Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

All men are not created equal.

Despite what some idealists have said, that dream has probably never been a reality. But with the advent of Quirks, that lack could not be more obvious.

The first incident was in Qingqing city. An extraordinary child was born who radiated light. After that, reports of people with superpowers popped up across the globe. We still don’t know where these Quirks came from, but no one cared. Suddenly, people had the power to turn the supernatural into the normal. To turn their dreams into reality. And the biggest dream that became real was a profession that was formerly restricted to comic books. We entered an age of superheroes.

I don’t know when I first wanted to become a superhero. I mean, what kid wouldn’t? But I think it was something stronger for me. It wasn’t a want, it was a need. And while I don’t know when exactly this dream started, I do know what brought it on. Or rather, who.

--

When I was little, there was an old video I used to watch over and over again. Disaster footage from a long time ago. But more important is that it was the debut of the greatest hero the world has ever known. I still remember the amazed shouts of the civilians in the video, asking who this guy was, and how he managed to save so many people so quickly. And then he rose into view, a giant of a man with a blue, red, and yellow costume, his blond hair shooting up in two tufts, carrying almost a dozen people in his arms. And despite the chaos all around, he smiled. And he laughed. And then he shouted, “Fear not citizens. Hope has arrived. Because I am here!”

And I would shout as well. “Once I get my quirk, I’m gonna be an awesome hero, just like All Might!”

--

But I’m getting distracted. I was talking about Quirks, not heroes. After Quirks appeared and the chaos surrounding their arrival faded, they were praised as the advent of a new golden age for humanity as a whole. But that golden age never arrived. If anything, we just gained a new way for people to not be equal. Because even when everyone is super, some people are more super than others.

And, well… not everyone is super.

--

“Sorry kid. It doesn’t look like you’re getting a Quirk.” When my doctor gave me that diagnosis during a regular check-up, I was shocked. I couldn’t not get a Quirk. Everyone else in my class had Quirks, if I didn’t get one, what would happen to me? How would I become a Hero?

I wasn’t looking at my mom’s face, desperate for some sort of comfort, but I remember the concern I found in her voice instead as she responded to him. “You think there is something wrong with him then?”

“Well, looking at his X-rays, that does seem to be the case. You see, a number of studies done on Quirks have determined a connection between Quirks and the removal of vestigial parts of the human body. So one way to check to see if someone’s getting a Quirk is to see if they still have those vestigial parts. And, unfortunately, your son has an extra joint in his pinky toe here, a fairly easy-to-spot vestigial trait. Based on the research that’s available, I think it’s safe to say that your son won’t be developing a quirk.” He was so clinical and cold as he said that, as if he wasn’t destroying my entire world.

That night, I watched the All Might video again, trying to focus on the hero’s smile. He always had a smile on his face, no matter how bad things got. Even if it seemed impossible, he never gave up. I knew that, without a quirk, my dream had become impossible. But maybe… If I never gave up…

That resolve on its own wasn’t enough, so I turned to my mom, with tears in my eyes. “Do you think… I can be a hero too?” My world was crumbling, and there was one thing I needed to hear.

She ran over and pulled me into her arms, sobbing as well. “I’m so sorry. I wish things could be different.” That wasn’t it. Even though she didn’t answer my question, I knew what her response meant. She didn’t think my dream was possible, and that it would be for the best if I let it die.

--

Except my dream refused to die. For one thing, I never gave up on my Quirk. Even after the doctor’s diagnosis, I kept trying to pull objects toward me like my mom, or to breathe fire like my dad. And even if my Quirk didn’t arrive, I wasn’t going to wait for it to become a hero.

--

“Why are you being so mean, Kacchan?” A few months after my Quirkless diagnosis, I saw Kacchan testing out his quirk on one of our classmates, so I ran to get between the two of them and protect the other boy. “If you keep on hurting him, I’ll- I’ll stop you myself?” I got into my best approximation of a fighting stance, but my bold words couldn’t keep my legs from shaking, and Kacchan and his cronies could easily tell that I couldn't back my words up.

“Heh. You want to be a hero? You don’t stand a chance without a quirk, Deku.” As if to highlight that fact, all three of them showed off their own quirks, Kacchan lighting a few small explosions, both as a warning, and as a warmup for what he was about to do to me for getting in his way.

--

All men are not created equal. When I was four years old, I learned that some people simply have more power than others. But I won’t let that hold me back. My name is Midoriya Izuku, and this is my story.

Chapter Text

Midoriya Izuku was nearly late for school, but that wasn’t why he was running. The actual reason was that he saw a hero fight in the distance, and he needed to reach it before it ended, so he could see the heroes in action. Luckily, it looked like he hadn’t missed much, as the giant villain was standing tall and unopposed. He swiped around, knocking some of the infrastructure of the train station he was standing over, but before the debris could hit the ground, a hero ran out of nowhere and caught it, despite it being several times his size. Izuku joined in with the cries of surprise and amazement from the crowd. “It’s Death Arms!” “I wish I had a Quirk that made me super strong!”

As another hero, Backdraft, created a line of water with his Quirk to keep everyone from approaching the villain, Izuku heard some of the other bystanders trying to figure out what started this. “Do you know what happened?” “This guy stole someone’s bag and then got himself cornered, so he tried to use his Quirk to get out.” “Seriously? A Quirk like that and he’s just a petty thief?”

Suddenly, another hero joined the fray to the cheers of hero fans from across the crowd, Izuku included. The rising star Kamui Woods swung toward the giant villain on his vines, drawing the villain’s full attention. Undaunted by that focus, Kamui Woods took a fighting stance and prepared to use his ultimate move against the villain, Izuku whispering along as he announced its name. “Pre-emptive Binding Lacquered Chain Prison-”

But before the attack could connect, yet another hero appeared, knocking the villain to the ground with her… giant butt. Everyone just stared at her in confusion for a moment, before every bystander with a camera started taking pictures, hoping to get a good shot of this hero’s debut as she posed for them. “I’m Mount Lady, here to make sure you don’t have to worry about this bum!”

Now that the fight was over, Izuku started walking to school again, excited to copy down everything he saw as soon as he had a moment.

--

Izuku made it into the classroom just as the bell rang, sliding into his seat as his teacher started to speak. “Now that you’re all third years, it’s time to start thinking seriously about your futures. I could pass out some career aptitude tests, but why bother?” He quickly tossed the stack of papers he was holding aside. “I know you all want to go to the hero track!”

The whole class erupted into cheers at the remark, except for Izuku, who just tried to make himself smaller. Because while he was aiming to become a hero, he didn’t think anyone would appreciate him bringing that up now. As the cheering died down, another voice rose from the middle of the class. “Hey, teach! Don’t lump me in with this buncha losers!” All eyes turned to look at Bakugo Katsuki as he leaned back in his chair. “These guys would be lucky to end up as sidekicks to some D-lister. I’m the real deal.”

Bakugo’s declaration led to scattered murmurs around the class. “You think you’re better than us?” Bakugo just scoffed at his classmate’s remark. “I am better than you, extras.”

As the insulted murmurs grew, the teacher quieted the class down. “Your test scores are impressive, Bakugo, not to mention your Quirk! Maybe you will make it into U. A. like you want. Oh yes, Midoriya, aren’t you aiming for U. A. too?”

Why did his teacher have to bring that up? Izuku wished desperately that he could disappear as his classmates began to ridicule him. “What are you thinking? You can’t make it into a hero school without a Quirk!”

Izuku tried to give a defense of himself. “Actually, they got rid of that rule. Maybe I’ll be the first one!”

Bakugo looked like he was about to say something, but then the teacher called out again. “Alright, class, calm down. Midoriya’s questionable life choices are his own problem.” Izuku just hoped that that would be the end of it.

--

The rest of the school day passed without incident, and as his classmates filed out of the room, Izuku took out his notebook, excited to write down everything he remembered from the hero fight he had seen that morning. But before he could begin, the notebook was suddenly ripped from his hands by Bakugo. “I don’t know what you think you’re doing, but we’re not done.”

As Izuku shrunk back from the other boy, a pair of Bakugo’s cronies glanced at the notebook. “Watcha got there? His diary?” Bakugo opened a random page and showed it to them, only leading to more laughter. “Writing notes on heroes? How pathetic!” “That’s so delusional.”

And then without even responding to them, Bakugo took the notebook, hit it with an explosion from his Quirk, and threw it out the window. Izuku immediately ran to the window to try and catch it, only to watch helplessly as it sailed out of his reach. “Why’d you do that, Kacchan?”

“Because, Deku! You’re worse than the rest of these rejects. And someone has to beat that into your head, you Quirkless wannabe!” Kacchan shoved Izuku to the ground as he spoke. “Do you actually think you can stand in the same ring as me?”

As soon as he hit the ground, Izuku immediately started backing up. “No, no, I’m not trying to compete against you! It’s just, even if I don’t have a Quirk, I might as well try my hardest, right?”

Izuku braced himself for a hit, but Kacchan just stared down at him and shook his head. “Stupid Deku. Everyone knows you can’t become a hero without a Quirk.” And then he walked away, although not before turning back one last time. “Although, if you really wanna be a hero that badly, there might actually be another way. Just take a swan dive off the roof and pray that you’ll be born with a Quirk in your next life!”

Once he was sure Kacchan had left, Izuku ran outside the building to search for his fallen notebook, eventually finding it floating in a koi pond, a few fish nibbling at it slowly. He let out a sigh as he retrieved it from them. “My dreams have turned into fish food.”

--

As Izuku walked home, he thought back to what Kacchan had said. It was yet another reminder that his dream was impossible and that he should just give up before he got hurt. But he refused to give up. And as he walked home, he steeled his determination and made a promise to himself. No matter what happened, he would have to believe in himself. And keep smiling, just like All Might.

As he came to that conclusion, Izuku heard a weird gurgling sound behind him and turned to see some sort of sludge rising out of a manhole. Before Izuku understood what it was, it grew to an enormous size and lunged for him, covering his face. Izuku started to claw at it as he felt himself suffocating, but it did nothing. As his vision started to fail, he saw a face stick of the slime and look at him. “You’ll be the perfect place for me to hide from him, kid. So, thanks. You’re a real hero to me.” Suddenly, the manhole the sludge had emerged from rocketed into the air, and something popped out of it, but Izuku wasn’t conscious long enough to see what it was.

--

The first thing Izuku saw when he regained consciousness was All Might in normal clothes standing over him and trying to wake him up. Izuku blinked a few times, not believing that what he was seeing was real. “Sorry about that back there! I didn’t mean to get you caught up in my justicing! Turns out this city’s sewer system is pretty difficult to navigate!” Izuku could only conclude that All Might was really there as he busted into his trademark laugh. “Anyway, you were a big help! I’ve captured the evildoer!” The hero dramatically held up a soda bottle, which Izuku could see was filled with the same sludge that had attacked him. “Well, I gotta get this guy to the police so they can take care of him! See you around!”

The hero stanced up to leap away. But he couldn’t go yet… Izuku still had to ask him…

So right before All Might left, Izuku grabbed onto his leg, and held on for dear life as he rocketed through the air at terrifying speed. The hero didn’t realize he was there until he was mid-air, and by then it was too late to take him off, so All Might landed on a nearby rooftop before depositing Izuku and chastising him. “I get being a little starstruck, but come on, kid! I’ve got more people to help!”

He turned to go again, but he couldn’t go! “Wait! One second!” Izuku still needed to ask him…

“Sorry kid, I don’t have any time!”

“I have to know!” As Izuku got to the cusp of his question, he thought back to what Kacchan had said, how hopeless everyone had said his dream was, and he almost didn’t ask. But even if everyone thought he was useless, he had to know, so he almost shouted his question. “Is it possible to become a hero, even if I don’t have a Quirk? I’m a normal kid without any powers, can I ever hope to be someone like you?”

At that question, All Might paused, and finally turned back to face Izuku, staring at him intently. “Without a Quirk?” But then he doubled over, steam starting to stream forth from him, eventually growing into a full cloud that hid the hero from view before clearing to leave behind only a gaunt man in ill-fitting clothes.

Izuku stared in disbelief. Because there was no way that was All Might, he looked so frail and withered, about as far from an invincible symbol as possible. But also it had to be him, because Izuku had watched the transformation happen. Not to mention the hair and the eyes were still the same, just flatter, and wearier. “No… I must be dreaming. All Might’s a giant of a man who saves everyone. He defeats all obstacles and wins the day with a fearless smile!”

The man just let out a sigh at Izuku’s words. “There’s plenty of fear behind that smile.” He slowly lowered himself and sat on the ground. “I’m counting on you to keep your mouth shut. Don’t go talking about this online or telling your friends.” He pulled up his shirt, revealing a massive scar covering most of his torso, causing Izuku to recoil in shock. “Pretty gross, right? I got this in a fight five years back. My respiratory system was basically destroyed, and I lost my whole stomach. All the surgeries have pretty much worn me out. And it can’t be fixed. Right now, I can only do hero work for about three hours a day. The rest of the time, this is what I look like.”

Izuku pinched himself in the arm to try and wake up because this… this couldn’t be real. All Might was invincible, absolute. There was no way a villain could actually injure him like that. But pinching himself didn’t do anything, because it was real. All Might continued speaking, more to himself than to Izuku. “I’m supposed to be the guy who’s always smiling, right? I’m the symbol of peace, people have to think I’m never afraid. But honestly, I just smile to hide the fear inside.” He turned his gave back to Izuku. “I had all the power in the world, and it didn’t save me. So without a Quirk, you wouldn’t stand a chance.”

Izuku’s heart sank. “I… I see.” He should’ve seen the answer coming. Everyone had always told him it was hopeless, so why should All Might be any different? He was useless, Deku, he didn’t stand a chance. All Might continued speaking, recommending other options Izuku could try if he still wanted to help people, but all Izuku heard was the last thing All Might said. “It’s not bad to have a dream young man, just make sure your dreams are attainable.”

And then Izuku was left alone on the rooftop. He sank to the ground, letting the tears fall the moment he was by himself, berating himself for getting his hopes up, for thinking that someone would actually support his dreams for once. Because deep down, he knew that he was just avoiding reality. He lifted his gaze to the railing, and he once again thought back to Kacchan’s words. Should he just take the plunge and hope for better luck in his next life? No, that… no. He couldn’t.

He sat there for a while before realizing that he still needed to get home. So he dusted himself off and started heading toward the stairwell when he saw an explosion in the distance. For a moment he felt a familiar excitement. “A villain! I wonder which hero will-” Then he stopped. Because what was the point anymore? So he lowered his head and started to walk home.

--

The conversation left Izuku so deep in his own thoughts that it wasn’t until another explosion rang out that he realized where he was. Without thinking about it, he had walked toward the hero fight out of habit. But, why hadn’t the heroes resolved the situation yet? He had been walking so slowly, it should’ve been over already. He slowly pushed his way through the gathered crowd to get a better look, his curiosity outweighing the voice that told him it was pointless. And then he froze. Because looming in the street was the sludge villain who had nearly killed him earlier that day. The villain that All Might had apprehended. How had he escaped? Izuku must have knocked him loose when he grabbed onto All Might’s leg. And now the villain was loose again, and All Might was out of time, and all of the other heroes were just standing around because their Quirks wouldn’t be helpful against him and it was all Izuku’s fault and-

“Why aren’t the heroes doing anything?” “It looks like they’ve met their match. Plus he’s captured a kid. Things aren’t looking good for him.” The random comment from two other bystanders pulled Izuku even further into his panic. The sludge villain had grabbed someone else, someone was getting hurt because of Izuku, because he had to pester All Might and pretend he could be a hero and hold on to his stupid dream! Izuku just had to hope that help would arrive. That a real hero would show up soon. But then he looked at the sludge villain, and saw just who had been taken hostage. It was Kacchan. Somehow the sludge villain had caught Kacchan. And as the two boys’s eyes locked for a brief moment, Kacchan looked like he needed help.

So Izuku ran. Sprinting forward through the crowd, past the heroes who called out that he was being stupid and reckless, Izuku ran. He didn’t know why he had started running, he didn’t have any sort of plan, he was just trying to do what a hero would do. The sludge villain raised a massive appendage to bat Izuku away, and Izuku desperately tried to come up with something to do to not die. And then he thought back to his notebook, and some of the notes he had made in it that day about how Kamui Woods used his branches as a spread of projectiles to disorient and distract his opponents. So he slipped his backpack off as he ran and threw it at the villain, the contents flying out and hitting the villain right in the eye, forcing it to recoil back, giving Kacchan just enough room to breathe.

And then Izuku made it to the villain, and started clawing at it, desperately trying to get Kacchan free, despite the boy’s own protest. “What the hell are you doing here, nerd?”

“I don’t know!” Izuku kept pulling. “My legs just started moving.” And he really didn’t know. Why was he here? This day, more than any other, had reminded him that he couldn’t be a hero, so why was he still trying? Even now, he could tell that his efforts to pull Kacchan out of the villain weren’t accomplishing anything, but still… “I couldn’t just watch you die!”

By now the sludge villain had recovered, and raised another arm to smash Izuku onto the pavement. "I'm done with you, you stupid kid!" Izuku knew he didn’t have time to dodge, so he kept pulling on Kacchan and bracing for the moment the arm inevitably hit him.

Except it never did. Because standing there, blocking the sludge villain was All Might, fully powered up and smiling. “I told you what it takes to be a hero, kid, but it seems I wasn’t living up to my own ideals! Pros are always risking their lives, that’s the mark of a true hero. And if all the power in the world wasn’t enough to save me, then power’s not what matters in the first place!” With that, he effortlessly tore Kacchan out of the sludge villain, and pulled both boys out of the way before sending a punch towards the sludge villain with a shout of “Detroit Smash!” As the punch collided, it scattered the villain completely and stunned the gathered crowd into silence before they gave a massive cheer at All Might's clearly unstoppable power.

~

The heroes and police quickly gathered up the scattered parts of the sludge villain before moving him into custody. Kacchan had passed out just before All Might’s arrival, so he and Izuku were looked over by medical personnel to make sure the two of them were okay. As soon as that checkup was done, the heroes came up to Izuku. “What were you thinking, you moron?!” “Yeah! There was no reason to put yourself in danger like that!” And just over his shoulder, Izuku could hear another hero praising Kacchan. “You’re tough, kid! And your Quirk is something else! When you go pro, I’d love to have you as my sidekick!”

Izuku didn't say anything back to the heroes. He knew what he did was stupid and reckless, but he had needed to. He wanted to apologize to All Might for causing trouble, but the hero was swarmed by interviewers, so he just turned to go. But he didn’t get far before Kacchan grabbed his arm. “Listen, I would never ask a weakling like you to help me. Got that! I was perfectly fine by myself! I don’t owe you anything!”

-

Kacchan was right, Izuku thought to himself as he headed home. He hadn’t actually accomplished anything. If All Might hadn’t shown up, he’d be dead. Still, he was glad he tried. But now it was time to get back to giving up on his dreams.

Before Izuku could finish that thought, he startled back as All Might ran through an alley to end up in front of him, before immediately disappearing into a cloud of steam and emerging as his withered form. “All Might! What are you doing here?”

“I came here to thank you. And also, to discuss your question from earlier.” Izuku paused. What could he mean by that? All Might had already answered his question, what more was there to say? “If you hadn’t run into that fight, I would’ve been a worthless bystander watching from the crowd. When I saw a timid, Quirkless boy try to save a life, it gave me the strength to act too. There are stories about every hero, and how they became great. Most have one thing in common. Their bodies moved before they had a chance to think. Almost on instinct. And today, that’s what happened to you.” Tears formed in Izuku’s eyes as he realized what All Might was about to say next. For ten years, there had been one thing that he had wanted, needed to hear. But he didn’t dare believe it until he actually heard the words come out of his hero’s mouth.

“Midoriya Izuku. You can become a hero.”

Chapter Text

Izuku still couldn’t believe his luck. Not only had he run into the number one hero, his idol, not only had All Might told him that he could be a hero, finally giving the encouragement he had always been desperate for, but he had even offered to train him in preparation for the U. A. entrance exam! Which is how he found himself meeting All Might two days later in front of… a beach covered in trash. “Why are we meeting here?”

All Might, in his weakened form, glanced out toward the beach before responding. “You have the spirit of a hero, my boy, but that won’t always be enough for you. Heroing is hard to do without a Quirk. It’s not fair, but that’s the reality. If you want to make it, you’ll need to be in peak physical condition, so I’ve created a careful training regimen to get you in tip-top shape before the exam.” He handed Izuku a packet labeled “Aim to Pass: American Dream Plan” before continuing. “As for why we’re here specifically, do you know anything about this beach?”

Izuku thought for a moment. “I think I remember coming here when I was really little. It was beautiful then, but then the currents started causing trash to end up here, and people used that as a way to hide illegal dumping. Now everyone avoids this place.”

All Might nodded sagely. “Heroes these days are all about showing off and capturing flashy villains. Things were different before Quirks, service was what mattered! Back then, heroes were those who helped the community, even if it was kinda boring. As a reminder of that, you will restore the coastline for this entire section of beach. That’s the first step on your path, my boy, towards becoming a hero.” He looked toward Midoriya. “If I’m being honest, this is going to be super hard. Think you’re up for it?”

Izuku nodded. “I have to work way harder than anyone else to get in. So what choice do I have, right?”

--

Yagi Toshinori couldn’t believe how close he had been to making the biggest mistake of his life. Because he had made the mistake, so he could only thank his lucky stars that the consequences had not been more dire. If the sludge villain hadn’t fallen out of his pocket, if Midoriya hadn’t found his way to the fight, hadn’t shown more courage than any of the heroes present (himself included), if Toshinori hadn’t been able to track him down afterwards… who knows what would’ve happened to Midoriya. Or to him.

Because as much as Midoriya thanked All Might every day for helping him, Toshinori should’ve been the one thanking him. He hadn’t realized how bad things had gotten, that his smile had become an act, a facade to hide how weak he felt. That he had grown callous and careless enough to crush a child’s dreams and leave him alone on a rooftop. That he had become so focused on the pressure of being All Might, pushing away anyone who couldn’t keep up, or worse, tried to slow him down, that he had become little more than a soulless husk of his former self, going through the motions for the sake of the cameras.

No more. He had to do better, starting with Midoriya. The boy showed incredible promise, but would building muscle be enough for the entrance exam? He would probably need combat training, but All Might knew he was too reliant on his Quirk for his advice to be applicable. Perhaps if he reached out to-

“Were you paying attention to any of that?” Toshinori snapped out of his reverie to realize that the U.A. staff meeting, which he had, in fact, not been paying attention to, had ended. The only person still in the room, other than himself, was Aizawa Shota, hero name Eraserhead. He was a fine hero, despite looking more like a hobo with his long mess of black hair, unshaven face, perpetually tired expression, and black costume lacking any sort of ornamentation. The two of them were about as opposite as two heroes could be, with Aizawa despising the spotlight and media, and making it clear that that disapproval extended to All Might as well. “I still have no idea what Nedzu was thinking hiring you…”

As Aizawa continued speaking, something occurred to Toshinori. Despite their differences, it was clear that Aizawa was an excellent teacher. And with his quirk, he’d have the perfect perspective to teach Midoriya. “Can I ask you a favor?”

Aizawa shot Toshinori a glare for interrupting him before answering. “Depends. What is it?”

“There’s a student I’m mentoring, he’s hoping to attend U.A. this coming year, but he could use some pointers on combat. He doesn’t… have the raw power for my advice to be useful, but you would be the perfect person to teach him.”

Aizawa raised an eyebrow in surprise. “I suppose I could meet with him once. But I make no promises after that.”

--

Aizawa Shota only agreed to help All Might out of curiosity. Not just to see what this kid who caught the number one’s eye was like, but because he would’ve expected a mentee of All Might to be someone who excelled in raw power. But All Might had said the case, so there was a chance that the kid would actually prove interesting. Plus, All Might had shown him the training regimen he was putting the kid through. If he had the determination to get through that, it was a very good sign.

With that, Shota made his way to the beach where All Might had told him to show up, and got his first look at the mystery student. No obvious quirk unless it had something to do with the messy green hair and matching green eyes. He had clearly been building muscle, but was still on the smaller side which, along with the dusting of freckles on his face, gave him a very different look than what Aizawa would’ve expected from someone who had impressed All Might.

All Might, in his skeletal form, gave Shota a wave as he approached. “Ah! There you are!” He turned toward his student and gestured toward Shota. “This is-”

“Aizawa.” Shota cut him off, preferring to give his own introduction. “I’m a pro hero as well.”

The kid’s brow furrowed at that, and Shota just heard him mutter “I don’t recognize him…” under his breath.

Shota gave a smirk at that. “That’s the goal, kid. Unlike some heroes, I prefer not to draw attention to myself.”

That got a spark of recognition from the kid. “So you’re an underground hero? That’s so cool!”

Shota smiled. “Not bad, kid. Most people don’t know too much about underground heroes.”

“But they’re still super important! After all, as important for public confidence as it is for heroes to be public figures, there are instances where it would get in the way. I mean, it’s not like All Might could go undercover! But you-” the kid stopped himself. “Sorry. I’m rambling.” He gave Shota a bow. “Midoriya Izuku. Thank you for taking the time to help me.”

So far Shota was impressed by Midoriya, but he kept his expression neutral. “Don’t thank me yet. See, I’m a busy man, so I’m not going to train you unless you can prove to me you’re worth the effort.” Shota entered a neutral defensive stance. “You have until I cut you off to land a hit on me.”

Shota smirked as he saw All Might’s eyes widen in concern. Midoriya, however, swung for him without a word of complaint, already doing better than some of Shota’s students by just listening to instructions. But the attack was sloppy, clearly untrained, and Shota batted it aside with ease. “You’re going to need to do better than that.” Midoriya responded with another pair of swings, but Shota dodged both easily, letting Midoriya fall to the ground as he overcommitted and lost his footing on the sand.

Midoriya squeezed his hands tight through the sand, and, as he stood back up, he threw a handful of sand into Shota’s face. Shota threw up an arm to keep it from going in his eyes, but Midoriya used the opening to jab at Shota’s stomach, getting only a few inches away before Shota caught it. Shota let himself let out a smile. “Not bad, kid.”

The next few minutes passed in the same fashion. Midoriya tried a few more tricks, but Shota remained just out of reach. Finally, Shota called the fight. “That’s enough, kid.”

Midoriya was clearly winded, but he was doing his best to hide it. “I can keep fighting!”

Shota chuckled. “I believe you. But like I said, that’s enough. It looks like you’re worth my time after all.”

Midoriya tilted his head, confused. “But… I didn’t hit you.”

“Kid, I’ve been a pro hero for over a decade. If a random fifteen-year-old could hit me, I’d be dead by now. I just needed to make sure you didn’t hold back, or complain about the test being unfair. You did neither, and you nearly hit me with that sand trick. You passed the test.”

Midoriya gave another bow. “Thank you, Aizawa-sensei.”

Shota just nodded. “I don’t have anything else for you today, so unless All Might…” the other hero shook his head, “you’re good to go.”

Midoriya took his leave with one final “thank you.” As the kid left, All Might spoke up. “You had me worried for a second there. What did you think of him?”

Shota shrugged. “The kid has potential, I’ll say that much.”

All Might smiled. “He certainly does.”

“One question though,” Shota added, “What’s his quirk?”

All Might stiffened. “Why do you ask?”

All Might’s hesitant response only increased Shota’s interest. “Because I didn’t see him use it that entire time. And I’m still trying to decide how he got your attention.”

All Might sighed. “Well, it wasn’t because of his Quirk. He doesn’t have one.”

Whatever Shota had been expecting, that wasn’t it. “Oh.”

--

Aizawa-sensei’s training was different from All Might’s, but Izuku could already see the results. Aizawa-sensei started by teaching him a proper stance, how to throw a punch, and other basics like that which boosted Izuku’s effectiveness dramatically. And from there he taught him more advanced tactics like how to make up for his disadvantages, be it how to use his smaller size to his advantage or how to counter somehow too reliant on their Quirk. And in terms of actual sparring, Izuku could tell that, while Aizawa-sensei still wasn’t giving him all he had, his teacher was having to try just a little bit harder every week.

--

Izuku was grateful for the training that All Might and Aizawa-sensei were giving him, but he couldn’t help but be aware of its limits. None of it would help him if he ran into something like the sludge villain again. Or a villain in the air. Or even just a villain who was strong enough to shrug off his hits. Thinking back to Sludge Villain, the only thing he had done that had actually helped was when he emptied his backpack at him, in imitation of Kamui Woods. That could actually be a good place to start. If he could create support items that mimicked the Quirks of pro-heroes, that would give him a lot more versatility. He reached for his notebooks and started to work.

--

As difficult as All Might’s training was, Izuku was worried that it wouldn’t be enough. After all, he had such a big deficit to overcome, he needed to work as hard as he possibly could. So he started cheating on the schedule All Might had given him. Not on the training portion, but instead on the moments that called for him to rest. He took every spare moment that he could and used it to prepare, even cutting back on sleep to get in a little more training. Because the extra effort could very easily be what made the difference.

Which was what led to him passing out during one of his training sessions with All Might about three months before the Entrance Exam. At first, his teacher was concerned that he was trying to take it easy after all this effort, but he quickly realized that the opposite was true. “You’re overworked. I don’t get it, I made your plan with your body in mind to ensure your progress was swift but manageable. I even had a doctor make sure it was reasonable. Which means… you haven’t been sticking to it.”

Izuku flinched at the accusation. “I have to work harder, or I won't stand a chance against the other applicants. I don’t just want to squeak by, I want to excel. So I’ll keep on trying, until I’ve got what it takes to do that!”

All Might seemed taken aback by Izuku’s declaration, but then he gave a smile. “That fighting spirit’s what I like about you, kid. I do get your concerns, but now’s not the time to rush progress. Don’t worry, you’ll have your time to show everyone just what you can do.”

--

As Midoriya trained with Aizawa, Toshinori took a walk around the beach, admiring his student’s progress toward clearing it. And as he made his way back, he heard Aizawa ask a question. “So, Midoriya, why do you want to be a hero?” Toshinori hid himself behind some of the nearby trash, curious to hear the answer. “I’ve seen the schedule that All Might has you on, and you must have quite the motivation to push through it.”

“I want to give people hope. Like All Might. But also not like All Might.” Toshinori’s smile changed into confusion at that answer. “Because I know that I’ll never be an invincible symbol like he is. But that’s okay, because maybe I can give hope in a different way. Maybe someone will be able to look at me and say that, since I was able to achieve my dream, able to become a hero, then they can do whatever they set their mind to as well.”

