Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Izuku wiped his eyes as he walked down the street. Mere minutes ago, his soul had been shattered. All Might, his favorite hero, and the best hero of all time, told him being a quirkless hero was impossible. It was ‘unrealistic.’ That word got to him worse than anything else. Unrealistic? Wanting to help people was unrealistic for a quirkless person? If Izuku had to keep things realistic, he may as well follow Kacchan’s advice. It wasn’t like quirkless people of the past generation lived very long, anyways.

An explosion a block away caught his attention. He turned and saw a crowd being ushered away by Mt. Lady. Kamui Woods was trying to grab something Izuku couldn’t see, but gave a shout of pain and pulled back a bunch of burning branches. Was there a fire villain? His prior depression forgotten, Izuku rushed towards the scene to see what was going on. When he reached the square, he saw Backdraft working to keep the fire contained while Mt. Lady kept having to convince the crowds to stay back. Death Arms was standing uselessly to one side while Kamui reached out, risking more burns, at a huge…sludge monster? Wasn’t that the villain that-oh crap, Izuku must have made All Might drop him! How could he be so useless!? Looking further, Izuku found the source of the explosions that kept burning Kamui Woods.

“KACCHAN!” Izuku screamed in horror.

His friend, Bakugou Katsuki, was caught in the sludge. The blond teen was screaming and flailing his hands, doing everything he could to try burning the sludge villain. The villain just laughed and kept trying to pull him in deeper. He was going to die.

Without even thinking, Izuku charged at the villain. He needed to help him. He couldn’t just let Kacchan die. He rushed past the crowd, zigzagging between bystanders, and past Mt. Lady. Kamui and Backdraft were too busy working to notice the green teen zoom past them. However, Death Arms (who had been uselessly standing like an animatronic in a pizzeria) saw him and caught Izuku by the scruff of his collar.

“LEMME GO!” Izuku struggled.

“I’m not about to let a kid like you get hurt!” Death Arms shouted, trying to restrain Izuku.

“But Kacchan is dying!” Izuku screamed. “I gotta help!” He reached out his arms, feebly trying to get free. “KACCHAN!”

If Izuku had been under any less stress, he would have felt a tingling across his body. He would have noticed his face aching just the slightest bit. He would have realized his hearing got sharper. He would have felt his pants tighten before a quiet ‘rip!’ was heard. He would have noticed so much, had he not been focused on saving Bakugou Katsuki.

Instead, all Izuku saw was a pair of long, furry arms reaching out across the area to grab the struggling teen. From their angle, Izuku could only assume they came from someone behind him, but who? He didn’t recognize these arms, and certainly no fuzzy hero was around Musutafu. Izuku watched as these arms gripped Bakugou, and Izuku could almost feel them in his own hands. The arms retracted, pulling Bakugou free from the sludge. The villain screamed in rage and moved to take him back, but found himself impeded by Kamui Woods and Mt. Lady. With no more fire and a contained crowd, the two heroes made quick work of beating the villain into submission. The fuzzy hands released Bakugou at this point and retracted, exiting Izuku’s sight. Bakugou just stared at Izuku with a dumbfounded expression the green boy had never seen before. In a few more minutes, things had calmed down. Bakugou was taken away by paramedics while Kamui rushed over. Both he and Death Arms (who had released Izuku a few moments prior) were glaring down at the boy.

“What were you thinking!? ” Kamui Woods scolded.

“Kacchan was in danger!” Izuku shouted back. “I-I couldn’t just stand there and do nothing!”

“Maybe so,” Death Arms shook his head, “but that’s no excuse to use your quirk without a license!”

…wat.

“W-what do you mean?” Izuku asked, completely confused. 

“Your arms!” Kamui pointed. “You can’t just use your quirk like that!”

“...But…I’m quirkless,” Izuku stated. Both heroes looked at each other, then back to Izuku.

“Evidently not,” Death Arms growled.

“I’m not lying!” Izuku shrieked as he yanked his student ID from his coat. “Here, look at my ID! It clearly says-” He stopped. The hand holding out his ID was not his own. It was one of the fuzzy ones that pulled Bakugou from the sludge. Izuku’s eyes widened as he noticed this. He reached up to touch his hand, only to realize his other hand was fuzzy. He gasped, dropping his ID in shock, while looking at his hands. 

Covered in short brown fur, tipped in short black claws, they were his own hands. That meant he did indeed pull Bakugou to safety, but Izuku was more shocked at how he had fur now. He rubbed his sleeves, feeling the soft fur underneath going all the way up his arms. If they went up that much…He touched his face, feeling more soft fur. He also felt his face was slightly longer, like he had a short snout or muzzle. He touched the sides of his head and gasped. Where did his ears go!? How was he hearing things without ears!? He slowly reached up his head and found what he assumed were his ears. They were longer, pointed and on top of his head, like a cat or raccoon. He tensed up as he felt his ears.

…

“AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGH!!”

Izuku released his ears and gave a bloodcurdling scream. He didn’t flail, he didn’t shake, he just stood in place and screamed into the air. Kamui and Death Arms had to cover their own ears against the volume of the teen’s shrieking. Thankfully, he stopped after only a few seconds.

“Okay, okay,” Izuku gasped for air, “I’m good. I’m good.” He made the mistake of looking down, and saw something from the corner of his eye. Glancing over, he realized he now had a tail. It wasn’t that big, and was brown with a dark green tip. After seeing it, Izuku felt a something in the back of his mind. He gave it a mental nudge, and his tail wagged a bit.

…

This time, he latched onto Death Arms like a face-hugging monster and screamed even louder into the open air.

—

All Might watched the entire scene with a myriad of emotions. Shame at dropping the bottle, regret at not having the power to step in, shock at seeing that green boy rush in to help. The way he ran was so…familiar. Then All Might felt even more shock at seeing the boy mutate before his eyes, stretch his arms and yank the boy to safety. 

How did that happen? Was the boy lying about having a quirk? No, his face and words were clear indicators. Then he saw the boy screaming after seeing himself. Undeniable proof he didn’t know what happened. That could only mean that, somehow, the boy’s mutation quirk did not manifest until this very moment. That left a lot of questions, but gave All Might some meager relief. 

He had a quirk, now. Now that boy could safely attempt to fulfill his dream. On top of that, his behavior even before that was a clear sign of a heroic heart. Such a boy could have been an excellent vessel for One For All, but he couldn’t offer. The boy recently manifested a quirk, after all. He’d need to get the hang of that, and trying to gift him another quirk could hamper that. He looked forward to seeing what that boy could do. For now, though, he had an appointment with his old sidekick.

—

At the same time this all happened, about half a block away, a wolf sat atop a building. They watched the entire scuffle, thinking whether or not to intervene, when Izuku rushed in. The wolf watched in fascination as the teen grew fur and animal features. As Izuku was screaming his shock into the air, the wolf smiled.

“How very interesting,” she whispered to herself.

Chapter Text

Izuku was pacing back and forth in the doctor’s waiting room. After his sudden manifestation earlier, the heroes had taken him to an official doctor for a new diagnosis. His mom had been contacted and was on her way, leaving a frantic Izuku alone with Mt. Lady in the waiting room, muttering to himself a kilometer a second.

“How did this happen? It’s impossible to manifest a quirk this late in life outside of Forced Manifestation. But I wasn’t in peril myself, I was just worried for Kacchan. According to all reports about Force-Manifested Quirks, what I did definitely wouldn’t qualify. If this is a natural quirk why didn’t it come in sooner? I can’t think of any outside circumstances that would cause it. I mean, there are a few, but they would have caused it sooner considering how rough my school life is. I wasn’t bit by a radioactive raccoon, so I dunno-”

“Tanuki,” Mt. Lady spoke up.

“P-pardon?’ Izuku stuttered, stunned by both the interruption and the apparent fact the heroine was able to keep up with his muttering.

“Your tail.” The heroine pointed at said new appendage as she continued, “It doesn’t have stripes, so you’re more tanuki than raccoon. Also, what did you mean by a rough school life?”

“Err, n-not important!” Izuku nervously laughed. For a brief moment he was tempted to reveal everything that happened, but he suppressed that thought the instant it appeared. He couldn’t reveal what had been going on. He didn’t want to impede Kacchan’s road to heroics. He couldn’t. 

Plus, it’s not like she would have believed him anyway. 

Mt. Lady’s eyes narrowed, clearly not believing his words. She opened her mouth to press further, but stopped when the door burst open. In came Kamui Woods, followed by Izuku’s worried mother. Inko looked around the room quickly before her gaze landed on Izuku. Her eyes widened with shock, but she recovered quickly and pulled Izuku into a hug.

“I’m so glad you’re alright!” Inko screamed as she gave Izuku a true bear hug. “The hero who brought me here showed me footage of what happened! You were so brave, Izuku!” She pulled back and took a good look at him. “But what happened? How did you get so…fuzzy?”

“I-I dunno, mom,” Izuku shrugged. “I’ve been trying to think of how I turned into a raccoon, but nothing’s coming to me.”

“Hmm, I’d say you’re more like a tanuki,” Inko observed.

“That’s what I said!” Mt. Lady raised her hand. An instant after those words left her mouth, the (unusually muscular) orange-haired quirk doctor finally stepped in.

“Midoriya Izuku? I’m Doctor Kuwabara. This way, please.”

—

The wolf watched the child.

She knelt on the roof of a nearby building, barely poking her head above the wall. She was trying to keep hidden (and her black clothes would hide little in broad daylight), but it appeared her efforts were unnecessary, as the boy was too frantic to look out the window. She could also hear his words, trying to come up with some solution to what happened. He was mostly muttering in loops, but some of what he said was interesting. And worrisome.

After some time, she saw a woman burst into the room. Green hair and eyes, just like the boy himself. Clearly his mother. She seemed to recover from her shock quickly, thankfully. In moments she gave her son a hug so tight the wolf could have sworn she heard some bones popping. As the boy was hugged, the wolf looked down and slowly folded her arms.

…When was the last time her own mother hugged her?

The wolf dwelt on this thought for a few more moments, until she saw a doctor step into the room. As they walked into a different room, the wolf tried to keep sight of them by jumping to adjacent buildings. When she reached the other side of the building, the wolf grit her teeth. The examination must be occurring in a windowless room. She couldn’t hear them anymore, either. Dammit, she wanted to know what was with the boy, and if he was what she thought he was. But she couldn’t just barge in. She wasn’t the sort of heroine who could really get away with that.

Suddenly her phone buzzed. She gave a quick look at the message…and sighed in resignation. She had a meeting with a detective and couldn’t keep watching the boy. She would simply have to keep an eye out for him in the future. Getting up from her spot, she turned and leaped away from the clinic. 

—

It had been close to an hour since the Midoriyas went into the testing room. Izuku’s feet had been looked over, revealing they were still mostly humanoid but had pads like a cat, or more likely a tanuki. This time around, however, the doctors administered blood tests and several other tests using machinery that their previous quirk doctor did not use. 

When Inko brought this up, Kuwabara was floored and demanded to know their previous doctor’s name. After she answered, the doctor gave a sigh of relief. Apparently, the doctor who had given Izuku’s initial quirkless diagnosis had been arrested for malpractice years prior. After giving this piece of news, the quirk tests were finally completed.

“So, what’s the verdict?” Inko asked. 

“Well,” Kuwabara scratched his head, “our tests detected something , but we’re not entirely sure what all it is.”

“Um,” Izuku pointed to his muzzle, “wouldn’t this qualify as a mutation quirk?”

“Under most circumstances, yes,” the doctor replied. “A mutation quirk would explain your current physicality, which we’ve determined has sharpened senses, like any other bestial mutation, but that doesn’t explain the stretchy arms, which technically fall under transformative quirks. In addition, several of our tests picked up other factors involved with your quirk. We couldn’t pinpoint what, exactly, because every test we did indicated it was something else, like the machines couldn't decide what they were detecting. 

“On top of that, your quirk factor is constantly fluctuating. Sometimes it’s barely present, other times it nearly burns out whatever machine is scanning it. We figure that comes from it manifesting so late, but otherwise it’s a mystery. We recommend you keep an eye on any sudden developments, and call us if anything nasty happens, alright?”

“Will do,” Inko bowed her head. “Thank you, doctor.” With that, the two Midoriyas departed the clinic, receiving escort from Mt. Lady back to their apartment. The entire trip, Izuku was busy thinking about everything. He had a quirk. Far as they knew, he had a quirk his entire life, and his previous doctor was just an asshole who deserved an atomic wedgie.

…Okay, where did that thought come from? 

…

Well, he could think about that later. For now, he still needed to figure out why his quirk activated now and not earlier in life. It couldn’t have been anything self-defense related. He wasn’t the one in danger back there. Plus, it would have activated any time in Aldera while he was being abused by the sycophants that infested that school.

…Okay, maybe he needed to see a psychiatrist ‘cause these thoughts weren’t normal.

—

While Izuku was trying to think of what happened, Bakugou Katsuki was lying in his room. After being cleared by the paramedics, the explosive blond was released to the waiting arms of his mom. Bakugou had never seen his mom so worried. The woman held him the entire trip home, and told him to rest while she made dinner.

But he couldn’t rest. Not after what happened. Not after seeing that quirkless deku turn into a fucking furby and yank him out of the sludge. What the hell was that? Could he do that the entire time? Was deku getting a laugh out of convincing everyone he was quirkless?

…

…No, that couldn’t be right. Not unless his wimpy screaming came from his disguise breaking. Deku was a stupid worthless freak, but he couldn’t lie to save his life. His repeated declarations of wanting to be a hero proved that. So what the hell happened?

As his mom called him down for dinner, Bakugou resolved to get the truth out of the little turd. Even if he had to beat it out of him.

—

The wolf leaped across the rooftops, her coat flapping in the wind. The sun was setting, with clouds rolling in. It didn’t smell like rain, but she didn’t want to risk it. Leaping and bounding fast as she could, any who saw her would only see a black-and-white blur. In minutes, her destination was in sight.

The Musutafu Police Department, due to having close ties with the city’s underground heroes, had a few balconies specifically for heroes like her to land on. She wondered what regular people were told these were for, as none of them connected to any outdoor ladders or stairs. She could ask that later. For now, she was aiming for a specific balcony. 

She landed on the balcony with a heavy thud, startling the detective sitting just inside the window. She gave a quiet chuckle at his surprised shout, and couldn’t hide her smile at how he dropped whatever file he was reading. After seeing it was her, he gave a sigh and collected himself before opening the window.

“Do you always have to do that?” Detective Tsukauchi Naomasa asked.

“No,” the wolf replied. The detective glowered and shook his head.

“Whatever. Got a call from Eraserhead, saying he found that kidnapping group you were looking for. Thought you’d want a hand in bringing them down.”

“Oh, how nice of him,” the wolf nodded. “Did he say where?”

“He’ll be here in a few minutes, and you two can go together. Wanna come in?”

“...Nah, I’ll sit out here. It’s a nice evening for now.”

“Suit yourself, ma’am.” With those words, Naomasa closed his window and went to work gathering the papers he dropped earlier. The wolf lupine heroine sat against the wall and thought back to that boy from earlier. After she and Eraserhead took down those kidnappers, she needed to find him again.

She needed to see if he was what she needed.

Chapter Text

Izuku gulped as he stood outside Aldera’s gate. He had taken a day off to recover from the stress of the Sludge Villain and his sudden quirk manifestation. And now he was back at the hellhole that was his middle school. Maybe they’d be nice to him, now that he has a quirk. 

…But probably not.

Izuku took a breath and stepped inside, trying to act casual as he made his way to his class. As he walked, the students he passed went silent. A lot of them were whispering to each other while looking at Izuku. Unfortunately for him, his newly-sharpened hearing was picking up every single thing the Aldera students were saying. 

“Is that Deku?”

“What happened to his face?”

“Oh my god, looks like deku forgot to shave this morning.”

“You think that tail is fake? I dare you to pull it.”

“He looks so soft and fuzzy. Think he’d let me pet his head?”

That last remark made Izuku jerk a bit. People wanted to pet his head? Honestly, that sounded better than being punched all the time. Hopefully they wouldn’t try to put a collar on him or something. The very idea was…gross. And demeaning. Yeah, definitely demeaning. On top of all that, Izuku still hadn’t-

“DEKU!”

Oh. There he was.

The fuzzy student turned to see Bakugou Katsuki storming down the hall, his two lackeys close behind. Said lackeys’ eyes were wide with shock at Izuku’s altered appearance. Bakugou himself looked as pissed and self-righteous as ever. For some reason, Izuku didn’t feel his usual fear at the sight. There was some trepidation, of course, but it didn’t seem nearly as deep as it used to. It was like Bakugou wasn’t the scariest thing in his life anymore.

“Good morning, Kacchan,” Izuku waved. Bakugou scoffed and slapped Izuku’s hand away when he got close enough.

“I didn’t get to tell you this when it happened, so listen up!” the blond boy yelled. “I didn’t need your fucking help that day!  You didn’t do any fucking good, and were nothing but the useless deku you’ve always been!”

“Big talk coming from someone who was drowning in shit,” Izuku calmly retorted.

The entire hallway went silent. Everyone was surprised at Izuku talking back like that. Izuku was surprised at Izuku talking back like that. Among the various changes since getting his quirk, Izuku had noticed he’d slowly gotten ‘snarkier,’ but to this extreme? 

…

Well, if he was gonna die, anyway…

“What did you say!?” Bakugou roared, his hands popping with minute explosions.

“Oh my, has your quirk affected your hearing?” Izuku continued, giving a look of innocent concern. “Need me to repeat myself?”

“You talkin’ back to me, deku!?” Bakugou roared again, stepping closer to Izuku. The fuzzy green teen responded by stepping back and covering his nose.

“Oh my god, did you remember to clean your mouth after that time?” Izuku asked almost condescendingly. “Cuz your breath still smells horrible. Or is it just the bullshit of your words reeking?”

“When the fuck did you grow a spine, you fucking twerp!?” Katsuki yelled as he raised his hand to burn Izuku. Izuku simply leaned to the side to avoid his hand while looking at him.

“I think I grew it when I pulled you out of that villain’s grasp. Or maybe I always had it, but couldn’t express it before I saved your ungrateful ass.” Izuku grabbed Bakugou’s hand and pushed it away. “You might wanna be careful in the future. The nurse can’t put concealer on me to hide scorched fur, now can she?” Bakugou just stared in shock as Izuku turned and walked away. 

If Bakugou wasn’t so stuck up on himself, he might have noticed Izuku’s trembling legs. The boy might be (somehow) more confident in himself, but a decade of trauma is still not something to shrug off so easily. It would be a while before Izuku would be completely comfy around Bakugou. And until then, well, at least he could hide his fear underneath this newfound snark. Due to his nervousness, Izuku didn’t notice a fair few students watching him with newfound respect.

—

Yagi Toshinori was walking down the street. He was also in his withered form, and in one heck of a funk. He looked up at the sky and gave a dejected sigh.

Toogata Mirio turned him down. The student his former sidekick considered perfect, the boy he considered an excellent successor, turned him down. Harshly. Not only that, but the offer drove a schism between the boy and Nighteye. Even now, two days after the fact, Mirio’s words echoed around his mind. 

“Was that why you accepted my application? Was my entire reason for being here so you could try molding me into another All Might? I might want to be like All Might, but I don’t want to be a copy of him! I want to be me!”

All Might sighed again. He hadn’t meant it like that. Or had he? Toogata was strong, tall, and bore a nigh-perpetual smile. Had he unconsciously decided Toogata was a good successor simply because of how similar they were? That wouldn’t do at all. All Might didn’t want to leave behind a copy of himself, especially in today’s society. He needed to find a successor who could carry the torch without becoming another All Might.

The withering hero suddenly found himself thinking of that boy from a few days ago. The one who suddenly mutated when that sludge villain was rampaging. He would have made a good one, but he couldn’t risk it with his new quirk. If it had just been growing fur like a raccoon, it wouldn’t have been an issue. But the stretchy arms part made All Might wonder if there was more to that boy’s sudden quirk. As it would definitely take a while for that boy to figure things out, choosing him was, sadly, out of the question.

All Might sighed and kept going. He needed to find his own successor, it seemed.

—

Izuku was bored. 

Before the incident, his classes were usually spent trying to keep others from destroying his work, or dodging blatant abuse from his classmates. Even the teacher himself would hurl barbs his way on occasion. Overall, Izuku would find his mind distracted one way or another.

Ever since the incident, the dynamic in class had somewhat changed. Bakugou and his goons were still volatile towards him, but a few of his classmates had stepped back from harassing him. Even the teacher lightened up a bit, citing “Even a pathetic quirk like that is better than no quirk.” Such a beacon of equality and kindness.

Izuku sighed and looked out the window while everyone else worked on the assignments he finished ten minutes prior. Izuku never knew what being bored felt like before now. He didn’t browse the news like he did a few days prior, finding his eyes blurring for some reason. Writing helped a bit, but-

Izuku’s ears perked up. That was it. He wanted to do something . Not just think, but do. He wanted to use his hands. He needed to. He looked around the classroom, seeing everyone focused on their writing, their teacher browsing his phone and otherwise ignoring the class, and he got an idea. If he had this idea even a couple days prior, he would have paled at it. But now…for some reason, it felt like it could be fun. 

Izuku dropped his arms to his sides and focused. One thing he had done yesterday was practice with his stretchy arms. He still didn’t have perfect control, but somehow he had gotten used to them in record time. Good enough control that he could slowly, silently stretch them out. Making sure the teacher still wasn’t looking, Izuku gave an innocent smile as his arms snaked across the ground, moving under several desks. He couldn’t do everyone without someone getting suspicious, but he could at least get most of the worst abusers, like Bakugou. Izuku had to keep himself from chuckling at the idea of what was going to happen.

A few minutes later, Izuku quickly retracted his arms. Looking around his class, it was clear no one noticed what he’d done. Izuku smiled and pulled open a book. He had no idea why he was suddenly…like this…but it felt good. This was a good feeling. Now to watch and wait for his trick to come to fruition.

The bell rang, announcing the end of the school day. Izuku calmly gathered his things and stood up. Rather than run to leave before anyone else (a habit formed from escaping abusers), he stood around and watched his classmates put their things away. He did his best to keep from smiling as they got to their-

“Aagh!”

“Gwah!”

“What the-AAGH!”

Izuku covered his mouth, feigning shock and innocence, as almost half his class fell and kissed the floorboards. It was especially funny seeing Bakugou just lurch forward and faceplant the ground. Everyone still on their feet looked confused, especially the teacher. He stood up, not moving to help his students but uselessly looking around.

“What happened?” the teacher asked. Amid the pained groans from the students, one such student recovered faster than the others and looked at his feet.

“My shoelaces are tied together!” he yelled. 

“Mine too!” the student in front of Bakugou whined.

“Who the fuck did this!?” Bakugou roared. “I’mma kill them!”

“Who could have?” an unharmed student asked. “I didn’t see anyone, and no one here has a telekinetic quirk, right?”

“There’s no one in the entire school with a telekinetic quirk,” Izuku replied. “Nor an invisibility quirk.”

“Then who did this?” Bakugou’s long-fingered cronie groaned as he untied his shoes.

“Settle down, everyone!” the teacher hollered over the class. “Alright, anyone who’s injured can check in with the nurse before leaving. I’ll check to see if any of the cameras caught anything. Everyone else, dismissed.”

Izuku sighed and shook his head as he walked past Bakugou, who was growling while fixing his shoes. Sure, getting beaten bloody between classes was nothing for the teacher to stress over, but half the class eating dirt required an investigation. Now Izuku was tempted to think of some fitting prank for the teacher. But that could come later.

Walking through the class, thankfully ignored by most of the other students, Izuku flipped through his current notebook. Along with practicing with his arms, Izuku had talked to Doctor Kuwabara about a fitness plan. He needed to test how much his new physiology had changed his capabilities. The doctor managed to test his strength and some reflexes, but there were some things he couldn’t test in a regular lab.

Such as how well Izuku could climb trees with his new claws.

—

The wolf was resting. 

It was her day off after a tough fight. She was still in her uniform, but no one recognized her as the wolf. No one even recognized her as a heroine. This meant she didn’t have to worry about scaring any children as she sat in a Musutafu park, enjoying an ice cream cone. Such treats were one of the few small luxuries she could enjoy without that man getting involved. 

As she ate the ice cream, she contemplated how to get in contact with that boy from a few days prior. His sudden quirk manifestation made the news, so the heroine was able to learn the boy’s name. Midoriya Izuku. He was a boy she needed to investigate personally, to see if he could help with her…mission. 

Unfortunately, she couldn’t use her hero authority to look into him. She’d have to find him personally to observe him further. That brought up the problem that she had no idea which school he went to. The news had conveniently left that part out, along with any other pertinent information.

Assholes.

She took a bite of her cone before hearing a shout. A familiar shout. She turned to the noise and froze. There was no way, no way , she was seeing this. The boy in question was literally less than twenty meters away from her. He hadn’t appeared to notice her, too busy trying to climb a tree. He was doing it entirely wrong, trying to dig his claws into the wood. She watched as he fell again, landing on his back after getting only a meter off the ground.

…Now was as good a time as any.

The heroine quickly ate her cone and looked around. No one else was nearby, much to her relief. In an instant, the heroine became the wolf again and got to her feet.

—

Izuku groaned as he hit the ground again. He just couldn’t get up this tree. Maybe this meant his claws weren’t good for climbing? He sat up and looked at his clawed appendages. They seemed pretty durable, maybe he could use them for clawing? They were pretty small, though. Probably couldn’t do too much harm, but that was fine. 

Suddenly his tail fluffed up. 

Something scary was nearby.

Izuku didn’t know how he knew this. Probably another factor in his new quirk. He looked to his left and saw nothing, but froze like a mammoth in a glacier when he looked to his right.

Standing a bit away, in front of a park bench, was a woman. She wore a long black trench coat over an outfit that almost looked like military gear. The vest she wore under the coat was unzipped to accommodate her...ample bust, and her legs looked like they could crush a watermelon with hardly a flex. The most striking feature about this woman, however, was her lupine head and neck, covered in white fur that seemed to shine red in the light. Her pale blue eyes regarded Izuku with…an emotion Izuku couldn’t quite identify. To top things off, judging from the bench next to her knee, this wolf woman had to be a bit over 190 centimeters tall. Considering Izuku himself only stood at 155, he found himself quite intimidated.

"..Can I...help you?" he asked meekly. Less than a second after he asked this, the wolf woman sped across the grass and stood right in front of him. The sudden appearance startled Izuku, who gave a squawk and fell over. He stayed on the ground, looking up at the scary wolf lady who was now looking even further down at him. After a few more moments of silence, the wolf woman crouched down and leaned close to Izuku. He shuffled back until he hit the tree and watched as she took a deep breath through her nose.

"You smell different," she said. Oh god, she sounded pretty, why did she have to sound so pretty yet be so terrifying?

"Um..." Izuku murmured, "I-I use a special shampoo?"

"Not like that," the woman replied. "The difference is deeper. It’s a special smell. You are special." She raised her hand and Izuku curled up in fear until she gently pet his head between his ears. "You are likely what I need. I'll see you later, young man." And suddenly she was gone. Did she teleport? Was she just that fast? Whatever the answer...Izuku was now more confused at what was going on with his life.

Chapter Text

Izuku groaned as he plopped down in the chair in his bedroom. It had been close to a week since his return to school. Much to Izuku’s dismay, things had returned to ‘normal’ in those few days. The hype over his sudden mutation died down, and most of his classmates went back to deriding him for not having a flashy quirk. And once again, his teacher often added to the derisions. Izuku was tempted to try calling the police for the blatantly-illegal discrimination, but he knew they’d just send the same two officers who ignored everything.

The only real upside is that some of his classmates were acting nicer. Of course, he knew this was just because he had a quirk, and so was considered only slightly better than trash. Either that, or they wanted to pet his head or tail. He still flinched whenever someone did it unannounced, but then again, pets were better than punches. Like what Bakugou started to deliver again. 

Pushing the pain in his shoulder away, Izuku pulled out his newer notebook and began to brainstorm. He found himself devising various pranks and tricks these days, and honestly it felt good. Don’t get him wrong, he still loved watching heroes and analyzing quirks, but now he had a different hobby alongside everything. A hobby he had performed a few times over the past week. He chuckled as he remembered the prank he pulled on his homeroom teacher. It took the man hours to remove the plunger from his bald cranium.

Then, there was that wolf lady. Izuku hadn’t seen her much since that day in the park. That’s not to say she hadn’t been around. Izuku could feel his tail fluff up a bit any time she was around. The only reason he was able to make that connection was because he was able to see her for a brief second before she disappeared around a corner. Who was she? Why was she following him around? Why wouldn’t she just talk to him?

“I needed to see things for myself.”

Izuku gave a squawk of surprise and fell from his chair. He sat back up and saw the wolf lady in question was perched in his window. He didn’t remember opening that. His shock was also the only reason he wasn’t laughing at how cramped the window was around her. 

“W-would you like some tea, ma’am?” Izuku offered.

“No, I’m good,” the wolf lady waved her hand. “You need to work on your muttering. Anyway, I can tell you noticed my presence over the past week. I’ve been keeping an eye on you to gauge you as a person. And I must say, young man, you have not disappointed.”

“Um, th-thank you?” Izuku stood back up, scratching his head. “I mean, I’m still not sure what you-”

“There’s one more thing I have to do before I give you any details, though,” the wolf continued. “I’ll be gone for a week or so. Depending on what I learn, I may come contact you when I get back.”

“...Is this because I got fuzzy?” Izuku asked. There was a brief pause before the wolf lady laughed. 

“Yes,” she finally nodded. “Because you got fuzzy.” She glanced over her shoulder real quick before looking back at Izuku. “Looks like time’s up. Stay out of trouble, kid.” In an instant, she was gone. Izuku rushed the window and looked around, trying to see where she could have gone…there! He grabbed his binoculars and looked through them. The wolf lady was on the roof across the street, talking to…

“Eraserhead,” Izuku gasped. The wolf lady was talking to Eraserhead. True, Izuku had never gotten a good look at the underground hero before, but his scarf covering his face and goggles were unmistakable. Tossing the binoculars aside, he grabbed his phone, zoomed in close as he could, and took a picture. This was big news. Not only did he get a good, yet not identifying, shot of the Eraserhead, the fact that the hero was present meant the wolf lady had to be an underground heroine.

One he didn’t recognize.

Izuku quickly transferred the photo to his laptop and logged in to a certain forum. It was something of an ‘anti-social media’ forum that was never advertised, so only a few people actually knew it existed. It was a place where hero fans like him could gush about underground heroes. Theories and stories of said hero’s acts were the usual fare on this forum, but anyone who got a photo was bound to share. And Izuku had a photo of Eraserhead in broad daylight. He may as well have the holy grail. Smiling, he uploaded the photo with a small description.

SmallMight42: New photo of Eraserhead! His face is concealed, hence why I can share this. In the photo is also an unknown individual, possibly a heroine. Has anyone seen this lady before?

A short post, but still one that made him excited. A new heroine! He couldn’t wait to see if anyone else has anything on her. Sadly, he couldn’t stick around. He had homework.

—

Bakugou growled as he finally stepped out of the shower. He had spent almost an hour scrubbing and washing, trying to get rid of every piece of glitter. He fucking hated glitter. At least no one laughed when he was showered with it at school. Not when it felt like half the students and teachers were also victims of these stupid tricks.

Storming up stairs, Bakugou thought back to the last week, starting with when he was attacked by that sludge fucker. Ever since that day, ever since deku got hairy, things had been weird at his school. Some of those extras were being a bit nicer when they couldn’t have cared less before. And all the weird shit going on made it feel like the school was haunted. One extra actually suggested if that was the case. Bakugou scoffed. Deku was clearly the one responsible. He was one of the only ones who hadn’t been hit. Those extras were stupid to think it could be anything else. 

Problem was, he had no idea how he was doing it. Some of these pranks were too elaborate to pull off on quick notice, and there was no way deku was sneaking onto campus to set them up. The blond teen grit his teeth as he plopped onto his bed.

Maybe a good old-fashioned beating would make deku stop.

—

The heroine stepped off the train, holding her coat close. Hokkaido was always chilly this time of year. Or perhaps every time of year. She wasn’t sure, she didn’t come up here very often. It was worse because she wasn’t a wolf right now. She wasn’t even technically the heroine right now, dressed in casual winter clothes. She had an excuse to be up here as a human, but not as the wolf. She couldn’t risk any of his people noticing her. 

The heroine walked away from the station, and down the fairly-empty street. No one paid her any attention as she left the city center towards the residential area. She was on her way to visit a very old, very incredible retired hero. She smiled as she walked up the sidewalk to the front door of a cozy-looking house, only to see the door open before she arrived. Standing in the doorway was a woman with long gray hair, who had clearly aged gracefully.

“Honey’s been expecting you,” she smiled as the heroine nodded her thanks. She walked past the older woman, into the thankfully warm abode. The inside was like any other retired hero’s home, the walls lined with newspaper clippings and accolades of past achievements. There were also various tables and pedestals adorned with puzzles of every variety, including a Rubik's Cube made from gold and covered in gemstones. The heroine walked past these and into the middle room of the house, where the hero in question was waiting.

Kneeling on the floor in the wide room was Bango Renji, formerly the Numerical Hero Arithmancer. A man with frazzled gray hair and dressed in a red bathrobe, solving a puzzle while blindfolded, few would guess this man was once the most feared hero in Hokkaido. His quirk was simple on paper, letting him follow lines of probability, but he had refined his art to the point of having nigh-prophetic powers. Few who knew him could forget how his identifying a bird outside a window, the color of the shoelaces belonging to a pizza delivery boy, and counting the pepperonis on his first slice of pizza enabled him to identify the time and place his hated rival, the villain Taurus Bingly, would attempt an assassination. He had also spent five years tracing several ‘lines of probability’ to determine that, at its core, Humanity was a good race.

And wasn’t that a good thing to know?

“You sounded rather serious when you called me,” the Arithmancer said as he put another puzzle piece into place. “Did you find something useful for your mission?”

“Didn’t you use your work to guess?” the heroine asked as she knelt in front of him, with the puzzle between them.

“I don’t use my quirk all the time,” Bango shook his head. He placed another piece, completing the puzzle, and removing his blindfold. “So, what occurred?”

“I found someone like me,” the heroine replied. “He’s young, though, and only recently awakened. Before I try bringing him in, though, I would like your opinion. Would you say he could be brought up to the task?”

“Hmm,” Bango rubbed his chin. “That is quite the question. Did you bring your payment?” The heroine reached into her bag and held out a pack of cookies. The former hero smiled and took the cookies. He slipped the pack into a pocket in his robes, and pulled out a 20-sided die. He tossed the die against the nearest wall, letting it bounce off and roll back towards him. He glanced at it, noting which numbers were facing up, before getting to his feet. The heroine watched as he grabbed an empty vase from a nearby table and filled it with water. He then held it close to his face, counting the bubbles inside, before pouring it out into the different plants around the room. Then, without warning, he threw the vase at the heroine. If she didn’t have sharpened reflexes, it might have impacted her face. As is, she deftly caught the vase without injury. The Arithmancer smiled and walked back to his spot, calmly kneeling.

“He will need guidance,” the former hero finally explained. “However, with such proper guidance, he will be perfect in every way. But be careful. He has his own path to walk, and it would do great harm to completely tear him from it.”

That was it. That was all the heroine needed. She smiled and graciously bowed her head. Bango bowed back, and the two rose to their feet. Bango’s wife came in, offering to let the heroine stay for dinner, but she had to decline. She needed to get back soon as she could, to prevent raising any suspicion from that man . With a sigh, the heroic couple bade farewell and the heroine departed the house. As the door closed, Bango’s wife turned to him.

“You didn’t tell her the full result, did you?” she giggled. Bango gave a hearty laugh.

“I told her what she needed to hear,” her husband replied. “Plus, I didn’t look too far. After all, even I like being surprised from time to time.”

—

The following morning, Izuku was up and active despite it being a day off. Much as he had the entire past week, Izuku felt more rested this morning than he had for literally years prior. Izuku was loving this.

He hopped onto his laptop to look up the latest hero news when he saw a ping from his email. Clicking it, he saw he received a private message from the Underground Hero Forum. That private message was from an older member whom Izuku respected. He had gotten messages from them in the past, and each one had been significant to Izuku. This one was no different.

To: SmallMight42

From: Rodentia_Deus

An impressive photograph, SmallMight. Your photo is probably the best photo of Eraserhead to be found in a long time. Of more interest is the wolf lady next to him. She’s definitely an underground heroine, though I can barely find anything on her. She seems to be even more secretive than Eraserhead, despite her lupine features. However, I know who she is because I myself managed to record a short video of her approximately three years ago, which was presumably the start of her career. I have shared it with you, and I trust you won’t share with anyone else. I think you’ll enjoy it. 

Izuku squeed with joy. A video of the wolf lady! He quickly clicked the attachment and was glued to the screen as the video loaded. It was a grainy video, clearly from a cell phone camera. It started with the camera going over a damaged window frame and a distorted voice talking about ‘damned termites’ before a howl was heard outside, alongside a flash of light. The camera quickly looked out the window to the alley below. One end of the alleyway was burning, with some trash bags on fire. Next to these bags was an unconscious man in black clothes with a knife. Izuku briefly wondered if those clothes were black before things ignited. The camera panned to the other side of the alley, and there was the wolf woman standing in front of a scared prone woman. Looked like the wolf intercepted a mugging. With a huff, the wolf turned to the woman and gently knelt.

“Are you alright?” the wolf asked.

“I-I’m fine,” the woman nodded. “Y-you saved me. Thank you.” 

“I’m a heroine, it’s what I do.”

“A heroine? Oh thank god. I don’t recognize you, though. What’s your name?”

After that, the wolf gave her name and the video suddenly cut. Izuku leaned back, processing her name. Somehow, it seemed to fit her. He smiled as he repeated the name to himself, barely louder than a whisper.

“Amaterasu…”

Chapter Text

Doctor Kuwabara felt that he was an intelligent man. He scored in the top 3% of his class in med school. His quirk, which he dubbed ‘spirit sense’ for kicks and giggles, let him get a feel for quirks. Nothing incredibly specific, but enough that he could guess the basic function and type of a quirk just by looking at someone. He was a highly-regarded quirk doctor due to these two facts.

Yet the case of Midoriya Izuku threw him for a loop the size of Tokyo Bay.

The boy was an enigma. A mutation-type quirk forming a few years after the standard mark was almost nonexistent. A quirk of any variety manifesting a good decade after the standard mark is unheard of. He had asked contemporaries in America, China and Europe and none of them had ever heard of such a case, let alone one with such drastic results. On top of that, Kuwabara’s quirk couldn’t figure anything out. It was like the boy’s quirk factor was a bowl of stew caught in a storm, only solid enough to know it’s there but not enough to find out what sorta quirk it was. 

The doctor sighed as he hung up his phone, hitting another dead end. No one in Russia knew about anything like this, either. As time passed, it really seemed like Midoriya Izuku was the first case of his kind. That meant he would have to be careful. Kuwabara would have to slip him into weekly checkups to make sure this sudden manifestation didn’t come with health complications. 

The burly doctor gave a small smile. Uncharted territory in quirk science. Hopefully this would be more fun than scary. And hopefully the boy would be alright, as well.

—

“YOU’RE FUCKING DEAD, DEKU!”

“Come up with something new, you six-piece chicken mcsplodeypants!”

While Doctor Kuwabara was contemplating Izuku’s circumstances, said fuzzy boy was running for his life from his three main bullies. About an hour prior he had pulled off his most elaborate prank yet, and now that school was over his abusers decided to show just how much they liked it. It probably didn’t help much that this past prank also involved glitter, so all three abusers were sparkling like they were characters in a shoujo anime.

“I can’t believe a useless deku like you thought you could get away with it!” one of Bakugou’s lackeys screamed.

“Where did you even get that many goats!?” the other one roared.

“Would you believe me if I told you Musutafu has a local Rent-A-Goat service?” Izuku laughed as he kept running. He was glad to see he could still run just as fast in his new form as his original. In fact, it felt like he could run faster now. He also found himself wanting to lean forward more than usual. Maybe this meant he could run on all fours? That was something to test later, where being slow didn’t mean a burning death. At least for now, he was fast enough that he had a few seconds’ space between him and his assailants. He also had a way to increase that lead. 

Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out a banana. None of the bullies seemed to care about him quickly peeling it and eating the fruit. Once finished, he turned and threw the peel with perfect accuracy so it hit the ground right under Bakugou’s foot. With the exploding boy in the lead, him tripping and hitting the ground also caused the other two to trip and kiss pavement.

“YOU DID NOT JUST BANANA PEEL ME, YOU FUCKER!” 

Rather than respond, Izuku just kept running. He rushed around a corner, hitting an empty street. Izuku thought he was home free, but sadly it was his turn to slip. A badly-placed candy wrapper resulted in Izuku losing traction and taking a few wild steps before falling against the adjacent building. He clipped the small decorative tree in front of the building as he went down, causing some leaves to fall. Izuku failed to catch himself before his head hit the wall, dazing him a bit as he slid to the ground. Great, his abusers would catch up now.

In his daze, the fuzzy boy’s eyes fell on a nearby flock of birds poking through the garbage. His spinning mind, for a brief instant, thought about how those birds could fly away from his bullies. In that moment, he wished he was a bird.

Poof!

Izuku gave a squawk of surprise as his vision was obscured by some sudden smoke. No wait, it wasn’t smoke. Whatever it was, it dissipated before he could figure out what it was. His mind also seemed to clear up, like he didn’t just stumble head first into a brick wall. He stood up to regain his bearings and noticed everything seemed…taller? What happened? 

He heard his abusers footsteps, and izuku pressed himself against the wall. There was no way they wouldn’t see him. To his surprise, Bakugou and his cronies ran right by him. They didn’t even give him a passing glance.

“Where’d you go deku!?” the long-fingered goon shouted.

“We’ll get you!” the other one yelled as he passed Izuku entirely. The fuzzy teen watched them run by in utter confusion. How did they not see him? He was literally right there. There was no way they’d miss him. 

…Well, whatever. At least he was home free. He turned to the nearest storefront window to see if he had any-wait. Izuku looked at his reflection, and he did not see himself. There was no fuzz in that window, but rather feathers. Izuku saw a crow, just like the ones down the street, looking at him from the reflection. It took him a few seconds to realize he was looking at himself.

…

“AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGH!”

Izuku, once again, screamed at the top of his lungs and flailed around. Anyone seeing him, however, would have just seen and heard a distressed crow hopping around and flapping its wings. After a few seconds, Izuku calmed down and took another look in the reflection. He was most definitely a bird. How did this happen? Was he gonna be stuck like this forever? He didn’t wanna be a bird!

After calming down a bit more, Izuku realized he could feel…something…on his head. Looking in the reflection, he could see what looked like a tiny leaf on his head. Confused, he shook his head, but it stayed in place. Even when he tilted his head at an angle that would have made it slip off, the leaf stayed in place. Even weirder, he could feel it much the same way he could feel his tail. Curious, he gave that leaf a mental nudge.

Poof!

There was more of that white smoke stuff, and when it cleared Izuku was tall again. The reflection displayed his new, fuzzy exterior once more. How did that even happen? He reached up and felt the leaf on his head. He pulled it off and looked at it. Oddly, it was dried and cracking, a stark contrast to the leaves on the ground. 

Wait. Fuzzy body. Transformed with a leaf.

…Was he really a tanuki?

—

Amaterasu, the lupine underground heroine, was bored. She had gotten back from Hokkaido just in time to be called into a meeting for an upcoming raid. The heroes present were just waiting for the good detective and (apparently) one more hero before the meeting began. She didn’t mind helping in raids, but she didn’t like it when over half the attending heroes were spotlight heroes. Her anonymity was one of her greatest possessions, and she didn’t want to lose it from being associated with so many heroes who demanded the cameras. Also didn’t help that many of those heroes looked at her in confusion, as though they didn’t really know if she was a heroine.

“Sorry we’re late!” Detective Tsukauchi exclaimed as he stepped into the room. Amaterasu turned to him and the hero stepping in with him. The instant she saw the tall, flaming hero, she jumped to her feet.

“What is Endeavor doing here?” the wolf growled.

“He’s gonna be helping us in this raid,” Tsukauchi replied. Several heroes relaxed, knowing the Number Two Hero was a significant force multiplier. Amaterasu only tensed further, her hackles rising.

“I thought I told you I refuse to participate in any heroic action where Endeavor is involved.”

“Orders from higher up,” Naomasa dejectedly sighed. At least he didn’t seem eager to break their word. “Honestly, I was hoping he wouldn’t be needed, but…” After that, Amaterasu sighed and sat back down. Making things even better (not), the only available seat was next to her, so she scooted away a bit when Endeavor sat down in the chair.

“Can’t say I’ve heard of you,” Endeavor stated to the lupine heroine. 

“Wish I could say the same,” Amaterasu tersely replied. 

“Any particular reason for your…consternation?”

“Not enough hours in the day to explain it. Just understand that I don’t like you, and nothing can change that.” 

Endeavor looked offended at her words, and likely would have pressed further had the meeting not begun.

—

Izuku was back at his apartment, safe and sound. He thought back to what happened not even an hour prior. There was no denying it. He had done something unusual. More than unusual. He needed to test it again. After finishing his homework, he opened his window. Thankfully, there was a tree not too far away. He stretched his arm out and plucked a leaf from a branch. 

Izuku stared at the leaf in his hand. When it happened earlier today, it was completely accidental. But if it worked the way it did in games or books...Well, only one way to find out.

He turned to the full-body mirror his mom had got him a couple weeks ago, looking at his fuzzy exterior. Even now it was a bit jarring to see. Moving on, he needed to focus. To think of someone. For a brief instant, he thought of Bakugou, and...no, not Bakugou. He didn’t wanna see that guy right now. But there was someone else on his mind. Izuku took a breath, kept his thoughts on that person as he gently set the leaf on top of his head.

There was a burst of smoke. No, not smoke. It didn’t smell bad and wasn’t warm. Some sort of vapor? Maybe. Whatever it was, it obscured his vision for half a second before it dissipated. When it did, and when Izuku could see his reflection again, he could see it wasn’t him.

Instead, there was the reflection of a very startled All Might looking back at him with a small leaf sitting in the V of his hair.

…

“AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!”

Izuku screamed in All Might’s voice. He was not honestly expecting it to work so quickly, or so easily. Moments later, his mom burst into his room, frying pan in hand, to see a seven-foot blond intruder in her son’s room.

“AAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!” Inko screamed.

“AAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!” All Might-Izuku screamed back.

“AAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!” Inko screamed as she started hitting him in the shoulder with said frying pan.

“No no! Wait! Mom!” he screamed before plucking the leaf. There was another puff of vapor and Izuku was back to his fuzzy self. “It’s me! It’s me!” Thankfully, his mom stopped her onslaught and stared at Izuku in shock.

“I-Izuku!” she gasped. “What the-how did-HUH!?”

“...I…I think we should tell the doc about this…”

Chapter Text

“You can shapeshift?” Doctor Kuwabara Kazuma asked, his shock clear on his face. “Like, legit shapeshift?” Izuku nodded from his seat across from the doctor, with Inko sitting next to him.

“Discovered it by accident yesterday,” the fuzzy teen explained. “It’s exactly like a tanuki’s transformation from manga and stuff. I put a leaf on my head and transform into whoever I’m thinking about. After the initial intentional test last night, I spent a few hours changing into different people. All I need is a leaf.”

“This is…astounding,” the quirk doctor rubbed his face. “I’ve heard of all sorts of transformation quirks, including ones that require a secondary medium. But using a leaf is entirely new to me. Think you could demonstrate for me?” 

Oh, sure,” Izuku nodded. The teen hopped to his feet, went to the small tree that seems to be in the corner of every doctor’s office and plucked a leaf. He stared at Kuwabara for a moment before setting the leaf on his head. There was the sudden burst of vapor and suddenly there were two Kuwabaras in the office. The doctor stared awestruck at his doppelganger, getting up and walking around the transformed Izuku. The transformed teen watched the doctor circle him, but there was something weird…

“Fascinating,” the doc said as he stopped in front of Izuku. “Am I really this ugly?”

“Oh doc, you aren’t ugly,” Inko giggled. Izuku laughed as well, reaching up to pluck the leaf.

“Wait a minute!” Kuwabara suddenly grabbed Izuku’s wrist. “Something I gotta check. Can you lift your shirt?”

“What?” Izuku asked, morphing his face to one of confusion and shock.

“Doctor, isn’t that inappropriate?” Inko asked with feigned horror.

“No, seriously,” Kuwabara stepped back. “I need to see your chest real quick.” Izuku, still confused, lifted his shirt, showing off the doctor’s somewhat-muscular stomach. Kuwabara smiled.

“Interesting,” he nodded. Before anyone else could say anything, Kuwabara lifted his own shirt, surprising both Midoriya’s when they saw his six-pack abs and the long scar going down one side. Izuku’s transformed stomach did not look like that. “Okay, de-transform, and then turn back into me real quick.” It took a moment, but Izuku did just that, resetting his transformation and turning back into the doctor. He lifted his shirt again, and this time his transformation was accurate.

“Looks like the accuracy of your transformations is based on your knowledge of the target,” Kuwabara explained. “Would be epic if you’re trying to be an infiltration-style hero, if you’re careful.”

“Question,” Izuku-bara raised his hand. “What’s with that haze around you?”

“....What haze?”

“I can see this weird haze around you, kinda like the pattern of a holofoil trading card. Your eyes are like shining gold, too. What’s all that about?” The doctor just stared at Izuku in abject shock.

“...Young man…you’re using my quirk …”

—

The raid was going off without a hitch. Endeavor was seriously beginning to wonder why they even called him in. Maybe these guys were semi-scary human traffickers to mediocre heroes, but he was honestly feeling bored. Hell, his own sidekicks could’ve probably handled these mooks by themselves.

The only object of interest here was Amaterasu. The lupine heroine (whom he had never even heard of before) was nothing but antagonizing towards him, outright saying she was tempted to quit the raid because she wanted nothing to do with him. He was used to being hated by heroes jealous of his status, but the venom she spat with every word was still startling. 

He watched as Amaterasu grabbed a man by his collar and literally hurled him across the room. She had been displaying such strength the entire time, and it was fascinating. He had yet to see her use any quirk, though. Perhaps her wolf-like features were the extent? That would be unfortunate. 

Endeavor was shaken from his musings when a particularly tall villain decked him in the face. The bastard actually pushed him back a bit, so Endeavor retaliated in kind. He launched a stream of flames to send the villain flying back before turning back to follow Amaterasu further in. The wolf was like a pale blur, zooming through each room with almost surgical precision. 

Then Endeavor beheld a sight that almost floored him.

Amaterasu burst into a room with close to a half-dozen villains. Each one had a weapon or projectile quirk aimed at the door. Amaterasu ducked under a few spines and-

“AROOOOOOO!”

Amaterasu gave a loud howl, and Endeavor was awestruck at the results. The hero saw heat waves flood the room, and most of the villains just fell to their knees. Amaterasu’s howl could generate intense heat? Without creating flames? That was an incredible quirk. Why on earth was she an underground heroine?

While most of the villains were incapacitated from the intense heat, one of them merely sneered. He was tall and almost looked like he was made of metal. While the heat was enough for the rest, this one just seemed to shrug it off.

“I am the Man Of Steel!” the villain laughed. “Your heat won’t work on me, unless you’re willing to risk killing our hostages!” The villain gestured to the side, and sure enough there was a cage full of civilians. It had been sheer luck Amaterasu’s heat didn’t hit them. The lupine heroine in question just glared.

“I see you’re willing to use such cowardly tactics to impede us,” Amaterasu growled. “Then I shall simply use a different approach.” She took a deep breath and howled again. The villain sneered, ready for more heat. 

However, both he and Endeavor were surprised to feel things turn cold. Amaterasu’s howl persisted, and the so-called “Man of Steel” was horrified when frost formed on his body. His lower legs (and the downed villains) were unaffected, but the rest of his body was soon covered in frost. The sudden change from being hot to being freezing was enough to paralyze the villain. After the howling ceased, Amaterasu casually walked up and pushed the frozen villain over, nodding her approval at his defeat.

“Sorry for the scare,” she told the civilians as she walked to the cage. “Gimme a minute, I’ll get you out of there.”

Endeavor could only look at her as she practically ripped the lock off. Here was a heroine who was tall and strong. Not only that, but her quirk gave her power over heat and cold.

“...She’s perfect…” the flaming hero whispered to himself.

—

Izuku was back in his apartment, writing in his notebook. He was making notes on the different transformations he could achieve. He had spent much of the day working with Doctor Kuwabara experimenting with different forms, and practicing with their quirks to see just how good he could mimic them. Turns out, it was a lot harder than he initially experienced with the doctor’s quirk.

“Using passive quirks comes fairly naturally,” Izuku muttered as he wrote, “but using active quirks, such as Kamui Woods’ branches, takes practice and knowledge of the quirk to pull off…like having the actual quirk. On top of that, I can’t mimic transformative quirks. Using Ryukyu for an example, I can shapeshift into her, and I can shapeshift into her dragon form, but I can’t turn into one and shift into the other. And then there’s the time limit…”

“Hello, kid.” 

Izuku gave a startled shout before turning to his window. Just like a week prior, there was a very familiar wolf heroine squatting on his windowsill. At least the window had been open this time. The heroine gave a laugh at Izuku’s shout.

“H-hello, Amaterasu,” Izuku greeted. The lupine heroine’s eyes narrowed. “Um, h-how are-” Izuku didn’t get to finish his sentence as Amaterasu was suddenly in his room, her hand on his throat.

“Who told you my name?” she growled. “I know I did not share it before my departure.”

“I-I learned it online!” Izuku cried, afraid of the angry wolf woman. “Th-there’s that forum for geeking out about underground heroes, and someone there sent me an early video of you where you said your name.” There was a pause, and Izuku almost teared up before Amaterasu let go.

“I apologize,” she looked aside. “I try not to let my name out, so hearing you say it…I’m sorry.” 

“I-it’s alright,” Izuku scratched the back of his neck. “I mean-”

“No,” Amaterasu cut him off. “I came here to check on things. I should not have scared you like that. I’ll make it up to you later, somehow.” Her gaze fell on his notebook. She read a few lines. “You can transform.”

“Y-yeah, I first learned yesterday. Did a lot of trying things out today with my quirk doctor.”

“Quirk doctor? Who are they?” 

“Um, Kuwabara Kazuma. Big guy with orange hair.”

“...He will need to be spoken to later.” She gently ruffled Izuku’s hair, helping him recover more from the scare earlier. “But yes, I am the underground heroine Amaterasu. And you, young man, are exactly what I need for something. I won’t share the details just yet, but I will be needing your help at a future time.”

“M-my help?” Izuku asked, only for Amaterasu to continue without acknowledging his question.

“In the meantime, you’re gonna try out for UA, right? Good. I’ll drop by sometime after you get off school. We’ll need to discuss your upcoming workout routine. You’re too skinny to do much good right now. See you later.” And again, she was gone before Izuku could say anything else. 

He sighed and sat back in his chair. He had so many questions for her. Hopefully he could ask a few of them next time they met. Closing his notebook, he checked the news on his phone. A particular article caught his interest. An article about an upcoming museum exhibit…

—

Doctor Kuwabara was alone in his office. He had written and rewritten his notes on Midoriya’s capabilities multiple times. It still read like something out of the realm of possibility, but hopefully the attached videos would prove his truth. This was a big thing, after all. He needed it to be perfect before publishing the results. Hoping his latest paper was satisfactory, he moved to-

“Doctor.” 

Kuwabara froze. He knew that voice. He had conversed with the woman that voice belonged to multiple times in the past. Each time had been beyond stressful. He looked up from his computer to face the woman sitting in the chair in front of him.

The woman was a bit on the short side, with lavender hair and gold eyes. Her vulpine ears were each adorned with a pair of intricately-carved earrings. Her black outfit was crisp and formal, her hands covered with fine black gloves. Her smile was soft and sweet, yet filled Kuwabara with dread.

This woman was Kannazuki Shizuka.

The current chairwoman of the Hero Public Safety Commission.

“Hello, chairwoman,” Kuwabara slowly leaned back in his chair, trying to give the impression of being relaxed. “May I ask what brings you here tonight?”

“An underground heroine informed me you’ve been dealing with quite the fascinating quirk recently,” Shizuka kept smiling. “Mind giving me the details?” Kuwabara, still pretty scared, slowly spun his computer monitor around for the chairwoman to read the screen. She took the keyboard, scrolling down while reading the paper. At the end, she gave a wide smile.

“That is quite interesting,” Shizuka nodded. “You were going to publish this in one of the quirk sciences journals, correct?”

“Yes,” Kuwabara nodded. “This is an incredible new quirk, and-”

“Don’t publish it.”

The doctor jerked to the chairwoman in surprise. Her smile was gone, replaced with a serious, yet not unhappy, glare. He opened his mouth to speak, but the chairwoman interrupted him.

“Do not publish your results. That boy’s abilities are special, yes, but must be kept secret. You may have hidden the boy’s identity, but there are a lot of villains out there who could easily figure out who he is. Especially with that news clip of him saving that boy close to a month ago. You publish that paper, he could be in danger.”

“But what if more people like Midoriya appear?” Kuwabara asked. “People who could use the results of this paper to aid in their own quirk diagnosis?”

“More people have appeared,” Shizuka calmly replied. Kuwabara was in shock as she continued, “Midoriya Izuku is not the first to manifest such abilities, merely the latest, and one of two in Japanese borders. If you wish, I can put you in contact with the other doctors who have encountered such powers, but you must not post anything publicly. Understood?” The doctor, still in shock, could only nod. “Good. Now, keep helping the boy. I’ll send some people on occasion to go over any results, okay? You’re not in trouble. See you later, good doctor.” 

And then she was gone. In less time than it took to blink, the chairwoman had vanished from Kuwabara’s office. He looked around, noting the door hadn’t even been opened. He may not have known it, but that night, Kuwabara was just as confused as Midoriya Izuku. 

Chapter Text

“Okay,” Inko smiled, “we’ll meet back up for lunch, right?”

“You got it, Mom!” Izuku gave Inko a quick hug before rushing into the museum. He had come on a mission. With how his first transformation and some of his practice experiments went, he knew he could transform into animals just as easily as people. So here he was, taking notes on the next subject of transformation tests.

Dinosaurs. Ancient mammals. Prehistoric life, big and small.

Izuku walked around the museum, taking in the sights of the new paleontology exhibits. He was rapidly taking notes on all the displays, having an idea he wanted to try out. The skeletons were cool, but he gave more attention to the models and dioramas of how the creatures looked when alive. Room by room, Izuku filled his book with sketches and notes on how the animals moved and acted. Izuku’s mutter storms, for once, were not on quirks but about the animals. 

“Maybe I could try a few of these after I get home…” Izuku muttered to himself. 

“Sounds like you’re having fun,” a museum worker laughed as he walked up. “Usually it’s the younger kids who’re so energetic about these things.”

“Oh,” Izuku looked up, “p-part of it’s cuz of my quirk. I can shapeshift into things, so I’m studying up on animals like these to see if I could turn into them.” The museum worker’s eyes widened.

“...You…you can shapeshift into dinosaurs?” 

“I don’t know,” Izuku shrugged, “I haven’t tried yet.”

“...Would you like to see the model for one of our newer exhibits?” 

“...Sure?”

With that affirmation, the museum worker took Izuku’s hand and dragged the fuzzy teen to the back of the museum. A lot of people gave them weird looks, but didn’t think anything bad happened since neither Izuku nor the worker seemed at all stressed or angry. After a minute, Izuku was dragged to one of the back rooms, where a few other workers were busy debating how to arrange a display. However, their debate came to a halt when Izuku and the other worker entered the room.

“...Kishinami, you know museum visitors aren’t allowed back here,” one of them stated.

“Trust me on this!” the man, Kishinami, declared. He turned to Izuku and gestured to a small model of a quadruped dinosaur. “We’re gonna be making a bigger version of this maquette pretty soon. My quirk can help with that, but it’s a lot easier if I have something about the same in appearance to copy-paste, in a manner of speaking. Think you could shapeshift into a bigger version of this guy?”

“Shapeshift?” the third worker asked. Izuku leaned close to the model and looked over the finer details of the armored dinosaur.

“How big is this guy supposed to be?” the tanuki teen asked. Kishinami gave his response, along with answering other questions Izuku had concerning dimensions, mass, etc. After a few minutes, Izuku pulled a leaf from his pocket. “Step back, this could be awkward.” The museum workers did so, curious about the leaf, and watched as Izuku set the leaf on his head. One puff of vapor later, and all three men were floored at the sight of a full-sized, living and breathing Ankylosaurus in the room. 

“...Wow,” Kishinami stated.

“Can you mimic any dinosaur?” the second worker asked.

“I think it’s possible,” Izuku said after transforming back to normal. “Before I agree to anything else, how do you feel about pranking some people?”

-

Inko was having a nice calm break, drinking a latte in the museum cafe, blissfully ignorant of anything outside her drink. As such, she hardly reacted when she heard a loud roar, followed by the screams of several people.

“I thought I told you to lock the cage after feeding it!” Kishinami yelled as he and the other two workers ran past the cafe.

“I said I was sorry!” the third worker screamed back. Mere moments after they passed the cafe, museum visitors were treated to the sight of a Utahraptor running down the hall, chasing the three workers.

…Yeah…Latte bliss…

—

The night after Izuku’s trip to the museum, Amaterasu was perched on a roof. She technically had this night off, but didn’t want to hang around her home tonight. She had been restless lately, and felt like some parkour would help with that.

She found herself thinking about Izuku, and about what sort of training regimen he’d need to undergo. She’d have to question him about the limitations of his shapeshifting later, but she already knew he was a skinny tanuki. He’d need to work on his own physicality, get stronger without transforming. Maybe she could bring him to one of the gyms she frequents, though getting the timing right could be tough considering her home life.

…Home…She genuinely wished she could call it that.

Fire

Amaterasu’s ears perked up. She sniffed the air, and could smell brimstone and greed. She only knew one man who smelled so foul. The same man who had been trying to hunt her down since the raid. She was about to jump away again, but decided against it. If he was just gonna keep following her, the wolf may as well just end it. She clicked the pen in her breast pocket as she heard the man’s heavy footsteps on the roof behind her.

“What do you want, Endeavor?” she growled. 

“You are a hard heroine to reach,” the flame hero stated as he approached her. As he was flamed up, his beard illuminated the roof behind Amaterasu. “I’ve been trying to contact you for close to a week.”

“And you never realized I didn’t want to be contacted by someone like you?”

“Oh, calm down,” Endeavor huffed. “I’m here on business. I have an offer you will find appealing.” Amaterasu heard the shuffling of some papers before they filled her vision. Growling, she yanked the papers out of the hero’s hands and read them. 

“...This is a marriage form,” she grimaced. “Marriage to…your son?”

“I am aware Shouto is underage,” Endeavor calmly explained, “but as you can see those forms won’t go into effect until he graduates UA. There will be many perks to joining my family, such as-” His words were cut short when he saw Amaterasu rip the form in half and toss the pieces off the edge of the building.

“Endeavor, I hate your guts,” Amaterasu stated. “There is no way I will ever marry your son.”

“That would be a grave mistake,” the flame hero growled. “I recommend you accept my offer. A quirk like yours would be wasted with anyone else.”

“A quirk like…You wanted to arrange a Quirk Marriage…” Amaterasu gripped the edge of the building hard enough to crack the stone. “Quirk Marriages are illegal, immoral and reprehensible.”

“Don’t be so stubborn,” Endeavor scoffed. “I married my own wife in a Quirk Marriage, and the Commission threw me a party for it. Don’t think yours would be any less acceptable. Just agree to marry my son, and bear his children. You will have access to my family’s wealth and prestige, and your children will be more powerful than All Might.”

“Piss off , Endeavor!” the lupine heroine roared. “I will never accept such an offer!” Forget cracking, the stone in Amaterasu’s grip was ground into dust. Endeavor saw this, and decided it would be best to step back.

“You’ll realize the worth of my offer,” the hero gave as a parting barb, “even if I have to make you see it.” He stormed away, slamming the roof door behind him. It took Amaterasu a few minutes to calm down. The idea of marrying his…the idea was beyond revolting. When her growling had subsided she finally reached back up and clicked her pen again. She gave a sour smirk as the special recording pen played back part of Endeavor’s speech.

“Another shovelful of dirt for your grave, Todoroki Enji…”

—

Bakugou was, as usual, pissed off. 

Izuku had pulled off another prank on him (thankfully devoid of glitter this time), and the explosive teen had enough. The instant school was out, Bakugou and the two extras who stalked him chased the tanuki boy. They were not gonna let him go this time.

“GET BACK HERE, YOU FUZZY DEKU FUCK!”

“Kiss my butt!” Izuku shouted back as he kept running. Bakugou roared and sped up. He had no idea how the skinny fucker was able to keep ahead of him. Maybe he should do something about that after he caught deku. Bakugou thought of possible avenues of punishment as Izuku disappeared around a corner. Crap, if he got too far ahead, he’d just disappear again. Bakugou grit his teeth and rushed around the corner as fast as he could, only to impact a solid wall.

“Easy there, young man.”

Bakugou froze. He knew that voice. He’d heard that voice, listened to it, his entire life. He could hear the two extras behind him gasp in surprise. Bakugou slowly looked up, eyes widening when he saw the unmistakable smile of…

“Are you alright?” All Might asked. “I am aware I am a bit hard to run into.”

“A-All Might?” the explosive teen gasped. “W-what the fuck are you doing here?”

“Um, taking a day off?” the tall hero joked. “Even I need to rest from time to time. So, what has you boys running with such haste?”

“Uh, have you seen a fuzzy guy? W-we were-”

“Oh yes, I saw that young man!” All Might kept smiling. “He gave me a quick ‘hi, sorry, running from bullies!’ I don’t suppose you’re the, um, bullies he was running from?” The three boys were suddenly very hesitant to speak. There were a few moments of silence before the Pro Hero gestured to a nearby pair of benches. “Come, sit with me.” None of the boys said anything as they moved to sit on one of the benches, with All Might sitting across from them.

“Tell me, young men,” All Might asked, “why do you bully that young man?”

“...Er…” one the extras started, “W-well, most recently it’s because of the stupid pranks he keeps pulling in the school.”

“Most recently? What about in the past?”

“We weren’t bullying him,” Bakugou piped up. “He’s a quirkless deku, so we were showing him his place.”

“...Showing him his place…” All Might whispered to himself before looking at Bakugou. “Young man, tell me, what do you think a hero does?”

“Duh, heroes beat the villains.”

“And what else?”

“What do you mean, what else?” Bakugou asked. “That’s all. Heroes beat villains, nothing else.” He had been told that his entire life, by pretty much everyone he’d met. Why was All Might acting like that wasn’t the truth?

“Incorrect,” All Might shook his head. “If that were it, then Endeavor would be Number One, not me.”

“The fuck you mean?” the blond teen growled. 

“What I mean is, if fighting villains was all a hero needed to do, I would not be the best hero. A true hero’s purpose is saving people.”

“That sounds stupid,” Bakugou shook his head. “If someone needs rescuing, that means they’re too weak to help themselves.”

“Listen,” All Might raised his finger. “If you look at all the polls, official and otherwise, what do you think my most popular act of heroism is?”

“Your fight against Angry Bass?” one of the extras asked.

“No way, his fight against Scarlet Hierophant!” the other one cheered. “That fight was gnarly!”

“Wrong on both accounts,” All Might shook his head. “My most popular act of heroism was when I talked down the villains who held the Central Mall hostage. I didn’t throw a single punch, but saved hundreds of civilians, and the villains.”

“Why didn’t you just punch the villains?”

“Because sometimes heroes have to save the villains, themselves. A lot of villains are just people desperate for help, who have been ignored and pushed aside due to their quirks. If given the opportunity, they’d happily turn away from villainy and live a good life. In fact, a lot of the employees of my agency, at least among the non-heroic staff, are reformed villains. Heroes must always be uplifting and supportive, willing to help anyone and everyone they can. Going around, bullying people and ‘showing them their place’ is the furthest thing from being a hero.”

“That’s not what we were told,” Bakugou growled. “That’s not what I was told at all.”

“Then you were told wrong, young man, and who do you think knows more about what it means to be a hero?” There was some silence as the words sank into Bakugou’s mind. All Might was right. He was more of a hero than everyone he’d ever met, and…and he was saying the exact opposite of what Bakugou had been told his entire life. If he was saying that…

Suddenly All Might’s watch started beeping, and the hero got to his feet.

“Sadly, I have a prior appointment I must get to. Think about what I’ve said, alright? There’s more to being a hero than throwing fists. Now, watch me leave dramatically!” The hero gave his signature laugh as he leaped away, disappearing over the rooftops. The three teens stayed sitting, each thinking about what they were told. Bakugou’s fists were clenched. As much as he hated it…he guessed there was some stuff he’d have to look into.

Meanwhile, a few buildings away, All Might hunched behind a cooler and removed a leaf from his hair. There was a puff of vapor and Izuku slid to the floor, breathing heavily. All Might’s transformations always took the most out of him. He assumed it was because All Might had such a powerful quirk. Other hero transformations didn’t leave him nearly so wiped. Practicing with it slowly increased how long he could hold the transformation, but it was slow going. 

After a few minutes, Izuku got back to his feet. He couldn’t risk transforming again, so he took the fire escape off the roof. He hoped Amaterasu wouldn’t be mad over him being late to their meeting.

—

“I’m not mad, so please stop walking with your head down,” Amaterasu repeated as she and Izuku walked down the street a half hour after Izuku’s latest run-in with Bakugou.

“I’m still sorry,” Izuku whimpered.

“Stop.” The heroine gently lifted Izuku’s chin. “No one’s perfect. Just forget about it, alright? Moving on, I’ve figured out a good way to help bulk you up.” The two walked down the road towards the beach. After a few more minutes, they arrived at…well, it was supposed to be a beach, but Izuku couldn’t see the sand because of all the garbage that covered it. 

“...Wow,” Izuku voiced.

“This place apparently used to be a beautiful beach,” Amaterasu explained as she handed Izuku some gloves. “Over the course of a few decades, however, it turned into the junkheap you see now. To help you bulk up, and to perform some community service, you’ll be helping to clean this place a few hours a day, okay? An arrangement has been made with an official junkyard to haul the garbage away if you get it moved to a specific spot. You’ll be starting small today, just working an hour, but tomorrow I expect no less than three, got it?” Izuku nodded and took the gloves. As he looked over the mess, he heard a groan and the sound of something dragging.

“Is there someone else out there?” Izuku asked.

“Did you really think I’d make you do this alone?” Amaterasu laughed. “Another hero-hopeful is working on it, too. Go on, go say hello and get started. I’ll be up here.” Izuku nodded and walked down the steps. 

There was a narrow path between the garbage piles leading further into the beach. Izuku slowly weaved his way down this path, looking for the source of the grunting. It took a few minutes, but he soon found the person. It was indeed another teen, with scraggly brown hair. He was significantly taller than Izuku, and was dragging a washing machine towards a bare spot. Izuku rushed over and started assisting.

“You the new guy?” the teen asked. Izuku nodded, and he continued, “Awesome. Name’s Kaibara Sen. You trying out for UA?”

“Hero Course or bust!” Izuku laughed. “You got a hero trainer, too?”

“Y-yeah,” Kaibara replied. “I hope you don’t mind if I don’t say who they are, though.”

“Not a problem!” Izuku cheered as he and Kaibara finished dragging the washing machine to the designated spot. “I mean, mine’s an underground hero, so I can’t really talk too much about them.”

“Gotcha. Hey, wanna get a pretzel after we’re done here? You seem like a nice guy.”

“Only if you tell me about your quirk. I love analyzing quirks.”

With a shared laugh, the two teens realized this was the start of a fun friendship.

Chapter Text

Izuku was having fun.

He had finished his strength training for the day, and was working on his agility. He was doing so by jumping from tree to tree in one of Musutafu’s more wooded parks. This also let him practice stretching his arms, getting more accurate and stretching faster. He laughed, feeling like a monkey.

It had been two weeks since he started working on the beach with Kaibara. He had been training every day after school, and slowly becoming friends with Kaibara. Izuku had been hesitant at first, with all the memories of his schoolmates at Aldera weighing him down. However, the fellow UA aspirant proved himself to be an actually good person. Over the two weeks, Izuku learned he was a calm and casual guy who got serious when the situation called for it. If he and Izuku formed a comedy duo, Kaibara would be the serious one. His quirk was incredible, allowing him to spin his body parts like a drill. The only problem was his limbs were still as soft as regular human limbs, so he’d need support gear for protection.

 He also, randomly, had a love of pretzels. Soft, crunchy, curled, straight, he preferred any variety of pretzel over most varieties of snack foods. Izuku would have thought this weird had he not turned into a tanuki a bit more than a month prior.

…Wow, what a month.

Suddenly, Izuku missed a jump and was just a few centimeters short of grabbing the branch he aimed for. The tanuki teen barely managed to think ‘Oh crap’ before he faceplanted the ground. By sheer happenstance, this was the same tree Amaterasu had been sitting under while supervising his training. She watched Izuku fall the 6 meters to the ground, his limbs splayed out like a starfish.

“...Did you miss a jump?” she asked after a moment.

“No,” Izuku embarrassedly snarked, “the ground looked lonely, so I decided to give it a hug.” To emphasize his words, he gave the ground a few pats.

There was a solid three seconds of silence before Amaterasu broke out in laughter. Long, loud, genuine laughter. Izuku chose to remain on the ground for another few seconds before sitting up. He was glad his fur seemed to cover his blush a bit.

“Okay,” Amaterasu sniffed as she wiped her eyes, “I needed that. Got any more jokes?”

“Maybe after I finish training,” Izuku shrugged as he climbed back up the tree. 

“Wait,” the lupine heroine caught his leg. “How’s your shapeshifting going?”

“Oh that,” Izuku replied as he hopped back down and sat next to her. “It’s going alright for the most part. I can be a dinosaur for close to an hour, though human transformations are a lot shorter. I think it’s tied to their quirks.”

“Oh? Elaborate.” 

“Well, you know how I can mimic people’s quirks? Well, I know I need to study said quirks and practice to use them better. I think the strength of the quirk determines how long I can hold the shift. I mean, I can hold Kamui Woods’ form for around thirty minutes, but someone stronger, like Gang Orca, can’t be held for that long. And if I use their quirks, the limit decreases even faster.”

“I see. And what about All Might? Can you mimic him?”

“For a bit. At the moment, I can hold his shape for around seven minutes, half that if I use his quirk.”

“Be sure to practice with him a lot, okay? You never know when you’ll need to whip out a godmode in a fight.” 

“Yeah, yeah. Though it’s pretty hard to practice his quirk without risking a sighting.”

“Maybe you can make a weekend trip out of town sometime. Alright, off you go.” With a nod, Izuku rushed back up the tree. Truthfully, there was more to it than he told her. Some odd aspect of his All Might transformation that didn’t make sense. Unfortunately, it concerned the injury he’d shown to Izuku on that roof before the Slime Villain attacked Bakugou, so he wasn’t sure he could tell her. Maybe in the future, when he knew she could really be trusted.

—

The Bakugou household had always been an energetic one. Sure, Mitsuki and Katsuki swore at each other like sailors on rival ships, but that was just how they expressed themselves. There wasn’t any actual venom in their words to each other. Papa Masaru had made sure of that years ago. Say what you will about the quiet man, but no one could deny he was deadly with a spray bottle.

Recently, however, that energy had been dulled. For the past couple weeks, Katsuki had been eerily quiet. Even Mitsuki’s shouting barely got more than a grunt from him. The few times they’d gotten him to speak about what happened to cause this, the explosive teen had only said the same thing.

“I need to see some stuff.”

After the first time he said this, he started spending a lot of free time on his laptop, like he was right now. Mitsuki was working on dinner, occasionally glancing at her son at the table. His eyes were glued to his laptop screen, his eyes straining from what he was reading. In the past, his expression when browsing had been frustrated, like he couldn’t find what he was looking for. Most recently, however, it was like he was horrified at what he was reading. What was he looking up that brought such a reaction, and why did he keep looking at it?

Suddenly Bakugou slammed his laptop shut. It was a tough one, so she knew it didn’t break, but the sudden slam still made her jump a bit. Bakugou was still looking forward, like he was looking at the screen. He was taking deep breaths, his arms shaking.

“...Sweetie?” Mitsuki quietly asked. 

“...Mom…”

Mitsuki literally dropped the utensil in her hands. It had been years since Katsuki had called her that. Even when he was ten and broke his leg after falling off a cheap jungle gym, he hadn’t called her anything but ‘hag.’ Before she recovered enough to reply, Katsuki looked at her. His eyes were moist, on the verge of shedding tears.

“...Mom…I…I think I fucked up.”

—

“...and a blueberry biscuit,” Yagi Toshinori finished his order at the small coffee shop he frequented. The waitress nodded and walked off to hand his order to the kitchens. All Might gave a content sigh as he leaned back in his chair. He was taking today off, and it was a day off he sorely needed. His apprentice was working with a new friend (whom he had yet to meet), the day had been nice and calm. He needed to meet Nedzu in a couple hours, but until then, he was free.

“Toshinori.”

All Might gave a shout of surprise as his attention shot to the woman now sitting across from him. To his shock, it was the vulpine Kannazuki Shizuka. Toshinori hadn’t even seen the woman walk up. It was like she just appeared in the chair…which he guessed was possible, considering everything else he’d seen the Chairwoman do during his time.

“K-K-Kannazuki!” the hero shouted. “W-what do I-”

“Calm down,” the smaller woman waved her hand. “I muted the booth, and made it so no one can see me. If you act casual, no one will notice anything. On top of that, our chat won’t take any longer than it’ll take for your order to arrive.” Yagi, confusion plain on his face, turned to the other patrons. Sure enough, no one else seemed to notice anything unusual. Yagi knew his emaciated form was unrecognizable compared to his hero form, but he also knew the Chairwoman was definitely recognizable. So the fact no one was looking meant she was telling the truth.

“...W-well, going back to my prior words,” the hero said, much calmer, “what do I owe the pleasure of our meeting?”

“What, can’t a woman talk to someone casually?” Kannazuki giggled.

“When it comes to you, I doubt any meeting could be considered casual.” 

“Fair enough!” Shizuka laughed, her four tails waving in mirth. “But trust me, this meeting isn’t anything super serious. I’d just like an update from you, is all.”

“Update? On what? My teaching at UA? I’ve still-”

“I meant an update on your successor.”

Toshinori froze. Successor? Was she…was she talking about Kaibara? How did she, how could she know about him? His shock must have been visible, because Shizuka gave another laugh.

“Trust me, All Might, you’re not as sneaky as you think. The Commission knows more than you think, and knows when not to say anything. However, when it comes to One For All, we do need to be kept up-to-date.”

“B-but how did you-”

“We’ve known since Daigorou Banjou. We also know about him . You forget, it was Commission doctors who kept you alive after your latest fight with him. Now, come on, how’s your boy doing?”

“...Err…he’s good?” With the incredible shock to his mind, this was all the hero could think of to reply. 

“Glad to hear it!” the Chairwoman beamed as she pulled some random lint off one of her tails. “Be sure to keep a close eye on him, alright? Wouldn’t do for your successor to land on the wrong foot when it comes to their newfound power, after all.”

“...May I ask what brought this up? I mean, if you’ve known this entire time…”

“Well,” Shizuka’s golden eyes narrowed with glee, “let’s just say his new workout partner is an individual of interest to the Commission. No, we aren’t gonna take him in like we did Hawks, but we are gonna keep an eye on him, too. I think you’ll like him, so long as you don’t say anything stupid around him again.”

“Again?”

“Anyway,” Kannazuki got to her feet, “I should also let you know you might get called in to work tonight. There’s another small raid happening, nothing too big, but our usual underground heroine for stuff like this is away for the night. Try not to stress yourself just in case, okay?” She gave a playful wink, and then disappeared in an instant. Toshinori blinked and looked around. The Chairwoman was nowhere to be seen, but the waitress was coming over with his order. He gave a less-content sigh as it arrived, but still thanked the waitress before taking a bite. As much good as the Commission has done for him, sometimes he wished he knew more of how it worked. As he took another bite, a realization struck his mind.

“...Did the Chairwoman always have tails?”

—

One of these days, Tsukauchi would get to go home on time. As is, here he was, standing outside a ruined building half past midnight. A handful of heroes and cops were hauling the beaten thugs to different police vans. None of them resisted, and most of them surrendered the moment they learned All Might was among the heroes.

“Thanks for your help tonight,” the detective thanked his friend. “Wish we didn’t need to call you in, but tonight was the best chance to catch these guys, and-”

“I was made aware of this earlier,” All Might grinned. “Never feel bad for calling for help. I assume you can handle things from here?” With a nod from the detective, All Might’s smile grew. “Good! Now if you don’t mind, I’d better get home and de-stress, if you know what I mean! Until next time!”  

The detective watched All Might leap down the street and duck around the corner. He knew the hero would deflate the instant he was around the corner and walk to the bus. Good. The man needed to take things slow. He knew All Might would work as long as he could, but that would be a much shorter span of time if he kept pushing himself.

The rest of the cleanup went quick. Even with All Might gone, the remaining villains were scared into submission. Tsukauchi had made it known he had a lie detector quirk (as required by law), and that made some villains stop shouting their lies of innocence. In a few minutes time, everything was over and done with. He stretched as the other cops left, and moved to his own car when he saw something. Looking up, he saw someone who shouldn’t have been there.

“All Might?”

The hero quietly approached him in his withered form. When he stepped into the light, Naomasa saw he was not smiling. He didn’t look angry, but he did look serious.

“Why are you still here?” the detective asked. “Is something wrong?” In response, All Might held up a small paper.

“A young man wrote this,” All Might explained. “Something to look into. If it’s nothing, then it’s nothing. But if it’s something…” Naomasa looked at the paper before nodding and taking it. 

“I don’t suppose the boy is still around?” No response, which was response enough. “Alright. I’ll look into things, now head home,” Naomasa poked Toshinori’s shoulder. The hero simply nodded and wished the detective good night before walking away. As Tsukauchi got into his car, he read what was on the paper.

Aldera Junior High

Quirk Discrimination, Neglect, Forgery

Please don’t send Izaya Mori or Shinra Ichiro. They are complicit.

It wasn’t every day he got word of some school performing crimes like this. Even rarer when someone points out two specific officers as being involved. Still, he wasn’t entirely sure how serious this was, but he would look into it. 

After the detective drove around the corner, All Might pulled a leaf out of his hair.

—

The next morning

—

Naomasa was looking at the note again, at his desk in the precinct. The penmanship was a bit scrawly, like the kid wrote it quickly. In hindsight, he should have asked All Might what the boy looked like. He’d ask next time he met the man. 

Suddenly his phone started ringing. Maybe that was All Might himself. Be mighty convenient. Ha, Might-y. With a chuckle at his internal joke, Naomasa picked up the phone.

“Musutafu Police.”

“Hey,” a woman’s voice greeted. “Who do I gotta talk to to report a school for discrimination?”

“...Discrimination?”

Chapter Text

“...Thank you for your time,” Naomasa nodded to the Bakugou family. The trio nodded back and left his office. When they were gone, the detective sighed and rubbed his face. This was…developing a lot faster than he thought it would. Only last night All Might had given him a note talking about how a middle school had been performing acts of discrimination (among other crimes). Now he had a student who had been benefiting from said acts come in willing to testify against the school. The information he shared was beyond unsettling. 

Even more unsettling was how two of his officers, Izaya and Shinra, were apparently complicit in said acts. Why were they? What did they have to gain from helping a school commit crimes like this? He’d definitely be asking them about this later. As he gathered his papers, the door opened back up. He looked up to see another unexpected sight.

“Mount Lady,” Naomasa greeted the heroine. “May I ask what-”

“I have information,” the heroine interrupted, “about a middle school that’s been-”

“Goddammit,” Naomasa groaned and he facepalmed. He had an idea of which school she was talking about.

—

Doctor Kuwabara was reading over the latest notes on Midoriya’s quirk. The notes the boy himself wrote. The muscular doctor was always stunned at the sheer detail of Izuku’s notes. Seriously, he’d seen professional analyses that were less detailed. At the moment, however, he was less concerned at the details and more focused on how the boy could apparently transform into freaking dinosaurs . And he wasn’t even restricted to those, either. Now, Kuwabara might have been a cat person, but even the most diehard cat owner would likely freak at seeing a full-grown Smilodon casually sitting on a bench. 

Shaking that embarrassing memory from his mind, he quickly went back to transcribing the notes into Izuku’s official file. He kept this file as up-to-date as he could, making sure nothing was omitted. With each word and line, the data joined the few files of other people like Midoriya. It had been fascinating to read about those people. Kazuma hadn’t been given access to names, of course, but their countries of residence and details of their quirks were more than enough. If there was one odd thing about those files, though, it was some of the terminology used. With how these people were described, it was almost like their abilities weren’t-

A knock at the door shook Kuwabara from his thoughts. Checking the clock, he remembered he did have an appointment around this time. He called out, letting the guest know they could enter. The door swung open, and Kuwabara watched as someone not-human casually walked into his office and plopped themselves onto the chair in front of him.

“Good afternoon,” Principal Nedzu greeted. “You look a bit startled. You alright?”

“Your knocking just surprised me, is all,” Kuwabara laughed. “These past couple months, it feels like most people choose to skip knocking and just appear in my room without warning.”

“Ha! I know that feeling! Anyway, I was wondering if you still had the file on one of my old students who…” His gaze fell on Kuwabara’s computer monitor. Shit, he forgot to close the page. The doctor quickly closed the page, hoping Nedzu didn’t see anything. “Something wrong, doctor?”

“Sorry,” Kuwabara apologized, “but I can’t share what that was. Orders from on high.” Nedzu stared for a bit before shrugging.

“If you say so. Anyway, about that student…”

—

“Is it just me,” Kaibara Sen asked Izuku as they ate some larger pretzel sticks on the beach, “or are these a bit harder than usual?”

“Different brand,” the tanuki teen shrugged as he munched away at his. “I can hardly tell, though.”

“You also have crab-eating teeth.”

“Don’t be hating.” 

The exchange got a small laugh out of the teens. They had just finished the first part of the day’s exercising and were taking a pretzel break before tackling that car down by the water. They had cleared a good portion of the beach by this point, more than Kaibara had been instructed to by his mysterious mentor. The two boys had opted to just continue cleaning as much as they could before the next UA Entrance Exams. It was good exercise. Speaking of an exercise…

“So,” Izuku eventually broke the silence, “I think I figured it out.”

“Oh?”

“Strength training, community service, close to the ocean…” Izuku smirked. “Your mystery trainer is Selkie.”

“...No,” Sen flatly replied. Izuku’s head drooped at the response. “Nice try, though.”

“I’ll figure them out one of these days.”

“If you do, I’ll buy you lunch for a week.”

“Challenge accepted!” Izuku shot to his feet, turning and raising his hands in closed fists. He was about to say something else, but froze. Kaibara noticed his sudden silence and turned to look at where Izuku was staring.

Kaibara didn’t recognize the boy, but Bakugou Katsuki was staring at Izuku from a few meters away.

“...H-hey Kacchan,” Izuku finally said.

“Friend of yours?” Sen asked as he got to his feet.

“...Not really sure anymore,” Izuku admitted. Curiously, this statement got a flinch from Bakugou. Oh crap, was he angry? Izuku was getting worried, he didn’t have any glitter on hand, and the goats were-

“De…I mean, nerd,” The explosive teen greeted. And that surprised Izuku. The tanuki could scarcely remember a time when Bakugou called him anyone but Deku. On top of that, Bakugou wasn’t his usual arrogant self. Izuku had kind of noticed he’d been less-noisy these past few weeks, but the blond in front of him looked almost like a different person. He still bore a scowl, but his gaze was downward, and his fidgeting indicated he was struggling to think of…something.

“...Yes?”

“...Nerd…” Bakugou continued, “...I…I fucked up with you. I know that now. And I…I can’t say sorry. Not yet.” He looked up at Izuku. “But when I can say sorry, I’m gonna fucking mean it, got it?” There was a brief silence before Izuku gave a smile.

“I look forward to that day, Kacchan.” Bakugou nodded before turning and walking away.

“...I get the feeling there was a lot going on there,” a very confused Sen said.

“I’ll tell you after we’re done for the day. Come on.”

The two teens got back to work, neither of them noticing Amaterasu had been watching them from a roof. She recognized Bakugou, and was ready to jump in if he tried anything, but was equally surprised to see him apologizing. She knew that teen was one of Midoriya’s worst bullies, so hearing him say what he did threw her for a loop. What has happened since she last saw them?

—

Aizawa stood at the gates of Aldera Junior High, looking over the building with disdain. Not because of any damage, the building itself was in good shape. No, he was disdainful because he had been standing here fewer than three minutes and spotted at least seven acts of Illegal Quirk Use through the windows. Was this a school or a circus? Well, judging from Tsukauchi and Takeyama’s information, possibly the latter.

With a groan (he really wanted to sleep), Aizawa walked through the gates and into the school building. The halls were empty, with everyone in class. No hall monitors, though. He saw cameras, and it was clear they were working, but was anyone watching them? If so, the person must have been too lazy to call out a tired-looking hobo walking through the halls. Well, Aizawa couldn’t really rag on someone for being lazy.

After a couple minutes of walking, the hero finally reached the main office. When he stepped in, the secretary didn’t react. She just kept typing away at her computer. She didn’t even look up when Aizawa approached her desk. Curious, Aizawa leaned over a bit and saw she wasn’t even doing official work. She was on social media. 

Cringe.

“What do you need?” the secretary groaned, annoyed and not looking up from her computer.

“I’m here to talk with Principal Ozeru,” Aizawa replied.

“Can’t see the principal without an appointment,” the secretary blandly replied, like she was reading from a script. “To set an appointment, you need to call 24 hours in advance, and you can only set an-” She stopped speaking when Eraserhead shoved his hero license in front of her face. She stopped typing, too.

“Trust me,” the underground hero stated. “It’s important.”

“O-of course, sir!” the secretary said with a lot more energy than before. “One moment!” The woman disappeared from her seat almost instantly and rushed through the principal’s door. Aizawa briefly wondered if her quirk let her fly faster than gossip. After a quick minute, the most flustered fat guy Aizawa had ever seen burst through the door. 

“Hello! Yes! Nice to meet you!” the principal, presumably Ozeru Kendaru, gasped. “Would you like to talk in my office?”

“Gladly,” Aizawa answered with a very un-glad tone. The principal nodded and stepped back into the office. His secretary shuffled back to her seat, looking at Aizawa with a mix of awe and confusion. Aizawa ignored her as he stepped into the principal’s office. A cursory glance around showed him a wall covered with awards for “excellent teaching environment” among other academic achievements.

If even one of those was deserved, Eraserhead wouldn’t even be here.

He ignored the plaques and sat in the chair across the desk from Principal Ozeru. The fat man sat at the desk, still a bit flustered at the sudden arrival of a hero. Aizawa remained impassive, staring at the man with dull tired eyes. The hero let the silence last a good minute or two before speaking up.

“I’m Eraserhead, a teacher at UA,” Aizawa explained, his words causing Ozeru to perk up. “It’s not well known, but UA has something of an apprenticeship program. We don’t do it every year, but we go around different middle schools to possibly recruit students for specialized teaching prior to the entrance exam.”

“I-I see!” Ozeru beamed, his previous trepidation all but gone. “So I assume you’ll be wanting to meet our best student, right? I can call Baku-”

“No,” Eraserhead interrupted. “Just bring me the files of your three best and three worst students. We at UA will go over things ourselves.”

“I’m sorry, but the three worst too?” Ozeru asked, confused.

“Sometimes,” the hero explained, “the worst students have incredible heroic potential, but are failing to meet it due to some circumstance in their lives. A few years back, we had a student with an incredible electric quirk but was otherwise incredibly lethargic. After we did some digging around, we figured out he was lethargic because he needed an outside source of electricity to keep himself running. As such, we tend to look at the worst students along with the best. So if you could please bring us their files…”

“Y-yes, of course,” the principal nodded. “If you’ll excuse me, please wait here.” The fat man kind of wobbled his way out of the office. The instant the door closed, Aizawa shot to his feet.

He fed the man a lot of lies right there for the sake of time. While the principal was gone, Aizawa would poke around his office. First, he hooked a device to Ozeru’s computer, a special hack module designed by Nedzu himself to copy every file. As that worked, he would look through any loose papers and files he kept close. With a couple heroes and the Musutafu Police getting hints of this school practicing discrimination, there had to be something.

