Stay ba—” he tried to warn, only to stop dead in his tracks as the mist spread before them all. With wide eyes, he held his arms firm and faced off against the mist. “Don’t you come near them!”

“I’ll scatter you across this facility to meet my comrades—” the mist proclaimed. Tendrils erupted from the mist and made a straight beeline towards the entire class. Toshinori looked to and fro for an escape, but the tendrils blocked all potential routes. “And your deaths! ”

Toshinori turned back to the students. “ Get out! Get away before it—”

His words were robbed from him blind when the mist wrapped itself around him and he desperately reached out in a vain attempt to find some sort of tether, but it was to no avail. He watched as Iida grabbed Uraraka and Sato, pulling them out of the mist, while Shoji shielded Sero and Ashido as if he were laying on a grenade. One by one, the rest of his students blipped from view, consumed by the mist. He tried to scream out something, anything , but his words fell on deaf ears as he was lifted from where he stood.

‘Not them,’ he prayed silently, ‘please, I beg, don’t take them.’ His eyes threatened to burn when Midoriya’s form faded from his vision. ‘It’s too soon for him to meet you, Master.’

“I’ll find you!” he bellowed above the roaring wind. “Every single one of you!” 

Then, Toshinori watched as the world he knew was immersed in darkness.

Chapter Text

It was times like the present that reminded Toshinori of just how old he was. Despite bracing himself for the inevitable landing, his joints still creaked and ached when he stood up. With heaving breaths, he straightened his posture to the best of his ability and spared a look at his surroundings, only for him to nearly slip on the dirt. He grabbed onto a half-buried beam for purchase, ignoring the strain in his fingers to keep himself from falling again. 

‘Where am I?’ he thought, squinting through a wince. Toshinori slowly pulled himself up, but didn’t loosen his grip. ‘Am I in another section of the USJ?’

His mind ran through the examples of simulations Thirteen offered up during her presentation, from wrecks to natural disasters. Toshinori’s eyes widened upon spotting the corner of what looked to be a large building, as well as the underside to an upturned car buried front-first, then gripped the beam with realization. To confirm his suspicion, he slid his foot across the earth and nearly slipped again. 

‘I’m in the landslide zone,’ Toshinori mused. Although it wasn’t how he would’ve liked to see it, he had to admit, he was quite impressed with the construction of the zone. It was definitely realistic, if a bit too much. His feet threatened to slip again and he clung to the beam until his knuckles turned white. 

“Hey, you!” barked an unknown voice. Toshinori turned in time to see a mutant man with the muzzle of a dog standing a few yards from him. His eyes widened when he saw the villain raise his long, sharp claws and bare his fangs in a snarl “You’re doggy chow , old man!”

The villain charged towards him and Toshinori, much to the detriment of his pride, froze. His eyes darted left and right for any sign of an escape and to his disdain, he saw the silhouettes of villains in the distance. He couldn’t risk transforming in front of them, not when there was a possibility one of them could sneak away from him and relay the information to their ringleader. If the supposed “League of Villains” truly was there to try to defeat him as All Might, then the last thing he needed to do was give them just that.

So, Toshinori did what he always hated to do the most: he ran.

However, the con to that plan was that he wasn’t nearly as fast as All Might and therefore, he wasn’t making a lot of headway on the slippery dirt. His dress shoes barely granted him any traction and before he knew it, he found himself spiraling onto the ground in a heap. Pain jolted up his limbs and Toshinori found himself spitting up a mix of iron and saliva from before he was warped. He flipped himself onto his back in order to face the coming villain and he grit his teeth with frustration as he drew closer.

“Ain’t nowhere for you to run , old man!” taunted the dog man as he towered over Toshinori’s form.

Toshinori’s legs kicked out before he could think, striking the villain in both of his knees. He knew from experience just how painful a knee injury could be (he dislocated his right one a couple of months after his injury and it still ached from time to time), and he had no doubt that a strike to both would be crippling, if only temporarily. The villain let out a shout of pain and collapsed forward onto his damaged knees, sending his voice to new volumes. Toshinori felt no sense of mercy, however, and delivered another kick to his face, knocking his head backward.

“Bad dog,” Toshinori rebuked. He landed one final kick into the villain’s chest and sent him falling onto his back. “Someone ought to send you back to training school.”

Despite the fire in his destroyed lungs, Toshinori forced himself to stand up, ignoring the way his legs shook briefly. He regarded the forms of the other villains in the distance with a grimace and straightened his posture as they turned towards him, their eyes hungry like a predator watching its prey. Terror threatened to creep its way into Toshinori’s heart, but he shoved it down, not wanting it to get the better of him during such a high-tension situation.

‘I have to get to the kids,’ Toshinori thought, watching the villains as some made their way right towards him, ‘I need to know where they all are so I can get them out of here.’

“What’s the matter, old man?” jeered a masked villain. He was dressed in what appeared to be an umpire uniform with a skull across his chest padding and wore cleats to complete the ensemble. He slung a bat across his shoulders and rested his forearms on top of it. “C’mon, now. Take a swing. I dare ya.”

“You just gonna stand there looking pretty?” taunted another from the corner of Toshinori’s eye. He was a mutant bird, though Toshinori couldn’t identify what breed he resembled. His feathers were jet black, almost like Tokoyami, but his beak was far longer and thinner, resembling the shape of a woodpecker. “What was U.A. thinking when they hired some sack of bones like you?”

Toshinori clenched his fists. “What are you all hoping to gain from this? Did you all really come down here with the foolish idea to take down All Might of all people?” He grimaced. “Are you that confident or just plain stupid? ”

The bird let out a squawky laugh. “Oh, you’ll learn soon enough , old man… we’re just working up to the main event.”

“Yeah,” the umpire added, “but in the meantime, we’re more than happy to get rid of these brats .”

A growl rumbled in Toshinori’s throat. “You’d really kill children just to suit your own agenda?”

“We’re villains ,” the bird stated plainly, “what did you expect? ”

One For All simmered deep within Toshinori, aching to burn its way through his limbs. However, he held his own, not wanting to give them an inkling of the storm that dwelled deep within him. He had to keep a level head, not just for his sake, but for everyone else’s.

“What makes you so sure you can do it?” Toshinori questioned, hoping to buy time. “Did you get a hold of everyone’s files in order to get a handle on their weaknesses? Is that it?”

The umpire scoffed. “ Pfft , we don’t need all that. It’s like you said; they’re kids . How hard can it be? ”

“And you’re just an old man,” the bird jabbed, “what kinda power do you have for U.A. to want to get their hands on you?” He snickered. “Seems to me like you’re some nobody .”

Hearing that nearly made Toshinori blink. In his file at U.A., he was listed as Quirkless under Toshinori Yagi; if they had checked, they would have known that. But since they didn’t know, then that meant… 

‘They don’t know what everyone’s powers are,’ he concluded to himself, ‘which means that…’ His heart lightened as it dared to hope. ‘The kids might be able to use that to their advantage.’

“That so?” he drawled. Toshinori forced himself to relax and let out a chuckle of his own. “So you haven’t done your homework, have you? That’s not very smart of you.”

The umpire’s eyes narrowed through his mask. “Whatcha tryin’ to say? That we can’t handle some kids? ”

Toshinori managed a smile. “You forget that these are kids who managed to make it into one of the most prestigious hero schools in all of Japan. They’re not just run-of-the-mill neighborhood kids with flashy Quirks.” He crossed his arms over his chest. “These are kids who have spent their entire lives training and bettering their power in order to make it to this point. Two of our students here even made it on recommendations.” Todoroki and Yaoyarozu’s faces popped into his mind and his grin only grew. “One of them has a hybrid Quirk.”

“You’re bluffing,” the bird snapped, “hybrid Quirks are rare . What’re the odds that one of them wound up at U.A.?”

All Toshinori did was tilt his head. “I don’t know… Perhaps you’d know, though, if you all had checked .”

“ Enough of this!” the umpire shouted. He brandished his bat and held it up. “Since you’re so cocky, then step up to the plate, old man!”

Just as he was about to charge forward, however, a loud crack! broke through the air. Toshinori blinked as the umpire screamed and dropped his bat, his hands going to favor his knee. His eyes only widened when he saw the unnatural angle that it bent and he forced himself to look away as his insides churned.

“My leg!” the umpire shrieked. He looked up to face Toshinori venomously. “What did you do to me, you bas—”

Then, in a flash, the umpire's head snapped upwards, sending his mask flying off of his face. He let out another bloodcurdling scream before he was cut off by a vicious thud! His cheek suddenly caved in from an unknown force and he dropped to the ground in a hollering heap. He held onto his knee for dear life while tears gathered in his eyes, leaving Toshinori and the villain’s associate staring in bewilderment.

“What did you do to him?” the bird breathed out.

Toshinori swallowed, still trying to process what he saw. “I-I—”

“Bastard!” the bird screeched as he charged towards Toshinori. His beak elongated and a horrifying set of sharp teeth popped out from inside of it, an unspeakable rage burning in his eyes. “I’ll kill you for that!”

Forcing himself out of his shock, Toshinori grabbed a hold of the bird’s beak and forced it close with both hands. The bird tried to wrench itself free, but Toshinori held firm, allowing just a flicker of One For All to warm up his hands. The bird’s eyes widened and he stared at Toshinori with terror before Toshinori grit his teeth and tossed the bird away from him. He didn’t go flying across the clearing, but he landed well enough away from Toshinori to feel comfortable making an escape. Then, something grabbed a hold of his arm and he jolted.

“Let go of me—” he began to demand before a sharp tug nearly sent him falling over. Upon turning to face his assailant, however, he was met with empty air. “What the—”

“Shh!” hissed out a quiet voice, further surprising him. “We have to move before more of them see us!”

Toshinori’s eyes nearly bugged out of his skull. “Young Hagakure?”

“I said to shh! ” Hagakure stressed. “We have to hurry and get out of here!”

The memory of the umpire’s sudden injuries suddenly flashed across his mind and it all clicked into place. ‘So she was the one who took him down.’

Despite his shock, relief washed over Toshinori. He was glad to see that at least one of his students was still alright, if only because she had to result to fighting. Righting his stance, he picked up the pace and allowed for her to guide him through the wreckage of the landslide zone, trusting her to pull them to somewhere less unsafe.

‘She handled that very effectively,’ he mused, smiling a bit, ‘it seems she took what she learned during yesterday’s exercise to heart.’ His smile wilted. ‘Such a shame she had to apply it in such a situation.’

“Over here,” Hagakure whispered, breaking him out of his thoughts. She pulled him over to a semi-buried building and tugged on his sleeve to make him duck down. “I tossed my shoes and gloves somewhere over here so I could sneak around.”

As soon as Hagakure released his arm, Toshinori let out a breath. “Thank you… for helping. I appreciate it, young Hagakure.”

“No problem,” Hagakure told him. Handprints appeared in the dirt as she palmed around for her things in the rubble. “I was on my way to try to find one of the teachers before I saw you dealing with those two. It looked like you were stuck, so I decided to get the jump on one of them so you could handle the other one.” She produced one of her gloves and it suddenly shook, causing the dirt to fall from it. “It’s a good thing Todoroki already managed to stop some of them when he warped here, too.”

“ Young Todoroki is here, too?” Toshinori questioned. His brows furrowed. “Is he alright?”

Hagakure giggled as she followed suit with the other glove. “Yeah, he’s fine! He froze a bunch of villains in place the moment he landed here.” The dirt shifted as she fished out her shoes. “He already ran off before I could catch up with him, though. I don’t know where he is now.”

Toshinori breathed out a sigh of relief. “I’m thankful he’s safe… I suppose it’s a good thing none of the villains knew what to expect from any of us.”

“Yeah,” Hagakure replied, “I thought it was weird that they sent me here. If they wanted to make sure I couldn’t hide, they’d have sent me to the downpour zone.” She knocked the dirt off her soles. “If they went through the trouble of planning all of this, then why didn’t they check to see what our Quirks were?”

“It might have been a time constraint,” Toshinori guessed, “they were only given a short window of time when the campus was infiltrated. They must have only grabbed the teacher’s schedule and nothing else.”

Hagakure fiddled with her shoelaces. “I guess they were less focused on us and more focused on trying to hurt All Might…” Toshinori could only guess how she must have looked, her expression a mystery to him. “They said they had a way to kill him.”

Toshinori furrowed his brows and frowned. “I know you’re probably worried, young Hagakure, but I assure you, whatever plans these villains have are probably not going to achieve that.” His eyes flickered over to where he and Hagakure had run away from. “These villains… They’re unorganized and sloppy. Their only strength is their numbers.”

Then, Aizawa and Thirteen’s faces popped into his mind and his grimace threatened to deepen. While he had faith in both of his associates to hold their own, he knew that it wouldn’t last. Everyone’s Quirks had their limits and it would be only a matter of time before both of them fell subject to exhaustion and fatigue. In conjunction with the potential of gaining injuries, time was limited, not just for his colleagues, but for everyone in the U.S.J. 

“Sensei,” Hagakure said quietly, “when Todoroki was handling the villains… I-I overheard them talking…” The ground beneath her shifted as she adjusted herself. “Todoroki asked them how they planned to kill All Might and…”

“And what?” Toshinori asked. When Hagakure didn’t answer immediately, his jaw tightened. “Young Hagakure, what did they say? ”

Hagakure let out a breath. “That… thing that was with them… I thought it was just someone with a mutation, but… They said it was literally made to kill All Might.”

“‘Made’?” Toshinori repeated. His eyes widened. “Are you saying that they created that thing?”

“The villain said he didn’t know the why or the how,” Hagakure told him, “just that they somehow made it to be able to withstand All Might’s abilities.” Toshinori wondered just how scared she must have looked by the way her fear crept into her voice. “I don’t know if it’s true or not, but… if it is, then what does that mean for all of us?”

Toshinori wished he had an answer. He wished that he could reassure her and tell her that everyone would be alright, that All Might would be able to handle whatever the supposed League of Villains had in store for him, that everything would be fine . However, he had already faced off against death before and not all of him was able to crawl its way back to the land of the living. If the League truly did make that thing to kill him without even knowing about his injury… 

‘No,’ he told himself, disparaging the very thought, ‘I won’t allow it.’ He clenched his fist as the faces of his colleagues and students flashed across his mind. ‘This isn’t where I die today.’