Toshinori gave a small smile. That sounded like a fine kind of hero to him.

--

Before they knew it, the morning of the Entrance Exam arrived. Even though Midoriya was finished with training, Toshinori wanted to meet him at the beach one last time to wish him luck. And as the hero arrived, he took one last look at the beach, and was floored by how much progress had been made. Izuku had cleaned past the area All Might had told him to, and he couldn’t even see a single speck of trash anywhere!

But that was nothing compared to the change in the boy himself. He had gone from a scrawny boy with a lot of heart but no strength to back it up, to a fit, muscular kid who looked ready to take on the world. Midoriya gave him a smile as he saw him approach. “I really cleaned everything, huh. Do you think I’m ready?”

Toshinori smiled, bulking up to his hero form to give his words more weight. “Of course, kid. There’s still a long road ahead of you, but this is making it look like you can really do it.”

Midoriya smiled, though he also looked close to tears. “Do I really deserve this? You’ve spent so much time and effort helping me. I can’t believe I got so lucky.”

Toshinori was surprised to hear that the boy was still worried about that after all these months. “There’s a difference between being lucky and being deserving. One’s a gift, the other’s a reward. Look around you, kid. It was your hard work that did this, not mine. Never forget that. Now get out there and show them what you’re made of, hero!”

Chapter Text

“I’m worried.”

Shota let out a sigh as Yagi came up to him at the end of the staff meeting about the Entrance Exam. “Are you now.”

“About Midoriya.”

“I wouldn’t have guessed.”

“I think we should tell him.”

Shota leveled a patented Eraserhead glare at Yagi, Quirk and all. “Absolutely not.”

“But the test isn’t designed for someone like him!”

“Don’t you think I know that?”

Yagi at least had the decency to look embarrassed at that. “Yes, but…”

“But nothing. He’s obviously going to be at a disadvantage here, but if he can’t overcome it on his own, then he’ll never make it at U.A., and he'll definitely never make it as a hero. Coddling him now would get him killed later. Besides, we’ve trained him well.” Yagi nodded in agreement. “We have to hope that’ll be enough. He’ll be fine,” Shota reassured Yagi. Just Yagi. He definitely wasn’t reassuring himself.

--

This was it. After ten months of training, Izuku was ready for the U.A. entrance exam. Well, as ready as he would ever be. Izuku took a deep breath as he walked through U.A.’s gates. He could do this, he would become a hero, just like he dreamed. He just needed to put his best foot forward and-

And he tripped. He quickly realized that while the fall itself wouldn’t be too bad, the embarrassment would likely kill him on the spot. But hey, he had lived a good life.

As Izuku resigned himself to his fate, time seemed to freeze around him. And then he realized that he was actually just suspended in midair. It must’ve been one of the other applicant's Quirk! It seemed fascinating, and he could already see a bunch of heroic uses for it. Izuku started to theorize around some of them, not noticing the other applicant move him back onto his feet and release their Quirk until they moved into his view and asked, “Are you okay?”

Standing in front of Izuku was a girl with a bob of brown hair and matching brown eyes. She was a few inches shorter than Izuku, so she was looking up at him with an expression of care and concern. And she was pretty. Really pretty. And Izuku still hadn’t answered her question.

His mouth wouldn’t open for some reason, so he just nodded. She looked relieved at that. “Sorry for using my Quirk on you without permission, but it would’ve been bad luck if you fell.” Izuku nodded in agreement. “I’m Uraraka Ochako, by the way.” Izuku nodded in agreement. Which… didn’t actually make sense. “Well, good luck with the exams!”

Izuku gave one last nod as Uraraka turned and went into the main building. And then, a few seconds later, his brain actually registered the “conversation” he had just had. Then he realized that, even though the nice girl, Uraraka, had saved him from falling, he was still going to die of embarrassment.

--

The written exam seemed reasonable enough, but what Izuku was really worried about was the practical exam. Some of his worries were relieved, however, when he saw the U.A. teacher who was explaining the exam. It was Present Mic, one of the most charismatic heroes in all of Japan! Izuku still couldn’t believe that all the U.A. teachers were also pro heroes. He wished he could ask the hero all of the questions he had, but instead he just focused in on what the hero was saying.

“All right, listeners, let’s hear it for the practical exam!” He gestured to the gathered students, but no one made any noise, so he continued. “All right, in that case, I’ll just skip to the main event. Like your application said, you boys and girls will be out there conducting ten-minute mock battles in fake cities! Each testing center is filled to the brim with three types of robotic faux-villains for you to get points from defeating. Different robots are worth different points, so choose wisely. Your goal is to raise your point total by shredding as many of these villains as you can! Sounds simple, right? But there’s one last wrinkle. Each testing center has one suped-up robot worth zero points. Just think of it as an obstacle and steer clear of it, okay? And that’s all you need to know! I’ll sign off with our school motto; Go Beyond, Plus Ultra!”

--

Izuku was beyond relieved that students from the same school were sent to different testing sites to keep them from teaming up. He had seen Kacchan briefly at the assembly, and his classmate looked about ready to murder him, so he was grateful for any distance he could get.

Looking around, he realized he was at the same testing site as Uraraka, the nice girl from earlier. He decided to head over and properly thank her, only to be stopped by someone’s outstretched arm. Looking up, Izuku saw that it belonged to a tall boy with square glasses, combed navy hair, and an incredibly serious expression. “I believe that girl is trying to focus before the exam. It would be incredibly rude to disturb her, unless you are only here to inconvenience your fellow examinees.”

Izuku shrank back. “O- of course. Sorry.”

Behind him, he heard a few of the other examinees snicker. “Man, look at how nervous that kid is!” “At least we have one less person to worry about.” Izuku tried to make himself smaller. Those kids didn’t even know he was Quirkless. Just how pathetic was he?

Before his thoughts could continue down that path, Izuku heard Present Mic’s voice over the speakers. “Alright! Is everyone excited for the practical exam?” And then, without waiting for a response, “Go!” Izuku ran, his training from Aizawa-sensei kicking in, and he didn’t even notice that no one was running with him until Present Mic’s voice rang out again. “There’s no countdown before a real battle, get going already! That kid’s got the right idea!”

Izuku’s head start meant that he reached the robots first, and he squared up with a large robot with a large 2 painted on its side. Obviously, he couldn’t just punch out a robot, so he had to find a weakness. The robot’s neck was a mess of exposed wires, which was a pretty big design flaw, unless it was specifically intended to give students without raw power a chance. So as the robot swung for him, he ducked under it, using the opening to get in close and grab a handful of wires. Then he pulled, smiling in relief as the wires came loose and the robot clattered onto the ground. And just like that, he had two points.

Izuku turned to see a Three-Point robot bearing down on him, only for a laser beam to intercept and obliterate it. Izuku looked to the source of the beam and saw a blond boy with a weird lensed belt who was dressed way too fancy for this exam. The boy posed as the robot clattered to the ground. “We make a good team, you and I! You distract, I destroy! Well, au revoir!” Without another word the boy ran off, leaving Izuku on a street that was quickly becoming empty of both robots and students.

So Izuku ran in search of more robots, following the sounds of fighting in hopes that not all of the robots would be destroyed by the time he got there. Sure enough, he was able to pick off a few stragglers, bringing his points from two to twelve. Strength training from All Might and combat training from Aizawa-sensei helped him take down the robots with ease, but it wasn’t enough. Izuku could see how fast his competitors were tearing through the robots, so he needed way more points to stand a chance.

As Izuku was thinking this, he found himself standing on the edge of the main street of the fake city where the test was taking place. A pitched battle was taking place on it. Uraraka was lifting robots into the air with her Quirk and then releasing it to slam them back down, the strict boy was using engines that grew from his legs to destroy the robots with powerful kicks, and Izuku had to force himself not to nerd out over all the amazing Quirks on display. Instead, he ran straight for a group of robots that none of the other examinees had attacked. But as he reached them, there was a rumbling sound that made every applicant’s head turn.

The presentation hadn’t done the Zero-Pointer justice. It towered over the buildings in the fake city, less of an obstacle and more of a force of nature. Izuku’s first response was an overwhelming urge to run, and judging by the applicants fleeing around him, he wasn’t the only one. But he steeled his fear and turned back to the smaller robots in front of him. The Zero-Pointer was still far enough away that he could deal with the robots around him. It would be risky, but he needed those points if he wanted to-

And then he heard a cry of pain. Far away, right in the Zero-Pointer’s path, he saw Uraraka, her leg caught under a large piece of rubble. And Izuku ran. He didn’t think about how U.A. would never let someone be injured in their exam. He didn’t think about how he was throwing away any chance he had of passing the exam. He just saw someone who needed help, and his body moved without thinking.

One of the robots swung for him as he ran past, and Izuku narrowly avoided it as he vaulted over a second one. And from there his way to Uraraka was clear, apart from a few students who gave him odd looks as they ran in the opposite direction.

The moment he reached Uraraka, he started lifting the rubble, silently thanking All Might’s training as he raised it just enough for Uraraka to slide her leg out of it. And then he realized that he still had to escape the Zero-Pointer, and he had no idea how to do that.

But before he made his plan, he reached down his hand to Uraraka. “Can you stand?”

Uraraka took his hand and pulled herself up, only to stumble back down with a grimace. “No.”

Izuku nodded, still trying to find a solution as a spray of dust reminded him that the Zero-Pointer was fast approaching. “Use your Quirk on yourself, I’ll carry you.” Without another word, he scooped up Uraraka and started moving, narrowly avoiding another piece of debris. Clearly, outrunning the robot wasn’t an option, but there was no way he could actually fight it, so what other option did he have? Wait. Why was he running in a straight line? As he saw a side street coming up, he turned and ran into it, setting Uraraka down as soon as he was far enough and letting the Zero-Pointer pass them by. “Are you okay?”

Uraraka nodded. “I am. Thanks to you.”

Izuku smiled as he realized that he had actually saved someone. “Of- of course. I should-”

Suddenly Present Mic’s voice rang out announcing the end of the exam, causing Izuku to cry out “No! I still need more points! That’s not- that’s not enough.”

--

Izuku didn’t hear anything from U.A. for the next few days. Or from All Might. Or Aizawa-sensei. But that didn’t surprise him. They had done their best for him, but he had let them down like the Deku he was. The last few months had been fun, but it was over now. He had failed.

So when he got his letter from U.A, he almost didn’t want to open it. Instead, he stared at it on his desk for what felt like minutes before he finally just grabbed it and tore it open to get the bad news over with. He was surprised when, instead of a letter, some sort of hologram projector fell out, and then as it activated, he was even more surprised to see All Might appear on screen. “I am here! As a projection!” The message was from U.A., so why was All Might in it? “I didn’t come to this city just to fight villains. The truth is, you’re looking at the newest member of the U.A. faculty!” He turned to look at someone offscreen. “Okay, I’ll hurry it up, but I have to show him something first. Wait, I have to do how many of these?” He turned back to the camera with a sigh. “Even though you passed the written test, you only got twelve combat points in the practical test. I’m sorry, that’s not enough.”

Izuku bowed his head, trying to hold back tears. He knew that already, but hearing All Might say it gave the words a new finality. Except that All Might wasn’t done. “Or at least, it wouldn’t be if combat points were all we were testing!” Izuku immediately looked up in surprise. Was there hope? “But before that, a short clip for your viewing pleasure.”

The image on the screen changed to a video of Uraraka, probably not long after the exam. Izuku couldn’t see who she was talking to, but he heard her say “You know the boy with the messy, green hair and freckles? I was… I was wondering. Would it be possible for me to give him some of my points? It’s just that I also heard him mention that he didn’t have enough points, and he saved me, and he would’ve had a better score if he hadn’t stopped to help me, so can he at least get however many points he would’ve made at the end? He-” She stared toward the ground, “He saved me, and I have to make it up to him!”

Watching the video, Izuku was stunned. He… he had actually accomplished something. Helped someone. Even inspired them. He couldn’t- he couldn’t believe it. The video changed back to All Might. “Even without a Quirk, it’s your actions that inspire others. But it turned out that Miss Uraraka had nothing to worry about. Because the practical exam was not graded on combat alone! How could a hero school reject someone who saves others despite the cost to himself? After all, that’s what being a hero is all about! So, behind the scenes, we have a panel of judges making note of heroic actions performed by the examinees and awarding them ‘Rescue Points’! Midoriya Izuku, with a score of twelve combat points and forty-five rescue points, you finished ninth in the practical exam, passing easily! Congratulations, and welcome to U.A.! This is the start of your hero academia!”

Izuku turned to go tell his mom, only to see her already standing in the doorway, hand over her mouth in surprise. “Oh, Izuku, you actually- no, of course you did. I should never have doubted you.” Izuku walked over to her and pulled her into a hug, and they both cried tears of joy.

--

Aldera Junior High was proud to have not one, but two of their students make it into U.A., so the principal had Izuku and Kacchan called into his office at the end of a school day so he could congratulate them. Izuku spent the entire meeting staring at the floor and trying to ignore the glare that Kacchan was sending at him. If looks could kill, he would be dead.

Immediately after the exam, Kacchan slammed Izuku against a wall of the first abandoned hallway they could find. “What’d you do to pass the exam? You must’ve cheated, so how? I’m supposed to be the first and only student from this crappy high school to get into U.A., but you just had to go and mess that up!” Kacchan’s hand started sparking with his Quirk, and Izuku’s eyes went wide. “I warned you not to apply!”

Since he was already screwed, Izuku spoke up. “Someone I looked up to told me that I can be a hero.” He stared Kacchan down with a steel he would not have been capable of a year ago. “Like it or not, you can’t stop me!”

Kacchan’s hand, already raised to strike, stopped sparking as the boy was caught off guard by Izuku’s declaration. His other hand let go of Izuku before he regained his composure. “Whatever, nerd. Hopefully seeing the best of the best will remind you where you belong.” Then he walked off, leaving Izuku surprised he had gotten off so easy.

Chapter Text

As much as he had tried to be early, Izuku didn’t have much time as he hurried to his classroom for the first day of high school at U.A., which was a thought that he still couldn’t believe. He would be learning alongside the most promising hero candidates in Japan. Candidates like Kacchan, and maybe that strict boy from the Entrance Exam. Izuku’s heart sank as he considered the possibility of sharing a class with them. But maybe he’d be lucky, maybe they’d be in a different class.

Izuku’s hopes were immediately dashed as the first thing he saw upon opening the door was the strict boy chastising Kacchan for putting his feet on the desk. Of course they were in the same class as him. That was just his luck.

“Hey, it’s you! From the Entrance Exam!” Izuku turned around to see that coming in through the door behind him was Uraraka, the girl he had saved in the Entrance Exam. He let out a sigh of relief that he knew at least one person in his class was nice. She continued speaking. “I really want to thank you again for saving me there. Also, I never caught your name. What is it?”

Before Izuku could answer, he heard a familiar voice from behind the teacher’s desk. “If you’re just here to make friends, you can pack up your things and leave.” Emerging from behind the desk and out of a yellow sleeping bag was… Aizawa-sensei? Izuku was surprised to learn that he taught at U.A., but all of his classmates were just surprised to see this strange man in their classroom, so he fit right in. Aizawa-sensei addressed the whole class. “Welcome to U.A.’s hero course. It took eight seconds for you all to shut up. Time is precious, so that’s not gonna cut it. I’m Aizawa, your teacher.” Ignoring the gasps of surprise at that information, he reached under his desk and pulled out a gym uniform. “Put these on and meet me outside.”

The stern boy immediately raised his hand. “But today’s itinerary is supposed to consist of the opening ceremonies and orientation. Should we not-”

“If you want to make it as a hero, you need to be more flexible than that.” Aizawa-sensei cut him off. “Now hurry up, you’ve wasted enough of my time.”

--

Once the class had gathered outside, Aizawa-sensei explained what they’d be doing. “A Quirk Assessment Test. All your lives, you’ve been doing physical tests. But you’ve never been allowed to use your Quirks on them. The country’s trying to pretend that we’re all created equal by not letting everyone use the abilities they have at their disposal. It’s irrational.” Izuku felt like Aizawa-sensei was pointedly not looking at him, and then he addressed Kacchan. “Bakugo, you scored first in the Entrance Exam, what was your record for the softball throw?”

Kacchan smirked, realizing where this was going. “Sixty-seven meters, about.”

Aizawa-sensei nodded, tossing him a softball. “Now try it with your Quirk.”

Kacchan took the softball and walked into the designated area, warming his arm up confidently. Then he threw it, creating a massive explosion in his hand with a shout of “Die!”

The whole class let out gasps of surprise as the ball went out beyond the distance. The surprise doubled as Aizawa held out a small screen, displaying a distance of 705.2 meters. “I wanna go next, this looks like fun!” “That’s what I’m talking about, using our Quirks as much as we want!”

Aizawa-sensei shot them all a glare. “So this looks fun, does it? Do you think your three years at U.A. will be all fun and games? In that case, I’ll just have to raise the stakes. Whoever comes in last place will be expelled.”

The entire class recoiled at that ultimatum, and Uraraka said what everyone else was thinking. “You can’t send one of us home, we just got here! It wouldn’t be fair!”

Aizawa-sensei just chuckled. “Oh, and are natural disasters fair? How about power-hungry villains? Accidents that wipe out whole cities? The world’s full of unfairness. It’s a hero’s job to rise above that unfairness. Now, get going. Show me you deserve to be here.”

--

Izuku desperately wished that he had brought his notebook out with him. His classmates’ Quirks were all so cool! There was obviously Kacchan, and the stern boy from the entrance exam whose name Izuku learned was Iida. But then there was also a girl with shoulder length red-and-white hair and a burn scar over her left eye named Todoroki who had a really cool ice Quirk! And then there was Tokoyami, who had a bird’s head, and could summon a weird shadow-bird-monster from his torso. It looked to be sentient, could Quirks be sentient? And a tall girl named Yaoyorozu who could apparently have anything she wanted pop out of her skin. Granted, there must be some kind of limit to what she could do, but Midoriya had no clue what it was.

But even with that competition, Midoriya wasn’t worried about being expelled. Partly because he remembered Aizawa-sensei making a similar threat before starting to train Izuku. But more than that, even though he was probably the only Quirkless person here, he wasn’t the only one not using a Quirk. The was a purple-haired girl named Jiro whose earlobes turned into Aux cords, a blond boy named Kaminari who seemed to have some sort of electric power, and a permanently invisible girl named Hagakure who was… well, invisible. None of their Quirks were of any use in a test like this. It wasn’t just getting expelled on day one that would be unfair, the test itself favored certain Quirks over others. And Izuku was willing to bet that Aizawa-sensei realized that.

--

It wasn’t long before the tests ended, and Aizawa-sensei pulled up a bigger screen to display the rankings. Izuku looked near the bottom of the list for his name, but when he didn’t see it immediately, he slowly raised his eyes up the list. And then he saw it. 9th place. Out of twenty. He hadn’t just beaten a few classmates with irrelevant Quirks, he was in the top half. How did he-

“How the hell did so many of you extras lose to Deku?!” Kacchan apparently had the same question, and was storming towards Izuku with explosions sparking in his hands. “What sort of cheating-”

He was cut off as Aizawa-sensei’s scarf shot out and pinned his arms to his sides. “Bakugo Katsuki.” Aizawa-sensei’s eyes glowed red as his hair floated upwards. Midoriya had to contain his inner fanboy as he finally realized which pro-hero his teacher was. It was Eraserhead, a super cool, if relatively unknown, underground hero who could erase villains’ Quirks as long as he stared at them. Just like he was doing to Kacchan right now. “I’m not sure what your last school was like, but that sort of behavior will not be tolerated at U.A. Midoriya hasn’t done anything wrong, unless you count being in better shape than his classmates as cheating. Speaking of…” Without releasing Kacchan he turned his gaze toward a short boy with purple balls for hair. “Mineta Minoru. You’re in last place. You know what that means.” Mineta stared at the ground, ashamed. “You should be happy the threat of expulsion was just a logical deception!”

The class erupted into gasps of surprise and relief, and Izuku couldn’t blame them. If Aizawa-sensei hadn’t already used the same deception against him, he would’ve absolutely fallen for it. After the hubbub died down, Aizawa-sensei continued speaking. “I just wanted to make sure none of you held back. But, as Uraraka said earlier, it would be unfair to expel someone over this. Can anyone tell me why?”

After realizing that no one else was going to answer, Izuku raised his hand. “Because some of our classmates’ Quirks were far more helpful for this test than others. Like how Hagakure’s invisibility would be very useful in a number of situations, but offered no benefit for this test.”

Aizawa-sensei nodded. “Good answer. Yaoyorozu’s victory was certainly thanks to her skill with her Quirk, but it was also because her Quirk was applicable to more tests than anyone else’s. But even she wasn’t able to use her Quirk on every test. This test wasn’t just to show me what your Quirks are capable of, it was also to show you what they aren’t. You may have been able to enter U.A. by relying solely on your Quirk, but if you continue to do so then you’ll never make it as a hero. Any questions?”

Iida immediately raised his hand. “Would it not be more efficient to focus on our own strengths, since we will not be able to do as effective a job as those whose Quirks are more appropriate?”

Aizawa-sensei shook his head. “There’s no guarantee that a hero with a relevant Quirk will be present when you need them, so it’s best to be prepared for anything. Also, it’s illogical to assume that a relevant Quirk makes someone automatically more qualified.” Aizawa-sensei looked toward Izuku with a question in his eyes. It took Izuku a second to understand what the question was, but, after a moment of thought, he nodded. “After all, Midoriya managed to score in the top half of this class, and he doesn’t have a Quirk at all.”

“You mean he’s Quirkless?” Kaminari, a blond boy with a lightning bolt pattern in his hair, was the first to respond. “What’s he doing here?”

Iida seemed shocked as well. “Yes, it does seem rather dangerous to have him in the hero course.”

Izuku shrank into himself as more of his classmates started speaking out against him, until Aizawa-sensei silenced them with a flash of his Quirk. “Midoriya took the same entrance exam as all of you, so he deserves his spot just the same. And need I remind you that he finished ninth, so if he shouldn’t be here, eleven of you need to go as well.” No one had a response for that. “That will be all. You’re dismissed, except Midoriya.”

Once the last of Izuku’s classmates passed around the corner, Aizawa-sensei let out a long sigh. “I’m sorry about that, but I felt it best to rip the bandaid off all at once.”

Izuku nodded. “I understand, sir. They would’ve found out anyway, after all.”

“If any of them give you trouble over it, just tell me. I’ve got your back, kid.”

Izuku didn’t necessarily believe him, but he nodded anyway. He turned to go, but stopped as he felt his teacher’s hand on his shoulder. “One last thing. Bakugo.”

Izuku shook his head, trying to deny whatever Aizawa-sensei was implying. “We’ve known each other since we were kids. He’s fine, he’s just a little competitive.”

Aizawa-sensei looked skeptical, but he didn’t say anything. “In that case, you’re free to go.”

--

Uraraka Ochako was worried for Midoriya. Everyone’s reaction to learning he was Quirkless had been really harsh. And then Aizawa-sensei had told him to stay after, and he was really scary. So instead of going straight home, Ochako waited by the main gate to make sure Midoriya was alright.

It fortunately wasn’t long before she saw him coming her way. He looked deep in thought about something, so Ochako called out to him, using the nickname she heard the explosion boy use. “Deku!” Midoriya recoiled in surprise and looked hurt at the greeting, making Ochako realize she might have done something wrong. “Wait, is it okay if I call you that? That’s what Bakugo called you, isn’t it?”

Midoriya looked sheepishly toward the ground. “It’s… kind of an insult. It’s short for Deku-nobu, you know, a useless person. Someone who can’t do anything.”

Ochako internally berated herself. She had stayed behind to help him, but she was just making it worse. “I’m so sorry! I thought it had something to do with Dekiru, you know, ‘you can do it!’” Midoriya seemed to smile at that at least, so she continued. “What did Aizawa-sensei want to talk to you about?”

Midoriya shrugged. “He just wanted to make sure that I was okay with him telling everyone, and he told me to come to him if anything happens.”

“Well, I’m glad to hear that. He seems so scary! I thought he really was going to expel someone!” Midoriya laughed at that, which meant Ochako was successfully cheering him up! “Do you want to walk together until we have to split up?”

Midoriya’s eyes widened in surprise. “You want to walk with me? Are you sure?”

Ochako just shrugged. “Why not?” She knew why not, of course, but she wanted Midoriya to know that she didn’t care. He had saved her during the Entrance Exam, so to look down on him for being Quirkless wouldn’t just be heartless, it would be stupid.

“Because…” Midoriya composed himself. “That would be nice. Thank you.”

Chapter Text

The first day of actual classes at U.A. started off relatively normally. The only difference was that every class was taught by a real-life pro-hero, and Izuku had to try his hardest not to geek out too hard. Well, the other difference was that Uraraka sat with him during lunch, so, for the first time in years, he didn’t have to eat alone. But before long, it was time for the class that Izuku was most looking forward to. Hero Basic Training! Taught by none other than All Might himself! The whole class erupted into cheers as he came into the classroom with his catchphrase of “I Am Here!”, and even after seeing him so regularly, Izuku couldn’t help but share their amazement.

Once the cheers died down, All Might turned to face the class. “Welcome to the most important class at U.A, where you’ll learn the basics of being a pro and fighting for justice! I hope you’re ready, because today’s lesson will pull no punches: It’s a Battle Trial! But first,” he gestured toward the wall of the classroom as a series of briefcases emerged from it. “The first part of being a hero is looking good! These costumes were designed with your suggestions and Quirks in mind. Try them on and meet me at the training ground!”

--

It still felt unreal to Izuku as he put on his hero costume. Well, it wasn’t much of a costume, more of a green jumpsuit, with a hood that included long bunny ears, and a mouthguard. He’d probably have it modified before he actually went out into the field, but… his mom had made it for him. After he had gotten his acceptance letter, his mom had put it together as an apology for not believing in him sooner, and as a promise to support him with everything she had going forward. She had seen the design for a costume he had put in his notebook, and based it on that, so while it wasn’t professional grade, it was still a perfect reminder that he had people in his corner. Plus, if he needed professionalism, the Support Department had already made him a utility belt with prototypes of some of the Support Items had come up with.

All that didn’t mean he felt any less embarrassed as he looked around at all of his classmate’s professional costumes. “Oh, hey! I like your costume, not too flashy, you know?” Izuku turned to see Uraraka, whose costume was a perfect example of what he had been thinking. It started with a visored helmet, to protect her head while still keeping her face visible. The body of the costume had padding similar to an astronaut, though much lighter so as to not restrict mobility. There was some light plating over her chest to protect her vitals, her hands were open so she could use her Quirk, and the boots had an oversized flat sole to help with landing after using her Quirk on herself. The whole thing was colored a light pink with a few black accents to break it up. “What do you think of mine?”

“You look great! It! It looks great!” Izuku spluttered out a response, saved from his embarrassment as All Might called out to them.

“They say the clothes make the hero, and you all certainly look the part. Now then, let’s get started, you buncha newbies! Now, let’s get to it! While most of the villain fights you see on the news take place outside, run-ins with the most dastardly villains take place indoors. For this exercise, you’ll be split into teams of heroes and villains to fight two-on-two indoor battles. Here’s the situation: The villains have hidden a missile somewhere in their lair. The heroes have to thwart their plans by securing the weapon or capturing the villains. The villains have to run out the clock or capture the heroes. Teams and matchups will be chosen by drawing lots.” He gestured toward a box holding a bunch of paper slips.

One of the other students, wearing a set of vaguely mechanical metal armor, spoke up first. “Isn’t there a more logical way to be assigning teams?” While his costume completely hid him, as he spoke Izuku realized it was Iida under there. And there was something familiar about his costume’s design…

All Might shook his head at the question. “Pros don’t usually get to decide who they’re teaming up with. It just depends on who’s available! Now, without further interruption, let’s draw!”

Izuku hung near the back of the class, being almost the last person to pull his slip. “Um, who else has Team A?” He desperately hoped he’d be able to work with them alright, if it was someone like Kacchan…

“Oh! That’s me!” To his immense relief, it was Uraraka who called out to him. “Alright, let’s do this!”

--

Izuku settled in excitedly to watch the first match. He had brought his notebook this time, so he was ready to take notes on all of his classmate’s amazing Quirks. It was Hero team Shoji and Todoroki versus Villain team Ojiro and Hagakure. With how little information he had, Izuku was betting the Hero team would win this. Ojiro’s Quirk just gave him a tail, while Shoji had additional limbs from which he could grow any body part he wanted, so he had more power and utility. That just left Hagakure and Todoroki, and while Hagakure’s invisibility was impressive, it would benefit her a lot more on the Hero team searching for the weapon than vice versa. And Todoroki had shown a lot of control of her ice powers during the Quirk Assessment test, so she would probably have something to…

As Izuku theorized how the match might go, he watched on a screen as Todoroki walked up to the building the exercise was in and put her hand on it. And then his jaw dropped as ice spread from her hand and spread across the entire building, covering the whole thing in a sheet of ice and freezing her opponents to the floor. From there, all she had to do was walk up to the weapon and put her hand on it, and the exercise was over.

Izuku’s notebook dropped to the floor, all of his theories of how the match might go forgotten. Because there’s no way he could have predicted that Todoroki had much raw power.

All Might looked almost as surprised as the students as he called the match in Todoroki’s favor. “Well then, tough act to follow, but the next match will be… Team A as the heroes vs. Team D as the villains!” Izuku perked up as he realized that that was him! He looked around, trying to remember who had been assigned Team D, and then he caught Kacchan locking eyes with him, and he realized what was about to happen. Kacchan was Team D. He was be going to have to fight Kacchan.

--

As the two of them headed over to their battle arena, Uraraka made light conversation as Izuku panicked at how he was going to have to fight Kacchan. “You know, All Might’s just as cool in person as he is on TV! I’m glad he’s not threatening us with expulsion like Aizawa-sensei, we can relax-” She cut herself off as she caught Izuku’s expression. “Wait, you’re absolutely not relaxed. What’s wrong?”

Izuku tried to compose himself. He didn’t want to look weak in front of Uraraka. “It’s- it’s just that we’re going up against Kacchan. And Iida too, he seems really determined. We just… need to be careful.”