He found something.

Before he could even hook up Nedzu’s hack module, his gaze fell on Ozeru’s bookcase. What he saw on the middle shelf literally froze Aizawa in place. How had he not seen that from the doorway? Was this case really that simple, yet that bad?

…

Was Ozeru really that stupid?

Taking a quick picture of that bookcase, Aizawa slapped the hack module to the computer, letting it work its magic for literally a minute before grabbing it and rushing out of the office. He stepped out to see Ozeru still grabbing files from the cabinets next to the secretary.

“Eraserhead?” Ozeru asked.

“I’m sorry,” Aizawa said insincerely, “but I just got a call for an all-hands emergency at the school. I’ll be back in a few days for those files, so keep them on hand.” Without another word, Aizawa ran out of the school and back to his car.

He wasn’t heading for UA.

—

Tsukauchi Naomasa sat in one of the local PD’s interrogation rooms. Behind him stood Officer Sansa, and across from him sat Officers Izaya and Shinra. Naomasa had disguised this interrogation as a simple performance interview, and had been doing them among other officers all day. These two were the last ones, as he felt they’d be the most difficult.

“Lemme start with an easy one,” Tsukauchi opened. “You two are-”

He couldn’t even finish his question before the door slammed open, impacting Sansa’s face. Everyone was surprised to see Aizawa Shouta storm into the room. The man looked almost frantic when he reached the table. Without a word, he yanked the notepad from Tsukauchi’s hands and started writing in it.

“Eraserhead,” Naomasa asked, “what’s going on?”

“Ask these two this question,” Aizawa shoved the notepad back in Naomasa’s hand. The detective read the question, and looked back up at Aizawa in utter shock. The hero just gestured to the two officers, and Naomasa soon recovered. Clearing his throat, Naomasa looked back at Izaya and Shinra.

“Do either of you two have connections with the Meta Liberation Army?”

…

Both officers reached for their firearms, but were thwarted when Eraserhead’s capture weapon looped around both of them. With a quick tug, both officers' heads conked together with enough force to knock them out.

“Answers that question,” Aizawa grunted. “Naomasa, we’ve got a Dusk Chalice.”

“Eraserhead,” the detective stood up, “are you inferring-”

“More than inferring,” Aizawa interrupted. “The principal of Aldera Junior High has a copy of the freaking Meta Manifesto openly displayed on his bookshelf. Aldera Junior High is a Meta Liberation Indoctrination Facility, and it needs to be shut down now.”

Chapter Text

It had been a few days since Aizawa stormed the interrogation room. During the days since, he and Tsukauchi had interrogated ex-Officers Izaya and Shinra thoroughly, and multiple times with multiple heroes. They were indeed members of the much-hated Meta Liberation Army. Their main task had been to deter any investigations into the discrimination occurring at Aldera. This disturbed the heroes. They had seen (and cleared) other indoctrination sites in the past, but this was the first time the MLA had support from law enforcement. That made them worry how many other such places had help from the law.

Aizawa thought back to this as he walked back through Aldera’s halls, this time a bit before noon. The trap needed to be sprung while everyone was still in the building. Although he disliked that, even if this went off perfectly fine, it was gonna be a long day. Hopefully things went well enough that it would be a slightly less long day.

“Ah, we were hoping you would show up, Eraserhead!” the rotund principal smiled as the hero stepped into his office. “I hope everything on your end went well?”

“Well enough,” Aizawa shrugged as he sat down.

“Excellent! Now, here are those files you wanted! The three best and the three-”

“Those won’t be necessary.”

—

Izuku drummed his pencil on his desk, bored out of his mind. He wanted to do something again, but couldn’t risk anything in the middle of class. Not since that one prank with the cauliflower. Now, he had to wait for the end of class like normal people. Bakugou sat in front of him, looking equally bored and drumming his fingers. Suddenly Izuku had an idea.

Making sure the teacher was looking away, Izuku started drumming just one of his fingers. Rather than drumming it over and over, he hit his desk in a particular pattern. Five taps in a rhythmic pattern. Tap-tap-taptap-tap. After each time, he paused for a few seconds. After a few times, Bakugou stopped tapping his fingers. 

Tap-tap-taptap-tap.

…

Tap-tap.

Izuku gave a quiet chuckle at Bakugou’s response. In the past, Bakugou would have probably exploded his face at the noise. Hearing him play along like that was really nice. Maybe he was really getting better. Thinking about this, Izuku looked out the window with a smile.

Then he stopped smiling.

“Kacchan,” the tanuki whispered as he tapped Bakugou’s back. “Kacchan!”

“Not now, nerd,” Katsuki shrugged.

“Kacchan, there’s heroes outside!”

That caught the teen’s attention. Bakugou turned to look, and both teens watched the group of heroes standing outside the school gate. They saw some local heroes such as Mt Lady and Kamui Woods, but there were a lot of other heroes, such as Gang Orca and Miruko. And their numbers only kept growing, even including a few flying heroes. Izuku gasped when even Endeavor suddenly appeared in the group.

“What’s going on?” Izuku whispered. He didn’t think his simple note would cause something like this. Did it?

“...Are they…” Bakugou whispered to himself. DId he know something? 

Suddenly both teens’ eyes widened as several large black vans pulled up. The backs opened up and a lot of men came piling out. Men in black armor and helmets. Some had shields, but all of them were carrying either large batons or firearms. Special Assault Teams.

“...Oh shit,” Bakugou and Izuku whispered simultaneously as the horde of heroes and officers rushed at the school building.

—

“N-not necessary?” Principal Ozeru asked. “Th-then why-”

“You see,” Aizawa explained as he leaned forward, “the truth is, this school was under investigation. We’d gotten multiple reports about this school committing egregious acts of discrimination and fraud. Especially towards those who are quirkless or have ‘weak’ quirks.”

“W-what!?” Ozeru’s face turned red. “Who spouted such lies? I swear, I-”

“But they’re not lies,” Eraserhead shook his head. “Multiple people were questioned by an individual with a lie detector quirk, including the former officers Izaya and Shinra.” The hero concealed a smirk behind his scarf when Ozeru turned pale. “We learned quite a few interesting things from those officers, and from one of the people who brought this case forward. Such as the fact you and your staff have been pushing Meta-Liberation doctrine onto the students here. Although that wasn’t too hard to figure out after seeing your freaking book on the shelf there.” Aizawa pointed his thumb towards the incriminating book, and the principal tensed up. He suddenly shot to his feet, likely to attack the hero, but was stopped when Aizawa activated his quirk and threw his scarf. In an instant, Principal Ozeru was on the floor, bound by the scarf. Moments later, both men could hear shouting from the halls and a multitude of running footsteps. 

“Sounds like the raid’s started,” Aizawa explained. “It’d be in your best interest to cooperate from here on out. Oh, and don’t think this school’s the only one being hit.”

—

Half a kilometer away, at Aldera Municipal High School, the principal screamed with a mouth full of ham sandwich as a very angry Hawks crashed through his window.

—

Bakugou might have seen the heroes and SAT coming, but he still jumped in surprise when the door to his classroom was slammed open. Several students screamed at the noise. A few students kept screaming when they saw Endeavor step into the room.

“SILENCE!” the flaming hero roared. That got everyone quiet. “Listen well, students. This school is now under official investigation. All students are to head to the auditorium, and from there you will be informed of what will happen. Teachers…” Endeavor turned to glare at the pale and stiff educator, “you will come as well, but it’s up to you if you come in handcuffs, Meta-Liberation scum.” Several students gasped at the declaration, and their teacher outright fainted. 

“...Crap,” Endeavor growled, “now I have to carry him.” He turned back to the class. “Well, you heard me! Get out of your chairs and head to the auditorium! Anyone who tries to flee will be put in cuffs! Go!” 

Bakugou and his classmates didn’t need telling twice. The entire class shot to their feet and ran for the door. Izuku tried to hang back, but was caught in the mob and squished between some classmates. Even Bakugou was squished as the group rushed out the door. They joined other classes, and their rush was slowed to a cramped march. Heroes and SAT officers watched them the entire way. 

Making things a bit tense, though, was how many times they passed a class and found the teacher pinned by a hero with cuffs on their wrists. A few times even had fellow students cuffed. Bakugou was in shock. From their enraged shouts, the cuffed students were the ones who apparently tried to fight the heroes. From the words of a few of them…

Bakugou looked away. He couldn’t help but think he could have been one of those cuffed students. A few weeks ago he might have taken current events differently. He didn’t wanna think about it. For the rest of his march to the auditorium, Katsuki didn’t utter a word, and didn’t look inside any other classrooms. 

After a few minutes, he joined the rest of the school in the auditorium. Everyone was standing, and the walls were lined with heroes and SAT’s. Most of the students looked confused, having no idea what was going on. Oddly, the nerd didn’t look as surprised as everyone else. Did Midoriya know something?

“All right, listen up, kiddies!” Mt Lady yelled, getting every student’s attention. “Anyone who hasn’t figured it out yet, this school has just been raided due to villain activity! We’ll be questioning everyone, and I mean everyone , individually! This will probably take several hours, and food for dinner will be provided if this lasts past evening! Okay! Everyone sit down where you are, we’ll call you up by name!”

It took a minute for the students to fully register what they’d been told, but soon enough everyone was sitting. Midoriya was heard muttering something about cushions and protocols for a raid, but Bakugou didn’t listen for too long. Especially since he was one of the first called up. Makes sense, he was the student who blew the whistle…and was one of the biggest bullies in the entire fucking school. 

The instant his name was called, he got up and followed the hero who called him to a classroom. Effective way to be questioned, one student per classroom. The moment the explosive teen stepped into the empty classroom, the door shut behind him. The fuck? Wasn’t the hero gonna question him? He tried to open the door, but it was locked firmly. What the fuck was going on? He turned back to the-

“BOO!”

Katsuki gave a shout of surprise and jumped back towards the door. Meanwhile, the person who startled him just stood there, giving a lighthearted cackle. When she finished, the weird lavender midget looked at Bakugou with slit eyes, her tails wagging slowly.

“Okay, that was pretty fun,” the woman smirked.

“W-who the f…who the heck are you?” Bakugou croaked.

“You’re allowed to swear, kid,” the woman stated as she sat at a desk. “I don’t mind it, kid. As for who I am, my name’s Kannazuki Shizuka. And I am the current Chairwoman of the Japanese Hero Public Safety Commission. Please sit.”

Bakugou just stared for a few seconds. The Chairwoman? She came here? Was this thing really that important? The vulpine Chairwoman cleared her throat and gestured to a chair. Bakugou snapped from his thoughts and sat down. 

“Bakugou Katsuki,” the fox lady stated. “First, thank you for stepping forward the way you did. You were one of the biggest beneficiaries of what was going on here, and you still came up and revealed what was going on. One of the few who did.”

“Doesn’t change the fact I spent years being an asshole,” Bakugou groaned.

“Sadly, true,” Kannazuki stood up. “Even with your deeds these past couple weeks, you still did a lot which needs to be answered for. However, your actions have affected your punishments, make no mistake.” She started walking around Bakugou as she continued.

“Firstly, starting this next Sunday, you’re gonna have to spend seven days in juvenile detention. Normally it would strictly be probation, but with what you did to that Midoriya kid since the start of the year, my hands were tied in that regard. It won’t affect your chances of getting into a hero school, but it will be on your record. Once you get out, you’ll be doing community service at a local restaurant as a dishwasher.”

“That sounds more like a job than community service,” Katsuki said.

“This restaurant provides free meals for homeless quirkless,” Kannazuki explained, “and it is kind of a job. Normally you’d be paid for working there, but as part of your probation, any earnings you make will be going to the Midoriyas to pay them back for all the school supplies and medicine they’ve had to buy due to your bullying Izuku.”

“...Alright, that does make sense.”

“Glad we’re on the same page. You’ll be working at that place for a length of time determined by your high school, which we’ll get to in a bit. Next, you’ll also be under observation from a Commission-employed hero. Who they are and how they’ll watch you is unimportant. What is important is that they’ll inform us if you show any blatant signs of regressing. Mistakes happen, but if you intentionally commit even one act of discrimination, you’re Blacklisted.”

“No therapy requirements?”

“Do you plan on stopping your current therapy sessions?”

“Fuck no.”

“There you go. Now, for your high school. You plan to attend UA, right?”

“Am I still allowed to?” There was a hint of worry in Bakugou’s voice.

“Due to the fact your record is technically spotless, you can still attempt for UA. However, there will be a stipulation for you.” She used her finger and traced a line across the desk Bakugou was sitting at. “First, it’s public knowledge that UA’s Hero Practical involves combating robots. However, there is a second, hidden scoring rubric for this test. I won’t say what this is, it’s up to you to figure it out. You will also be required to score at least ten points in this aspect, or you will be rejected.”

“Just ten points?” Katsuki asked, confused.

“Considering most people don’t even get five,” Shizuka explained, “I’d say having your score ten is more than enough. Anyway, should you make it into UA or any hero school, your probation and time at that restaurant will last until you get your Provisional Hero License during your second year. And while you won’t be under Commission observation after entering a hero school, the stipulations for behavior will remain. One wrong step and you’re out.”

“That…really doesn’t seem that bad,” Katsuki stated. “I mean, I was fully expecting that-”

“You screwed up,” Kannazuki interrupted, “but you’re also still a kid. You got time to get better, so get better . Consider that an order from the Hero Public Safety Commission.”

There was a brief silence before Katsuki nodded. This was more than an order. This was a promise to the Chairwoman, to Midoriya, and to himself. He would get better. He would not be what he once was.

“I’ll be a hero to make him proud,” Bakugou whispered.

“Hm?”

“Nothing. I accept the terms. I’ll get better.” Shizuka smiled and patted his shoulder.

—

“This is Jon Pinhead with Musutafu News Network, bringing you the Afternoon News! Our top story! At approximately noon today, not even four hours ago, a group of heroes and Special Assault Teams performed raids on the two schools of the Aldera school district. They have yet to release an official report, but we managed to get a few words from Pro Hero Death Arms. According to his, um, I guess slip-up, we’ve got an indication that the Aldera district has connections with the maligned Meta-Liberation Army!

“For those who don’t know, the Meta-Liberation Army is a quirk-supremist insurgency formerly run by a man known as Destro. We don’t know who’s in charge these days, but we do know the criminals are still active, but usually work in the shadows. They preach a might-makes-right mentality, believing that individuals with ‘strong’ quirks are superior to those with ‘weak’ quirks, and anyone with a quirk is superior to the quirkless. I’m sure you can tell such an ideal is utter baloney, but there are a fair few people who adhere to it. 

“Heroes and law enforcement are constantly on vigil for any active cells from this so-called Army, but today’s raid, if it is indeed connected to the Army, bears a grim indication. If the Army was able to infiltrate this school and lead entire generations of our children to believing such ideals, how many other schools are they poking around in? Are they only sticking to middle and high schools, or are they even going far back as primary schools? Colleges, even? Who knows?”

—

In a city far from Musutafu, the beak-nosed leader of the Meta-Liberation Army was pissed. Re-Destro, son of Destro, probably would have pulled at his hair, if he had enough to pull. Instead, he roared with anger and stomped around his office.

The Aldera District might not have been his only means of teaching the masses the right way of the world, but its downfall heralded a time of stress. After all, if this school was under their tutelage, what of other schools? The Commission would no doubt investigate other schools across the country, looking for his teachers and agents. 

And he knew they would certainly find it in Detnerat School District. 

While the other schools under his lead were at least somewhat secretive about their involvement, Detnerat High had literal imagery of his father emblazoned on the walls. Combined with everything else that had been occurring, they had no time to make this school look innocent. This meant that, should the Commission Chairwoman poke her insipid nose inside, there was no doubt the school would fall. The biggest recruitment center of the country, and it would fall if she came. Surely there had to be some way of making sure they didn’t come in.

As Re-Destro stressed and moaned over how to keep his place safe, he had no idea the school’s destruction was already inside the halls.

Chapter Text

“...Of the teachers employed at Aldera,” Naomasa read off, “all but 3 were either MLA members, or sympathizers. Thankfully, the custodial staff were all cleared.”

Tsukauchi was in Nedzu’s office with Eraserhead and All Might. He was finishing up his report on Aldera, as Nedzu was one of the heroes assigned to help on any MLA-related case. The mammal had been listening intently to the report. His beady eyes almost seemed to follow Naomasa’s gaze as the detective read the paper.

“Among the students, eight of them had attempted to fight back during the raid and were taken into custody. Two of them were just itching for a fight, but the other six were more confrontational. It is believed they came from MLA families, and are under further investigation.”

“Oh,” Nedzu sighed and rubbed his eyebrows. “Always sad to hear of children brainwashed at such a young age. Hopefully we can turn them around.”

“At least they have that chance,” Eraserhead nodded before his mood turned sour. “But still, to think the Meta-Liberation Army had an indoctrination site under our own noses.”

“About that,” Nedzu said, “I got word from the Chairwoman earlier. She’s going to be conducting an in-depth investigation of other middle schools and non-hero high schools. The chances of Aldera being the only MLA school is unlikely, but hopefully the actual number is on the lower side.”

“And to think we wouldn’t have had any idea without the man of the hour,” Noamasa smiled at All Might. The hero looked at the detective with a confused expression.

“Err, what are you talking about?” Yagi asked.

“You!” the detective pointed. “If it wasn’t for your involvement with those two boys, we would have been clueless! You being in just the right places at the right time helped bring everything out into the open!”

“...But…” All Might scratched his cheek, “...I…I wasn’t involved.”

“...What?”

“It’s true. I didn’t have anything to do with this. I wasn’t even present for the raid on Aldera. I mean, I heard about it, but…”

Naomasa was stunned. He wasn’t sure which part was more surprising. That All Might was denying involvement…

…or that his quirk was reading Truth .

“But…” Naomasa reached into his coat and pulled out the note Yagi had given him that one night. “You gave me this note directly, Yagi. Just after the raid on the Gangers Gang.” All Might took the note and looked it over.

“I have no memory of this note. After that raid, I went home, drank a Steak In A Cup and went to bed.”

Truth

“Curious,” Nedzu leaned his head on his paws. “I assume that means you did not have a conversation with Bakugou Katsuki concerning what really makes a hero?”

“Who?”

“The blond boy who acted as a whistleblower on his school.”

“Never met him before in my life.”

Truth

“Wait,” Aizawa turned as Nedzu started typing on his computer, “if it wasn’t you, then who? I saw the body cam footage. Are you saying someone disguised themselves as All Might in both his bulky and skeleton sizes?”

“Please don’t call me a skeleton.”

“Some new vigilante?” Tsukauchi theorized. “One with a shapeshifting quirk? But if that’s the case…” his eyes widened as his face paled. “How much power can he access?”

“What do you mean?” All Might asked.

“After your-er-their conversation with Bakugou, they leaped away into the air just like you do. That means they can not only mimic your appearance, but even your quirk, at least to a degree.” That made almost everyone else go stiff. Someone with access to even a fraction of All Might’s strength could be bad news, even if they were a well-intentioned vigilante.

“Wait a minute,” Aizawa stated. “All Might attracts the media everywhere he goes. If this vigilante has been impersonating All Might, why haven’t we heard any news reports about random sightings?”

“What if I’m not the only one they’ve been impersonating?” Toshinori pointed out. “What if they’ve been performing acts disguised as other heroes as well?”

“Unlikely,” Nedzu finally looked away from his computer. “I keep an eye on all hero activity in Musutafu, and there hasn’t been any sudden upticks of activity. That infers our little vigilante only used All Might, and focused on Aldera. And knowing that, I have an idea who it might be.”

“Who?” Naomasa turned to the principal.

“Midoriya Izuku.” Before continuing, Nedzu hit a few buttons and a projection of his monitor appeared on the wall behind Aizawa (causing the hero to move). “He is a student of Aldera, and based on my cursory poking, is a super-late-bloomer in terms of quirk development. Which means he suffered under MLA tenets as a quirkless child.”

“He looks like a tanuki,” Aizawa observed.

“And he can act like one, too,” Nedzu continued. “I actually met with his quirk doctor a few weeks ago for something entirely unrelated when my gaze fell on his computer. His file on Midoriya was open, and I managed to read a few lines before it was closed due to patient confidentiality. The lines I read made mention of how he ‘recently learned to mimic dinosaurs.’ One can infer he can mimic other things as well.” 

“Can you pull up his quirk file?” Noamasa asked. “You can do that, right?”

“Well, as he is a UA aspirant, I certainly can!” Nedzu laughed as he typed away. After a minute, the screen displayed his official quirk file. “...Well, that’s interesting.”

To the shock of everyone in the room, the only thing visible was the statement that Midoriya was quirkless up until a handful of months prior. Nothing else was visible, save for a single line.

ACCESS DENIED. PRESENT THE SECOND TREASURE.

“Never seen a clearance level like that before,” Aizawa voiced.

“Here, let’s see if my clearance works,” All Might held out his Hero License. Something most people didn’t know is that Hero Licenses also contained a chip that let them access classified files. All Might’s license held a Black Diamond chip, one of the highest clearance authorities on the planet. Nedzu took his card and held it in front of the system’s scanner.

ACCESS DENIED. PRESENT THE SECOND TREASURE.

Again, the heroes present were stunned. All Might’s license gave him multinational access higher than most government officials, yet it did nothing. Just what was with Midoriya’s file that not even All Might could access it?

“I-I don’t understand,” Toshinori stammered. “How could-”

“Apparently the Commission is quite interested in him,” Nedzu smirked. “Enough they’ll keep information on his quirk strictly need-to-know.”

“I’ll take that as a strong indicator of his ability to mimic heroes,” Aizawa declared. “But even then, why disguise himself as All Might to call out Aldera? Why did he lie to get the word out?”

“Everyone lies, Aizawa,” Nedzu explained. “The innocent lie because they don’t want to be blamed for something they didn’t do, and the guilty lie because they don’t have any other choice. Remember, ex-officers Izaya and Shinra intercepted any calls to the police to report Aldera’s discrimination. As for the talk with Bakugou Katsuki, he was a bully in Aldera. Odds are he bullied Midoriya as well. As a result, Midoriya likely felt he had to look like a hero to be listened to, assuming he really is the mimic.”

“Should we keep an eye on him in the future?” All Might asked. 

“The Commission is doing that for us,” Nedzu smirked as he turned off his monitor’s projection. “If he does indeed make it into UA, we can ask him in greater detail. Now, Tsukauchi, is there anything else MLA-related that must be brought up? If not, I recommend we end the meeting here. We all have paperwork, after all.” 

With a denial from the detective, the three humans left the office. Nedzu watched them leave through the cameras, following their progress down the hall. Once they were around the corner, he went to work. With the press of a button on his desk, his door was locked tighter than a nuclear vault. Next, he reached into his shirt and pulled out the necklace he had worn since the day Kannazuki saved him from that lab. The necklace bore five little charms on it, each with great significance. He removed the charm that looked like a tiny tree branch and held it in front of the computer’s scanner.

…

ACCESS GRANTED

In an instant, Midoriya’s quirk file became open and clear. Nedzu’s obsidian eyes read every line, and then re-read them. No detail was left unread, and Nedzu smirked at what he saw.

“Well now, that is quite interesting…”

—

About three months after the Aldera Raid, Inko and Mitsuki were laughing with each other at a local cafe. It was one of the rare days neither of them had work, and they were spending it enjoying each other’s company. It also helped that today was the day of the Musutafu Holiday Parade, so the ladies were watching the floats as they talked.

“Man, it’s been too long since we could do something like this,” Mitsuki smiled. 

“We could if you actually took more than one day off a month,” Inko giggled as she sipped her latte. “So how’s Katsuki doing?”

“ So much better .” Mitsuki sighed happily. “I mean, yeah he’s still a belligerent arsebiscuit, but he’s mellowed out a bit now that he doesn’t have quirk supremacists whispering into his ear.”

“Yeah, Izuku loves the new teachers at Aldera,” Inko beamed. “He practically exploded when he learned what the Commission decided to do with Aldera.”

Mitsuki gave a snort, remembering when she got the news herself. Since there was no way that several hundred students could be moved to different schools so late into the year, the Commission had decided to use Aldera as a testing ground for teachers that would later move on to a new Hero School. This meant all but three of Aldera’s teachers were pro heroes. Said heroes were also looking out for any remnant of MLA influence, but overall they were focused on teaching these kids the right way of things.

“Where are those teachers gonna head to, anyway?” Mitsuki asked. “No one told me where the new hero school’s gonna be.”

“Okinawa.”

“...Isn’t that where you-”

Ah ah! No one asks about Okinawa,” Inko giggled. With that, she took another sip and looked at the parade.

“Waiting for something?” Mitsuki asked.

“Yup. Izuku’s gonna be in the parade.”

“Wait, what?” Mitsuki almost snorted her latte. “Your kid’s in the parade? I thought he was hanging with that drill kid he’d been cleaning the beach with today.”

“Nope,” Inko gave a smug smirk. “With all the volunteer help Izuku’s been giving to the museum thanks to his quirk, they invited him to join their float in the parade. Had to get some special permissions, though.”

“Why?”

Mitsuki’s answer came when both mothers heard a loud roar. Inko smiled and Mitsuki almost jumped from her chair. Both ladies turned and saw the museum float rolling by. While the float itself was motorized like the rest, in front of it was the real spectacle. 

Walking in front of the float was an actual Tyrannosaurus Rex. It walked at a casual pace, occasionally turning to the crowds for dramatic effect. A few museum workers were riding its back. The theropod wore an oversized Santa hat on its head, and its torso was covered by the sort of christmas sweater you’d see in a cheesy Christmas movie that could only be found on a single American TV channel.

“...Is… IS THAT YOUR SON?” Mitsuki gawked.

“I’m so proud of him,” Inko wiped away imaginary tears as she giggled at her friend’s disbelief. 

Unbeknownst to either mother, Amaterasu was perched on a skyscraper watching the parade. As she saw Izuku sauntering down the road, the lupine heroine gave a happy smile.

“He’s learning quickly,” she whispered to herself. “Maybe he’ll be ready by the Sports Festival.”

Chapter Text

Dagobah Beach. For decades it had been a junk heap, filled with garbage that either washed in or was dumped by residents. It had been a sore spot for the city for all those years.

But now it was clear.

Kaibara Sen and Midoriya Izuku stood on the hill and gazed across the empty sand. It had taken almost a year, but the two teens had removed every speck of garbage from the beach. Mere minutes ago they threw away the last crushed soda can. For those past minutes they remained silent. 

…Then…

“...YEAAAAAAAH!” Izuku cheered, startling Kaibara off his feet. “WE DID IT!” Then the tanuki started some shuffling dance circling around his fallen friend. The drilling teen just laughed and got back up. Both he and Izuku had undergone some physical changes over the months they had spent on this beach. Both boys had bulked up somewhat, and gotten a few small scars on their fingers from sharp debris. While Kaibara had kept his hair short, Izuku had grown his out the back a bit, just enough to have a small ponytail. He said it held his secrets. Kaibara was not willing to try seeing if this was true or not.

“We sure did,” Kaibara nodded, “and we still got about a week before the Entrance Exam.”

“Many hands make light work,” Izuku pointed at Kaibara as he stopped dancing. “Also, I think I’ve got it!”

“Got what?”

“Your mystery mentor!” Izuku smirked. Kaibara just sighed and grinned.

“Go ahead, who are you thinking of this time?”

“Your mystery mentor…” Izuku suddenly swung his arm and pointed at a nearby tree. “IS BEHIND THAT TREE!”

…Well, that was an unexpected declaration. Kaibara turned to look at the tree in question, and his eyes widened when he saw a pair of blond antennae quickly duck behind the trunk. Holy crap, his mentor really was over there.

“I heard you come walking up a few minutes ago!” Izuku laughed. “Come on out, say hello!” There was another pause before the man behind the tree sighed. A moment later, Kaibara’s skinny blond mentor stepped out into the open. He had an embarrassed expression, clearly not expecting to be caught.

“Yeah, this is my mentor. Say hello to Yagi Toshinori, an associate of All Might’s.” Kaibara gestured to the man as he said this, giving Izuku a side glance. He was expecting Izuku to have some expression of curiosity, as Toshinori didn’t look like a traditional hero when he was in his true shape. Maybe some shock that his mentor was someone associated with All Might.

Kaibara was not expecting Izuku to have a look of recognition.

“...A-anyway,” the drilling teen continued, “he found me a while back and-”

“Long time no see, All Might.”

Sen froze, his words dying in his mouth. His gaze shot between the fuzzy teen and the withered hero. He knew this was All Might? How? When? Huh?

“Yes,” All Might nodded, “I suppose it has been a while.”

“And you were training this guy, huh?” Izuku gestured to Kaibara. 

“Hold up, how do you two know each other?” Kaibara recovered enough to ask.

“...I will inform you of it later, young Kaibara,” All Might sighed. “For now, could Midoriya and I speak in private?” Sen was now even more confused, but could only nod to respect his mentor’s wishes. As there was no longer any garbage to hide behind, Kaibara simply walked up the hill and sat at the nearest tree. “Alright. Midoriya, I-”

“I was wondering when you’d come down to talk,” Izuku interrupted. “I mean, I didn’t know it was you , but I noticed you dropping by and staying hidden as Kaibara and I worked.”

“How did you know?” All Might asked. Rather than say anything, Izuku just pointed at his ears. “...Ah, I guess that makes sense.”

“You would not believe the stuff I’ve heard.”

“You may be half-right. But I digress. I do believe I owe an apology, young Midoriya. I did you a great disservice the last time we spoke.”

“...Oh, you mean back when you left me on the roof rather than taking me to a hospital to see if I needed any treatment after being attacked by a villain?”

“...Err…yes. That.” All Might was caught off-guard by Izuku’s blunt behavior, having not spoken to the boy since the day of the slime villain. “Along with…that…my words that day were, for lack of a better term, atrocious and unforgivable.”

“Well, I wouldn’t go that far,” Izuku scratched one of his ears. “I mean, yeah, it hurt like hell hearing the best hero in all of Japan basically say ‘anyone can be a hero, except for you because you’re quirkless,’ but it’s not like you were really wrong, right? I mean, look at me.” Izuku stepped back, spreading his arms letting All Might see him in all his fuzzy glory. “If this didn’t happen to me when it did, I would have just been some flimsy kid trying to yank Bakugou out of the sludge, assuming I’d even slip past Death Arms.” The teen slowly lowered his arms, and his eyes began to water. “It’s like even god or whatever agreed with you, showing me that quirkless really can’t-”

“Young man,” All Might gripped both of Izuku’s shoulders, getting his attention. “I was wrong. I admit that. I read your notebook when you were unconscious. I saw page after page of utter brilliance in there. You might not have been able to be a combat-focused hero, but those pages showed me you had the talent to be an incredible intelligence-based hero. Think about my former sidekick, Sir Nighteye. Or Principal Nedzu of UA. Or any of the other analytical heroes. There are more than heroes who just fight, and on that day I had forgotten that fact. 

“On top of that,” the withered hero continued, “I had no idea of your circumstances when you asked that question. I had no idea of the literal hell you’d gone through for most of your life. Of what your peers and teachers had done to you. Knowing that now, I can’t help imagining what would have happened if my words broke you, and made you give up on more than heroics.” He didn’t need to say what he meant by that for Izuku to understand.

“Well, that didn’t happen,” Izuku shrugged, trying to lighten the mood. “Here I am, fuzzy, alive and enjoying my life. So sure, apology accepted. Just promise me you won’t say stuff like that to anyone else, huh?”

“Rest assured,” Yagi chuckled, “between that and…other circumstances, I have learned to watch my words better.”

“Get in some trouble, huh?” Izuku snickered. “More proof that the great All Might is just as human as the rest of us, I guess.”

“I never said I wasn’t human.”

“Dude, your agency tower literally has your face carved into all four compass directions, like Mount Rushmore, if Rushmore was a tube and not a mountain.”

“Hey, that wasn’t my idea! And I tried to get them removed years ago!”

“Yeah, sure! All Might, the man who can’t remove his face from a building!” There was a pause, with the teen & hero just staring at each other. After a few moments, both of them just broke down laughing. Kaibara, who had tensed up when he heard raised voices, sighed and sat back down.

“I am glad you accept my apology,” All Might smiled. “Now, would it be alright if I spoke to young Kaibara in private?”

“Sure! I gotta report to my mentor anyways. Take care!” And like that, Izuku was off like a shot, speeding up the hill and away from the beach. All Might watched him leave with a smile. He was glad to have been able to fix at least one rift in his life.

…Crap, he forgot to ask Midoriya about his shapeshifting.

…

Well, that could come later. Now, he had something much more important. 

“Young Kaibara!” All Might called out to his successor. “It is time!”

—

One Week Later

—

“This is as far as I can go,” Amaterasu told Izuku, stopping just around the corner from UA. Izuku stood next to her, looking up at his lupinen mentor. “I may be your mentor, but as I am not employed by UA, I am not allowed on UA’s premises during the Entrance Exams.”

“That’s alright,” Izuku smiled. “I’m just thankful you helped me get this far.”

“Hey, most of that is on you,” Amaterasu ruffled his hair. “I might have helped you with the strength training and some reflex stuff, but the transformation work is all you. Anyway, it’s public record that the exam will have you fight robots, so prep a form capable of prolonged fighting. And remember, there are no countdowns in real life, got it?”

“You got it.” Izuku gave a respectful bow. “Thank you for helping me, Amaterasu.” With a nod from his heroine mentor, Izuku rushed around the corner. His hair bounced as he hopped through the main gate, smiling like a maniac. He was on UA campus. He was taking the entrance exam. If he passed, he’d be on his way to be a hero. He was so excited at the idea it took him a moment to realize he tripped on a random stone, and another moment to realize he was floating in the air. Instead of shock, he gave a groan.

“Oh come on, another weird power?” Izuku muttered to himself. “Where did this one even come from?”

“Um, that’s me.”

Izuku spun around in the air, coming face-to-upside-down-face with a brunette girl. The two stared at each other for a few moments before the girl flipped Izuku right-side-up. Then she put her fingertips together and whispered something before Izuku found himself affected by gravity again. 

“Sorry for the surprise,” the eye-level girl explained. “I just figured it’d be bad luck to faceplant the ground just before the exam.”

“O-oh,” Izuku chuckled as he scratched his head. “Um, thanks for the save.”

“Gotta ask, though, what did you mean by ‘another weird power’ earlier?”

“...My…my quirk is weird.” Izuku gave a big smile. “Get into UA and I’ll tell you.”

“Jerk,” the girl laughed. “Name’s Uraraka Ochako.”

“Midoriya Izuku. Hero Exam?”

“Yup. Good luck?”

“Good luck,” Izuku nodded before heading inside with Uraraka.

—

Kannazuki Shizuka sat on the top floor of the building across the street from UA. To most people, this building was a simple accounting firm. In truth, it was one of many secret observation posts for the Hero Commission. She had an agreement with Nedzu to not be present on campus during these exams, but she was allowed to observe from this building.

And observe she did. The vulpine Chairwoman watched the sea of applicants moving through the school gates. A few looked interesting from up here, but not too many. She gave a smile when she spotted Midoriya move through the gates, only to absent-mindedly trip on something, then get rescued by a fellow applicant. That was pretty cute. That probably meant Amaterasu was somewhere nearby. A minute later, she saw the other student she had been watching for.

Bakugou Katsuki stepped through the gate. His clothes were loose, but not sloppy like they had been back before the raid on Aldera. His eyes were full of determination, not the past arrogance and pride. His time on probation and in therapy had done wonders for the kid. Sure, he was still an aggressive prick who spoke in permutations of swear words, but his sharper edges had softened. He’d accepted he’d have to work on more than his quirk if he wanted to be Number One. 

The door behind her opened. Kannazuki turned and gave a warm smile to the hero who stepped inside. She waited for them to close the door before speaking.

“Hey, Keigo,” Shizuka greeted. 

“Hey, ma,” the Number 3 Hero, Hawks, smiled as he walked up to Kannazuki. “You saw him go in, huh?”

“Yup. Think he’ll figure out the Hero Points?”

“Maybe,” Hawks shrugged. “He has gotten better. Easiest assignment I’ve had for a while.”

“You’re just that good,” Kannazuki giggled as she held up her hand. “Now get down here, let mama pat your head.”

“Ma, I’m a grown man,” Hawks laughed as he leaned over.

“Children are never too old for headpats,” Shizuka smirked as she patted Hawks’ head. She was proud of how her adoptive son grew up. A vast change from how she first found him, silent and crying after a villain attack. Now he practically towered over her and almost never stopped smiling. 

Though she never understood his addiction to fried chicken. 

—

Izuku stretched as he exited the main UA building with Kaibara (who joined up with him earlier). The written exam had gone by fairly quick, and was actually really challenging. Challenging, but honestly fun. Izuku only managed to finish it a few minutes before the deadline. After that exam, all the Hero applicants were taken to an auditorium to be briefed on what was coming. Now they were all heading for the buses that would carry them to the exam grounds.

“Did you really have to provoke that glasses kid?” Kaibara asked.

“He interrupted the teacher to scold him for not explaining something he was still getting to,” Midoriya glowered, “and then yelled at me for muttering, saying I was the distracting one. I couldn’t just stand there and take it.”

“You asked him what happened to the monkey that was supposed to be holding the stick that was up his ass.”

“And he deserved that,” Izuku nonchalantly stated. “Anyway, which testing ground are you at?”

“Number 7. You?”

“Dammit, I’m at 2. Looks like we can’t help each other.” The tanuki teen gave a snarky smile. “I guess we’ll just have to compare scores when we get the results.”

“Sounds good,” Kaibara nodded, patting his jacket as he and his friend approached the buses. “Hey, you got your victory dance, right?”

“I got right heeeeeeere, yeah!” Izuku replied in a sing-song voice as he held up a metal tube. Most people would think it was a cigar holder (and it probably was), but the teens were using them to hold authentic French pretzel sticks the size of cigars.

“Hey, keep it down,” Sen stated, “and put that away ‘til the fat lady sings.”

“Pierce the heavens, dude!” Izuku laughed as he slipped it back into his pocket and fist-bumped Kaibara. With that, the two teens separated and went to the buses labeled for their individual zones. 

Izuku took a seat in the back of his bus, tapping his knees to the beat of his own music. He looked around, checking out his fellow applicants. He saw the brunette who helped him earlier, Uraraka, along with Mr Stick-Up-His-Ass. If he was lucky, he could avoid that guy during the practical. Thank goodness he was feeling lucky.

After around ten minutes, the bus came to a stop and everyone clambered out. Izuku stuck to the back of the group so that no one would step on his tail. After a few minutes, all the applicants were gathered in a single large room. One of the walls looked a bit weird, though. Most of the walls of the room were stone or plaster, but this one wall was metal. It took Izuku a minute to realize it was the door to the exam grounds.

A door.

The size of a house.

Izuku knew UA’s motto was “Go beyond, plus ultra,” but that just seemed overkill. Maybe it was that huge to accommodate kids with size quirks? That was literally the only reason Izuku could think of. As he looked around the room, he spotted Uraraka Ochako kneeling and checking her shoelaces.

Seeing her gave him an idea. A fun idea. A helpful idea, and Izuku sure did like being helpful. With a big grin, he began walking towards the girl. As he walked, he could hear the stomping of someone walking with a purpose in his direction. He groaned when he recognized who was behind him.

“Hey,” the tall glasses-wearing boy with a stick up his ass called out, “are you planning to-”

POOMF!

The boy came to a stop when he suddenly felt the entire front of his body engulfed in fur. It only lasted for a moment, but Izuku had expanded his tail to catch the teen who honestly looked way older. The boy froze in place, too confused to process what just happened, while Izuku continued his trek to Ochako. As he got closer, she turned to him and smiled.

“Hey there! You’re here too, huh?” God, she had a bright smile.

“Just lucky, I guess,” Izuku smiled back. He turned to look at Present Mic, who seemed to be fidgeting with some console. Good, he had time. “Hey, want a head start in the exam?”

“What’cha mean?” Ochako asked. Izuku just smiled and gestured for her to follow him to the door. As the pair walked, Izuku took down his ponytail and loosened his curly hair a bit. When they reached the door, he grabbed two tufts of his hair and held them out. 

“Hold on to these,” he stated. Ochako looked confused and didn’t even raise her hands. “Trust me, my quirk is weird and with what I got planned it’ll be easier if you grab these instead of my shoulders.”

“...If…If you say so…” Ochako said, not quite believing him as she grabbed his hair. With a smirk, Izuku reached into his jacket and pulled out a plastic tube. It was weird explaining this to the heroes at the application desk, but he didn’t wanna risk being excluded by not doing the proper paperwork for transformation leaves. He plucked a leaf from the tube and held it over his head. “What are we gonna do?”

“You’ll see,” Izuku replied. “Keep tight and be ready. The heroine who mentored me told me real life has no countdowns. No reason to think this exam is any different.” 

“START!” Present Mic screamed as the door fell open. Izuku slapped the leaf to his head and, in a puff of vapor, gave a bellow of determination and charged into the testing grounds.

Chapter Text

Five Minutes into the Exam

—

Bakugou was having a blast, literally and figuratively.

The exam was (for the most part) super straightforward. He didn’t even know how many points he’d earned in the past five minutes, but it was really fun going apeshit with his quirk again. For over half a year he’d been working on becoming a better person, and he’d like to think he’d succeeded, but in his quest to better himself he’d suffered a limit when it came to stress release. He’d brought this up with his therapist, and while they’d been able to schedule some time in a gym for him to use his quirk, it just wasn’t enough. Being allowed to go crazy out here, it was an outlet he needed.

On the other hand, though, he still had no idea what the hidden rubric was supposed to be. He needed to score ten points on it, or else he’d fail to get into UA. He might have had other options, but UA was his goal. He had to get in. He still needed to apologize to the nerd, after all.

He turned to blast another pair of robots that were coming around the corner, but stopped when he saw them melt. Like, legitimately melted. That actually startled him a bit. How did that happen?

“Woo!” a perky voice screamed from around the corner. “Two more points!” Before Bakugou could do anything, a pink-skinned girl ran past the melted remains, not noticing Bakugou at all, and sprayed more acid at another group of robots. However, she didn’t seem to notice her acid hit the wall of a nearby building as well. She turned away as the acid ate away at the bricks, causing the wall to begin to lean. Even worse, it was leaning her direction.

“WATCH OUT!” Bakugou roared as he used his quirk to propel him into the girl. He was careful to move his arms to grab her instead of just ramming her, holding her tight as his remaining momentum carried him a few more meters. Mere seconds later, the wall collapsed, crushing a few robots. The girl’s black/gold eyes were wide with shock as Bakugou set her down.

“Spatial awareness, girl!” Bakugou shouted. “Gotta keep a fucking eye where you spray that stuff!”

“...Y-yeah,” the girl stammered. “Um, th-thank you.”

“Be more careful! Geez!” With that, Bakugou rushed off to find more robots to fight. Hopefully the nerd was doing good, too.

—

Six minutes ago…

–

Uraraka Ochako thought she was prepared for everything.

She had put almost everything on the line to get into UA. She studied her tail off, she worked herself sore almost every night, she did everything she could to prepare for this exam. She was determined to not fail. With everything she did to prepare for the Hero Entrance Exam, Uraraka Ochako felt like she had anticipated everything the exam could possibly throw at her.

Uraraka Ochako did not anticipate riding a dinosaur into the Entrance Exam.

When the fuzzy Midoriya Izuku offered to help her get a head start in the exam, she figured she’d accept the help. Sure, grabbing his hair was weird, but she thought maybe he could extend it and throw her ahead of everyone. Instead, he slapped a leaf to his head, transformed into something resembling a spiky tricera-whatsits (she never really had a dinosaur phase) and charged into battle with her clinging to his head for dear life as he ran down the street of the exam’s citiscape. At least she kept a clear enough mind to remember not to touch his horns with her thumb pads. She did not wanna ride a floating dinosaur. 

It appeared this caught everyone else by surprise as well, as none of the other students had even tried exiting the starting room before Ochako and izuku spotted four robots. With a bellow, he rammed into the group, smashing two of them and impaling a third one on his nose horn. The fourth robot seemed to stare with pained resignation as Izuku reared up and brought his weight down on it, crushing it flat. 

Suddenly there was a puff of vapor and Ochako was back on her feet, standing behind a tanuki boy and clinging to his hair. She was quick to release his hair and step back as he turned with a smile. Well, she guessed he did get her a head start. Then he looked past her and pointed. 

“Got some robots over there for ya!” he cheerfully stated. “Hope to see you in class!” Then he pulled another leaf from his jacket and slapped it to his head. Another puff of vapor later, he transformed into a smaller dome-headed dinosaur and rushed off further into the exam grounds. Ochako shouted a quick thank-you before turning and rushing the group he pointed out. She slapped each one before tossing them skyward. The five robots flailed helplessly before she returned their gravity. All the robots screamed as they fell, impacting the ground with enough force to shatter. 

That was an easy 7 points. Now to find more.

—

Nedzu sat with the other teachers as they watched the different monitors showing the exam sites. He smiled as he looked between them all, looking at the different teens. This was especially fun as he viewed the applicants one way while his staff all had their individual viewpoints. Combining their opinions made a cohesive picture of the kids, and Nedzu loved putting them together.

“We got some exciting kids this time around,” Powerloader gestured to a screen showing a redhead punching robots. 

“Certainly combat capable,” Ectoplasm chuckled at a bestial boy tearing through a 3-pointer.

“Don’t forget the sneaky ones,” Midnight pointed at a screen with an invisible teen flipping the off-switches on robots.

All Might, who was watching but not allowed to judge for points, smiled as he watched Kaibara use his drill quirk to puncture another robot’s eye.

“Okay,” Mic groaned, “but are we all gonna ignore the fact one of the students from my area turned into a freaking dinosaur? ” He pointed at another screen, showing a large dinosaur swinging a club-like tail to smash a few robots. “Seriously, he started as a spiky one, then he turned into a small runny one, and now he’s that thing!”

“He started as a Styracosaurus,” Snipe calmly replied, “then turned into a Stegoceras and now he’s a Euoplocephalus.” Every teacher slowly turned to look at Snipe. Somehow the hero managed to look indignant through his mask. “Come on, guys, knowing dinosaurs is like the third-most American thing.”

“More American than football?” All Might smirked. 

“In my experience, American Football is actually around the fifth-most American thing.”