“The Symbol of Peace isn’t going to fall prey to the delusions of grandeur the League has for his downfall,” Toshinori answered definitively. His jaw tightened. “And we aren’t going to give them the benefit of the doubt. Right now, we need to focus on getting out of here and making sure that the police and the teachers at U.A. are notified of what’s going on here.” 

“How?” Hagakure questioned. “That mist guy is still hanging upfront.”

Toshinori managed a smile. “I’m sure that Thirteen has already taken care in handling him. For all we know, she might have gotten some of the students out to get help while we speak.” His smile faltered a bit. “But we should check to make sure that Aizawa is doing alright, as well. I’m sure he could use some backup.”

Hagakure let out a hum of thought. “If I recall correctly, the landslide zone was on the east of the central plaza… We should be able to get there quickly if we avoid the other villains.” She picked up her gloves and shoes, holding them up for Toshinori. “Can you hold these for me? I can’t sneak around with them on.”

“Of course,” Toshinori replied, taking them from her, “I’ll take care of them until we’re in the clear.”

“Thanks!” she told him. Judging from the way the dirt moved, he assumed she stood up. “C’mon. If we find the exit, we can make it to the central plaza in no time!”

Toshinori nodded, his smile growing. “That’s the spirit, young Hagakure.”

As the two of them made their way out of their hiding spot, however, Toshinori couldn’t help but think back to what Hagakure told him. Had the League truly made a weapon solely for the purpose of killing him? How long had their plans been in the works? What was motivating them to lead such an attack, not only on U.A. but on what U.A. represented as a whole?

‘One thing is for certain,’ Toshinori thought as he followed the faint imprints of Hagakure’s feet. He clutched his shirt, which hid his suit beneath it from view. ‘Once I get the chance, I am going to make sure they know what a mistake it was to come here.’

* * *

Toru was used to walking around barefoot. She kind of had to be, considering how wearing shoes made her Quirk a bit ineffective. However, just because she was used to it didn’t necessarily mean that it was a pleasant experience, and that was especially apparent as she tried to walk through the landslide zone. She resisted the urge to wince when she stepped on a rock and ignored the brief stab of pain that followed, forcing herself to keep moving alongside her teacher. 

“You have to stay quiet,” she could hear her grandfather’s voice echo in her head, “no matter what you feel, you hold it inside to avoid being seen.”

It was a simple rule that Toru was taught since her first day of training. The first day that she expressed interest in learning the art of ninjutsu under her grandfather’s instruction, he made it clear to her that it wasn’t as glamorous or exciting as some made it out to be. Training was not as quick or exciting as the montages that movies and TV shows would sell to children her age; it was long, arduous, and sometimes downright painful. Hagakure learned this during preliminary tests by walking through sand and gravel, leaving her with aching feet and burning soles.

“Leaving no trace on sand or gravel is extremely difficult,” she was told, as her grandfather helped her clean up her dirty feet, “if you can power through that, then you can power through anything, Toru.”

The pain didn’t ever truly go away. It just became something she could manage, something she could compartmentalize away. Pain was a small price to pay in order to blend in with her surroundings and become an invisible fixture in a room while everyone was blind to her presence. Many people liked to say that they wished that walls could talk, but Toru had the special gift of becoming that wall and sharing the secrets the others wouldn’t ever be able to tell. Such a shame she couldn’t at least wear some comfortable shoes to make that a bit easier on her tired feet.

Toru’s eyes trailed over to Sensei Yagi, who was hunched down in an attempt to make himself seem smaller. Even slouching, he was still so much taller than her and her classmates, his thin, bony frame leaving him looking like a combination of angles. The way his eyes searched their surroundings and he paused to listen for sounds alluded to experience in stealth, but not in a manner that made her believe it was his default. This was not a chameleon hoping to blend into its environment, but rather, a lion who was used to hiding in the tall grass left with nowhere to hide. She wondered briefly just how long it had been since he had been forced to go on the prowl like this. 

‘What exactly are we going to do when we get to the central plaza?’ she thought as she walked with him. The two of them ducked down behind an amalgamation of support beams and paused, their eyes searching for any movement. When there was none, they continued moving forward. ‘Are we just playing it by ear?’

Getting to the plaza was only half the battle, she knew. Once they got there, they were sure to be met with opposition from the League and would likely have to fight to get through the crowd, let alone to the rest of the class. The panicked part of Toru briefly wondered if the rest of the class would make its escape without her, but she quickly squashed it down with the swift reminder that she wasn’t alone; he wouldn’t let her be forgotten. 

“Hagakure,” Sensei Yagi said softly, breaking her out of her thoughts, “I was wondering… what exactly can you do?” He held onto the support beam to steady himself. “During yesterday’s exercise, we didn’t really get a chance to see what your Quirk was capable of. Is there anything you think might be useful to us?”

Toru was thankful he couldn’t see her fight against a frown. “This… is really all I can do. My Quirk is my invisibility.”

Her teacher let out a small hum of thought. “Hm. Well, I imagine you’ve had to train your combat skills, then. You’ve proven to be very stealthy.” He tilted his head curiously. “Where did you learn to sneak around like that?”

“My family,” she answered simply, paying mind to her step, “my grandfather, mostly. He has a lot of experience in stealth.” She paused when she thought she heard a sound, but when nothing else came, she moved forward. “He runs a dojo that teaches ninjutsu.”

“I see,” Yagi replied, “he was your teacher, then?”

Toru nodded, then stopped when she remembered he couldn’t see her. “Yes. He taught me everything I know, just like he taught my father.” She fiddled with her hands. “But my dad had to put his focus away from the art when he met my mom and they had me. I’m the one keeping up the tradition now.”

“That’s good,” Yagi told her, “keeping with a family tradition can be a good way to pass down knowledge throughout the generations.” He smiled at her. “Your grandfather must be very proud.”

A twinge of pain hit Toru in the heart at the mention of that. When her grandfather heard she was trying out for U.A., he had been perplexed, to say the least. That confusion soon turned into anger when he learned that she wanted to become a hero , of all things. 

“You’ve spent years learning how to blend in,” he snapped, “and you want to enter a world where everyone’s eyes will be on you?”

She tried to explain herself. She tried to explain that it wasn’t about being seen, it was about helping people, but he wouldn’t hear it. He scorned her, telling her she was a silly girl for wanting public attention and refused to hear her any longer. In the time since then, he had barely said a word to Toru, ignoring her parents’ pleas to at least hear her out. Still, as much as it pained her to do so, Toru didn’t falter in following through and wound up with an entry into the top hero school of Japan. She came into class with a cheerful disposition, ready to make a mark, ready to ensure that her classmates saw what she had spent years training to do.

Then, to her painful realization, she wound up in the lower rungs of the Quirk Assessment test. She came third from last in comparison to the rest of her peers and only beat out Midoriya because he broke his finger during the ball throw, which hindered his performance. Toru told herself she would make up for it, that she would do better next time, and she saw her opportunity come with the battle exercise. It was robbed from her blind, however, stolen right when the match had barely begun. 

U.A. was supposed to be different for her. U.A. was supposed to be better for her.

“Hagakure?” Yagi questioned, and it was then that Toru realized she stopped moving. His piercing blue eyes were soft with worry. “Is everything alright?”

It was so strange how someone expressing genuine concern could be so painful for her. She was so used to people not paying her any mind or dismissing her presence entirely that she didn’t know what to do when someone actually asked her how she was doing. Toru compartmentalized it all, tucked it all away to be dealt with and managed later on, where there was no risk of anyone overhearing. But there was nowhere for her to go right now; she was stuck. 

“Uh, sorry,” she said, keeping her voice level. A perk to being invisible was that no one ever saw it when she wasn’t smiling. “Just realized I forgot to do something before I left home earlier. You know, like when you remember you forgot to water your plant before you leave and you don’t remember until hours later, when you’re far away?”

Yagi’s lips pursed slightly. “Are you sure?”

Toru was used to not being seen. She kind of had to be, because of her invisibility. It was a burden she was forced to shoulder since birth and it was one she knew she would live the rest of her life having to fight against. Ever since she was a young girl, she had endured being ignored as if it were part of breathing. When she was too little to know better, she once hid out during recess and spent the entire hour giggling when no one found her, only for her happiness to slowly ebb away when that hour turned into multiple with no one searching. It wasn’t until Toru came knocking at the door that a staff member let her in and she was escorted back to the classroom, where her teacher was startled to see she hadn’t been in class the entire time. 

Suddenly, the fact that Toru’s classmates were always startled when she walked up to them became less of a laughing matter and more of a reminder of just how forgettable she was to them. Once on a field trip, she had been forgotten because her teacher forgot she went to the bathroom and didn’t check for her before the bus left. Toru was a crying mess in the waiting area and tried to find someone to help, but the museum was already so crowded, it left her voice drowned out. It wasn’t until a woman with a heat signature Quirk spotted her that she was assisted by the museum staff and later returned to the school, where she was scolded for staying back, as if it were her choice. 

She was always responsible for making herself be heard. For years, she has had to battle teachers who accused her of being truant and marked her with multiple absences even though she rarely missed school. One year, just to make a point, she wore a bell on her wrist and would raise it high above her head and shake it to get her teacher’s attention so he couldn’t argue she was absent during roll call. Still, very rarely was she seen by her peers, and even less was she truly heard. Even her best attempts to be disruptive were regarded with the same indifference one would show to a harmless pest outside their home. 

It felt so strange to have someone ask her how she was feeling after so many years of being ignored. 

“Well,” she began, silently thankful Yagi couldn’t see her wring her hands, “I… guess I was just wondering something…” 

Yagi furrowed his brows. “What is it?”

“I… know it’s only been a couple days of class, but…” she went on, “but… do you think my Quirk is good for being a hero?” 

He blinked. “What? What makes you say that?”

Toru’s hands anxiously picked at each other. “I… I was just thinking… I didn’t do well during the Quirk Assessment test and… I barely did a thing during yesterday’s exercise.” She thought back to how Todoroki incapacitated all those villains like it was nothing while she stood by and hid. “I’m not strong like Todoroki… My only real advantage is sneaking around.”

“You just got dealt a bad hand,” Yagi told her, “win or lose, you can always take something from an exercise like that.” He gave her a reassuring smile. “Besides, stealth is a strong advantage. Not all Pros are capable of it, you know.”

“But it’s not powerful ,” Toru replied. She clenched her fists. “I know how to fight, but I’m not invincible. I mean, yesterday, Todoroki incapacitated me like it was nothing .” She nearly shivered at the recollection of how the cold surged up her exposed legs and left her helpless. “I guess I’m just worried I won’t be very helpful.”

She thought back to how Aizawa grabbed Midoriya during the Quirk Assessment test and rebuked him in front of the class. When he questioned Midoriya on how he planned on passing, Toru felt like he was also speaking to her , in a way. 

“With a power like yours, you’d only be a liability,” his voice echoed in her head, “you’d only slow everyone down.”

Although she wasn’t as noticeable as some of her fellow mutants, she knew that her mutation alone was enough to make her a hard sell in the hero world. That was how it always was for mutants, regardless of their profession or career. So, she acted right, she was a good kid, she had to be a good kid, otherwise, people wouldn’t think of her when it really counted. But in the hero world, everyone was so spectacular and she was so… Not. If she were in a life or death situation, would anyone care to remember her or even look for her? Would she be worth the effort? 

“Hagakure,” Yagi asserted, causing her to look up, “I think you’re being too hard on yourself. You’re not measuring yourself up fairly.” 

Toru blinked. “Huh?”

Yagi smiled at her. “There’s no one way to be a hero, young lady. There are plenty of ways for people to shine in their own way and still make a difference. Just because you can’t battle like some of your peers doesn’t mean that you’re without merit.” He tilted his head curiously. “I have to ask… why do you want to become a hero?” 

“To help people,” she replied instantaneously. That was why anyone became a hero, wasn’t it? Their world could be so big and scary, but heroes made it less so. Anytime she saw their smiling faces on the news and their fists raised to the sky in victory, it reminded her that should things go wrong, there will always be people fighting for what’s right. She knew what it was like to be ignored when in need and never wanted anyone to feel that way, either. 

“There’s no one way to do that,” he told her. He held up her shoes. “You managed to help me earlier by sneaking in and taking those villains by surprise. Not everyone is capable of doing that like you.”

“Well, it probably wouldn’t be much help in a different situation,” she told him. Yesterday’s exercise was proof of that; all it took was one move and it was all over before it truly began. “If we were in a big street battle, I think we’d be in trouble.” 

Yagi smiled knowingly. “Hagakure… Do you remember what I told your class during yesterday’s exercise about where most crimes tend to take place?”

Toru paused. “They… usually happen indoors.” 

“Not only that,” Yagi went on, “but they tend to be handled in a more discrete manner… Which is why stealth is so important. But, they usually don’t send in big-name Pros for that… so they send in underground heroes, instead.”

Sensei Aizawa’s face popped into her mind. “Like Sensei Aizawa. He’s an underground hero, too, right?”

“Precisely,” he told her. His smile was so kind as he looked down at her. “Maybe instead of reconsidering your career, you should reconsider the direction you want to apply it. After all, I know there are a lot of underground heroes who wish they could make themselves turn invisible. You’d be very suitable for missions like those.” 

Toru blinked. It sounded… so simple when he put it like that. This entire time she thought of hero work, it was always something flashy and loud like on the news, but this… It made sense. Why did it make so much sense?

“You… think I could be a good underground hero?” she asked. She thought of her grandfather and his words, the way he rebuked her and her dreams. Had he really been steering her towards something better suited for her abilities? Was that why he was so hard on her?

Yagi nodded. “I do. They’re very valuable to Pros and the police. They may not get as much attention as everyone in the spotlight, but… they still matter. And I assure you, they’re well-regarded in the Pro Hero community. You don’t have to be seen in order to make a difference.”

Some bitter part of Toru believed he was saying that to placate her, but the sincerity in his tone caused her to disparage the very thought. He wasn’t speaking as an idealist, but rather, as a realist who knew better. She spared a look down at herself and noted the way her feet sunk into the dirt, the only true indication that she was even there. 