Izuku tried to keep his response neutral and hide why specifically he was worried about fighting Kacchan, but Uraraka seemed to at least partially see through it. “Right, Bakugo. He’s the one who threatened you yesterday, right? He seems scary.”

Izuku nodded. “Yeah, and he’s incredible. His strength, his confidence, his ambition, not to mention his Quirk, they’re all so much better than mine.” Better than me, Izuku wanted to add. Instead he steeled himself. “But that just means I’ll have to try even harder. I won’t let you down, Uraraka.”

Uraraka let out a small cheer at his declaration. “That’s the spirit! We’ve got this, Dekiru!”

“What?”

“Well, you know, Dekiru. ‘You can do it!’ Since it’s what I thought your nickname meant yesterday, I figured it would make a better nickname than your old one.” Uraraka looked away, sounding a little embarrassed. “It’s okay if you don’t like it though. If it’s too similar to your old one or anything, I just thought-”

“No! I love it. It’s great! It’s just-” It was just so nice. Izuku hadn’t expected that. “Thank you.” Izuku cleared his throat, trying to push his emotions at the gesture back down. “But back to the exercise, I think I have some form of a plan. If I know Kacchan, he’ll abandon the weapon to come and find us. But I doubt Iida will want to leave the weapon undefended.”

Uraraka nodded. “So then it’s a two-on-one.”

“Not necessarily,” Izuku mused. “Neither of us have a good way to deal with Kacchan, so if we tried to fight him it would just take up too much time. Ideally, we could just avoid him, but if he does find us, you should go on ahead and scout for the weapon while I keep him busy. Let me know when you find it, and I’ll try to lose Kacchan and meet up with you and we can take on Iida together. Sound good?”

“You bet!” Uraraka held out a hand for a fist bump, which Izuku returned with a smile. “We can do this!”

--

Since they didn’t know which part of the building the weapon was in, Izuku had Uraraka use her Quirk to float them up to the middle floor of the building, and they started their search from there, Izuku repeating ‘I can do this’ to himself like a mantra.

They weren’t lucky enough to avoid Kacchan, but Izuku saw the blond boy coming just soon enough to tackle Uraraka and get them both out of the way of his introductory explosion. Then he was up on his feet in an instant, facing off against his classmate as he emerged from the cloud of smoke caused by his explosion. Kacchan’s hero costume was as brutally direct as the boy himself. Combat boots, military green trousers, and a black tank top with a red X over it. But the most noticeable aspect was a pair of massive gauntlets styled to look like grenades. They looked a little too large to be practical but Kacchan wasn’t the type to choose form over function. Did they serve some sort of auxiliary purpose? Maybe-

Izuku pulled his focus back to the fight as Kacchan started speaking. “What’s the matter? Afraid to fight me? I can’t say I blame you. After all, we both know how this ends, Deku.” With that, Kacchan lunged for him, preparing an explosive right hook.

But Izuku had watched his former friend fight enough times to know that a right hook was how he started every fight. He had even written the observation in the notebook Kacchan blew up the day he met All Might. So, as his classmate swung for him, Izuku shifted to the left, bringing up his own right arm to bat the strike aside. Kacchan briefly wore an expression of shock at his blow being deflected before Izuku pivoted, using the momentum to slam his elbow into the side of his opponent’s head. Then, before Kacchan could recover, Izuku grabbed his arm and the back of his neck before slamming him down onto the ground, pinning him. “No. I’m not the same defenseless Deku anymore. And I’m not scared of you.” Which wasn’t entirely true. He was terrified, but he had bigger concerns. Izuku looked up at Uraraka. “Go get the weapon. I’ll keep him busy.”

Uraraka looked a little worried for him, but she followed the plan, leaving with a determined nod. Once she was gone, Kacchan wasted no time in blasting the ground with his free hand, launching himself up and knocking Izuku off balance. Izuku regained his footing just in time to duck under Kacchan’s follow-up swipe, responding with a series of punches, one to the gut, one to the nose, and finally an uppercut to the jaw. As Kacchan staggered back, Izuku kept up the offensive, only to get knocked back as Kacchan propelled himself away with an explosion from each hand.

As both boys took a moment to catch their breath, a smile spread across Izuku’s face as he realized he was actually holding his own against Kacchan. But he probably wouldn’t be able to use the same trick again, so he switched to a new trick, running into one of the side rooms and betting that Kacchan would follow. Then, once the other boy couldn’t see him, he reached into his belt pouch and pulled out the first of his Support Item designs: The Present Mic Patches. A set of small disks that could stick to walls and let out a disorienting wave of high-pitched noise when they detected movement. Perfect for disorienting an enemy for long enough to take them down. Izuku took a pair out and tossed them onto the wall on either side of the doorway, and sure enough, as Kacchan rocketed after him, both patches activated, stopping Kacchan in his tracks and making him hold his hands to his ears. Izuku pressed his advantage, running in with another punch to Kacchan’s face. The other boy was able to bring his hands over his face fast enough to block the second hit, so Izuku instead sent his leg out in a sweep, knocking Kacchan to the ground. But as Kacchan hit the ground, instead of trying to get back up, he sent out a blast at Izuku, impacting right in his gut and sending him back into the wall.

Izuku was slower than Kacchan to get back up from that exchange. While he had landed a lot more hits than his rival, his didn’t pack nearly as much of a punch. In desperation, he reached into his belt for another of his designs: The Midnight Marble. Named after another pro-hero teaching at U.A, it was a bead filled with knock-out gas that shattered on contact for a quick takedown. But as he threw it toward Kacchan, the blond batted it aside with an explosion, the gas dissipating in the blast.

And he had no more time to think before Kacchan rocketed into him, forcing him onto the defensive. And while he was able to get in a few hits against his opponent, he had lost control of the fight, and Kacchan’s overwhelming power was making sure that he couldn’t get it back. Izuku wasn’t winning this fight, the best he could do was try to get away from Kacchan long enough to help Uraraka. So he bolted, but he had barely made it back into the hallway before Kacchan slammed into him from behind, knocking him onto the ground again. And as Izuku stood, his opponent started taunting him. “You’ve stalked me long enough to know how my Quirk works, right?” Of course Izuku knew. Kacchan sweated nitroglycerin which he could ignite at will for amazing explosions. “Well, if the Support Department made these gauntlets the way I asked, they should have stored up enough of my sweat for one, massive blast. You said you’re not afraid of me anymore? This should fix that.”

With that, he aimed his gauntlet at Izuku, who could do nothing but stare at it like a deer in headlights. He had seen, he had felt, how much impact Kacchan’s regular explosions could have. If this was supposed to be drastically more powerful than those, then it would… then he would… “Bakugo, stop! You’ll kill him!” All Might’s voice coming through the speakers finished Izuku’s thought for him.

But Kacchan ignored the admonition, already starting to pull the trigger. “Not if he dodges!” At that, Izuku’s brain finally caught up and he was able to force himself to move, trying to dive out of the way of the attack. But there was nowhere to run, as Kacchan’s blast filled every inch of the hallway he was in, with him nearly in the epicenter. And as it impacted, he was sent hurtling clear through a wall and into a pillar, cracking it as he slammed into it. The smoke from the blast made it hard to see anything clearly, and everything looked blurry even without the smoke, but Izuku could just barely make out Kacchan’s silhouette making its way toward him. Kacchan wasn’t done with him. He needed to get up. He needed to keep fighting. But he couldn’t move. Everything was so heavy. Everything was…

Izuku passed out.

~

Bakugo was scary, but Ochako trusted Dekiru. So if he said he could handle him, she would just have to do her best as well. And it wasn’t long before she found the room where Iida was waiting with the weapon, and she hid behind a pillar to wait for a good opportunity. She was just about to tell Dekiru about her discovery when a massive explosion shook the entire building. And she instantly regretted agreeing to the plan. Because that explosion could only have come from Bakugo, and if she had felt it from several stories away, it must have been insanely powerful, so if Dekiru had been caught in it…

“Team D is disqualified for excessive force. End the exercise IMMEDIATELY.” All Might’s voice ringing out over the speakers practically confirmed her worst fears.

“Dekiru!” She sprinted toward where the explosion had come from, all thoughts of the exercise completely gone from her mind. But by the time she found Dekiru, All Might was already there, holding her friend carefully. Dekiru looked so small in the pro-hero’s arms. His costume was torn to shreds, he had burns all over him, and he wasn’t moving. “Is- Is he-”

“He’ll be alright, Young Uraraka,” All Might comforted her. “I already called for him to be taken to Recovery Girl, and I came here as quickly as I could.”

Ochako just nodded. “Is there anything I can do?”

“Your concern for your classmate is admirable, but it would be best for you to simply return to the rest of your classmates.” And with that, the Number One Hero slowly carried Dekiru out of the building, leaving Ochako to just stare after him.

“I deeply regret the methods Bakugo used, but I do feel that an outcome like this was inevitable.” Ochako startled as she realized that Iida was standing right by her. “Hopefully this makes him realize that Hero work is far too dangerous for someone without a Quirk. If this had happened in the field, it would have been much worse.”

Ochako wanted to tell Iida that he was wrong. That Dekiru was going to be a great hero, and that what happened today didn’t mean anything, and that if it did then it was just Bakugo’s fault, but she just… couldn’t make herself.

Chapter Text

When Izuku came to, he was surprised that nothing hurt. He remembered the end of his fight with Kacchan, and that last blast had been incredibly painful. He would’ve expected it to at least bruise, but he felt fine. “Ah, there you are. Finally awake, eh?”

Izuku looked over toward the voice and, despite the circumstances, let out a gasp of amazement as he recognized the Pro Hero Recovery Girl, whose kisses could accelerate the body’s natural healing process to heal in minutes injuries that would otherwise take weeks. She had saved countless lives during her fifty-year-long career, and he had heard she worked as U.A.’s nurse, but he hadn’t seen her before now. “You’re-”

She waved him off. “Yes, yes. Do you feel alright? My Quirk uses up your own energy, so you should be fairly tired, but is there anything else wrong?”

Izuku let out a yawn as he realized that he was indeed exhausted, but he shook his head. “I’m alright. What happened? Did Uraraka do okay by herself? I hope I didn’t let her down.”

Recovery Girl laughed at that. “That’s what you’re worried about? My goodness, you’re a little too heroic for your own good. But there's nothing to worry about. All Might called the match early as soon as Bakugo hit you with that explosion. He even rushed over to the exercise site to make sure you were alright. Speaking of,” she walked slowly over to her door and rapped on it. “He’s awake.”

Immediately the door was yanked open by All Might, now out of his hero costume and in his withered form. “Midoriya, my boy! Are you alright?”

Izuku smiled at his mentor’s concern. “Yeah, I’m okay. Recovery Girl fixed me right up.”

All Might let out a sigh of relief as he sat down by Izuku’s bedside. “I’m glad to hear that. I must apologize for what happened today. As my student, your safety is my responsibility, and I failed you. I should have realized you and Bakugo had history and given you a different pairing. Or at least stopped him before he went so far.”

Izuku didn’t know how to respond to the number one hero apologizing to him. “No, it’s okay, honestly! You couldn’t have known, and you did everything you could!”

All Might's expression grew serious at that. “Yes, we’ve done everything we can. Aizawa has officially moved Young Bakugo out of the Hero Course and into General Studies.”

Izuku’s eyes grew wide. That… that shouldn’t happen, right? “But… But Kacchan’s supposed to become a hero! He’s already so cool, and powerful, so… what?”

All Might sighed at Izuku’s protest and put a hand on his shoulder. “He tried to kill you, Midoriya.”

“He didn’t try to-”

“He was willing to kill you,” All Might continued. “As far as I’m concerned that’s the same thing. If his behavior improves, Aizawa might consider letting him back into his class, but as it is, he doesn’t want to give heroics skills to someone who clearly cares so little about the safety of others.”

Izuku didn’t know how to respond to that. What All Might was saying made sense, it just seemed… wrong. “Yes sir.”

--

The next day, the media was swarming outside U.A., hoping to get a quote from All Might, or at the very least about All Might. They were crowding the entrances and pestering every student who approached, so Shota was sent down to get rid of them, presumably because the principal trusted him to give them literally nothing they could work with. So he made his way down there and started shooing the reporters off. “All Might’s not even here today, get out of here.” How Yagi managed to get any work done with these vultures swarming him all the time, Shota would never understand.

Most of the reporters started moving back at his admonition, but one particularly foolish reporter starting walking towards him, shouting that they wouldn’t be able to keep the press out… only for U.A.’s defenses to activate, slamming the gate shut and raising up walls around the entire perimeter of the school. Shota sighed before turning to go back inside. That was certainly one way to keep them out.

--

Izuku tried to enter the classroom as quietly as possible. He had missed the rest of classes after his match with Kacchan, so this would be his first time seeing his classmates since then, and he wasn’t sure how they’d react. They’d probably think he was weak, and useless, and…

“Dekiru! You’re alright!” His train of thought was interrupted as Uraraka immediately came up and hugged him. “I’m so sorry, I should’ve stayed behind to help you, are you okay?”

Izuku stared in shock, surprised that Uraraka was apparently worried about him, and then he gave her a nod. “Yeah, Recovery Girl fixed me right up! And besides, it was my plan to fight Kacchan by myself.” As he said that, he looked over to Kacchan’s chair. Sure enough, he wasn’t there. Izuku was still surprised that Aizawa-sensei had expelled him for doing that. For doing that to him.

It wasn’t long before class started, and Aizawa-sensei began with a few announcements. “Firstly, you may have noticed that Bakugo is not here. After reviewing the footing of his training exercise, I have determined that he knowingly and intentionally used lethal force against his classmate, ignoring his instructor’s warning against it. For this, he has been expelled from the Hero Course. Any questions?” The class was completely silent, so their teacher continued. “On a different note, today we have a task that will drastically affect your three years here at U.A., and possibly beyond. You need to pick a class president.”

The entire class let out a sigh of relief as they realized it was just a normal school task. Which was immediately followed by everyone volunteering for the position. “Pick me, guys! I want to be class rep!” “I’ll take it!” “I’m like, totally the right pick!”

“Silence, everyone, please!” Iida’s voice silenced everyone else’s shouts. “The most logical way to decide on this position is democratically. We should hold an election to decide on the class representative!”

Most of his classmates nodded at the idea, but a few raised concerns. “Wouldn’t people just vote for themselves?” “Yeah, how do we stop that from happening?”

“We will simply have to use the honor system. After all, we are heroes in training. Our word ought to be our bond!” Iida turned to Aizawa-sensei. “It’s the best way, right sir?”

Aizawa-sensei shrugged, already halfway through getting into his sleeping bag. “I don’t care, just get it done before the period ends.”

Iida nodded. “Thank you for your confidence, sir!”

Yaoyorozu created a slip of paper for everyone and a box to put them in, and everyone got to work deciding who to vote for. Izuku ended up just voting for Iida, he had just proven his leadership abilities by organizing the vote after all. And everyone seemed to agree with that assessment because Iida won with ten of nineteen votes. Yaoyorozu came in second with seven votes, making her vice-president, and the only other two to get votes were Todoroki and… Izuku. Who had voted for him?

Before he could focus on that, Iida went in front of the class and gave them a bow. “I thank you for granting me this honor. I promise that your trust in me is not misplaced and that I will be a worthy leader to this class, much as my brother would be!”

Izuku let out a silent “oh…” as everything about Iida finally clicked into place. That’s why Iida’s costume looked so familiar, he must have styled it after his brother, the pro hero Ingenium! He was an impressive younger hero who was already leading his own massive hero team, and was said by everyone to embody the ideals of a hero. Growing up in a hero family probably also explained why Iida was such a rules-follower. And that first-hand experience would probably make him a better fit for this position too.

Yaoyorozu looked a little embarrassed at Iida’s over-the-top speech. “Thank you as well, everybody.”

--

After that, they had lunch, and Izuku was finally able to try and figure out who had voted for him. As Uraraka took a seat across from him, she noticed his pensive expression. “Whatcha thinking about?”

“Oh, I was just trying to figure out why someone would vote for me for class president.”

Surprisingly, that made Uraraka laugh. “You’re kidding me, right? Here’s why. You weren’t here for it, but during the exercise yesterday, most teams’ plans boiled down to ‘run in and see what happens’. You actually strategized, trying to figure out what your opponents would do and how to counter it.”

Izuku looked down at his food, embarrassed at the compliment. “For all the good that did…”

“Yesterday, maybe. But you showed way more leadership skills than anyone else. Plus you’re kind, and determined, and-”

“Wait.” Izuku cut her off. “You voted for me?”

She gave an exasperated sigh. “Of course I did. Didn’t I just-”

Uraraka was cut off again, but this time it was by an alarm blaring. “This is a level three security breach. Students, please evacuate the building in an orderly fashion.”

Immediately, the cafeteria erupted into chaos, everyone trying to get to the exit as fast as possible. “Level three? What does that mean?” Uraraka wondered aloud.

One of the upperclassmen was quick to answer. “It means someone’s managed to breach the school’s barrier! This has never happened in all my three years here!” Which explained the panic. Izuku could only imagine how powerful a villain would have to be to not only get past the outer defenses, but to dare attack U. A. directly. Especially with All Might teaching there.

Still, the panic wasn’t helping anyone. People were getting pushed and shoved left and right, and Uraraka had to hold onto his arm to keep them from getting separated. And that didn’t stop him from getting pressed up against a window, where he saw the intruder. It was the press. Somehow they had gotten past the gate, and they were now knocking on the front door. But still, they nowhere near justified this panic. “Everyone, it's just the press! It’s okay!”

But Izuku’s words were lost in the panic. He needed some way to get their attention. He turned to Uraraka, who was still holding onto him. “Float me! I need to tell everyone it’s okay!” He felt his gravity disappear, and as he floated above the crowd, he saw their eyes turn to him. “Everyone! It’s okay! It’s just the press!”

His fellow students’ relief at the news was mixed with embarrassment at how much they had overreacted. Which Izuku could understand; he had assumed it had been some villain, but it was just a bunch of reporters. Nothing to worry about. As the crowd calmed down, Uraraka pulled him back down to the ground before restoring his gravity. “As I was saying, leadership material right there.”

--

The next day, Aizawa-sensei announced that they’d be doing rescue training at a secondary site, and everyone cheered at the prospect of a sort-of field trip. They gathered outside in their hero costumes to get onto the bus, except Izuku, who was just in his P.E. uniform because his hero costume was still shredded. At least he still had his utility belt with him. Iida had taken to his class president duties like a duck to water, and was ushering them onto the bus and telling them to sit in alphabetical order, only to be disappointed when he realized the bus had an open layout. On the way to the site, everyone started talking about each other’s Quirks, so Izuku tried not to draw any attention.

But before long, they had made it to their destination, and they loaded off of the bus and into a massive dome. Entering inside, Izuku was once again confused by how much money U.A. seemed to have, because inside the facility was a full-sized recreation of a landslide, earthquake, shipwreck, and smaller domes for a fire and a hurricane, all connected to a spacious central plaza. And standing waiting for them in the plaza was a pro-hero in a costume that looked almost exactly like an astronaut’s. “No way, that’s-”

“It’s Thirteen!” Izuku was interrupted as Uraraka started shaking him with excitement. “She’s one of my favorite heroes! I even styled my costume after her! She’s such an awesome rescue hero!”

“Hello everyone,” the hero in question began, “and welcome to the Unforeseen Simulation Joint! USJ for short. I created this facility to prepare you for all of the different disasters you may have to deal with as pro heroes.”

Aizawa-sensei walked over to her. “Shouldn’t All Might be here already? Is he running late?” Thirteen whispered her response, but Izuku could guess what it was. On his way to school, he had seen on the news that All Might had resolved three separate incidents in different parts of the city. He was probably too close to his time limit to risk appearing here. After hearing Thirteen’s answer, Aizawa-sensei turned back to them. “Alright, it sounds like All Might will be joining us later, but let’s get started.”

Thirteen nodded. “Rescue training gets at the very heart of being a hero: using your Quirk to save someone else. So please, try to get as much as you can out of this.” As Thirteen began to explain how the exercise would go, Izuku noticed something strange behind her. A weird purple mist appeared in the center of the plaza, and then it grew until a figure stepped out of it. And then another, and another, until an entire crowd was gathered.

Clearly, Izuku wasn’t the only one to notice, as one of his classmates spoke up. “Um, Aizawa-sensei, what’s going on back there? Is this part of the exercise?”

Aizawa-sensei turned around to look, and while they couldn’t see his face, his posture said enough as he held a hand out to stop them. “Everyone stay back! Those are real villains.”

Chapter Text

“Those are real villains.”

At Aizawa-sensei’s words, the entire class’s hearts dropped. This couldn’t be happening, right? They had been training to be heroes for less than a week, how were they already supposed to deal with real villains? But as the crowd of villains in the plaza grew, they had to accept that this was real. Yaoyorozu was the first student to recover from the shock. “Shouldn’t there be alarms going off right now?”

Todoroki was also surveying the oncoming villains with a concerning amount of calm. “If the alarm sensors aren’t being triggered, one of them must have a Quirk that’s masking their presence. They’re likely jamming regular communications as well. They carefully chose this isolated facility at a time when a class was being taught. They’re fools for trespassing here, but they’ve thought this out.”

Keeping an eye on the ever-approaching crowd of villains, Aizawa-sensei gestured back to his class. “Thirteen, get them out of here and alert the main campus.”

Thirteen wasted no time in herding the class to the exit, but Izuku shouted back to his teacher. “What are you going to do? There are too many of them. You specialize in stealth and one-on-one fights, not this!”

“You can’t be a pro if you only have one trick.” Aizawa-sensei didn’t even look back at Izuku as he ran toward the villains, taking down anyone brave enough to get close with frightening efficiency. And before Izuku could keep watching, one of his classmates, Kirishima if he remembered correctly, grabbed his arm and pulled him after the rest of the class. “C’mon, dude! Aizawa-sensei said we need to go!”

But they didn’t get far before the same purple mist appeared in their path, coalescing into a vague figure made entirely of mist apart from long, yellow eyes and a metal brace where its neck should be. “It’s a pleasure to meet you. We are the League of Villains. I believe All Might was supposed to be here today, but I see no sign of him. Was there some sort of change of plans? A pity, this would’ve been a fitting place for him to draw his last breath.” Izuku froze at those words. They were here to kill All Might? But everyone knew that he was unstoppable. Except, Izuku knew he wasn’t. Did they know about his injury? The mist villain continued. “In the end, I suppose it doesn’t matter. I still have my role to play.”

The mist began to expand, lashing out towards the students, only to get caught up in some sort of vacuum and sucked into Thirteen’s finger. Izuku and Uraraka let out simultaneous gasps as they realized they were getting to see her Quirk, Black Hole, in action. “You’re not laying a hand on these students if I can help it.” She turned to the class. “Now go! I’ll take care of him.”

But before they could get more than a few steps, Thirteen let out a cry of pain as the villain opened a portal behind her, turning her own Quirk against her and tearing off the back of her costume, and probably some of her actual back. The villain chuckled. “You’re a rescue hero, Thirteen. Battlefield awareness is not your strong suit. As I was saying, I’ll scatter you across this facility to meet my comrades, and your deaths!” Before any of them could respond, he let out another cloud of mist that consumed the entire class.

--

When she heard Thirteen cry out in pain, Ochako ran over to her without thinking, trying to keep her teacher safe rather than running for the exit. And when the mist had covered the entire class, she continued holding on to her teacher’s costume until it finally cleared, leaving her and Thirteen on what looked like a cliff face. So probably the landslide zone. She looked down at her teacher, and grimaced at what she saw. Most of the skin was gone, leaving a massive, open wound. But maybe if Ochako could do something to help…

“Who- who’s there?” Thirteen’s voice came out weakly.

“It’s just me.” Ochako tried to keep her voice reassuring, pushing out all the worry she felt. “I’m Uraraka Ochako. One of your students.”

“You- you should go.” Thirteen gasped out. “The villain s- said there would be other villains here, you should get- away.”

Ochako couldn’t believe what she was hearing. “I can’t just leave you! You’re injured.”

“It’s okay. I made a ch- choice to protect all of you. Bec- because that’s what heroes do.”

“Well, then who’s supposed to protect heroes?” Ochako was nearly in tears as she listened to this hero she had idolized tell her to abandon her. “I’m training to be a hero too, and I’m not about to abandon you.”

Then she heard a voice behind her. “You should’ve taken the out, girlie.”

--

When the mist faded, Izuku found himself on a rooftop in a fake city, with rain pouring down on his head. So the hurricane zone then. He looked around him and was immensely relieved to find that he wasn’t alone. Kirishima, with his spiky red hair, was unmissable, Jiro had fallen a few feet from him, and he could just barely make out Hagakure’s Hero Costume of just gloves and boots through the rain. “Is everyone okay?”

Kirishima and Jiro nodded and Hagakure gave a thumbs-up. “What are we supposed to do? Do we just hunker down here and wait for the heroes?” Hagakure immediately asked.

“What? Are you kidding me?” Kirishima exclaimed. “That would be so unmanly!”

Izuku tilted his head at Kirishima’s reasoning, but he agreed with his conclusion. “These villains are here to kill All Might. And with how much planning has clearly gone into this, they might actually have a way to pull it off.” As much as Izuku didn’t want to think about that possibility. “We’re heroes in training, we have to do something.”

“But what are we supposed to do?”

Before Izuku could respond to Hagakure’s question, Jiro spoke up. “About that,” She had been crouching low with her hand to ear as the aux cord connected to it was plugged into the ceiling. “I’m picking up a conversation between some of the villains in this area, and it sounds like the villain responsible for jamming the signal is here.”

Kirishima raised his fist excitedly. “Then let’s get him! Is it a him?” He looked questioningly to Jiro, who gave an exasperated nod. “Yeah! Let’s go!”

--

Ochako whirled around to realize that a trio of villains had come up behind her while she was focused on pleading with Thirteen. The villain spoke again as they began to circle her. “How about this, leave Thirteen and we’ll let you have a head start to get away.” Ochako ignored the taunt, entering a fighting stance. The villain chuckled. “Well, don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

One of the villains charged her with a metal bat and swung, but she dodged out of the way and responded by tapping her palm into them and making them weightless. Then she charged the remaining villains, trying to keep them as far from Thirteen as possible. She lunged for the one who had spoken to her earlier, but he dodged back and caused a long blade to emerge from his palm. Then Ochako was forced back, trying to stay out of reach as the villain swung for her. Then she bumped into someone behind her, and that was all the warning she received before arms were wrapped around her, pinning her own arms in place and lifting her off the ground.

The blade villain raised his blade toward Ochako. “See, that’s what you get for being a hero.”

He pulled his arm back, preparing to swing, only to be interrupted by the villain holding Ochako. “Woah, dude. Are you really about to kill a kid?”

“She’s training to be a hero! What do you want me to do, wait three years until she’s a pro?”

The villain holding Ochako gave as much of a shrug as he could. “I dunno. Just finish off Thirteen over there, and then we can figure this out.”

The blade villain nodded at that, and started walking back over to where Thirteen was lying helpless. Her panic doubling, Ochako twisted her hand around to activate her Quirk on the villain holding her, hoping the surprise would make him drop her. She was right, and as soon as she dropped to the ground, she rushed the remaining villain one more time, only for him to turn around with a swing, cutting across her stomach. She fell back, eyes widening as she felt the pain, followed by a slight trickle of blood down her stomach. She sat there, paralyzed with panic, as the villain turned his attention back to her. “Tsk. Way too persistent. Gotta nip this one in the bud.”

But before he could reach her again, a sheet of ice appeared, freezing him completely in place. Ochako watched in relief as Todoroki walked toward the villain, before glancing disinterestedly toward Ochako. “Are you alright?”

Ochako was quick to get to her feet and return to Thirteen’s side. “I’m okay, but Thirteen’s really hurt!”

Todoroki shrugged. “Then let’s get her to the exit.”

“We can’t move her like this!”

“Then you stay with her. I’ll go handle the main villains.” And without another word, she started walking toward the plaza.

Ochako called after her. “Are you really going to leave me alone with her? What if more villains show up?”

Todoroki briefly looked back, but then she shook her head. “You’ll be fine. These villains aren’t anything to worry about.”

As much as Ochako appreciated the vote of confidence, she wasn’t sure she agreed. “I wasn’t fine before you got here.” It wasn’t just that Ochako was afraid for herself. She was, of course, but more than that, she didn’t want Thirteen to get hurt because she was too weak. “There’s someone here who needs your help, are you really going to turn your back on them to go fight villains?”

That got Todoroki to stop. “I- fine. I’ll make sure there aren’t any villains in this area before I leave. Is that enough for you?”

Ochako let out a sigh of relief. “Thank you.” Then she gagged as she felt her stomach start to rise. “But first, can you deal with the two I used my Quirk on? I’m not sure how much longer I’ll be able to hold it.”

--

With Jiro using her Quirk to guide them, Izuku and his classmates were able to sneak their way to the building holding the villain responsible for jamming the signal without running into any other villains. Then they gathered outside the door to plan their next move. Izuku spoke first. “Jiro, do you have any idea what Quirks we’re going to be up against?”

Jiro shook her head. “I can’t really tell. There are three of them, and one of them has really heavy footsteps, but that’s all I’ve got.” She glanced nervously toward her classmates. “Also, about ‘we’…”

Before she could finish the sentence, Kirishima put a hand on Izuku’s shoulder. “You should stay out here. We’ll handle it.”

Izuku stared at the ground. He should have known they would say that. Especially after his fight with Bakugo, they’d think he was fragile. He wished he knew how to convince them he could help, but he had dealt with this sort of thing long enough to know there was no use. So he said nothing as his three classmates went inside to deal with the signal-jammer, Jiro filling them in on where in the building the villains were.

And then, after letting them get out of earshot, Izuku sprang into action, running around to the side of the building where there was a fire escape, and climbing up it to the floor Jiro had mentioned. Even if his classmates didn’t believe in him, there was no way he was sitting this out. So, he crept through the building, picking up his pace as he heard the sound of fighting. The building had the exact same layout as the one from the battle trial, so it wasn’t long before he found the right room. He pressed himself up against the wall, peeking in through the doorway to see how the fight was going.