“You two can have a Man-Off later,” Nedzu laughed as he grabbed a small remote with a huge red button on it. “Two more minutes.”

—

Izuku, now back in his tanuki form, stretched his arm to whip a rock into a 1-pointer’s face. He gave a laugh after it tipped over. He honestly didn’t think that would work.He looked around for more robots, and saw a pair of applicants to his right. One looked a bit like a lizard to him, if a lizard sprouted blades. The other teen looked like he was made of metal. What fun, Izuku almost wished he had his notebook. 

As he thought this, he heard something. Looking to his left, he could hear a large group of robots coming their way. They were around the corner and down the street a bit, so he was pretty sure the two boys couldn’t hear them. Looking around, Izuku saw a pair of convenient light poles were still intact. That gave him an idea he’d been dying to try out.

“HEY!” he shouted to the other two boys. “You guys wanna help me with something?” Confused, the blade and iron teens walked his way while Izuku stretched out one of his arms, looped it around one of the light poles and stretched it back, forming two bands going across the street. “Blade guy, you’re the ammunition! Iron kid, think you could grab my arm and stretch it back?”

“Dude, your arm is a slingshot!?” the iron kid gawked.

“Are there even any robots that way?” the lizardy knife kid asked.

“I can hear them around the corner!” Izuku shouted. “Come on, a big group coming from the right!” Figuring they had nothing to lose, the iron kid grabbed Izuku’s arm and began pulling it back while the knife kid jumped on and held onto his arm. The sudden weight almost made Izuku tip over but he braced himself against the opposite pole. 

“How long do I gotta hold this?” Iron kid asked, straining from the pressure.

“Hold on…” Izuku closed his eyes, focusing on his hearing. He heard the two boys gasp, but kept listening to the robots. “Hold on…FIRE!” 

At that shout, the metal boy let go of Izuku’s arm, letting it snap into place. Doing so launched the blade boy through the air. He was almost caught by surprise when he flew into the group of robots Izuku had been hearing. He made quick work chopping them to shreds. When he was done, all three boys cheered.

“I can’t believe that worked!” Izuku laughed.

“THAT WAS SO MANLY!” Iron teen almost broke out into tears. “I wanna do it next!”

“I ain’t pulling you,” Blade shook his head.

“Time’s almost up!” Izuku announced. “We’d better pick off any stragglers! Get into Hero Course and we can do it again!” With a thumbs-up from the other two, Izuku rushed off the other way. He was listening for more robots, but instead heard a deep rumbling. Before he could even question what it was, the ground began to shake. Then he heard a loud roar as the ground exploded a few blocks away.

“...I think that’s the 0-Pointer,” he whispered to himself. He turned around and saw a few other kids standing in shock. “RUN! IT’S THE 0-POINTER AND IT SOUNDS FREAKING HUGE!” Needing no second warning, Izuku and the other students all ran down the street, away from the oncoming explosions. One such explosion was especially large, and actually made some buildings crumble while shaking Izuku and a few students off their feet. Izuku got back to his-

“Help!”

Izuku’s gaze shot towards the source of the shout. Back down the street, a good half-block away, someone was pinned under debris from a collapsed building. He gasped when he realized it was Ochako, the nice girl from earlier! Looking further, the 0-Pointer emerged from the dust and smoke. Izuku wasn’t sure the robot had seen Uraraka, and didn’t wanna risk her getting crushed. While everyone else fled from the machine, Izuku rushed back down the street to his pinned acquaintance. 

“Are you alright?” Izuku asked as he started yanking rocks off her. “Can you use your quirk?”

“I can’t reach the bigger pieces,” Uraraka groaned, “and I’ve been using my quirk this entire time. Not sure I can-” Another stomp from the 0-Pointer almost knocked Izuku off his feet again. The tanuki teen gave a whine. 

“Alright, I have an idea,” Izuku said as he pulled out one of his last leaves. “Just please don’t freak out.” He slammed it against his head and disappeared in a puff of vapor.

…

“AH HAHAHA! I AM HERE!”

Uraraka’s eyes widened with shock as All Might himself was suddenly standing in front of her. He bore his signature smile as he gazed up at the robot. Without looking down, Izu-Might leaned down and grabbed the heaviest piece of debris off of her. He hoisted it up, freeing Ochako and aiming at the robot.

“Hey, robot! You got something in your eye!” He pulled his arm back. “MY ROCK!” He hurled the rock with all the strength he could muster. It nailed the robot square in the center of its eye, tearing through the head and out the back like an artillery round. The robot stopped moving before tipping backwards, away from the students. 

Speaking of the students, everyone still in the area was frozen in shock. Uraraka was the only one who saw Izuku’s transformation, meaning everyone else thought All Might just randomly appeared in the exam site and stopped the robot. It took the others a bit longer to notice the prone brunette. Before anyone could react, the end-of-exam alarms went off while IzuMight knelt down and looked at Ochako.

“Are you injured?”

“I-I think I sprained my ankle,” the girl whined. At that statement, the transformed applicant gently picked Ochako up and leaped back to the entrance area. There was no doubt he startled a lot of teens when he just appeared at the large doors. Thankfully, there were a lot of medic robots arriving on-site. He gently laid Ochako on one of the gurneys and let the robots carry her away. Izuku sighed before getting swamped by a bunch of teens.

“I can’t believe you’re here All Might!” one screamed.

“Are you one of the judges?” another asked.

“Can I have an autograph?” a third raised a notebook.

“Everyone! Everyone!” Izuku laughed, raising his hands. “Before you get too excited, there’s something you should all know!” He reached up and plucked the leaf that sat between his antennae. One puff of vapor later, and the students looking up at the hero suddenly found themselves looking down at the fuzzy teen. “I’m not All Might. I could just…yeah…” There was silence, before the room exploded with excitement again.

“HOLY CRAP THAT IS AN AWESOME QUIRK!” one guy shouted.

“Can you transform into other heroes?”

“Wait, are you the dinosaur kid from-”

Izuku sighed and scratched the back of his neck. He was gonna be stuck here for a while.

—

The teachers in the observation room all stared in abject shock. It had been almost two minutes since Izuku saved Ochako, and the teachers were still silent. Most of them had dropped jaws, including All Might himself. Nedzu, meanwhile, smiled and let the silence last a good couple minutes.

“Well, now,” the rodent-like principal smirked, “I think we’ve found our mystery shapeshifter.”

Chapter Text

It had been a full week and a half since the Entrance Exams. According to Amaterasu, the results usually came in around two weeks post-exam, which meant it could arrive any time. He was eager to see the results. On one hand, Izuku wasn’t tense at all. He managed to wreck a good number of robots, plus there was no way that was all there was to the Exam. A hero’s primary mission was saving people, so Izuku was certain there was some aspect of the exam that centered around that. So in that regard, he was calm.

On the other hand, Izuku was mentally screaming.

He revealed his All Might transformation in the Exam. He couldn’t think of anything else at the time, and he used that form. What if everyone there told everyone they knew what he could do? What if a villain learns about it? In that regard, Izuku was far from relaxed.

He tapped his foot almost impatiently as his last class of Aldera was winding down. The excitement of having a hero teacher died down weeks ago, so he just kept his nose in his book. His nice, intact book that hadn’t been burned or ripped by his classmates. Their behavior had sharply improved since the Aldera Raid, and none of them bullied him anymore.

Though he was still miffed at how people would keep petting him without permission.

The instant the bell rang, Izuku shot out of the classroom. Unlike his classmates, he exited via the window. His class was used to Izuku’s constant demonstrations of defenestration, so no one watched as he rolled when he hit the ground. Izuku rushed out the gate before most students had even left the class. 

Heading home along the same route he first encountered that slime villain almost a year prior, Izuku reached home in record time. When he reached the door, he froze. The mailman had just arrived, and Izuku saw him handing a parcel to his mom. He clearly saw the UA seal on it. After the mailman left, Izuku walked up and hugged his mom.

“Package from UA,” Inko smiled as the two Midoriyas entered their apartment. Izuku quickly set his schoolbag down and grabbed the UA parcel. He sat at the table and opened it as Inko grabbed some tea for them both. To their surprise, it wasn’t a packet of papers that came out, but rather a bulky round device. Looking it over, Izuku saw a red button that said…

“...press me,” Izuku read. Then he gave a snarky smile. “I wonder if that’s a euphemism.”

“Izuku!” Inko laughed as she playfully slapped her son’s shoulder. The two kept chuckling as Izuku hit the button. The top opened up like a ghost-catching box and light shone out. Above the device, a hologram of UA’s principal appeared.

“Greetings, Midoriya Izuku!” the furry hero beamed. “I’ve been looking forward to this! You’ve made quite a few waves recently, haven’t you?” Izuku gave a nervous chuckle at that. “Well, time to read off your results! Firstly, your written exam! You scored in the top five percent of the current applicants, young man! Considering UA has several thousand applicants per year, that is quite the accomplishment!

“Now, for your practical exam,” Nedzu’s smile only grew, “you did a good showing of yourself!” His image shrunk and moved aside, making room for a recording of Izuku smashing robots. “Your ability is quite versatile, and your choice of transformations was quite telling! At the end, you scored 48 Villain points! That is no small feat, and is enough to earn a spot in UA’s Hero Course by itself!”

“I’m sensing a ‘but’ coming up,” Inko said.

“Definitely.”

“Rather than a ‘but’ young man,” the image of Nedzu chuckled, “I’ll start this next part with an ‘on top of that!’ For you see, on top of that, there’s a second scoring table for the Practical Exam!”

“Knew it!” Izuku laughed. The images of Izuku fighting robots dropped, replaced with footage of Izuku giving Ochako a ride into the exam, with scenes of him helping and aiding other students. 

“For you see, what sort of hero school would we be if we graded only on one’s combat potential? That’s for the military! Which is why we also have Rescue, or Hero, Points! These are earned for doing truly heroic deeds during the exam! And young man, you earned the top score!” Izuku’s score appeared on the screen, and his jaw dropped.

1: Izuku - 48 Villain/88 Hero - 136pts

2: Uraraka Ochako - 44 Villain/45 Hero - 89pts

3: Bakugou Katsuki…

Izuku stopped reading at Uraraka’s score. He scored first place. He beat Bakugou. He honestly didn’t think-

“As you can see,” Nedzu interrupted his thought, “you scored a phenomenal amount of points. You exceeded even All Might’s score of 115! With your capability to fight, and your overwhelming desire to protect, you are more than worthy of entering UA! Welcome, Midoriya Izuku…TO YOUR HERO ACADEMIA!” 

Izuku and Inko cheered as they hugged each other. Even though Izuku had no doubt he’d make it in, the excitement was still too much to hold. Their cheering held for a minute before Izuku noticed the hologram of Nedzu had not disappeared.

“I hope you’re done cheering, young man,” Nedzu gave a smirk, “because there is one last thing that needs discussing.” A recording of Izuku’s transformation into All Might appeared. “You have quite a talent here. One a few friends of mine are quite interested in. As such, I hope your mother doesn’t mind if my associates and I come dropping by to ask about it?”

“Crap,” Izuku whined.

“If they’re gonna drop by,” Inko shot to her feet, “I’ll need to-”

“Assuming this package reaches you around 5 PM 11 days post exam,” Nedzu smiled, “then my friends and I will be arriving around 5:15, or around the time this message finishes. See you soon, young man.” The hologram turned off, and there was a knock at the door.

—

Bakugou Katsuki held the package with shaking hands. His parent’s reassurances fell on mostly deaf ears. This was it. The words in this package would reveal if he made it into UA. He had no idea what he’d do if he didn’t make it in. Would other schools take a UA reject? He worked so hard, and-

“Katsuki, sweetie,” Mitsuki gently eased her son into a chair before taking the package. “We won’t know what happened unless we open this. Want me to?” Katsuki, in a rare moment of humility, nodded. His mom smiled and ripped the package open, seeing the same device Izuku and Inko had seen minutes earlier. With less confusion than the Midoriya’s, the Bakugou’s pressed the red button. Like the Midoriya’s, an image of Nedzu appeared over the device.

“Hello, hello!” he greeted. “Am I a dog, a bear or a mouse? The answer is…I’m the principal of UA! And I’m here with the results for your Entrance Exam!”

“Does the principal do these for all the students?” Masaru asked.

“For your written portion,” Nedzu stated, “you scored in the top 10% of the school! Might not be the top, but considering we get thousands of applicants every year, scoring in that margin is nothing to laugh at, and definitely enough to earn admission!”

That sounded nice, but Katsuki needed to know his score in the practical portion. He never figured out the second scoring thing, so he could only hope he earned it without realizing it.

“As for your practical portion,” Nedzu continued as a recording of Katsuki’s performance appeared, “you demonstrated above-average skill in terms of quirk control. All in all, you earned 67 Villain Points. This would be perfectly enough for you to enter UA’s Hero Course…if that was all we graded you on.”

“Here we go,” Katsuki said as he leaned forward. Here was the important part.

“Chairwoman Kannazuki informed me of the special conditions concerning your application to UA. I know she informed you of the existence of the second grading system, but refrained from telling you what it was. I know you’ve probably not figured it out, but don’t feel bad. Most students don’t until we tell them during these here results.” The recording of Katsuki’s test changed to showing him pulling the pink-skinned girl away from danger, followed by the few other times he either stopped debris from falling on someone, or when he jumped in to protect someone from being blindsided by a robot. 

“Remember, Bakugou Katsuki, this is a hero school. What sort of hero school would we be if we didn’t take note of applicants doing truly heroic actions? I know it was only within the past year that you began to learn what it really means to be a hero, and yet here you are acting in such a manner! For behavior like this, we award students with Rescue, or Hero, Points!”

“...I should have seen that coming,” Katsuki admitted.

“You were required to score ten Hero Points to make it in…”

“...Stop pausing for dramatic effect!” Mitsuki yelled at the hologram.

“...and you scored fifteen!” Nedzu cheered, displaying Bakugou’s score on the board. He earned a total of 82 points. Above him were some random girl and Midoriya. Katsuki literally laughed when he saw Midoriya’s score. Of course the nerd would score so many rescue points. 

He was the better hero, after all.

“And with that,” Nedzu stood up with a wide and genuine smile, “I welcome you…TO YOUR HERO ACADEMIA!” With that, the hologram turned off and a panel slipped open. The packet of papers detailing what he needed to prepare for school slid out. Katsuki didn’t pick them up, though. Instead, he leaned back in his chair, looking up at the ceiling.

“I made it in…”

—

Izuku and Inko sat side-by-side on one of the couches in their apartment. On the opposite couch sat All Might, Detective Tsukauchi and Nedzu. The fuzzy teen felt nervous, but resigned. Time to pay the piper.

“So, I bet you’re wondering why your performance at the Exam brought all three of us here?” Nedzu smiled, sipping from the teacup Inko provided earlier.

“Y-you’re here to talk to me about the times I impersonated All Might,” Izuku stated. Looking at the detective, he continued, “Like that night when I handed you the note that night.”

“You’re just going to openly admit that?” Tsukauchi asked.

“No point denying it,” Izuku sighed. “True, I had no idea Aldera was actually that level of bad , but I still used my quirk to transform and cause action.”

“And was it you who gave young Bakugou that lesson on heroism?”

“Yup.”

“Izuku,” Inko piped up, “I thought you told me you wouldn’t parade around as All Might.”

“I only did it twice,” Izuku said. “Doesn’t change that I did it, but it was only those two times.”

“What were you even doing out that late at night anyway?” Naomasa asked. “Wasn’t that pretty late for a teen?”

“He was with me.”

Almost everyone in the room gave a shout of surprise as they noticed Amaterasu standing at the corner of the hall. The lupine heroine regarded the three guests calmly, noting All Might coughing up a bit of blood. She moved into the room, standing next to Izuku, who looked up at her with relief.

“Amaterasu?” Tsukauchi finally recovered enough to ask. “You know this boy?”

“I’ve been mentoring him for almost a year.”

“Oh you’re the one he’s been working with?” Inko smiled. “Nice to finally meet you.”

“...Midoriya,” she looked at the teen, “I thought I asked you to keep me secret from your mom.”

“Oh,” Inko giggled, “he never told me a thing. But I vacuum his floor, and I saw a fair amount of white fur. Truthfully, during the summer I thought he secretly adopted a Samoyed or something.”

“...I don’t shed that much.”

“Back to the point,” All Might spoke up, “the young man had impersonated me a few times, and we would like to know just what else he’s done with his shapeshifting quirk.”

“Um,” Izuku replied, “nothing much, really. I mean, other than those two points I’ve never performed any vigilantism or anything. Most of the time I just sat around or practiced with their quirk best I could.”

“His shapeshifting has a time limit,” Amaterasu explained. “The only way he can increase the time is by performing the shifts. I supervised him anytime he did this, save for when he spoke to that Bakugou kid. As for that night he spoke to you, I gave him permission because he told me what usually happened if he tried calling the station.”

“Oh, but I did do animal shifts a lot! Like, I was the T-Rex in the holiday parade last December.”

“Holy crap, I thought that was a fancy animatronic,” All Might whispered.

“So,” Tsukauchi scooted forward, “other than those two times, you’ve never used your quirk for any illicit hero work?”

“Correct.”

“And again, I supervised most of it.”

"Do you have any intent of performing such acts again?"

"Not until I get a license."

“Glad to hear it!” Nedzu clapped his hands (paws?) together. “And rest assured, young Midoriya, your actions have not affected your attendance at UA. I look forward to seeing you in Class 1-A! Come along, gentlemen!”

“That’s it?” All Might asked. “You weren’t going to ask anything else?”

“Nope! Anything else I’d have to ask can wait until he starts at UA. Did you have anything?”

“Err, no. I was just…why did you want me to come with you if that was all you wanted?”

“Just in case you had any questions. Since you don’t, we can head out.” With a final farewell from the heroes and detective, the Midoriya’s were alone with their apartment with Amaterasu.

“...So,” the wolf heroine smiled, “I assume this means you got in?”

“Y-yeah,” Izuku nodded. “W-what about you? Why are you here?”

“I wanted to come see the results, but I recognized the car out front and figured knocking on the door might cause some trouble.”

“So you came in through my window?”

“Wait,” Inko turned to her son, “are you saying you’ve had a woman coming in through your window for a while? Honey, that could cause some…misunderstandings.”

“Mom, please no.”

“Allow me to explain everything,” Amaterasu sat down on the couch the others had vacated. “My name is Amaterasu…”

Chapter Text

Aizawa knocked on the Principal’s door before stepping inside. Not even UA-grade coffee could stop him from glowering this early in the morning. He should have been sleeping, but instead was called to Nedzu’s office before the sun even rose. The rodent/canid/thing was busy typing away on his computer, gesturing for Aizawa to sit in a nearby chair without even looking at him.

“There had better be a good reason for this,” the teacher sighed as he sat down. “I need some sleep before class starts.”

“This is important,” Nedzu stated. Aizawa straightened up. His tone left no room for interpretation. “I know you usually don’t read your student’s files for some reason, but I’m afraid you can’t do that this time.”

“I refrain from reading them because I prefer forming my own opinion of my students,” Aizawa explained. “There’s no reason for me to-”

“I’m serious,” Nedzu reiterated. “I’ve let things slide in the past, but I do believe it’s time you pay attention to what’s written about your students. Or should I remind you about the incident with young Mawata Fuwa?”

“...Alright, fair point. But why now?”

“Because of Midoriya Izuku. It is imperative you read his file in detail.”

“Midoriya? His file’s classified, remember?” Nedzu didn’t answer his question, instead typing more on his computer. Aizawa peered over, seeing he was accessing the quirk registry. Nedzu pulled up Izuku’s file and-

ACCESS DENIED. PRESENT THE SECOND TREASURE.

“See?” Eraserhead pointed. “Still classified, so-”

Without a word, Nedzu reached into his shirt and pulled up his necklace. Aizawa watched as he carefully removed the charm that looked like a small tree branch and held it in front of the scanner. To his surprise, the file cleared up instantly afterwards. 

“You could access his file this entire time.” 

“I’m one of the few outside the Commission who can,” Nedzu said as he slipped his necklace back into his shirt. “The only reason you’re learning this is because you’re going to be his homeroom teacher. Accept that privilege, and the responsibility that comes with it. You have fifteen minutes. Read.” Nedzu slid his chair back, giving Aizawa an unmitigated view of Izuku’s file. Finally understanding just how serious this was, Aizawa leaned forward and read the screen.

—

Izuku and Kaibara stepped through the doors of UA together. The two friends were jabbering about the past couple weeks, and how stressful things were before their results came in. Of course, Izuku neglected to bring up his conversation with Nedzu concerning his two instances of technical vigilantism. Kaibara didn’t need to know that part. Hopefully he never would.

“Bit of a bummer we’re in separate classes,” Izuku sighed as they walked down the hall to the Hero Course classes. “At least we’re both in Hero Course though.”

“Yeah,” Kaibara shrugged. “I kinda pity your class since I won’t be there to rein you in.”

“I oughtta hit you. I’m not that crazy.”

“You know I still haven’t forgiven you for that time with goat stampede right? And where did you even get a spider monkey to ride the lead goat?”

“The monkey was me.”

“...Oh.” 

Sadly, their conversation had to end there, as they reached the door for Class 1-A. The two friends waved and parted, as Kaibara’s class was a bit further down the hall. Izuku wondered why that was. Similarly, he wondered why the door was so tall, too. Accommodating people with gigantism quirks, perhaps? Maybe he could ask later. Well, time to see what sorta classmates he’d have. He slid the door open and-

“I DEMAND YOU REMOVE YOUR FEET FROM YOUR DESK AT ONCE, YOU RUFFIAN!”

…Izuku recognized that voice, loathe as he was to admit it. 

Izuku peered into the room and saw it was mostly full already. Most of the class was busy either sitting quietly or chatting in small groups. Bakugou was towards the back, sitting with his feet up on his desk, being yelled at by none other than the tall glasses boy from the Exam. 

It was an odd feeling for Izuku to be more unhappy at the presence of someone other than Bakugou.

“Shaddap, you rule-kisser,” Bakugou growled. “The fuck kinda school did you go to that they let you yell at people?”

“For your information,” glasses boy stiffened like a corpse in rigor mortis, “I went to Soumei Academy!”

“Ah. That explains the stick up your butt.”

“HA!” Izuku laughed, announcing his arrival to the explosive teen. “I told him pretty much that same thing back at the exam!”

“No shit?” Bakugou asked, stunned at Izuku’s words.

“Yeah,” Izuku explained as he sat down, “though I technically asked about the monkey that was supposed to be holding the stick up his butt and waving him around like a band student.”

“Damn, I shoulda thought of that.”

“Why are you both obsessed with accusing me of having a stick up my posterior!?” the glasses boy shouted.

“Maybe if you stopped acting like you have a pole up your pooter, we’d stop treating you like it,” Izuku snarked. “Now sit down, the teacher’s in the front of the class.” 

That got everyone’s attention, including the recently-arrived Uraraka Ochako. Every teen in the room turned to the front of the room. A few of them actually gasped when they saw the haggard man in a yellow sleeping bag. The man himself twitched in surprise at being spotted, but otherwise showed no emotion as he stood up.

“The raccoon has a point,” Eraserhead announced. “Get to your seats before-” All the students sat before he could finish his sentence. “Six seconds. I’ll expect faster in the future.” He shuffled through his sleeping bag and pulled out a veritable pile of gym uniforms. “I’m your homeroom teacher Aizawa Shouta. Grab one. Go get changed. Meet me at the West Training Field in ten minutes, anyone who’s late won’t like the consequences.”

“What about orientation?” Uraraka asked.

“Waste of time,” Aizawa replied. “You’re training to be heroes, and such ceremonies are-”

“Necessary if we wanna learn our way around the school,” Izuku piped up. “Or are you gonna just throw us out there expecting us to know everything and berate us for not being told?”

“...You’re gonna be a real problem child, aren’t you?” Aizawa asked after a few seconds of glaring.

“Considering I went to Aldera Junior High,” Izuku replied (eliciting some gasps from the other students), “you can understand why I’m less than trusting of teachers. Especially ones who don’t even give us directions on where to go.”

“One would think a teenager would know which way west is.”

“Yes, fine, but what about the changing rooms?”

“...Okay, that one’s on me. Follow me.”

As Eraserhead led the teens out of class and down the hall, Izuku was already planning some pranks to pull on this guy.

—

Kaibara sat calmly in his class, waiting for the teacher to arrive. His classmates seemed nice and mostly calm. There were a few unusual ones, like that guy whose head was literally a speech bubble from a manga, and a snooty blond in the back of the class, but otherwise everyone seemed nice.

And Kaibara didn’t talk to any of them. That had been a problem he’d had all his life, having trouble just talking to people. Any time he made a friend in the past, it was the other person who approached him. Sure he could give one or two phrases to people, but keeping a conversation up with a stranger was pretty hard for him. And without Midoriya in his-

“CRAP, THE FUZZY GUY ISN’T HERE!”

…wat.

Kaibara looked up at the door and saw two more boys standing there. One kinda looked like a green bug with hair and the other had silver hair with huge teeth. What an odd pair. The two looked around the room, groaning at the apparent absence of a fuzzy guy.

“You talking about me?” another hairy classmate asked.

“No, not you,” the bug teen shook his head. “Dammit, woulda been epic if that raccoon kid was here.”

Raccoon kid?

“He had to have made it into Hero Course!” the loud toothy guy shouted. “A manly guy like him had to have scored enough points! Also, he’s a tanuki, not a raccoon!”

Okay, now Kaibara knew for certain they were talking about Midoriya. If Midoriya befriended them, or at least was nice to them…maybe he could try too.

“Excuse me,” Kaibara stood up and approached the two boys. “You mentioned the guy you were hoping to see was a tanuki, right?”

“Yeah!” the toothy one said. “He was a really stretchy one, too!” Kaibara pulled out his phone, sifted through the pictures, and held up a selfie he and Izuku took after clearing the beach a few weeks prior. Before he could even ask, the teen shouted “THAT’S HIM!”

“You know the guy?” the bug boy asked. “We didn’t get his name when we saw him.”

“Yeah,” Kaibara smiled. “We’re friends, actually.”

“What’s this about a tanuki?” a random girl asked as her head floated into view. Just her head. This class was weird. Weird, but Kaibara would definitely try to reach out this time.

—

At the same time Kaibara’s teacher finally arrived at class, Izuku stood with Class 1-A at the training field in question. There was an array of equipment already set up. Honestly, it looked like a standard gym class assessment. Why did their teacher make it sound so serious?

“Right now,” Aizawa addressed the class, “we’ll be putting you through a quirk assessment to see how well you handle your quirks. Midoriya, you scored the highest in the Exam, so step into the circle.” The fuzzy teen did as he was told, and Aizawa stepped closer. “How far could you throw a ball in Junior High?”

“Not far,” Izuku chuckled in embarrassment. “I was a bit of a twig last time we did this.” Aizawa nodded and held up a metal baseball with some fancy things on it.

“Take this and throw it far as you can using your quirk. Do not hold back.”

“...Don't hold back?” Izuku asked.

“Yes.” 

“By giving me that order, you are agreeing with me using any method I see fit to send the ball flying, and will not try to contest or take-back your own order?”

“Yes,” the teacher growled, “now do it.” Izuku nodded and reached into his pocket. He had the forethought to grab some leaves on his way out. The other students (save Ochako) were confused at what he was doing when he set a leaf on his head. There was a puff of vapor and…

…

“AH HAHAHA! I AM HERE!”

Most of his classmates freaked out when they saw Izuku had transformed into All Might. Thankfully, none of them rushed the teen as he turned and held out his hand. Aizawa was looking at him in quiet surprise, as well. He had read Izuku’s file, but actually seeing it done was something else entirely.

“Please, give me the ball,” Izuku said. The teacher wordlessly dropped the baseball in his hand. Giving a wide smile, IzuMight turned and threw the ball as hard as he could. There was a sonic boom as the ball disappeared into the sky. IzuMight saw one girl cover her ears after he threw. Must have better hearing. Ouch, he’d have to be careful with his pranks in the future. After a moment, a device in Aizawa’s hands beeped and he held it up for everyone to see. 

“Normally there would be numbers here showing how many meters he threw it, but…” 

“Dude threw his ball to infinity?” a blond boy who wasn’t Bakugou gasped. “No way we can compete with that.”

“Giving up?” Aizawa gave a manic smile. “Think you can be a hero with a mindset like that? How about this? You’ll all go through these exercises using your quirks. Anyone who doesn’t make the mark is expelled.” Everyone went silent at that, the only noise being Izuku breaking his transformation. “Welcome to Hero Course.”

With that declaration, the students went to work on the different tasks of the Assessment. Some were frantic, others confident in their skills. Izuku shapeshifted whenever it could fit for a task, but there were a lot he chose to be himself. With one of the more prominent ones being the “stretch past your toes” exercise. He managed to stretch his arms almost 15 meters before the pink girl screamed in horror and the teacher told him to stop. That was fun. 

At the same time, Izuku also kept a close eye on his classmates, analyzing their quirks and occasionally mimicking them. He only did that a few times (sadly, the 50-meter dash meant he had to copy Mr. Stickbutt Iida Tenya), but could overhear his classmates actually making joking bets on who he’d mimic next. There were no words of malice, no jeers or complaints about what he was doing. Not even from Bakugou, who was oddly quiet the entire time. And thankfully, none of his classmates swarmed him asking about his All Might form. It was clear they all had questions, but were waiting for the Assessment to end before swarming him. 

“Alright, that’s enough,” Aizawa called out at the end of the Endurance Run (which ended with Yaoyorozu Momo on a moped). “Gather around, I’ll show you the results of your assessment. Don’t argue the score, don’t try to complain. You placed where you earned.” He hit a button on his tablet and a hologram appeared in the air above him. Just what kinda tablet was that? Izuku looked over the scoreboard and saw he scored second, right under Momo the Moped Girl. On the opposite end, on the bottom was Mineta Minoru. Izuku honestly didn’t know which one that was until he heard the grape-headed midget whining. 

“You no doubt have seen where you could do better,” Aizawa continued. “While there is a lot more to being a hero than simply being fit or having good control of your quirk, you will be required to keep up with both if you want to make it. Now, back in the classroom you’ll find a syllabus covering your school schedule, along with an NDA that all of you are required to sign. You saw Midoriya there mimic All Might earlier, and we’d like to keep that little trick secret for long as possible. Head back to class.”

“SIR!” Iida Tenya shot his hand up. “Who among us is being expelled? You did say you would expel whoever didn’t reach the required point!” While some students muttered about Tenya being the sort of student who’d remind the teacher of homework, Aizawa gave another scary smile.

“None of you are heading home,” the teacher explained. “I simply said that whoever didn’t make the mark was expelled, not that an expulsion was guaranteed. I said that to make sure you all did your best here, because being a hero is not a place you can slack off. And while some of you seemed to be giving less than their everything,” he glared at Todoroki Shouto as he said this, “they still made the point. But remember, you can’t half-ass it all the way. Now go.”

Izuku gave a sigh of relief and started walking back to class with everyone else. He only had a few leaves left, and was scared he’d run out at a crucial point. As they walked, Ochako walked up next to him.

“Didn’t get the chance to say it earlier,” the brunette smiled, “but I’m glad you made it in.”

“Same with you,” Izuku smiled. 

“Gotta ask, though, why didn’t you use your other transformations? Why’d you stick with heroes?”

“Wait, he can do more?” the toothy Kirishima Eijiro asked. Before Izuku could reply, the entire class heard a loud squeal.

“OH MY GOD HE’S SO FLUFFY!”

Most of Class 1-A turned and saw a group of older students walking up, though one of them who looked like a dog was outright running at Izuku. She tried to tackle him, but the fuzzy teen deftly ducked under her as she flew past. He straightened up as the rest of her companions reached Izuku’s class.

“Sorry about her,” a pink-haired girl in the group bowed. “She’s excitable around people with fur.”

“It’s fine, but who are you?” Izuku couldn’t help but ask.

“Oh, we’re from Class 2-A!” the girl introduced. “We just wanted to see how many students Aizawa expelled this year.”

“Wait,” the pink Ashido Mina raised her hand, “you mean he actually expels people?”

“Oh yeah!” another student from 2-A replied. “In fact, he expelled our entire class last year after the assessment! True, while we were packing up he told us it was just a scare to make us take things seriously, but he still said the words.”

“...Seriously?” Izuku asked, his tone far from jovial. “...That’s it.”

“What?” Ochako asked. Izuku looked up at the sky, his face glowering with determination.

“I’m gonna prank his lazy ass so hard he’ll never do such a thing ever again!”

…

“...Is your classmate gonna get up anytime soon?” the tailed Ojiro Mashirao asked, looking at the dog girl who was still on the ground where she fell.

—

Nedzu was typing away on his computer, filling in a report for the Commission. The day was about over, so he figured he’d be seeing Aizawa any second. Whether it was for an actual expulsion or for…other factors, he didn’t quite know yet. Sure enough, he saw Aizawa storming towards his office after his class signed the NDA’s. He didn’t even wait for the teacher to knock before hitting the button to open the door.

“Fancy seeing you here,” Nedzu smiled. “What do you need?”

“What the hell is Midoriya?” Aizawa asked.

“My, what an interesting question,” Nedzu laughed. “Whatever do you mean?”

“During the Assessment, I used my quirk on him. Repeatedly. Nothing changed. He stayed shapeshifted, he could still stretch. What the hell is he?” 

“...Well now, that is quite interesting to hear.”

Chapter Text

Izuku was tired after that assessment. He felt fulfilled, but tired. It was also nice that the class couldn’t go around gabbing about how he could shapeshift. He was also already brainstorming ideas to get back at Aizawa for the expulsion threat. He might do some smaller pranks on and off, but he needed to think of a big one, a grand escapade.

“Hey there.”

Izuku turned back to the voice, looking down at the grape-haired boy he saw earlier. The guy mildly impressed him during the exercises, but he wasn’t fond of what the boy whispered under his breath. Izuku was immediately suspicious of what this guy wanted.

“Can I help you?” the tanuki teen asked as the two walked towards the main building.

“So,” the boy, Mineta Minoru, stared, “you can transform into anyone, yeah?”

“Anyone real. I can’t turn into a fictional person. I mean, I can turn into someone who’s cosplayed a character so long as I’ve seen enough pics of them cosplaying, but that’s it.”

“Does that mean you can turn into girls?”

Izuku immediately did not like that question.

“Yes, but I don’t make a habit of it.” Izuku winced in disgust when Mineta made a perverted face.

“Don’t suppose I could pay you to…change into ladies like that and take pictures? Especially if they’re in risque poses and outfits?”

“No.”

“Come on!” Mineta whined. “It’d be awesome! You know how much money you could get for selling pics like that? Come on, just a few dozen times! Please?” At this point, Mineta was almost rubbing against Izuku’s leg. The fuzzy teen growled and pushed him away.

“Great,” Izuku muttered, “it’s only the first day and I’m already being harassed by a gnome.”

“Hey!” Mineta furiously screamed. “You’re being harassed by a dwarf! ”

“I am?” Izuku said with feigned shock as he looked around and out the window. “Where are they? Behind that bush? ” 

“Oi, nerd.”

Both teens stopped when they saw Bakugou walking up behind them. He had his trademark glower that Izuku was used to, but it intimidated Mineta. The much smaller boy began to shake a bit as Bakugou towered over him.

“Scram, shrimp. I need to talk to the nerd about something.” 

“H-hey,” Mineta tried to defend himself, “I’m not-”

“Now,” Bakugou reiterated while nudging him with his foot. This sudden contact was enough to send Mineta running. Izuku stayed in place, waiting for Bakugou to say whatever it was he wanted to say. Oddly, Bakugou looked around, making sure no one else was around before looking back at Izuku. “Tell me something. Last year, during one of the last times I chased you, I bumped into All Might. He…he told me some things. That was you, wasn’t it?”

“...Guess you’d figure it out eventually,” Izuku sighed in defeat. “Yeah, that was me. Sat you down on the bench and told you what it meant to be a hero. Didn’t think you’d listen to anyone but All Might, so…”

“Knew it.” There was a brief pause before he continued, “And you were right. After you told me all that, I started looking into stuff, like how quirkless are usually treated and stuff. Bit by bit, I began to really learn I was wrong.” And that caught Izuku by surprise. Even now, long after that conversation, he had never heard Bakugou outright say he was wrong about something. “And after that, I realized that maybe our school was wrong.”

“Wait,” Izuku raised his hand. “Are you gonna say you had a hand in causing the raid at Aldera?”

“About a week before that shit happened, my mom and I went to the cops and admitted to everything I did. Pretty sure they had no idea before I came in.”

“Err,” Izuku scratched his ear, “when exactly did you go in?” After Bakgou said the date, Izuku gave a squeak. “Umm…honestly…the night before…I kinda did another All Might gambit to give them a note talking about Aldera. Like, literally, the night before.” Bakugou just stared at Izuku in shock. Izuku wasn’t sure what to say, so the two teens stood there in silence.

… snort

To Izuku’s further surprise, Bakugou Katsuki started laughing. It wasn’t his usual haughty laugh, either. It was a loud, genuine laugh that Izuku could not recall ever hearing before. It was light-hearted, devoid of any arrogance. It lasted for several seconds before Bakugou looked back at Izuku.

“Guess we both did something.”

“Yeah, I guess we both did.”

“I’m gonna punch you one of these days for tricking me like that, though, you got it?” the explosive blond asked.

“We’re probably gonna spar eventually,” Izuku replied as the boys walked out of the school building, “so when that happens I’ll give you a free punch. No quirk though.”

“Got it, nerd.”

“THERE HE IS!” 

Both boys jumped at the shout, looking back and seeing a group of four other students heading their way. Izuku recognized three of them, with one of them being Kaibara and the unrecognized one being a green haired girl.

“Metal guy!” Izuku cheered as Kaibara and Kamakiri sat down. “Scyther guy! You guys made it in!”

“You bet!” Tetsutetsu beamed. “Wouldn’t have been manly to fail after our little combo back in the exam!”

“Their names are Kamakiri and Tetsutetsu,” Kaibara gestured. “They’re my classmates.”

“And I’m Setsuna Tokage!” the girl beamed. “And wow, you really are fuzzy.”

“No way we couldn’t make it in,” Kamakiri stated, ignoring Setsuna’s statement. “You really helped us out with that slingshot trick.”

“They gave us all points for that one cuz it was a group effort!” the iron kid laughed. “So, which train you taking?”

After Tetsutetsu asked this question, their group bumped into Ochako, Mina and Kirishima, who were waiting for Izuku and Bakugou. The entire group made their way to the train station, giving greetings and laughing.

Up in his office, Nedzu watched this group through a security camera. He smiled at seeing the teens mingle and get along. This was what he was aiming for by putting Kaibara and Midoriya in separate classes. He understood the idea of having a class rivalry, but in his experience, people improved faster when working with friends, and not against enemies.

—

The principal of Deika Municipal High School wiped his brow as the Commission Inspector left his office. The first day of school had just ended, and they had avoided disaster. A quick paint job, a couple tapestries and some acting lines and their school looked no different from any regular school. No sign of the MLA anywhere.

The principal sighed as he leaned back in his chair. Re-Destro made it quite clear that, if the school were raided, he could do nothing to aid them. If anything, Detnerat would have to disavow any allegations of a connection. The Army could afford to lose the schools, they could always make more. They couldn’t afford to lose Detnerat.

Thankfully, so far things seemed to be fine. The Commission Inspector didn’t give any signs of finding anything wrong. With any luck, this would be the last time they’d deal with the Commission until the day came when they could deal with the Commission. With a smirk, the man gently flicked an errant spider off his desk and went to work. The other schools had fallen, but he would make sure this one didn’t.

—

Izuku’s second day at UA had been a lot smoother than his first. No threats of expulsion, no sudden physical assessments. In fact, it was a really normal school day. Well, normal if the final half of his last year at Aldera was any indicator of how normal was supposed to go. He also finally got to see the other teachers, and had to stifle a geekout every time he met a different teacher. 

He also managed to slip some glitter into Aizawa’s hair when the teacher wasn’t looking. Not a lot, but enough for people other than him to notice. This wasn’t the grand prank he was trying to brainstorm, but a minor annoyance just to get in the mindset.

Now Class 1-A was waiting for the last class of the day, and all of them were excited. After all, the last class was Practical Heroics. The class they all came to this school for. Izuku was vibrating in his chair so much that anyone around him was sure he’d oscillate between the molecules and slip through the seat at any moment.

“Who do you think our teacher is?” the tape-elbowed Sero Hanta asked. “I’m hoping for Hawks.”

“Nah, they’d never get Hawks to teach here,” Kirishima shook his head.

“I’m just hoping it isn’t some pansy,” Bakugou grumbled.

“...Kacchan, you think everyone except All Might is a pansy.”

“Not anymore.”

“I AM GLAD TO HEAR OF YOUR IMPROVEMENT, YOUNG BAKUGOU!”

Everyone in the class turned to the open doorway, seeing none other than All Might standing in the doorway, smiling like a proud father. In an instant, most of the students were screaming with excitement. However, a few looked back at Midoriya, apparently making sure he wasn’t trying to prank them. 

“Hey, I didn’t know either!” Izuku shrugged, not getting just why those classmates were looking at him.

“WELCOME TO YOUR FIRST PRACTICAL HEROICS CLASS!” All Might boomed to the class. “TODAY YOU’LL BE TAKING THE OPPORTUNITY TO TRY OUT YOUR HERO SUITS AND WHAT BETTER WAY TO TEST THEM THAN BY… COMBAT TRAINING! ” The pro hero snapped his fingers, and the cabinets at the side of the room swung open. On each shelf were numbered cases. While reminiscent of an old game show, each student knew what these cases really were. “THERE ARE THE HERO SUITS YOU ALL SUBMITTED, EACH ONE MADE BY TECHNICIANS FROM THE ILLUSTRIOUS COYOTE DESIGNS CORPORATION!”

“Aren’t they an American-based company?” Asui Tsuyu asked. “Why did they make suits for a Japanese class?”

“APPARENTLY THEIR CEO OWED NEDZU A FAVOR,” All Might explained. “NOW, CHOP CHOP! GRAB THE CASE WITH YOUR SEAT NUMBER ON IT AND FOLLOW ME!” 

The students rushed to grab their cases before following All Might. While they were excited at the idea of learning from the All Might, many were worried he’d be just as scary as Aizawa was yesterday. Izuku, meanwhile, wondered how they fit his outfit into a case as small as his. Oh well, something to think about later. The class followed All Might to the changing rooms and got to work wearing the suits they had designed.

Izuku’s hero outfit was dark green and a bit on the bulky side. While not exactly like Iida Tenya’s own outfit, it was clear Izuku’s outfit was armored. His vest, knee-high boots and bracers were the most armored, with his arms and legs being less-armored for easier movement. He also wore a belt covered in pouches, each pouch containing some doodad or trinket useful for his style of heroics. His pants (thankfully) included a hole in the back to accommodate his tail. While flexing his fingers to make sure his gloves didn’t restrict anything, he couldn’t help but smile. Amaterasu herself helped him design this outfit. He couldn’t think of many other students who had such aid.

“Nice suit, Midoriya!” Kirishima hollered while giving a thumbs-up. 

“Why so much armor?” the bulky Sato asked. “If you’re gonna turn into-”

“I can’t turn into All Might for very long,” Izuku explained. “And I don’t wanna rely on my transformations all the time. Since I’ll be like this a lot, I wanna be protected.”

“A brilliant mindset!” Iida robotically chopped the air. “Truly, you are skilled at-”

“Shut it, flag pole. I still ain’t forgiven you for what you did during the Exams.” Izuku then ignored the stunned Iida as he followed the other students out to join All Might. Some of the girls had already finished and were waiting for them. Holy crud, his class had a lot of pretty girls. Even a few of them, such as Ochako, seemed to blush at their contemporaries. After a few more minutes, the class was assembled in front of the smiling hero in what appeared to be an observation room. To either side of said hero were boxes with holes in the top.

“WELL NOW, YOU ALL CERTAINLY LOOK THE PART, NOW!” All Might cheered while pulling out a paper packet. “NOW, ONTO THE CLASS CRITERIA! INSIDE THE BUILDING THERE IS A BOMB! TODAY, YOU WILL BE PAIRED UP, BY RANDOM, AND PUT INTO ONE OF TWO ROLES! ONE TEAM WILL BE VILLAINS TASKED WITH DEFENDING THE BOMB, THE OTHER WILL BE HEROES TASKED WITH CAPTURING IT! EACH STUDENT WILL ALSO BE GIVEN A ROLL OF CAPTURE TAPE! IF YOU CAN WRAP THIS TAPE AROUND A FELLOW STUDENT’S LIMB OR TORSO, THEY ARE CONSIDERED ‘CAPTURED’ AND UNABLE TO CONTINUE! FOR THE DEFENDING TEAM, THEY WILL WIN IF THEY CAN DEFEND THE BOMB FOR TEN MINUTES! OFFENDING TEAM WINS IF THEY CAPTURE THE BOMB! AND EITHER TEAM CAN ALSO WIN BY CAPTURING BOTH MEMBERS OF THE OPPOSING TEAM!”

“Sir, why are we being paired at random?” Iida asked, his hand shooting up like a certain kind of pole. “Wouldn’t it make more sense to work with students we are familiar with?”

“Heroes in the field don’t always get that luxury,” Izuku explained. “Especially if it’s a sudden situation.”

“Ah, I see.”

“YOUR CLASSMATE IS RIGHT! I CANNOT EVEN REMEMBER HOW MANY TIMES I’VE HAD TO WORK WITH HEROES I KNEW NOTHING ABOUT, SO AN EXERCISE LIKE THIS WILL SHOW HOW WELL YOU CAN ADAPT TO SUDDEN SITUATIONS! NOW, TO SEE WHO YOU GET PAIRED WITH!” With this, All Might pulled a random hat from somewhere behind him and held it out. Knowing what this meant, each student stepped forward and pulled a piece of paper from it.

“I got G!” Izuku held his paper up. “Anyone else got G?”

“I do!” Yaoyorozu Momo replied, conveniently from right next to him. 

“Ah sweet, Creation Girl!” Izuku cheered. “I got so many ideas that you can help with!” Momo giggled at his cheerfulness, and Ochako just stared at them. When Izuku noticed this, she was quick to look away.