“I… guess I never thought about that,” she admitted. Then again, no one really talked about underground heroes as much, so perhaps that was just a fault of not knowing. “But I guess I’m gonna have to find a way to fight better while I’m barefoot. That was one of the things that stopped me yesterday.”

Yagi chuckled. “I’m sure with the right gear, you’d be an asset to any stealth team you’re on.” Then, he arched his brow. “Say… Why did the costume department design your costume like this? Your shoes and gloves aren’t made from the same material as your suit. Was that your choice?”

Toru blinked. “My suit? What suit?”

“Your costume,” he said, his confusion only growing, “I don’t really know how they made it– costume makers are engineers, and I’m not experienced in that front, but I imagine they could have found a way to at least make your shoes and gloves blend in with the rest of your costume.” 

“Sir, my… my gloves and shoes are my costume,” she told him, “how else would I stay invisible?”

Yagi stared at her. He stared for what felt like a long time before his brows slowly unfurrowed and raised up to his forehead, his eyes wide with an unspoken horror. He looked down at her shoes in his hands and then back at her, then back at her shoes before he clapped a hand over his mouth. 

“You’re not wearing a suit,” he realized out loud.

Toru shook her head, then stopped when she remembered he couldn’t see her. “No. My family struggled with getting the paperwork done on time for the costume allowance, so I decided I could just use stuff from my closet–”

“You’ve only been wearing gloves and shoes this entire time? ” Yagi blurted out, completely ignoring her. His cheeks bloomed into a rosy shade of red and he turned away from her, his hand slipping up to cover his eyes. “Oh, no… Oh, no, no, no, that’s terrible .”

“Sensei, it’s alright,” Toru reassured him, “I’m used to walking around barefoot. Besides, it’s not been that bad. I mean, it’s not like anyone can see me–”

“Young Hagakure,” Yagi cut in, still not looking at her, “I… I understand that this might not seem like an issue, but… You cannot walk around like that, it could be very dangerous.” He dragged his hand down his face, revealing tired eyes. “Listen… When we get out of here, I’m going to have a talk with the costume department and see about having you a suit made to resolve this.”

Toru couldn’t help but blink. “Wait, really? But how are they–”

“I don’t know,” Yagi interjected, “and honestly, I don’t care as long as they make sure you don’t have to walk around like… this .” He dropped his hand from his face and let out a deep breath. “I trust the costume department to handle your… situation effectively. I’m sure they’ll be able to figure out a way to make you a suit.”

“Um, alright,” Toru replied, “I guess it would be nice not to feel so cold–”

Yagi waved a hand. “Nope, no, we’re not talking about this anymore. I don’t want to think about it– I can’t think about it.” He pointedly did not look in her direction. “We’ll meet up with the others and try to find a way out of here… let’s just focus on that in the meantime.” 

Toru nodded. “Alright… We can do that. I think we’re getting close to the plaza anyway.”

“Good,” Yagi said, though he seemed distracted, “good, good, that’s good .”

Despite the awkward silence that lingered after, Toru felt the corner of her lips threaten to tug upwards. She hadn’t been quite sure what to make of him during their first class together yesterday, but their little talk had been a bit more… affirming for her. Once they got out of their current situation, she was definitely going to have to look more into underground heroes and the type of work that they do. She spared a glance down at the footprints behind her in the dirt and smiled. 

‘It’s not me that needs to change,’ she realized, ‘it’s my surroundings… I just have to find where I shine best.’

After all, a light doesn’t always shine its brightest unless it’s in the dark.

* * *

Izuku was certain that if it weren’t for Asui– ah, Tsuyu, rather– he would probably not have been able to get out of the shipwreck zone. However, he didn’t dwell on the bleak thought, especially as he, Mineta and Tsuyu continued the last of their trek through the water. It was a bit touch-and-go there, but they managed to find a way out and Izuku was thankful he avoided breaking his finger when he used his smash. Things were looking up. Izuku dared to hope that they would continue to.

Then, it was all crushed with that god awful creature’s first blow to his teacher’s body. 

Aizawa lay prone on the ground, his goggles broken and discarded beside his form. Above him, the creature hunched over him like a predator above its prey, though its body language didn’t seem natural. Izuku briefly wondered if it was the result of a mutation, but it couldn’t be that, could it? He had seen some strange Quick mutations, but nothing quite like what was threatening his teacher’s life. 

The ringleader of the group stood, his smile only made apparent by how he spoke. “What do you think of him, Eraserhead? He’s the bio-engineered anti-Symbol of Peace…” He tilted his head and there, Izuku saw the corner of his lip peek upwards from the ashen hand that covered his face. “But you can call him Nomu .” 

Nomu– the name literally meant “brainless.” That seemed like a blatant contradiction, since the creature’s head mostly consisted of just that. However, as it stared down at Aizawa, it lacked any sort of focus or drive behind it– it was completely hollow and blank. That somehow seemed far scarier than if it were to show any sort of sadistic pleasure in what it was doing. 

Izuku covered his mouth and turned away when another sickening crunch broke through the air. He thought he tasted bile rising up, but he pushed it down, not wanting to lose his composure. His eyes peeked open in time to see Aizawa’s arm within Nomu's grasp, broken and bent at an unnatural angle. Izuku had no doubt that the creature could kill his teacher– and yet it didn’t. Why was that? What was it waiting for?

“You can erase people’s powers,” the ringleader stated calmly, his scratchy voice causing Izuku to shudder, “that’s irritating, but not impressive… When faced with true, devastating power, you might as well be a Quirkless child .” 

An involuntary whimper almost slipped past Izuku’s lips. Just a year ago, he had been planning on trying out for U.A. with no Quirk to his name– how would he have fared against a creature like Nomu? The only reason Aizawa even made it as far as he did was due to his Quirk helping him to get the upper hand while he fought, but even that had its limits. That was further proven when he saw his teacher’s eyes flash red, only to be met with violent indifference. His other arm was pinned and ultimately crushed in a display of power that made Izuku’s stomach churn.

‘The anti-Symbol of Peace,’ Izuku thought, recalling the ringleader’s words, ‘is he the thing they brought to fight All Might?’

His teacher’s frightened face as he was pulled into the mist flashed across his mind and he grimaced. He had no idea where All Might was or if he was even alright– how was he faring in the U.S.J.? Had he managed to get away from the villains? Where was he?

Izuku’s questions came to halt when Aizawa’s head was slammed into the ground by Nomu and he recoiled. Tsuyu stared in silent horror alongside him while Mineta could only whimper out silent pleas for them to just leave, and yet, he made no move. They were all frozen, unable to move away from their teacher and leave him to face the terror that threatened them all. Some part of Izuku was scared that if he looked away, it would be the last time he saw his teacher alive ever again, and he couldn’t bring himself to even risk allowing it to come to fruition.

Then, that familiar flicker of purple broke through the air. It spread out and took on the form of the villain who scattered them across the U.S.J., his eyes a burning yellow as he took up a spot beside the ringleader.

“Tomura Shigaraki,” he addressed with reverence, his voice sending shudders down Izuku’s spine. Was that the ringleader’s name? It felt so strange to hear an actual name instead of a villainous alias– what kind of life did he live in order to come to this point? 

“Kurogiri,” Shigaraki murmured, turning to his companion, “did you manage to kill Thirteen?”

Izuku’s heart leaped to his throat. ‘No… No, no, no…’

“The rescue hero is out of commission,” Kurogiri replied, and just like that, Izuku found himself struggling to breathe. His eyes widened and he clenched his fists so tightly that it hurt. “But there were some students that I was unable to disperse and one of them got out of the facility.”

His eyes shot open. ‘Someone got out? But who…?’

It had to be someone fast enough to slip by and who the others trusted to get help. Who hadn’t been sent to other parts of the U.S.J.? He didn’t get a good look before he swept up himself. Was it Iida? He was a fast runner, so maybe… 

Hope dared to make its way into his heart. ‘He’s gone to get help.’

However, as he looked back to Shigaraki, he went still. The villain’s hands were scratching erratically at his face and neck, leaving the flesh pink beneath the assault. Was that blood beneath his fingers? Just how hard was he scratching himself? 

“Kurogiri…” he snarled, his voice rising, “you fool… ” His entire body began to shake. “If you weren’t our warp gate, I’d tear apart every last atom in your body .”

Then, he went very, very still, his hands frozen in the air like claws. His expression was hidden by the hand on his face, so Izuku could only guess what was running through his mind. What was he planning? Was he trying to think of a new plan? 

“There’s no way we can win if dozens of Pros show up to stop us,” Shigaraki growled, “it’s game over. Back to the title screen.” Then, he slumped forward, almost like a toddler whose plans were canceled at the last moment. “And I was looking forward to finishing this today… Damn it.” He turned to Kurogiri defeatedly. “Let’s go home.”

Izuku blinked. That… That couldn’t be it, could it? That was far too simple. That was far too easy . Why would they go to all of that trouble just to give up now? They had to know U.A. would be more careful and strengthen their security measures, didn’t they? 

“I have a real bad feeling about this, Midoriya,” Tsuyu murmured beside him, breaking him out of his thoughts. 

He nodded slowly. “It seems weird that they would retreat at this point, after everything…”

All Might was on his way– he had to be. He may not have been in his costume, but he wasn’t the type to stand on the sidelines while this was happening. What was going to happen if he came in as All Might? Would he stay and risk getting hurt by that creature since he used a good portion of his time up earlier that day? Would it only make things worse if he made himself known? 

‘They want to kill him,’ Izuku thought, ‘so why leave…?’

Then, Shigaraki straightened up. “But first… let’s leave the Symbol of Peace broken.” When he turned his head towards Izuku and his classmates, he immediately froze beneath his crimson gaze. “Let’s wreck his pride .”

Izuku wasn’t sure what he was expecting to happen. In a blink, he saw Shigaraki make his way towards the three of them and his entire body went still. His body braced itself before his mind could, his limbs locked into place while his thoughts ran a mile a minute. He thought about Aizawa’s elbow and how his skin crumbled like ashes at his touch. He thought about All Might and how he tried to reach out for them all, only to be swept away. He thought about Thirteen and what Kurogiri must have done to take her out. Then, he thought about his mother, who he hugged and kissed goodbye that morning. 

She didn’t know where he was. She didn’t know he was in danger. She didn’t know the evil that threatened him and his classmates because before today, he didn’t realize just what they were willing to do to get what they wanted. He had been too blinded by All Might’s light to know the darkness that he kept at bay with his fearless smile. 

Just as Shigaraki’s hand closed in around Tsuyu’s face, however, he paused. He lifted his head up and let out a small scoff of disbelief. 

“You really are so cool,” Shigaraki adulated suddenly. He turned his head and Izuku tracked his gaze before his breath caught in his throat. Despite his injuries, Aizawa stared out with burning red eyes, his teeth grit with determination. “Eraserhead.”

Then, Nomu lifted him up by the hair and Izuku felt One For All threaten to burn through his arm. His body started to move and he let it, the fire within him only growing stronger when he saw Nomu start to push Aizawa’s head down.

“Stop!” a voice shouted, breaking through the tense air. 

Everyone became still. The Nomu paused and tilted its head in confusion while Shigaraki stared out towards the source. Izuku stood with his fist raised as he searched and nearly choked on air when he spotted his mentor’s familiar frame, though not quite in the way he expected. All Might looked so frail as he stood before the villains, his suit left dirty from god knows what and his hair a mess. He wiped away the remnants of crimson from his lips and Izuku took in a shuddering breath. 

‘No,’ he thought, ‘no, no, no, why are you here like this?’ Terror gripped his heart. ‘Did you already use your time on the other villains?’

“You again,” Kurogiri drawled, turning towards All Might curiously, “I see you found your way back.” 

Shigaraki let out a hum of thought. “My, my… What’s this? Is this the new staff member everyone was making such a fuss over?” He stood up, his attention turned away from Izuku and his classmates. “Did you come all this way to play hero and save your coworkers?”

All Might met Shigaraki's gaze, and although Izuku was not the focus of his ire, it still gave him pause. All those months ago, when Izuku first saw All Might’s true form, he had a hard time believing that the skeleton of a man and his childhood idol were one and the same. However, at that moment, Izuku realized he had been a fool to think otherwise. The same fire that allowed All Might to shine so bright as a beacon burned within his eyes, though it did not seek to provide warmth or light. The fire that Izuku saw sought out destruction and retribution, tempered only by a resolve that showed that All Might had in fact fought evils far greater than he himself might ever know. 

And now, Shigaraki was on the opposing end of his stare, unknowing of the power that he stood against.

Chapter Text

Tomura had to say, this wasn’t a part of his agenda. He had come in with a very clear plan on how he wanted things to go and things were not going that way. So much preparation and planning went into making sure that they would be ready for All Might’s arrival and when it turned out he wasn’t even working at U.A. to begin with, Tomura would be the first to admit he didn’t react well. Kurogiri scolded him for breaking a glass while he sulked at the bar upon returning to the hideout, his neck left stinging from his incessant scratching. His declaration of war towards U.A. had all been for nothing… That was, until his master gave him a flicker of hope.

“He was in the city,” he told him, “he was seen handling incidents down in Musutafu when his agency is all the way in Minato, Tokyo.” His master’s chuckle crackled through the feed. “I’m sure if you make enough of a ruckus, he’ll come down…”

So make a ruckus he did. Sadly, it seemed that everything seemed out to get him, since he had to deal with the unfortunate inclusion of Eraserhead. He wasn’t even on the schedule they took from the school, so why was he there? Why did he have to come in and make everything so much harder? Why did he have to be so cool?

It was unfair. All of it was unfair. 

Now, as he was getting ready to leave a parting gift for the supposed Symbol of Peace to find, whether it be in person or through word of mouth, the very same nobody who got everyone in a tizzy for nothing was standing against him. Tomura didn’t see the hype, if he were honest. What kind of a fool could confuse the sack of bones before him for All Might? If Tomura didn’t hate the man so much, he might argue it was disrespectful. 

“What’s the matter?” Tomura questioned as the man continued to stare him down. His eyes looked him over from the dirt on his leather shoes to his crumpled suit that hung from his thin frame. He must have encountered some trouble on the way to the plaza, Tomura concluded. “Not going to say anything? That’s not very polite .” 