Jiro had plugged her aux cords into specially designed boots, sending out a focused blast of sound at some sort of reptilian villain with coppery scales, but another massive villain with stone skin moved into the way, taking the hit. Kirishima tried to charge the third villain, a tall man with a skull mask, but was forced back as a plume of fire erupted from the reptile villain’s mouth. So not reptilian, draconic. Kirishima’s Quirk hardening his skin was great for brawls, but it didn’t make him fireproof, so he moved his arms over his head to at least mitigate the damage. Hagakure must have made her way through the fray to reach the skull villain, because he staggered from an invisible blow, but then lightning sparked all across his skin, and Hagakure cried out in pain as she impacted with it.

The stone villain gave a smirk. “Did you little kids really think you could take us down?” He rushed Jiro, readying a punch, but before he could reach her, Izuku pushed her out of the way and threw a Midnight Marble right into the villain’s face. Of course, the gas didn’t act fast enough to prevent the villain from following through with their punch, hitting Izuku right in the chest and sending him into the wall. Still, the villain fell to the ground, unconscious, moments later, so Izuku would say it was worth it.

Izuku got up to his feet slowly. He was pretty sure he had broken a rib, but the fight wasn’t over yet. The draconic villain turned his attention to Izuku, while the villain with the skull mask hung back and watched, which meant he was probably the one jamming U.A.’s signals. But, first things first. The draconic villain sent out a plume of fire at Izuku, but he rolled under it, ending up on the other side of the villain. The villain turned to face him, only to get caught off guard when the Present Mic Patch Izuku left on the ground as he rolled past activated, disorienting the villain just long enough for Izuku to connect an elbow to his jaw, laying him out in one blow.

Then he turned to face the electricity villain, who chuckled as he shifted from his relaxed stance into one more suited for fighting. “Not bad, kid. So, what else you got?” Instead of responding, Izuku closed the distance and went for a jab to the gut, but the villain coated himself in electricity again, kneeing Izuku in the gut as the shock left him vulnerable. Izuku tried to subtly place another Present Mic Patch as he returned to his feet, but it just short-circuited as the villain stepped on it. “Come on, no more tricks?” Izuku tried to decide if he did have any more tricks. The villain would almost certainly see a Midnight Marble coming, direct attacks would just result in electrocution, and the villain could fry any Present Mic Patches before they activated, so Izuku couldn’t think of any options.

And then, the villain tripped on nothing. Or rather, Hagakure tripped him invisibly. Izuku recognized the opportunity and landed an elbow to the villain’s gut as he was caught off guard. As the villain stumbled back, another blast of sound from Jiro forced him to cover his ears in pain, and as Izuku moved forward to keep up the pressure, he saw Kirishima run up beside him. As Jiro stopped her assault to let them through, Izuku shifted his movements to be in line with Kirishima as they both sent a flurry of hits at the villain before he could recover, finally taking him out with an uppercut to the jaw from Kirishima.

~

And that was it. With all three villains dealt with, Izuku finally let himself relax, holding a hand up to his injured ribs. “Ow… that was closer than it should have been. Sorry guys.”

Jiro looked around in vague disbelief. “You’re kidding, right? You took out two of them by yourself! I’m not sure we would’ve made it without you.”

Kirishima nodded. “Yeah, sorry for what I said earlier. I was clearly wrong.”

Hagakure chimed in. “Not just you. We were all thinking it.” Izuku reassured them that it was fine, and that plenty of people thought the same. A beat of silence passed before Hagakure asked a question. “So, did we un-jam the signal?”

“Only one way to find out.” Izuku reached into his utility belt for the most important device there: his cell phone. Then he called All Might, who picked up almost immediately. “Midoriya! Is everything alright? I can’t seem to reach Aizawa or Thirteen.”

“No sir. There are villains in the USJ. Please, save us.”

Chapter Text

Izuku put his phone away with a sigh of relief. All Might was on his way. Everything would be fine. Except…

Before Izuku could finish that thought, Jiro spoke up. “Who was that?”

“Oh, that was…” In his concern, Izuku hadn’t thought to hide who he was calling. “All Might.”

Jiro’s eyes widened. “You have All Might’s number?”

“It’s a long story?” Izuku tried to shrug the question away. “Anyway, we have to keep moving.”

Hagakure raised a hand. “Why? We dealt with this guy, All Might’s on his way, shouldn’t we just wait for the pros to deal with this?”

Izuku let out a sigh. “There’s no way to know if Aizawa-sensei has that much time. Besides, like Todoroki said, the villains clearly planned this attack out. If they’re here to kill All Might, they probably have a way to kill All Might.”

--

The small group made their way toward the main plaza, once again relying on Jiro’s Quirk to avoid running into any villains. And once they were able to see what was happening, Izuku briefly thought his fears were unsubstantiated. Aizawa-Sensei was still standing, and had even gotten close to whittling down the last of the villains. The three villains looking to be in charge, the mist villain from earlier, a villain with pale blue hair who had hands gripping his entire costume, and a massive bird-beaked villain with a vacant gaze and an exposed brain, were almost the only ones left.

But then the hand villain charged. Aizawa-sensei was ready for it, and used his scarf to get him off balance before driving an elbow into his ribs. But as he pulled his arm back, the villain grabbed it, right as Aizawa-sensei was forced to blink. And then Izuku was able to see the villain’s Quirk in action, as Aizawa-sensei’s sleeve started to turn to dust and flake away, followed immediately by his elbow. He managed to get loose from the villain’s grip and reactivate his Quirk before the damage could spread, but he held a hand over his arm in pain, the exposed muscle there for all to see.

As the few remaining goons surrounded Aizawa-sensei, the villain began taunting. “That annoying Quirk of yours isn’t suited for long fights against big groups, is it? But despite knowing that, you didn’t hesitate to jump into this fight to put your students at ease. You really are so cool!” Aizawa-sensei kept fighting the remaining goons as the hand villain continued. “But, don’t you think you’re out of your element here? I mean, I’m not even the final boss. Nomu, get him.”

Izuku didn’t even see it move. One moment, the beaked villain, the Nomu, was standing behind the other villains, the next it had Aizawa-sensei’s head in its hand and was slamming his face into the pavement. The students watching couldn’t help but let out gasps of horror as their teacher stopped moving. Izuku needed to do something, he had to save Aizawa-sensei, but what could he possibly do against something like that? The hand villain laughed over Aizawa-sensei’s still form. “You know, it’s really a shame that All Might isn’t here, after all the trouble I went to.” And then he looked toward them, murder in his eyes. “But if we can’t kill All Might, we can at least break his spirit.”

A portal opened up right in front of the students, and they scattered as Shigaraki appeared through it. They had all seen what his Quirk was capable of, if he got a single hand on them, then they would die. But Izuku wasn’t sure if his classmates would be able to stay away from him, especially with the mist villain helping, so when the hand villain turned his attention to one of the other students, Izuku charged, hoping to immobilize him before he could do any harm. But before he took two steps, the Nomu was in his way, catching the hand he swung at it in desperation. Then Izuku let out a cry of pain as the monster effortlessly shattered his hand, and lifted him up into the air, its other hand reaching toward his face. He was dead. He was so dead. Why did he always have to play the hero?

And then there was a rush of wind, and the Nomu wasn’t holding him anymore. Instead, All Might was lowering him to the ground alongside his classmates and Aizawa-sensei. Wait… All Might was here! “I’m sorry it took me so long, but worry no longer. For I Am Here! Now, get Aizawa back to the entrance, I got this.” Izuku had seen how many incidents All Might had already resolved that day, he had to be nearing his time limit. He thought back to what All Might had said about smiling to hide the fear, and he realized this had to be one of those times. Because after reassuring them, the hero turned back to face the villains.

The hand villain started cackling maniacally. “There you are! I knew targeting the brats would draw your aggro. Now, Nomu. Do what you were made to do.” All Might charged toward him, but the Nomu moved into the way, taking the full force of All Might’s blow without budging an inch. Unperturbed, All Might swung again, and again, doing his best to avoid the monster’s own attacks. It was incredible. Every single hit was delivered with so much power, the shockwaves threatening to push Izuku over even as he helped carry Aizawa-sensei to the exit. Izuku was once again reminded how far All Might was from him and the kind of hero he would be able to be.

But all that power wasn’t enough. It didn’t seem to matter where All Might hit the Nomu, it did nothing. The hand villain continued taunting. “Having trouble, All Might? Nomu here has shock absorption strong enough to nullify your strongest hits, and strength great enough that you can’t do the same. It’s been min-maxed for the sole purpose of killing you, after all.” All Might responded to the taunt by moving behind the Nomu and piledriving it into the ground, figuring that, if hitting it didn’t work, trapping it in the ground would be more effective. The blow sent out a massive cloud of smoke, and Izuku briefly hoped that the hero’s plan worked. But when the smoke cleared, it revealed a portal had appeared where the Nomu went through the ground, and it emerged from another portal to grab All Might’s injured side. And Izuku could see steam already coming off of All Might. He was moments away from hitting his limit.

The hand villain laughed at All Might’s desperate position. “Did you really think that would work?” He glanced over at the mist villain. “Nice work, Kurogiri. Now we just have to sit back and let Nomu pull him through your portal. Only halfway, of course. That way,” the villain locked eyes with All Might, relishing his power, “when Kurogiri closes the portal, half of you will be on one side, and half of you on the other. No more Symbol of Peace.”

The mist villain, Kurogiri, chuckled. “Normally I don’t like to fill my warp gates with blood and viscera, but I’ll make an exception for a hero as great as you.” And then the Nomu began to pull, and not even All Might’s immense strength could save him.

Izuku and his classmates had almost made it to the exit, but Izuku turned around at All Might’s peril, and was about to run back to help him. Even if there was nothing he could do, he couldn’t just do nothing! But Todoroki acted first, a wave of ice suddenly covering the Nomu announcing her presence. As the Nomu reacted ever so slightly to the blow, All Might pulled himself free of its grip. But he was still steaming, so Izuku knew his fighting stance was a bluff. He still needed help! But before Izuku could start to run, he felt a hand on his shoulder. “Don’t worry, listener, we’ve got this.” Izuku turned toward the voice and smiled at what he saw. The cavalry had arrived.

As the hand villain shouted something about All Might cheating by having help, he was cut off by a sonic scream from Present Mic, dropping him to the ground clutching his ears. As the villain doubled over, Kurogiri glanced over in concern. “Shigaraki!” He moved to cover the hand villain, presumably Shigaraki, with the sonic blast making his form shift slightly, but not quite dispersing it.

As a crowd of heroes, maybe U.A.’s entire staff, charged the remaining villains, Shigaraki continued shouting. “You’re all cheaters! This isn’t fair! Nomu, get back here!” Izuku watched as the Nomu shifted, its limbs coming off as they shattered alongside the ice. But watching the limbs shatter was somehow less gruesome than watching them grow back in seconds as it leaped toward the other two villains and a portal appeared, swallowing the three of them.

--

Toshinori had been in the middle of a lengthy lecture on proper teaching practices from the principal when he had received Midoriya’s call. He immediately informed the principal of what was going on, who proceeded to call up every hero on U.A.’s staff. But Toshinori didn’t wait for them to gather, rushing to the USJ by himself, knowing that every second that he could buy those already there could be the difference between life and death.

And he hadn’t arrived a moment too soon, able to move Midoriya to safety moments before the hulking monstrosity of a villain could kill him. And his backup had had a similarly timely arrival, saving him from a similarly desperate situation. And once the ringleaders had fled, the heroes quickly made their way through the USJ, rounding up the students and dealing with all of the remaining villains. As the hero Cementos created a wall to hide him, Toshinori finally let himself fall to one knee and drop from his hero form.

Hours later, Toshinori sat in a bed in Recovery Girl’s infirmary, the adrenaline from the emergency finally fading enough to let him focus on all of the mistakes he had made. What was he thinking? The whole reason he was teaching at U.A. was to quietly fade into retirement as his Quirk ran out, but he still couldn’t help but run into every fight he could see, regardless of whether or not other heroes could handle it. And today, those faulty priorities had nearly killed his students. If Midoriya hadn’t managed to un-jam their communications, if he had been a few seconds later in arriving…

Toshinori was spared his spiral as the door opened and a familiar figure walked in wearing a tan trenchcoat and matching hat. “Detective Tsukauchi! It’s been too long, friend.”

The detective nodded. “It has, and I wish we could meet under better circumstances. Now-”

“Wait,” Toshinori cut him off. “Is everyone okay? I wasn’t able to see Thirteen or most of my students.”

“Injuries were kept mostly minor.” Toshinori nodded, unsure how much “mostly” meant. Tsukauchi continued. “The teachers got the worst of it. Eraserhead lost most of the skin on his shoulder, and he’s got facial fracturing. Thirteen has a number of lacerations on her back, but she should pull through, good as new, thanks to your students. As for the students, the worst of it was a broken hand on Midoriya, which Recovery Girl has already seen to.” Now Toshinori let out a sigh of relief, somehow unsurprised that Midoriya had gotten the worst of it. “Now, onto what I was saying. Most of the villains have been apprehended, but the main trio of the Nomu, Kurogiri, and Shigaraki were able to escape. We’re already doing everything we can to track them down, though.”

Toshinori nodded. “About that, I have a concern about the Nomu. Shigaraki bragged that its Quirk was Shock Absorption. But when Todoroki froze it, it regrew entire limbs to escape, which shouldn’t be possible unless it had a regeneration Quirk as well.”

Tsukauchi grew slightly pale. “Two Quirks? But that can’t be, unless…”

Toshinori finished the detective’s thought for him. “Unless he’s somehow involved.”

--

Somehow, Class 1-A had survived their first encounter with the darkness that heroes fight to keep people safe. Izuku looked around at his classmates leaving the USJ. Most of them looked dazed. They hadn’t been ready for this, but they looked to have handled it incredibly. So far, Izuku’s injuries looked to be the worst, and Izuku saw Recovery Girl ready and waiting to deal with them. “Midoriya, are you hurt?” After noticing how he was cradling his broken hand, she didn’t wait for an answer before planting a kiss on it, restoring it as a wave of exhaustion washed over Izuku.

He looked over at where Aizawa-sensei was being loaded into an ambulance. “Shouldn’t you be prioritizing him?”

Recovery Girl shook her head sadly. “My Quirk makes use of the body’s natural energy stores. He’s too worn out for my Quirk to work on him right now.”

Izuku nodded, looking back toward the entrance of the USJ to make sure everyone was okay. It wasn’t long before he saw Uraraka walk out beside a pair of paramedics who were carrying Thirteen out on a stretcher. “Uraraka!”

Uraraka seemed as out of it as everyone else, but she looked up as Izuku called her name. “Dekiru! You’re okay!” She ran up to him and pulled him immediately into a hug.

With her pressed up against him, Izuku felt a slight trickle of blood coming from her stomach. “You’re hurt!” He pulled her back so he could look at the injury. It didn’t look too bad, but still…

Uraraka laughed off his concern. “It’s fine, just a flesh wound. I’m sure Recovery Girl could-”

“I don’t appreciate you being so cavalier about my Quirk,” Recovery Girl butted in, “but I can certainly do that.” She gave Uraraka a kiss, and Izuku watched as the cut faded until all that was left was a faint pink scar. Recovery Girl nodded. “A little scarring, but even that should fade in time.”

Uraraka ran her hand over the scar with a pensive expression, so Izuku tried to give her a reassuring smile. “I guess we survived our first villain encounter! A pretty big milestone, though I would’ve been okay with putting it off a little longer.”

Izuku let out an internal sigh of relief as that got a chuckle out of Uraraka. “Yeah. If every week at U.A. is this exciting, I don’t think I’ll be able to survive.”

They both let out a laugh at the brutal honesty of that statement. This wasn’t exactly a reassuring start to their time at U.A. And yet, somehow, they had survived it.

--

Chapter Text

Ochako lay in her bed and ran her hand over where the villain had cut her. School had been canceled the day after the attack on the USJ so that the students could recover, but it was pretty hard to relax. All Ochako could do was think back to the attack. All she had wanted to do was protect Thirteen, but if Todoroki hadn’t shown up, she would’ve failed. Thirteen would’ve died, and she would’ve as well. Even though it hadn’t even been a full two days, the cut was almost gone, she couldn’t see it anymore, but she was sure she could still feel it. So she kept running her hand along it, the image of the villain on the brink of killing her stuck in her mind. And then her alarm went off, telling her that it was time for her to start getting ready to go back to U.A.

--

Ochako’s parents gave her a call as she was getting ready for school, toasting a single slice of bread for breakfast. “Hey sweetie, how are you doing this morning?”

“I’m doing good!” Ochako lied, doing everything she could to make her voice sound chipper. “How are you guys?”

“We’re doing alright,” the voice on the phone replied. “It’s a little lonely without a baby girl at home, but we’re getting through it.” Ochako gave a smile at that remark. “Oh, I meant to ask: You sent some of the money we gave you back. What happened with that?”

“Food was cheaper than I expected.” Especially since she was eating less. She could count on a free lunch at U.A., she could afford to skimp on dinner. “Anyway, I should get going. I don’t want to be late!”

“We love you, Ochako!”

“Love you too!”

--

When Izuku made his way to class, he noticed that his classmates were primarily split into two groups: those who were still shaken from the USJ attack, and those who were excited about all the attention the media had given the attack, and given them by proxy. Izuku felt a lot closer to the first group, he didn’t particularly care for the extra attention, and he was still trying to rid the image of Aizawa-sensei getting slammed into the pavement from his mind.

Speaking of, Aizawa-sensei walked into the classroom, ready to start class. There was a noticeable scar under his eye, and the shoulder Shigaraki had disintegrated was in a sling, but Izuku felt beyond relieved at the confirmation that his teacher was mostly okay. “Good morning class. Now that we’re reaching the end of our first week at U.A., it’s time for all of you to start thinking about the U.A. Sports Festival.” The class erupted into excited chatter at the announcement, but they quickly quieted as Aizawa-sensei flashed his Quirk. “This event is a huge opportunity for all students at U.A. Top heroes from around the country will be watching, so this is the best chance all of you have at getting noticed by pros. With one chance a year, and three chances in your time at U.A., this is an opportunity you can’t afford to miss.”

--

As soon as classes broke for lunch, Class 1-A started to talk excitedly amongst themselves about the upcoming Sports Festival, and how excited they all were. Izuku tried to make his way to the cafeteria without speaking too much to them, because while he was excited, he was also really nervous. The entire country would be watching the Sports Festival, and he was going to be under way more scrutiny than his classmates. He would need to… “Dekiru! Let’s do our best!”

The cheer had come from Uraraka, and while it wasn’t an unusual thing for her to say, the tone caught Izuku a little by surprise. Instead of being lighthearted and encouraging, she sounded intense, and driven. Looking over, he saw that her expression was similarly determined. “We’re going to do our best! Right?”

Izuku nodded, giving her a smile. “Yeah.” Her determination reminded him of something he had been wondering. “Oh, why did you decide to become a hero?”

She looked surprisingly embarrassed at the question. “Um… Well… I guess… Money?”

That… wasn’t the answer Izuku had been expecting. He didn’t want to judge her for it, but it seemed… wrong, somehow. Not like what he would have expected from her. And something of his confusion must have shown through, because she quickly clarified her answer. “I know that sounds super greedy! But, well… My family owns a small construction company. But work has been slow for a while, so we’re almost flat broke. This isn’t something I usually tell other people, but…”

As she trailed off, Izuku thought to himself. “Construction? I’d think your Quirk would be really useful for that. You could save a lot of money on equipment if you just moved things around by removing their gravity.”

Uraraka nodded emphatically. “That’s what I told my parents! But, they wanted me to focus on my own dream, so I decided that I would become a Hero, get signed by a good agency, and make plenty of money. Then I’ll be able to let my parents have an easy life!”

Izuku smiled. That was more like what he had expected. Uraraka’s reason for being was just as sweet and caring as she was. But it was also a lot more grounded than Izuku’s own idealistic reason. It was admirable in that way, too. “So that’s why you need to do well in the Sports Festival.”

Uraraka nodded. “Yeah. I need to make a good first impression, so I can’t afford to mess this up.”

“You won’t. You can do this.”

--

All Might came up to Izuku and asked if he would be willing to join him for lunch, so Izuku followed him into a room jutting off from the teacher’s lounge. All Might started the conversation as he poured two cups of tea. “We haven’t been able to talk since the attack. How are you holding up?”

Izuku thought for a moment. “Well enough, all things considered. I’m training to be a hero, so I should’ve been ready, but I wasn’t.”

All Might let out an exasperated sigh. “No, you shouldn’t have been ready. You haven’t even finished your first week at U.A., no one could have expected you to have already faced villains.”

“I just feel like I should’ve done more. When you started to fight that Nomu, it was so… beyond me. I’ll… I’ll never be able to do something like that. I already knew I’d never be able to be a hero like you, but seeing it in person…”

Izuku trailed off as All Might put a hand on his shoulder. “You’re being way too hard on yourself, kid. No one’s expecting you to be me. And it sounds like you did a lot anyways. If the villain jamming the signal hadn’t been taken out, we would’ve never known about the attack until it was too late. And from your classmates’ statements, they never would’ve been able to take him down without your help. You were faced with a frankly impossible situation, but you performed admirably within it. But, onto the reason I wanted to talk to you: Aizawa’s mentioned the Sports Festival today, right?”

Izuku nodded. “Yeah, he did. I’m excited, but… I’m also worried. I’m going to have such a massive target on my back, what if I don’t do well enough?”

All Might thought for a moment before responding. “You’re right, you’ll be under much more scrutiny than your classmates. There were a few scattered articles about U.A. accepting its first Quirkless hero student, but most of the media’s attention was devoted to me joining the staff. At the Sports Festival, there won’t be anything to keep the media’s eyes off of you. So you’re right. If you show an ounce of weakness, the media will tear you to pieces. But this is also an opportunity. To show everyone in attendance that you deserve to be in the same ring as the greatest hero hopefuls in Japan. To let everyone watching see that same spark I saw in you all those months ago. To stand before Japan and declare that you are here.”

--

When classes ended for the day, Class 1-A was stopped from exiting their classroom by a massive crowd of students gathered outside their door. While several of his classmates muttered confusedly, Iida tried to approach this diplomatically. “Pardon me, do you have some business with our class?”

Todoroki just walked toward the door as if the crowd wasn’t there. “They’re scouting out the competition. They want to see the class that survived a real villain attack.” She walked through the crowd, the students stepping back at her cold approach. “Well, now that you’ve seen us, stay out of my way.”

The crowd closed back in on itself after Todoroki left, a boy with messy purple hair and eyebags moving to the front. “So this is Class 1-A. I heard you were impressive, but you just sound full of yourselves. You’re not the only ones who aimed for the Hero Course, you know. We might not have cut it the first time around, but if any of us do well enough in the Sports Festival, the teachers can decide to transfer us into the Hero Course. But of course, there’ll need to make an open seat for us to fill. I heard you’ve already had a seat open up, but don’t let that buffer make you too comfortable. Scouting the competition? No, this is a declaration of war. We’re coming for your spot, Hero Course brats.” Then he disappeared back into the crowd, leaving Class 1-A to wonder where in the world he had come from in the first place.

As the crowd dispersed, Ochako was about to take the opportunity to leave when Aizawa-sense called out from his desk. “Uraraka, if you could hang back for a moment.”

Dekiru looked back at her questioningly, but she just waved him off. She’d be fine. Probably. Once the rest of her classmates had left, Aizawa-sensei told her what he needed to tell her. “Thirteen still hasn’t recovered enough to return to U.A, but her recovery is going well. She wanted me to pass a message on to you. She wanted you to know that what you did was foolish, and reckless, but she is nevertheless grateful that you ignored her order and stayed behind. She said that she would be dead if it weren’t for you, and she wanted me to thank you for her. So, thank you.”

As Aizawa-sensei spoke, Ochako felt tears welling up in her eyes. Because it was such a small thing, it was nothing, but it was also everything. Ochako had been telling herself that she hadn’t done anything at the USJ, that she should just be grateful Todoroki showed up when she did, but Thirteen was thanking her. Thirteen was saying that Ochako had saved her life. Ochako steadied herself on a desk as she wiped the tears from her eyes. “Thank you for telling me that, Aizawa-sensei.”

--

Bakugo Katsuki sighed as he walked into U.A.’s gym. The extras he was in class with had all gone to “scope out the competition” that was Class 1-A. As if that would matter. He knew who all those extras were already. And they didn’t matter. All that mattered was beating them. U.A. thought they could ignore him, that they could cast him aside like he was nothing. Like he was worthless. Well, he would show them. He wasn't some worthless Deku. He was Bakugo Katsuki. And he always came out on top.

Chapter Text

Two weeks later, the day of the Sports Festival arrived. Izuku's mom fretted over him as he got ready for the day, reminding him to be careful and promising to record the festival for him.

Security for the Sports Festival was a lot more stringent than it had been in past years, with attendance limited to pro-heroes and press, all of whom had to be pre-approved. But that didn’t stop crowds from forming outside U.A.’s gates, so Izuku kept his head down and tried to not be noticed.

After dropping off his stuff, he hurried down to the locker room to change into his gym uniform. The atmosphere was tense and quiet, with everyone too nervous to make light conversation with each other. And it wasn’t long before Iida rounded everyone up and announced it was time for them to move into the arena. As the girls joined up with them, having similarly been rounded up by Yaoyorozu, Izuku caught Uraraka’s eye and gave her a small nod of encouragement.

And then they were out into the arena, and Izuku nearly froze as he felt the massive crowd’s eyes on him. It didn’t help that he could hear Present Mic up in the announcer’s booth, already hyping up Class 1-A. And then the hero started introducing the other classes, and as Class 1-C from the General Studies program came up, Izuku saw him. Kacchan. Izuku had gotten used to not having the other boy around, so seeing him now, and realizing that they’d be competing against each other today made his anxieties about the event doubled.

But before he could dwell on that, the pro hero Midnight, who was the referee for the Sports Festival this year, started speaking from the podium. “Welcome, everyone! Before we begin today’s games, we’ll be having a student pledge from the Hero Course student who received the highest score in the entrance exam, Kirishima Eijiro of Class 1-A!”

Kirishima took the stage with a massive grin. If he was worried about today, he was doing a much better job hiding it than Izuku was. “Alright everybody! Let’s get out there and show everyone why U.A. is the manliest hero school out there! Let’s do this!” And with that, he hopped off the stage and back to where Class 1-A was standing.

“Alright then,” Midnight continued, “on to our first event! A massive screen behind her changed to reveal what the next event was: “An obstacle course! The track is four kilometers outside of the stadium. And as long as you don’t leave the course, anything is fair game. Now, take your places!” The students were given about a minute to gather near the stadium’s exit before Midnight loudly announced: “Begin!”

--

Katsuki was already pissed off, but watching that red-haired idiot give the opening speech nearly made him explode. Literally. He was the one who got first place in the Entrance Exam, he should be the one giving that speech, and he would be if that damn hobo hadn’t expelled him! Because of Deku!

And Katsuki knew what he would’ve said if he gave the speech. He would’ve told all these stupid extras that they didn't even need to be here, because he was going to win. Because he would. He was going to win the Sports Festival, and prove just how much of an idiot that hobo had been to expel him.

--

Even before the race began, Izuku had begun strategizing. Once again, his lack of a Quirk put him at a disadvantage, especially since he wasn’t able to bring his Support Items with him, but it wasn’t an insurmountable one. Just like in the Quirk Assessment Test on their first day, only about half of his classmates’ Quirks would be relevant here. So it would depend a lot on what the obstacles were, and how much his training with All Might and Aizawa-sensei would be able to help him. As for obstacles, he could already see the first one. It was the exit. With how many students there were, the tunnel leading out of the stadium would inevitably create a massive bottleneck, heavily rewarding mobility or some way to stay off the ground. Since Izuku didn’t have that, he had to settle for trying to squirm his way to the front before Midnight announced the start of the race.

And then he was off, trying to get into the exit before it filled up. But despite his best efforts, he hadn’t been able to reach the very front, so the entrance was already clogged by the time he got to it. It was like the press break-in all over again. He had only been able to get out of that one because of Uraraka’s Quirk, but he had to do this by himself. He pushed through the crowd, silently apologizing for the force but knowing that they were doing everything they could do to win as well.

Izuku was able to push his way closer to the front, and had almost made it out of the tunnel, when a thin sheet of ice emerged, freezing his feet to the ground along with most of the competitors around him. Confident in his attack, Todoroki skated away, but it wasn’t long before some of Izuku’s classmates, like Yaoyorozu, Kirishima, and Uraraka followed after her, having used their Quirks to either avoid or break the ice. And then Izuku heard an explosion behind him, and ducked as Kacchan rocketed over him, shouting that Todoroki wasn’t getting off that easy.

Izuku briefly wondered if Kacchan would be able to catch up with Todoroki, but then he focused in as he realized that wouldn’t matter for him, because his feet were still stuck in the ice. Except, they actually weren’t. His shoes were stuck in the ice. So he quickly bent down and untied them, before carefully moving across the ice in just his socks to get out of the tunnel.

Izuku chased after the classmates who had gotten ahead of him, almost stopping when he realized what the next obstacle was. Looming over the track was an entire pack of Zero Pointer robots from the Entrance Exam. But before Izuku even had to figure out how to get past them, a titanic glacier shot out from Todoroki, completely covering several of them and freezing them in place, creating a window to pass through. Not that the window lasted too long, as the robots weren’t frozen with stable footing, and toppled down to close the gap behind Todoroki. But still, that gave Izuku all the plan he needed. He didn’t have to take the robots down himself. He probably couldn’t do it if he tried. He just needed to follow after his classmates who were better suited for it. Sure enough, one of the Zero-Pointers collapsed after its face exploded, and Yaoyorozu tossed aside a cannon before running through the gap it made. And Izuku was right behind her, grabbing a plate of metal from the defeated robot in case he ended up needing to fight anything.

The next obstacle, however, actually forced Izuku to stop and take stock of his situation. Before him was a massive chasm with a network of pillars connecting with ropes across it. Which would be a difficult challenge, but wasn’t terrible. After all, he was probably more physically suited to pulling himself along ropes than most of his classmates. But before he could continue that thought, a pink-haired student rocketed past him. She was probably in the Support Course if the jetpack on her back was any indication. But if she had a jetpack then why wasn’t she further ahead? Was she just not able to use it for long periods of time? Izuku shook his head to refocus and began climbing across the ropes.