“EVERYONE ALL PAIRED UP?” All Might asked as he shoved his hands into the two boxes to his sides. “EXCELLENT! NOW, WE SHALL BEGIN! THE FIRST TEAMS TO COMPETE ARE…HERE!” He yanked his hands up, pulling a ball from each box. His right hand held G while his left held B. “ALRIGHT! TEAM G ARE THE VILLAINS, TEAM B ARE THE HEROES! TEAM G, MOVE IN FIRST! YOU HAVE FIVE MINUTES TO PREPARE, SO GO FAST!” With that declaration, Izuku and Momo left, followed by Ashido Mina and Aoyama Yuuga.

—

Amaterasu sat in Nedzu’s office, calmly sipping some tea. The heroine and principal were both watching Class 1-A through the security cameras. Both were invested in what was going on.

“So,” Nedzu asked, “how do you think your apprentice will do?”

“I honestly pity his opponents,” the lupine heroine replied. “If Midoriya was the attacking party, this would be over fairly quickly. But since he’s defending…”

“He’s gonna toy with them, isn’t he?”

“You bet. I just wonder how…wait, what is Izuku doing to the PA system?”

—

“What are you doing to the PA system?” Momo asked her fuzzy partner.

“Setting up mood music,” Izuku smirked as he started fiddling with the wires. “I’m gonna set things up so it’ll be easier to separate them. Aoyama has a laser in his belly button, which is weird as hell, and Ashido can secrete acid. Both of them together could be a bit tricky, so they’ll be easier to take down if we one-on-one ‘em. If I finish my opponent before you finish yours, I’ll come back up to assist.”

“Okay, makes sense,” Momo acknowledged, “but how do you how to hack a PA system?”

Izuku stopped working as he remembered an event about half a week prior to the raid on Aldera.

-

One sunny afternoon, most of the students in Aldera were writhing in pain. Most of the teachers were the same, with a few rolling on the ground covering their ears. Even Izuku was hurting, covering his sensitive ears. Maybe he didn’t quite think this one through properly.

“Make it stop!” one of Izuku’s classmates shrieked.

“I fucking hate Paris Hyatt!” another student screamed.

“Who the fuck even did this!?” Bakugou yelled, tempted to destroy the speaker with his quirk.

-

Izuku stopped reminiscing and went back to work. “Long story.”

—

“So,” Ashido Mina asked her partner for the exercise, “where do you think they hid the bomb?”

“Middle floor,” Aoyama replied, randomly pulling a rose from his cape. “We should see if there’s any rooms away from windows.” As the teens progressed, they also occasionally checked the floor for any traps. The fact they almost made it to the stairs before anything happened put them on edge. When the PA system crackled to life, they just got confused.

“...Why are the speakers playing ‘Everybody Walk the Dinosaur?’” Mina asked.

“Mood music?” Aoyama replied. Suddenly both teens heard rapid footsteps rushing their direction. They turned in time to see a dark green Utahraptor come roaring at them. Both teens screamed and jumped apart before the dinosaur could grab either of them. Ashido threw acid at the scaly beast while Aoyama barely missed with his naval laser. The dinosaur roared and spun around, nailing both teens and sending them flying into opposite walls. Ashido recovered first, noting where Aoyama landed.

“You’re closer to the stairs, go on up!” Ashido screamed. “Let the alien queen handle this lizard!” Aoyama stopped for a second before nodding and staggering away. At the same moment, the dinosaur growled and scratched its head. Ashido’s vision was obscured by a familiar puff of odorless vapor.

“For the record,” Izuku snarked as he tossed away the dry leaf, “I’m more fuzzy than scaly.” This caught Ashido completely by surprise.

“Wha-hu-you can turn into dinosaurs, too!?”

“Any living thing,” Izuku smirked. “So, what was that about an alien queen?”

“Oh, that’s my hero name!” Ashido smiled as acid pooled in her palms. “What do ya think?”

“Let’s see if you live up to the name!” Izuku laughed as he jumped back, stretching his arms at her. Mina threw her acid before leaping away. Neither attack landed, but Izuku recovered faster and moved in close to punch her gut. This blow actually landed, knocking the wind from her lungs. She curled up a bit, unintentionally priming things for Izuku to finish her off with a strong uppercut. She was unconscious before she hit the ground.

“Dang,” Izuku winced and waved his hand, “chick’s got a strong jaw.” Suddenly his music crackled away and All Might’s voice boomed from the PA system.

“BOTH HEROES ARE INCAPACITATED! THE VILLAIN TEAM WINS!”

“Huh, sounds like Yaoyorozu got Aoyama.” Content in his victory, Izuku sat on the ground next to Ashido. He reached into his vest, pulled out his Pretzel Stick Case and slipped the large stick into his mouth. Izuku gave a side glance to the unconscious, self-proclaimed ‘alien queen’ and gave a snarky chuckle.

“Now that’s what I call a close encounter.”

Chapter Text

“Wonderful!” All Might cheered as Momo and Izuku came back to the observation room. Ashido and Aoyama had to be carried back on a stretcher as they were both out cold. “That was quick and clean! I am greatly impressed!”

“And kinda scary,” JIrou shuddered. “I think I’d freeze if I saw a freaking dinosaur coming at me like that.”

“Which is why I like using dinosaurs,” Izuku smiled.

“A good choice, as well! So, students, who do you feel was the MVP of this match?”

“Definitely Midoriya,” Ochako pointed. “He came up with the plan, and split the Hero team.”

“Not to mention messing with the speakers!” Kirishima laughed. “That was hilarious!”

“I agree,” Momo nodded. “While the speakers part was a bit…unusual, the rest was very well done.”

“And I agree!” All Might cheered. “But you all did good, including young Ashido and Aoyama! Now, for the next match!”

The rest of the matches passed just as excitedly as Izuku’s own. The tanuki watched everyone using their quirks, taking notes and analyzing everything he saw. It was awesome seeing all their quirks being used in a heroic setting, as compared to the assessment yesterday. 

Then the last exercise rolled around. Bakugou and Todoroki were tasked with bomb capture and Satou and Ojiro were tasked with protecting it. Todoroki just encased the building in ice. While they couldn’t hear anything, everyone in the observation room could see Bakugou animatedly tear into Todoroki before he tore into the building. Todoroki shook his head and calmly walked in after him. A minute later there was a series of explosions on the upper floors and some more ice coming from the windows. The cameras inside the building didn’t survive the cold snap Todoroki caused, but All Might was able to keep communicating with all the teens. After a few minutes…

“Is that right? …Alright! The Villain team has been captured! Hero Team wins!”

A few minutes later, a very pissed-off Bakugou staggered into the observation room, followed by the defeated Ojiro and Satou. Todoroki came in last, in his weird icy outfit with a face of flat disinterest. All Might shook his head as the teens sat in some of the chairs in the room.

“So,” the pro asked, “who can tell me what went wrong?”

“Fucking EVERYTHING!” Bakugou yelled. “But I’d say the first screwup was when Frosty here decided to ice the entire building! What were you thinking!?”

“I was aiming to incapacitate the villains quickly,” Shouto shrugged. “Nothing wrong with that.”

“Polar Knight v. Sacramento Heat, 2258,” Izuku stepped forward. “The villain was holed up in a building with a few of his special bombs. In his haste, Polar Knight froze the building before any good intel could be retrieved. Turns out Heat’s bombs had temperature detonators, and getting too cold triggered them. The building collapsed and the villain escaped amidst the chaos.”

“A pretty bad case,” All Might lowered his head, “but also exactly what I was going to bring up. Todoroki, your quirk is powerful, but you can’t just expect to fix everything by reenacting the ice age. Especially when you know full well your fire quirk would work better in-”

“No,” Todoroki interrupted. Without another word he walked away. Some of the class was muttering about his cold demeanor, others were checking on Bakugou Ojiro and Satou. Izuku, however, watched the boy walk away with one question going through his mind.

Fire quirk?

—

Endeavor sat in his office, brooding like another example of “Bad Anime Father” as he waited for one of his sidekicks. The sidekick had been out all day, and every minute he was gone only increased Endeavor’s contention. The reason for this mission was displayed on the computer monitor right in front of Endeavor.

ACCESS DENIED. PRESENT THE FOURTH TREASURE.

Endeavor growled, curling his hands into twitching fists. Every time he had tried to open Amaterasu’s hero file, something the Number Two hero should have access to, he was met with this damnable message. The first time he saw it he almost punched the screen in anger. He was Endeavor! It was his right to learn about his fellow heroes, even the underground ones! The fact that Amaterasu, the perfect wife for his masterpiece, was kept so hidden from him was beyond infuriating.

That was why his sidekick was out. He was tasked with going right to the Commission and getting any info he could find on Amaterasu. Anything and everything he could get, no matter how small. This particular sidekick was one of his special ones. A man who was skilled in sneaking around and getting into things people don’t want seen. He knew the man would-

“Todoroki Enji.”

The hero jerked. He was not expecting anyone to come directly into his office unannounced. He certainly wasn’t expecting this person to come in. He slowly looked up, coming face-to-face with the source of the voice. Chairwoman Kannazuki Shizuka was in his office…

…and she was not happy.

“Greetings Chairwoman,” Endeavor nodded. “What can I-”

“Cut the crap,” Shizuka hissed, her tails waving behind her. “I found a rat of yours poking around the archives in HQ. Care to explain?”

“Chairwoman, I have no idea what you-”

FWOOM!

Endeavor froze in his seat. Before he could even finish his sentence, Shizuka had waved her hand and destroyed his computer in a gout of lavender flame. Even worse, small flames had appeared on the tips of each tail. That wasn’t good. The last time Endeavor had seen those flames was back during one of the last big engagements against the MLA a few decades back. She had fought over two dozen MLA troops by herself, and…

Suffice to say, there was a good reason Endeavor was afraid of the Chairwoman.

“Listen well, Todoroki Enji,” Shizuka growled, her eyes shining with rage, “I know you’ve been trying to get information on a particular heroine. Understand that her file is beyond your reach. Kids like you should stick to what you do best. Though in your case, you’re on the line. I find one more attempt at a security breach coming from you and you’ll be out on your ass faster than you can say ‘I’m a flaming asshole.’ Understood?”

“...Yes,” Enji sighed. 

“Good.” Shizuka smiled, her flames and prior rage seemingly disappearing. The only traces of her anger being the melted computer. “Now be a good boy and do your job. Also, your little rat is no longer under your employ. Have a good day.”

“Wait,” Endeavor raised his arm. “Is…Is he alive?” Shizuka looked at him and gave a tired sigh.

“Oh Endeavor, you should know by now that I don’t like killing people. That’s what villains and monsters do, after all. But you still won’t be getting him back.” 

And then she disappeared. No noise, no flashing light. Endeavor sighed and wiped his brow as he fell back in his chair. There was no denying it, the Flame Hero had come uncomfortably close to dying this day. Maybe he should scoot back from trying to find information on Amaterasu.

…However, when it came to finding her directly…

—

“So, think of a prank for your teacher yet?” Kaibara Sen asked Izuku as the two walked towards the cafeteria the day after the Battle Trials.

“Not yet,” Izuku sighed from his spot between Sen and Ochako. “I can’t just keep slipping glitter into his hair, but it’s still too early in the year to think of anything else.”

“Could always zip him up in his bag and hang him from the ceiling like a cocoon,” Kaibara suggested. 

“He’d wake up before I could succeed, but good suggestion. Maybe we can brainstorm something with our classmates.”

“Could ask Yaomomo for ideas!” Ochako chirped. “She’s smart!”

“Yaomomo?”

“Yaoyorozu,” Izuku explained to his confused 1-B friend. “Her name’s kinda hard, so she lets us call her Yaomomo for short.” Just before they entered the cafeteria, Izuku stopped. “Crap!”

“What is it?” Uraraka asked.

“I left my notebook in the classroom! I gotta go get it!” He turned and rushed away.

“We’ll save a seat for ya!” Sen yelled before Izuku was out of earshot. Izuku ran down the hall, swerving between and jumping around his fellow students. He felt bad at startling a few in his dash, but he didn’t wanna leave his book in class. It was still early in the year, and the cafeteria was one of the best places to see his non-classmates. So many quirks to observe and analyze and possibly mimic in the future. 

After a few minutes he reached the classroom. Why did it have to be so dang far from the cafeteria? He reached his desk and grabbed the notebook, and immediately screamed when alarms began to blare. Something about a breach? He couldn’t tell, it was too loud. Maybe the teachers could sort this out? The Teacher’s Office wasn’t too far. Covering his ears, Izuku made his way towards the Office. When he got there, he saw something that wasn’t the teachers.

There was a weird man shuffling through the desks. Scraggly blue hair, black jumpsuit, and wearing hands that Izuku really hoped were fake, it was clear this was not a good person. Izuku watched from the doorway, not sure what to do. Weren’t the cameras functioning? 

“Got it,” the man sneered as he pulled a booklet from a desk. “Class schedule. Kurogiri, get me out of here.”

Feeling inaction would be a bad idea, Izuku turned the corner and shot his arm out at the villain as a bank of black mist appeared in the room. His arm was moving too fast for him to aim properly, but Izuku was able to grab something solid before the man disappeared. Izuku sighed and looked at what he grabbed…then screamed and threw away the severed hand. From the texture, it was definitely real. 

“Alright, I’m skipping lunch,” Izuku gasped, trying to keep from vomiting, before running from the room. “SOMEONE! TEACHERS! HELP!”

—

A few hours later…

—

“...and that’s when I realized it was a real hand,” Izuku recounted the events during the break-in. “After that, I ran to find a teacher to report what happened.” In front of him were Nedzu, Aizawa, Amaterasu and Tsukauchi. His mom was waiting outside, with Midnight and Snipe keeping her company.

“Do you know if the villain saw you?” Tsukauchi asked.

“I don’t think so. It was really quick, maybe under a minute. I’m sorry he got away with the schedule, I tried to-”

“Midoriya,” Amaterasu set her hand on his shoulder, “don’t blame yourself. The fact you saw the villain at all is good. The fact you actually took something from him that could possibly identify him is even better. We’ll handle it from here, alright?” Izuku nodded, and Amaterasu gave his hair a comforting ruffle. As he left, the heroes turned their attention to Amaterasu, who in turn looked at the hand sitting in an evidence bag.

“Were you able to glean anything?” Nedzu asked.

“The hand was severed around 20 years ago,” the lupine heroine explained. “Human, male. Emitter quirk. I’ll let the guys in Fingerprinting take it over, maybe the genetics department if they can get anything after this long. As for the man who possessed it, I could tell he smelled similar to the hand, possibly a relative. There’s also the smell of alcohol, wood varnish and leather. The owner hangs out in a bar a lot. No salt, so I doubt it’s close to the sea. That’s all I could get from the hand.”

“Which is more than we could have gotten on our own,” Nedzu nodded. “Moving on, we know this villain took a class schedule while we were all distracted with the media break-in. Thankfully, they took All Might’s schedule, so they only have the classes for these next few weeks. We’ll go over the schedule and try to think of what they could be aiming for.”

“May I see a copy?” Amaterasu asked. Nedzu obliged and handed her a copy. She read it quickly, noting two possibilities. “The Hero Courses are going to be heading to the USJ at the end of week, 1-A going on Thursday with 1-B the following day. The Support Course has a field test next week for their first-years. Depending on their goals, I feel they could go for either one of those events.”

“We’ll prep accordingly for those,” Nedzu nodded. “As your apprentice is involved, we’ll keep you informed. Anything else?”

“...I need to make a call,” Amaterasu stated. “See you later.” She left the office without another word. The call she needed to make couldn’t be done with Tsukauchi and Aizawa present. The less they knew about who she was going to call, the better. Rather than outright leave campus, however, she made her way to a subterranean workshop. Most students didn’t come down to these, so she was sure no one could eavesdrop on her. She still sniffed the air and listened for heartbeats before dialing the number on her phone.

…

“Amaterasu, dahling!” a chipper female voice screamed through the phone. “It’s been far too long, sweetie! You need to call more often! We can do lunch, and-”

“Sorry Haetori,” Amaterasu sighed, “but this is a business call.”

“Business?” the voice, Haetori, sighed. “You never do anything fun anymore. Well, what do you need? I’m about done at Deika High anyway.”  

“Deika High? Shizuka sent you there?”

“Needed to have my lil’ babies eavesdrop on the school staff. We know they’re connected with the MLA, but were hoping to find out who was funding them. Sadly they never mentioned any organizations, only the name of their leader. Tried to get into their computers, but not even my more tech savvy babies could get past their crypto. Shizuka plans to move in on the school over the weekend, so I’m wrapping things up. Anyway, what did you need?”

“You remember the Unforeseen Simulation Joint in UA High? My apprentice will be going there on Thursday. Before then, can I ask you to slip in and set up a watch? There’s a chance villains will be attacking his class, or his partner class the following day.”

“Your apprentice?” Haetori gasped. “Honey, you never told me you got yourself a man! Is he cute? I mean, if he’s in high school he can’t be much young-”

“Haetori.”

“Alright, alright, I’ll slip in and keep an eye on him. If anything happens I’ll call you.”

“Thanks, Haetori. We’ll get lunch before the Festival.”

“Bring your lil’ man with you~!”

Amaterasu sighed and hung up. Haetori was one of the best at what she does, but she was a bit…affectionate. Thankfully, if villains do appear, they’ll keep her from trying anything with Midoriya. Sure, it was cute seeing him flustered, but not during a possible villain attack.

She could only hope there wouldn’t be any villains period.

Chapter Text

Haetori quietly made her way through the series of air vents inside the walls of the USJ. It was early Wednesday morning, the day prior to Class 1-A’s trip, and she was barely able to get authorization from Shizuka to do this in time. They were gonna be hitting Deika High over the weekend, and needed to make sure she gave them everything she had. She would admit to rushing, though, after Amaterasu showed her a pic of her apprentice. There was no way she couldn’t help that adorable fuzzy broccoli stalk.

Though she hated the layout of the USJ. With all the different areas, there was no real central place for her to set up her watch. Not one safe and hidden, anyway. With those circumstances, she decided to set up shop in the Collapsed Building area. Once she got cozy, she sent out her babies. Dozens went out, each keeping an eye on a specific area while dragging some of her special traps to each area. If the place was attacked by villains, and her babies spotted that Midoriya kid, she’d know in an instant. 

After an hour, all her babies and traps were in place. Now came the waiting game. Sitting and waiting to see if anything bad happened. A task like this took patience, and she had that by the truckload.

—

“Window seat!” Izuku yelled as he jumped onto the bus. 

“Midoriya, that behavior is unbecoming of a Class President!” Iida yelled as he stood just outside the door.

“Lighten up, dude,” Kirishima laughed as he and the rest of the class clambered onto the bus. “It’s our first trip.” Iida sighed in defeat as he followed everyone else. In under a minute, the bus was full and on its way to the USJ. Izuku had indeed managed to grab a window seat, with Ochako sitting next to him. Aizawa hogged an entire front seat to himself so he could nap on the trip.

“Think I could slip some glitter into his hair?” Izuku whispered to Ochako. “I got the rainbow stuff today.”

“Save it for later,” his friend replied. “I think he’s catching on.”

“Hey Midoriya,” Tsuyu said as she spun around to look at him. “I tend to speak what’s on my mind.”

“Funny, I do too,” the tanuki teen chuckled back.

“And I gotta say, kero, your quirk is really weird.”

“I know, right?” Ochako laughed. “Shapeshifting, stretchy arms, the fur, it’s like he has a half dozen quirks. Kinda makes sense why he thought me using my quirk on him during the Entrance Exams was another weird part of it.”

“But it’s weird, kero,” Tsuyu leaned forward. “Back during the first day you said you went to Aldera, and made it sound like it was unpleasant. With a quirk like yours, wouldn’t they have practically worshiped you?”

“My quirk didn’t come in until a year ago,” Izuku scratched his ear. “Before that point, I was quirkless and not fuzzy.”

“I can’t imagine you without fur,” Kaminari spoke up from behind Izuku. “Also, gotta ask, how bad was it in Aldera? Was it as bad as the news said?”

“It was worse,” Izuku sighed, remembering those awful years. “Try to imagine being beaten every day for the crime of existing, and any time you tried asking for help the staff would say ‘there’s no point in addressing the concerns of a diminishing subspecies.’ I wasn’t even human to them before my quirk came in.”

“...Did everyone bully you?” Kaminari nervously asked.

“Not everyone,” Izuku admitted. “Our school had its fair share of rule-keeping students. Sadly, some of them were such strict adherents to the rules that if they found me bleeding on the floor after a beating they’d report me to the teachers for making a mess.”

“...They’re lucky they got arrested,” Ochako gritted her teeth and clenched her fists. Izuku could tell she was envisioning punching a few of them. He admired that about Ochako. She was soft and sweet, but willing to get her hands dirty. Or bloody. With his admiring Ochako, Izuku missed Iida tense up.

“Well,” Kirishima smiled from next to Kaminari, “now you got one of the most epic quirks I’ve ever seen. A lot more epic than mine, anyway.”

“Our class is full of epic quirks,” Izuku smiled back. “You’ve got literal armor plating, Kacchan can make things explode, Yaoyorozu can make things if she eats stuff! They’re all so awesome!”

“Y-yeah,” Ochako rubbed her neck. “Y-Yaomomo’s got an awesome quirk.” Izuku turned to her, noting her stutter. His sharpened hearing also picked up her whispering, “And an awesome figure.”

“...Did you just-” Izuku started to ask before the bus came to a stop.

“We’re here,” Aizawa suddenly got up, as though he had never been asleep. “Try to head inside with some sort of order. There should be two teachers and an upperclassman waiting for us there.” Much to the relief of Iida’s nerves, everyone getting off the bus was more relaxed and calm than getting on the bus. 

The students were still excited as they walked into the USJ building, looking around the massive structure. The inside of the dome was just as incredible. It was indeed like a crazy amusement park, with different areas having different themes. Then they saw two people waiting for them. Ochako immediately started geeking out at the sight of the astronaut-themed Pro Hero Thirteen, but Izuku found himself looking at the other person. A tall blond boy in a red and white uniform with a long cape. Izuku couldn’t help but imagine that cape getting caught on so many things. The boy had a cheerful face that reminded Izuku of the mascot from some game he played a while back. What was it called? Drop-in?

“Where’s All Might?” Aizawa asked. “We were told he’d be here for this.”

“It seems he got a bit carried away,” Thirteen chuckled, holding up a few fingers. Izuku knew what that meant, and sighed. Come on, dude, keep track of time.

“It’ll be alright, though!” the older boy beamed. “The lesson can still continue like normal!”

“Fine,” Aizawa stepped in front of everyone. “As Uraraka squealed earlier, this is Pro Hero Thirteen, one of the best rescue heroines in the nation. Next to her is Togata Mirio, a student from Class 3-B, and one of the best students currently in UA. He’s here as a teacher's assistant.”

“And we’re all here to teach you the basics of heroic rescue!” Mirio smiled brighter. “Now, about using your quirks here…”

Mirio and Thirteen gave a quick lecture on the dangers of misusing quirks, but Izuku was only vaguely paying attention. He was hearing something weird. He had no idea what he was hearing, only that he could barely hear it and it was behind him. He would have turned to look for it, but didn’t want to piss off the teachers. After a few minutes he opened his mouth to ask about it, but suddenly smelled something like ozone. This, however, came from in front of him. 

“Got a bad feeling…” he muttered.

“Why do you have a bad feeling?” Jirou asked. Curse her enhanced hearing. Izuku opened his mouth to reply, but stopped when a bank of black mist just formed literally in the middle of the courtyard below the steps. Everyone noticed this and watched as it grew.

“Is this part of the exercise?” Kirishima innocently asked. 

“No,” Aizawa growled as a bunch of unpleasant-looking people emerged from the mist. “Those are villains.”

“How did they get in?” Togata whispered. “I thought the alarms would…”

“Okay, back to the bus!” Izuku turned on his heel. Giving a silent apology, he gave Mineta a hard enough kick to send the dwarf flying out the door as Aizawa and Mirio rushed downstairs to fight the villains. “We need to get the teachers!”

“That will not happen,” as a man made of black mist appeared between the students and the door. “We are the League of Villains, and I apologize, but all of you will die today.”

“KISS MY BUTT, YOU BURNT FART CLOUD!” Bakugou screamed as he flew at the man. Before impact, the teen disappeared in another bank of mist.

“Such a violent and hasty teen,” the mist man shook his head (maybe?). Then he turned to the class. “Before anything else, I must ask if any of you were the student who took something from young Shigaraki a couple days ago?”

“Who?” Ashido asked, her hand pooling acid behind her back. The man sighed after a few more moments of silence. 

“Oh well, I guess it was someone else.” Suddenly a huge bank of mist appeared under everyone’s feet. “Well, time to-” The man screamed when Ashido threw her handful of acid at him. Apparently he did have a physical body. Sadly, the acid came too late, and everyone standing on the mist fell through the floor. Izuku shot his arm out to grab something, but missed and fell with everyone else.

—

Oh, Haetori was pissed. 

One minute, she was busy spying on Amaterasu’s apprentice, cooing over his appearance. Next minute, the place was filled with foul miscreants and the apprentice had disappeared. It would take her babies a couple minutes to find him. In the meantime, she watched the disheveled hero and the smiley boy beating the horde. She had to admit, she was impressed. It was clear the older man was not used to fighting so many at once, but the younger boy was darting around like a grinning weasel. Just give him a sickle or two and he’d really fit the part.

Then she saw two other villains who had not entered the melee. One was a hulking beaked behemoth with an exposed brain. If that thing was natural, she’d eat her own clothes. Next to the beast was a man covered in severed hands. He just stood by, scratching his neck and grumbling something about his father. Great, a meat doll and a masochist with daddy issues. Those were never fun.

Suddenly one of her babies pinged back. They had found Midoriya. By sheer happenstance, he was really less than a hundred meters from where she had been crouching. What luck! She would get to personally help the kid! Haetori laughed as she rushed down the hall of the ruined building, following the thread to where her baby was watching the boy. 

—

Izuku fell for what felt like a good minute or two, wind and ozone flying past his fuzzy face, before he got spat out someplace dark. Even then, he fell another couple seconds before landing on something. His face strangely impacted something soft. The fall ached, and it took a second for him to push himself up. 

“Please watch your hands.”

Izuku froze. Looking down, he saw one of the most terrifying things he’d ever seen. He had fallen on none other than Yaoyorozu Momo. Worse yet, the soft thing his face hit was…

“I’m sorry!” Izuku shrieked before shooting back and hitting a wall. In an act of comedic mishap, his hitting the wall knocked a bit of stone loose, which then fell on his head. At least it was a small one, so Izuku simply rubbed his head as he looked around the desolate hallway he landed in. “Okay, it’s dark. Artificial structure, tilted floor. We must be in the area with the collapsed buildings.” He sniffed the air. “No smoke or gas, so hopefully no fire.”

“I guess we got lucky,” Momo helped Izuku to his feet. Suddenly Izuku heard footsteps, and both teens turned to see Ochako run up.

“I think I found a-oh hey Midoriya!” the gravity girl greeted. “When did you get here?”

“A minute after we did,” Yaomomo replied. “You think you found a way out?”

“This way!” Ochako gestured over her shoulder. “I couldn’t get the door open, but I felt a draft under it!”

“Sounds good to me,” Izuku nodded. “I got some leaves on me, so I can change into something to break the door down.” With that, the three teens rushed back down the hallway.

—

All Might sat in the teacher’s office, sipping tea and feeling ashamed of himself. He thought he had more time, but then it made sense for his time to diminish faster now that Kaibara has One For All. He’d apologize to 1-A later, and make sure to make it to 1-B’s time in the USJ. For now, he could at least take solace with his conversational companion.

“...and that’s when Burt screamed and shot the thing,” Snipe regaled. “Problem was, there was more than one of the suckers! They could literally spit up babies after they ate enough stuff!”

“Oh my,” All Might shuddered. “How did you get rid of them?”

“Eh, we kinda had to blow up the refinery. But we still got paid!”

“Crazy to think all that happened before you became a hero.”

“I know right? Worst part, they showed up in Nevada a few years later! Again! ”

All Might laughed and was about to ask about how that incident went before the monitor next to him started beeping. Curious, he flicked it on, and beheld a weird sight. One of the buses was speeding down the road back towards the UA main building. Why was it going that fast? It took a minute, but All Might was able to switch to a different camera and zoom in on the windshield.

“...Snipe?” the buff hero asked.

“Yeah?” the gunslinger asked back. All Might pointed at the monitor, and Snipe leaned over to look. He saw the shot the camera took moments ago, of a grape-headed dwarf screaming and crying as he clung to the steering wheel of the speeding bus. From his position, it looked like the robot was pushing the pedals while Mineta steered the thing.

“Why is Mineta Minoru driving that bus back to UA? And why is the bus empty?”

Chapter Text

UA Main Building

—

Nedzu watched as Mineta was carried to the infirmary. The boy had some bruised ribs from when Midoriya punted him out the door, but he would be fine. The mammal turned to the other teachers in the room, who were all gearing up. 

They had all heard Mineta’s cry for help. How the USJ had been invaded by villains. How he’d practically hotwired the bus (refraining from explaining how he knew to do that) to drive it back to the school. He came to get help, and they would make sure his efforts weren’t too late.

“We have no current intel,” Nedzu said as he flexed his fingers/digits. “All we know is there’s a lot of villains there, exact number unknown. We can assume the ‘hand guy’ that Midoriya described is among them, possibly their leader. Law enforcement has been contacted, and we can expect additional heroes within half an hour. However, it is up to us to minimize whatever harm our students suffer.”

“I’m coming,” the withered All Might declared. “I may be just about out of time, but I’m willing to stretch whatever I have left to protect them.” He sighed. “I was supposed to already be there.”

“We all make mistakes,” Nedzu smirked as a smaller service robot rolled up. In its hands was a long wooden box that looked incredibly old. Nedzu opened the box, pulled out a pair of wooden rods and slid them into his sleeves. “And we all have the ability to rectify them. So…let’s go rectify them.”

—

USJ, Collapsed Building Zone

—

“Okay, here’s what we know,” Izuku declared as he and Yaomomo followed Ochako through the ruined building. “We are under attack from a small army of villains. I’d say there were at least 40 down in that plaza, and with that misty teleporter guy there’s probably even more scattered around the rest of the USJ. Which means there’s a good chance we’ll encounter some, as well. I have a lot of leaves on me, so I think we’ll be able to make it back to the main plaza.”

“Shouldn’t we try to get help?” Momo asked. “There should be emergency exits we could use.”

“I’m worried about Aizawa,” Izuku replied. “Yes, I know that’s weird coming from me, but listen. He’s good at hand-to-hand, but he relies more on ambushes, Quirk Erasure and his scarf. As such, his fighting style is better suited for solo enemies or small groups. I dunno the capabilities of the upperclassman whose name I didn’t memorize, but I know Aizawa’s probably having trouble with so many villains at once. And you know what I can do, so that should help for a few minutes.”

Before he could talk further, Ochako led the teens to a much larger room. It was better lit than the previous rooms and halls, though there were spider webs all over the ceiling and covering much of the adjacent hall. There was a large door with light shining under it. That had to be the way out. Too bad it didn’t have a handle.

“I couldn’t push it open,” Ochako explained, “and I can’t really turn a handle that isn’t there.”

“I can smash it,” Izuku reached into his pocket to grab a leaf. “Get back.”

“Oh, no you’re not.”

The three teens turned to the hallway to the right, watching as a group of four villains slowly emerged from the dark. Izuku immediately put himself between the girls and the villains. The villains weren’t intimidated, chuckling and leering at the girls. One of them pulled rope from his back pocket. What kinda pants was he wearing to store that?

“You ain’t going anywhere, kiddies,” a spiky villain sneered. 

“Are ya sure they kids?” a monkey-esque villain asked. “The one with the ponytail looks a bit too developed to be a kid.”

“Yer right,” villain number three licked his knife. “Means we can have some fun with that one~.”

“HEY!” Ochako yelled. “You’re not gonna have fun with any of us!”

“Aww, come now,” the fourth bird-like villain smiled as he stepped forward, his face brushing one of the webs. “No need to be-” The villain froze. He reached up to pull the web off his face, but for some reason didn’t lower his hand. The villain seemed just as confused, groaning and trying to pull his hand away from his face.

“Dude, what’re you doing?” Mr. Monkey sighed. Only Izuku seemed to notice a thin line of web coming from the patch on the villain’s face and extending into the dark behind him. 

He also noticed this line get taut.

“My hand is fuckin’ stuck!” Bird replied. “Stupid web’s stuck to-” Then he screamed as he was yanked out of sight down the hall. This surprised everyone present. Most of the villains were rooted in place, though the gorilla nervously moved away from the webs hanging from the ceiling. A second after the screams abruptly stopped, three more lines of web shot from the dark and grabbed the villains. This time, everyone heard a quite unsettling giggle before the villains joined their companion. 

“Did someone else get warped here with us?” Momo asked as she slowly drew a sword from her arm. “Another student or a teacher?”

“No one in our class can make webs,” Izuku whispered as moved to don a leaf. Ochako started slamming on the door, trying to break it down.

“Simmer down, children!” a chipper female voice called out from the dark. “I’m on your side!” Ochako stopped slamming on the door, but Momo & Izuku stayed in place in case the voice was lying. After a moment, all three teens heard what sounded like the skittering of more-than-two feet. After a bit, the person making those sounds appeared, and Ochako almost screamed at the sight.

It was pretty hard to accurately describe the lady who just emerged from the darkness. She had four exoskeletal legs connected to an abdomen. She had two arms of similar appearance, and two more arms that looked more human. Her torso looked humanoid as well, which was thankfully wearing clothes. Along with her humanoid head, she had long black hair that almost reached her abdomen. Adding to the creep factor, however, were the fact she had four humanoid eyes and four smaller round eyes. 

The woman regarded the three teens with casual glances, not a trace of anger or condescension. She twitched when she saw Momo, but smiled when she saw Izuku. As her gaze fell on him, Izuku gave a shout and pointed.

“Spider!” the tanuki teen cheered.

“Correct,” the woman bowed, bending her legs a bit. “I’m Haetori, and I work with the Hero Commission. That cutie’s mentor asked me to come keep an eye on things around here after Mr. Handjob took a class schedule, and what do you know? Villains appeared!”

“You work for the Commission?” Momo asked, lowering her sword just a bit.

“Were you referring to me when you said cutie?” Izuku asked, pointing at himself.

“Of course I was!” Haetori laughed as she walked closer. The instant she did, however, Izuku quickly pulled the sword from Momo’s grip and pointed it at the spider woman. “Okay, kid, what gives?”

“We still dunno if you’re really on our side,” Izuku glared. “If you know my mentor, what is their name?”

“...Dahling, you know she doesn’t like her name being spread, right?”

“You can whisper it.” Izuku pointed at his ears, wiggling them a bit to prove his point. “You can stand right there and whisper it, I’ll hear it.” The spider woman stared for a bit, then sighed and turned away so no one could read her lips.

“Amaterasu,” she whispered.

“Okay, we can trust her,” Izuku handed the sword back to Momo. “Is there anyone else from the Commission here too?”

“Just me. I am here as a favor, not an assignment. I did say I work with the Commission, not for it.”

“Great,” Ochako sighed, leaning against the wall next to the still-stuck door. “Wait, how did you know we were here, anyway?” At this, Haetori smiled and held up one of her hands. In it sat a small white spider.

“I have my little babies scattered around the facility, and I can see things through their eyes. I gotta say, your classmates can really hold their own. I think they’ll be fine, and since the villains here are all nice and comfy in my webs, that means I can address the real problem in this room.” That made the teens worried before Haetori glared at Momo. “Which happens to be your suit.”

“My suit?” Momo looked herself over. “I don’t see anything wrong. Is there a tear?”

“No, but that entire design is, for lack of a better term, bullshit.” Momo was stunned by the harsh language, giving the spider woman the chance to continue. “Seriously, dahling, you call that a hero suit?”

“Hey, my suit is just fine!”

“And that warrants you going into battle in a swimsuit?” 

The tension in the room deflated like a whoopie cushion as the two women started an argument over fashion. Completely lacking said sense, Izuku silently turned and walked toward the door. Ochako, not having a stake in the discussion, watched him go.

“It is not a swimsuit! I admit it is a bit on the revealing side, but this outfit is fire resistant and nigh bulletproof!”

“Yeah, bulletproof if you don’t get shot in the limbs or sternum! If you wanna survive a fight, you need to cover up!”

“My quirk requires exposed skin to work!”

“Never heard of zippers!?”

SMASH!

Both student and spider jumped and shouted at the sudden noise. They turned and saw Izuku had transformed into a dome-headed Stegoceras and smashed the door open. Ochako had silently watched him do so, deciding not to get the others’ attention. After a moment, Izuku changed back in a puff of vapor.

“If you ladies are done bickering over fashion, we should probably head back to the central plaza. Miss Haetori, I don’t suppose you can join us?”

“Sorry, big brawls aren’t my forte,” the spider woman shrugged with all four shoulders. “I’ll keep an eye on the villains I tied up, and make sure no one else comes from this way. Stay safe, kids.” 

“Can’t promise that. Let’s go!” The three teens rushed out of the building as Haetori disappeared back into the shadows.

—

Kaibara Sen was filled with worry. One minute he was going over Hero Law, the next Vlad King yelled for his students to stay in their class before rushing out the room. A quick glance into the hallway showed Vlad wasn’t the only hero who went running out. Half a minute later, the PA system blared up telling the entire school that villains had invaded the campus. They didn’t say where, nor how many, only that every teacher was called away to fight.

Most of Sen’s classmates were frozen in shock. After the media break-in a few days back, they hoped things would be quiet again. Hearing there was a legit villain attack was beyond the pale for them. Most of them were whispering amongst themselves, asking how this happened. Kaibara had a more immediate concern.

He couldn’t get in contact with Midoriya.

Ever since Vlad rushed from the room, Kaibara had been trying to contact his fuzzy friend in 1A. That meant there’d been a good ten minutes where his phone just could not send anything to Izuku. A quick question to Tetsutetsu, Kamakiri and Tokage yielded the same results. Tokage couldn’t get through to any of the other 1A teens they’d befriended over the past week. All four teens knew Izuku’s class was probably the only one away from the main building this afternoon. And that did not bode well for the current situation. 

He wanted to help. Kaibara wanted to help his friend, but he was stuck here. Gripping his hands together, Kaibara Sen, Ninth Bearer of One For All, could do nothing but hope for the best.

—

Aizawa never liked brawls like this. Some heroes might like a ‘target-rich environment’ like this, but he wasn’t one of them. He had been fighting for a good fifteen minutes, and the number of villains hadn’t decreased. Togata Mirio had been a significant help, but he was practically on the other end of the plaza. 

Even more infuriating, there were two villains who hadn’t moved the entire time. The large bird-faced one and the guy covered in hands. That must have been the villain Midoriya intercepted a couple days back. He wished he had a clear shot to that guy. While glancing at him, Aizawa saw the villain smirk and say something he couldn’t catch. 

Suddenly the entire upper half of his body was in pain.

It took a moment for Eraserhead to realize he was being pinned to the ground. The big birdy villain was the one pinning him, and damn did it hurt. He couldn’t see through his left eye, and he was certain his left shoulder was broken. He thought he could hear Togata punching the big villain, but from how he was still in pain he wasn’t sure it was working.

“You can’t beat my Noumu!” the hand villain screamed with sadistic glee. “It was made to kill All Might! A low-level NPC like you can’t even scratch it!”

…Oh joy, this villain was a freaking gamer.

The villain continued to brag about this “Noumu’s” power, but Aizawa barely heard any of it. The pain was getting too much and he was beginning to black out. The pressure let up after a minute, and with his bleary vision he could see Togata had tried going after the hand villain. It seemed this big guy was tasked with keeping hand guy safe. Togata’s permeation let him bypass the big guy and get a good punch on the other villain before he was surrounded by that black mist from earlier and disappeared. After that, it looked like they were going to finish him off before everything got windy and blurry.

“Don’t worry, Eraserhead. I got you.”

…That voice…Aizawa looked up and saw All Might carrying him. Wait. He thought he saw a fleck of green in between his antennae. He remembered seeing that before.

“...Midoriya?” was all he could voice before passing out.

—

IzuMight grimaced as he set the unconscious Aizawa on a bench away from the fighting. He, Ochako and Yaomomo had arrived in time to see the big villain smash Aizawa into the ground and the misty guy warp their upperclassman away. Hopefully he wasn’t warped out into the ocean. It had taken some talking, but Izuku convinced them to let him rush in as All Might. The girls would move around the plaza and try to meet up with any other student making their way back, and intercept any villains that do the same.

Izuku was quick to head back to the main plaza. Even with all his training, he could only use his All Might form’s quirk for about six minutes. He’d likely have to use every second he had. When he arrived, the hand villain was laughing like a deranged hyena.

“And you’re finally here, mister All Might!” the villain cheered. “Just in time for my invincible Noumu to rip you to shreds!”

“You mean the big guy?” IzuMight asked. “I dunno, having an exposed brain is usually a big sign of not being invincible.”

“Your jokes won’t save you this time! Noumu! Kill All Might! Hit him, and don’t stop until he’s chili!” Noumu roared in reply and rushed at IzuMight. The transformed teen raised his arm to block the punch. Noumu hit him with enough force to create a shockwave. However…

“...You call that a punch?” IzukuMight laughed. “I’ve been on the receiving end of frying pans that hit harder than your weak jab.”

“Oh there’s more where that came from!” the villain roared as Noumu’s onslaught continued. Izuku kept blocking the punches, waiting for a good opening. Suddenly the hand villain went flying as Togata shot up from the ground. Part of Izuku’s mind wanted to immediately analyze such a quirk, but the 8-foot tall bird guy currently trying to beat him into mulch helped keep that part of his brain under control.

“Careful, All Might!” Togata yelled as the misty villain helped the handsy villain back to his feet. “That thing isn’t natural! It has multiple quirks, including shock absorption!” IzuMight gave a nod, ducked under a punch and delivered a strong punch of his own. It kind of felt like punching a large plate. Izuku smiled. This thing wasn’t so tough.

“This thing was meant to kill me, you say?” IzuMight smirked. “I’ll beat it in six punches!” Izuku pulled his arm back for the first punch, putting everything he had into it. Izuku had a lot to give, as well. Something he had learned about his transformations was they relied on both his knowledge of an individual and his strongest impression of them. While he could transform into the weakened and withering All Might if he specified, the form he took now was not the scarred man missing half his chest.

This was the hero in his prime.

“ONE!”

His punch landed square in Noumu’s gut. The plate held, but the force of the blow stopped Noumu from retaliating.

“TWO!”

Another solid punch. The plate began to buckle.

“THREE! FOUR!”

Two rapid punches. The plate was badly cracked now.

“FIVE!”

The fifth punch landed. Izuku expected the plate to buckle but not break yet. Instead, he felt the plate explode as his fist broke through Noumu’s shock absorption. The beast seemed to squeak as its body morphed around IzuMight’s fist. It was honestly mildly disturbing to watch as its body stretched like a tarp before snapping back into shape. Said snap held enough force that the beast was sent flying through the air. Izuku could have sworn Noumu twinkled like a star as it flew through the glass ceiling and beyond the horizon. For a brief moment there was silence. Not even Togata thought to move in this silence. Then IzuMight laughed.

"Looks like I overestimated your minion. Was that guy really supposed to kill me?"

"Shigaraki, we need to leave," the mist guy stated. "Neither of us can face All Might now."

"No fair!" the hand villain ranted and whined as he stomped the ground. "That Noumu was supposed to kill you! You haven't gotten weaker at all!"

"Weaker? Who told you I'm weaker? I might intend to retire someday, but as you can see I'm still spry as a spring chicken! Tell you what. Turn yourself in, tell us what you know, and my student will return the hand they took from you."

"So it was one of your brats who took Father from me!" The villain just stomped and failed his arms more. "I'll kill you, All Might! The League of Villains will kill you and everything you care about!" 

"Like I've never heard that one before!" IzuMight said before rushing the two villains. Togata did the same, intending to catch the two before they could retreat. Unfortunately, the mist guy was fast and warped them both away before either hero student could reach them. Neither were happy about that, but couldn’t do anything about it. 

“Sorry, sir,” Togata sighed. “I should have been faster.”

“We did our best, don’t feel bad about that.”

“...Sir…” Togata suddenly seemed nervous. “...Could we talk in private after this? It’s about-”

“Hold on,” IzukuMight said before plucking the leaf from his hair. Togata’s eyes went wide (which was a mildly disturbing image to Izuku) as he saw the hero he fought alongside was actually a student. “If you need to talk to All Might in private, might wanna make sure it’s actually All Might you’re talking to.” Togata stammered his response, trying to articulate words, before the door to the USJ burst open and the teachers came rushing in.

—

Far from UA, hidden inside a hidden facility within a hidden compound, a villain lay in a fancy bed. Not fancy as in opulent, but fancy as in flanked with machines that each probably cost more than the average office worker made in three months. Machines that breathed for him, helped him speak, helped him smell, even helped him see due to his lack of eyes. For most people such a life was beyond a nightmare. For the Boogeyman of Japan, however, such a thing was a minor setback in his grand scheme.

Another setback in his scheme was being alerted that his minions, Kurogiri and Shigaraki, had returned to their bar by themselves from their little romp in the USJ. Another machine sent images directly to his brain as one of the cameras in the bar saw the handy minion whining like a brat while the more dignified Kurogiri simply waited for the on-site doctor to finish checking Shigaraki’s injuries.

“Shigaraki,” the villain hissed, “I take it this means your mission was a failure.”

“More than a failure!” Shigaraki ranted. “Your Noumu was fucking useless! All Might beat it easily!”

“I knew he would beat it,” the eyeless villain nodded. “It couldn’t have been easy, though, with how weak-”

“FIVE PUNCHES!” Shigaraki yelled back. “All Might beat the Noumu with five punches!”

“...Kurogiri?”

“It is as the young master says,” the misty man said as he slid behind the counter of the bar. “He took a punch from the Noumu with ease, then sent it flying in five punches. He assumed it would be six.”

…This…this was unexpected.

“I will look into what this could mean,” the Boogeyman said. “Shigaraki, try to learn from this failure, but you can go play a game after Ujiko is done checking over you. I will be in contact.” Then he cut the line, and he perceived nothing outside his room again. 

Five punches? All Might beat their Noumu in five punches? Based on how he’d been weakening, he assumed All Might would’ve needed a couple hundred punches. But five? As he thought more, the villain laughed.

“Clever man. Hiding the fact you’ve somehow recovered. Well, that warrants looking into.”