“Neither is showing up uninvited ,” came the man’s quick reply. His fists were clenched at his side and his jaw was set, his piercing blue eyes locked onto Tomura’s form. Was he planning on trying something? What was his Quirk? Tomura didn’t know, he didn’t get the chance to check anyone’s files at U.A. That was a misstep he wouldn’t admit to, though, not when in the face of the enemy. “You should never have come here.” 

Tomura chuckled. “ Careful now… You’re not in a position to be making any demands.” His eyes trailed over to Eraserhead, who had fallen limp with exhaustion beneath the Nomu. “Wouldn’t want anything bad to happen to your friend, now would we? Well… nothing else bad, anyway.”

The man’s hands shook at his sides and Tomura smiled behind his hand. That was the funny thing about heroes; they were always dead set on trying to save everyone for the sake of their own conscience. No reasonable person would willingly put another’s life in danger, let alone someone who was in U.A. 's employment. 

“It was Shigaraki, wasn’t it?” the man said suddenly, causing Tomura’s smile to drop with surprise. The tremor didn’t leave the man’s hands, but he still held his gaze as if they were on the same playing ground. Tomura found that interesting. “I thought I heard your companion call you that… Is that your name, young man?”

“Young man.” That was… unbelievably formal. Tomura would dare to say it was too polite for the current situation. He found that interesting, too. 

“And why do you care?” Tomura replied. “Were you hoping to exchange pleasantries?”

The man shook his head. “No. I was merely wondering… Since you’re the one behind this, that means you probably know who I am. You were the one who let the press in as a distraction… Weren’t you?”

Tomura briefly recalled seeing the man’s face on the news before he turned it off in a rage. He didn’t care to remember the man’s name, considering he was a nobody. 

“You were on the news,” Tomura responded, “all that fuss over nothing… You can imagine why I find that frustrating.” He tilted his head. “But I’m afraid I didn’t catch your name… Not that it matters, especially once we’re done here.”

“Oh, that’s a shame,” the man said, and Tomura couldn’t stop himself from blinking, “allow me to rectify that.” It was a fascinating thing, watching someone so tall try to make themselves so small. “I’m Sensei Yagi. As I’m sure you know from the news, I’m a new faculty member here at U.A. I must say, this isn’t how I was expecting my first week to go.” 

With all the work that Tomura and his companions had done to instill fear during their visit down at the U.S.J. building, Tomura had to admit, he was a bit struck by how calm the stranger before him was acting. It might have been impressive to him if not for the fact that he shouldn’t be that composed to begin with. Even Eraserhead had been shaking and buckled when Nomu took care of him, but the man in front of him saw that and was still standing before him, not bowing down and pleading for mercy. It wasn’t right. He didn’t have the right to be so calm when he was faced with such danger. 

“Life is full of surprises,” Tomura drawled, raising one of his hands. He stared down at the dry skin that he would spend hours picking at and clenched his fist. “Not that it matters… Since you won’t live to see anymore.” 

“Ah,” the man said, and oh, the casualness to his tone made Tomura want to dig his nails into his palm, “so you still plan on killing us?”

Tomura growled. “Why? You don’t think we will? You think you can stop us somehow?”

“Oh, no,” the skeletal man replied, holding up his hands. His eyes trailed over to Eraserhead and he grimaced. “I have no doubt that you can… I just don’t understand why you would want to do that.”

“Shigaraki, why are you wasting your time–” Kurogiri tried to say,

“Of course you don’t,” Tomura shot back, ignoring his companion, “you can’t possibly begin to understand. You’re so disillusioned by the world of heroes that you can’t see the dark shadows that they cast…” His eyes cut to the children who stood by, their costumes drenched from the water. “If I knock out a few lights, I’m sure it will dim the Symbol of Peace’s spirit and wound his pride .”

He expected to be met with anger. He expected to be met with fear. He expected to even be met with violence. However, the skeleton of a man merely closed his eyes and inhaled sharply.

“So that’s it, then,” he uttered softly, startling Tomura, “you want to make a statement.”

Then, when he opened his eyes, Tomura went very, very still. Something deeply primal in him recognized the emotion that stirred within the man’s piercing blue eyes as something akin to anger, but he didn’t think it was that simple. It was something far more potent, perhaps something as old as the joints on his hands that were knotted from age and use. Only a hero was capable of being audacious enough to meet danger with such emotion, but it was not with a bright smile or a fist raised to the sky for the public to eat up with adoration. The man before him had seen terrible things– he had to have to be this calm when facing off against Tomura. 

“Well, then,” the man continued, “I would say you accomplished just that… This was quite the feat.” 

…Oh? That wasn’t what he was expecting to hear. 

“You managed to break into here,” the man went on, “not only that, but you collected so many people… That’s not an easy task. Gangs of villains can be so volatile.” His eyes scanned the area around them briefly. “And yet you gathered so many… and they were willing to carry out your orders with no issue. That takes a lot of trust… Most villains don’t have that.”

Despite the twinge of mistrust that itched at the back of his mind, Tomura found himself listening. It was true that gathering villains to work under him was an issue. The recruitment process was more focused on numbers than abilities, but getting everyone to listen and follow his lead was a hearty task. Even the mighty Yakuza had fallen from its once powerful status due to infighting and were toeing the line to extinction in modern society; Tomura didn’t want the same for his own organization.

“I’d say you already wounded his pride just by doing that,” the man told him. He sounded… sincere. It was spoken with a level of dreariness, one that Tomura didn’t know because he didn’t idolize All Might like the rest of the world. “He managed to get the crime rates down to six percent and yet, you were able to do this. You gathered people who are only out for themselves to work together to accomplish a task many would think foolish… Your mere mission and existence is sure to bother him.” 

Tomura’s eyebrows raised up. ‘What a curious thing you are, old man…’

“Shigaraki, we should–” Kurogiri started up.

“It was Yagi, wasn’t it?” Tomura cut in. He straightened up his posture and ignored the way his spine creaked at the unusual position for him. “You sound so sure of yourself… Why is that?”

Yagi adjusted his footing. “Well… he’s the Symbol of Peace. The whole reason he does what he does is to deter crime… But he’s not even here. He’s just so busy .” Tomura thought back to all the news reports of All Might’s grand rescues and dashing heroics that happened during the morning alone. He really was so busy all the time, it was so irritating . “If he were to come in here and see what you did, only to find you were gone… Well, he would hate to see he wasn’t fast enough.”

Tomura almost arched his brow. “You say that like you know him… Are you just making this up?”

“No!” Yagi exclaimed. He seemed surprised at his own outburst and quickly withdrew his hands to his chest. “I… I say that because…” 

“Because you what? ” Tomura snapped. “Are you another fan of his? You think because you idolize him that you know him?”

The man looked back up at him. “I… I used to work for him… I worked at his agency as a secretary.”

Tomura blinked. An employee of All Might’s? That was… Well, it was certainly interesting , if he did say so himself. 

“You could be lying,” Kurogiri countered. His burning yellow eyes fell onto Tomura. “He could be lying , Shigaraki.”

Tomura tilted his head. “You used to work for him, did you? Tell me… What was he like?”

Yagi exhaled a laugh through his nose. “Where do I begin? He would drink so much coffee in the morning, it was no wonder he was always so eccentric when he was out working. I don’t know how he doesn’t have a heart murmur– I don’t drink coffee anymore because of it. Doctors say it’s not good for me.” His shoulders shook when he rubbed the back of his head with a chuckle. “And he’s so bad with paperwork… I had quite a handful to deal with because of him.” 

It was so strange to hear someone talk about All Might so casually– Tomura knew logistically that All Might had peons under his command, but to hear from one straight from the source was like getting a peek behind the curtain. How much time had he spent with All Might? How much did he know?

“Interesting…” Tomura murmured. Then, a weak groan drew his attention back to Eraserhead and he frowned. “I bet if I killed one of his hero friends, he’d be very upset, too… Heroes are always so upset when they lose one of their own.”

“Oh,” Yagi uttered, far too softly for him to be terrified, “I… I don’t know if that will work since…”

Tomura did raise a brow that time. “Since what? ”

Yagi fiddled with his fingers. “They… don’t get along. All Might and Eraserhead.” He shrugged a bit awkwardly. “Mainstream heroes and underground heroes… They live in different worlds. I think he’d be more upset that Eraserhead did all the work before he could get here.” 

“Oh, really? ” Tomura replied. He should have figured the Symbol of Peace would be petty about something like that– he was just so prideful . “Makes sense… He just doesn’t know when to quit, does he?”

“I suppose so,” Yagi said quietly. He continued to toy with his fingers– it was a nervous tic that Tomura knew well from when he was stressed. “So… I don't think that you’ll be gaining anything by killing anyone… If you leave Eraserhead alive, he’ll recover and people will talk about how brave he was for standing against all of you… All while everyone asks where All Might was.”

Oh. That was a fun idea. But still… “And why shouldn’t we just go ahead and do it?” 

The old man clenched his fists. “Because if you do, then it’ll be set in stone forever. You won’t be able to take it back. It’ll be a simple fact, just another statistic.” He tilted his head. “But if you leave… You’ll leave him wondering what you could have done. And when you think about all the way things could have gone wrong…” He lifted his eyes up to meet Tomura’s. “Well, that can drive even the best of men to insanity.”

Oh… Oh, that was diabolical . Tomura took everything back, he liked this guy. He was giving him so much to work with. It would be one thing to end All Might in a physical sense, but to end his sense of pride by showing what he could do and just getting away… That sounded downright devious . 

“Shigaraki, why are we wasting our time with him?” Kurogiri growled, snapping him out of his thoughts. “We have to finish this.” 

“So leave then,” Yagi suggested, and just like that, the tension returned to Tomura’s shoulders. However, the man did not take on a defiance stance and merely held his gaze. “You’ve done so much already… You did something no one would ever dare to do and it worked … Well, I suppose, except for…”

Tomura’s hand paused at his neck. “Except for what? Don’t be shy now, we’ve already spent so much time getting to know each other.”

Yagi’s gaze flickered down briefly, his hands clasped together. “You want to kill All Might. You said as much when you came here… You came here despite knowing he wasn’t at U.A. because you hoped he would come.”

“Well, he didn’t,” Tomura snapped. Then, he thought back to what Kurogiri told him before and he scratched just a bit harder. “But I’ll bet he’s on his way now that one of your brats managed to sneak out to go get help.” 

“He might have gotten there by now,” Kurogiri noted, causing Tomura’s shoulders to raise higher with tension, “he had a speed Quirk.” 

Tomura growled. “Did he, now? How convenient for you to leave that out…”

“Or perhaps it was a mistake on your end,” Yagi pointed out. 

With a blink, Tomura reeled back on him. “ What was that?”

“You didn’t know he had a speed Quirk,” Yagi clarified, adjusting his posture. He stood up a bit straighter and stopped fiddling with his hands. He wasn’t nervous; he was completely calm, almost like he was right where he wanted to be. “Just like you didn’t know anyone’s Quirks except for Thirteen’s, since she’s a Pro. Just like you didn’t know that Eraserhead would be here because of the security breach you caused.” Tomura flinched at that. “Just like you didn’t even know who I was before today.” 

“What’s your point? ” Tomura demanded. “So there were little hiccups– Are you saying that your heroes’ plans always go off without a hitch?” He scoffed and scratched at his neck. “Besides… What do you matter? Are you saying that you’re a threat? ”

Then, to his utter surprise, the skeleton of a man smiled at him. It was not a brave smile or even a humorous one, it was… knowing. Like he was in on a secret that Tomura would never know. 

“You didn’t know who I was,” the man repeated, far too calm for Tomura’s liking, “and you didn’t know what everyone’s Quirks were…” Then, he spread his lips in a wide smile and Tomura saw blood in his mouth.  “It seems that there’s a lot you don’t know, young man.”

A growl rose out of Tomura’s throat until it ripped out of him in a scream. “You don’t know a goddamn thing –”

“Get away from him!” shouted an unknown voice. 

“Young Midoriya, no– ” Yagi tried to exclaim. 

The old man’s warning went unheeded. “Smash!”

Suddenly, Nomu took up residence at his side, its hulking form creating a shield around his form. The air blew around Tomura like a cyclone so viciously that it would have surely knocked him over were it not for his pet’s loyalty. Glass shattered off in the distance and he thought he heard some of his followers scream in terror over the loud wind. Finally, it simmered down enough for him to straighten up. As he adjusted the hand on his face, he turned towards his attempted attacker and tilted his head curiously.

‘It’s one of the brats,’ he realized, ‘I completely forgot about them…’ Tomura scratched at his neck. ‘That was exactly what that bastard wanted… He played me. That’s not fair .’

“You’re pretty powerful,” he said to the boy, who was frozen with fear in front of Nomu, “this ‘smash’ of yours… Sounds like you’re a fan of All Might. ” He ceased scratching and looked up to meet the gaze of the bag of bones who dared to defy him. Then, Tomura gave him a smile. “Doesn’t matter… I’m done with you now.”

“No!” Yagi screamed as he reached out towards the impotent boy. 

Nomu grabbed the brat, eliciting an ungodly shriek that might have made Tomura smile were it not for the blow that hit him right in the gut shortly after. The air came billowing out of his lungs like a dragon breath and he gasped aloud while fire surged up his torso. His eyes searched wildly for the source of the hit, but the only person in his sights was the man, his hand still outstretched with meters still between them. 

‘Is that his Quirk?’ Tomura thought. He let out a growl as he tried to catch his breath. ‘How did he–’

His musings were robbed from him blind when another blow knocked the hand off his face and he let out an involuntary yelp. He went down with a choked gasp and fell to the ground, his face suddenly left bare as his hand fell from his face. With shaking hands and deep gulps of breath, Tomura scrambled to grab his hand before he found himself lifted off the ground. 

“N-N–” he tried to say, his words failing him. Too late, he saw his companion in the middle of tossing away his new plaything and Tomura clawed at the air desperately. “Nom–”

Then, for the briefest of moments, Tomura was weightless. He was very quickly reacquainted with gravity, however, when he landed in the water. It took him precious moments to find out it was shallow and he quickly regained his footing, his eyes wide with terror as he broke through the surface of the water and pushed his way over to the edge. Through shaky breaths, he searched wildly for that messy head of blond hair, only to see he was gone from sight. 