It took a long time to reach the other side, but as Izuku looked around, it didn’t look like he lost much time doing it. There were only a dozen or so students ahead of him, crossing what looked like… a minefield? There were little indentations all over the track, and all of the others were stepping across very carefully, so… Izuku’s theory was confirmed when Iida tried to sprint across, relying on his Quirk to outrun the explosions, but he didn’t even make it halfway before they caught up with him. Maybe it was just Izuku’s experience with Kacchan, but the explosions didn’t look that bad. Still, it would probably be for the best to just take it slow. They never announced how many students would be passing, but Izuku was close enough to the front that he would probably be fine.

But no. Izuku wasn’t willing to just scrape by. He had something to prove here. And he had an idea as to how. With how obvious the mine placements were, Izuku was easily able to dig them out with the piece of scrap he had grabbed, only taking a single scoop for each. And once he had a decent pile ready, he braced himself on his makeshift shield and fell onto them, using the explosion to launch himself forward, much like his former classmate could do. Speaking of, the blast launched him forward with enough force that he was about to land right on top of Kacchan and Todoroki, who were fighting it out for first. As they turned back to look at him, he slammed his shield into the ground again, the blast knocking them both back and giving him a head start with which to sprint to the finish line. And he didn’t stop running until he heard Present Mic announce his victory.

--

Izuku still couldn’t believe that had worked. It’s not like he had some big plan, he just kept trying things out, and they kept working. As Kacchan and Todoroki finished behind him, Izuku moved away from the finish line to try and escape the fury radiating off of them both. Fortunately, he had a pretty good excuse. He still needed to retrieve his shoes from where Todoroki had frozen them into the ground. But as he got closer to that exit, he stared at the melting ice and realized that he would really rather not cross that in socks if he didn’t have to.

As he stood there considering his options, he was startled as Uraraka came up behind him. “You got first place! That was amazing! You’re so cool!”

Izuku nodded with a little embarrassment. “Um, yeah, cool… Would you mind grabbing my shoes from over there? I would rather not get my socks wet.”

--

Only the top 42 advanced to the second round, which meant that the second round would be made up of both hero classes 1-A and 1-B, as well as the kid with the eyebags who challenged 1-A two weeks ago and the pink-haired girl with the jetpack. Oh, and Kacchan of course. Izuku briefly forgot he wasn’t part of the Hero Course.

Midnight called for the remaining students’ attention. “Now let’s see what we have in store for you next.” The screen behind her once again revealed the next event. “Flag Tag! Each contestant will be handed a headband, and the goal is to steal as many headbands as you possibly can. Although, if your headband is stolen, that doesn’t mean you’re out! You can still try to steal someone else’s headband and try to come out on top. As for the scoring, each player’s headband has been assigned a point value based on their placing in the previous game.” Izuku nodded along. That made sense. It would put a bit more of a target on his back, but he could handle it. “The point assignments go up by five, starting from the bottom. So 42nd place is worth five points, 41st is worth ten, 40th is worth fifteen, and first place is worth ten million! That’s right, this is a chance for those at the bottom to overthrow the top!” Izuku tried to shrink into himself as he felt everyone's eyes turn toward him. He was dead. So dead.

Chapter Text

After receiving their headbands, the students still in the competition were made to spread out around the arena before the match could start. But as much as Izuku was grateful for the breathing room, he knew it wouldn’t last. With forty-one other contestants inevitably making a beeline for him in a wide-open field, it was only a matter of time before he lost his headband. But still, he had to try.

As he steeled himself, Midnight began her countdown. “Is everyone ready? Alright then, Cementos, do your thing!” Without further warning, the ground of the arena shifted as the hero Cementos used his Quirk to send walls up all around, turning the arena from an open field into a labyrinth. Before anyone could really process their new surroundings, Midnight’s voice rang out again. “The second round has begun!”

Izuku practically grinned in relief as the walls went up around him. With all of these barriers, he couldn’t be rushed immediately. Which meant he had a chance. But still, his competitors with a way to get over the walls would know where he was, so Izuku picked a direction and started moving. It wasn’t long before Izuku ran into his first opponent, Ojiro. And while the tailed boy wasn’t the most dangerous member of Class 1-A, Izuku couldn’t say he was excited to fight him. He may not have had a powerful Quirk, but that meant that he wasn’t reliant on it, leaving Izuku with precious few weaknesses to exploit. Which meant that he had to win a fair fight against a trained martial artist. Easy.

With the ten-million-point headband securely hanging from his neck, Izuku was happy to let Ojiro make the first move. And sure enough, Ojiro charged him and immediately reached for the headband. Izuku batted the swipe aside without issue, only to realize it was a feint as Ojiro swept his legs out from under him. Izuku was able to tuck into a roll to avoid falling flat, but he was still too off-balance to avoid Ojiro’s tail slamming into him and sending him flying into a wall.

He barely had enough time to get back to his feet before Ojiro rushed him again, sending out a flurry of attacks that Izuku was hard-pressed to bat aside, unable to gain a single opening. Still, he had to try something. As he deflected another pair of swings from Ojiro, he pushed himself toward Ojiro, practically falling into him, and knocking him over with the unexpectedness and, frankly, stupidity of the move. Izuku was able to get several steps away by the time Ojiro got back to his feet, and while he didn’t like his odds of outrunning the other boy, at least he could now continue the fight without his back to the wall.

But before Ojiro could re-engage, a net shot out from nowhere, completely immobilizing him. Izuku immediately turned to where the net had come from, expecting to see Yaoyorozu, but was instead met with the pink-haired Support Course girl, draped lazily on one of the walls holding some sort of net-gun in her hands. “Hey there, Ten-Million!” Izuku readied himself for another fight. As a Support Course student, she was allowed to bring all of her inventions into the Sports Festival, so while she didn’t have the same combat training as Izuku, she had way more tricks up her sleeve. She would definitely be a challenging opponent. “Wanna team up?” Or not.

Izuku was caught off guard by the offer. “Is that even allowed?”

The girl shrugged, shifting to a seated position on the wall she was on. “I mean, did Midnight say that we couldn’t?”

Izuku couldn’t argue with that. “Okay, but… why?”

“Because you have the Ten-Million point headband. All eyes will be on you. So if I’m helping you out, all eyes will be on my beautiful babies!”

Izuku assumed she meant her inventions by that, but still… “Wouldn’t it be more eye-catching if you took the headband yourself?” It wasn’t that Izuku didn’t want her help, he just wanted to make sure she wasn’t going to stab him in the back.

She shook her head. “I’m in the Support Course, not the Take-The-Win-For-Yourself Course! Besides, I can pass easily enough by picking up the headbands of anyone reckless enough to go after yours.” She gestured toward Ojiro, who at this point had accepted that he wasn’t getting out of the net.

So far she was making sense, so Izuku decided to trust her. “Alright then, let’s do this.”

The girl gave a big grin and hopped down from the wall. “Awesome!” She reached a hand out to shake with Izuku. “Hatsumei Mei. Future CEO of Hatsumei Incorporated.”

Izuku took her hand. “Midoriya Izuku.”

Hatsumei went over to take off Ojiro’s headband. “So, Ten-Million, what’s your Quirk? I need to know which of my babies will be the most helpful.”

Izuku froze. “It’s not relevant.” Because telling her he didn’t have a Quirk was probably the fastest way to stop her from teaming up with him.

Izuku decided that staying put for now and letting people come to him would be better than running around and running into trouble. But it wasn’t long before someone found him, a brown-haired boy from 1-B. “Hey, you’re the guy with the Ten-Million headband, right? This is my lucky day!” And then he charged, swiping at the headband. Izuku was able to dodge the swipe with ease, but as he went to counter, the other boy exhaled sharply, creating a glowing wall in the middle of the air, interrupting Izuku’s attack. Caught off guard, Izuku was only barely able to hop back as the boy took advantage of the opening to grab at Izuku’s headband again.

Izuku took a moment to assess his situation. His opponent had an interesting Quirk, but it looked to be primarily defensive, so it wouldn’t actually help him get Izuku’s headband. Besides, Izuku had backup. Hatsumei had gotten behind their opponent, and launched another net toward his exposed back. The boy turned around just in time to create another wall to block it, but that left him wide open for Izuku to get in close and slam his elbow into the back of the boy’s head, taking him out.

He gave Hatsumei a thumbs-up. “Good teamwork! Here’s another headband for you.” He reached down for the boy’s headband and tossed it over to her. But he didn’t have long to relax before he noticed Shoji coming towards him, and Jiro coming in from the other direction. Which made sense. They both had Quirks boosting their searching ability, so it had only been a matter of time before they tracked him down. Shoji was probably the bigger threat of the two, though. Without her boots, Jiro didn’t have much she could do in a fight. He turned to Hatsumei, “I’ll keep the bigger one busy. You deal with her and back me up if you have a chance.”

Izuku readied himself to face Shoji, but before the boy could reach him, the ground underneath all of them shifted, turning soft as quicksand. Izuku looked around as he felt himself sinking, trying to figure out whose Quirk was causing this. He noticed another pair of 1-B students perched on a wall, because of course Hatsumei hadn’t been the only one to think of teaming up. The first one was a boy with a skull-like face, who was likely the one responsible for the shifting ground given his hands being placed on the wall. The other was a girl with hair made of vines that seemed to have a life of their own. Izuku gritted his teeth as he realized it was a perfect combination. With the first boy’s Quirk keeping them immobilized, they’d all be sitting ducks for the girl to swipe their headbands with her vines.

But as the girl shot her vines toward him, Izuku heard Hatsumei shout “Look out, Ten-Million!” He saw some sort of grenade fly toward the 1-B pair, and barely realized what it was fast enough to shield his eyes as the flash-bang went off. And while the two of them were disoriented, Hatsumei called over to him again. “Catch this!” It was tricky to turn while his feet were stuck in the ground, but Izuku was able to face Hatsumei just enough to catch the jetpack that she threw at him. “Get out of here, I’ll catch up!”

Izuku nodded, slipping the jetpack on without complaint. He didn’t want to abandon his teammate, but he was the bigger target. If he left, there was a good chance everyone else would follow. So he activated the jetpack, which struggled for a moment before pulling him free of the muck, and launching him into the air. But he had barely cleared a wall when it started to sputter out, and it was all he could do to cushion his fall with a roll as it deposited him in another hallway of the maze.

And as he got back up, he realized he had landed right next to Todoroki. Just his luck.

Fortunately, Todoroki seemed just as surprised to see Izuku as he was to see her. He immediately rolled to his feet as she wasted no time in sweeping a wave of ice toward him. Izuku ran from it, quickly turning a corner as it completely covered the path behind him. And then he kept running, recognizing that a fight against Todoroki probably wouldn’t end well, and he had nothing to gain from it anyway. But he didn’t get far before he saw Todoroki skating along the wall to his left, before dropping down and creating another ice wall, trapping her and Izuku together. Which meant Izuku couldn’t run away, and would actually have to fight her. “Midoriya. I was hoping to find you. Give me your headband.”

Without waiting for a response, she sent another sweep of ice toward Izuku, but he was able to dodge out of the way, moving to Todoroki’s left. For some reason, Izuku had never seen Todoroki use her Quirk from her left side, and given her split hair, that looked to be an actual limitation in her Quirk. Which didn’t entirely make sense to Izuku, but he wouldn’t look a gift horse in the mouth. He used the opening to rush in close to Todoroki, figuring that her reliance on a long-ranged Quirk would make her much more vulnerable in close quarters. An idea that he was quickly disabused of as Todoroki dodged his first swing, kneeing him in the stomach in response, and following up by reaching for him with her right hand, which he was barely able to get away from.

Izuku took a moment to catch his breath. “You’re good at hand-to-hand too? That’s just not fair.”

Todoroki practically rolled her eyes at his protest. “I’ve been training my entire life. You should be nothing to me.” Her eyes narrowed. “And yet you beat me in the previous round. I need to correct that.” She stomped her foot into the ground, sending forth another stream of ice, but Izuku was once again able to dodge to the side. While Izuku still didn’t like his chances, he recognized that this was probably the best terrain he could ask for to fight Todoroki. If it were more open, she’d be able to send out much larger attacks that he would have no hope of dodging. But here, he might just have a chance. He once again closed the distance to Todoroki, this time being much more careful with the knowledge that Todoroki could hold her own in hand to hand. But he didn’t have any ranged options, so he needed to get in close to accomplish anything.

Izuku fought carefully, staying on Todoroki’s left side and doing his best not to overextend, but still not giving Todoroki enough space to move away from him. Izuku had no difficulty believing that Todoroki had been training for years, because even with Izuku’s training with Aizawa-sensei, she had the upper hand, even in close quarters. It wasn’t long before a kick knocked Izuku back, and Todoroki wasted no time in sending a wave of ice after him. Izuku dodged to the side, but not quite fast enough as his foot was caught in the pillar.

Todoroki glanced down at him disdainfully. “There, that’s that.”

Izuku gave a smirk. She had been too far ahead during the Obstacle Course to know how he could get out of this. He slipped out of the shoe caught in the ice, and pulled off the other one, throwing it at Todoroki. The unorthodox weaponry caught her completely by surprise, hitting her square in the face. Izuku took the opening to look around, realizing that Todoroki’s most recent ice attack had created a way for Midoriya to climb up onto the wall, so he wasted no time in hopping up to the top of the wall before Todoroki could stop him.

Izuku knew that he wouldn’t make it far before Todoroki caught up to him, but he wasn’t planning on running. He just needed to make sure Todoroki didn’t see his next move coming. So as she jumped off the wall after him, Izuku slipped off Hatsumei’s jetpack and swung it into Todoroki while she was still mid-air, slamming it into her side and knocking her to the ground. Izuku ran toward her, keeping up his momentum, and she raised her left arm to shield herself as her eyes went wide. And then her entire left side burst into flames.

Izuku fell back in surprise. Had one of the other competitors set Todoroki on fire? That seemed pretty extreme, but what other explanation could there be? While Izuku was off balance, Todoroki sent out another wave of ice, finally catching Izuku and freezing him almost up to his neck.

And then Izuku was helpless. Todoroki could’ve walked over and taken his headband with ease. But instead, she just stared at her now-extinguished left hand with an unreadable mix of emotions. Before she could snap out of it, Midnight’s voice rang out. “Time’s up!”

--

Once the match ended, Cementos collapsed the walls he had built almost immediately, returning it to an open arena. Todoroki placed her left hand on the ice keeping Izuku trapped, thawing him out, but she still seemed to be in a daze. But Izuku didn’t have too long to focus on that as Midnight announced who would be making it into the final round. Bakugo had unsurprisingly gotten the most points besides Izuku, making Izuku grateful that they still hadn’t had to really fight in the Sports Festival. But Izuku was happy to hear that Uraraka and Hatsumei had also both passed. He looked over to where Uraraka was, and started to go over to congratulate her. But before he could, Todoroki grabbed his arm. “Midoriya. We need to talk.”

Chapter Text

Standing atop a rooftop in Hosu, The Hero Killer Stain coldly overlooked the city. Standing out in the open like this was more brazen than he would normally be, but he wasn’t concerned. There were so few heroes patrolling today, they were all watching the Sports Festival, that glorification of power masquerading as heroism. It represented everything wrong with Hero Society, and if it wasn’t the most heavily protected event in Japan, he would’ve torn the whole thing down. Those so-called heroes, more enamored by strength and pride than saving others, it sickened him to his core.

Stain snapped out of his train of thought as he heard a shout of surprise from a nearby balcony, and turned to see the person on it quickly calling the police, staring right at him. He hopped down onto a nearby fire escape and made his way into the alleyway. The Sports Festival might be out of reach, but he would have to satisfy himself with whatever foolish hero decided to hunt him down.

--

There was a short lunch break after the second event, so Izuku had more than enough time to listen to whatever it was that Todoroki had to say. But after pulling him toward a secluded hallway, Todoroki just stared him down, and despite all of the questions that Izuku had for her, he didn’t want to speak first. He could practically feel Todoroki’s anger boiling under the surface, but it was so different from Kacchan’s. His was explosive, obvious, but hers was cold, controlled. Izuku was worried about when that anger finally heated up.

Eventually, Todoroki broke the silence. “You have All Might in your corner. I still haven’t the slightest idea why. What could he possibly see in someone like you?” Izuku looked away, embarrassed by what Todoroki was obviously referring to. “But Quirk or no, you overwhelmed me in that last event. And you made me break the promise I made to myself a long time ago. To never use my old man’s Quirk.”

“Your father Endeavor?” A nod from Todoroki was all the confirmation Izuku received. He had recognized from day one that his classmate shared a family name with the Number Two hero, but with her ice Quirk being so different from his fire Quirk, Izuku had dismissed it as a coincidence. Until now. Why had Todoroki sworn off her fire? It would have given her such an advantage to use it, she could’ve won both events today easily. But she didn’t. Everyone else was giving the Sports Festival everything they had, so why wasn't she?

“Have you ever heard of Quirk marriages?” Izuku’s train of thought stopped completely at Todoroki’s question. In the first few Quirked generations, there were those who arranged marriages solely to create beneficial Quirk combinations and genetically engineer super-powerful children. The practice was illegal now, so what was Todoroki saying?

He didn’t have to wonder long. “My old man is ambitious, he aims for the top. But no matter how hard he tried, he could never surpass All Might. The Symbol of Peace is living proof of his failure. He’s still at it though, trying to surpass All Might... in one way or another.”

It was starting to become painfully clear what Todoroki was working toward, but Izuku still couldn’t believe what he was hearing. “What are you saying, Todoroki?”

From how little Todoroki paused, Izuku almost thought she didn’t hear him as she continued. “Endeavor is influential, and has a lot of money to throw at his problems. He paid off my mother’s relatives to get his hands on her ice Quirk. The one problem with his Quirk is that, if he overuses it, he overheats. So he hoped that if he had a child with both of their Quirks combined, they would be able to use them to regulate each other and become unstoppable. And on the fourth try, he finally got what he wanted. And now he’s raising me to surpass All Might.”

And just like that, it was all in the open. Izuku let out a gasp of surprise as Todoroki grimaced in the first show of emotion she had given in the entire conversation. “I refuse to be a tool for that scumbag.” As she continued, she almost seemed to forget that Izuku was there. “In every memory I have of my mother, she was crying. She once called my left side unbearable, and then poured boiling water on my face.”

Izuku had no way to respond to any of this, but then Todoroki seemed to remember that he was there. “I’m going to show him that I reject his power by taking first place without using it. You’ve done well so far, but no matter how hard you come at me in this next round, I will defeat you with only my right side. I can assure you of that.”

Having said all she wanted, Todoroki turned to leave, and Izuku had no idea what to say as he watched her go.

--

Once the lunch break was over, the sixteen students who had qualified for the final round gathered to hear what that final round would entail. Unsurprisingly, it was a tournament of one-on-one fights that would go on until one of the combatants surrendered, was out of bounds, or otherwise unable to fight. As Midnight started announcing the matches, Izuku felt Kacchan’s eyes boring into the back of his head, and he desperately hoped they wouldn’t be facing each other. The first match was going to be Todoroki versus Sero, so probably an easy win for Todoroki. After that, Midnight announced that Izuku would be fighting Shinso, the boy from 1-C, and Izuku let out a sigh of relief that he wasn’t fighting Kacchan. He had no idea what Shinso's Quirk was, but it couldn't be as powerful as Kacchan's. But that relief faded as Midnight made her way through the rest of the matches, ending with Kacchan against Uraraka. Uraraka paled at the announcement, and Izuku couldn’t help but share the sentiment. He knew better than anyone what Kacchan was capable of, and he also knew that there was no world in which the boy held back against her. She didn’t deserve that, so once Izuku was done with his own match, he promised he’d do anything he could to help her.

--

As Todoroki Shoko made her way down to her match, she stopped as she realized her old man was waiting for her in the hallway. “What do you want.”

Endeavor didn’t react to Shoko’s lack of a greeting. “You’re acting disgracefully, Shoko. If you had simply used my power, you would’ve had an overwhelming victory in both rounds. You have a duty to surpass that imbecile All Might. You’re different from your siblings, Shoko. You are my greatest masterpiece. It’s time you acted like it.”

Shoko just pushed past him as he spoke, not trusting herself to talk back to her old man without saying something he would make her regret later. She would still win this tournament using only her mother’s Quirk. She wouldn’t give him the satisfaction of seeing her use his.

--

Shoko’s first match was against Sero. She didn’t know much about him; he had never really stood out from her other classmates. All she really knew was that he could shoot tape from his elbows. He had no way to get out of her ice, so the match should end quickly.

As Midnight started the match, Shoko was surprised as Sero actually got the first hit in, sending forth his tape to pin Shoko’s arms to her side before trying to pull her out of the arena. It was a good strategy, an attempt to end the fight quickly, but Shoko was quicker. Pushing her right foot into the ground, she activated her Quirk, the emotions from her conversation with her old man coming out as she created an absolutely titanic glacier, covering Sero completely and reaching up past the top of the stadium. She hadn’t meant to use that much power, but it did the job anyway. As Midnight called the match as an overwhelming victory for Shoko, she looked back up at her old man in the stands. Let the bastard see that. She didn’t need him or his power.

--

After Todoroki froze Sero to the arena, she looked sad as she thawed him out. Izuku had already been planning to use their fight as a way to try and get through to her, but seeing that just doubled his resolve. But first, he had to get through Shinso. Izuku unfortunately had no idea what his Quirk was, so he’d have to play it safe until he knew what he was up against.

“Now, for our next match, we have the frontrunner in both of the first two rounds, Midoriya Izuku of Class 1-A! Going up against the dark horse of the Festival, 1-C’s Shinso Hitoshi!”

As the match started, Izuku kept his distance, waiting for his opponent to reveal their hand. Instead, Shinso just put his hands in his pockets and stared him down. “You look distracted. Already planning your match against Todoroki? I bet you’re just so confident in your Quirk that you don’t even feel the need to take me seriously.”

Izuku laughed at how off that accusation was. “I’m actually Quirkless.”

Shinso looked surprised at Izuku’s admission, and then his face turned conflicted. “Then I’m sorry.” Izuku suddenly felt his entire body freeze up. He tried to move, to break out of whatever was holding him, but his muscles simply did not obey. “Now walk out of bounds.”

And as much Izuku tried to fight back, his body followed the command, walking away slowly until he was out of bounds and Midnight called the match in Shinso’s favor.

Izuku immediately regained control of himself, but it was too late. He had lost, it was over, and it had all happened so quickly. The crowd didn’t even seem to understand what had happened for a few extra seconds, before finally beginning a halfhearted cheer for Shinso’s victory. Izuku turned back to look at Shinso, who looked for a moment like he wanted to say something before he simply grit his teeth and turned away.

That hadn’t been the impressive showing that Izuku had been hoping for.

--

“You lost.” Izuku startled in surprise as he realized that Todoroki had been waiting for him to exit his match. “I was expecting to have to fight you myself.”

“Yeah, I wanted to fight you too.” Todoroki raised an eyebrow at that, so Izuku continued. “I mean, when I first realized that you were holding back, I wanted to punch you. Do you have any idea what I would’ve done for a tenth of your Quirk as a kid? To see you not use an entire half of it was infuriating. And obviously, I know it’s not that simple now, but still. Everyone here is giving it their all. Everyone except for you.”

Izuku knew he was pushing it by saying this, especially when Todoroki snapped back at him. “I will not give him what he wants!”

“Then don’t!” Izuku snapped back. “Don’t be the hero he wants you to be. Don’t do it for him! But… what if you become a hero, and someone dies because you wouldn’t use your full Quirk, because of a grudge? What happens then?”

Todoroki looked troubled at Izuku’s question, but she quickly steeled herself. “I will never use his power.”

“It’s not his power. It’s your Quirk, Todoroki. You can use it how you want, but please, don’t limit yourself because of him.” Izuku hoped he was getting through to Todoroki, but at his final push, she just turned around and stormed off. He just had to hope that she didn’t forget this conversation.

Chapter Text

Even though he had been eliminated, Izuku was still going to do his best to enjoy the Sports Festival, trying to ignore the voice in his head that was telling him he had failed. He took out his notebook to analyze the Quirks of the remaining contestants as he had done every year, although with a much better view now that he was actually in the stands. The first match after his was between Hatsumei and Iida. Izuku was grateful for her help in the previous round, so he was really hoping she would come out on top. She somehow took advantage of Iida’s forthright personality to convince him to wear some of her Support Items into the match, which to Izuku felt like the perfect opportunity to sabotage him somehow. But, as it turned out, that wasn’t her plan. She used her Support Gear to avoid any and all attacks from Iida, explaining their many benefits to any sponsors who might have been watching. And then, after several minutes of sales pitches, she ran out of Support Items to gush about and walked out of bounds, forfeiting the match to Iida. As funny as the “fight” had been, Izuku was fascinated by all the items Hatsumei had shown off. He would need to talk to her after the Festival ended to workshop some ideas.

After that was Kaminari and the vine-haired girl he had seen earlier, apparently her name was Shiozaki. Kaminari prepared to unleash a massive shockwave of lightning, but Shiozaki created a wall of vines to shield him from the blast, wrapping him up in vines and throwing him out of bounds as he dealt with the consequences of overusing his Quirk.

Watching the fight, Izuku thought back to when Shiozaki had attacked him in the second round. If it weren’t for Hatsumei’s help, he would’ve been done for, and even if he had his Support Items with him, he wouldn’t have had a good way to deal with her. Fire would probably be an effective counter, but it felt like an extreme option, and he wasn’t sure about the logistics of carrying flammable substances on his person. Maybe a knife to cut through the vines would work better? It would be a useful tool to carry on his person in general, maybe he should ask for one with his next costume. “But then again, if I tried that against Shiozaki, she’d just go after my hands, and then what would I do?”

“You’re always planning ahead, huh?” Izuku broke out of his rambling as Uraraka spoke to him.

He immediately put a hand over his mouth. “Sorry, sometimes I don’t realize I’m talking out loud when I get excited about Quirks. But, yeah, without a Quirk I’m at a massive disadvantage, so I need to be prepared for everything to know how to make up for it. For all the good that did today.” He perked up a little. “I’ve also been taking notes on our classmates. Here’s what I have on your Quirk!”

He opened his notebook to the page he had devoted to Uraraka, and then passed it over to her. And then he immediately regretted that decision. She was going to think it was weird, and creepy, and he finally had a friend, so why was he messing it up now? But she didn’t seem weirded out by it. “Y’know, Dekiru, I’ve always known you were amazing. You’ve got so much drive and focus. Even though you lost, this Sports Festival’s just been a reminder of that.”

She sounded sad for some reason, and it took Izuku a moment to remember why. She still had her match with Kacchan to worry about! Everything with Todoroki had somehow made him forget about that. But he wasn’t about to let her handle it all by herself.

--

Ochako focused on the fight going on in front of her, trying to think about anything besides her own match. But then Tokoyami knocked Yaoyorozu out of bounds within seconds of the match starting, the disappointment and shame on the girl’s face palpable as she realized what had happened, and Ochako couldn’t keep her thoughts from going over how badly she was about to lose. And there weren’t many matches left before hers anyway, so it would be best to head into the waiting room and get it over with.

“Uraraka, wait up!” Ochako was so deep in her own thoughts that she didn’t notice Dekiru following after her until he called out.

“What’s up?” Ochako tried to give him a smile that she didn’t feel. “Why aren’t you out there watching the matches?”

He waved the question off. “Most of them have ended the way I expected, and if I miss anything interesting, I can just catch it later. But you’ve helped me so much, that now it’s my turn to help you. I’ve got a plan for how you could beat Kacchan. It’s not much, but I did my best.”

Ochako stopped at that. Dekiru had a plan. Of course he did, he always had a plan. And as much as she wanted to take it, “I can’t accept that, sorry. You’re wonderful, Dekiru, but I don’t want to just be relying on you to get by. I need to stand on my own two feet. And don’t worry,” and now the smile she gave him was a bit more real, “I can do this.”

--

“And now, for our final match for the round of sixteen, the anti-gravity girl of Class 1-A, Uraraka Ochako! Versus the hot-shot from General Studies, Class 1-C’s Bakugo Katsuki!”

Bakugo looked especially upset at being associated with General Studies, and Ochako once again wished she had taken Dekiru up on his offer, but no. She had to do this on her own.

Shaking her doubts away, she charged Bakugo. She needed to get a hand on him to use her Quirk, which meant she needed to get close. Bakugo just smirked as she approached. “Ready to get this over with then? Now die!” He wound up for a right hook. If Ochako could just dodge it, then she’d be able to use her Quirk on him and push him out of bounds. But Bakugo was too fast, and his explosion sent Ochako flying back almost before she knew what was happening. She was just lucky that the blast hadn’t been powerful enough to knock her out of bounds. She mentally berated herself. She had seen the attack coming, but she still hadn’t been able to get out of the way.

Bakugo was covered in a cloud of smoke after his explosion, but Ochako didn’t want to run in blind, so she gave it a moment to dissipate before she renewed her assault. Bakugo hadn’t moved from his spot, and he just blasted her away again as she approached. It was hard to tell if he was being cautious or dismissive.

But it was clear that a head-on assault would never work. He was just too fast for her. Maybe if she had some way to distract him… Well, Dekiru had ditched his shoes to escape Todoroki’s attack, she could do something similar. But first, she needed Bakugo to be blinded by a smokescreen again. So she ran for him again, ignoring his taunt about how she should just give up, but as he wound up for an attack, she disengaged, jumping back to be out of the blast radius. And then, the moment his view was obstructed by his smoke, she slipped off the outer layer of her gym uniform, activating her Quirk on it before sending it flying towards him. Then she circled around, listening for the explosion of his reacting to her jacket as her cue to dive for him, arm outstretched. This was her chance!

But before her hand could connect, Bakugo dodged out of the way, forcing her to try and regain her footing. But before she could, he let off a massive, two-handed explosion, knocking him back and sending her slamming into the ground.

Ochako lay there for a moment, staring up at the sky as her ears were ringing. She had never considered her Quirk that impressive. It was useful, sure, but compared to some of the more flashy Quirks some of her classmates were sporting, compared to Bakugo, hers just didn’t stack up. It was funny, Dekiru said he wanted to help her by giving her a plan, but he had already helped her so much. Because a month ago, faced with an obstacle like Bakugo, she probably would’ve given up right there, just closed her eyes and given Bakugo the match. But that was before she met Dekiru. He didn’t have a Quirk, but he always gave every fight his all, doing whatever it took to win. So how could she do any less?