Chapter Text

A solid hour had passed since the USJ attack. In that time, the UA staff and other heroes & law enforcement had arrived to help the students. With their aid, the students slowly made their way to the central plaza. Much to everyone’s relief, the students are relatively unharmed. Kaminari was in his short-circuited state, and Todoroki was suffering from minor hypothermia, but otherwise the only injuries were scrapes and scratches. Among the teaching staff, Mirio had a couple bruises from when the warping villain sent him into a rock, Aizawa was still unconscious, and Thirteen suffered a bite from a crocodile villain. The teachers were hauled away first.

Everyone, student and villain alike, were gathered in the central plaza. Most of the villains were out cold, encased in cold, or otherwise incapacitated. The heroes were confused at the sight of villains wrapped in webs in the Collapsed Building Zone, and the villains themselves were terrified into silence. Ochako and Momo did not tell anyone about Haetori, nor did they know where she disappeared to. Thankfully, none of the heroes or cops thought to question them about the webs.

It took some time for the cops to question everyone in the plaza, even with the additional interrogators provided by the Hero Commission. Each interrogated villain was then hauled to a prison bus, which then carried them away as each one filled. The students were questioned in a lot nicer manner, carried to the main building and with any available parents called to provide emotional support. 

The last student to be questioned was Midoriya Izuku.

—

“Why was Midoriya kept separate from the others?” Detective Tsukauchi asked as Nedzu led him down the hall, towards the room Izuku was in.

“He collapsed not long after the fighting ended,” the principal explained. “According to Togata Mirio, Midoriya had to utilize his Greatest Transformation, and the UA staff only recently learned that using that form has repercussions on the young man. As such, he was brought here to rest and recuperate.”

“I see.” Tsukauchi thought back to when he learned of Midoriya’s abilities, and the boy had used trickery to expose Aldera’s treachery. He should have questioned Midoriya’s powers further back then. Now he was worried what sort of ‘repercussions’ the teen suffered after transforming into All Might. As they approached the room, the detective saw Uraraka Ochako and Yaoyorozu Momo exiting the room.

“Oh hello detective!” Momo greeted before the adults could say anything. “Come to talk to Midoriya?”

“That is correct,” Tsukauchi nodded. “Need his perspective on what happened.”

“Just go easy on him,” Uraraka pointed. “He’s still pretty tired.” The adults nodded and stepped into the room, leaving the girls smiling in the hallway. “Think they’ll be surprised by what Izuku asked you for?”

“The detective for certain,” the Creation girl replied. “I think the principal will just laugh.”

“True. Well, think there’s any food left in the cafeteria? I’m wondering how everyone else is holding up.”

“There should be. Though I myself am more curious about Midoriya’s mentor…”

—

When the detective and the principal stepped into Izuku’s room, they saw him lying on the bed. He seemed to be completely under the covers. Not even his ears were visible. If not for the girl’s testimonies outside, they might have assumed him sleeping.

“Midoriya?” Nedzu asked. “Think you could answer a few questions?” Suddenly Izuku sat up in bed. To the surprise of the adults, it was not a tanuki that greeted them. Instead, resting in the bed was another Detective Tsukauchi. Not only that, he was wearing a pair of fake plastic glasses with a fake nose and mustache attached. 

“Today is Friday…in California!” IzuKauchi exclaimed in very bad English. Upon seeing the confused look on the real Tsukauchi’s face, Izuku just sighed, removed the glasses and canceled the transformation. “Come on, you’re older than me but don’t know the classics?” 

“Er, I’m afraid not,” Naomasa admitted while Nedzu practically fell over from laughing so hard. “At least, not the classic you were talking about.”

“Lame. Alright, get seated, I’ll tell you what things were like from my angle.”

—

In the cafeteria, the rest of 1A was assembled. They were with their parents or loved ones, mentally recovering from what happened. Sure, a few students were bragging about their deeds in the USJ, but the mood was still a cautious casual air. Even Mineta was present, though he winced every time he took a deep breath. His family hadn’t arrived yet, so Sero and the recently-recovered Kaminari were keeping him company til their own families could arrive.

“You know,” the electrokinetic stated, “what you did earlier was pretty cool, driving the bus and getting the heroes and all.”

“Yeah, thanks,” Mineta groaned as he took a mouthful of food. 

“...Are you still cranky about Midoriya kicking you out the door?” the tape boy asked. “That was probably the only-”

“Not that,” Mineta shook his head. “Just…you guys were fighting, and I was running away. How am I supposed to be the sort of hero that gets chicks if I run away?”

“Dude, at least you did something. I short-circuited pretty quickly, and can’t remember half of what happened.”

“I had to drag your a… butt to safety, pikachu,” Bakugou stated as he and Ashido walked by with their own food trays.

“There, see?” Kaminari gestured to Bakugou. “You did more than I did. Even if it was running, you still got help. And come on, it’s our first time facing villains. We’ll do better next time.” There was a bit of silence as the three boys ate their food. Thankfully, it seemed like Mineta’s mood had lightened a bit. 

“Wait a minute,” Sero said out of the blue. “How do you know how to hotwire a car, anyway? I mean, that’s a neat skill, but not something you normally learn.”

“...Err…my…my aunt taught me…”

—

All Might felt ashamed as he helped Snipe and Hound Dog look through the security footage from the USJ. While the signal was blocked to prevent the cameras from sending anything to the main UA building, the on-site recordings were uninhibited. As such, the three heroes were in the USJ security room going over the recordings.

On one hand, he should have felt some pride at seeing his students handily beat the villains that attacked. Between their combat skills and their synergy with their classmates, one could almost say they were heroes already. However, that pride was like a pebble compared to the mountain of shame. 

He should have been there. He should have been there to help Aizawa and Thirteen teach the class. He should have been there to help, but he wasn’t. Everyone kept telling him to manage his time better, but he just got sucked into aiding the heroes this morning. And like a moron, spent his time limit before school even started. And because of that, his fellow teachers and his students were caught in a life-or-death situation that he could have helped to end so much faster.

His jaw dropped when he reached the part of the recording where Izuku transformed into him and saved Aizawa. He knew the young man could mimic him, but to see it actually happen was still a shock. Even more shocking was seeing him use One For All and send the brain villain flying. The sheer power he felt through even the recording was immense. To think the young man could use his quirk so handily…and then he saw Midoriya faceplant the ground not long after he exchanged words with Mirio. He’d have to ask about that later.

And maybe ask if Midoriya could mimic that power while wearing one of his more recent uniforms.

Suddenly his phone rang. Checking the ID, he was surprised to see it was a contact in the forensics department of the local police. How odd. Since the recording was close to finished anyways, he left Snipe and Mic to wrap things up as he answered the phone.

“All Might speaking.”

“All Might,” the man on the other hand greeted. “I know we usually talk to you through Tsukauchi, but I have some pretty big news you need to hear.”

“What is it?”

“You heard about that severed hand one of your students grabbed off a villain, right? Well, we were able to get a Commission agent with a genetics quirk fly in and work some magic. Thanks to them, we were able to figure out who the hand belonged to.”

“Good to hear it, but why are you contacting me about it?”

“The agent suggested we bring it up with you. Felt it was important. Anyway, the hand belonged to a man named Shimura Kotarou. Apparently he was related to someone named Shimura Nana. Are either of those names familiar?”

All Might didn’t respond. He practically dropped the phone at the news. 

No…

—

Izuku got to his feet a few minutes after the Detective and Nedzu left. Recovery Girl had just given him the okay to leave. He felt a bit wobbly still, but he knew that would pass. He wanted to get something to eat with the rest of his class, but a knock on the door indicated fate had other ideas.

“I’m decent,” Izuku called. To his surprise, the new guest was none other than Amaterasu. Even more surprising, he could actually see the worry in her eyes as she walked up.

“Are you alright?” she asked as she looked him over. “No one’s told me what happened yet beyond that you were in the thick of it.”

“I’m fine,” Izuku nervously chuckled as the much-taller wolf lady leaned close to his face. “Just suffered some exhaustion from mimicking All Might for a few minutes. It’s not as bad as it used to be, but I still almost passed out. Oh! And, uh, a few classmates and I were helped by a Miss Haetori. Is she really a friend of yours?”

“Much to my dismay,” the wolf heroine chuckled as she straightened back up. “She didn’t berate your hero outfit, did she?”

“No, but she did get into a debate with Yayorozu over hers.”

“Figures. Well, she’s a vocal one, but she’s a good person most of the time. I’m glad you’re alright, Midoriya.”

“It was still pretty scary, though,” Izuku admitted as he sat back on the bed. Amaterasu sat next to him as he continued, “I mean, what if the transformation ended early? What if that thing really had been strong enough to defeat All Might? What if-”

“You don’t gotta worry about ‘what-if’s’ for things already done,” Amaterasu ruffled his hair. “You did a good job there, kid. I’m very proud of you.” Izuku’s face warmed up a bit at the praise. “Anyway, did you learn anything about the villains who led the attack?”

“There was a misty guy who could warp people around. He’s the one who scattered the class around the USJ. He also called the hand guy Shigaraki. Shigaraki was the man giving orders, but I don’t think he’s the real leader. He spoke like the entire attack was a video game, and literally threw a tantrum when he lost. I think he’s just the figurehead for some guy hiding in the shadows.”

“...You may be right.” Izuku looked up at Amaterasu, who was silent for another few moments before looking down at him. “Based on what you’ve told me, and on what we learned about that ‘Noumu’ thing after the cops found it, the Commission has an idea on who the mastermind could be.”

“Already?”

“He’s someone we’d been trying to deal with for a while. Some of us thought All Might killed him seven years ago, but we weren’t able to confirm it. The body disappeared a bit after All Might was taken by the medics.”

“Seven years?” Izuku asked. Then the tanuki teen’s eyes widened. “His injury…”

“Correct. I can’t tell you everything, not yet. After the Sports Festival, though, I’ll tell you everything.”

“Why after that? Assuming they even throw the Festival after this?”

“You aren’t supposed to learn this yet, but after the Sports Festival, hero students are sent out on week-long internships with heroes. I’ll be requesting you after the Festival.”

“Because of how I fought in the USJ?”

“Even before,” the lupine heroine replied. “During that week, I’ll be telling you why I’ve been training you, what my personal assignment is, and why you’re the only one who can help me with it.”

“Cuz of my shapeshifting, right?”

“That’s most of it, but not all of it. For now, though, rest up. You’ll need it.” She ruffled his hair again before standing up. Giving a quick farewell, the heroine departed from the room. Izuku sat in silence for another minute. 

If there was one thing he hated about heroics, it was just how complicated things could be.

Chapter Text

“...and that’s how all that ended up.” Izuku finished explaining to Inko and Mitsuki about the events of the USJ. The three were in a fairly nice restaurant, just waiting on their food (and Katsuki) to arrive. Both the mothers were looking at the tanuki with wide eyes as he finished his tale.

“The news didn’t say it was anywhere near that bad,” Mitsuki stated. “Not even the brat said anything about that.”

“Well maybe he didn’t think it was so bad,” Izuku pointed out. “He is a strong fighter after all.”

“Darn right, shrimp!”

All three people gave a jump as Katsuki came walking up. It was weird seeing him in a black apron and somewhat sweaty, but that was offset by his arms carrying four plates of food. The blond was quick to set them down before removing his apron.

“This is the restaurant you’re doing your probation at?” Inko smiled. “It’s a good one.”

“Yeah, the boss is nice,” Katsuki admitted as he sat down. “He’s actually letting me off early tonight so I can eat with you.”

“That’s nice,” Izuku smirked. “Otherwise we’d have to eat in the kitchen.”

“Go f…frick yourself, you furby.”

“...Okay, what’s going on, Kacchan? You haven’t said a swear word for half a week.”

“Oh, that’s cuz of his therapist,” Mitsuki smiled. “She wanted the brat to try limiting his swearing for a whole week. Rather than stop entirely, he can only swear for a limited time frame any given day.”

“So, what, you got a swear jar or something?” the tanuki teen asked. “Cuz I bet within the first two hours he filled it up enough to finance the construction of the Titanic IV.” There was a brief pause before Katsuki looked at his mom, and his mom looked at her watch.

“Hag?”

“I’ll give you fifteen seconds.” Katsuki looked back at Izuku with his signature snarl.

“LISTEN HERE, YOU FUCKER!” Katsuki laughed. Then he filled the following fifteen seconds with literally every swear word he could think of. Izuku was certain he invented a few on the spot.

—

All Might sat in the bar, dejectedly moving his fingertip around the edge of his milkshake. Normally his weekly milkshake was a celebratory drink, the sign of going through another week. This time, however, it did little to raise his spirits. His class had been attacked, and he didn’t even make it in time to save them from villains. Then there was the news about that severed hand Midoriya managed to grab. That was a punch to the gut by itself, but the implication that Amaterasu gave a few days before the attack…well, that was why he was here.

That was also why Amaterasu was coming in. 

All Might was sitting in a booth with his milkshake, while Amaterasu sat down in the booth behind him. She didn’t trust him with her real form (which hurt, considering he trusted her with his), so the only way they could meet today was like this. He waited for her to order her own drink before starting the conversation.

“Thank you for coming here,” the hero greeted. “Admittedly, it’s a bit selfish of me to ask you to come to just answer a few questions, but-”

“It’s about the hand,” Amaterasu interjected. “I heard there was something quite important about it. Something personal, perhaps?”

“...The hand belonged to the son of my mentor,” All Might explained. “The forensics team combined with a Commission Agent managed to figure that out. That hurts by itself, but I recall you made a mention about who was carrying the hand when you gave it a whiff.”

“About how the hand smelled very similar to the man carrying it, meaning they were possibly a relative.”

“I was afraid of that,” Toshi sighed while sliding a file over his shoulder to Amaterasu. “I did some digging. Shimura Kotarou was a grown man when he was reported dead around twenty years ago. His family was reportedly killed by a disintegration quirk. However, his son was never found…which means…”

“Which means the person carrying his hand was his son?” Amaterasu asked with genuine surprise.

“That was my conclusion as well,” All Might sighed. “With you corroborating the connection, and Midoriya stating that he heard the villain leader, Shigaraki, refer to that missing hand as his ‘Father,’ that makes it certain. Shigaraki is really Shimura Tenko, the grandson of my mentor.”

“I understand,” Amaterasu said. There was some silence as the two slowly sipped their shakes before the heroine stated, “I’ll bring this up with the other Undergrounds. He might be laying low for now, but if he reappears again, we could use his real name to throw him off guard. Thank you for sharing this.”

“Don’t suppose this means you can share what you really look like?” All Might asked.

“Don’t push your luck old man,” the heroine laughed. 

“Then why not come here in your hero form?”

“Because Endeavor is looking for me to force me to marry his son. He also only knows us by our hero forms, and I didn’t want him to follow me to find you.”

“Wait what?”

“Alright, I gotta get…well, I gotta get going before something bad happens. If I get any updates I’ll let you know.” Before All Might could say anything, he felt Amaterasu’s presence vanish. All Might sighed and finished his shake, with more questions than before. Why does Endeavor want her to marry his son? Which son, anyways? And for Tenko… 

Hopefully they could still be saved.

—

At the same moment All Might was thinking about his mentor’s grandson, Re-Destro was pacing around his office.

A few hours ago, Deika Municipal High had been raided by the Commission. Not only was that school their last pre-college indoctrination site, it was also the one closest to Detnerat Headquarters. His castle lay on the edge of discovery, and he did not like that.

That was why everyone in the building was frantically packing what documents they could, and burning what they couldn’t. They’d have to relocate to the offices in Kyushu and lay low. Their Deika tower would still be marked as their HQ to the public, but anyone coming to poke around would find literally nothing connecting them with the Army. Hopefully that would throw that fox bitch off their tracks long enough to launch their own assault on society, and liberate it from the antiquated laws.

Re-Destro straightened his tie when his phone beeped. Time to leave. 

—

School started back up after a much-needed extended weekend. All of Class 1-A sat at their desks with mixed emotions. Most were chipper, some were still antsy, but pretty much everyone had some level of tiredness. It appeared they’d need more than an extra day off to recover from what happened at the USJ. Everyone was already in their seats when the door opened and a heavily bandaged Aizawa staggered into the class. He didn’t quite look like a mummy, but it was dang close.

Only a few students snickered when they saw some of the bandages were Bedazzled.

“Glad to see you’re all in your seats for once,” the teacher droned. 

“Glad to see you’re in one piece,” Izuku smirked.

“And so fabulous, no less,” Aoyama sparkled.

“Quiet,” The teacher groaned. 

It was clear he knew who studded his bandages, but he didn’t know how nor when, so the best he could do was level a glare at the smiling tanuki. What made it worse was it was clear Izuku knew that Aizawa knew. And he was loving it.

“Anyway,” Aizawa continued, “you can’t relax just yet. The next battle is just around the corner.”

“More villains?” Kaminari whispered.

“...The Sport’s Festival is in two weeks.” At that straightforward, not-scary announcement, the class gave a collective sigh of relief.

“Don’t do that!” Midoriya shouted in aggravation. He did not need his teacher saying that so dramatically. He should have Bedazzled the bandages more.

“I told you to be quiet,” Aizawa ordered. He would have used his quirk to silence everyone, but his eyes still hurt. “Now, I was opposed to the Festival continuing, but due to the popularity of the Festival, it was decided it would continue.”

“Is that really smart, kero?” Tsuyu asked. “I mean, what if villains attack again?”

“Doing so would be a beyond-stupid idea. Over the next couple weeks, campus security will be reworked to prevent unauthorized warpers from getting in. On top of that, during the Festival itself, there will be dozens of actual pros on security detail, and hundreds more in the actual audience. And that is in addition to the multitude of law enforcement officers that regularly provides security for this event. Nedzu is also going to contact the Commission to see if he can wrangle some of their elites to assist.”

“Who’s more elite than All Might?” Mineta mumbled. 

“The sort of people the Commission keeps on standby to bring down rogue pros,” Aizawa replied, having heard Mineta’s query. “Continuing, due to the coming Festival, your usual Hero Course lessons will primarily focus on self-improvement. You’ll still have your ethics lectures, so on those days your study period will be replaced with a free training period. I’ll be reiterating this over the next two weeks, but remember. Every pro hero in Japan, and many from other countries, will be watching the Festival. Do your best, and don’t do anything embarrassing.”

“Sir, we’re kids,” Izuku raised his hand. “Can’t make any promises.”

“...And that’s why I’m worried.”

—

“Guys, seriously, this is a bad idea,” Kaibara tried to impress upon his classmates as they trudged down the hall. To his chagrin, Tetsutetsu and Kamakiri were among them.

“You’re just saying that cuz you’re friends with some 1-A vermin,” Monoma sneered. 

“No, I’m saying that because I’m pretty sure they don’t wanna be reminded of almost dying!”

“Hey, I just wanna check on Midoriya,” Tetsutetsu said. “Didn’t get to see him over the weekend.” He looked like he was gonna say more, but stopped when he saw a bunch of other kids crowding 1-A’s door. 

“...I guess we’re not the only ones,” Kamakiri whistled. After the 1-B students arrived at the crowd, the door to 1-A opened.

“Egad, who are you people!?” Izuku squawked from inside the class. He must have been the one who opened the door.

“Probably guys checking out the competition,” Kirishima replied, looking over the crowd.

“But why just us?” Izuku asked as the 1-B kids worked their way through the crowd. “Come on, it’s lunchtime.”

“Move,” Monoma ordered as he finally reached the front of the crowd. This was the first time Monoma had actually seen Izuku (having refused to look at any photos Kaibara or Tetsutetsu had). When he saw the tanuki teen, he sneered. “We just wanted to see the oh-so-mighty Class 1-A. And honestly, I’m not impressed.”

“Yeah, I could tell from your face,” Izuku snarked back. 

“Coming from someone with a face like yours,” a new voice spoke up, “that’s not saying much.” The speaker stepped forward, revealing himself to be a purple-haired boy with eyebags the size of some European countries.

“...Wow, and I thought my eyespots were big,” Izuku joked. 

“Jokes won’t do you any good,” the sleepy-looking boy glowered. “Might wanna get serious before I take your place in Hero Course.”

“Oh, wanna work your way in through the Festival?” Izuku smiled. He looked the boy up and down…then shook his head. “Not with that physique. Might wanna get some meat on them bones.” He casually pat the boy’s shoulder before pushing him aside and smiling at Kaibara. “Hey dude! Any of these from your class?”

“A couple,” the Ninth Bearer sighed. “I tried to stop them, but-”

“Nah, don’t worry. I woulda done the same.”

“Kaibara, stop cavorting with this 1-A filth,” Monoma ordered. “He doesn’t deserve-”

“You do not get to order me around, Monoma!” Sen finally snapped. At the declaration of a name, Izuku looked at him. 

“Wait, Monoma? Like, the copycat Kaibara told me about?” He looked at Monoma a bit longer before literal sparkles shone in his eyes. “Oh my gosh, it’s nice to finally meet you!” He grabbed Monoma’s hand and shook vigorously, catching the 1-B boy by surprise. “You have to tell me about your quirk later! It sounds so versatile!” He kept shaking Monoma’s hand, which seemed to lighten things up enough that most of the crowd disbanded. Monoma tried to pry his hand away, but Izuku had a death grip on him. After a moment, Monoma winced in pain as Izuku gripped tighter.

“Kaibara’s told me aaaaaaaaall about you,” Izuku smiled with a voice that was suddenly completely lacking in mirth. “I have no idea what your beef is with my class, but let me make it clear. You mess with my class, and I’ll shove my foot so far up your ass that your breath will smell like shoe polish. Get me?” The blond teen gave a rapid nod before Izuku released his hand. “Good. Let’s go, guys. Uraraka has some ideas for our Friday get-together this week.”

As Izuku and the rest of 1-A shuffled down the hall with Izuku’s friends, Monoma was rooted to the spot. Initially he looked his hand over to see if there was any lasting harm from the handshake, but he kept staring. As the pain faded, Monoma felt an itch in his hand. An itch that made him feel empty.

The sort of itch he only felt when shaking hands with a quirkless person.

Chapter Text

Two weeks remaining…

—

Izuku slowly opened the door to his class. It was super early on the Tuesday morning following the USJ attack. Izuku smiled when he saw the room was empty. Not even Aizawa was present. The tanuki slipped into the room and quietly closed the door behind him with his tail. He approached the podium with an evil smile as he slowly lifted the front. He didn’t lift it too far, just high enough to slip a little something under the front before slowly letting it back down. The weight of the podium wasn’t enough to compress the object, but Izuku knew what would. He chuckled and sauntered to his desk in time for the door to open.

“Ah, good morning, Midoriya!” Iida called as he entered the room. “I’m glad to see you arrive at school so early!”

“Don’t get used to it,” Izuku stretched before sitting down. 

“I hope that someday I might,” Iida stated as he walked to Izuku’s desk. “But I am glad you’ve done so today, because there is something I need to say.”

“What?” the green teen sighed, anticipating another unnecessary scolding.

“I wish to express my apologies.”

…Okay, Izuku did not anticipate that. He looked up at Iida, his silence giving the speedy teen indication to continue.

“During the Entrance Exams, I scolded you for your vocal tic, not realizing it was how you handled stress. And with my further attempts to educate you on proper conduct, I had no idea why you reacted so poorly. And then I heard you talking about your former schoolmates from Aldera. When you brought up the strict rulekeepers in your school, I finally understood. All our interactions up to that point made me look like I was one of those people. Someone more focused on keeping rules than being a decent person. For that, I apologize.” Iida finished is explanational onslaught with a bow so straightforward his head almost impacted Izuku’s desk. Izuku jerked away from surprise at the sudden gesture. The two teens remained still for several seconds before Izuku sighed.

“’Bout time you got that stick out of your butt.”

“Does that mean you’ll stop saying I have such?” the speedy boy asked as he straightened up.

“Maybe. Apology accepted, but if you do anything stupid in the future I’mma slap you.” Iida gave a short laugh before turning to sit at his own desk. Over the next fifteen minutes, the class slowly filled up with students. To no one’s surprise, Aizawa (in all his Bedazzled glory) was the last to shuffle into the class. 

“Settle down,” he ordered as he meandered to the podium. Turning to the class, he dropped his books on the podium and-

PBBBBBT!

Aizawa went silent. The class went silent for a few seconds before a couple students gave stifled chuckles at the fart sound. Aizawa looked under his books, saw nothing, then looked around his podium. After a minute, he leaned down and yanked up the whoopie cushion Izuku had placed under it earlier that morning. He glared at the tanuki teen, who had the look of innocence, before sighing and tossing the guilty object in the garbage.

“Continuing…”

—

12 days remaining…

—

Bakugou walked down the hall to the Support Course Labs. He’d gotten approval to change a couple things to his outfit, and wanted to get them started soon as possible. He hoped they’d get done before-

KABOOM!

Bakugou froze as the doors to the workshop literally exploded off the hinges. A wall of smoke poured from the open door, blocking all sight. After staring for a minute and hearing Power Loader’s distinct voice shout “Dammit, Hatsume!” Bakugou decided it was safe to step inside. Past the smoke, Bakugou saw the workshop was full of activity. Likely due to the “Hatsume” who just exploded everything. He chose to try ignoring the chaos and walked up to Power Loader scolding a pink-haired girl covered in soot.

“Oi, sensei,” Bakugou held up a packet of papers, “I’m here for a costume alteration.” The minute Bakugou said this, the pink girl, likely Hatsume, turned to him with a huge smile before Power Loader covered her face with his hand. 

“Hatsume, you focus on cleaning your mess,” the teacher ordered before taking the packet from Bakugou. “Anyway, young man, what were you thinking of changing? I thought your outfit was pretty good.”

“You could almost say it’s too good,” Bakugou replied. “The gauntlets hold too much of a charge. A full-powered explosion could kill someone if they were hit head-on. I almost killed a few villains in the USJ and…I just don’t want to go that far, you know?”

“I see, I see,” the teacher flipped through the packet. “So what were ya thinking? Smaller tanks?” Then he reached a page toward the back and stopped. “...A revolver system?”

—

Eight days remaining

—

Kaibara smiled as he walked down the sidewalk, followed by Setsuna, Kamakiri and Tetsutetsu. He and Midoriya had invited them to a ‘special’ exercise day to prepare for the Festival. None of the three knew what was coming, as Tetsutetsu groaned for the umpteenth time since they got off the train.

“Where are we going, anyway?” Kamakiri asked. “And is it really gonna be helpful?”

“Is it gonna be better than the facilities at UA?” Setsuna asked. 

“It’ll feel more natural, I’d say,” Kaibara explained. “The facilities are state of the art, I’ll admit, but the ones students can reserve for training are enclosed. Always feels better working outside. Plus, I wanna show you guys the beach Midoriya and I cleaned up for physical training.” There was a few seconds silence before Tokage shouted.

“Dagobah Beach!” she exclaimed. “I heard some unnamed people cleaned it last year! That was you guys?”

“Took over six months,” Kaibara smiled, “but yeah it was just the two of us.”

“MANLY!” Tetsutetsu roared, startling literally everyone (including the kissing couple across the street). Kamakiri quickly covered Tetsutetsu’s mouth to keep him from yelling until they reached the beach. To their surprise, along with Izuku, there were also  Uraraka, Yaoyorozu, Kirishima and, oddly, Bakugou. 

“Hey!” Izuku called out. “Glad you all could make it! Welcome to Dagobah Beach, and be happy y’all don’t have fur! Sand itches.”

“I’m also allergic to fur,” Tokage shrugged.

“Wait,” Tetsutetsu asked, “is that why you always refused to let Shishida sit next to you during lunch?”

“I thought it was cuz he’s ugly,” Kamakiri joked, earning an elbow from the splitter girl.

“Anyway,” Kaibara moved to stand next to Izuku to address all the students, “since we’re outdoors, we’ll be focusing on physical exercises and quirkless training. Midoriya’s allowed to use his quirk, but only cuz his mentor got him special permission today.”

“Don’t ask what I had to do to get that,” Izuku undid his ponytail and ruffled his hair. “Continuing, instead of just doing exercises blandly, I’ll be using my quirk to make things entertaining.”

“Shit,” Bakugou mumbled.

“We’ll start with a simple run. The beach is around half a kilometer long, so we’ll do two loops to emulate the endurance run from our quirk assessment tests.”

“What quirk assessment?” Setsuna asked. 

“...Um, the quirk assessment tests?” Momo replied. “The ones we had to run at the start of the year?”

“We never did anything like that,” Kamakiri shrugged.

“...Okay, another reason to get back at Aizawa,” Izuku growled as he pulled out a leaf. “After the run, we’ll take a break, then go for a swim. We’ll have lunch after the swim.” He set the leaf on his head and disappeared in a puff of vapor. When the vapor vanished, standing in front of the teens was a full grown-

“CARNOTAURUS!” Setsuna squealed. “OH MY GAWD I KNEW YOU COULD SHAPESHIFT BUT YOU NEVER TOLD ME YOU COULD GO DINOSAUR! I LOVE IT!”

“You might not in a minute,” Kaibara gave an uncharacteristic smile. “He’ll be chasing us.” Izuku gave a toothy smile as he dug his feet into the sand. The other teens immediately paled a bit as Sen started walking towards the far end of the beach. “We’ve got a five-second head start.”

For most of that day, beach-goers were treated to the sight of several UA students doing intense physical exercises alongside dinosaurs and plesiosaurs. At the end of the day, each teen took turns being launched into the sea by a tanuki with stretchy arms. They walked away tired and dirty, but laughing and demanding to have a repeat day in the future.

—

Five days remaining…

—

“Thank you for your time,” Amaterasu told the vigilante she had ‘interrogated’ (ie, bribed with a milkshake for information) before walking away. She hadn’t found any leads on the League of Villains, so she decided to go back to working on smaller cases. After that human trafficking case last year, things had been fairly small time. Any significant raids, such as hunting down MLA Recruiters, was left to the Daylights. Even with the sort of villains she usually handled, nights like these were quite relaxing to her. Though it was getting late, she’d have to head home soon.

“Psst!”

Amaterasu stopped. Someone definitely called her out. She turned to the noise and saw a familiar woman standing in the doorway of a nearby minimart. Said individual waved her over before stepping back inside, illuminating her form.

The woman was a bit shorter than Amaterasu, wearing a casual white t-shirt and tight jeans. She had dark purple hair, eyes of similar color, and was definitely one of the most beautiful women Amaterasu was associated with. The lupine heroine followed her into the mart, down the aisle and past the counter. The older gentleman behind the counter was sleeping, oblivious to the two women walking into the break room. 

“What is it?” Amaterasu asked. “You wouldn’t call me over if it wasn’t important.” 

“Stain got the slip on me,” the woman replied. “My lackies say he’s heading north from his last known hunt. The next big city on that route is Yabin, followed by Hosu. I don’t have anyone in those towns, but if you have any hero allies on those routes you’ll want to warn them.”

“Thanks for the heads-up. Don’t suppose you have anything on the League, or Shimura?” At this, the woman shook her head.

“Not a peep. Even Giran’s being tight-lipped about them. Haven’t dropped the Shimura name. If it’s as important as you think it is, it’d be bad to reveal we know it too quickly.”

“Unfortunate, but thanks anyway. Though I have to ask again-”

“No,” the woman laughed, “I don’t wanna join your Commission. The minute I say yes, half my contacts will flee. And we both know how much good your Commission can do if you have someone like me working the underground, especially after what happened to Chisaki’s little cult. Anyway, I just wanted to warn you about Stain. Anything else happens, I’ll leave a note in the usual spot.”

“I guess that makes sense,” Amaterasu sighed. “Boss ain’t gonna be happy at you always saying no.”

“So long as she doesn’t try anything with my nephew, I can handle it. Want a drink before you head out?”

“No thanks, I’m on my way home anyway,” the tall wolf opened the door back up. “Take care, Mineta.”

—

One day remaining…

—

“...and when his 2nd-in-command started scolding him for risking his life like that, the Captain just smiled and held up the magazine for the gun!” All Might laughed as he walked down the hall. Snipe was with him, and the two were jabbering about more of their American exploits. 

The two were heading to the Teacher’s Office to go over the files in All Might’s arms concerning a recent stint in bullying accusations. Ahead of them was Aizawa, who was quietly grumbling about how ‘that problem furry’ kept Bedazzling his bandages. After a few more steps, Aizawa opened the door and-

“WHOA!” the hobo teacher shouted in surprise, jerking back from the open doorway. Curious, All Might and Snipe walked to the doorway and looked inside. What they saw…

“...Aizawa, why is there a horse in our office?” Snipe asked, looking at the magnificent black percheron currently standing in the office in front of them. The horse gave a huff and shook its mane. It took a few moments, but Aizawa recovered enough to glare.

“Midoriya!”

Suddenly the horse disappeared and was replaced with a diminutive tanuki. Said teen gave a chuckle as he tossed away the leaf that was on his head moments prior. 

“Jump scare,” Izuku laughed. “Gets ya every time, sensei.”

“Detention,” Aizawa growled, “and this won’t work forever.”

“Then why has it worked three times this week?”

“OUT!”

Izuku made a bunch of whooping sounds and rushed out of the office. All Might and Snipe watched him go. After a moment, they both started snickering. Aizawa glared at them, but being a teacher and nothing higher he couldn’t do anything to make them stop. The teacher gave a displeased groan and walked into the office. 

“Aww, don’t get mad, Eraserhead,” Snipe slowly stopped laughing. “Maybe this is just his way of handling the stress. Festival is tomorrow after all.”

“If he embarrasses himself, I’m expelling him.”

CLICK

“No you’re not!” Nedzu’s voice chirped from the PA.

CLICK

“...I hate that rat.”

Chapter Text

Izuku flexed his fingers and hopped in place. He and his class were in the waiting room of the UA Sports Festival Stadium. The day had come, and saying Izuku was excited would be the biggest understatement of the year. As it neared time for the opening ceremony, Izuku’s hopping intensified in tempo until he was a fuzzy blur. His classmates let him do this for several minutes until Shoji gently held the tanuki down to keep him from oscillating into another plane of existence. 

“Simmer down, dude,” the huge teen chuckled. 

“Can’t help it,” Izuku beamed. “I’ve watched the Festival my entire life. Actually being able to participate is just too epic! We’re gonna be doing all sorts of-EEP!” Izuku froze when Ashido playfully poked his tail.

“I’mma poke this every time you start jumping,” Ashido smirked. Izuku just pouted and pulled his tail away. He was about to retort before the door in front of the class slammed open.

“Showtime!” Izuku yelled as he jogged out, followed by the rest of the class. Most of the class squinted as they stepped out into the morning sun, but when their vision cleared their pace slowed.

They were in the UA Sports Stadium. The UA Sports Stadium. The Stadium that, for a good decade, replaced the Olympics as Japan’s greatest sports meet. Every student knew about this stadium. A lucky few had even gotten the privilege to sit in the audience in the past. The fact they were down here, on the grass as attendees in the Festival, filled them with palpable awe.

“AND HERE’S THE HERO COURSE, WITH CLASS 1-A COMING OUT IN FRONT!!” Present Mic screamed over the stadium speakers. 

“Don’t let their cute li’l faces fool ya!” Mic’s co-commentator, Pro Heroine Midnight, giggled. “Those kids have already faced villains just weeks ago and came out on top!”

“2000 yen says Midnight makes a lewd comment before the second event,” Kaminari declared while pointing at the commentator’s booth.

“I don’t take losing bets,” Bakugou snarked.

“I do!” Sero raised his hand. “Same money for her saying something crass during the second event!”

Iida tried to decry the blatant gambling amongst his classmates, but his shouts were drowned out by Mic announcing the rest of the first-years. Izuku watched 1-B move to stand next to his own class. He gave a toothy smile when he saw Monoma, who simply turned away. While looking at the other classes, Izuku’s sight fell on the snobby purple kid from a few weeks back. The kid was looking at the Hero Course students with a derisive glare. When his glare landed on Izuku, the tanuki just gave another toothy grin. Purple boy just scoffed and looked away. 

Why did everyone look away when Izuku gave a toothy grin?

“...and finishing off with the Management Course, classes I, J and K!” Mic roared. Oh, he must have listed everyone while Izuku was grinning. “And with everyone assembled, it’s time for the Student Pledge! It will be delivered by Midoriya Izuku, the student who placed highest in the Hero Practical, and among the highest scores of the written portion!”

“...Wait, WHAT!?” Izuku shrieked. No one had told him about that. Wasn’t he supposed to be told? He looked around, and his classmates were just as surprised as he was. Looking up at the stage, he saw Aizawa standing next to the microphone. He was wearing his capture scarf, but it was clear he was hiding a smirk behind it. He was probably supposed to tell Izuku, but ‘forgot’ or was too lazy to do so. 

…Oh it’s on.

Izuku walked up the stage, past Aizawa, and stood in front of the microphone. He gave Aizawa a smirk before turning to address the crowds.

“Hi, everybody!” Izuku waved. “Name’s Midoriya! I vow to play with utmost sportsmanship…” then he pointed at Aizawa. “And to have so much fun that the Bedazzled hobo here will facepalm at least seven times before the awards ceremony!” Aizawa made a croak sound at the declaration while most of the audience laughed. A few “Ooh!” were heard as well. Izuku gave Aizawa a toothy grin before hopping from the stage.

“And with that personal vendetta out of the way,” Mic laughed, “it’s time to announce the first event!” It apparently took Aizawa a few more seconds to recover from Izuku’s declaration before he cleared his throat and read from his clipboard.

“The first event will be an obstacle course,” Aizawa explained without a hint of emotion or excitement. The screens around the stadium showed off parts of the course. The course looked like something from a game show, with wacky-looking traps and odd things to climb or jump over. The entire course also appeared to be floating on water.

“As you can see, this course is over water,” Eraserhead continued droning. “The water is under two meters deep, so you don’t have to worry about drowning. Each one of you is required to pass each stage to pass. If you try to swim around the stage, you will be dragged back to the stage. Three attempts at swimming, and you’re out. For any students who have flight or floating quirks, you can use those quirks to long jump, but cannot just fly over everything. Same rules as trying to swim around. If you fall off the stage, you have to go back and try again. First 42 to reach the end move on, and…yadda yadda, just don’t kill each other.” With that, Aizawa tossed his clipboard over his shoulder and walked away.

“...Was it really smart to have him as an announcer?” Midnight asked.

“You could take his spot if you want,” Mic offered.

“No thank you, I like having a chair. Anyway, what Eraserhead failed to state was that you can’t attack your fellow students. Flailing is okay, but direct and intentional attacks are forbidden and could result in disqualification. Also, for those with ice quirks, you’re not allowed to freeze the course. The immediate area is fine, but not the entire course. Other than those, anything goes! So students, get ready!” 

The classes of students quickly morphed into a single mass of teens as the screen displayed a countdown. Izuku was glad he had been allowed to take a bunch of leaves with him for the Festival. He was sure some of the teachers (mostly Aizawa) were unhappy about this, but if they allowed Aoyama to use his belt they’d have to deal with his transformations.

“BEGIN!” Midnight and Mic yelled as the screen’s countdown hit 0. Izuku immediately slapped a leaf to his head, temporarily blinding everyone around him with how big a vapor cloud he formed. Most of those students were also deafened for a few seconds when a Carnotaurus roared and ran from said vapor. 

Izuku didn’t think the dinosaur could stand on some of those obstacles, but he had learned the predator was fairly fast for something of its girth. Between this speed and the shock of the other students, Izuku was able to clear the first real obstacle (the hall leading to the course) before most others. A lot of the students moved out of his way, but Mineta was so petrified with shock he just stood in place screaming until Izuku accidentally kicked him into a group of Gen Ed students. Once he was through, he turned back to normal and went to the first obstacle. 

The first obstacle was a line of five huge spheres above the water. It was clear students were tasked with jumping across, but Izuku could see the tops of the spheres were coated in some fluid. Could have been grease, could have been adhesive. Only one way to find out, and Izuku was excited to do it.

“YAHOOOO!” Izuku cheered as he leaped at the first ball. He hit the first ball right on the top, hitting it with both hands and feet. The tanuki teen laughed as he bounced off it towards the next ball. He hit the second much like the first, but decided to have some more fun with the third. Rather than land with his limbs, he landed on his belly. Izuku flailed his arms like worms before hitting the fourth ball. He didn’t notice the horde of students coming up behind him as he hit the fifth ball. 

“And Midoriya’s the first student to pass the Bouncy Line!” Midnight squealed. “He definitely had some fun with those!”

“And I can see Eraserhead facepalming!” Mic screamed. “That’s one! And now we’re seeing more of the students-wait, Bakugou and Todoroki have practically flown over the first obstacle!”

Izuku looked up as he landed on solid ground and saw the aforementioned teens in the air above him. Bakugou had used his explosions to propel himself over the spheres while Todoroki seemed to just catapult himself with the ice. The two shot past the tanuki, hitting the second obstacle before anyone else.

“Bakugou and Todoroki have reached the Wall Of Fists!” Midnight declared. “Will the firebrand and ice king make it past before the rest of the school catches up!?”

The wall in question was close to five meters tall and was at least 100 meters long. It was along the left side of the path and was covered in holes. Each one of these holes had a rod with metal fists on the end. Said rods were also shooting in and out of the holes at high speed. They were far enough apart that students could stand between them, but it was clear this was one obstacle you’d have to be fast to go through.

Bakugou rushed in first. Rather than try jumping over it all, Bakugou rushed head first into the array of limbs. He was followed by Todoroki, who was running with his left foot on the platform and his right foot on the water. Todoroki was making a small platform of ice with each step onto the water. Bakugou made it several meters in, using his explosions to quickly alter his velocity, before-

WHAM!

“...eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeg…” Bakugou whined after taking a single hard punch to his manberries. He comedically tipped over like a chopped tree, falling into the water. Todoroki turned to give Bakugou a quick look to see what happened before taking a fist to his face, sending him into the water as well. Seconds later, the two would be joined by other students attempting the obstacle. 

—

Amaterasu was cutting carrots for her lunch while the UA Sports Festival played on the TV behind her. She had chosen to stay ‘home’ today to both rest up and avoid Endeavor. As much as she wished she could be physically present to cheer for her apprentice, but she really didn’t feel like dancing around the flaming garbage. She knew he’d be present at the Festival, and after spending the past few months dancing around his sidekicks trying to talk to her she wanted a break from it all. At least she could listen to the Festival.

“...looks like Midoriya’s taken the lead back from Bakugou and Todoroki!” Present Mic yelled through the speakers. “He just flew over the punching wall like it was nothing! Up next are the stepping stones!”

“He’d best be careful though!” Midnight laughed. “Some of them sink! Other’s explode and send you flying! So how’s he gonna…okay, apparently Midoriya’s solution was to turn into a big dinosaur, I have no idea-”

“Amargasaurus!” a random person was heard screaming in the background.

“Thank you, Snipe. Apparently Midoriya’s decision was to transform into an Amargasaurus. I guess it works since each foot is the size of a platform and I guess it’s too heavy to be sent flying. Are we sure that’s not cheating?”

“He’s just using his quirk!” Mic answered. 

Amaterasu couldn’t help but laugh at Izuku’s antics. During their exercises, Izuku had demonstrated multiple ways of working around problems that she never considered. It was like she’d give him a problem expecting him to say A B or C, only for him to come out with M, Q or W. And the fact said solutions always worked made him even more incredible. She looked forward to seeing what he’d think of while helping her with her big assignment. 

Along with his expression when she explained what they both had in common.

—

Izuku was having the time of his life.

Was he really in a Sports Festival? Honestly, this obstacle course was more like a playground for him than anything! He couldn’t help but laugh at each obstacle thrown at him. Either by stretching his arms, jumping at weird angles or just turning dinosaur, Izuku bypassed every obstacle with ease.

The harder part was keeping ahead of Bakugou and Todoroki. After their initial fall at the punching wall, the two had deftly made it through every other obstacle. Izuku almost got burned or frozen by either of them multiple times during the race. They were definitely giving him a run for his money. Izuku knew there’d be some gimmick for people who won first place, but he didn’t care. He wanted to win this, and he was pulling out all stops when it came to dino shifting.

After running through a literal tunnel of wrecking balls, Izuku saw he was in the final stretch of the race. With his enhanced hearing, he could tell Bakugou and Todoroki were a bit more than halfway through the tunnel. He’d have at most a ten second head start on this last straightaway. One puff of vapor later and he was back to being the speedy Carnotaurus running the last hundred meters. A few seconds later, he heard an explosion behind him accompanied by a familiar roar. Bakugou got through. Todoroki caught up immediately afterwards, freezing the wrecking balls behind him. 

Izuku gave a guttural squawk as he ran as fast as he could. It was gonna be close. The finish line was less than 50 meters away. 40. 30.

Bakugou was blasting his way alongside Izuku, off the ground to avoid his feet. Todoroki tried to launch himself onto Izuku’s back, but was shaken off the instant his feet made contact.

20 meters. 10.

At the last moment, Izuku jumped forward. His shoulder struck Bakugou, sending the airborne teen off-course. His tail also impacted Todoroki. Both boys fell and failed to recover before Yaoyorozu, Kaibara and some pink-haired girl covered in gadgets overtook them. They did get up in time to see Izuku literally snag the finish ribbon with his teeth.

“AND MIDORIYA IZUKU HAS TAKEN FIRST PLACE!” Mic and Midnight screamed at the same time. “The dinosaur tanuki has won the first event!” Izuku gave a victorious roar and danced, flailing his tiny arms and spinning like the happy maniac he was. 

“Behind him, taking second, is Kaibara Sen!” Mic continued. “Followed by Yaoyorozu Momo, Hatsume Mei, Todoroki Shouto and Bakugou Katuski rounding out the top 5!” After that, the other students piled into the stadium. Uraraka barely made the top ten, but she still gave a victory shout. Most curiously, and really hilariously, some huge Gen Ed student burst into the stadium in the 30’s with a terrified Mineta stuck to his chest.

“Told ya I’d get us in!” the boy laughed.

“I’m gonna be sick,” the purple dwarf gagged. His companion(?) just laughed as the rest of the First-years entered the stadium.

“And that concludes the first event!” Midnight yelled. “However, only the top 42 places will advance! If you made the cut, congratulations! If you didn’t, better luck next year! Alright, while you guys take a breather, Eraserhead will explain the next event! …Aizawa?” 

“I think he left after the race started,” Mic tried (and failed) to whisper to his co-commentator.