‘Where is he?’ he thought. ‘Did he run off after making such a cheap move with his Quirk?’

Then, a loud BOOM! echoed throughout the U.S.J., accompanied by a dust cloud that took form within the center plaza. Tomura shielded his eyes from it and raked his nails down his neck. Had another one of the brats decided to make his life harder?  

“Have no fear, students,” growled out a low, but booming voice. Familiarity shot up Tomura’s spine and he went still as the dust began to settle down, revealing the silhouette that haunted his dreams and drove his waking moments. Even if the man’s voice hadn’t registered as belonging to the focus of his ire, he would have recognized him by the long strands of hair that stood from his head like horns by a mile away. 

‘Speak of the devil…’ Tomura mused. Somehow, despite everything, he managed to find a way to smile. ‘And he shall appear.’

By simply straightening up his posture, the dust billowed away from All Might’s form, revealing him completely. He stood before them in his costume, pristine and perfect as always, his arms occupied by the troublesome brat who Nomu tossed aside. But, Tomura realized quickly, he was not smiling. 

“I am here,” All Might snarled.

When All Might laid his sights onto him, Tomura’s smile only grew. It looked like their little game was going to get a “Continue” after all.

* * *

For a very real moment there, Izuku legitimately thought that was going to be the end. All it took was one moment of pure, unrestrained anger to drive him to the point of acting and before he knew it, he found himself jumping into the fray. When he saw that villain’s hand raised towards his mentor, he knew he couldn’t stand by, he just couldn’t . The full force of One For All exploded from his fist and, to his surprise, he hadn’t broken his arm. That small victory wound up meaning absolutely nothing in the end, however, when the smoke cleared and he saw Nomu’s blank stare gazing down upon him like a battle ax ready to fall forward. In one fluid movement, Izuku’s arm was grabbed and twisted, promptly leaving him in excruciating pain as he was tossed aside like a used up chew toy. Despite the pain, he tried to brace himself for the inevitable impact…

But it never came. 

Instead, he found himself pulled flush to a firm, muscular chest and he blinked up in surprise, only for his eyes to widen to the size of saucers. Looking down upon him was All Might– not as his teacher at U.A., but as the Symbol of Peace and Number One Hero. Tears threatened to blur his vision and he let out a weak, choked sob, relief and gratitude nearly leaving him helpless before he forced himself to forgo his pain and sit up. 

“A-All Might…” he stammered out, his breaths shuddering. “Y-You’re–”

Then, as he blinked back the tears, he went still. Gone was the picture perfect smile that graced the many posters that decorated Izuku’s bedroom walls and in its place was a deep, unrestrained grimace. His bright, white teeth were bared like a predator in a face-off with its natural enemy and Izuku felt his relief shift into uneasiness. 

“Y-You’re not smiling,” Izuku observed aloud. It felt so juvenile to say, but to him, it was akin to seeing a fireman without a uniform. All Might’s smile was a permanent fixture of his person that everyone knew well– Izuku spent years practicing it in the mirror until he felt he got it right because he, like so many, adored it so much. 

“I smile to trick the fear inside of me,” his mentor had told him that fateful day on the roof, “it’s just a brave face I put on when the pressure is high.”

To Izuku, the pressure had never seemed higher , and yet, he wasn’t smiling. Did that mean he wasn’t trying to hide the fear? Or was he too focused to be afraid? Or perhaps…

“They hurt you,” All Might growled angrily, his voice barely audible enough to be understood despite how close Izuku was to him. His eyes flickered down to Izuku’s injured arm and his upper lip curled up in a snarl. “How bad is it?” 

Before Izuku could try to reassure him, all it took was a small readjustment to make him bite back a cry. He peeked his eyes open through a wince to see his mentor’s grimace only grow and watched as his angry eyes flicked upwards to meet Shigaraki’s gaze from across the clearing. The villain was sopping wet– Izuku wasn’t sure how that happened, he didn’t see it– and his face was covered by one of his hands as he reached down for the ashen limb that had fallen from his face. 

“After all this waiting…” Shigaraki drawled, chuckling a bit as he reattached the hand to his face. “the heroic piece of trash finally shows up–”

In a flash, Izuku was no longer within the villain’s sights. All it took was a single blink and he found himself lumped beneath All Might’s arm alongside Mineta and Tsuyu, who seemed just as surprised as he was. He gasped upon seeing Sensei Aizawa’s messy mop of black hair hanging limply from All Might’s other arm and bit his lip to keep from whimpering. Now that he was closer, he could see just how intense the damage to his arms were and he found himself looking away. 

“I’m sorry, Aizawa,” All Might murmured softly, the shift in tone so jarring in comparison to how angry he had been just seconds before, “I hope it’s not too late…”

Then, with another blink, Izuku was standing on his feet. He wobbled for a second at the sudden shift before a hand on his good bicep righted him and forced him to stand upright. A wince crinkled his features briefly as All Might straightened his posture and gestured to them all without looking at them.

“Everybody, back to the entrance,” All Might ordered, “and take Aizawa with you. He doesn’t have much time.” 

Izuku heard a noise escape Shigaraki and turned to face him, only to go still. The villain’s crimson eyes were burning with great emotion and his hand shook at his sides. Slowly, his fingers curled into the shape of claws and he growled. 

“That liar ,” he snarled, “he said you two hated each other.”

The recollection of All Might’s conversation with Shigaraki nearly made Izuku shudder. It had been absolutely terrifying to see his teacher face off against someone with such a destructive power while he was in such a weakened state and he was incredibly thankful that he was able to shift back into his heroic form. Still, that gratitude was quickly undercut by the heavy reminder of all the work All Might had done earlier that day alone, and while Izuku wasn’t sure if he used up all his time, he knew that All Might had to be running low after everything he saw on the news. 

“You all need to get out of here,” All Might warned them, his voice low, “can you walk out of here alright and carry Aizawa?” 

Tsuyu nodded. “Y-Yes…”

“But what about Sensei Yagi?” blurted out a high voice. Izuku blinked and looked left, then right to find the source, but was met with nothing. “Do you know where he is? He was here a second ago!”

Tsuyu’s eyes widened. “Hagakure, is that you? ”

“What?” barked out Shigaraki. He stared down the group of them and clenched his fists. “One of you is invisible? That’s cheating! That’s not fair! ”

Izuku stared at Shigaraki’s soaking form and he exhaled. ‘So that was her… She’s the one who threw him in the water.’ He turned back to Nomu. ‘I guess it didn’t go for her since it was busy with me…’

“Yagi is alright,” All Might assured Hagakure calmly. He regarded them from the corner of his eye and straightened up his posture. “I sent him to handle things elsewhere.”

Tsuyu’s brows furrowed. “But where did he–”

“There’s no time for questions!” All Might proclaimed. He pointed to the exit. “You all need to get out of here! It’s not safe here.” 

Mineta stared incredulously. “How did you even know to come here?” 

“Iida,” Izuku answered, recalling Kurogiri’s statement from before. Despite how tense the situation was, he didn’t want All Might’s story to fall apart. “He went to get help. Someone must have called All Might and he beat them here.” 

All Might nodded. “I knew I couldn’t wait, so I came here to get a handle on things. You’ve all been so brave while waiting for me… Now, get your teacher out of here. Time is running out.”

Izuku’s eyes trailed back over to Nomu and he felt his fear start to bubble up in his throat. “No, you can’t ! I used One For–” He caught himself and amended his statement. “I-I smashed him and didn’t break my arm this time, but it didn’t do anything! He’s too strong to–”

“Young man,” All Might cut in. Then, he turned back to Izuku with a smile and it made his insides churn. That meant that he was afraid . “I got this!”

Unable to bring himself to argue, he slowly nodded. There wasn’t much he could do to help– none of them could. They had gotten lucky when they fought those villains back at the shipwreck zone and he didn’t even know what Hagakure and All Might had to do in order to escape where they were at. They were only able to escape now because All Might was the only one able to hold back the tide that was coming their way. 

But how long would that hold? 

It was hard, walking away from his mentor. He tried not to look back, because he didn’t want to see what was coming, but when the first few blows came about, he couldn’t stop himself. He listened to his classmates cheer for him while they carried Aizawa and he wished desperately that he could share their sentiments, but he couldn’t bring himself to, not when he knew what he knew. He saw All Might’s injury– he knew how bad it was and how he barely was able to crawl back from it over half a decade ago. He didn’t know the evil that threatened to kill his mentor personally, but he knew enough to know that the force All Might was trying to hold back was not one he could hold forever. He was a powerful man, but when time ran out, he was just a man . 

“Oh, God! ” exclaimed Hagakure, breaking Izuku out of his thoughts. “Look!”

Then, when Izuku glanced back, he froze. As the dust cleared, he spotted All Might caught precariously over one of Kurogiri’s portals, held firm by Nomu's monstrous hands. Even from where Izuku stood, he could see blood spread out from beneath its grip like a horrid rose blooming. Suddenly, the pain in his arm became a distant memory, his entire body left shuddering with a fear that ran so deep he felt like it would be the only thing he would ever feel again. 

He didn’t think– What was there to think about? It was All Might , and he needed help . The pain in his arm was a small price to pay as he ran back to his mentor at full speed and he knew that he was willing to break every bone in his body if it meant keeping his mentor safe. With grit teeth, he pulled his injured arm into his shirt as a makeshift sling to keep it out of the way while he ran, his heart pounding in his chest and his blood roaring in his ears. As his lungs began to burn, he had a flashback to the day he met All Might, when he found himself running into fire to pull Kacchan away from the same villain that threatened his own life. 

‘I couldn’t do anything back then,’ he thought as tears threatened to blur his vision, ‘but I can do something about this now.’

Izuku knew what it felt like to be helpless; which is why he knew that he had to do everything he could to help All Might while he was in the same position. 

* * *

Toshinori really had a way of cutting it close. Not just once, but multiple times, one right after the other so quickly that it nearly made his head spin. When he first saw Midoriya’s tear-stained face come running back into danger with his injured arm tucked into his shirt, he knew that his protege wouldn’t be able to stand up to the task by himself. Fear gripped his heart when a portal opened up before him and Toshinori was helpless to do anything but watch as the boy he came to know was subject to the same fate as him…

That was, until young Bakugou came into the fray. 

Needless to say, the boy hadn’t been too pleased to see Shigaraki and his associate again after he was sent to another part of the facility, and it seemed that Kirishima and Todoroki shared his sentiments when they jumped into action. As worried as he was for their safety and Bakugou’s rising temper, Toshinori was nonetheless thankful for their interjection– not just for his sake, but for Midoriya’s, as well. Still, him being free was only a flicker of hope in the darkness, and that became clear whenever Bakugou became their next target of the attack, prompting Toshinori to jump into action and take the blow in his stead. 

In the end, the Nomu fell prey to Toshinori’s fists. It took almost everything in Toshinori to make it happen, but he didn’t care about himself, not when his students were still in danger. The only reason that the villains came that day was because of him and he wanted to make sure that they regretted that decision for the rest of their days, even if it meant destroying himself in the process. But in the face of the enemy, he stood tall and strong, the beacon of hope he spent years cultivating. For a brief moment, he thought that he might run out of time before the villains took their leave and he braced himself for the worst when Midoriya came to a desperate rescue until a gunshot alerted him to the arrival of his fellow Pros. 

Toshinori allowed himself to finally shrink down as the chaos ensued– he couldn’t hold it any longer if he wanted to. He let out a deep breath and with it, the tension in his chest began to lessen. 

“Midoriya, hey!” exclaimed Kirishima. 

Shakingly, Midoriya pushed himself up with his good arm– had he not broken it? He was two-for-two now, Toshinori realized.  “Sorry, I… can’t really get up that well.”

“What?” Kirishima replied. “Are you alright?!”

Then, Toshinori’s entire body went still. With the dust still billowing around them, he was still left covered, but he knew it wouldn’t last forever. He had to do something, anything to keep the boy from coming closer. Right as Toshinori was in the midst of considering running away, however, a wall went up beside him. 

“Hold up, children!” said a familiar, sing-song voice. “You should all hurry back to the entrance!”

Kirishima stopped in his tracks. “Oh, Principal Nedzu! Are you sure? Midoriya got pretty banged up.”

Toshinori stood up straight as a board. ‘Nedzu?’

“I’m quite sure, young man,” Nedzu replied, his voice still kind, “besides, we have a handle on things here. You have nothing to worry about.” 

“For your safety, please stay back,” added another voice. Toshinori turned to see Cementoss standing beside the wall with Nedzu perched on his shoulder, a briefcase hanging from his paws. “Leave the injured to us and meet back up with your class. 

“Ah, I guess you’re right,” Kirishima replied, and Toshinori felt himself relax, “I guess we can let you guys and All Might take care of things here, huh? You took care of those villains like real Pros!” 

A small chuckle from Nedzu was enough to cause tension to return to Toshinori’s shoulders. “That’s what we strive for. Now, run along! We’ve got this, young man.”

“Yes, sir!” Kirishima responded. He heard rapidfire footsteps start to retreat. “It’s cool, guys! Principal Nedzu told us to go to the entrance!”

Toshinori exhaled once the boy’s voice faded from hearing range. “Thank goodness…”

“Now, now, you’re not out of the woods yet ,” Nedzu commented as he drew closer. 

“You’re telling me…” Toshinori replied, trying to hold back a cough. His eyes met with Cementoss’ and he nodded. “Thank you… for covering for me. I appreciate it.”

Cementoss tilted his head curiously. “It’s not an issue. I’m actually quite the fan… Though I have to say, I wasn’t expecting for us to meet like this.” His gaze settled onto Midoriya. “Is it alright for the boy to see you like this?”

“It’s quite alright indeed,” Nedzu assured him, patting Cementoss on the shoulder, “young Midoriya can be trusted.” He smiled. “Just as I know that you can be trusted.”