She rose to her feet, taking a step back to steady herself as her head spun. Bakugo was once again standing in the center, waiting for her to approach. So she entered a low stance and charged him. He was too fast, and she was blown back, so she charged again. And again. And again. Not resting between attacks, not waiting for the smoke to clear, not giving Bakugo a moment to let his guard down. And then, when she could barely stand, and she felt like one more hit would knock her out for sure, she knew it was time. Because Bakugo’s explosions weren’t just hitting her, they were hitting the ground of the arena. And since Bakugo stayed still, those broken pieces of the ground stayed around him. So every time Ochako charged, staying low to maximize damage to the ground, she tapped parts of the arena and sent them up into the sky. And with all of the smoke around Bakugo, he had no idea what was happening.

She could feel her stomach rising up into her throat, the amount she was holding up was far beyond her normal limits, but that meant it would have to be enough. She put her hands together to release her control, and Bakugo stared up in shock as a veritable meteor shower rained down toward him. And Ochako charged one last time, knowing that whether Bakugo attacked or dodged, she would get her opening. He raised his arm toward the sky, using his other arm to brace it, and Ochako smiled. There was no way he could hit the debris and her at the same time. She had him.

The blast that Bakugo let out was larger than anything she had ever seen him produce, and while it didn’t hit her directly, the shockwave by itself was enough to knock her back onto the ground. As she struggled back to her feet, she heard Bakugo taunt her. “I figured you’d have some stupid plan up your sleeve. You are friends with Deku, after all. But his plans weren’t able to help him beat me either.”

Ochako stared in despair as the smoke cleared to reveal Bakugo standing where he already had been, completely unscathed. She put everything she could into that, and he cleared it in one shot. It hadn't been good enough. She hadn't been good enough. But she could still stand. She wouldn’t give up yet! Ochako rose to her feet and started to run toward Bakugo again. But then she fell, and her consciousness faded.

~

That had been close. Damnit, that had actually been close! Katsuki hated to admit it, but Deku’s friend had somehow nearly beaten him. That last blast had been way more than he could safely handle, and the muscles in his arm were screaming at him from the recoil. But it was fine. He had come out on top as he always did, and a quick trip to the nurse would make sure he was in top shape in his next match against… who was it again? It didn’t matter.

But as he made his way to the nurse’s office, he nearly ran into Deku, who was headed in the same direction. “Kacchan!”

Katsuki scoffed at the nerd’s nervous response. “What are you doing here?”

“I was just gonna check up on Uraraka, make sure she’s alright. Um, congrats!”

The nerd was about to run off when Katsuki stopped him. “That was your idea, wasn’t it? That stupid desperate plan of hers. Only you would come up with something that hare-brained and annoying.”

Deku turned back towards him, and the nervousness he had shown earlier was gone. “You’re wrong. Uraraka came up with that plan all on her own. So if that battle was harder than you thought it was going to be, then it’s because of her, not me.”

Chapter Text

Shinso Hitoshi had felt pretty confident going into his first match. His Quirk was still completely unknown, and Midoriya had clearly already been thinking about how he was going to deal with Todoroki. It was all too easy to take control of him, and show a stuck-up Hero Course kid not to underestimate an underdog.

Except, it turned out that Midoriya wasn’t just some stuck-up Hero Course kid. He was Quirkless. He was an underdog too, and Hitoshi had ruined his chances of doing well in the Sports Festival. Hitoshi tried to look past that. The kid was already in the Hero Course, however it was that he had managed to get there, so Hitoshi needed this more than him. Besides, getting into the top sixteen was pretty good, so there was no need to feel guilty. Hitoshi was distracted from his reasoning by his phone buzzing, and as he pulled it out, he saw that it was a text from Koroki, his only friend from middle school.

That’s what Im talking about! Show those hero brats what underdogs can do!

Hitoshi smiled dryly. That had been the plan, it was just unfortunate that his first match was up against a fellow underdog. At least his next match was against a proper spoiled brat. Or at least, that’s what Hitoshi would’ve thought an hour ago. Because he hadn’t meant to eavesdrop, but to properly use his Quirk he needed to know how to get his opponents to respond, so when he saw the two students who had dominated the first two rounds sneak off, he thought he’d be able to get some intel. Okay, so he had meant to eavesdrop, but he hadn’t expected to uncover something like that! Koroki already hated heroes, he’d have a field day with the things Hitoshi overheard about Endeavor.

Hitoshi would’ve assumed that a Quirk like that meant that Todoroki had had an easy life. It turned out that he was wrong. But if he wanted to win, he’d need to use that against her.

--

“Starting off the quarterfinals, we have two competitors who won their first matches in moments! 1-A’s Todoroki Shoko against 1-C’s Shinso Hitoshi!”

Once she got over the surprise of Midoriya’s loss, Shoko realized she still knew nothing about her next opponent. He had some sort of mind-control Quirk, but she had no idea how it activated. What had Midoriya done wrong? It couldn’t be touch, he never got close enough, maybe eye contact?

“You’re Endeavor’s kid, right? What’s it like having everything handed to you, and never having to fight?”

Shoko scoffed at the taunt. “I wouldn’t know.” As Midnight finished counting the match in, she raised her hand, ready to bury Shinso in a wave of ice, but suddenly she couldn’t move her arm. Or anything else. Her whole body felt numb, and she realized Shinso had managed to activate his Quirk on her. It must have been triggered by talking then.

“There we go. Now walk-” Shinso stopped his sentence as Shoko pushed with her Quirk in desperation, causing a shock of ice to emerge from her leg, freezing her leg in place. Even better, the sudden chill was somehow enough to break her free of Shinso’s control. “Oh, you’re kidding me.”

Shoko sent a wave of ice forward at Shinso, but he was able to dodge out of the way, before dodging again to hide behind it. “I guess if you’re going to fight with one arm tied behind your back, being down a leg is appropriate too.” Shoko simply rolled her eyes at the taunt, so Shinso continued. “But really, how overconfident do you have to be to give the most important event of the year exactly half your effort? Would it be too boring otherwise?” Shinso paused for a response, but Shoko remained silent. “What, nothing? I guess we’ll do this the hard way.”

Shinso leaped out of cover and began running toward Shoko, who decided to not send a wave of ice at him, as he had proven he could dodge those, and it would just end up blocking her vision. She would just need to freeze him at close range. Unfortunately, he knew enough to approach her from the left, sending out a few swings that, even pinned as she was, she was easily able to dodge, but then jumping back before she could bring her right arm toward him.

Shinso continued taunting her. “What, no fire? You got daddy issues or something?” How did he know about her Quirk? The information was technically publicly available, but it would take a lot of dedicated digging to find it. Regardless, if Shoko had any doubt that he needed her to respond to use his Quirk, his taunts erased it. He was clearly trying to get her to respond, so all she needed to do was stay silent.

--

She knew. Somehow, Todoroki had been able to use her Quirk to break out of Hitoshi's control, and now she wasn’t going to fall for his tricks again. And even with her foot frozen in place, she was a better fighter than him. Hitoshi didn’t have a chance.

But that didn’t mean he was going to give up. He needed to win this, so if there was no way he could win, he’d just have to create one. He moved toward her again, swinging for her as he readied another taunt. Maybe if he got her caught up in the fight enough, she would be distracted enough to respond to him. “You have the perfect Quirk for a hero, and you don’t even use it! Do you have any idea-” Hitoshi was cut off as Todoroki punched him in the throat. As he gagged, she reached over and grabbed his arm with her right hand. Immediately Hitoshi felt the air around his arm freeze, and he pulled away in a panic, but not before a hefty chunk of ice formed around his arm. It was hard to even lift his arm with it, and it was so cold.

Keeping his distance, Hitoshi shouted at his opponent through clattering teeth. “Why are you doing this? Either take this seriously, or get out of the way for those of us who actually care!” Hitoshi got ready to go on the offensive again, but before he could move, Todoroki sent another wave of ice at him, and he was too off-guard to dodge away, the ice freezing him all the way up to his neck. “No!”

He pulled against the ice, but the struggle was beyond pointless. There was nothing he could do. “Shinso is immobilized. Todoroki wins!”

As Midnight called the match in her favor, Todoroki bent down to finally thaw out her leg, and Hitoshi just barely heard her mutter to herself. “Just because I won’t use my left side, doesn’t mean I don’t need the Sports Festival.” Hitoshi bit back his retort that some of them needed it for bigger reasons than flipping off their dad.

--

Hitoshi had given it everything he had, but it hadn’t mattered. He just had to hope Bakugo wouldn’t advance any further. Bakugo couldn’t stop talking about how he used to be in the Hero Course, surely they wouldn’t put him back in over Hitoshi, right? Unless power was all they cared about.

“Oh, hey! Shinso, right?” Hitoshi turned in surprise to see Midoriya waving at him.

“What are you doing here?” Midoriya hadn’t seemed too bitter about his loss, but Hitoshi could never be too sure. He tried to subtly check for how he could best get away if he needed to.

“Oh, I was checking on Uraraka.” Hitoshi grimaced. Her fight had looked pretty brutal. “Recovery Girl’s healed her, but she still hasn’t woken up yet. I guess I missed your match with Todoroki. How’d it go?” Hitoshi shook his head. “Yeah, I guess I should’ve expected that. She has a really good chance of winning the Sports Festival! And it seems like it’d be tough to get her to talk back to you. That’s how your Quirk activates, right? That’s the only thing I can think of that I could have done wrong.”

“Um, yeah.” This wasn’t at all how Hitoshi had expected this conversation to go.

Midoriya smiled. “Oh, your Quirk’s so cool! I’m trying to think of what I could’ve done differently to beat you, but without knowing what it was, I had no chance.”

“Um, thanks. You’re not mad about losing?”

“No,” Midoriya chuckled, “I’m a little disappointed in myself, but you’re trying to win too. Of course you gave it your all! You’re trying to join the Hero Course, right? Why do you want to be a hero?”

Hitoshi smiled. That was a big question. His whole life, people had been afraid of his Quirk. They said that it made him a villain. So he wanted to prove them wrong. No, he needed to prove them wrong. To prove that someone like him wasn’t doomed by their Quirk, by becoming a hero in spite of what everyone said about his! And not just for his own sake, but for everyone else who had the misfortune of being born with a villainous Quirk! “You can’t decide what your heart longs for.” Not that he was going to tell Midoriya any of that.

Midoriya just shrugged at the half-answer. “Well, I hope you make it into the Hero Course. See you around, Shinso!” And then he walked away.

--

Shota had been paying close attention to Shinso throughout the Sports Festival. After all, he was the only General Studies student to make it to the third event. Well, except for Bakugo, but he obviously didn’t count. The kid had a powerful Quirk that would be very useful for a hero, but also would’ve been completely worthless against the Entrance Exam robots. But, of course, Midoriya hadn’t had a Quirk to fall back on during the exam either, so Shinso was clearly over-reliant on his. Still, the fact that he hadn’t given up against Todoroki spoke in his favor. Normally Shota would take some time to make sure that today’s performance wasn’t a fluke before inviting him up to the Hero Course, but Class 1-A just happened to have an open spot. If the kid didn’t deserve the opportunity, Shota could just send him right back down.

--

Once Ochako woke up, it took her a moment to remember exactly how her match had gone. And when she did, she quickly wished she hadn’t. She had thrown everything she had at Bakugo, but she hadn’t even been close. She just wanted to curl up into a ball and go back to sleep.

But eventually, she gathered herself, and Recovery Girl let her know that she had already been able to heal her and that she was free to rejoin her classmates for the rest of the Festival. So she hurried back to the stands, unsure of how much she had missed, but determined to at least try and enjoy the rest of it. Once she made it back to the stands, she immediately saw Dekiru scribbling furiously into his notebook, so focused on it that he didn’t notice she was there until she spoke up. “What’d I miss?”

He nearly jumped as he realized she was there. “Uraraka! You’re up! Are you okay?”

She nodded. “Yeah, Recovery Girl fixed me right up!” As for if she was okay emotionally, she’d rather not answer that. “But anyway, it looks like I missed some interesting matches, what happened?”

“Well,” Dekiru began, hardly stopping for breath, “The first match of the Quarter-finals was Todoroki against Shinso. Shinso managed to get Todoroki under his Quirk’s control, but it turns out that Quirks can still be used through it, so Todoroki was able to freeze her own leg and somehow use the shock of the cold to break free. From there, there wasn’t much Shinso could do. Then there was Iida against Shiozaki, he managed to-” Dekiru proceeded to walk her through every single fight that had happened while she was out, but as he was finishing up his explanation, Present Mic’s voice rang out over the stadium.

“And now, the moment you’ve all been waiting for! The final match of the Sports Festival, between two competitors who have dominated the competition with their overwhelming power, Todoroki Shoko vs. Bakugo Katsuki!”

--

Stain pulled his blade out of the fallen hero with a tsk. Ingenium had put up an admirable fight, but even “heroes” bled. And once that veneer of invulnerability was shattered, there was nothing he could do to save himself. But still, Stain had no quarrel with Ingenium in particular, so as he heard the sirens close in, he decided to give him a chance, leaping up onto the rooftop rather than finish the hero off. He would leave this one alive to tell the tale.

Chapter Text

“And now, the moment you’ve all been waiting for! The final match of the Sports Festival, between two competitors who have dominated the competition with their overwhelming power, Todoroki Shoko vs. Bakugo Katsuki!”

Katsuki smirked. Finally, he was going up against someone who could actually hold their own against him. At the start of the school year, Katsuki had actually been intimidated by the raw power Half-and-Half had demonstrated in the battle trial. But watching her today, he realized he had nothing to worry about. She could make a lot of ice, sure, but he was Bakugo Katsuki. She had nothing on him.

So the moment the match started, he rocketed forward, using his explosions to propel himself over the first wave of ice that Half-and-Half sent his way. He then swung for her with a right hook, which she barely had time to create an ice wall to block. The wall cracked from the force of his explosion, causing her to stagger back, so Katsuki kept up his assault. Her ice might be strong, but he was faster, rocketing himself around to blast her from every single direction. It wasn’t long before she managed to graze him with an ice wave, but by then he had already taken the advantage.

Half-and-Half must’ve realized the same thing, because she immediately sent out a titanic glacier, hoping to trap him in it and end the fight in a single move. The ice completely covered him, even going over his head and giving him almost no room to move. If he were anyone else, it might’ve worked. But he wasn’t anyone else. And he had just enough wiggle room to move his arms forward and let out another explosion. The ice cracked, but he still didn’t have a way out, so he let out another explosion. And another. And another, each one shaking the iceberg he was in until he punched a hole through it to continue the fight.

Half-and-Half briefly looked shocked at Katsuki’s escape but then she returned to a fighting stance. Katsuki smirked. “Come on, is that all you’ve got?! Because it’s going to take a whole lot more than that to take me down!” And with that, he launched himself toward her again. She was once again able to block his first strike with another ice wall, and as he tried to follow up, she managed to grab his arm and throw him over her shoulder. Katsuki was able to launch himself back into the air before her follow-up wave of ice could land, and while there was a patch of ice on his arm from where she grabbed him, he was easily able to smash it with a simple blast.

Katsuki had to hand it to Half-and-Half, she was actually putting up a decent fight, and he was working up quite a sweat. But that just meant he had more ammo for his Quirk. So he launched himself toward Half-and-Half again, arms outstretched. But as she sent up a wall of ice to block him, he shifted his arms to instead launch himself over it. And as he passed over her head, he let out a blast from one hand to stop his momentum, while he pointed the other at the back of Half-and-Half’s head. She turned around, eyes wide, but it was too late. Katsuki’s explosion sent her flying into the ice wall she had built to block him, shattering it and leaving her flying to the very edge of the arena.

The moment Half-and-Half was back on her feet, she sent another wave of ice at Katsuki, but he dodged it easily. It was slower than the others, weaker. Looking over at her, Katsuki saw patches of ice starting to form on her skin. While Katsuki was only getting stronger, she was getting weaker. So as another wave of ice made its way toward Katsuki, he didn’t even bother dodging. He just extended his hand and shattered it with a single explosion. Let everyone see how powerful he was. Not even Half-and-Half could match him.

As the explosion cleared, Katsuki got one look at Half-and-Half’s panicked expression before he launched himself forward with an explosion from both hands, slamming his knee into her stomach as he collided with her. As she stumbled back, Katsuki steadied himself and stretched out both hands. There wasn’t much way he could lose this fight, but Katsuki wasn’t about to draw the fight out either. “Die.” He let out a point-blank explosion from both hands, launching her all the way into the wall.

Katsuki stared at Half-and-Half as she hit the ground. Hopefully, she wouldn’t get back up. Katsuki didn’t want to just win by ring out, he wanted a complete victory. So he watched the crater in the wall that Half-and-Half had made, grinning as she didn’t move.

“Todoroki is out! Bakugo wins!”

~

Katsuki stood atop the podium and relished the crowd’s applause. This was what he deserved, for everyone to know that he was the best student at U.A. And giving out the medals was All Might himself. He said something to Bird Brain about his Quirk’s strength, he told Half-and-Half to keep working through his Quirk, and then he turned to Katsuki. A year ago, it would’ve been Katsuki’s dream to stand on this podium with All Might, but as the hero looked toward him, the smile clearly didn’t reach his eyes. “Young Bakugo. You’ve certainly proven your skill in battle today.” And then he whispered, so that only Katsuki could hear. “But that was never what was in question.”

Katsuki accepted the gold medal with a glare. He would’ve expected better of All Might. Why did he choose that worthless Deku over him? But it didn’t matter, because Katsuki had proven his worth today. He won the Sports Festival. U.A. couldn’t keep him down now.

--

As Kizuki Chitose watched the Sports Festival, something wasn’t adding up. Despite being in the General Studies Course, Bakugo Katsuki dominated the competition. And his Quirk would’ve been perfect for the Entrance Exam, so why wasn’t he in the Hero Course? A quick bit of research answered that question for her. He had been in the Hero Course. He had even placed first in the Entrance Exam. They must’ve demoted him to General Studies for some reason, only for him to show them up in the Sports Festival. How fascinating.

And while that juicy tidbit would’ve been enough for a short article on its own, Chitose knew that there was no substitute for a personal interview. Which is why she was beyond relieved that Bakugo had accepted her invitation. “Thank you for agreeing to this interview, Bakugo. I’ll cut right to the chase. I’m Curious, what are you doing in the General Studies course with a Quirk like yours? The performance you gave was certainly worthy of the Hero Course.”

Chitose didn’t miss the way that Bakugo bristled when she mentioned the General Studies Course. His passion had been clear in the Sports Festival, she was glad that it was also going to show up in her interview. “Because that bastard hobo kicked me out of the Hero Course for not babying Deku!”

Chitose nodded. She had assumed that Bakugo had been kicked out, but it was nice to get confirmation. Besides, the words would mean more coming from his mouth than hers. She feigned surprise at his statement. “Really, you were sent down? How did that happen?”

Bakugo crossed his arms with a tsk. He had no interview etiquette whatsoever, Chitose would need to work on that if they did this again. Something to maintain his air of confidence without making him look like a delinquent. “In one of the first training exercises, we were supposed to be fighting each other. So I fought. And I didn’t hold back, because that would've been insulting, but later the hobo tells me I went too hard on Deku, and he kicked me out for it!”

Chitose made a show of nodding along with his story. “And who is this Deku? I heard U.A. accepted their first Quirkless student recently, that wouldn’t happen to be him, would it?” Chitose had to hold back a grin as Bakugo nodded. She had tried to turn Midoriya’s acceptance into a story, but it had been drowned out by all the puff pieces about All Might teaching. Maybe that story would have more legs now.

“Exactly!” Bakugo started ranting, oblivious to Chitose’s glee. “Just because he’s a Quirkless loser, they wanted me to go easy on him. He shouldn’t be in the Hero Course in the first place, but instead they kicked me out over it!”

Chitose shook her head along with Bakugo’s rant. “Well, you’re certainly right. It sounds like U.A.’s confused about what their purpose is; to help the heroes of the future reach their full potential, not coddle those who can’t cut it.”

The rest of the interview passed swimmingly, with Bakugo giving Chitose a few more juicy quotes to work with. Eventually, their time was up, so Chitose said goodbye to Bakugo, slipping him a business card in case he needed to get in touch with her again. Once he was gone, she pulled out her phone and punched in a number, waiting until the person on the other side picked up. “So, how did the interview go?”

She gave a wide grin, the excitement already getting to her. “Oh, perfect. Better than I could’ve even expected. This is sure to be one explosive article.”

--

In the days after the Sports Festival, Izuku checked the Hero News religiously. Even more religiously than usual. Articles about the Sports Festival were still coming out, and while Izuku was happy for the students who were getting attention, he was still waiting for the other shoe to drop. There hadn’t been an article he had seen mentioning the fact that one of students in the Sports Festival was Quirkless, but he knew it was only a matter of time before someone brought his Quirk status into the light. And Izuku could only hope that tied for ninth was good enough to prove that he deserved to be there. But then he saw the article he had been looking for, released by Shoowaysha Publishing, and he brought his hands up to cover his mouth as it was so much worse than he could have expected.

“Bakugo Katsuki Tells All; How U.A. Chose a Quirkless Student Over the Sports Festival Victor”

--

Shota was concerned. He wasn’t sure why Nezu, the bear(?), mouse(?), dog(?), principal of U.A., needed to speak to him, but it couldn’t be good. Nezu’s first sentence confirmed his suspicions. “I assume you’ve seen the article?”

Shota nodded. The article about Bakugo had been everywhere, as was the accompanying interview with Bakugo himself. “I stand by my decision to move Bakugo down to General Studies. His skill in a fight was never in question, and the Sports Festival did nothing to alleviate the concerns I actually had. He has no concern for those around him and prioritizes his own pride over others' safety. That’s not someone I want to teach how to better use their Quirk.”

Nezu chuckled at Shota’s explanation. “You’re not on trial here, Aizawa. I understand your decision. But you must admit that it puts us in a bit of a difficult position. If he had simply slipped through the cracks that would be one thing, but to have a student who had been kicked out of the Hero Course win the Sports Festival… it’s not a good look.”

Shota sighed. “But you have a plan for how to fix it, obviously.”

“Of sorts. He needs to be re-instated into the Hero Course.”

Shota immediately rose to his feet. “What?! He’s shown no progress in fixing his attitude, and you want to move him back in? Yeah, U.A. doesn’t look good, but the vultures will move on eventually. We don’t need to do this!”

Nezu sighed. “I’m aware, but the media’s not why I’m doing this. The cat’s out of the bag, Aizawa. If we don’t re-instate Bakugo, how long do think it’ll be before he starts getting offers from other schools? Shiketsu probably won’t want him, but I’d imagine any other Hero Course would be more than happy to add the winner of U.A.’s Sports Festival to their ranks.”

While he still didn’t agree with the principal, Shota had calmed enough from his outburst to sit down. “Then they can have him. I don’t see why that means we have to cave.”

“What sort of education do you think he would receive at those schools? Obviously, it will be inferior to U.A. in a number of ways, but do you think other teachers will curb those attributes you are concerned about, or would they let their star student, the winner of the Sports Festival, do whatever he wanted?” As much as Shota hated to admit it, the rat had made a good point. “I’m not asking for him to be reinstated to the Hero Course to appease the media, I’m asking because this is a boy who has never been told no in his life before, and you’ve demonstrated that you might be the only teacher who won’t repeat that mistake.”

Shota put his hand on his face. “Damnit…”

“You had someone else in mind for the empty seat, didn’t you? Shinso Hitoshi?”

“Yeah, I did.” Shota waved him off. “I still might transfer him in, but this way it’ll take longer, because I’ll need to be sure he deserves it more than one of my current students. But it’s more than that. I demoted Bakugo for a reason, I’m not excited to bring him back.” Especially with the obvious history between him and Midoriya. Shota just hoped the kid would be all right. “And I doubt this’ll do anything to blunt his ego.”

Chapter Text

Izuku was relieved that it was raining. It meant that he could wear a poncho, have his hood up, and hopefully not be noticed by anyone at all on his way to school. Because the article about Bakugo had only been the first of many, all of them calling out U.A. for expelling such obvious talent while admitting a useless, Quirkless student. And while they weren’t saying anything he hadn’t heard before, the scale of it was beyond intimidating. And, obviously, this is what he wanted. He couldn’t inspire people like him that their dreams could become reality if no one knew he was Quirkless. But he just… he wasn’t ready yet. So he kept his head down and tried not to be noticed as he made his way back to U.A.

When he finally reached U.A., he was surprised to see All Might, in his shriveled form, waiting for him just inside the front gate. “Midoriya. How are you holding up?”

Izuku quickly fell in step by his side. “I’m doing all right, all things considered. I mean, we knew this would happen. Why do you ask?”

All Might sighed. “Because however your day is going, it’s about to get worse. Bakugo’s been reinstated into Class 1-A.”

Izuku stopped. “Oh.” He was more conflicted about that than he had expected. Because Kacchan was obviously going to be a great hero someday, so it made sense that he’d be back in the Hero Course, but at the same time… Izuku had gotten used to not having him around these past few weeks. “I see.”

All Might continued, his expression softening at Izuku’s obvious concern. “Principal Nezu came to the conclusion that, if we didn’t reinstate him, another hero school would recruit him, and they’d do a much worse job quelling his anger issues than Aizawa would. But still, I’m sorry.”

Izuku wasn’t sure entirely why All Might was apologizing for this. “Thank you.”

By this point, they were getting close to 1-A’s classroom, so All Might gave Midoriya a pat on the back before heading on his way. “Good luck, Young Midoriya.”

Izuku inched the door open, and sure enough, he was there. Sitting in his seat, leaning back as if he had never left, Kacchan was back. Izuku slunk his way to his seat, hoping Kacchan wouldn’t notice him, and fortunately, the other boy was more than happy to ignore him.

It wasn’t long before Aizawa-sensei started the class with a congratulation for everyone’s performance in the Sports Festival. He pointedly did not draw attention to Bakugo’s return. “Our first order of business today is to talk about your upcoming internships. You’ll all be spending a week working under a particular pro hero to get some hands-on experience as to how the field works. Following the Sports Festival, many of you have received specific offers from Pro Heroes who would like to work with you. These offers are an investment in your potential, but if you don’t live up to their expectations, don’t expect to hold onto their interest. With that said, here’s the spread of who received offers.” He clicked a remote, bringing up a screen listing how many offers everyone had gotten. Izuku was unsurprised to see Todoroki and Bakugo had received the most, followed by Iida and Tokoyami. He was also unsurprised to see that he had gotten none. But before he could stew in that for too long, Aizawa-sensei continued. “Don’t let these results discourage those of you who didn’t receive offers. U.A. has reached out to a number of different heroes to ensure that you all will be interning with pros.”

--

Ochako could barely hold back a cry of relief as she saw she had gotten offers! She had done well enough, people wanted her. She couldn’t believe it. But then she looked down the list, and realized that Dekiru hadn’t gotten any. And she knew why he hadn’t gotten any, but it still didn’t make sense to her. He was so amazing, so why didn’t any pros see that? She wished she could give him some of her offers, but it hadn’t worked that way at the Entrance Exam, so it wouldn’t work that way now.

But still, she did what she could. “Hey, Dekiru, how are you doing?” Once classes broke for lunch, she waited for him by the door, and started talking to him.

Dekiru gave her a pained smile. “Oh, I’m- I’m okay.”

“No, you’re not.” She wasn’t letting him get off that easy. “You shouldn’t be, all things considered.”

Izuku’s smile faded. “Y- Yeah. I’m sorry. I just,” he let out a sharp exhale. “I hoped it would be enough. I hoped it would finally be enough. And then, the articles started coming out, and I knew it wasn’t. And what if it never will be?” He looked close to tears as the words tumbled out faster and faster.

“It will be.” Ochako put a hand on his shoulder. “Because I know you, and I know you’ll never give up. Not until they finally see what you’re worth.”

Dekiru just nodded. “Thank you.”

He made his way toward the cafeteria, and Ochako was silent until they both had their food, because she didn’t want to push him too hard. “And, how do feel about Bakugo being back?”

Dekiru stopped completely. “I-” He looked away, so Ochako couldn’t even see his face. “I think I see Shinso over there. We should go sit with him.”

And then he walked away, forcing Ochako to hurry after him and worry over his obvious deflection.

--

Hitoshi was surprised when Midoriya asked to sit with him. A month into the school year, he had gotten fairly used to eating alone. Even in middle school, it had just been him and Koroki. No one else had wanted to associate with the “future villains”. So he hadn’t expected anyone training to be a hero to think differently. But he supposed that, if anyone would, it would be Midoriya. From their one conversation, it was clear that he wasn’t as intimidated by Hitoshi’s Quirk as everyone else was.

But he appreciated having someone to eat with. And his friend, Uraraka, had seemed pretty nice too, which wasn’t actually surprising given that she hung out with Midoriya. But, as the lunch period ended, he once again had to face reality. He had failed. He hadn’t been transferred to the Hero Course. And when he returned to U.A. after the short break, it became clear as to why. Bakugo had been restored to his seat in 1-A, leaving no room for Hitoshi.

As Hitoshi walked toward his classroom, he realized someone was waiting for him in the hallway. He looked like a teacher, but Hitoshi wasn’t sure who it was. “Shinso. I was hoping to talk to you.”

Hitoshi had never heard that phrase from an authority figure followed by something good, so he just nodded warily. The teacher took that as enough of a response, so he continued. “I’m Aizawa Shota. I’m the homeroom teacher for Class 1-A. I was impressed by your Sports Festival performance.”

Hitoshi didn’t want to trust what he was hearing. “What?”

Aizawa sighed. “I’m considering putting you in my class. But if I’m going to do that, you need to prove to me that you deserve it more than one of my current students, that making it into the Top Eight wasn’t a fluke.”

“How?” Hitoshi still didn’t want to trust this, but if this teacher was actually offering him a chance, he’d be a fool not to accept it.

“Internships are starting soon, and if you’re serious about transferring in, you’ll be interning with me. I’ll be making sure you’ve actually got what it takes, and if you do well enough, I’ll consider transferring you in. But I should warn you, it’ll be far more intense than anything you’ve had to deal with before. Do you think you have what it takes?”

Hitoshi nodded. “Definitely.” If he was being given a chance to get into the Hero Course, even a shadow of a chance, there wasn’t much he wouldn’t do.