“Little turd,” Midnight grumbled while the outdoor screens displayed the second event. “Well, in that case I’ll give the gist! You kids will be playing paintball! Each student will be given an orange vest and a paintball gun with green paintballs! It’ll be a free-for-all for the 42 students down below! While you’ll be shooting each other, the main goal is to simply survive! Only shots to the vest will count as takedowns!

“The match will last 15 minutes, or until there are 16 participants remaining! You get hit, and you’re out no matter how many other students you’ve taken down! HOWEVER! First place, our lovely little Midoriya, will be given a gold vest! Whoever takes him down will be guaranteed a spot in the third event, even if you get taken down later! And Midoriya! You can’t just change into a dinosaur and curl up around the vest! If you don’t get at least three takedowns before the end of the event, you’ll lose even if you didn’t get hit!”

Suddenly the Carnotaurus stopped dancing.

–

Kaibara laughed at how Izuku could express despair even in dinosaur form. And that was before he gave a mournful roar and toppled over like a chopped tree. He wished he had his phone to record that.

“Hey,” someone spoke behind him. Kaibara turned and saw a tired-looking boy with purple hair. He looked familiar.

“Can I help you?” Kaibara politely asked.

“Yeah, be my meat shield.”

“Pardon?” Kaibara saw the purple boy sneer before his vision turned to television static.

Chapter Text

After Izuku finished wailing in despair, he shifted back to his normal form and got to thinking. To the casual listener, the rules seemed pretty straightforward, but anyone with a trickster mind would notice just how many loopholes they could exploit. The trick was figuring which he could actually get away with. As a UA drone gave him his shiny gold vest, Izuku knew he’d need help.

“Yaoyorozu!” the tanuki called out as he jogged to the taller girl. “Wanna team up?”

“Team up?” Momo asked. “But the next event is a battle royale?”

“They didn’t say we couldn’t team up!” Izuku beamed. “I got a brilliant idea to get us through, but I’ll need your help along with the tech girl over there.”

“...Midoriya, the last time you had me help with a ‘brilliant idea,’ we almost lit Present Mic’s hair on fire. While that was mildly funny, it wasn’t-”

“Only almost , and not my fault his hair gel is flammable! But trust me, this’ll be cool!” Momo looked at him for a bit before her eyes lit up, like she had an idea. With a bit of a smug smile, she leaned close to Izuku’s face and quietly whispered her reply.

“Only if you tell me how you met Amaterasu after this event.”

Izuku stiffened and his tail puffed up like a pom pom as Momo straightened up. How did she even learn that name? Oh crap, he could only hope Amaterasu wouldn’t get peeved at the leak, however it happened. After a second he composed himself and turned to look at the pink-haired girl who used a lot of devices during the obstacle course.

“Excuse me, miss!”

—

After the fifteen minutes passed, Midnight tapped the buzzer to get the audience’s attention before shouting into the mic, “And we’re back!”

“Hope you got your snacks,” Mic smiled, “cuz you aren’t gonna wanna get up after this event begins! Everyone’s got their paintball guns, they’ve got their vests! Now all you need is an appropriate arena! Oh wait!” 

The entire stadium began shaking as the parts of the ground opened up. Several students had to jump out of the way as entire buildings rose from the ground. In under a minute there were dozens of buildings, large and small, littering the stadium field. Understanding what was going on, all the students rushed inside the buildings.

“BEGIN!” Mic roared as a bell tolled through the area. In an instant, paintballs and insults were flying everywhere. The students were using their quirks for mobility or defense, as the rules stated that only paintballs could disqualify others. Truly, this was an event that gave defensive quirks the advantage. A lot of students just immediately focused on each other while isolated students avoided combat, clearly looking for Izuku.

“Remember, if you’re out, the medic bots will take you away!” Midnight reminded the students. “So if you get shot, just find a safe place to sit! If you run low on paintballs, there are several depots around the stadium you can restock at!” 

There was an explosion as Bakugou hurled himself into the air. A lot of students saw him and raised their guns to shoot, but most of them suddenly found themselves peppered with paintballs. Bakugou simply laughed as he descended back to Earth before disappearing into the buildings.

“Did Bakugou just take out a dozen students in rapid succession?” Mic asked. 

“He drew their attention with the explosion and displayed incredible accuracy!” Midnight laughed. Suddenly a wall of ice formed at one end of the arena. “And that’d be Todoroki displaying his signature ice wall! Those two are definitely strutting their stuff, but where’s Midoriya in all this? Can we get a cam drone on him?” The camera drones above the arena flew around, trying to find the elusive tanuki. It took a bit for the drones to find him, but when they did, the entire stadium gasped in shock.

Izuku had indeed turned into a dinosaur. He was a large, four-legged dinosaur covered in armor with a clubbed tail. The gold vest he was required to wear had been tied to his face, resting on the face plate between his eyes. With how wide the unfurled vest was, it made an easy target. Unfortunately for any would-be hunters, Izuku’s paintball gun was set into some rig above his head. He had some device over his eye to help with aiming, and some controls inside his mouth that fired the gun whenever he bit them. Even crazier, Izuku’s paintball gun had somehow been converted to full-auto. On either flank of the large dinosaur were Momo and the pink-haired tech girl, firing their own guns.

“What is this!?” Mic screamed. “I thought he wasn’t allowed to turn dino!”

“No, we said he wasn’t allowed to turn dino and just curl up around the vest,” Midnight clarified. “We never said he couldn’t go dinosaur at all. We probably should have, but it’s too late now! Midoriya and his apparent-teammates have made themselves a defensive position! I can see Yaoyorozu Momo of Hero Course and Hatsume Mei of Support Course down there with him! Hatsume’s the girl who demonstrated her incredible inventions during the previous event, and Yaoyorozu’s quirk lets her create anything she knows the designs for! Looks like the three teamed up to get through this event together!”

DinoZuku gave a bellow as he charged forward, intent on taking down as many students as he could. Momo and Mei followed him, with Mei laughing her head off as the rig she was wearing essentially split her paintball gun into four. Momo was easily making more paintballs with her quirk, ensuring the group never ran out of ammo. For anyone with military experience, it was like watching a fire team moving up a road with tank support.

When the second event started, it seemed like Izuku would have to duck and hide from his pursuers. Now, everyone else had to hide from Izuku.

—

Kaibara had no idea what was going on.

Ever since that purple-haired kid spoke to him, his vision was basically television static. His hearing was muffled, as though someone plugged his ears. He could barely perceive anything, let alone focus on what was happening. He could feel himself moving, but he couldn’t control himself. He tried to resist, but it wasn’t working. He felt like a puppet.

Can’t we do anything?

If Kaibara did have control of his faculties, he would have jumped at that. Whose voice was that? He wasn’t familiar with it.

You think we aren’t trying? His quirk is getting in the way.

Can’t we just muscle past it?

Kaibara did not like hearing unfamiliar voices in his head, but at least it seemed like they were trying to help. Maybe they could get him out? He could-

Suddenly he felt a sharp impact against his chest. His vision cleared immediately. His hearing returned. Looking around, Kaibara found he was, somehow, in the middle of the stadium. Looking down, he saw paint spatter across his chest, and more along his limbs. He was out and didn’t even know how.

“Wow, here I thought you’d last longer.”

Turning around, Kaibara saw the snide purple kid from earlier, looking as smug as ever. Surrounding him were around a half-dozen students from the two Hero Course classes. All of them had a glazed look in their eyes.

“What the hell did you do!?” Kaibara yelled.

“Just used my quirk,” the purple jerk shrugged. “Got a problem?”

“I do when you used your quirk before the event started! That’s against the rules!” This declaration earned another shrug from the other kid.

“If you’re just gonna complain about something like that, maybe you should just leave Hero Course. Make room for someone who actually deserves to be in there.” He turned to walk away, the dull-eyed students following him.

“Someone who deserves it?” Sen growled. “I suppose you mean someone like you?”

“Who else?” the bastard chuckled as he disappeared around the corner. Kaibara just gave a frustrated yell as the medic bots arrived. He lost without even getting a chance to prove himself.

And dammit, he liked paintball.

—

Izuku gave another bellow before pelting another few students with paint. His hide was splattered with the stuff, but the gold vest on his face was pristine. Momo and Mei were equally covered with the colors, but still in the game. They were both cackling like madmen at this point. Izuku was kind of afraid Mei’s insanity had rubbed off on his class vice-president.

“Someone get that vest!” a student yelled.

Anytime we try, he gets a bead on us!” another kid shouted back before taking a spray from Izuku.

“Someone with a speed quirk, just yank it off him!”

If Izuku had lips, he would be smiling. This was incredibly fun. With his huge size, he was easy to hit, but not easy to take down. So long as no one like Todoroki or-

Oh hey, a wall of ice. 

Well, not exactly a wall. It did block Momo and Mei from advancing, but Izuku’s head was caught in the ice, trapping him in place. It was like one of those medieval trap things you’d see in the central square of a town to humiliate people. What were those called again? Izuku needed to look that up next time he had a chance. 

“Got you.”

Oh yeah, he was trapped. Izuku gave a deep grunt as Todoroki casually walked up. He was clearly trying to look dramatic, but the copious amount of paint covering his limbs detracted from that. He leveled his paintball gun at Izuku’s face, right at his vest. Before he could pull the trigger, there was a puff of vapor, followed by a “Yahoo!” as a short tanuki ran past him with a vest over his face and a mechanical rig in his arms. 

“Wha-huh-get back here!” Shouto turned to give chase. Not a minute too soon, as the wall of ice behind him exploded. Hatsume laughed as she tried to shoot Todoroki, but a nearby explosion threw off her aim. More paint splattered across his arm, barely missing his vest. She took aim again, but a loud horn blared across the stadium.

“AND THAT’S IT!” Present Mic roared through the speakers. “We’re down to the last sixteen participants! These sixteen students will move on to the last event, but everyone who participated might wanna hit the showers! The paint is non-toxic, but I doubt it’s at all comfy!”

“Oh good, it’s over,” Izuku said, suddenly behind Mei. The engineer squawked in surprise as Izuku handed his rig to her. “Thanks for the help. Looking forward to seeing you in the tournament.”

“You’re gonna help me advertise my babies, right?” Hatsume asked. 

“If we get paired up. Now I’mm gonna hit the showers while we still have hot water. I don’t wanna stain my fur.” He waved at Mei and Momo before running off.

“Fun kid,” Mei nodded.

“Oh, you have no idea,” Momo laughed as the screens above the audience lit up, showing the names of the students who made it to the third event.

Midoriya Izuku

Yaoyorozu Momo

Hatsume Mei

Bakugou Katsuki

Todoroki Shouto

Uraraka Ochako

Monoma Neito

Setsuna Tokage

Iida Tenya

Tetsutetsu Tetsutetsu

Kirishima Eijiro

Ashido Mina

Kyoka Jirou

Kendou Itsuka

Gorogoro Mamoru

Shinsou Hitoshi

—

Kaibara Sen was waiting outside the showers. He didn’t get hit too much so he got away with just washing his arms. However, he stayed in the shower because he needed to talk to Izuku. Thankfully, it was easy to find which shower he was using.

“Come on, you stupid liquefied pigment from hell! Why aren’t you coming out? I don’t wanna look like I got mayonnaise on my arm next time I meet my mentor! Freaking hate mayonnaise!”

After another couple minutes of Izuku’s war on paint, he seemed to finally get it out. Not long after, the shower opened and out came a damp tanuki with a towel wrapped around his tail. Izuku was using another towel to dry his face with a last one (thankfully) hiding his privvies. It took a moment for him to notice Kaibara was standing there.

“Midoriya,” the Ninth Bearer spoke up, “I need to warn you about someone.”

Chapter Text

The break between the second and third events of the Festival was a greatly welcome one. While the break also had students participate in smaller games testing their fitness and quirk expertise, most people used the hour-long break to get refreshments, cool off, and other less-strenuous activities. 

Midoriya Izuku spent some of the break showering. He didn’t like how the paint stuck around even after he de-transformed. His talk with Kaibara afterwards wound him up a bit, and sadly his upcoming conversation with Yaoyorozu would likely do that even more. Thankfully, she had the tact to not try to start the conversation in a crowded place. The two teens walked in silence until they reached a place not far from the stadium but was devoid of the crowds.

“Okay,” Momo asked. “So, spill the beans. How did you meet Amate-”

“Don’t say her name!” Izuku hissed. “She got mad at me when she learned that I learned her name early on, so do not even mutter it out here, okay?” Izuku waited for her to nod before continuing, “Alright. I first met her a bit more than a year ago, a bit after my quirk manifested. She found me in a park trying to climb trees. A week or so after that, she offered to mentor me for UA.”

“That’s it?’ Momo asked. “No challenge or anything, she just walked up and offered to train you?”

“Yeah, weirded me out too. Now my turn, how do you know her name? And how did you know I was connected to her?”

“For the second question,” Yaoyorozu smirked, “Haetori wasn’t as quiet as you think. As for how I know her name, she actually saved my aunt towards the start of her career. After that, I’ve been keeping tabs on your mentor whenever I can. I haven’t seen much, but I greatly admire your mentor. You’re a lucky guy to get her attention.”

“I’ll be sure to pass on your regards,” Izuku smiled. “Anything else?” With a denial from Momo, the two teens walked back to the stadium. Though they only took a few steps before Momo geeked out a bit of what she knew of Amaterasu (without saying her name, of course). Izuku laughed, happy he had someone to geek out with, and thankful no one seemed to hear their conversation.

Unfortunately for them, Izuku’s sharpened hearing couldn’t pick up if someone was sitting completely still. As such, they went through the entire conversation without noticing the large, fiery hero sitting around the corner with a box of doughnuts…

—

Nedzu was in his office, typing up his decisions for the matchups in the upcoming tournament. He had some fun matchups in mind, and knew they could lead to some flashy or cunning fights if done properly. He cackled as he sent the roster to the stadium office. The teachers there would give their opinions on the lineup, and maybe he’d make changes depending on them. To his surprise, the instant he sent the roster, his phone rang. Odd, normally it takes a few minutes before the teachers contact him. 

“Principal Nedzu,” the mammal greeted as he picked up the phone.

“Hello, Nedzu,” said the last person he ever expected.

“K-Kannazuki!” Nedzu exclaimed. “What a surprise. What can I do for you, Chairwoman?”

“I assume you saw what Shinsou Hitoshi did?” the foxy Commission Chairwoman asked. 

“I did notice that,” Nedzu nodded, calming down from the surprise. “Though I admit I didn’t notice until the event began, and I didn’t want to force a restart.”

“I assume you will remove him from the tournament, then?”

“Actually, I have another idea,” Nedzu smirked. He then spent the next couple minutes explaining what was going to happen. At the end, Kannazuki couldn’t help but laugh.

“Alright, I admit that works for me. Your staff supports your idea, correct?”

“I don’t think they realized what Shinsou did. Or if they did, they realized it too late like I did. I plan on addressing it after the Festival concludes.”

“Right. Will the student facing him be informed of your plan?” At this question, Nedzu gave a laugh.

“He’s the one who gave me the idea!”

—

Shouto stormed through the halls of the Stadium, looking for Midoriya. The tanuki had disappeared after the second event, and he needed to ask him a few things. Hopefully he wouldn’t run into Endeavor during his hunt. He didn’t want that flaming garbage heap ragging on him for-

“Gah!”

Shouto had been so engrossed in thought that he practically bowled over another student as he turned a corner. By sheer luck, the student he accidentally knocked over was the target of his search. The fuzzy teen stayed on the ground, bemoaning his lost pork bun. He picked up the fallen pastry and spent a few moments dusting it off before finally looking up at Shouto. 

“Ya need something, or did you wanna kill my lunch again?” Izuku asked, taking a bite from his bun.

“I want to talk,” Todoroki stated.

“Can’t it wait?” Izuku asked. “We only got like 15 minutes left before the next event and I wanna get some more food in my stomach before we beat each other up like civilized men.”

“It’s important,” Shouto growled. “You almost made me use my fire during that last event.”

“Okay, what fire?” Izuku asked, still sitting on the ground. “I’ve only ever seen you use ice. Or are you saying there’s an actual purpose to your colors being split down the middle?”

“...My quirk is truly called ‘Half-hot, half-cold.’ I can control ice with my right side and fire with my left.”

“Sorry, you couldn’t have chosen a better name for your quirk?”

“My father chose the name.”

“I am so sorry. There should be some way to change that.”

“Doesn’t matter. I’ve sworn never to use my fire side.”

“...Okay, I guess we’re about to enter the ‘tragic backstory’ stage of this conversation,” Izuku sighed. “Well, if we’re really doing this, take a seat.” Shouto stared for a few seconds before sitting cross-legged in front of the fuzzy teen.

“First, what do you know about quirk marriages?”

—

Kaibara sat in a side room, across from All Might. He had just informed the Number One Hero of what happened during the second event. How Shinsou caught him with his quirk before the event started, and he wasn’t able to do a thing. 

“I’m sorry, sir,” Kaibara shook his head. “I told you I’d stand out and shout ‘I am here’ to Japan. Instead, I was caught in a trap and-”

“You did nothing wrong,” All Might rest his hands on Sen’s shoulders. “I cannot tell you how many times I’ve been caught in similar traps. True, none of them involved mind control, but I was still caught. You have nothing to be ashamed of.” Then the hero leaned back in his chair. “And truth is, I am kind of glad you didn’t advance.”

“Wuh-why?” Kaibara asked, caught entirely off-guard. 

“Because of my…former sidekick,” All Might sighed, his voice heavy. 

“You mean Sir Nighteye?”

“Before you came to me, he called me and, again, demanded to know who I gave One For All to. He is still under the impression that my successor is supposed to be Toogata Mirio, the student he chose.”

“Again?” Kaibara groaned, his previous shame forgotten. “That man just won’t quit.”

“I think he’s succumbed to Precognition Mania,” Toshinori continued. “He’s become so dependent on his future sight quirk that he assumes he knows what’s best for everything. If you did make an impression, he’d have another target for his mania.”

“...I’m still not happy about losing, but I guess that makes sense,” Sen stated. “At least this means I have more time to ask you about something that happened while I was under that quirk’s effect.”

—

Back with Shouto and Izuku, the former had just finished recounting his tragic backstory. How his mother had been purchased for what was essentially a eugenics experiment. How he and his siblings were born with the intent to make a ‘masterpiece’ to surpass All Might. How his mother scarred him after suffering a mental breakdown. He never liked thinking about his past, let alone talking about it, but he needed Izuku to know. Looking back at the tanuki, Shouto was surprised to see the fuzzy teen had watery eyes. With how snarky he was, Todoroki had expected him to make some witty one-liners.

“That is terrible,” Izuku sniffed as he wiped his eyes. “Just when I didn’t think there’d be any more reasons to hate the guy.”

“You already dislike him?”

“I’ve heard some stories,” Izuku replied. “I can sympathize with you, but I think you’re doing things wrong.”

“What do you mean?”

“You told me you won’t let him control your life, but you’re still letting him control you in the other direction.”

“...Could you explain how that works?” Todoroki was legitimately confused at his classmate’s statement. 

“You say you won’t use ‘his’ fire, which is a whole other thing to go over, but the only reason you’re not using it is because of Endeavor. If he had an ice quirk, would that mean you wouldn’t use your ice instead?”

That question stunned the heterochromatic teen. His ice was a gift from his mother, a calming cool compared to his father’s arrogant flames. The very idea of the opposite occurring was not a thought that entered his mind to any degree. But now that the thought was there…would he have denied ice if his mother gave him fire?

“There you go,” Izuku declared as he stood up. He wiped his lap of bun crumbs before continuing, “By denying your fire, you’re still letting your dear-ol’-sperm donor dictate your life. So instead of denying Endeavor by refusing his flames, deny him by using your flames the way you want. Don’t be a ‘masterpiece’ to surpass All Might. Think of what you want to use your flames for, got it?” Without waiting for an answer, Izuku patted his shoulder and rushed past him, back towards the waiting rooms for the last event of the Festival.

Shouto did not move for several minutes longer.

—

“And we’re back!” Midnight cheered. “Hope you all got your snacks and toilet breaks done with, cuz the third event is about to begin! That’s right, boys and girls, it’s time for the Combat Tournament! One-on-one fights between the students!”

“The matchups have been carefully selected!” Present Mic continued. “Some folks might take offense to these fights being as even as possible, but our Principal wants every student to have a chance of getting to the top! And here’s the roster for everyone’s perusal!” As the loud hero declared this, the monitors around the stadium lit up.

Midoriya - Shinsou

Bakugou - Kendou

Monoma - Jirou

Ashido - Todoroki

Hatsume - Yaoyorozu

Iida - Setsuna

Tetsutetsu - Gorogoro

Kirishima - Uraraka

Chapter Text

Izuku stood by the doorway to the stadium grounds. He was staring across the field, at the opposite door. Not even the large cup of chocolate milk he was chugging made him feel any less antagonistic. He was just waiting for Mic and Midnight to announce the start of the tournament, so he could enact a bit of tanuki justice on Shinsou’s condescending ass. About the only thing that cheered him up happened a couple minutes prior, when he told Kacchan his plan, and said exploding teen came up with a new nickname for Shinsou. 

Too bad Izuku couldn’t use it during the fight.

“And we’re back!” Izuku heard Midnight shout through the speakers. “Hope you all got your snacks and toilet breaks done with, cuz the third event is about to begin! That’s right, boys and girls, it’s time for the Combat Tournament! One-on-one fights between the students!”

“The matchups have been carefully selected!” Present Mic continued. “Some folks might take offense to these fights being as even as possible, but our Principal wants every student to have a chance of getting to the top! And here’s the roster for everyone’s perusal!” Izuku smiled when he saw the lineup. The very first match would be between him and Shitshow Hitoshi. Perfect.

“Would the first contestants please enter the arena!?” Midnight called out. Before she even finished asking, Izuku tossed his empty cup in the trash and marched out. Across from him was Hitoshi, swaggering with his self-centered sneer.

“From one side, we got the class trickster!” Midnight announced. “Don’t let his fuzzy exterior fool you, he’s more than capable of  shedding that fur to reveal scales and fangs! Let’s give it up for the Tanuki of 1-A, Midoriya Izuku!”

“And from the other side,” Mic declared, “we have the purple-haired menace of 1-C! A boy with a not-so-flashy quirk who’s definitely made an impression today! Let’s give it up for the sneaky, efficient Shinsou Hitoshi!”

The crowd roared with excitement as the two students approached the arena. It appeared that Aizawa had chosen to disregard the tournament entirely, as the referee was instead Ectoplasm. The squishy teacher looked at both boys as they stopped a few meters apart. 

“Alright children,” the UA math teacher explained, “we want a good clean fight today! You are disqualified if you are immobilized, forfeit, fall out of the ring, or cause grievous harm to your opponent! Poking in the eyes and hitting below the belt is just plain mean and will not be allowed! Any questions before we begin?”

“A question for my foe here,” Shinsou smirked. “How did it feel watching your spinny friend lose in the second event?”

Ectoplasm scolded Shinsou for the premature insult, but Izuku remained silent. This was how he got Kaibara before the last event. The fact he tried it here just steeled Izuku’s resolve as he unzipped his coat. Shinsou twitched at Izuku’s silence, but covered it up with a nonchalant shrug.

“Don’t even care? I guess a golden boy like you can afford to be heartless, huh?” Another failed attempt.

“Are both students ready?” Ectoplasm asked. When Izuku nodded (and Shinsou tried another barb), the teacher raised an arm. “BEGIN!”

“I guess your friend told you how my quirk functions,” Shinsou sneered. “Was he really so weak he had to go crying to you like some pitiful primary school kid?” No response as Izuku calmly pulled a leaf from his jacket. “Then again, that was probably the first time someone like him ever lost something. You Hero Course pricks got everything handed to you on a golden platter with no effort, after all.”

Izuku replied by placing the leaf on his head, temporarily disappearing in a puff of opaque vapor. When the mist dissipated a few seconds later, Izuku was revealed to be a Pachycephalosaurus. Similar to his Stegoceras form, but a lot bigger. Rather than feel intimidated, Shinsou just gave a scoff.

“Can’t beat me without turning into an animal, huh? What a wimp.” Izuku gave a bestial shout, and Shinsou sneered…before his face turned to terror. 

His quirk didn’t work on Izuku.

While the purple boy was stunned in fear, Izuku charged at him with another bellow. Before Shinsou recovered from his shock, Izuku slammed him in his chest and sent him airborne. Hitoshi was in agonizing pain while he flew straight up. As he came back down, Izuku spun around, delivering a hard tail slam. He hit Shinsou in the arm and chest, resulting in a sickening snap before the boy was sent flying from the arena. 

“And in a quick and snappy combo,” Mic joked, “Midoriya Izuku wins the first fight!”

With the roaring of the crowds, Izuku canceled his transformation. Izuku stormed to the prone Shinsou, looking as angry as his fuzzy muzzle could. He made no attempt to help the boy up, simply glaring down at him until Hitoshi noticed.

“What?” Shinsou groaned from the ground.

“I just wanna educate you on how amazingly wrong you are,” Izuku growled. 

“About what?” 

“I wasn’t handed everything on a platter,” Izuku explained. “Ya see, I’m a Late Bloomer of epic proportions. My quirk didn’t manifest until just last year. That means I was considered quirkless for my entire life. Now consider the fact I went to Aldera. You do know what happened there, right?”

“Who cares?” Shinsou groaned as the medical bots hoisted him onto a stretcher. “Doesn’t change the fact you have a golden quirk now. You Hero Course pricks only care about flashy-”

“One of my classmates is invisible,” the tanuki interrupted. “That’s all. And invisibility is useless against the Exam robots, which all have infrared vision to avoid accidentally running over people. Another classmate can command animals, also useless against robots. There’s a guy in Class 1-B whose quirk is literally making things soft. They made it into Hero Course.” Izuku leaned down to punctuate his last question before the robots hauled the wounded Shinsou away.

“What’s your excuse?”

—

Among the crowd in the Stadium, Endeavor had watched that last match with profound interest. 

That shapeshifting boy had become a person of interest to the hero. While finding a quiet spot to eat something sweet (as today was his Cheat Day for his diet), he heard something very interesting. To think that Amaterasu had an apprentice, and that apprentice was in Shouto’s class. Most people would see this as a funny coincidence.

Enji, however, saw it as an act of providence. 

The fiery hero left the stands as the fight between Bakugou and Kendou started. He didn’t need to watch it. He was more focused on trying to find that boy. Shouto might be his masterpiece, but that…that Midoriya would become his master key. His way to getting Amaterasu’s attention. And if that didn’t work, well, he could always use the boy as leverage. 

As he approached the waiting area for the students, however, he was met with a closed-and-locked door. Gritting his teeth, he came close to just melting the lock. The only thing that stopped him was the camera to his left. No doubt that rat would notice him breaking into an off-limits area. Giving a dissatisfied growl, the Number Two Hero turned and walked away.

He needed to make some calls to his agency. He would grab the kid for internships. No one would turn down an offer from the Number Two Hero. On the incredibly-unlikely possibility that he does, Endeavor can simply inform Shouto to use him instead. The fiery hero smirked at his budding ideas. Nothing would stop him now.

As Endeavor stormed away from the locked door, Nedzu was busy brewing more tea. He never noticed Endeavor coming to the closed door, and would not realize what almost happened until after the Festival.

—

“HOT POTATO!”

Kyoka Jirou covered her ears as Bakugou unleashed a directed explosion. The pressure was enough to send Kendou flying from the arena. The karate girl rolled through the grass before catching herself. At least it was a fairly soft landing. Honestly, Jirou felt like Bakugou was holding back. His “Hot Potato” (named due to the oblong glow between his palms before detonation) was definitely not his strongest attack. Maybe he was hiding his full strength for later fights. 

“Thankfully,” Mic cheered, “the arena didn’t take any damage from Bakugou’s explosions, so we can start with the next fight immediately!” Oh geez, that quick? Jirou quickly made a couple quick stretches before rushing out. “From one side, the queen of rock from 1-A! Give it up for Jirou Kyoka!”

“And from the other side,” Midnight announced as Jirou’s opponent swaggered out, “is the proud self-appointed ace of 1-B! Monoma Neito!” Not even Midnight’s joke changed Monoma’s expression. An expression of condescension and pride.

Jirou put up a brave front, but was definitely nervous. Monoma had heckled her class enough times for her to remember he had a copycat quirk. He could copy a person’s quirk just by touching them. He could very well have shaken hands with any number of pros during the break. Jirou, unfortunately, relied on close combat. If she could get within reach, she might have a chance. 

But only if she gets close.

“You kids remember the rules, right?” Ectoplasm asked. “Do you? Good. BEGIN!”

“BEHOLD MY MIGHT!” Monoma roared as he raised his arms. In seconds, his body shone like polished metal. He sneered at Jirou as he flexed his arms. “See what I can do? See how 1-B is superior to your own class? We have men of steel! Now do yourself a favor and forfeit before I-”

While Monoma monologued, Jirou thanked her lucky stars and rushed him. She was familiar with this quirk, due to Tetsutetsu being friends with Midoriya. He just covered himself with metal, but only covered himself. That metal was literally skin deep, but was over his entire body.

There was one good reason why that was a bad idea against someone like Jirou. 

Before Monoma finished his rant, Jirou jabbed his chest with her earjacks. They didn’t go all the way in, but she struck with enough force for the jacks to get their tips inside. Then she activated her quirk with everything she had. If she had struck simple flesh, the sound waves would only affect the surrounding meat. But against metal…

“AAAAAAAAAAAAAGH!”

Monoma fell to his knees in an instant. The metal covering his body resonated with the sound waves, inflicting pain across his entire body. The metal around Jirou’s jacks had actually begun to distort before Monoma canceled his quirk. Jirou exploited this by pulling her jacks away and giving her foe a hard kick to his gut. The sudden pain combined with residual agony from the resonation attack sent the 1-B mimic to his knees. Before he could even begin to recover, Jirou kicked him onto his back and knelt on his chest, her jacks poised to jab his neck.

“If you move,” she warned, “I’m doing it again.” After a few seconds, Monoma scoffed and looked aside. The wince he gave when he turned his head showed he was still in pain from the resonance attack.

“MONOMA IS UNABLE TO CONTINUE!” Ectoplasm announced. “JIROU ADVANCES TO THE NEXT ROUND!”

Chapter Text

Kaibara Sen was still wincing even minutes after that Jirou girl beat Monoma. True, he had it coming, but it was still fairly unpleasant to watch. The rest of his class was also wincing at the defeat as the beaten blond was hauled away by medical robots. 

“Not sure he got off easy fighting her,” Izuku said as he appeared in the chair next to Kaibara. “Jirou’s always been good at hand-to-hand stuff.” Before Sen could say anything, Izuku held out a large pretzel stick. The 1-B boy accepted the offer. 

“I just hope this humbles him,” Sen stated as he chewed on the pretzel stick. “He keeps trying to antagonize everyone against your class.”

“I guess karate chops can only go so far,” Izuku shrugged. “What’cha think of my match against Shitshow?” Sen snorted for a few seconds before he could reply.

“Oh man, I’ll have to share that one with the others. But yeah, thanks for smacking him around. I’m not usually a vengeful guy, but…”

“Bah, he deserved it. Wish I could see his face when-” Izuku’s words were cut short when Mic announced the next fight. To the uproars of the crowd, Ashido Mina and Todoroki Shouto approached the arena. Ashido was smiling while Shouto had his trademark dead fish gaze.

“Those are your classmates,” Sen asked, “who do you think will win?”

“Todoroki,” Izuku replied without hesitation. “Mina is very athletic and has good control of her quirk, but Todoroki is just too powerful. During our first hero exercise, he froze an entire building. Like, encased it in ice. There’s no way she can beat that.”

“FIGHT!” Mic roared through the speakers.

Ashido was on Todoroki in an instant, ducking under a growing spire of ice launched from Shouto’s foot. Shouto himself had to dodge the glob of acid that flew past his face moments later. He covered his arm in ice and swung it at the pink girl, again narrowly missing. Ashido followed up by delivering a series of kicks and punches to his chest and stomach. While none of the blows were particularly powerful, the sheer volume of them pushed the larger boy back a bit. Even worse, it appeared she had a thin layer of acid covering her hands, as Shouto’s jacket was slowly deteriorating.

Her luck turned for the worst when she attempted another punch. She landed the blow, but Todoroki caught her hand before she could pull it back. He followed up by encasing both their arms in ice. Now they were stuck together. Mina shivered from the sudden cold, then screamed as Todoroki spun around. With her smaller mass, it was easy for Shouto to get her off the ground. The two students spun for several seconds, with Ashido trying to use her acid to melt the ice. Before she finished, Shouto released her. The weakened ice broke instantly, and Ashido gave a surprised scream as she flew out of the ring. 

For several moments, long enough for Midnight to announce the winner, neither Izuku nor Sen uttered a word. The spinny hero student actually dropped his pretzel stick. It wasn’t until the robots began to clean the ice off the arena before Sen turned to Izuku.

“Didn’t you say he could freeze an entire-”

“That was an amazing amount of restraint,” Izuku interrupted. “I honestly didn’t think he could hold back like that. Well, not without…well, not normally.”

“Do you know something?”

“He told me his tragic backstory. Sorry, it’s confidential.”

“They usually are,” Kaibara sighed. The two teens listened as Midnight announced the next fight would be Hatsume versus Yaoyorozu. However, when the two girls walked into the stadium…

—

Momo smiled as she walked to her spot. She was decked out head-to-toe in gear designed and built by her opponent, Hatsume Mei. True,the agreement to advertise her gear was made with Izuku, but the arrangement of the fights prevented that, so Momo gladly volunteered. 

Plus, she kinda felt like a saturday-morning hero in this getup. It was fun.

“Ready when you are!” Momo called out to her new friend. Mei just smiled, tapped a few button on her wristguard and turned to the crowd.

“HELLO, EVERYONE!” Mei’s voice roared through the speakers. “Welcome to today’s demonstration of support gear designed by yours truly, the future head of Hatsume Industries!”

---

Izuku and Sen watched Hatsume and Momo advertise her equipment for a good ten minutes before Mei casually stepped out of the ring. She clearly had no intention of actually fighting. At all. Momo didn’t seem offended one bit, either. If anything, their ‘match’ seemed more like two friends showing off their toys than anything. After the match was called, the two girls exited the stadium together.

“...Midoriya, you have weird friends,” Sen stated.

“Since you’re my friend, that includes you,” Izuku laughed. “And hey, the next fight is between one of your classmates and one of mine, Iida versus Tokage. Aka, Speedy Gonzales versus the girl you got a crush on.”

“...Dafuq, man!?”

—

Iida stepped onto the arena floor after the two girls left. He wore a determined expression as he watched his opponent walk up across from him. Tokage Setsuna. He knew she was not someone to underestimate, but that was really as far as he knew about her. He had not seen her performance at all in the earlier events, and rarely saw her during school. As such, he didn’t even know what her quirk was. He was hoping Mic would make some word joke based off her quirk, but he simply introduced her as one of 1-B’s Recommendation students. 

That did nothing to soothe Tenya’s nerves. 

“Remember kids,” Ectoplasm warned, “do your best, but don’t go overboard. BEGIN!”

Iida had no intention of letting Tokage use her unknown quirk against him. The instant their teacher declared the start of the match, Iida rushed straight for his schoolmate. With how fast he was going, even without using his Recipro Burst, it was highly unlikely she could dodge. In barely more than a second, he had crossed the arena and gently grabbed her shoulders. In less time, he began pushing her towards the edge of the arena.

pop 

Iida found himself pushing Tokage’s torso to the edge of the arena. Just her torso. He continued his rush for a few more steps before his brain caught up with what happened. Why was he holding just a part of her? Had he run so fast she was dismembered by his velocity? Oh god, what had he done!?

Iida skid to a stop at the edge of the ring, shocked by what he believed he had done. Moments later, he heard a giggle from behind him. Before he could react, something struck his back with incredible force. The speedy teen gave a shout of surprise as he toppled head-over-heels into the grass. 

“IIDA IS OUT OF BOUNDS! TOKAGE SETSUNA ADVANCES!”

Iida stared back up at the arena in surprise. Floating, literally floating, at the edge of the ring was his opponent. She was in pieces, with her severed head giggling down at him. He remained on the ground as Tokage’s pieces floated back together. She was unharmed.

“Was hoping you’d fall for that!” Setsuna laughed. “Good try though! If my quirk wasn’t like this I woulda lost! Better luck next time!” She walked away as medic bots hoisted Iida onto a stretcher. He wasn’t really wounded, but the fact he hadn’t moved at all since his fall triggered their automated response.

Iida lay on the stretcher, feeling naught but shame. He had lost in the first round of the last event. His brother would either feel embarrassed, or laugh. 

—

Tetsutetsu walked to the arena after his name was called. He was eager to show what he could do, and planned to have fun in the process. Walking beside him was his opponent, Gorogoro Mamoru. A tall, stocky boy with calcified growths along his arms and back, Gorogoro probably would have struck him as intimidating if not for the goofy smile on his face. It was clear he would be having fun here, as well.

“Looking forward to being put in your class after the Festival,” Gorogoro smiled.

“So sure you’ll make it?” Tetsutetsu laughed.

“I missed the cutoff for the Hero Course by three points during the exam! I been working hard since then!” Before the iron kid could reply to that, the two climbed the arena steps and Gorogoro ran to the opposite side. 

“You boys look eager!” Ectoplasm announced. “You remember the rules, right?”

“YESSIR!” both teens shouted in unison.

“Alright! BEGIN!”

Tetsutetsu hardened up, his metal shining in the sun. Gorogoro, meanwhile, fell to the floor and curled up. Before anyone could wonder why, he began to roll at his opponent. This was his quirk. The spikes in his back and arms gave him traction as he rolled at Tetsutetsu like a cannonball. 

The iron teen met Gorogoro head on. Tetsutetsu roared as he moved to catch Gorogoro with his reinforced arms. It almost worked. Gorogoro seemed to slow a bit after impacting Tetsutetsu, but the rolling boy forced the iron kid back before outright sending him flying. Thankfully, he stayed in the ring as Gorogoro rolled around to strike him again. 

“PLAN B!” Tetsutetsu roared. This time, rather than trying to catch Gorogoro, the Class B student opted to try punching him as he rolled by. This did not nearly have the desired effect, as it resulted in Tetsutetsu spinning away from the impact. Before he could recover, Gorogoro uncurled and rushed him on foot. He dodged a punch from Tetsutetsu, ducking under his fist and grappling his midsection. In a nigh-herculean display of strength, Gorogoro hoisted the ironclad teen over his head and threw him a remarkable distance. Remarkable enough to send him from the ring. 

—

Back up in the stands, Izuku and Sen watched the battle and defeat of their friend. It didn’t look like Tetsutetsu was mad at Gorogoro, but he was definitely annoyed at losing. After the two teens left the area, Sen turned to his tanuki friend. 

“That had to be one of the most unusual quirks I’ve seen all day.”

“Is a strong one, though,” Izuku nodded. “Gorogoro’s on a roll today.”

If Izuku was going to say anymore, it was lost in the sissy slapping he was now receiving. 

“Stop fighting!” Momo barked from behind the two. “Uraraka’s up next!” 

“We don’t need to watch that one,” Kaibara said as he continued to sissy slap Izuku.

“Yeah, it’s clear she’s gonna win!” Izuku stated as he continued to dodge the slapping.

And sure enough, when the fight was declared, Uraraka won within seconds. She simply ducked under Kirishima’s punch, grabbed his face with one hand, and flung him from the arena. She didn’t release her quirk until he hit the outer wall.

“And that’s the end of the first round!” Mic announced. “We’ll take a few minutes break before the next match, so do what needs doing cuz it’s gonna be an explosive one!” Midnight smirked before announcing the two fighters.

“Explosive is right, cuz it’s gonna be Midoriya Izuku versus Bakugou Katsuki!”

Chapter Text

Bakugou sat in the waiting room for the next round. He might not have been the most patient sort (shut up, he was working on it), but it really felt like this break was taking too long. It wasn’t like they needed to repair the arena. Round Face and Sharky didn’t bust it up at all. He wanted to fight. His next opponent was-

“IT’S ME!” Izuku randomly burst into the room. 

“GAH, WAT DAFUQ, NERD!?” Bakugou shouted when the tanuki slammed the door open.

“Hey, former-best-buddy! I had an awesome idea and wanted to run it by you!”

“...Idea about what?”

“A fun idea for our fight, of course!” Izuku laughed. “Something that’ll really make it interesting!”

“...Go on,” the explosive teen smirked. He knew this could be fun.

—

While Izuku and Katsuki were conspiring their next fight, Kannazuki Shizuka was groaning in frustration.

They had taken down Deika High School a few weeks ago. Far as the Commission knew, that was the last recruitment school for the Meta Liberation Army. Through tracking legal records they were also able to arrest a few lawyers connected to the Army. After that, though, they hit a wall. No one had been able to make progress on the case since Deika High. The school had no more information on the Army beyond the iconography and history books. There was clearly someone financing the group, but there was no trace who they were. 

Shizuka had brought this up with her agents, and so far only Amaterasu had come up with the skeleton of an idea on how to pursue that. She and a few other agents were looking into how to flesh out said plan, but it would likely take a while. Until then, they could only keep their eyes & ears open for any clues.

Hawks had suggested she call in his sister, since she was an expert in rooting out stuff like this. She had been the one to root out an earlier villain group, after all. However, Kannazuki shot that idea down instantly. His sister had earned her retirement after her last job. On top of that, because of said job, she had a kid to take care of. No, Shizuka would not call in her daughter.

In the meantime, she’d put some resources towards hunting this “League of Villains.” Their attack on UA was daring and stupid. A dangerous combination, made even worse by what All Might brought up with her a couple days after the attack. Kannazuki sighed at the implications.

The Boogeyman had a new puppet…

—

“And we’re back!” Present Mic called out to the stadium. “Hope you’re all ready for the next round of the tournament, cuz the first match is bound to be explosive!”

Ectoplasm watched as the next students approached the arena. Midoriya and Bakugou were walking side-by-side. Both were literally swaggering in tandem, their arms swinging back and forth. It took a minute for the Math teacher to recognize it as what his grandfather once called the ‘Gigachad Walk.’

How did these kids even know that meme?

“Here’s a refresher for you two,” Ectoplasm told the kids when they reached their respective starting points. “No ball hits, no eye hits, and please no biting. Ready? BEGIN!”

There was no rush of fur and explosions following that announcement. In fact, neither teen moved for several seconds. Before anyone could ask why, Izuku leaned forward, turned his head aside and tapped his cheek. Bakugou responded by sauntering up, smirking like he was back in Aldera. He stopped in arm’s reach of Izuku. Again, the two teens stared at each other before-

WHAM!

Bakugou delivered a single hard punch to Izuku’s cheek. Despite the force the entire audience could tell was behind that punch, the smaller tanuki hardly budged. Instead, he just gave a wide grin and straightened back up. 

And then the slugfest began.

Izuku followed up to that initial hit with a punch of his own. While Katsuki tried to dodge, Izuku was just too fast and nailed him in the cheek. Before he recovered, Izuku sent a knee into his gut. Katsuki responded with another punch to Izuku’s face, which the tanuki failed to dodge. This one sent him back a bit, but recovered nigh instantaneously and rushed back into the melee. He ducked under a punch from Bakugou and delivered a punch of his own, both teens steadily getting faster with each hit.

There were no explosions from Bakugou. There was no shapeshifting from Midoriya. This fight was not a contest of quirks, but a battle of strength. Punches, kicks, headbutts, both teens fought with everything they had except their quirks. In a matter of moments they were a blur of fury and determination. The only time the fight seemed to slow was when one or the other dodged or was struck out of arm’s reach, and even then the gap was closed in under a second. Sometimes one teen would throw the other, which gave another second or two of calm before the punching continued. Even Mic and Midnight were having trouble commenting on what they were seeing.

While everyone was amazed at just what they were seeing, no one, not even their own parents and mentors, knew the full meaning of this fight. For Bakugou Katsuki, this fight represented the final time he would fight purely for superiority. The last fight in which the arrogance and pride that ruled his life for a whole decade would make itself known. For Midoriya Izuku, this fight was a release. The pain and sorrow he felt during that same decade, he unleashed every milligram of it on his friend-turned-enemy-turned acquaintance. A punch for a punch, a kick for a kick. Everything that had built up over the decade of agony was being unleashed in this one fight. 

And yet…despite the negativity that spawned this fight…

Both teens were smiling.

Katsuki was smiling, glad to see his old friend holding his own. Izuku was smiling, glad to know Katsuki was seeing him as an equal. What started as roars of battle had turned to roars of laughter as the fight progressed. Even when Katsuki took a tooth-shaking punch to his cheek, even when Izuku took a wrecking ball of a kick to his gut, neither teen stopped laughing or smiling. 

There was a sudden, short lull in the fight as both teens pulled their fists back for another shattering blow. Both teens shot forward, punching with all they had. Bakugou aimed for Izuku’s face, only to hit empty air as the smaller teen ducked under his fist. Izuku’s punch was another uppercut to Katsuki’s chin, which connected moments after the dodge. The force behind the blow combined with the other injuries the explosive blond had sustained resulted in the uppercut sending him off his feet. He impacted the ground hard…and did not get up.

Izuku took deep breaths as he looked at his opponent. His arms were shaking, his legs feeling like they’d give out any second. When it was clear his old friend wasn’t getting up, Izuku raised his fist and gave a roar of victory. 

“WHAT A STUNNING KNOCKOUT!” Midnight screamed louder than her vocal companion. “AFTER WHAT COULD ONLY BE CALLED A GROUND SHAKING BRAWL, BAKUGOU KATSUKI IS DOWN FOR THE COUNT! THE WINNER OF THIS FIGHT IS MIDORIYA IZUKU!”

The crowd roared with that announcement. While some people across Japan were unhappy at the lack of quirk display, the majority of viewers were ecstatic at the match. A few heroes found themselves stunned, knowing there was no way they’d handle the beatdown they’d just witnessed. Izuku himself gave another roar of victory…before falling backwards and hitting the ground. He was completely worn out, but he didn’t care.

For the first time in his life, he beat Bakugou Katsuki in a way that really mattered.

—

Amaterasu was speechless. She was speechless for the entire match. When she heard Izuku would be facing his former bully, she anticipated he’d turn into a dinosaur or something and just dunk on the kid like he did with the brainwasher last round. Instead, she watched her apprentice have a literal shonen anime fight. The only way it could have been any more crazy was if they started flying and shooting ki blasts or something.