Toshinori wilted just a bit. “I… I know how this looks, but–”

“You have nothing to worry about, sir,” Cementoss told him, holding up a hand, “I already knew about your time limit… But I wasn’t aware there was a transformation aspect to it. I understand that you don’t want that to get out, so I’ll be sure to keep quiet.” He smiled at Toshinori knowingly. “It’s not the only secret I’ve kept here at U.A.”

Before Toshinori could ask what he meant by that, Nedzu chuckled again. “Bet you’re glad you took my advice to wear a suit under your clothes, aren’t you?”

“U-Um…” Midoriya said quietly. “Where, uh, are they, by the way? You might want to change back into them before someone sees you.”

Toshinori’s eyes widened. “ Shit . I tossed them somewhere, but I don’t know where–” He went still when a shock of pain went up his side. “Damn it…”

“Don’t worry, I figured this might happen,” Nedzu told him, causing Toshinori to turn to him. He smiled at him and held up his briefcase. “Once I heard there was an attack, I knew you’d try to step in and handle things, so I brought a change of clothes just to be safe.” He cracked it open, confirming its contents. “Now, let’s get you down to the infirmary– Recovery Girl should be here soon to take care of you both.”

A frown settled on Toshinori’s lips. “She’s not going to be happy with me…”

Nedzu let out a bubbly laugh. “When is she ever? You keep her hands full, don’t you?” He turned to Midoriya and his smile faded. “I see you got hurt again… Did you lose control?”

“N-No…” Midoriya told him. He looked down at his injured arm and grimaced. “My arm got broken by one of the villains…”

Toshinori’s lips drew into a thin line. He wished that he had been able to prevent that– he should have been able to do more .

“Oh, dear ,” Nedzu replied emphatically, “well, we’ll just have to get you fixed up, then. I imagine once the adrenaline wears off, you’re going to be feeling that.”

Not caring to make the clothes look nice, Toshinori tugged them on quickly and covered up his suit. It had gotten torn pretty badly during the battle and he knew he was going to need a replacement for the future. Once he was dressed, he stood up with a groan.

“Easy,” Cementoss chided lightly, “seriously, All Might… that could have been really bad for you.” 

Toshinori grimaced as he held his side. “I had to act recklessly or else things would have been bad for everyone… ” He thought back to how he watched Nomu toss Midoriya aside like a ragdoll after he broke his arm and then to how Bakugou was nearly pummeled by the same creature. “They didn’t hold back… They were willing to kill everyone here just to prove a point .” 

When he saw what they did to his protege, he didn’t think. What was there to think about? He was just thankful he managed to sneak off and change into his heroic form in time to prevent any further damage, even if it did shave off a good chunk of time. His eyes settled onto Midoriya’s broken form and his eyes softened. 

‘I’m just glad that he’s safe,’ he thought. Then, his eyes went to the entrance, where a good chunk of his students were. ‘I’m glad they all are.’

“Come now,” Nedzu interjected gently, breaking him out of his thoughts, “let’s get you out of here… the other teachers can handle things while we’re gone.”

Slowly, Toshinori nodded and allowed Nedzu to take the lead after he hopped off of Cementoss’ shoulder. He scooped Midoriya up and carefully hauled him up to his feet, only pausing when the boy whimpered.

“Sorry,” Cementoss apologized softly, “things are going to feel better in a little bit, alright?”

Midoriya nodded tiredly. “A-Alright…”

“Recovery Girl will fix you up,” Toshinori told him as he joined them at their side. He offered him what he hoped to be a comforting smile. “You were very brave today… And you helped save me when it counted.” Then, his smile weakened. “But please , don’t you ever scare me like that again, alright?” 

A breathy laugh escaped Midoriya and he closed his eyes. “I could say the same thing for you… You had me really scared when you talked to that guy…”

“Oh, you didn’t have to worry about that,” Toshinori reassured, “I knew I just needed to keep him busy… He may have a powerful Quirk, but I wouldn’t say he’s a mastermind by any means.”

Ever since he and Hagakure’s arrival to the scene, he could tell that Shigaraki was not as intimidating as he tried to make himself out to be. He practically threw a tantrum whenever his companion told him that a student got away and he knew that if he said the right things, he could get his attention. He was like a child– easily distracted and entertained by notions that fed into his ego. However, that didn’t assuage the way that Toshinori’s nerves were practically on fire, begging for him to do something as his associate laid prone on the ground, bleeding from horrendous injuries. 

‘I hope Aizawa is able to recover,’ he thought as they made their way down to the infirmary, ‘and Thirteen, as well… they both fought valiantly.’

“I hate to ask this,” Cementoss cut in suddenly, causing Toshinori to look up, “but why exactly did you hide your identity?” 

Toshinori frowned. “It was... meant to be a security measure. I figured if I was here as All Might, U.A. would fall under scrutiny, but…” He grimaced as he recalled the press’ intrusion at the school, which felt so long ago after the day he had. “I suppose that wasn’t enough .”

“Did the villains see you transform?” Nedzu questioned. 

“No,” Toshinori answered, “I managed to duck down in time to switch out while young Hagakure kept Shigaraki busy.” He let out a long exhale. “She really gave me a scare when she did that. I thought she was still hiding before she came out of nowhere.” 

Nedzu chuckled. “Ah, that’s the girl with the invisibility Quirk, is it? Good thing she was there to help you!”

Toshinori nodded. “It was…” Then, he stiffened up a bit as he recalled their conversation from earlier. “Ah, Principal, actually… About young Hagakure–”

“ There you are!” exclaimed a familiar, grouchy voice. Toshinori found himself shrinking down as Recovery Girl’s silhouette came into view and he sheepishly waved at her. “Oh, Yagi, you and that boy are going to be the death of me!”

“Stand down, Recovery Girl,” Cementoss expressed as they drew closer. Midoriya ducked down behind him and Toshinori couldn’t really blame him for it. “These two have had a hard day… Give them some time before you scold them.” 

Recovery Girl tutted. “Your arm… Did you lose control of your Quirk again?”

“One of the villains twisted and broke his arm,” Toshinori told her, trying to ignore the way his insides twisted at the reminder, “I imagine that’s going to be tricky to treat.”

Almost instantly, the old woman’s eyes softened. “I see… Well, come on in. No sense in waiting.” 

“Do you need us to stay?” Nedzu asked. He watched from the corner of his eye while Cementoss set Midoriya down under Recovery Girl’s watchful gaze. “I can always check in with the others later.” 

Toshinori shook his head. “No… Go make sure everyone is alright. We can talk later.” 

Nedzu nodded. “I understand. Come along, Cementoss. The others are going to need us.”

“Right, sir,” Cementoss replied. Then, his eyes fell onto Toshinori, causing him to freeze. “And don’t worry about me, All Might. I don’t plan on telling anyone about what I saw today. I understand that you don’t want that to get out.”

The tension in Toshinori’s shoulders lessened. “Thank you… I appreciate it.” He found it in him to smile. “You’re allowed to call me Yagi, though.”

Cementoss blinked. “Oh. Are you sure? I-I wouldn’t want to–”

“We’re colleagues , Cementoss,” Toshinori said gently, “you won’t be disrespecting me by calling me my name. I promise.”

His associate smiled back at him. “Thank you, sir. Try to heal up, alright?” 

With the pain in his injured side still throbbing, Toshinori tried not to let his smile drop. “I’ll do my best.”

Chapter Text

It sufficed to say that when Inko read the news, she was not doing well. One moment, she was checking her phone on her way back home and the next, she found herself running down the sidewalk at a breakneck speed, pushing through the crowds. She passed out apologies as rapidly as her breaths, her body barely being able to match up with the speed that her mind was running at. 

“The U.S.J. was under attack today by a group of villains,” she recalled the news channel saying, “according to sources, the facility was being used by a first year class at U.A. Allegedly, the Class 1-A students had to resort to defending themselves. As of now, it’s been confirmed that only one student was injured. The status of the staff members has not been released.” 

One student. Inko knew that there were 20 students in Izuku’s homeroom class, but the fact that there was even a chance it could be her son was enough to send her into a panic. She called and texted him just to ask if his class was there or at the U.S.J.– no response. She tried to call the school, but they wouldn’t give her a straight answer on the matter. She didn’t want to go all the way to U.A. just to find out the worst case scenario had become a reality, so she forced down the bile that threatened to rise out of her throat and grabbed her things to head straight down to the facility without a second thought, her mind racing through the horrendous path of “what if”s.

‘He could be hurt,’ Inko thought, ‘he could be scarred.’ She tried to ignore the way her eyes stung. ‘He could be…’

She disparaged the very thought. No, she couldn’t go there, not when she hadn’t seen him yet. She had to know for sure– she had to be sure. 

After what felt like an eternity, Inko found herself at the U.S.J. The sun had already begun to set, casting golden rays across the parking lot and its many inhabitants. Police cars took up residence in the spaces while the police officers walked around and talked with one another, walking to and fro to run procedures Inko was not privy to. She looked left and right until she spotted the entrance to the U.S.J. and she stepped forward, only to be caught by the shoulder.

“Uh, miss, you can’t just walk around out here,” said an officer, “this is a private investigation.”

Inko met the man’s gaze. “Do you know which student was injured during the attack?”

The man blinked. “I’m afraid that’s classified–”

“My son is a student at U.A.,” Inko interjected, her voice threatening to shake, “Izuku Midoriya. He’s a first year. His class was here today.” 

Something shifted in the man’s eyes and Inko felt her heart sink . She knew that look– it was the look of someone who knew something, but didn’t want to confirm it as the truth. Inko bit her bottom lip and clutched her purse tightly. 

“Please,” Inko pleaded quietly, “please, just let me know…”

The man straightened up. “Ma’am, I–”

“What’s going on over here?” questioned an unfamiliar voice. Inko turned in time to see a man in a trench coat and matching hat stride up to the two of them. He blinked when his eyes landed on Inko and his jaw tightened up, his gaze flitting up to meet with the officer’s. “This is a private investigation–”

“My son ,” Inko cut in, her voice rising, “his class was here today, wasn’t it? Class 1-A?”

For a moment, the man held her gaze, silently inspecting her for something that Inko was not privy to. Then, he held out his hand to her. 

“I’m Detective Tsukauchi,” he greeted, his tone formal, “may I ask for your name and who you’re here for?”

Not sure what else to do, Inko shakingly offered her hand to the man. His palm was warm, but also worn, adorned with little calluses. She pursed her lips as he held her gaze.

“I’m Inko Midoriya,” she answered, “my son’s class was here today during the attack… I called the school about his whereabouts, but when I couldn’t get an answer, I… I panicked , so I came down here.” Her eyes fell downcast as she tried to blink back the sting in her eyes. “I heard one of the students was injured, so I was scared…”

Tsukauchi’s eyes softened with understanding. “It was Midoriya, was it? Can I see an ID to confirm your identity?” 

Hearing that both gave Inko equal parts hope and dread. Did that mean Izuku was the injured student after all? What happened to him?

Slowly, Inko withdrew her wallet from her purse and she flipped it open to show her ID. It was one from years ago– she hated how she looked in it, but Izuku assured her she looked nice. She remembered when she showed it to him and was saddened at how she looked, Izuku laughed and said, “Well, at least you didn’t look like this! ” Before he contorted his face into a silly one that made her snort. Her eyes stung even more at the sudden memory and she blinked until it went away. 

“I see,” Tsukauchi drawled, inspecting it. He straightened his posture and let out a long exhale. “I don’t know if Recovery Girl will be alright with letting you come in when he’s still–”

“Recovery Girl?” Inko exclaimed. She knew Recovery Girl– not only was she one of the first heroes Izuku drew up in his series of notebooks, she had seen her while she was growing up. Known as the “Youthful Heroine” back in her heyday, Inko had been a fan of the healer as a teenager and used to watch the U.A. Sports Festival in hopes of seeing her make an appearance. But, she also knew that she only came out when things were serious . “Oh, no, no, no –”

Tsukauchi rested a hand on her shoulder. “Ma’am, it’s alright . She’s taking good care of him. She’s the best at what she does.” 

Inko pursed her lips. “What happened to him? Is he alright?” With the amount of arrests that were made, she couldn’t imagine the type of injuries he sustained. “Can I see him? He must be so scared and upset…”

“Well,” Tsukuachi began, stopping to adjust his stance uncomfortably, “we’ll have to see. If Recovery Girl is done treating him, then she might not mind you coming in. Just be gentle with him.”

“He’s my son ,” Inko stressed, “I’m not going to do anything to make him more upset after the day he’s had.” She held a hand over her heart. “My poor baby… He must have been so afraid…”

Tsukauchi gave her a reassuring look. “I’m sure he’ll be happy to see you once he’s free to go. I’ll escort you to the infirmary onsite.” 

Inko nodded, the sting in her eyes still lingering. “Alright… Thank you, Detective.”

“It’s not an issue,” he assured her. With a smile, he turned and offered his elbow. “Now, let’s get you down to the infirmary to see your son.”

Thankful for the physical support, Inko looped her arm through his and allowed him to take the lead. With each step they took towards the U.S.J., she tried her best to ignore the way her insides churned. Izuku may have been her little boy, but he was also strong and capable, she knew. She would just have to hope that was enough for him to be alright. 

* * *

Izuku was thankful that Recovery Girl had the grace not to scold him for his broken arm. Healing was exhausting, but it felt much better to have his arm back in normal condition after she went to work to set his bones and mend them. The pain wasn’t as bad as before and Recovery Girl assured him some painkillers would be enough to help him get through the night until she could check on his progress again. 

‘Better than having my arm in a cast,’ he mused as he laid against the pillows. His eyes stared up at the ceiling tiredly. ‘And I guess it could be worse…’

When he went to deliver another blow towards Shigaraki and Kurogiri, he knew he couldn’t go at full power– he wasn’t about to test whether or not his successful hit at full power was a fluke or not in the middle of a crisis. Still, five percent was still enough to pack enough of a punch to give them the edge they needed to give them time, if only a few precious seconds. He would never forget the absolute astonishment that struck him straight down to his core when he saw a bullet go right through Shigaraki’s hand in front of him; he should definitely thank Snipe when he got the chance. 