--

As Class 1-A returned from lunch, Izuku was surprised to see Midnight step into the classroom instead of Aizawa-sensei. “Hello, students! I hope you’re all excited about your upcoming internships. But, before you can go out into the field, there’s something you all need: Hero Names!” She paused as the class chattered with excitement. “Now, since that sort of thing has never been Aizawa’s forte, I’ve been asked to tag in and make sure all of you choose names that are appropriate for the kind of hero you want to be. Because your hero name is important. It tells the whole world want kind of hero who you are, after all. Now, you’ll have some time to think of them, but does anyone have an idea of what they want?”

Izuku was a bit surprised to realize that he didn’t know what he wanted his hero name to be. Obviously, he had come up with some ideas back when he was little, but they weren’t exactly usable. It wouldn’t make sense to call himself “All Might Junior” or “Captain All Might,” after all. Ignoring the obvious plagiarism, that didn’t represent the kind of hero he was going to be. He couldn’t be an unshakeable pillar like All Might, but instead just a hero who was going to do everything he could to help people, and maybe inspire that if he could achieve his dreams, they can do it too.

As Izuku wrestled with what he wanted his hero name to be, he focused on his classmates who were already submitting hero names. Kacchan tried to get “King Explosion Murder” cleared, but Midnight shot that idea down. Todoroki and Iida both just put their given names, saying that they weren’t ready to commit to a hero name yet. And then Uraraka went up to give her hero name as “Uravity.” She seemed nervous as she said it, but Midnight immediately complimented the wordplay. And Izuku had to agree, it was an amusing portmanteau of her name and gravity, something lighthearted to put civilians at ease.

But it made sense that Uraraka came up with such a good name, she was good at wordplay, after all. She had managed to take the insult used against Izuku for a whole decade and twist it into something positive, something he could be proud of. As he had that thought, Izuku let out a soft "Oh." He realized what he wanted his hero name to be. So he walked up to the front and announced his hero name to the entire class. “I am Dekiru.”

--

Before dismissing them for the day, Aizawa-Sensei passed out the list of who everyone would be able to intern with. And before even leaving the classroom, Izuku got to work reading through the list and trying to decide who to intern with. There were forty agencies who were available to everyone in 1-A, which wasn’t a lot, but it also was a lot. He’d need to do some research into each of them, categorize them by their specialties, probably filter out anyone who relied on raw power as not being the best mentor for him specifically, and work his way from there. He could also probably eliminate Death Arms, Kamui Woods, and Mount Lady right out of the gate. It would be pretty awkward if they remembered him from the Sludge Villain Incident.

“Already hard at work, eh?” Izuku was so engrossed in his theorizing that he didn’t realize Uraraka had come up to him until she spoke up.

“Oh, yeah. This internship is a pretty important opportunity, so I want to make sure I get the most I can out of it. Do you know who you’re interning with?”

Uraraka nodded enthusiastically. “Yep! I’m picking Gunhead!”

That answer caught Izuku off guard. “Wait, really? He’s more of a combat hero, and I thought you wanted to focus more on rescue.”

Uraraka seemed a little embarrassed. “Yeah, well… you saw the Sports Festival. There was nothing I could do against Bakugo. So if fighting is my weakness, I need to remedy it.” She had the same determined look on her face that Izuku had seen the morning Aizawa-sensei told them about the Sports Festival, so Izuku nodded in agreement. It sounded like she had a good plan in place.

--

Iida Tenya’s brother was still alive, but the Hero Ingenium was gone. His encounter with the Hero Killer had left Tensei paralyzed from the waist down, so there was no way he would be able to continue his hero work. When Tenya thought back to how great a hero his brother had been, to see it all fade so suddenly was unacceptable. He would never forgive the Hero Killer for taking Tensei’s hero career away from him. So he wouldn't. Tenya had a plan. He would avenge his brother.

Chapter Text

“Everyone has their costumes, right? Remember you don’t have permission to wear them out in public, and be sure not to lose them. Make sure you’re on your best behavior with the heroes you’re interning under. You’ll be representing U.A., after all. Now, good luck.”

Izuku listened patiently as Aizawa-sensei gave Class 1-A last-minute instructions before they all got on the trains to their internships. And no sooner had Aizawa-sensei dismissed them than Uraraka came up right beside him. “So, where did you end up deciding on?”

“Oh, I’m going to be interning with Manual, in Hosu.” It had been a tough decision, there were a number of appealing opportunities, but Manual was a good all-around hero with a Quirk understated enough that he still needed to be smart. “Aizawa-sensei mentioned that Iida’s interning with him too, which isn’t ideal. I was kinda hoping I wouldn’t be interning with anyone else from our class.” As soon as the words left Izuku’s mouth, he realized how antisocial he sounded. “Not that I’d mind interning alongside you! It's just... you know...” It was just that Iida was one of the more outspoken classmates when it came to Izuku. He said it was unsafe for Izuku to be in the Hero Course.

Uraraka nodded. “Yeah, well, I’m sure he’ll come around. Good luck!” She held out a hand for a fist bump. “We’ve got this!”

--

Izuku hesitantly sat down next to Iida on the train. As much as he wanted to avoid the other boy, he knew it wasn’t feasible to keep that up for the whole week, so he might as well get anything that would happen over with. But as he sat down, something occurred to him. “Why’d you choose to volunteer with Manual? Not that there’s anything wrong with Manual, but you had literally hundreds of offers. The others in the final four are interning with Top Ten Heroes, so what are you doing here?”

Iida paused a moment before answering. “My brother spoke well of him.”

Izuku nodded. “Your brother’s Ingenium, right?” Iida looked at him in surprise, so Izuku clarified. “Your Quirks are pretty similar, and your costume looks a lot like his, so I assumed…”

“You are correct.” Iida’s face turned grave. “My brother was the hero Ingenium. An incredibly noble hero.”

“I heard what happened to him. I’m sorry.” Izuku paused, trying to get at the question he had first thought of. “That was in Hosu, wasn’t it?” Iida just nodded. “It’ll probably be difficult, being in Hosu this whole week.” Unless, of course, Iida chose Hosu specifically to go after the Hero Killer. Which, he seemed smarter than that, but it never hurt to be safe. Izuku would have to keep an eye on him, to make sure he didn’t do anything stupid.

--

It wasn’t far to Manual’s agency from the train station, and the hero in question was waiting for the two of them as they made their way over in silence. “Hello, hero students! I’m really excited to have you both here, it has been a while since I’ve had two interns at once. I think it would be best if we got right into it, we can go over basics on patrol. Change into your hero costumes and meet me back here.”

Izuku nodded excitedly at the Hero’s instructions. This would be his first time wearing his new costume, and he couldn’t wait to see how it did in the field, even if things would probably not get too intense on this patrol.

--

The first day back after the Sports Festival, Izuku had stayed behind after class to make his way over to the Support Course, and he knew he had arrived when a door exploded off of its hinges before him.

As Izuku hurried forward to see what had happened, he heard a familiar voice. “I’m okay!”

“Hatsume?” Izuku peeked into the room to see Hatsume sitting up on the ground, pushed up against a wall, with soot covering her face from whatever experiment had literally blown up in her face.

As she heard his voice, she pulled off her goggles and looked over at him. “Ten-Million? What are you doing here?”

Izuku was slightly concerned over Hatsume’s lack of concern over what had just happened, but he pushed forward. “With internships coming up, I need a new Hero Costume, because my old one was destroyed. I was wondering if you’d be willing to help me design a new one.”

Hatsume’s eyes practically sparkled at Izuku’s request. “Oh, we’re going to make so many wonderful babies together!”

--

Before Hatsume finished working on the suit itself, she had a pair of smaller Support Items that she wanted Izuku to try out. First was a set of what looked like small bugs that whirred to life and started flying as Hatsume pressed a button. “These babies are one of my favorites, but there wasn’t really a good way to show them off during the festival. They’re a set of five flying remote cameras that you’ll be able to control and monitor from your suit, once I’m done with it that is. With their subtlety and a live feed, I don’t you’ll find a better surveillance and reconnaissance baby anywhere!”

Izuku stared at the cameras, already thinking of a million different ways he could use them. “Yeah, that sounds useful.”

Hatsume grinned. “Thanks! Now try these on!” She handed Izuku a pair of bracers, the edge of which went just past Izuku’s knuckles as he tried them on. “Before I explain what these babies do, I think actions speak louder than words.” She gestured toward a punching bag. “Give it your best shot!”

Izuku stanced up and swung at the punching bag as hard as he could, causing it to swing up and slam into the ceiling before coming back down and slamming into him, knocking him down. Even before getting up, he stared at the bracer in amazement. “That was amazing, how did that work?”

Hatsume grinned at the praise. “Well, when you punch something, the edge of the bracer goes back slightly, triggering it to shoot right back forward with around 10,000 Newtons of force, drastically increasing your punching power! I figured that since you don’t have a Quirk, you could use a little extra oomph in a fight.”

Izuku froze at the end of Hatsume’s explanation. “You know I’m Quirkless?”

Hatsume just stared blankly at him. “Yeah.”

It didn’t seem like Hatsume had anything else to say, so Izuku decided not to push it. “Well, these look super useful! Do any of them have names yet?”

Hatsume thought for a moment. “Well, there are things that I’ve been calling them, but if you’re the one who’s going to be using them, you can call them whatever you want! I hope they come in handy!”

--

On the last day before Izuku had to leave for Internships, Hatsume was finally ready. As Izuku returned to the Support Course workshop, he saw a mannequin covered by a sheet, under which he assumed Hatsume was hiding his new costume. “Alright, Ten-Million, I present to you… the Dekiru Costume Beta, by Hatsume Industries!”

Then she pulled off the tarp dramatically, revealing the costume underneath. It was green, just like his previous costume, albeit a slightly darker shade. Breaking up the color a little bit was a long white cape attached to the shoulders. The chest received some light body armor, and the bracers Hatsume had shown him earlier covered the forearms. The helmet somewhat resembled a motorcycle helmet, albeit with ear-like antennas attached to either side, and the area underneath the visor was colored with alternating grey and white stripes, almost like a smile.

As Izuku looked over the costume, Hatsume began her explanation of it. “The whole suit is somewhat slash-resistant, but I didn’t want to sacrifice mobility too much, so don’t rely on anything other than the armor plates to take a hit for you. Also while you can block with your bracers, keep in mind that if they get hit too hard, the mechanism that increases your punch strength will break. I know you said you wanted a cape, so I made sure to make it fireproof and, more importantly, detachable so that it doesn’t get in your way during a fight. The helmet has an air filtration system and is connected to the cameras I showed you earlier. So, what do you think of my baby?”

Izuku thought for a moment. “It looks really good, the only thing I’m wondering is with the helmet. I want this suit to be something that can put civilians at ease, but if they can’t see my face at all that’ll be a lot harder.”

“Oh, that’s easy!” Hatsume pressed a button on the side of the helmet, causing two semi-circle eyes made of LEDs to appear on the helmet's visor. “You can turn them on and off because, while I’m sure it’ll help make you more approachable to civilians, I doubt it will help you intimidate villains.”

Izuku almost let out a laugh at how friendly the eyes made the costume look. “Thank you, Hatsume. This costume should be perfect.”

“Well of course it is! I made it after all!”

--

The Hero Killer watched the city of Hosu. With his recent attack on Ingenium, the city was crawling with Heroes, scurrying like ants to deal with a spider. But alas, there were too many of them for him to face directly, so he would need to be careful in how he proceeded. As he considered his plan, there was a strange flow of air behind him. He swung his sword as he turned to face it, only to be confronted with a strange, purple portal. “Hero Killer Stain. We would like to speak to you.”

Stepping through the portal warily, Stain found himself in a dingy bar, faced with some pale-haired boy wearing a hand on his face, and some butler made of smoke. “You must be the League of Villains.” They matched the description of the villains who attacked the USJ, and it also explained why they would want to speak to him. “And you want me to join you.”

Shigaraki chuckled. “You’re quick, aren’t you? Yes, we were hoping that adding someone with so much XP to our party would be helpful.”

“To what end? What are your goals?”

“For now, I really just want to destroy All Might.” The brat let out a laugh. “I like to destroy anything that pisses me off.”

Stain should have expected that they would have nothing to offer him. “It seems you’re the type of person I hate most in this world.” Before the brat could respond to the insult, The Hero Killer moved, pinning Shigaraki to the floor with a knife to his throat. “You’re all power and no conviction. No better than the fake heroes I hunt down. Fake Heroes and petty criminals, all blinded by power. All must be purged.”

But before he could dig into Shigaraki with his knife, the brat grabbed it barehanded, ignoring the blood running down his palm as the blade turned to dust. “Conviction? Maybe I don’t have anything as pretentious as that. But I do know what I want. I want to see All Might fall! And then, while the world is in shock over the death of their precious Symbol of Peace, I’ll destroy them all!” As Shigaraki spoke, The Hero Killer saw something in his eyes. Perhaps it was not true conviction or resolve, but the seed of it was still present.

As Shigaraki swiped for him, The Hero Killer moved back and sheathed his knife. “I see. People always show their true colors on the verge of death. There is something growing inside you, Shigaraki. I wonder, what will it grow into? If I do not like what you become, I will simply kill you then.”

Shigaraki simply stared him down, unfazed by his speech. “Kurogiri. Send him back. I don’t want him anymore.”

Stain smiled. “On that, at least, we can agree. Send me back to Hosu. I still have much work to do there.”

Chapter Text

The patrol itself was relatively uneventful. Manual explained that, with the Hero Killer being sighted nearby, there were far more heroes patrolling Hosu than normal, meaning that villains were doing their best to lay low. But he also explained that this was actually what most of Hero work was like and that serious villain fights only occurred very rarely. It wasn’t long before they all returned to the agency, and Manual told the two interns to go in and change out of their Hero Costumes for the day. But as Midoriya headed in, Tenya chose to hang back. “Aren’t you worried about him being here?”

“Midoriya?” Manual shrugged. “With all the heroes in town, this is probably the safest place he could do his internship.”

“Yes, but…” Tenya wasn’t sure how to directly address his concern. Did Manual perhaps not know? “Do you think it’s safe for him to be doing this at all? After all, he’s… Quirkless.”

“Right.” Manual sighed. “I mean, if your question is if it’s safe for him to become a hero, the answer is no.” Tenya let out a sigh of relief. Good, Manual understood that- “I mean, being a hero isn’t safe. You should know that as much as anyone.”

“Yes, but he doesn’t have a Quirk!”

“My Quirk’s not that impressive either.” Manual put a hand on Iida’s shoulder. “Look, I’m not going to pretend that he’s not fighting an uphill battle. But it sounds like he’s used to having the deck stacked against him.” Manual looked up. “Oh, Midoriya, there you are!”

Iida glanced over to where Midoriya was sheepishly standing in the doorway. How much of that had he overheard? “Um, I was just wondering if there was anything else you needed from us.”

“Nope.” Manual spoke to Midoriya as if his previous conversation hadn’t happened. “Iida here just needs to change out of his hero costume, and then I’ll show the two of you where you’ll be staying for the week!” He patted Tenya on the back to nudge him toward the changing room, and Tenya obliged, faintly hearing him start up a conversation with Midoriya as he left.

--

The last thing that Shoko wanted to do was intern with Endeavor. She had had enough of her old man’s training methods, and she knew that her second-place finish would only incense him further. Being second place was exactly the problem he made her to fix, after all. But she knew better than to turn him down. If she did, he would just make her regret it later.

So she accepted his internship offer, and the first day went exactly as she feared it would. A grueling day of fighting her old man as he shouted at her to use his fire. He didn’t even bother taking her to the agency, using the training gym in their home instead. It meant that he could go all out without anyone seeing. But Shoko refused to use his fire, even against him. Besides, her ice had the benefit of reducing her body temperature, which his fire would raise right back up, so she didn’t need to worry about regulating it.

Not that that one benefit was enough to let her hold her own against the Number Two Hero. And as another round ended with her on the ground, Endeavor walked away in disgust. “I was only planning on going until you used your fire. This could all be over if you just used your fire! But still, you persist in this childish temper tantrum!" He let out a sigh. "No matter. That will be all for today. Tomorrow, we’ll be going to Hosu. Be ready.” As he left, Shoko iced her new bruises in silence.

--

Hitoshi wasn’t sure what he expected from Aizawa’s training, but it hadn’t been this. So far, all he had done was physical conditioning. It had started with a mixed physical exam, which Aizawa explained that he had given to his class on their first day, and that if he scored lowest than their lowest, Aizawa would give up on him then and there. Fortunately, he didn’t fail that, so then Aizawa moved on to more focused exercises. Distance running, push-ups, squats, one after another with precious little time to rest in between.

Part of Hitoshi just wanted to give up; to call out Aizawa for the ridiculous amount of work and leave. But he realized that was probably the point of the exercise. To see if he actually had what it took to be a Hero, or if he was just going to give up at the first hurdle. Well, if Aizawa thought he was going to give up, he didn’t know him.

--

Ochako could not have been happier with her choice of internship. It had only just started, and Gunhead had already taught her so much! Next time something like the USJ happened, she wouldn’t be useless.

Having gone over some basics of hand-to-hand, Gunhead moved on to what she should do against someone who had a knife or similar blade. His first advice was “run,” but given that that wouldn’t usually be an option for a hero, he had also shown her how to neutralize an armed attacker, having her come at him with a prop knife so that he could demonstrate how to pivot out of the way, grab the armed hand, and use the attacker’s own momentum to slam them into the ground, preferably twisting their arm so they dropped the blade before kicking it out of reach.

And then it was her turn to try it out, with Gunhead holding the prop knife and waiting for her to be ready. And even before he attacked, even knowing that this was just training, part of Ochako panicked at the sight of him. The scar on her stomach itched as her eyes were frozen on the knife. She mentally berated herself for her panic. That fear was why she was doing this! And it was a fake knife, so what was she even worried about?

Eventually, she managed to get her fear down enough to nod at Gunhead that she was ready, and while she didn’t get the maneuver right on her first try, she would get it down. She had to.

--

Shigaraki sat quietly in the League of Villains’ bar, mulling over his conversation with the Hero Killer. The bastard obviously thought he was better than him, talking about “conviction” and all that nonsense. It pissed him off. And when something pissed him off, he was allowed to destroy it, right? “Kurogiri. Bring out the Nomus.”

--

The next day, for the sake of variety, Manual had them patrol at night, explaining that that was actually when a majority of crimes were committed. Manual’s explanation turned out to be prophetic, as halfway through their patrol, they saw an explosion in the distance, and followed Manual in rushing toward it, passing crowds of fleeing civilians as they went. When they reached the source of the explosion, Izuku froze. Standing there in the burning square were a trio of Nomus. They didn’t look exactly like the one from the USJ, none of them were quite as big, none of them had beaks, and one of them had wings instead, but they all shared the same exposed brains and blank stares. There was no mistaking it, the League of Villains was here.

Manual turned hurriedly toward his interns. “Dekiru! Tenya! Get back to the agency, this is more than you- Wait, where’s Tenya?”

Izuku looked around him in surprise. Iida had been right there, where could he have gone? It wasn’t like him to ditch responsibility like that. Unless… Unless something had distracted him. And there was only one thing that would do that. Before Izuku could voice his concerns, Manual continued speaking. “Dekiru! Find Tenya and get out of here!”

Izuku didn’t need to be told twice, immediately turning around and running back the way they came. Covering his steps would be a good place to start, but there was no telling how far Iida might have gone since Izuku last saw him. So, tapping a button on his suit, he released the newly named Hawk Eyes to fan out and scout ahead of him, watching all of their feeds in his visor. It was a lot of information to analyze at once, but Iida’s costume was fairly distinctive. As was the Hero Killer’s. He just had to find them before it was too late.

--

When Tenya saw the explosion, he hurried behind Manual to provide any assistance he could. It obviously had nothing to do with the Hero Killer, his methods were far too stealthy for this to have been him, but Tenya was a Hero-in-training. It was his duty to help, regardless.

But then, as he ran, he saw something in an alley. Or, rather, someone. Him. So, letting Manual and Midoriya run ahead, Tenya sprinted towards the Hero Killer, activating his Quirk and readying a powerful kick. But before his attack could connect, the Hero Killer dodged out of the way, knocking Tenya’s helmet off with a swing of his own.

The Hero Killer regarded him coldly. “A child in a suit. What are you doing here?”

Tenya entered a fighting stance, ready to let loose his rage. “It’s you. The Hero Killer. I’ve been looking for you, but I wasn’t sure I’d actually find you. I am-”

“Your eyes burn with vengeance.” The Hero Killer cut him off. “Choose your next words carefully.”

“You listen to me, criminal!” Tenya snapped at the interruption. “I am the brother of an incredible hero who you attacked, who you left crippled and unable to continue as a hero. He was a true hero, and the best older brother anyone could wish for. I am here to stop you because he can’t anymore. I am Ingenium! Remember the name well, monster, for it is the name of the Hero who will defeat you!”

“I see.” As Tenya rushed the Hero Killer again, he simply dodged out of the way, his blade cutting into Tenya’s side. Tenya turned to face him again, swinging again and again, but the Hero Killer continued to simply dodge before planting a kick into Tenya’s chest, knocking him back. And as Tenya regained his footing, the Hero Killer raised his bloody blade to his mouth and licked it. The moment he did so, Tenya felt his entire body lock up, and no matter how much he tried to move, his body would not obey.

Still, Tenya kept pushing, trying to get his body to move. “My brother was incredible! He was a great hero who saved countless lives. He was the whole reason I became a hero! You had no right to take that away from him, and I will never forgive you! I’ll kill you!”

“You disgrace the word Hero.” The Hero Killer punched Tenya directly in the face, breaking his glasses and knocking him onto his back. “Kill me? Shouldn’t you be more worried about saving him?” As the Hero Killer pointed, Iida’s eyes widened as he realized that there was another Hero lying up against the wall, presumably Stain’s intended victim. He hadn’t even seen him. “You were so blinded by your grudge that you didn’t even notice him. Hero should be a title for those who use their power to help others, but here you are, using your Quirk only for yourself, in a selfless desire for revenge. You’re as far from a hero as I can imagine.”

Tenya tried to move as the Hero Killer raised his blade, but his body still wouldn’t obey. It couldn’t end like this! He couldn’t let Tensei down like this! The Hero Killer regarded him coldly. “Goodbye child. May your death bring about a better world.”

But before the blow connected, the Hero Killer glanced to the side and dodged away from something that Tenya couldn’t quite make out, all he could see was some green gas moments later. But then he heard a voice shout out. “Stay away from him!” It… It sounded like Midoriya! Sure enough, moments later Tenya saw his classmate move into his line of view and enter a fighting stance over his still body. “Iida, can you move?”

Tenya tried to shake his head, but even that was beyond him. “No. His Quirk somehow paralyzes you after he cuts you. But, Midoriya, what are you doing here? You’ll get hurt!”

Midoriya didn’t look away from the Hero Killer as he answered. “And you wouldn’t? I might not have a Quirk, but that doesn’t mean I can just stand aside!”

Tenya’s voice grew even more desperate. “Get out of here! This has nothing to do with you!” He had already failed, he couldn’t let Midoriya die for his mistake!

“If you really believe that, then why are you trying to become a hero? Helping people when it’s not your responsibility is what it means to be a hero in the first place!”

Tenya heard a frenzied, maniacal laugh from the Hero Killer. “Finally! A true and worthy Hero! And Quirkless, you say? Hah! Who would’ve guessed that the only Hero to not misuse their power would be the one with no power to begin with! I like you, boy. You have the makings of a great Hero.” He leveled his blade toward Midoriya. “But I have a sworn duty to kill that boy and this so-called pro. I only hope I will not have to kill you to do so.”

Chapter Text

Izuku was putting on a brave face against the Hero Killer, but he didn’t actually have much of a plan. He had subtly sent out his location while the Hero Killer was talking, but he had no idea how long it would take before any sort of backup arrived, or if they would even realize that his location by itself was a distress signal. He would just have to stall for time and protect the two who couldn’t move… By himself. Against a serial killer who had killed over a dozen pros. Easy.

But, if there was anything going for Izuku in this situation, it was that he could afford to fight defensively. Sure enough, the Hero Killer rushed Izuku, swinging his blade down in a wide arc. Izuku raised up both of his arms, catching the blade between his bracers. As the Hero Killer was forced to pull his blade back, Izuku drew back his fist and slammed it into the Hero Killer, his new “Death Arms” increasing the impact enough to send the villain back several steps.

The Hero Killer chuckled as he began circling Izuku. “Not bad, hero.” And then he charged again, going for a stab that Izuku was hard-pressed to avoid, before transitioning it into a slice that scraped across his armored chest. If it weren’t for Izuku’s new costume providing armor, that might’ve been it for him. But before Izuku could try and recover, the Hero Killer pressed his assault, moving in with another swing. Izuku was able to block this one, but as he went to counter, the Hero Killer grabbed his arm and threw him over his shoulder. Izuku rolled to keep off the ground, turning back just in time to block the Hero Killer’s next swing. Izuku quickly stood up, slamming his helmet into the Hero Killer’s jaw.

As the Hero Killer appeared dazed from the blow, Izuku went in for another swing, but he reacted quicker than Izuku had expected, batting Izuku’s arm aside with his sword and drawing a faint trail of blood. Izuku froze, but it was just from panic. The Hero Killer’s Quirk hadn’t come into effect. So if it wasn’t just cutting, what was the trigger? His tongue looked to be larger than normal, could that have something to do with it? Maybe he needed to ingest the blood. Which meant Izuku needed to ensure that he didn’t get a chance.

So Izuku moved onto the offensive, swinging for the Hero Killer, not giving him a moment to move the blade to his mouth. But it wasn’t long at all before Izuku’s aggressive attacks left him open, and the Hero Killer slammed his sword into the side of Izuku’s head. The sword obviously didn’t go through the helmet, but it was with enough force to knock Izuku to the ground. And before he could get up again, he felt his entire body freeze up. “No!” He had to move, he had to get up, he had to save Iida, but his body wouldn't obey!

The Hero Killer walked slowly over to Iida. “That was a worthy attempt, hero. Perhaps someday you’ll be strong enough to bring me in. But as I said, I have a sworn duty to kill these two.” But before he could return to Iida, Izuku felt a very familiar chill in the air, which was all the warning he got before a sheet of ice blanketed the ground. The Hero Killer leaped back as the ice shot up into a massive ramp, sending Izuku, Iida, and the pro-hero tumbling to Todoroki’s feet.

Todoroki looked down at Izuku with a smirk. “You know, you should be more specific with your text next time. I was almost too late. Now, let’s get out of here.”

Izuku sighed. “We can’t. The Hero Killer can paralyze you if he licks your blood, so none of us can move a muscle.”

Todoroki nodded, glancing back at the glacier creating a wall between her and the Hero Killer. “Well then, I can at least get you all out into the street.”

But as she went over to pick Izuku up, Izuku saw something. “Todoroki, look out!”

The Hero Killer had somehow gotten over the top of Todoroki’s glacier, and now he was sliding down it, sword drawn. “Blocking your own line of vision against an opponent who’s faster than you. Not wise. But I would expect no better from the daughter of Endeavor.” Analyzing the battlefield, Izuku realized the Hero Killer had a point. In a cramped space like this, any attacks Todoroki made would just give the Hero Killer more places to hide. It was terrible terrain for her to be fighting in. Of course, if she used her fire, it would be a completely different story.

Todoroki turned around just in time to create a small pillar of ice, blocking the Hero Killer’s blade. And as the Hero Killer had to reposition, she swung for him, knocking him back. She tried to freeze him, but he just jumped away as she iced the ground.

Then the Hero Killer was on her again, swinging with his blade in one hand and a knife in the other. Todoroki dodged the swings desperately, freezing over her own arm to block an especially close attack.

And then, the Hero Killer stopped. And smiled. “I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised that your power-worshipping father taught you how to fight well. But not well enough to save them.” Todoroki realized too late that the Hero Killer had been maneuvering her away from those she was trying to protect as he turned and charged the paralyzed pro. She went to send out another wave of ice, but she was going to be too late.

Fortunately, Izuku was already moving. He wasn’t sure why he was the first one to be able to break free of the Hero Killer’s Quirk. It could be from a number of factors, blood type, amount of blood consumed, how many people are already affected by the Quirk, and he didn’t have time to figure out why in the middle of a fight. But whatever the reason was, he tackled the Hero Killer before he could reach the pro on the ground. The Hero Killer was on his feet first, but before he could attack Izuku, a wave of ice came up between them.

Izuku nodded at Todoroki in thanks before hurrying to her side. “I also sent Manual my location, so it hopefully shouldn’t be long before the pros arrive. And between the two of us, we might actually be able to hold him off long enough for them to get here.”

Todoroki nodded. “Okay. We can protect them. Together.”

--

Tenya had never been more ashamed than he was now. He had failed his brother. He had become so blinded by his need for revenge that he charged into a fight he couldn’t win, ignoring those who needed his help in the process. As loathe as he was to admit it, the Hero Killer was right. He was no Hero. And now, two of his classmates were risking their lives to get him out of the mess he’d made. Midoriya had literally bled for him! Midoriya, who Tenya had seen as someone who needed protecting, was instead protecting him. What did that make him?

Tenya had a hard time seeing the fight, but it looked like Midoriya and Todoroki were fighting well together. When the Hero Killer tried to attack Midoriya, he left himself open to Todoroki’s ice, and when he went for Todoroki, Midoriya was able to swing with a Support-Item boosted punch.

But all the Hero Killer needed was one opening. So he feinted toward Todoroki and waited for Midoriya to get in close before slicing his leg with one of his knives. Midoriya fell back, and Todoroki’s ice wave wasn’t fast enough to stop the Hero Killer from giving himself enough space to bring the knife to his mouth. And then Todoroki was once again facing him alone, and Tenya knew how it would end.

“You have to run.” There were tears in Tenya’s eyes as he pleaded with Todoroki. “I can’t watch this.”

“Then don’t watch!” Todoroki barely dodged in time as a thrown knife nicked her left cheek. “Stand up, and be a hero!”

Tenya tried to force his body to move, and to his surprise, it obeyed. The Hero Killer’s Quirk had worn off. So he rose to his feet, and as the Hero Killer moved toward Todoroki, he charged, slamming his fist into the villain’s torso as he rushed past Todoroki. Then he quickly moved back to his classmate’s side before the Hero Killer could recover. “Thank you. I needed that push. Now, let’s take him down.”

“No.” Todoroki pointed to the pro on the ground. “You need to get him out of here.”

“What?” Tenya stared at his classmate in shock. “That would be shameful! I can’t just let you be hurt on my behalf!”