To say the heroine was impressed was an understatement. True, she trained the kid and knew what he could handle, but it was something else seeing it from an outside perspective. And seeing him win, and stay on his feet for a bit afterwards…

…It was kind of hot. 

…

Where did that come from? The heroine slapped both her cheeks and pushed that thought away. She wanted to watch the next match and actually focus. The next match would involve Shouto, the boy she needed to save from Endeavor. And she wanted to see what he could do outside of that man’s influence.

—

Jirou was legitimately nervous as she walked up to the arena. Across the arena was one of her class’s powerhouses. She knew Todoroki could freeze her in an instant. She could only hope he’d show as much restraint as he did in his fight against Ashido. The icy teen ahead of her just stared as Ectoplasm declared the start of the match.

“...So…” Jirou asked, “I don’t suppose I could convince you to go hand-to-hand like the other two boys?”

“Sorry,” Shouto shook his head as frost formed on his arm. “I know you’re an expert at close-quarters combat. If I am to defeat Midoriya, I cannot lose here.” He followed up on his words by extending his arm and sending a rod of ice at Jirou. The girl managed to swerve around the ice and rush at the heterochromatic teen. After a few steps she had to dodge more ice. And then more ice. Todoroki was practically rapid-firing chunks of ice at her, but was failing to halt her progress.

Shouto’s expression turned frantic as Kyoka got closer. He was throwing ice fast as he could without sending an entire wave. He couldn’t send an entire wave. Ever since that talk with Midoriya, his thoughts about his mom’s ice had been…difficult. Like finding out the one source of comfort you’d had your entire life was the very thing you needed comfort from. Except at the same time it wasn’t. He needed time to think about it all and he didn’t have that time when one of the scariest CQC-experts of their class was coming at him. She was meters away, and he raised his arm to catch her when-

FOOSH!

Both teens were surprised when Shouto’s left arm ignited with scarlet flames. Not only that, said arm launched a gout of flame at the charging girl. Jirou, to her dismay, was unable to dodge and get hit square in the chest by the fire. It didn’t burn her directly, but her jacket was now on fire. Frantic to remove the burning clothes, she didn’t notice Shouto’s fist coming at her. She barely got the jacket off, escaping the flames, before a fist knocked her out cold.

The teachers declared the end of the fight, but Shouto didn’t move. He just stood in place, staring at his arm. He used his fire. He hadn’t meant to, but it just came out. He gripped his arm and groaned. Now that shithead of a parental figure would probably demand he use it more. He could only hope he wouldn’t see the man until after the Festival. The medic bots came to haul Jirou away, and a few came for him too, but he just walked away. 

Hopefully the day wouldn’t get any worse.

Chapter Text

The day got worse for Shouto. 

“I’m glad to see you’ve finally moved past your childish rebellion,” Endeavor smirked. 

Shouto remained silent as his father gloated over him, as though the last fight was his own victory rather than his son’s. The Flame Hero had been waiting for him at the entrance to the field. He didn’t know non-participants were allowed here. He was hoping to avoid the old man for the entire day. 

“And now that you’ve finally embraced my flames-”

“TODOROKI!”

Both Todorokis jumped at the sudden shout. They turned and saw Izuku running up. The shorter boy completely ignored Endeavor and rushed to grab Shouto’s arms. The boy had literal stars in his eyes. 

“That was so cool!” Izuku shouted. “I thought you could only use ice, but you just used fire! That was awesome! How long have you been able to do that?”

…What? Why was Midoriya geeking out like that? He knew about the flames already. He couldn’t have forgotten so quickly. Could he? Looking up at his sperm donor, Shouto was even more confused when he saw Endeavor was not angry at the interruption. If anything, he looked rather pleased at Midoriya’s arrival. 

A pleased Endeavor was bad news.

“Ah, hello, young man,” the Flame Hero smirked. “I was hoping to-”

“Sorry, can’t talk!” Izuku shouted as he pulled on Shouto’s arms. “You gotta tell me everything about your fire! Come on!” Before Endeavor could stop him, the tanuki teen pulled the traumatized teen down the hall and away from the sperm donor. Endeavor moved to pursue, but Izuku closed and locked the door to the contestant waiting area before he could catch up. Both boys could hear the flame hero’s growl of displeasure before stomping away.

“...Err…Thank you,” Shouto managed to say after a few seconds.

“Yeah, you looked uncomfy. Might wanna tell Nedzu about this. Pretty sure he’s not actually allowed to darken a doorway like that.”

“Would Nedzu be able to do anything?”

“Give the rodent a chance,” Izuku smirked, glancing up at the nearest camera.

—

Fifteen seconds later, there was a ‘glitch’ in the fire control systems and Endeavor found himself coated in fire-suppression foam.

—

Tokage Setsuna was stretching before her fight began. She and Momo were already in the arena, but the fight hadn’t yet started. Both girls were doing stretches while Mic and Midnight were trying to get Ectoplasm to join them in making jokes. Both were girls, and both were Hero Course Recommendation Students. That meant both of them were basically the cream of the crop. Their previous fights had both been easy. Now it was time to really show off what they could do.

“Ready, Yaoyorozu?” Setsuna smirked.

“Bring it on,” Momo grinned back. 

“I’ll accept that as acknowledgement of preparedness!” Ectoplasm shouted, trying to escape the commentators' jibes. “BEGIN!”

Tokage started the fight by shooting one of her fists at Momo. It flew pretty fast after leaving her arm, but Momo deftly smacked it away with a partially-formed staff. Her weapons finished forming before Setsuna’s other fist reached her. She blocked that one with her fully-formed staff before ducking under Setsuna’s detached foot. In a matter of seconds, Momo was kept focusing on dodging Tokage’s different flying body parts while the splitting girl’s head just laughed in place.

“You got this!” Ochako screamed from the stands.

“Don’t let her swarm ya!” Izuku shouted.

“Please let her swarm you!” Kaibara yelled, only to get caught in another sissy-slap fight with Midoriya, though this time Ochako joined in.

Momo grit her teeth as she dodged another flying punch. Neither one of them was making any progress, though Momo knew that wouldn’t last. She needed to do something to gain the advantage. Thankfully, she already had one idea.

As Tokage’s torso came flying at her, Momo pressed a small button on her staff. There was a quiet click as two small prongs emerged from the end of her staff. Rather than dodge the flying body part, she rushed to meet it head-on. When it got in range, Momo thrust her staff at the torso. Electricity arced around it, and Tokage’s eye twitched a bit, but she was otherwise not affected. Crap, it looked like disconnecting the body parts added some layer of protection. 

Alright.

Plan B.

Momo threw her staff at a few body parts (they looked like thighs?) before forming a new one. This one wouldn’t have a taser, but would have something just as good. Hopefully it would be good enough to win.

For the first time since the match started, Momo rushed forward from her starting point. She rolled under some flying body parts as her staff finished forming. Tokage smirked, thinking this was just another taser staff. She began to think it might be different when Momo swung it at her head, rather than try to jab her with the prongs.

click

Tokage’s eyes widened when the upper portion of the staff snapped open, revealing a large and sturdy net. Momo had made herself a hero-grade lacrosse stick. And she was swinging it right at Tokage’s face.

“OH SHIT!” Setsuna managed to scream as her head was engulfed in the net. Before she could try floating out, Tokage found herself pressed against the netting as Momo rushed forward again. Tokage flailed around, her various parts trying to catch Momo. The creation girl managed to avoid most of them and took glancing hits from the rest. With a scream of determination, Momo reached the edge of the arena and swung the staff down with all her might. Tokage found her head freed from the net, but couldn’t react in time to avoid hitting the ground.

“AND THAT’S THE MATCH!” Midnight shouted over the PA. “After a tricky and fast battle, Yaoyorozu Momo has won!”

“But has she?” Mic genuinely asked. “It was only Tokage’s head that-”

“Hey, she fell out of the ring,” Midnight explained. “Even if it was just a single part, it was also her head. No matter how you look at it, that’s a ring out.”

“I’ll accept it,” Tokage admitted as her head floated back into the ring. She reassembled herself in seconds and smiled at the 1-A girl. “I really shoulda seen that coming, but you got me fair n square.”

“You could have won,” Momo nodded back. “If you’d been able to get a good grip on me, I bet you could have dragged me out of the ring.”

“I’ll remember that for next year!” Tokage laughed as the two Recommendation girls left the arena.

—

Up in the stands, the Hero Course students were a mixed bag of emotions. The 1-A students were all happy, most of 1-B were bummed out, and Uraraka had not stopped her ecstatic screaming until Ashido reminded her that her fight was coming up next.

“And just like that,” Kamakiri sighed, “Class 1-B is out of the runnings.”

“You guys still did amazing, though!” Izuku reassured his pointy friend. “I mean, if Tokage had faced Uraraka, she woulda had a better chance of winning!”

“And yet not a guaranteed chance?” Tetsutetsu asked.

“...No comment.”

“OH, WHAT ARROGANCE YOUR CLASS HAS!”

Literally every other Hero Course student winced. No one turned to look as a certain blonde student with a smug sneer rejoined his classmates. Despite the splotches of healing bruises, Monoma Neito walked like he was God’s best creation since underpants. Rather than sit, however, he chose to stand in the middle of his classmates.

“How interesting to see that your class is still just as arrogant as when you survived the villain attack at the USJ! Just because you somehow managed to-”

WHAM!

Monoma’s tirade was cut short when Kyoka Jirou’s fist impacted his face. This was unfortunate, as it happened at literally the exact same moment Kendou Itsuka karate-chopped his neck. This resulted in a sound like a mix between a coconut and a snapped candy bar as the unconscious 1-B student collapsed into a nearby chair.

“Seriously,” Kendou shook her head, “why does that guy think it’s a good idea to heckle people’s trauma?”

“Cuz he’s an unrepentant douche who needs castration?” Izuku calmly replied, making Jirou snort.

“Or at least a weekly punting, like you give your perverted gnome,” Kaibara suggested.

“DWARF!” Mineta shouted from a few rows back.

“Dwarf?” Izuku looked around. “Where?”

“What was that about a dwarf?” Momo asked as she reached the seats.

“AND NOW FOR THE LAST MATCH OF THE ROUND!” Mic screamed as the two combatants entered the field. “ON ONE SIDE, THE GRAVITY QUEEN OF 1-A, URARAKA OCHAKO!”

“And on the other side!” Midnight cheered. “The roller-derby king of 1-D! Gorogoro Mamoru!”

Both students nodded to each other and got into fighting stances as Ectoplasm made sure they both knew the rules. Gorogoro had a wide smile, while Uraraka had a small confident smirk. Both teens were ready. At the announcement, Gorogoro curled up and rolled at the girl.

“You think he knows what he’s up against?” Kaibara asked, turning to Izuku.

“Ha! Not a chance,” Izuku replied. “The real question is, how quick do you think-”

“GAAAH!”

Both teens turned back to the fight in time to see Gorogoro floating in the air behind Ochako. The girl in question hadn’t appeared to move at all, but it was clear what happened. Ochako had simply slapped Gorogoro as he rolled by, and when he uncurled his forward momentum carried him through the air. Ochako waited a good few seconds before touching her fingertips.

“Release.”

THUD!

“Ow!”

“Ringout!” Ectoplasm declared. “The winner is Uraraka Ochako!”

“Surprising no one,” Kaminari shrugged.

“ALRIGHT, EVERYONE!” Mic screamed to the audience. “AFTER THAT RATHER SHORT FIGHT, WE’LL BE TAKING A SHORT BREAK BEFORE WE DO THE SEMI-FINALS! THE FIRST MATCH WILL BE OUR RESIDENT ICE KING VERSUS OUR RESIDENT TANUKI! BETTER DO YOUR BUSINESS FAST, CUZ THIS IS A MATCH NONE OF YOU WANNA MISS!”

Chapter Text

Amaterasu giggled as she watched Gorogoro just float from the arena. This Festival had demonstrated quite a few interesting fights. She knew Kannazuki was definitely watching a few of the matches, but she still felt like recommending the Commission pay attention to a few. What surprised her the most, so far, was Todoroki’s sudden use of his fire. It was clearly an accident, but the fact it happened at all was very interesting.

Even if Present Mic hadn’t announced a short break before the next round, Amaterasu turned her attention away from the television. She could smell a person of interest approaching her house. A person she was well acquainted with. 

A Commission Agent.

The heroine got to her feet and moved to look out the window in front of her house. She needed to see what sort of message it was before just stepping outside. It took a moment, but soon they stepped into view.

Walking down the sidewalk past her house was a woman. Tall, even compared to her, with long dark hair. She wore a long, dark-green skirt and a matching coat with a white button-up shirt and heeled boots. As she walked by, the woman glanced at the residence with deep blue eyes. The rest of her face was concealed under a cloth mask. She carried a red bamboo parasol. It honestly looked like something out of an old painting. The woman didn’t stop walking, simply glancing at the window as she walked by. Amaterasu understood what this meant.

She quickly got some sandals on and stepped outside. She was in casual clothes, looking nothing like a heroine or a wolf. As far as any onlookers could guess, she was just someone stepping out to check the mail. Adding to the illusion, the Commission Agent in question was standing next to the line of mailboxes, leaning against the nearby wall. She was looking down at her phone, acting the part of someone just waiting for the mail, or maybe the bus. Her parasol was closed and leaned against her shoulder.

Amaterasu approached her own mailbox and opened it. She leaned down to peer outside. As she did, she whispered to the Agent next to her. Though, she guessed it would be more accurate to say both Agents.

“What’s going on?” Amaterasu whispered.

After the heroine asked this question, the masked woman loosened her grip on the parasol. This allowed the parasol to spin of its own volition. When it stopped turning, a single eye appeared on the outside, along with a small smiling mouth. When this mouth spoke, it spoke with the tone of a man changing their voice to try sounding goofy. However, both women present knew this was what the parasol truly sounded like.

“The Chairwoman,” the parasol said, “knows you plan to recruit Midoriya Izuku during the upcoming Experience Week. You intend to see if he is willing to help you with your grand mission.”

“Yes, I brought that up with her ages ago,” Amaterasu nodded as she straightened back up. “What of it?”

“Kannazuki has a request,” the masked woman explained. “Something she wants the both of you to do. Kasa, give it to her.” Her parasol-esque companion, apparently named Kasa, opened his mouth and-

“Hello, ladies.”

Both women stopped. Coming down the street was a trio of men. All three were in nice outfits, like snazzy businessmen. However, their sleazy expressions indicated they didn’t wanna talk to the two women about the quarterly financials.

“It’s rude to interrupt a conversation, you know,” Amaterasu warned.

“Aww, don’t be like that,” the lead man sneered. “My friends and I were just wondering why a pair of lovely ladies like you were out here just by yourselves. I mean, surely you could-” 

The man went silent when the masked lady stopped leaning on the wall and turned to face the trio. The leader was about to say something else before the woman pulled her mask down. What they saw made all three men blanch in fear. Then the woman gave a shrill scream that sent the men running in terror.

“...Do you have to do that, Kuki?” Amaterasu asked.

“No,” the woman, Kuki, replied as she pulled her mask back up, “but it is fun. Back to business.” Kuki walked back to Amaterasu and Kasa turned to face the heroine again. His mouth opened wide and a slip of paper appeared from it. Amaterasu casually took the (thankfully) dry paper and looked at it. To most folks, even those among the pro heroes, they’d only see a hand-drawn painting of some scene. However, Amaterasu could see the symbolism and code hidden within.

“...A banquet?”

—

Izuku slapped his cheeks. His fight with Todoroki was literally minutes away, he needed to get in the right mindset. This was the second…maybe third most important fight in the entire festival. It was a fight he needed to win. 

Or at least give it one hell of a try.

The buzzer in the waiting room blared, and Izuku was out the door in an instant. There was no humor in his face, no hop in his step. This would be a more serious fight than any of his earlier matches. He needed to give it all he could, within the limits he had placed. He patted his pockets, making sure they all had leaves, before stepping out.

“AND HERE HE IS!” Midnight squealed as Izuku stepped into the field. “THE TANUKI OF 1-A. TRICKSTER EXTRAORDINAIRE! GIVE IT UP FOR THE DINOSAUR KING, MIDORIYA IZUKU!” The crowd absolutely exploded with that announcement. Izuku had to cover his ears with how loud everyone was cheering. 

“AND FROM THE OTHER SIDE!” Mic continued. “THE SECOND RECOMMENDATION STUDENT OF 1-A! THE ICE KING WITH A TRICK UP HIS LEFT SLEEVE! GIVE IT UP FOR TODOROKI SHOUTO, THE TACITURN PEPPERMINT!” The crowd cheered at this as well, but both Izuku and Shouto gave confused looks to the commentator’s booth.

“...Taciturn…” Izuku stated.

“Peppermint?” Shouto asked.

“He couldn’t think of anything better?” Izuku shook his head. 

“You boys ready?” Ectoplasm asked, also mildly embarrassed by Mic’s nickname for Todoroki. “Remember, don’t go overboard, and no crippling injuries. BEGIN!”

Todoroki started by sending a wave of ice at Izuku. Before the ice reached him, Izuku slapped a leaf to his head and disappeared in a puff of vapor.It dispersed on contact with the ice, but the green tanuki was nowhere to be seen. Shouto looked around, trying to see what sorta dinosaur his classmate transformed into. To his (and most other people’s) surprise, there was a roar as a silverback gorilla leaped from the upper parts of the ice and fell towards Todoroki. 

‘I forgot he could change into things other than dinosaurs and heroes,’ Shouto grimaced as he narrowly dodged the raging ape. He sent more ice at Izuku, this time catching his arm. Before he could send more ice to pin him, Izuku changed back into a tanuki and pulled his noodly arm out of the gorilla-sized hole. Izuku ducked under more ice and shot his arm at his opponent. This time his punch did land, and Shouto was stunned for the second Izuku needed to grab his leg and retract his arm. Todoroki gave a shout of surprise as he fell to the floor. Midoriya jumped above him, slapped a leaf to his head, and suddenly there was a bear above Shouto. 

Time seemed to slow for Shouto as the bear descended upon him. Shouto grit his teeth and moved his arm to conjure more ice to-

“If he had an ice quirk, would that mean you wouldn’t use your ice instead?”

Shouto stiffened at the memory. Rather than summon ice, he just rolled away. What a crappy time to remember that particular memory. He needed to focus on the fight, not have troubling flashbacks. He could think about that stuff later, just muscle through and use his ice. The heterochromatic teen grit his teeth and forced the ice out from his arm. To his shock, it came out more as a spray of slush that drenched the bear. He shouted and tried again, this time managing to make another strong spire. Again, Izuku de-transformed and rushed Shouto, sending fuzzy punches at him.

“Having trouble with your ice, Todoroki?” Izuku asked. “Why don’t ya try using that fire of yours?”

“My ice is all I need!” Shouto growled as he punched Izuku square in the gut. “I don’t need to use my-”

“Your fire?” Izuku coughed, but smiled as he moved back. “You accepted it as yours?”

“My curse!” Shouto threw more ice at Izuku. “My shame! I will never use my fire!”

“Why are you still so dead set on this!? You were doing so good, too, back when you fought Jirou!”

“That was an accident!” Shouto was literally tearing up. “I didn’t mean to burn her like Endeavor would! I don’t want to be like Endeavor!”

“You are nothing like your father!” Izuku screamed back. “You are Todoroki Shouto! You are my classmate! You are not your father! Right now you’re my opponent, so fucking fight me, you gloomy candy cane!”

…

“You are not your father!”

Click

With that sentence, every negative thought clouding Todoroki’s mind disappeared. His mind was drawn back to a time before everything hurt. When his mother, his dearest mother, told him pretty much that same thing. Hearing Izuku say the same thing his mother told him so long ago…

It took a moment for him to realize his left arm was on fire. 

Shouto looked down at the flames. They didn’t burn him. The flames felt warm, soothing…

Just like his memories of his mother’s hugs.

Shouto looked up at Izuku. He got it now. He got what Izuku was trying to say in the hall earlier. Envision his fire as a gift from his mother, as well. Separate his fire from the man who believed himself to be his father. Shouto’s normally stony face turned to a wide, ferocious grin almost on par with Bakugou. Izuku gave a nervous chuckle.

“W-wow,” the tanuki joked, “you must really hate being compared to christmas candy.”

“...Sure,” Shouto shrugged as he raised his flaming arm, “let’s go with that.” Ignoring the loud cheer from the flaming man who considered himself a hero, Shouto Todoroki sent a wave of fire at Midoriya. He was so focused on Izuku he didn’t realize his flames were burning hot enough to almost instantly melt the ice immediately around him. When he unleashed his fire, Izuku barely managed to get a leaf on his head before everything exploded.

Shouto’s arm was forced back the instant the arena exploded from the sudden change in air pressure. He raised a small wall of ice behind him to keep from flying out. Unfortunately, a loud shout from his side indicated Ectoplasm wasn’t so lucky. He’d have to apologize to his teacher later. For now, he needed to make sure Midoriya was down for the count, but he couldn’t see anything through the lingering vapor and steam from his attack. He felt a slight chill on his left side, meaning part of his jacket had burned off. At least this wasn’t a personal jacket. 

The entire arena was silent. No one so much as uttered a word before Midnight and Mic discussed the science behind what the heck just happened. The vapor around Shouto seemed to disperse the quickest, revealing him to the crowds. The mist still lingered around Midoriya’s side of the arena. No one could see a thing. Todoroki hoped that meant he was down for the count. He was too tired after that last attack.

Suddenly, there was a loud trumpeting as a woolly mammoth emerged from the steam and slapped Shouto with its trunk. The force of the slap sent Todoroki flying from the arena. He was too tired to make any ice to catch himself, so he only grunted as he impacted the grass. He could hear Midnight screaming something through the PA, but he was too stunned to understand, and passed out before she finished.

—

While Izuku de-transformed, Endeavor gave a satisfied smile from his spot in the crowd. True, he was disappointed in his son’s loss, but this defeat showed him nothing but opportunity. His son had fully embraced his fire. There was no doubt about that. And with the conclusion of this fight, it was clear both boys would be sent to the infirmary. He’d just have to play the part of ‘worried father’ and the nurse would let him in. That would give him the chance to approach Midoriya, see if he could find some angle to get the boy on his side. 

As the heroes in the booth announced another small break to repair the arena, Endeavor rushed to the infirmary. His phone rang, but it wasn’t a usual ringtone so he ignored it. He knew Nedzu couldn’t stop him this time. There was no way a school like UA would have such shoddy systems as to have a second ‘fire mitigation error’ in the same day. He was in the clear. He turned the last corner to the infir-

“ENDEAVOR!”

The Flaming Hero froze. Standing just outside the infirmary was the object of his wrath and envy. All Might himself. The hero was smiling his aggravating smile, hands on his waist. He sounded annoyingly chipper, too.

“Long time no see, my fellow hero! What can I do for you?”

“...I wish to see my son,” Endeavor growled. “Let me pass.”

“Ooh, sorry!” All Might shook his head. “You see, your son is currently being worked on by Recovery Girl! She did try to call you to let you know you wouldn’t be able to see him until the conclusion of his surgery!”

“Well, what about the other boy? Midoriya? Can I speak to him?”

“Recovery Girl healed him first, so he’s out like a light! Sorry!”

Endeavor grit his teeth. It was like fate itself kept trying to intervene. Well, it was his fate to overcome All Might, so maybe he’d let it work for a while longer. With a huff, he turned and walked away. 

Once he was truly gone, All Might disappeared in a puff of smoke, and Izuku sighed as he tossed away the crumbling leaf. He turned to walk back into the infirmary, muttering a single word before disappearing behind the door.

“Asshole.”

Chapter Text

In a bar far from Musutafu, a trio of villains were watching the Sports Festival. Well, two of them were watching. The last one, the man in the other TV, could only listen as he was lacking any sort of eyes. He was calm, observing what he could without letting any negative emotion cloud his mind. The misty barkeep was equally as calm. The man covered in hands, however…

“That’s fucking crazy!” Shigaraki screamed at the conclusion of the Izuku-versus-Shouto match. “That fuzzy twerp can turn into dinosaurs and animals and who knows what else! He’s a fucking cheater! Probably turned into a T-Rex and turned his part of the USJ into Jurassic Park!”

“Assuming animal transformations are what he’s limited to…” The Boogeyman in the TV, known to few as the dreaded All For One, muttered. Was it possible this boy could mimic other people as well? If he could, and could copy their quirks…nah. If the boy could mimic other people and their quirks, there’s no doubt he would have done so by this point. Plus, his animal appearance was a good indication that he could only mimic animals. Still, what a wondrous quirk to copy even extinct animals. All For One couldn’t help but theorize just how he’d be able to use such a quirk. Would certainly be entertaining if his shapeshifting temporarily gave him eyes. Would be nice to have eyesight when fighting All Might and his successor.

Speaking of which, All For One had yet to perceive anyone who could possibly be that buffoon’s successor. Had he chosen not to pass it on since he (somehow) got healed? Or had his champion simply felt no need to reveal their power just yet? If that were the case, that could only mean one of the two girls currently approaching the freshly-repaired arena had to be his chosen one. Their performance throughout the Festival had been admirable. Yes, if he had passed his quirk on, it could only belong to one of those two.

…

…

…

The trio of villains were speechless over what they had just seen. At the conclusion of the brutal 15-minute melee, All For One knew for certain that All Might could not have passed on his quirk. Either that, or his choice of successor was, as Shigaraki so eloquently put it…”fucking insane.”

—

Todoroki Shouto woke up with a gasp. The last thing he remembered was seeing a very hairy elephant emerge from the mist and slap him with its trunk. An instant later, he was…on a bed? And inside? He looked around, though it took a moment for him to realize he was in the infirmary. Between the elephant slap and the infirmary, Shouto realized he lost to Midoriya. Even using his left side wasn’t enough to defeat his fuzzy classmate. Just how strong was he?

…Wait…strong…

Todoroki groaned and covered his face. That must be why his ‘father’ is so interested in him. He’s seen Midoriya’s powerful quirk and wanted to bring him into the family. He probably wants to ‘entice’ his classmate into marrying Fuyumi, then force them to have kids until he’s satisfied with their ‘masterpiece.’ 

He couldn’t let that happen. Not to his sister, nor his classmate. He wouldn’t let his father destroy either of them like he destroyed his mother. If his father tried anything, he would do what he could to prevent it. He would have done it for his sister no matter what, but now he swore to aid his classmate just as greatly. His train of thought was disrupted when the door opened, and the student in question stepped in.

“Oh, you’re awake!” Izuku cheered. “I was worried, ya know. You’ve been unconscious for almost an hour.”

“That long?” Shouto asked as he sat up. “What’d I miss?”

“Just Yaoyorozu & Uraraka’s match,” the tanuki explained as he sat next to the bed. “After our match they had to spend some time fixing the arena. And then after the girl’s fight…”

“...What happened?”

“Well…”

-

The entire stadium was speechless at the brutal melee occuring in the arena. No one present, not even the Hero Course students, knew Yaoyorozu and Uraraka were capable of such violence. In fact, the entire Course was slack-jawed at the chaos they were witnessing. The fight had only been going for a couple minutes, and almost a quarter of the arena had been entirely obliterated. If Monoma was conscious, he would have likely pissed his pants by this point.

“Are…are they normally like this?” Setsuna asked.

“No, this is new,” Izuku replied. Before he could say anything else, one of the girls was sent airborne, and all of the Hero Course students followed her ascent, then followed her back down before there was a large explosion.

“Was that a fucking pipe bomb!?” Bakugou screamed.

-

“...and they wound up damaging the arena so badly that Nedzu decided to scrap it and have a spare arena airlifted into the stadium. Leave it to the principal to have spare arenas stashed away somewhere.”

Todoroki’s eyes were wide as Izuku finished explaining the fight between Uraraka and Yaoyorozu. Honestly, the tale was close to unbelievable. But then again, the classmate in front of him could literally turn into anyone he wanted to. Speaking of which…

“As amazing, and quite frankly terrifying, that fight was, I have a question for you. Why haven’t you used any heroic transformations during the Festival? You could have defeated everyone easily by transforming into a pro.”

“I was wondering when someone would ask that,” Izuku laughed. “A few reasons. Firstly, with how the Festival is publicly broadcast, there’s a really good chance the villains who attacked the USJ could be watching. I don’t want them figuring out I could transform into All Might.”

“Is that a bad thing?”

“It is when the villains shouted about how they thought All Might was weakening. My performance back there disproved that to them.” While Izuku knew this was true, he chose not to inform Todoroki about it. “If they learn I can turn into All Might, they might again think he’s weakening and try something particularly daring. Second reason, while I can copy other people and their quirks, I personally don’t see their quirks as my own power. I wanted to win this Festival as me, not as All Might or Gang Orca or anyone who could trounce every First-Year in UA.”

That earned a small chuckle out of Shouto. That was a similar sentiment to why he refused to use his fire. His fire. Such a weird thought. He looked down at his left arm, and winced a bit as he sheathed it in a small layer of flame. It didn’t hurt at all.

“...I need to thank you for this, as well,” Shouto held his arm up. “You taught me another way of looking at these flames. I no longer think of Endeavor when I see them.”

“Hey, so long as this means you’ll actually use your fire from now on,” Izuku shrugged. He was sadly unaware of just how Shouto looked at his flames now. If he did know, Izuku would undoubtedly try to tell the boy that wasn’t what he meant. However, that could happen later.

“How long until the Finals?”

“I’d say another ten minutes,” the tanuki teen glanced at the clock. “They were still making sure the arena was in the right spot when I came in.”

“Then you’d probably better get back out there,” Todoroki lay back down. “Hope you don’t mind if I just watch it from here.”

“Don’t mind at all. Also, take this,” Izuku smiled as he handed Shouto a small bag of food. “Thought you might be hungry after all that.”

“Hungry enough to eat a mammoth.”

“...”

“...”

snort

Both teens collapsed in laughter from Shouto’s joke.

—

Aizawa walked down the hall away from the Principal’s office. He felt mildly disgruntled. He had gone off to take a small nap, and next thing he knew it was almost time for the Finals in the last event. He wanted to talk to Nedzu about something important, and he missed the chance earlier. Since he wasn’t in his office, and the arena was still being replaced at this point, Aizawa hoped he would find Nedzu in probably the only other place he’d been found since the USJ.

The 1-A homeroom teacher stepped into one of the Staff Practice Rooms. It was similar to the training gyms the students used but with higher settings and more advanced devices. Most 3rd-year students didn’t even know these existed. If they did, that either meant they were among the elites, or were going through a serious detention.

Thankfully, Nedzu was in the first one Aizawa looked into. He stood in the very middle of the room, his wooden rods in each hand. There were six Venator practice robots around him, known to the students as Three-Pointers. All of them were trained on Nedzu, whose eyes were closed. Eraserhead decided to keep his distance for the moment. After close to a minute of silence, all the robots fired their weapons at Nedzu.

click

Nedzu disappeared.

Before their projectiles hit where Nedzu once stood, the small principal impacted the head of the robot behind him. His wooden rods now had small sickle blades, which Nedzu used to decapitate the robot.  Before the first robot hit the ground, he leaped to the next robot and sliced through its neck as well. The other four robots turned and fired, but again Nedzu disappeared. Next time he reappeared, all but one robot were bereft of their heads. The last robot fired some missiles at Nedzu. Rather than dodge, Nedzu used the bladeless ends of his rods and deflected the projectiles before hurling one of his rods at the robot. While it still had a head, having that head get sliced open was too much, and the robot fell.

The entire fight ended in under 30 seconds.

Nedzu hummed as he retrieved his weapon from the fallen robot, and with a click the blades retracted back into the rods. Aizawa had only witnessed Nedzu using his weird sickles a few times in the past, and he was thankful only one such occasion was against a villain. But Nedzu had practiced with them almost every day since the USJ. 

“Hello, Aizawa Shouta,” Nedzu greeted his staff member. “May I ask why you’re here instead of refereeing the Festival? Your pay will get docked for dereliction of duty if you don’t provide a decent answer.”

“...I don’t have what you’d consider a decent answer,” the teacher admitted. “Closest I have is a desire to pre-emptively inform you of a student I’d like to recommend for Hero Course. His name is Shinsou Hitoshi, and-”

“Rejected.”

“...You didn’t let me finish,” Aizawa groaned.

“I don’t need you to finish,” Nedzu smiled, “because Shinsou Hitoshi is not eligible for recommendations this year!”

“Why not?” Eraserhead pressed. He’d kept his eye on the kid for a bit, and yes the boy was maybe a bit difficult to get along with, but that wasn’t anything they couldn’t handle.

“Eraserhead,” Nedzu spoke in the even tone of ‘you done fucked up’ that gave even Aizawa pause, “are you aware the boy committed competitive dishonesty?”

“He cheated? How could he cheat?”

“By using his quirk to brainwash students in between events,” Nedzu calmly explained. “After the first event, he went around to different Hero Course students and used his quirk to brainwash them and use them for meat shields. Now, while we would have looked down on such conduct, he could have gotten away with it had he used his quirk after the Second Event started. However, he used it before the event. 

“On top of that,” the principal continued before Aizawa could speak, “Shinsou’s behavior this entire school year has been confrontational and demeaning. He has not bothered to reach out to make friends with his classmates, and he has gone out of his way to harass and belittle any Hero Course student he meets. He put forward a complaint about how the Entrance Exam is ‘unfairly biased towards those with flashy and powerful quirks.’ And before you say that it is, I remember you actually scored a couple villain points in that exam by using a chunk of concrete on rebar like a hammer. I left similar objects in all exam sites, in plain view. He barely tried lifting it before discarding it and running off. He put more effort into complaining about the Practical than he did to prepare for it.”

“That’s unfair,” Aizawa managed to interrupt. “There was no way for him to know-”

“The terms of the Entrance Exam are public knowledge. Anyone can look it up and go ‘oh hey, we gotta deal with robots!’ He chose not to, instead relying on nothing but his quirk to get him in. He could have even used a broken Stop Sign to take out a few Victory-class robots or found the obvious ‘Off’ switches on their heads, but nope! Once he saw his quirk was ineffective, he just made for the entry gate and complained about the unfairness of it all.”

“Nedzu, I spoke with him a couple weeks ago. He informed me that he wanted to be a hero to prove a quirk like his wasn’t villainous. That’s clearly come from bad experiences in his past. If we don’t give him the chance-”

“Bad experiences?” Nedzu laughed. “Would you like to know what those ‘bad experiences’ were? Cuz I looked into him after I knew you’d been talking to him. His ‘bad experiences’ in the past were simply a handful of his classmates going ‘wow, your quirk would be scary if you were a villain.’ No bullying, no physical harm from anyone. No one discriminated against him for his quirk. He had multiple friends in middle school and has been raised by two loving parents. He says he wants to prove his quirk isn’t villainous, but I have yet to see him use it any other way.” There were a few moments of silence between the two educators as Nedzu took a few breaths. Then he looked back up at Aizawa with a sympathetic gaze.

“I know you see yourself in him, but that comparison is only skin deep. When you moved up from Gen Ed, you made sure everyone knew why you wanted to become a hero. You wanted to help people, to protect those like yourself who had been downtrodden for something outside your control. Shinsou Hitoshi doesn’t want to be a hero to help people. He wants to become a hero purely out of spite for what some middle-schoolers told him. We do not give Hero Licenses to people whose motivations are naught but spite and pride.”

Aizawa…had nothing to say. Nedzu had dismantled his argument step-by-step and proven that Shinsou wasn’t fit for Hero Course, no matter how he felt. If he had known all this ahead of time, he would not have approached Shinsou to inform him about the chance to move to Hero Course. Eraserhead groaned and held his hands to his face. 

“I apologize for my blindness,” he told his employer.

“Heh, not your fault,” Nedzu shrugged before patting his leg before his phone beeped. “Oh, we’d better get to the stadium! The next fight’s about to start!”

—

Izuku took a breath before stepping out to the field. This was it. He had made it to the Finals of the Sports Festival. As he walked out, he remembered all his friends who both helped and hindered his path here. He knew his mother was watching, and likely flooded the apartment a few times. Time to finish things off.

“HERE COMES THE FIRST FINALIST!” Midnight roared into the mics. “THE CURRENT LEADER OF THE FIRST YEAR HERO STUDENTS! THE FUZZY TEEN WHOSE DOMINATED EVERY EVENT AND FIGHT UP TO THIS POINT! CAN HE WIN THIS FINAL STEP, OR WILL VICTORY BE SNATCHED FROM HIS SCALY JAWS? GIVE IT UP FOR MIDORIYA IZUKU!”

Izuku nodded and raised his fist as he walked up the steps to the arena. Across from him was his opponent. The only other student who’d fought as hard as he to make it this far. A girl he held great respect for. One he knew he’d have to do everything shy of Hero Forms to defeat.

“HIS OPPONENT IS THE GIRL WHO’S FOUGHT TOOTH AND NAIL TO GET THIS FAR!” Mic screamed. “WITH HER QUIRK AND WITHOUT IT, SHE’S DEMONSTRATED COMBAT PROWESS AND ENDURANCE THAT MAKES EVEN ME FEEL TIRED! GIVE A CHEER FOR THE CURRENT QUEEN OF 1-A, URARAKA OCHAKO!”

Uraraka gave a nervous giggle as she approached Izuku. He could tell she was surprised to make it this far. Along with that, he could see she was determined to keep going. Each one was the other’s final obstacle, and neither one felt like giving up. Both teens gave determined smiles as Ectoplasm read the rules one last time to them.

“...and no ball kicks, no chest grabs, and no explosives! We’d rather not replace the arena again after this! Ready…FIGHT!”

Chapter Text

Amaterasu was practically glued to her seat. Her apprentice had made it to the Finals. He had made it that far without using any heroic transformations, relying solely on animal shapes and his own cunning. Her heroic side couldn’t help but analyze his display and figure out how he could aid her in her mission. On the other hand, she was just plain excited to see someone she personally trained hold their own against legacy heroes in the actual UA Sports Festival. 

She couldn’t wait to see how well he fared against one of the girls who had destroyed the arena a while earlier.

—

“FIGHT!”

At Ectoplasm’s declaration, the two teens rushed each other. Izuku started things by throwing his arms out as fast as he could at Ochako. The space girl dodged his left arm, but his right thumb nicked her cheek. She tried to grab his wrist, but her hand caught only air as Izuku retracted both arms. His arms were back to normal size by the time Izuku and Ochako met. 

Ochako tried to grab Izuku’s face, but he simply spun around and retaliated by headbutting her cheek. This stunned her enough for Izuku to grab and throw her. She was still well within bounds, but the impact of hitting the ground was still hard. However, rather than just slamming into the ground, she rolled and skid to her feet. Izuku closed the distance in seconds, but was greeted by a solid left hook. Before the tanuki could recover, Ochako managed to land several more blows on him. Izuku managed to dodge after the sixth or seventh punch and landed a kick in Ochako’s gut. 

“Looks like our Final match is gonna be another slugfest!” Mic announced. “I wonder why they aren’t using their quirks all that much.”

“They probably wanna make this match one to remember,” Midnight explained. “The semi-finals had both of 1-A’s Recommendation Students, so it was clear those would be flashy matches. As neither of those kids made it, these kids wanna show how they’re just as amazing.”

“But why no dinos or other animals?”

“Duh, because they’re so big. If Midoriya tried his dinosaur transformations, that would just give Uraraka more surface area for her to grab with her quirk. So Midoriya’s keeping himself small to give her a tougher time to nab him.”

“Well, at least it doesn’t look like the arena’s gonna get destroyed this time! And hey, the audience seems to be having a blast!”

Indeed, the audience was roaring with excitement as the two teens continued their melee. Ochako was focused on dodging Izuku and swinging her own fists, but she occasionally tried to grab him to use her quirk. Izuku had managed to dodge all her grabs so far, but the last few had gotten super close. She actually nabbed his ear at one point, but with how she grabbed it she couldn’t get all five finger pads on it and was rewarded with a bloody nose. 

After that, Izuku decided to try something else.

Midoriya jumped back a bit, making some space between him and Uraraka. She rushed to close the gap. Izuku surprised her by expanding his tail and swinging around, slamming it into her. Now being about the same girth as Ojiro’s own tail, Izuku started doing what attacks he felt he could copy from his martial artist classmate.

“YOUR FORM IS WAY OFF!” the aforementioned teen screamed from the stands. “LEAD WITH YOUR-” was as far as he could get before getting swarmed by a bunch of 1-B students. Only 1-B students. No one knew why.

Ochako, meanwhile, was getting hammered. Despite the fact he was focused on close-combat using an extra appendage, Ojiro had always been a tough opponent for Ochako during their lessons. Somehow he was good at keeping his tail out of her grip. Izuku was proving to be just as elusive, though with significantly less finesse than Ojiro. Making things harder, just as Ochako thought she could grab it, Izuku shrunk his tail back down and karate chopped her arm.

“Come on, Ura-chan!” Izuku laughed. “Give the audience a spectacle!” His taunt was met with a hard slap to his face. Hard enough that it sent him reeling to the side. And flipping through the air. It took him three full flips to realize Ochako had used her quirk on him.

“Gotcha!” Uraraka smirked. “Don’t worry, I’ll let you go when you’re over the grass!” 

“I ain’t gonna go that far!” Izuku screamed back. Then he shot his arm at Ochako, stretching it faster than before. She was unable to dodge, and the tanuki caught her shoulder. She tried prying him off, but his claws dug into her coat and shirt. As Ochako struggled to get free, Izuku stretched his other hand towards her. It took Ochako a moment to realize the floating tanuki’s hand was in front of her face. She gave a confused look as Izuku flexed his fingers before-

wapwapwapwapwapwapwapwapwapwapwapwap…

-sissy-slapping her in the face over and over. 

—

A few towns away, Amaterasu facepalmed.

“Ooooh my god…”

—

The hits weren’t too hard, but he didn’t need them to be. While Ochako was stunned from the repeated slapping, Izuku was reeling himself in. He had to go slow, as he didn’t have too much experience using his noodle arms in zero-gravity. He didn’t want to risk going too fast to stop himself. When he was a few meters from Ochako, he let go of her shoulder and swung at her side like his arm was a whip. This sent Ochako rolling as he-

“RELEASE!”

THUD!

Izuku faceplanted the floor of the arena. He was too stunned to even retract his arms. As he groaned and stood up with his three-meter arms, Ochako slammed her fists against the ground, cracking it. When Izuku straightened up, he was almost sent back over when a flying chunk of the arena shot past his face. He turned back to his opponent and had to dodge another chunk of debris. 

“OI OI OI!” Mic screamed. “DON’T DESTROY THE ARENA AGAIN!”

Ochako ignored the teacher as she continued tearing chunks from the arena and hurling them at Izuku. The tanuki dodged what he could, but the brunette landed a few good stones in his face and chest. With one more larger stone that hit Izuku in the gut, Ochako ran at him while he was doubled over. To everyone’s surprise, she grabbed both his noodle arms. Seeing his arms were indeed like muscular noodles, Ochako smirked as she quickly tied them together into a knot. 

Satisfied with her handiwork, Uraraka slapped Izuku’s cheek again to remove his gravity. Then she hoisted the weightless teen and hurled him out of the arena. Before she could release her quirk, however, Izuku extended his tied-up arms to grab Ochako. She tried to slap his hands away, but the mass of the knot was more than a slap could deflect. 

With where his hands were tied, they could only grab her collar. The instant his claws dug into her clothes, Izuku retracted his arms as fast as he could. No more caution, he was willing to become a fuzzy cannonball to win. Ochako had time to widen her eyes before Izuku’s attack landed.

KONK!

The sound of two high-velocity ballistic coconuts echoed through the arena when their heads slammed together. Ochako leaned away as her eyes rolled back. The momentum of the impact sent Izuku flying past her, and the pain of the hit made Izuku lose his grip on her collar. He did not, however, lose any altitude.

Something most people outside of 1-A didn’t know was that, if Ochako lost consciousness through a concussive impact, her quirk would deactivate but remain active for a couple seconds after passing out. As such, Izuku’s momentum combined with the lack of gravity carried him several meters past the girl. Ochako’s unconscious body finally began to fall at the same moment her quirk finally shut off. Izuku fell faster than her, hitting the edge of the arena and bouncing out. He hit the grass at the same moment Ochako’s body hit the arena floor.

“WHAT A WAY TO END THINGS!” Midnight screamed. “IT LOOKS LIKE URARAKA LOST CONSCIOUSNESS, AND MIDORIYA’S OUT OF THE RING!”

“WE’LL HAVE TO TAKE A MINUTE TO FIGURE OUT WHO ACTUALLY WON THAT FIGHT!” Mic announced. Then he looked at Midnight and, forgetting to turn off the speakers, asked, “Err, what do we do? We don’t have any other events planned and this could take a bit.”

“I dunno! Um, maybe we could get the band to do a performance or something?”

As the two commentators discussed what to do, medic bots emerged to haul the injured teens away. Ochako was out cold, and Izuku was too out of it to try anything. Anyone who was close enough to the tanuki could see his eyes were rolling in opposite directions and hear he was whining like a balloon losing air. Several students left the stands to follow the two Finalists to the infirmary. The rest of the audience was silent as they processed everything that just happened.

…

“GUH!” Monoma Neito exclaimed as he finally woke back up. “Wha-what’d I miss?”

—

Amaterasu was still in her seat when the Festival cut to commercial. The fight had been a good one, even with the…eccentric moments. It displayed Midoriya’s cunning, his tenacity, and certainly his durability. All of which he’d need for sure. With a smile, the heroine looked down at the filled-out Internship Request Form on the coffee table in front of her. She’d deliver this to Nedzu directly. Couldn’t risk it getting spotted in the mail.

Her only worry was how much Izuku stuck to animal transformations. She could guess holding an animal morph was different from changing into a different person. With the assignment she was given, and instructed to bring Midoriya with, she could only hope he’d been practicing his other forms when she wasn’t looking. 

The heroine sighed and looked at the calendar. One more week before the next step of her mission. One more week before she told Midoriya everything…and she meant everything .

—

Endeavor had had enough.

No more distractions. No more malfunctioning fire suppression systems, no more locked doors, and no All Might would stop him. He would meet Midoriya Izuku, the boy who defeated his masterpiece. He would entice the boy into coming to him for the experience week. He would use that boy to get to Amaterasu. 

Nothing would stop him.

He stomped down the hall towards the infirmary. He had to wait a few halls over, so as to not draw attention. But now that everyone was distracted with what to do while the judges deliberated over the outcome of the match, no one would notice him. His smirk grew as he saw the hall just outside the infirmary was completely empty. Good. He would do it.