“I can’t be sure yet…” murmured All Might, causing him to turn. He was laid up in the bed next to Izuku, but due to his height, his feet were resting up on the bottom railing. Izuku might have smiled if it weren’t the tired look on his mentor’s face. “But I think I shortened my time limit again with that fight…”

A quiet gasp startled out of Izuku’s throat. So All Might had been running low on time– and yet he kept going, even while injured. The memory of the blood spreading out from his side made Izuku’s insides churn and he clutched his covers.

“I hope I can at least still hold the form for an hour,” All Might said softly, “perhaps an hour and a half, at most…”

One hour. That was a third of the time he had prior. How much could he do with that going forward?

Izuku pursed his lips. “I'm so sorry…”

All Might let out a weak groan as he sat up. “Well, no use worrying… These things happen.” 

With his covers slipped down, Izuku could see the full wrap of bandages around his thin torso and his heart ached at the sight. So many years of wasting away from emaciation and struggling to maintain his image became the blueprint of his anatomy, the once powerful foundation now held up by a single pillar. How would the world react once it finally crumbled?

Then, the door to the room opened and Izuku blinked. Standing there was a man in a trench coat and matching hat, his expression kind as he regarded the room’s inhabitants. He held up a hand beside him, as if he were gesturing to someone unseen behind the door. 

“I hope I’m not intruding,” he said, still smiling. 

“What the hell?” All Might blurted out. “I didn’t know you were here, Tsukauchi!” 

Izuku blinked. “Oh… Do you two know each other?” 

All Might glanced at him. “Oh, yeah… This is Detective Naomasa Tsukauchi. He’s one of my best friends on the force. He’s helped me out more times than I can count.” 

Very briefly, Izuku thought back to the day he met All Might and when they found themselves on the roof. When he initially told Izuku being a hero might not work out, he suggested police work as a back-up– had that been because of Tsukauchi? Had he seen some part of his friend in Izuku? The thought made his heart feel a bit lighter. 

“That’s quite the introduction,” Tsukauchi replied, chuckling a bit, “good to see you’re doing alright, at least.” His eyes settled onto Recovery Girl. “Have you finished healing them?”

Recovery Girl nodded with a smile of her own. “Yes, yes, I have. They’re just resting to gather up some strength– healing takes a lot out of people, you know.”

Tsukauchi chuckled. “I suppose you’re right. I only ask because I have someone who wants to come in.” 

“Who is it?” asked Izuku. He ignored the ache in his back as he sat up. “Is it–”

“Izuku!” exclaimed a loud, shrill voice, and immediately, familiarity shot up Izuku’s spine. His mother’s silhouette entered the doorway and she charged past the detective in a beeline straight towards Izuku. “Baby, are you alright?! ”

Despite his surprise, a great wave of relief hit Izuku deadcenter in the chest. “Mom!” 

Tears had already welled up in her eyes when she reached him and she all but collapsed into the bed. Izuku’s head was pulled to her chest and he allowed it wholeheartedly, her warmth a comfort that he hadn’t realized he needed until he had it. She buried her face in his hair and held him with a firmness that might have been painful were it not for Recovery Girl’s healing touch. 

“My baby,” she whispered into his head, “my sweet baby , I’m so glad you’re OK… ” His mother pulled back with a sniffle and swiped at her cheeks before she looked down at his arm. “Did they hurt you? How do you feel? You didn’t break any bones, did you?”

Izuku’s lips pulled into a frown. “I… I did. But Recovery Girl fixed it up alright.”

His mother let out a choked sob. “Oh, sweetie, I’m so sorry… You must have been so scared .”

He didn’t want to admit just how true that was to her. Izuku had been downright petrified at times and now that the heat had died down, he could finally feel himself start to process everything all at once. He clung to the fabric of her cardigan and pulled her into another hug in order to ground himself to the present. 

“I’m glad you’re here,” he whispered softly, “I-I hope I didn’t worry you…”

His mother chuckled. “I’m always worried, baby.”

“Now, now, it’s quite alright,” Tsukauchi assured, “he’s safe now. That’s all that matters.”

“That he is,” Recovery Girl affirmed. Her eyes were soft when Izuku and his mother turned to regard her. “I imagine you were pretty scared yourself, since you came all the way down here. I hope we were able to put your mind at ease.”

His mother nodded. “You did… Thank you for healing him. I’m… actually a pretty big fan. I used to watch the Sports Festival just to see if you’d show up.”

Recovery Girl placed a hand on her cheek. “Oh, you flatter me. I didn’t think anyone still cared about little old me.” 

“She has a poster of you in her office,” Izuku told her, and instantly his mother’s cheeks turned red. When she ruffled his hair in retaliation, he chuckled. “What? It’s true!”

“Oh, now, don’t you make this old girl blush,” she replied, her smile wide enough to reach her sweet eyes, “I won’t be able to focus!”

Izuku’s mother smiled back at her, but then, suddenly, she blinked and turned her head minutely, her eyes locked in a stare. Confused, Izuku tracked her gaze and found himself frozen when he landed on All Might’s form. His mentor had gone absolutely still in his bed, his eyes wide like a cat who was caught digging in the garbage and was contemplating on pretending they weren’t seen or simply running away. 

“Oh,” she said softly, still watching All Might, “sorry, I didn’t notice you…” She chuckled uncomfortably. “Got a bit caught up with Izuku.”

All Might’s shoulders remained tense. “It’s… quite alright. You were worried, so it makes sense.” His muscles were noticeably taut with stress as he straightened up. “I’m Sensei Yagi. It’s nice to meet you.” 

“You’re one of the teachers?” she questioned. Her eyes looked over All Might’s torso and Izuku noted how his mentor looked as though he wanted to shrink. “Oh, dear… Thew news didn’t say anything about the teachers being injured… Are they serious?”

“It’s not that bad,” All Might assured her, though his hands drew the blankets closer to his body, “nothing that Recovery Girl couldn’t fix.”

The memory of All Might’s twisted up scar nearly made Izuku wince. He didn’t even want to know how it looked after Nomu dug its fingers into him and reopened it– that had to have been painful for him. 

“It must have been scary,” Izuku’s mother observed, “facing off against all those villains…” Her fingers idly brushed through Izuku’s curls. “You were very brave for stepping up and protecting the students.”

His mentor sat up straight like a board. “The students.” He turned towards his associates. “How are the others? Did they get out of here alright, Tsukauchi? What about Aiza– I mean, Eraserhead and Thirteen?”

Tsukauchi held up a hand. “Don’t worry. The only injuries were just scrapes and bruises. And last I heard, the teachers are in recovery.”

“They’re both alright?” Izuku blurted out. He let out a shaky breath and placed a hand over his chest. “I’m so glad… Things looked really bad for them for a second there.”

“Eraserhead,” his mother murmured, “he’s that underground hero with the erasure Quirk you told me about, isn’t he? I didn’t know he was a teacher at U.A.” She squeezed Izuku’s hand subconsciously. “I should make sure to thank him and Thirteen if I ever get the chance… It’s because of you all that Izuku and his classmates are safe.”

All Might’s eyes fell onto her. “We can’t take all the credit… Your son and his peers fought hard, as well. It’s a shame they had to resort to defending themselves, but they were valiant nonetheless.” He offered her a smile. “Your son’s quick thinking was one of the things that bought us enough time for the rest of the teachers to arrive.”

Although Izuku knew his mentor was being truthful, he wasn’t sure if he felt it. In the end, he wasn’t the one to take down Nomu and the other two main threats managed to escape. When it came right down to it, he wasn’t even the one who saved All Might when he was trapped– he might have been dead were it not for Kacchan’s intervention. 

“Get the hell out of my way, Deku!” echoed his voice in his head. 

Izuku’s hand curled around his covers. Even with One For All, he had barely been a help– he may not have been entirely useless, but he still wasn’t much at all. He was going to have to work harder to make up for that.

His thoughts came to a halt when his mother let out a small hum of thought. “That’s strange… I can’t quite put my finger on it, but… something is familiar about you…”

“Hm?” All Might replied. “Me?”

“Yes,” his mother answered, “have we… met before?”

Ice surged through Izuku’s veins. ‘Oh, no.’

“Oh,” his mentor replied, “I-I can’t imagine how… I only started at U.A. this week.”

Izuku’s mother shook her head. “No, no… I’m certain I’ve seen you before… I just can’t quite place where… ”

Within a split second, Izuku’s eyes flitted over to his mentor’s and they shared a singular look that said so much more than Izuku felt he possibly could in that moment, and he was certain his mentor felt the same. It reminded him of the times whenever he and Kacchen had done something they weren’t supposed to and they swore themselves to secrecy so their parents wouldn’t find out. Izuku could still viscerally recall the times he would sit next to Kacchan on the couch and they would quietly look at each other from the corner of their eyes as their parents discovered the evidence of shenanigans that should have never come to be. 

His mother perked up. “I know! I know where I’ve seen you before.”

Izuku prepared himself for the worst— he didn’t know how his mother was able to figure it out, but she did. He braced himself for the revelation, the aftermath, and the heartbreak that was sure to follow in its wake. How would she react to learning such a secret? She already told him not to keep anymore–

“You were on the news!” she observed, causing Izuku to blink. “You were there when the press hassled U.A.” She breathed out a laugh through her nose and turned to Tsukauchi. “You wouldn’t happen to be the same Naomasa he said hi to, would you?”

Tsukauchi snorted. “I am… My sister already spent the past couple of hours spamming my messages with GIFs of that little segment.” He turned to All Might with an arched brow and a knowing smile. “How does it feel to be a celebrity , Yagi?”

All Might relaxed, but only slightly. “It’s… not what I’m used to, that’s for sure.”

Were Izuku not still reeling, he might have snorted at that. 

“Well, I’m glad you were there to tell those reporters off,” Izuku’s mother told him, causing his mentor to turn back to her, “they had a lot of nerve harassing all those students this morning. I sure hope they learned their lesson.”

All Might cracked a smile. “I do, as well… But something tells me they’ll find a way to embarrass themselves in the future.”

Izuku’s mother chuckled. “Of course they will.”

It was a strange picture, seeing his mentor and his mother be so friendly when their first meeting on the beach had been so volatile. His mother had been downright furious with All Might when he had been standing before her as the Symbol of Peace and yet, there she was, talking with him as if they were meeting for the first time. She hadn’t spoken to All Might since that fateful day and Izuku couldn’t help but wonder how their next meeting would go should he appear before her as a hero instead of his teacher. Hopefully there would be less yelling involved.

“Well, I’m glad that everyone is safe now,” his mother said. She gave Izuku’s hand a squeeze. “When we get home, I say we order in. I don’t think we have the patience to cook dinner.”

A smile tugged at his lips. “Can we get katsudon?”

“Of course,” she replied. His mother kissed his cheek. “Once Recovery Girl gives you the go-ahead, I can call it in.”

“Mom!” he exclaimed as he rubbed at his cheek. “C’mon!”

All Might chuckled. “Oh, she’s your mother. Let her fret over you. She’s entitled to after today.”

His mother laughed. “That’s right! Listen to your teacher!”

Despite the heat that burned in his ears and cheeks, Izuku found it in him to smile. While the day didn’t go as he planned, he supposed that he should be thankful that it didn’t have to end at the U.S.J. However, there was still some part of him that knew that the League of Villain’s departure didn’t necessarily mean the end of their mission– he had a feeling he and his classmates would be seeing them at some point in the future. He looked down at his healed arm and clenched his fist. They had gotten lucky today, and it was only due to All Might’s sacrifice that they were able to make it out. With only one hour left on his time limit, Izuku knew that he was going to have to pick up the slack. The fire of One For All was a hot one and in order to control it, he was going to have to learn to withstand the heat that dwelled inside of him. 

‘If I’m going to become the hero I want to be, then I need to work much harder,’ he thought, ‘that way I won’t be a liability the next time we face off.’

* * *

It wasn’t soon enough for Mitsuki when she finally made it to U.A. Traffic had been an absolute nightmare due to a villain’s intervention causing a jam, so she had to go another way to make it down to the school, which proved to be time-consuming. With each passing minute, the tension in Mitsuki’s chest only grew and her grip on the steering wheel tightened to the point that her knuckles turned white. 

‘He’s gonna be fine,’ Mitsuki reminded herself, staring ahead with a set jaw, ‘Katsuki’s tough, he’ll be just fine.’

The news of the attack had dropped like a bomb in her workplace, sending everyone into a state of shock. One moment, Mitsuki was in the middle of a fitting with one of her stylists, and the next, her assistant, Yuki, was dragging her out of everyone’s view to show her the news report on her phone. Upon hearing the words “Class 1-A,” Mitsuki practically tore her dress off of her and took off out of the building while her assistant handled damage control.

“Go,” Yuki told her as she handed Mitsuki’s purse off to her, “make sure Katsuki’s alright for us, OK?”

Everyone at Mitsuki’s job knew Katsuki– he had been just a toddler when she first brought him up to her modeling agency and they all cooed over his likeness to her. Yuki had only been her assistant for a couple years at that point, but she did well to keep her son occupied whenever Mitsuki was in the middle of a shoot or talking with the photographers. As a baby, Katsuki hated being separated from Mitsuki, so her team often had to hold him with her in constant view of him so he would remain calm. Yuki would hold him in her arms while Katsuki babbled happily behind the camera’s view and Mitsuki would smile and wave back at them, causing him to squeal with delight and shout, “Mama!”  

An unexpected sting hit Mitsuki’s eyes and she shook her head. ‘Get it together, Mitsuki. He’s gonna be fine.’

When the familiar silhouette of the school entered into her sights, Mitsuki’s foot hit the gas just a bit harder. She had to force herself not to go over the speed limit as she pulled into the visitor parking lot and parked her car. As soon as she was out of the car, she slammed the door behind her and took off in a sprint towards the building, ignoring the way her ankles ached from her heels. The more practical part of her knew she should have slipped into some loafers, but with panic clouding her vision, she supposed it couldn’t have been helped. She clutched her purse to her torso as she made it to the entrance and saw Pros standing there talking amongst themselves. 

“Excuse me,” Mitsuki called out once she drew closer, “I’m here to pick up my son.” 

One of the heroes– Present Mic, she recognized– turned towards her. “Whoa, whoa, I’m ‘fraid we can’t just let you in. We’re gonna need to see some ID to confirm your claim.”

Her jaw tightened. “Do I look like a villain to you?”

“Hey, it’s a security measure!” he defended. “We got attacked by villains earlier today, so we’re trying to be careful. Would you rather we just let anyone in?”

With a huff, Mitsuki opened up her purse to reach for her wallet. “Whatever… You’re lucky I’m not in the mood to argue.” She snapped open her wallet, revealing her ID. “There. Happy?”

Present Mic let out a hum of thought. “Ah, so you’re Bakugou’s mom? I can see the resemblance now! I’ll go give him a holler, ya hear?”

“Good,” Mitsuki replied, “let’s just hope that–”

“Yoooo, young Bakugou!” shouted Present Mic. It wasn’t to the same level as his Quirk, but it was still so loud – how was his voice not shot? “Your mom’s here to pick you up, little man! Hop to it, kiddo!”

Mitsuki rubbed her ear. ‘Yeesh, who hired this guy to teach kids?’

Within a matter of moments, the front doors to the school opened up and then, Katsuki stepped into view. His uniform was disheveled as he trudged his way down the walkway and as he drew closer, relief hit Mitsuki like a truck through her chest.

“Katsuki!” she exclaimed, rushing past Present Mic. She found herself in front of him in an instant and pulled him in by the shoulders. “There you are! I was so worried .” Her eyes ran over his body as she squeezed his shoulders, his biceps, his forearms in rapid succession, searching for any sign of injury. “You’re not hurt , are you?”

“I’m fine ,” Katsuki stressed, his eyes falling away from hers. 

Mitsuki didn’t trust that– Katsuki was the type of person to break a bone and play it off as no big deal than admit any sort of discomfort or pain. He saw the world as an ocean full of sharks and he would do everything in his power to keep blood out of the water, even if it were at the cost of himself. 

“Are you sure? ” Mitsuki questioned. Once she reached his hands, she noted the way that his fingers trembled when she held his wrists. “Your hands are shaking . Did you use your Quirk too much?”

Katsuki snatched his hands away. “I told you, I’m fine .”

A frown tugged at her lips. “Katsuki–”

“Take it easy,” interjected Present Mic, and almost instantly, Mitsuki whipped around to face him. However, the Pro merely held her gaze and offered her a smile. “The kiddos already got looked over by a team of medics upon arrival. You have nothing to worry about.”

“He’s my son,” Mitsuki snapped, “I can damn well worry as much as I please, especially after his class was attacked under your school’s supervision.” She raised an accusatory finger at him. “First the press breaks in earlier today and then the U.S.J. gets attacked? I thought you were supposed to be the top hero school in Japan .” 

Present Mic held up his hands. “O-Oh, well, that’s just because–”

“If I recall correctly, one of the big selling points here at U.A. was that your security was unrivaled,” Mitsuki cut in, “was that a lie? Or is there another reason your school wasn’t able to properly protect its students and teachers from an attack of this scale?” She crossed her arms over her chest. “Better yet, why weren’t parents notified immediately? I only knew to come down here because I saw a news report. Are you saying that U.A. doesn’t have any sort of procedure in place to notify parents of an emergency? How is that prioritizing safety and security?”

“I…” Present Mic tried to say. His hands slowly lowered as he chuckled nervously. “I’m… gonna have to ask Principal Nedzu about that.”

Mitsuki scoffed. “Well, he’ll be hearing from me , that’s for–”

“For the love of God, can we just go already?” Katsuki exclaimed. When Mitsuki turned back towards her, his hands were shoved into his pockets and his face was twisted into a scowl. “Let’s just go home .”

“In a minute , Katsuki,” she told him, fighting the urge to raise her voice, “let me just–”

Katsuki growled under his breath. “You’re so goddamn embarrassing .” 

Almost instantly, Mitsuki’s grievances with U.A. were forgotten. “ Embarrassing? You think I’m embarrassing? I came down here to make sure you got home safely, you little–”

“Uh,” drawled Present Mic, causing both Mitsuki and Katsuki to turn their ire towards him. He held his hands up as if he were attempting to calm a wild animal and put on a placating smile. “ Maybe you two want to save this for when you get home?”

Despite the fury that simmered beneath her skin, Mitsuki huffed. “Fine… But you and your faculty can expect an email from me in the future, that’s for sure.”

Not wanting to give him the chance to reply, Mitsuki turned on heel and stalked off. Her cheeks burned with equal parts anger and mortification as Katsuki trailed after her, her lips pursed to keep herself from cursing within hearing range of any faculty that could be nearby. She cast a look over at Katsuki and her mouth twisted up into a grimace when she saw that look on his face. It was that same one he had anytime he was around her, like just being near her was a chore for him. 

‘I come all the way down here just to get him and this is how he acts?’ Mitsuki thought, her fingers curled up into fists at her side. ‘Is it too much to expect a bit of gratitude?’

Once the car came into view, Mitsuki grabbed her keys from her purse and unlocked the car door with a huff. When Katsuki grabbed the handle for the door to the backseat, she frowned and clicked the lock button again. He turned towards her incredulously.

“Why’d you lock it again?” Katsuki questioned. 

Mitsuki clutched her keys. “You can sit in the front seat.” 

He held her gaze. “Why?”

“Just sit up front, would you?” she shot back. 

Katsuki stared at her for a moment before he begrudgingly let go of the door and stalked to the other side of the car. As soon as he made it to the passenger seat, Mitsuki unlocked the door and opened up the driver’s door to slip into her seat. She watched as Katsuki dropped his bag to the floor and plopped into the passenger seat with the disposition of a toddler being told to stop running around. It reminded her of the early days of when Katsuki’s Quirk first came in and they had to adjust his behavior to keep him from accidentally activating it, even if it meant screaming and tantrums. She hated to think about that period of their lives; it had been so hard on all of them.

Mitsuki didn’t say anything as she started the car up, nor did she say anything when they pulled out of the parking lot and into traffic. Conversations with Katsuki were a hard thing to navigate when tensions were high and the stress of the day was sure to make broaching any sort of topic a task. Even on her best days, Mitsuki struggled to walk the tightrope that separated the two of them and in recent years, it began to feel like that rope was starting to fray from being pulled taut over the ever-growing gap between them. Some part of her wasn’t trustful enough to test its strength. 

She clutched the steering wheel as she pulled up to a traffic stop. ‘I get he had a hard day, but that doesn’t mean he gets to talk to me like that… Especially in front of other people.’

Then, Mitsuki clenched her jaw as she went back over her behavior. Had she really been that embarrassing to him? She was just worried , that was all. Couldn’t he see that? 

“Katsuki,” she said softly, trying to keep her tone level, “I know that today was a lot for you–”

“I don’t want to talk about it,” he cut in, causing her to blink. 

Mitsuki inhaled sharply. She couldn’t get mad. She had to keep calm. “Look, I’m sorry that I ‘embarrassed’ you in front of one of your teachers, but I was just upset, alright? One minute, I’m at work and the next, I get news that your class was under attack from villains–”

“I said I don’t want to talk about it,” Katsuki stressed, his tone verging on the edge of a snarl. His body slumped against the door as he stared out the car window. “Let’s just go home and eat dinner so I can go to bed.” 

“Don’t you talk to me like that,” Mitsuki snapped, gripping the steering wheel so tightly her knuckles turned white, “why do you have to be so hateful whenever I try to have a conversation with you?”

Katsuki crossed his arms over his chest. “I told you I didn’t want to talk.”

“Why not? ” Mitsuki exclaimed, finally turning to face him. She was trying so hard not to raise her voice, but she couldn’t stop the anger from bleeding into her voice. “You never want to talk to me about anything and I don’t know why .”

A loud growl escaped Katsuki. “Maybe it’s because you always yell at me for stupid shit…” 

“Do not cuss at me like that,” she barked back. When a car behind her honked, she slammed her hand on the steering wheel. “I’m moving , dammit!”

Mitsuki hit the gas with more force than she intended and the car surged forward, so she lessened up a bit. She gripped the steering wheel with grit teeth as the tense silence between her and Katsuki stretched on, her words robbed from her blind as she tried to regain some sense of calm. Her eyes remained glued to the road and she took a deep breath in through her nose. 

“I do not yell at you for ‘stupid shit,’” Mitsuki managed to say, not turning to look at Katsuki, “I only yell whenever I’m upset because you’ve done something to make me angry.” 

“Then I guess I always make you mad, huh?!” Katsuki shouted. “You’re always angry at me for something. You’re mad when I don’t talk to you and then you’re mad whenever I do talk to you! What the fuck do you want from me?” 

Her palm slipped away from the steering wheel to snap her fingers at him. “For you not to be such a fucking brat! ”

Katsuki blinked and his mouth snapped shut, the fury in his expression replaced by a mask of surprise. He stared at her for a long moment before his gaze fell away from hers and he pursed his lips. When he didn’t speak, she let out a huff of frustration.

“You know what?” she dictated. “You don’t want to talk? Fine! Then you can spend the night in your room and I’ll leave you the hell alone! How does that sound?”

Silence greeted her and she turned to demand an answer, only to stop still. Katsuki’s hands clutched the fabric of his pants tightly and his eyes were stormy as they stared down at his shoes. Mitsuki felt an inkling of regret settle in the pit of her stomach and she clutched the steering wheel, unsure of what to say. With a deep inhale, she clenched her jaw and turned back to the road to keep driving forward as the silence between them stretched on. 

Traffic had started to clear up some and with time, their neighborhood soon came into view. Katsuki had yet to look up from the floor by the time they made it to the driveway and Mitsuki contemplated what to do. The maternal part of her wanted her to apologize for saying that; the more prideful part of her worried it would only make things worse. Even though he was sitting right next to her in the car, it felt as though he was so far away from her– she didn’t want the divide between them to grow further apart, not when the rope tying them together felt so frayed. 

‘How do I build a bridge from this?’ she thought as she pulled up to the garage. ‘How do I get him to meet me in the middle?’

Once the car was in park, she took a breath. “Katsuki–”

In a flash, he was out of the car and the passenger door slammed behind him. Mitsuki stared at his back as he stormed up to the door and fished out his set of keys from his bag, his fingers angrily fumbling for the house key before he shoved it into the front door. He swung the door open and even from the car, her body tensed up when it slammed close. It felt like an eternity before she finally brought herself to look away from the door and she slumped forward against the steering wheel. 

It didn’t used to be this hard. When did it get so hard?

Mitsuki took in a shuddering breath. When she went inside, Katsuki was likely going to be holed up in his room for the night. Knocking on the door would be a risky gamble– he’d either scream at her or just outright ignore her. She wasn’t sure she had the strength for either option after the day she had. 

‘I was just worried about him…’ she thought, her eyes beginning to sting. Mitsuki tried to blink the feeling away, but to no avail. ‘Doesn’t he see that?’

The last time Katsuki had been in trouble, all she could do was watch in terror from miles away, unsure if he would make it out alright. This time, she had been able to actually come down and see him for herself– and how did he respond? By getting upset with her for being rightfully angry that he was put in that position in the first place? She knew that he was tough and could handle anything, but at the same time, he shouldn’t have to. Why couldn’t he see that? Didn’t he know that he was safe with her? What more could she do to make that clear? 

Emotions weren’t Mitsuki’s strong suit; they had never been. Growing up, she didn’t have the luxury to break down and get angry with her mother like Katsuki did with her– it just wasn’t an option . Her mother was always working and it was her responsibility to keep the apartment together while she was out so she wouldn’t have to worry about it when she returned. Sure, her mother wasn’t the most warm person, but with everything she had to do to get by after Mitsuki’s father passed away, she couldn’t blame her for it. Talking about her feelings just made things too hard, too complicated , and neither of them needed that when rent needed to be paid and their apartment had to be cleaned. But now that she was out of that situation… Mitsuki didn’t know what to do. She didn’t even know where to begin . 

A light buzz drew her attention down to her purse. Slowly, she lifted her head from the steering wheel and reached down into it to find her phone vibrating. With a sigh, she withdrew it from its confines and was greeted by Masaru's contact profile, which was a photo of Masaru holding a young Katsuki with big, bright smiles on both of their faces. She had taken the photo on a family vacation some years back, when things felt so much simpler. 

Mitsuki brought the phone to her ear. “Hello?”

“‘Suki,” Masaru breathed, “oh, thank God… I just got out of a meeting and saw your texts… Did you get down to the school? Is Katsuki alright? The news mentioned a student was injured–”

“Katsuki is fine ,” she assured him. Mitsuki found it in her to smile; Masaru was always the more worried out of the two of them and she knew that he was probably on the verge of a panic attack when he called. Then, her smile wilted. “We’re both home now… He’s safe.”

A loud exhale reverberated through the speaker. “Good… I’m glad he’s alright… How is he doing right now?” 

Mitsuki pursed her lips. “I… think he just needs to be left alone right now.”

“Oh,” Masaru replied, “I guess he’s pretty shook up… After the day he had, I think anyone would be.” He sighed. “Well, no sense in making him talk about it when he’s not ready… You know how he can be.”

“Right,” she murmured. She tried not to think about the stormy look in his eyes and the way he wouldn’t even look at her when he went inside. Mitsuki didn’t want to worry Masaru with that after he sounded so relieved. “I guess we’ll just have to wait for him to come around.”

A beat of silence passed between them. “Is everything alright with you , ‘Suki?”

Damn it. Of course he noticed. Why did he have to care so much? “I’m fine… Just tired. I got stuck in traffic on the way to the school and had to deal with the faculty at the school, that's all.”

“You sure?” he questioned. 

“I’m sure, love,” she reassured him, “you don’t have to worry about a thing.”

He exhaled. “I’m glad you picked up… I was pretty freaked out when I read your texts.” There was a pause. “Have you checked in with Inko? She must be worried sick.”

Mitsuki’s eyes widened. “ Shit . Isn’t Izuku in Katsuki’s class, too? Oh, I-I should check in with her when I–”

“Call her now,” Masaru interjected, “you’ll only worry until you check in, so it’s better to get it out of the way.” She could hear the smile in his voice when he spoke. “Make sure little Zuzu is alright, okay?”

Her heart swelled. “I love you so damn much.”

“Not as much as I love you,” he replied playfully.