Todoroki ignored him, placing herself between him and the Hero Killer. “We’ll be alright. It’s you two that he’s targeting.” She glanced back at him. “Prioritize the rescue, Iida.”

Tenya knew she was right, and perhaps he would have fought her on it under normal circumstances, but he had just had a crisis over not deserving the mantle of Hero. If this was his path to redemption, he would take it. He just had to hope that Todoroki knew what she was doing.

--

Shoko hoped she was right that the Hero Killer wouldn’t kill her, because she didn’t have much fight left in her. She had tried to pace herself, but ice was already forming all over her right side, with the larger chunk she had created on her arm robbing almost all feeling from her fingers. And the Hero Killer wasn’t giving her any time to recover. “I have no quarrel with you personally, but perhaps if I kill you, that will send your father after me. I’ve long wanted to purge that fake.” She sent out a wave of ice to force him back, but the attack was slow, and she knew she wouldn’t hold him off for long like that.

“Todoroki, please, you have to use your fire.” She barely made out Midoriya’s voice from where he was lying on the ground.

And he was right, of course. Not using her old man’s power in training was one thing, but this was a life-or-death fight against a real villain. It was foolish to hold back. And yet, “I can’t. I told you already, I will not use his power. I will not be like him.”

“Then don’t! It’s not his Quirk, it’s yours, and you can use it to be whatever kind of Hero you want to be!”

Shoko froze. She had heard those words before.

“Sweetie, you do still want to be a hero, don’t you?”

Shoko was six years old in the memory, crying in her mother’s arms after another brutal day of training with Endeavor. “I don’t want to be like him! He’s a bully, and he makes you cry, and I don’t want to be like that!”

“You don’t have to be like him.” She gently brushed her daughter’s hair as she spoke. “It’s your life, and it’s your Quirk, so it's your choice. You can be the kind of hero you want to be, and I'm sure that will be the best kind of hero.”

How had she forgotten? It was her Quirk. Even if Shoko used it, it wouldn’t make her him. And she wanted Shoko to use it. As she was processing this revelation, the Hero Killer made use of Shoko’s distraction to get in close, grabbing the front of her costume and pulling her close to try and lick the cut on her cheek. But before he could, Shoko activated her Quirk, her entire left side bursting into flames and forcing the Hero Killer back. Shoko stood there for a moment as her flames radiated off of her. She basked in their unexpected warmth as the ice covering her right side melted and the tears she didn’t know she was shedding turned to steam. The warmth was familiar, but it didn’t remind her of him.

But after a moment she regained her composure, extinguishing her flames and moving into action, sending out another wave of ice at the Hero Killer. He leaped off of it before it could freeze him, but that left him vulnerable in mid-air, and now that Shoko wasn’t holding herself back, she could take advantage of that. She sent out a blast of fire, scorching the Hero Killer and knocking him out of the sky. He collapsed onto the ground, barely dodging the next wave of ice she sent his way. He desperately threw a pair of knives at Shoko to try and disrupt her attacks, but she simply created a wall of ice to stop them. The Hero Killer tried to use it as cover to get in close, swinging toward her left, but he forgot that she was no longer helpless on that side. Shoko dodged the swing and responded by planting her left hand on his chest before unleashing another jet of flame, sending him flying back into the wall.

The Hero Killer staggered to his feet. “I… will not lose… to Endeavor’s brat! You spawn of… a false hero, you will not… defeat me!”

Shoko sent out another wave of ice, and the Hero Killer was too disoriented to even try and dodge as it froze him up to his chest. “Shut up about Endeavor already. I have nothing to do with him.” She was her own hero, with her own Quirk. And she used it to send out a stream of fire, which the Hero Killer was helpless to dodge.

Several seconds later, Shoko stopped her attack, the Hero Killer dropping to the ground as the ice holding him in place melted. And he didn’t get back up.

Chapter Text

As soon as it was clear that the Hero Killer wasn't getting back up, Todoroki collapsed to the ground, breathing heavily. Fortunately, Izuku regained control of his body moments later and rushed to her side. “Todoroki! What’s wrong?”

She didn’t look up at him. “I- I used my fire. What if-” She didn’t finish her sentence.

“It’s okay.” Izuku put a hand on her back. “It’s your power, remember?”

Todoroki looked up just enough to see the Hero Killer lying on the ground. “Did I go overboard? Did I kill him?”

Izuku hurried over to check. Todoroki’s worries were understandable, his burns looked pretty bad. But putting a finger to his neck, Izuku felt a pulse. “He’s still alive.”

Before Todoroki could respond to that, they both heard a number of footsteps making their way towards them. “Quickly, they’re right here!” It was Iida, leading about half a dozen local heroes with him.

“Don’t worry kids! We’re here to-” The heroes looked ready for a fight, but stopped as they saw the Hero Killer’s unconscious body. “No way…” “Did they beat the Hero Killer?”

Izuku nodded and helped Todoroki to her feet, leading her out of the alleyway as the heroes took charge of the Hero Killer. “I know it was difficult, using your fire, but I just want to say that that was amazing. You were amazing.”

Todoroki nodded, her face unreadable. “Thank you, Midoriya.”

--

Fortunately, none of them had been especially injured by the Hero Killer. Tenya’s cut was probably the worst, but all it needed was to be bandaged by a paramedic before a police officer escorted them to the station so that they could give their statements on the attack.

On the ride over, Tenya knew what was coming. He had used his Quirk without a license, and without instruction from a pro, and now he was going to face consequences. And he was ready to, he had disgraced the name of Hero, and he needed to accept whatever punishment that entailed. But Midoriya and Todoroki didn’t deserve to share his fate, all they had done was try to save him.

The three of them were escorted to a soundproofed room where a man in a suit with a dog’s head was waiting for them. “Hello. I am Tsuragame Kenji, Hosu’s chief of police.” Tenya stiffened at the introduction. Their punishment would apparently be coming directly from the top. “I understand that the three of you brought down the Hero Killer. You gave him some serious injuries. He’s in the hospital right now under strict guard, being treated for his burns. And while no one will lose any sleep over him, an explanation must be given for those injuries. You used your Quirks on a living person, and that carries with it a serious punishment.”

“What were we supposed to do?” Todoroki snapped at him, “Just let Iida die?”

The police chief was unfazed by Todoroki’s outburst, and just held up his hand. “I wasn’t finished. Any punishment would only be necessary if this went public. If it was known that you’d help take down the Hero Killer, you’d probably be applauded by the public, but you would also likely never become full-fledged heroes. On the other hand, we could say Endeavor saved the day. Stain’s burns would corroborate the story, and your involvement could be kept secret. I for one have no desire to cut short any promising hero careers, but the choice is yours.”

Tenya thought over the chief’s offer. The rule-follower in him balked at the underhandedness of it, but he also understood that it was the best option. The only option was that his classmates would receive no acclaim for their selfless heroics, but there was no way to accomplish that without them being charged for Improper Quirk Usage. Except… “Sir,” Tenya began tentatively, “Midoriya didn’t use a Quirk.”

The police chief laughed. “And? No one would believe that a Quirkless first year took down the Hero Killer by himself.”

And that was the problem, wasn’t it? No one would believe Midoriya could do it. Everyone, Tenya included, thought that Midoriya was helpless because he was Quirkless. He had just proved them all wrong by facing down the Hero Killer and saving Tenya’s life, but no one would ever know. “Is there no way he can receive some credit?” Tenya bowed deeply before the police chief. “He saved my life, and even if it means I have to face punishment, he deserves to have the world know what he did.”

The police chief thought for a moment before letting out a sigh. “I suppose we could change the story a bit, claim that the two of you were separated from Manual when you stumbled across the Hero Killer. You were quickly immobilized, but Midoriya managed to call for help and hold out long enough for Endeavor to arrive.” He let out a chuckle. “It’s not too far off from what did happen, after all, just the wrong Todoroki. Your willingness to sacrifice yourself is admirable, young Iida, but there is no need for it. I’m excited to see the kind of heroes you all become.” And with that, he shooed them all out of his office.

Once they were standing outside, Tenya realized that Midoriya was staring at him in shock. “Why?”

“Because, you were a true hero today, and you deserve for that to be known.” Tenya looked away. He still couldn’t face Midoriya. “I was demeaning of you for the entire school year. I told you to your face that I didn’t think you had what it took to be a hero. But when I was at my darkest, my least heroic, you risked your life for me. You were hurt because of me. I’m truly sorry. And I hope that this can begin to make up for it.”

--

Endeavor was waiting for Shoko at the police station, so after nodding goodbye to her friends, she turned to go with him. She would have liked to remain silent, her old man had other ideas. “It is insulting to receive credit for a villain I did not actually bring in, but I will bear it to ensure that you do not have to face consequences for your rash decisions.” Shoko wanted to roll her eyes at his “sacrifice”. “Honestly, what were you thinking?”

“I-”

“Never mind.” Endeavor cut her off before she could even begin. “I should not be lecturing you right now. The Hero Killer is currently suffering from severe burns. I should’ve known that a real life-or-death fight would be what it took to make you see reason. I’m proud of you, Shoko. You’ve finally ended your childish tantrum, and are using my Quirk to its full potential.” His mouth curled upward into a smirk. “So, in a way, I suppose I did take down the Hero Killer after all.”

Shoko wanted to object, to tell him that he was wrong, to proclaim that it was her Quirk, not his, to scream that her achievements were her own, and had nothing to do with him, but she didn’t. She knew better than to challenge him. So instead, she silently let him gloat as they returned home.

--

Katsuki was pissed. He had signed up to intern with Best Jeanist, the number four hero, because he assumed that someone so high up the charts would be able to help him get stronger. But instead, the square was just lecturing him on how to “inspire safety” and “put civilians at ease” as if any of that nonsense was important. All that mattered was being the best, and Katsuki didn’t get how Jeanist could get so high on the charts if he didn’t understand that!

And while he was stuck learning how to be a boring extra, Deku was off getting actual action! He had seen the news, and while the stations were more focused on Endeavor for actually bringing the bastard in, he heard them say that Deku had somehow held off a villain responsible for killing over a dozen heroes. Who the hell did that nerd think he was!? And why did things keep going right for him, while Katsuki was facing brick wall after brick wall!? That’s not how things were supposed to be.

--

Yagi wasn’t as surprised as he should have been when he heard of Midoriya’s run-in with the Hero Killer. Leave it to his protégé to have a run-in with one of the most notorious villains in Japan. Still, he’d need to have a talk with that boy about running into dangerous situations without a plan.

Before he could do that, however, he had a meeting with Detective Tsukauchi, who said that there was something about the Hosu Incident that he needed to know. “I’ll cut right to the chase. The apparent cooperation between the League of Villains and the Hero Killer is concerning. It implies a much greater threat level than the League’s previous muscle would have indicated. Not to mention how many villains may be inspired by the Hero Killer's words and join the League after this.”

Yagi nodded. “I understand. Still, we should be able to deal with them, right? Just like we dealt with Stain.”

Tsukauchi sighed. “That wasn’t the only thing I wanted to tell you. We were able to recover the Nomus the League sent out this time. And while Endeavor burned two of them too badly for us to get anything from them, the third was able to confirm your suspicions from the USJ. We found no fewer than four distinct Quirk factors within it.”

All Might’s eyes widened. “Multiple Quirks? That’s- That’s not possible. I didn’t want to believe myself after the USJ, because if that’s true-”

Tsukauchi finished Yagi’s thought for him. “You’re afraid the man who put a hole in your chest is still out there.”

It wasn’t almost like the detective was afraid to say All for One’s name out loud. Yagi couldn’t blame him. It would make the threat that much more real. “For him to have survived the injuries I gave him... I don’t want to think it’s possible.”

Tsukauchi sighed. “You’ll just have to assume it is. This is the reason why I needed to speak with you specifically. Because if he truly has returned, you are our only hope against him.”

--

Returning to U.A. after internships, Izuku was able to hold his head high. Because while most of the news coverage was focused on Endeavor’s alleged takedown of the Hero Killer, or on the Hero Killer himself, his involvement was also known. Everyone knew that the Quirkless U.A. student they had called useless only weeks ago had held his own against a serial killer who had killed over a dozen pros. It wasn’t enough, most people were still calling his survival luck, but it was a step. He had shown the world that being Quirkless didn’t mean he was useless. So, as he returned to U.A., he held his head high.

When Izuku made it to class, he was almost immediately swarmed by classmates who wanted to know everything about his fight with the Hero Killer. But while their enthusiasm was appreciated, it was also a little much. But before he could get too overwhelmed, Iida spoke up. “Everyone, I think we should give Midoriya some space. He’s been through something harrowing, and so he shouldn’t have to talk about it unless he so desires.”

That made everyone return to their seats, and Izuku gave Iida a nod in thanks, to which the other boy just smiled. The next few classes passed fairly normally, with Aizawa-sensei congratulating them all for doing well at their internships.

As lunchtime came, Izuku was unsurprised to notice Uraraka sidle up next to him. “So, how was your internship?”

Izuku chuckled at how obvious it was what she was actually asking. “It was pretty cool. I fought the Hero Killer.”

Uraraka elbowed him in the side. “Really? I hadn’t heard.” Her voice turned serious. “But really, when I heard, I was worried. I’m glad you’re alright.”

Izuku sighed. “Thanks. I’m glad too. I wasn’t sure everyone would be.”

They dropped the topic of conversation as they entered the cafeteria. Izuku didn’t want to accidentally say anything that he wasn’t supposed to. Izuku saw Shinso sitting by himself again, so he and Uraraka made their way there. “Shinso! How was your internship?”

Shinso looked up in surprise as they approached, but then gave a smile. “It went well. Aizawa-sensei said he’d keep training me, so all of you in Class 1-A better watch out. If you’re not giving it your absolute best, I’m right there to take your spot.”

Izuku laughed at his friend’s challenge. “Best of luck to you.”

Not long after Izuku and Uraraka sat down, Iida came by as well. “Would it be alright if I joined you?”

“Sure.” Izuku was surprised. He had eventually rationalized Iida helping him get credit as being in return for Izuku saving his life, but Izuku had figured that, now that they were even, that was over. But if that wasn’t the case… “Go right ahead.”

Iida sat down, either ignoring or not noticing the searching glare that Uraraka leveled at him. But before he could get settled, they all heard someone shouting and hurrying toward them. “Ten-Million! Ten-Million!” Hatsume ran over to the table, almost spilling everything from her tray as she did so. “I heard what happened! How’d my babies do? Did they work?”

Izuku did his very best to keep a straight face at her enthusiasm. “Yes. I wouldn’t have made it without them.”

Hatsume pumped her fist in the air. “Awesome!” Then she sat down with the rest of them. “Tell me everything!”

Izuku legally couldn’t tell her everything, but he still tried to give her a sense of how her designs had held up in the field. He was about halfway through his explanation when he heard another voice. “May I sit here as well?” It was Todoroki.

If Todoroki wanted to socialize, Izuku definitely wasn’t going to stop her. “Of course! Come on!” As Todoroki took her seat, Izuku looked around him. With Todoroki joining them, the table was full. Full of people who he liked, and who liked him. Even though he was-

“Dekiru?” Izuku snapped out of his thoughts to realize that Uraraka was looking at him with concern. “Are you alright?”

“Yeah.” Izuku wiped his eyes with his sleeve to stop the tears that were forming there. “Yeah, I’m good.” And he was. He wasn’t sure if he’d ever been better.

--

Chapter Text

A week had passed since Class 1-A had returned from their internships, and Ochako still wasn’t sure what Iida was doing. He ate lunch with them most days, and he seemed almost… friendly with Dekiru. Dekiru didn’t seem to suspect anything, but Ochako was worried that it wasn't as innocent as it seemed. Iida had always been one of the classmates most vocal against Dekiru being in the Hero Course after all, and Ochako still remembered his callous response to Dekiru being injured during the Battle Trial.

But whatever his motive was, there was only one way for Ochako to figure it out. So, as Class 1-A was dismissed for the day, she pulled Iida aside. “Why are you doing this?”

Iida’s face scrunched up in confusion. “What do you mean?”

“I know you don’t think Dekiru should be in the Hero Course, so why are you acting so friendly with him now?” Ochako wasn’t one to beat around the bush, so she figured that the best way to find out what he was up to was to tell him that she was on to him.

Iida’s expression turned serious at her accusation. “I apologize for my behavior at the beginning of the semester. It was foolish, and misguided, and cruel, unworthy of the heroism I aspire to. I recognize that, as Midoriya’s friend, you are right to be wary of me after what I’ve done, so all I can say is that I am sorry.” He paused for a moment before continuing. “During the attack on Hosu, Midoriya saved my life. So not only am I grateful for that, but it also made me realize just how wrong about him I was. So once again, I am sorry, and I hope to do whatever I can to atone for my mistake.”

Without another word, Iida turned to go, leaving Ochako to think over what he said. He seemed genuine, but she wasn’t overly confident about her ability to read someone as reserved as Iida. Part of her wanted to trust him, but she also wasn’t about to let him hurt Dekiru if it turned out she was wrong about him.

--

Shoko wasn’t sure what to make of Shinso. He rarely spoke during lunch, and if she didn’t know any better, it would’ve seemed like he didn’t want to be there. But she knew Midoriya, and how tenacious his offers of friendship could be, so she wasn’t surprised by his inclusion in Midoriya’s group. But what did surprise her was when he came up to her as they left the cafeteria one day. “I’m sorry about the Sports Festival. I shouldn’t have brought your dad into it.”

Shoko thought for a moment, but then shrugged off his apology. “It was… tactical. Your Quirk requires a verbal response, so you tried to play on my emotions to get me to respond.” Hitoshi was about to respond when she continued. “What you said was inaccurate, of course, but there’s no way you could have known that.”

Shinso looked away, seemingly embarrassed. “About that… I did know I was wrong. That’s actually what I wanted to apologize for. I accidentally eavesdropped on your conversation with Midoriya.”

Shoko froze. “What?”

Shinso started trying to explain himself, that he hadn’t expected them to talk about something so personal, but Shoko barely heard him. All she could think of was that he knew. No one was supposed to know, she had no idea what would happen if the news got out, telling Midoriya had already been a mistake even if it had worked out in the end, but now Shinso knew, and he had already tried to use that information to his advantage, what if he decided to use it for something else?

Shoko snapped out of her spiral long enough to grab Shinso and pull him into a less crowded hallway. “Who have you told?”

Shinso initially looked panicked as she pulled him off suddenly, but then his expression shifted to one of confusion. “No one, why would I tell anyone?”

Shoko scanned his face for any sign that he was lying, but she didn’t see anything, so she let a brief wave of relief wash over her. Good, the situation was still salvageable. But first… “Why are you telling me this now?”

Shinso still seemed confused. “I just thought that you should know that I know. I wanted to tell you earlier, but you seemed a little intimidating, so I was still working up the courage." Shoko let him go, satisfied with his answered, but he wasn't done. "Look, I- I’ve been in a few terrible living situations, but yours sounds like it takes the cake. So, if you need anything, if there’s anything I can do to help, just let me know.”

“Thank you, but I’m fine.” With that, Shoko walked away. She appreciated that he hadn’t told anyone what he had heard, but she doubted his offer of help was anything beyond politeness. Besides, she didn’t need his help.

--

“Alright newbies, today we’ll be doing something a little different! As much attention as fighting villains gets on the media, actually getting to the villains is even more important. So today you’ll be working on speed. You’ll be split into groups of five based on your seat number and then run a kilometer around the track. You can use your Quirk in any way you can as long as you don’t interfere with anyone running with you. Heroes need to be careful about collateral after all! Once everyone’s run, you’ll have some time to workshop some alternative ways of moving, and then we’ll close class by repeating the kilometer runs. Any questions? No? Alright then! Aoyama, Ashido, Asui, Iida, and Uraraka, you’re up first!”

Izuku was glad he brought his notebook for this Heroics Class. As exciting as fights were, All Might was right that being able to get to a situation quickly was just as important, if not more so. Plus, this would be the perfect opportunity to watch all his classmates use their Quirks in new ways and see if any of them had come up with new ideas since Aizawa-sensei’s Quirk Assessment test. If he was lucky, he might even be able to give some suggestions to his classmates on other ways that they might be able to use their Quirks to speed up.

After watching everyone go, and making a respectable time himself, the main suggestion that Izuku had was for Todoroki. She was using her ice Quirk to freeze the ground and slide along it, just like she had during the Sports Festival. It was effective, but Izuku could see a way for her to go even faster. “Hey, Todoroki! Can I ask you a question?” She nodded, so he continued. “When you’re sliding, do you think you’d be able to use your fire to propel yourself like with a rocket engine?” He stretched his arm out behind him to demonstrate what he was thinking of.

Todoroki thought for a moment, glancing down at her left hand. “That may be possible, but I don’t think I can.”

“Why not?”

“It’s still… difficult to use my left side.” Izuku opened his mouth to protest, but Todoroki cut him off. “I know it’s my Quirk, I know I already used it, but that was a special circumstance. And you saw how much it affected me afterward. I’ll use it if I have to, but I don’t think I can bring myself to do that just for training. I’m still too… unsure.”

Izuku nodded in understanding. It was a shame that Todoroki was still holding herself back, but he wouldn’t push. She needed time to figure some things out.

--

Shota had to begrudgingly admit that Yagi was getting better at teaching. He still wasn’t necessarily qualified, but he had shown a lot more humility about his shortcomings than Shota had expected from the Number One Hero. He hadn’t hesitated to ask his coworkers for advice, especially after the mild fiasco that was the Battle Trial on the first day. And not only did he ask for advice, he actually took it. Today’s exercise was one of Shota’s suggestions: a continuation of the Quirk Assessment test to ensure the students would know how to use their Quirks in a variety of ways, or know the things that they wouldn’t be able to rely on their Quirks for. And Yagi was managing them well, walking among them during the workshopping section to give his opinion on what they were working on or offering some recommendations of his own.

As the lesson ended and Class 1-A was dismissed, Shota waited for Yagi to head out, walking up beside him as the other teacher released his Quirk to go back into his weakened form. “You’re doing well.”

Yagi startled, seemingly not realizing that Shota had come up behind him. “Oh, well, thank you. You don’t seem like one to give out empty praise, so that means a lot.” They walked in silence for a moment before Yagi spoke again. “Young Midoriya’s doing quite well.”

Shota rolled his eyes. “You could at least pretend to be impartial.” Despite himself, Shota smiled. “But you’re right. He’s risen to the challenge of U.A. admirably. And he seems to be getting along well with a few of his classmates, which was a very real concern.”

Yagi nodded, seemingly lost in thought, but then he spoke up again. “I’m worried.”

Shota wasn’t all that surprised by Yagi’s sudden declaration. “About the League?”

“The Nomus, with their multiple Quirks, shouldn’t be possible. However they managed that is worrying enough on its own. But now with Stain, they’re going to be an even more appealing group to the underworld. And our students have already had to fight them twice. It’s worked out for them so far, but…”

“But nothing.” Shota cut him off. “We’ll keep our students safe. The League’s surprised us before, but next time, we’ll be ready.” The irony that he was the one reassuring the Symbol of Peace wasn't lost on Shota.

--

Dabi was incredibly underwhelmed. Giran had said that the time had come for him and a few like-minded villains to finally meet the League of Villains, but the other like-minded villains turned out to be a high-school-aged girl with vampire fangs and a spindly middle schooler still in his uniform. Hardly what he was hoping for from villains inspired by Stain.

The middle schooler at least had the decency to wait in silence, but the girl wouldn’t stop pestering him with questions and rambling about how much she loved Stain. Dabi was tempted to just kill her to get her to shut up, but before he could, he noticed Giran finally come up to the meeting place. “Ah, there you all are! I trust you’ve all been getting along in my absence?” Dabi scoffed at the question, but it seemed that Giran chose to ignore that. “I’m sure you’re all excited to meet Stain’s co-conspirators, so I won’t waste your time.” He gestured beside him, and a purple, misty portal appeared. “They’re right through here, and they’re excited to meet you too.”

The girl practically skipped through the portal, and the middle schooler quickly followed behind her, but Dabi hung back a moment to glare at Giran. “You know, when I came to you, I was hoping I’d end up working with some higher caliber villains than these children.”

Giran laughed off his concern. “C’mon Dabi, you should know better than to judge by appearances. Girl’s got a higher body count than you, and the kid… let’s just say his Quirk’ll be sure to cause some chaos. Besides, you wanna get back at the heroes, right? You shouldn’t be too picky about who gets you that revenge.” As much as Dabi hated to admit it, Giran was right about that much. Beggers couldn't be choosers. Giran gave a sly smile as he saw Dabi resign himself to working with them. “See? I know what I’m doing. Oh, before we head in,” he fished out a cigarette as he spoke, “You got a light?”

Dabi rolled his eyes at the question, but he nevertheless extended a single finger and allowed blue flames to dance across it, lighting Giran’s cigarette before following him through the portal.

Chapter Text

“Alright everyone, there’s only one week left until your final exams begin. As a reminder, anyone who fails their finals will not be going to the Summer Training Camp, so prepare accordingly if you want to attend.”

Izuku nodded excitedly at Aizawa-sensei’s reminder at the end of class. Before the start of the second semester, U.A.’s first years would be taking a test to get their Provisional Licenses, allowing them to use their Quirks and do Hero work in emergencies. Most schools only had students attempt the test in their second year, so to make up for that lost time, U.A. was having a week-long training camp for the first-year students, classes A and B. And for Izuku, that training camp couldn’t come soon enough.

But it sounded like not everyone shared his enthusiasm. Particularly, Kaminari and Ashido. “I’ve barely even taken notes this semester!” “Between the Sports Festival and the internship, I haven’t had time to read the textbook!”

Izuku was about to offer to help, but Yaoyorozu beat him to it. “Don’t worry you two, I can catch you up to speed on the important topics!” Once the offer was out there, several more of their classmates also chimed in with requests for help, so Yaoyorozu invited them all to her residence so that they could spend a day preparing for finals.

As Yaoyorozu started to excitedly prepare for the study session, Uraraka came up beside Izuku. “We should probably do something like that. Have a study group, I mean. You and Todoroki are some of the top scorers in the class, Shinso and Hatsumei should have about the same curriculum as we do, it could be good.”

Izuku lit up at the idea. “That sounds great! I’m sure Iida would love to join in as well.” Izuku hurried over to tell Iida the plan, and then to track down Hatusmei and Shinso to do the same.

--

Shinso and Hatsumei did have the same finals to prepare for as Class 1-A, so after some planning, it was decided that they’d all have a study meeting at Ochako’s apartment, since it was closest to U.A., and the fact that Ochako lived alone meant that they wouldn’t be bothering anyone. Of course, volunteering her house as the meet-up spot involved a lot of projecting confidence on Uraraka’s part. Her apartment was incredibly bare-bones, the cheapest that she could find, and the main room, (she hesitated to even call it a living room) was barely big enough for everyone to meet together. It was certainly a far cry from Yaoyorozu’s mansion where the other study group would be meeting. Still, it made the most sense for everyone to meet somewhere close to the school, and she didn't want to bother anyone's parents. Besides, Dekiru already knew about her situation, she just had to hope that no one else would mind.

Iida was the first to arrive, almost ten minutes before the agreed-upon meeting time. “Thank you for inviting me into your home, Uraraka. I have brought refreshments, as it is important to make sure the body is taken care of while studying as well!” Ochako had honestly expected him to be early, but it didn’t mean she was any more ready to make small talk with Iida when she still wasn’t sure if she could trust him. The snacks were appreciated though.

Fortunately, it wasn’t too long before Dekiru showed up, just a few minutes before time. Todoroki was next, almost exactly on the dot. Shinso was a few minutes late, apologizing for the delay. And then they waited for Hatsumei. After about ten minutes, Dekiru suggested texting her to see if she was still coming, to which she responded with a text that she completely forgot, but was on her way now, but they should just start without her. So they did, but it was only about ten more minutes before Hatsumei arrived, nearly breaking the door down with her knocking.

Ochako opened it suprisedly. “That was fast, how close is your house?”

Hatsumei shook her head. “Oh no, I wasn’t home. I was working on my babies at U.A. Completely forgot about this, my bad, I just get so focused bringing my babies to life!”

Dekiru clearly shared Ochako’s confusion. “How were you at U.A.? There isn’t class today.”

Hatsumei looked slightly sheepish. “Don’t tell Majima-Sensei.”

After everyone's shock at the fact that Hatsumei was sneaking onto campus wore down, it wasn’t long before they were able to properly get started. Both Dekiru and Iida clearly understood the material, and they were more than happy to help everyone else understand as well. Todoroki wasn’t as vocal as those two, but it was clear that she was just as ready for exams. Hatsumei was unsurprisingly ahead of all of them in terms of math and science, but she needed a bit more help with everything else. Shinso was a lot closer to Ochako’s level. A level that she hoped was average, and that she was just surrounded by geniuses.

Before Ochako knew it, their time was up. Iida’s phone started going off the moment they got to the end of their assigned time, because of course he had an alarm ready to ensure they were punctual. Everyone left one by one, until the last person who was left was Todoroki. Ochako hadn’t talked to her too much throughout the semester, but she still tried to make some small talk as Todoroki put her shoes on. “This was a lot of fun, I’m glad you could make it!”

Todoroki gave her a nod. “So am I. Endeavor wasn’t too happy when I brought up the idea, but he obviously wants me to excel in my classes, so he couldn’t say no to me spending time working on my schoolwork.” Todoroki turned to the door, but Ochako could just make out a slight smirk on her face. “Of course, I doubt he would be pleased to learn that this didn’t exactly feel like work for me.” She turned back to Ochako. “I enjoyed today as well. Thank you for hosting us.” And with that, she left.

--

Of course, the written exam was only half of what they had to worry about. There was also a practical section to test how far they had progressed with their heroics classes. According to an upperclassman, they’d be fighting the robots from the Entrance Exam again, in order to demonstrate how much they’d improved since then. They’d all need to be in top shape to ensure that they did their best. To that end, Izuku asked Uraraka if she’d be willing to spar with him after class one day. Her Quirk would be an interesting one to go up against, and he was excited to see how her lessons from Gunhead had benefited her.

Starting the spar, the two of them circled each other for a moment, neither of them wanting to make the first move. But then Izuku thought he saw an opening and sent a kick toward Uraraka, but she dodged out of the way. Then she moved in, swiping for him. Izuku instinctively blocked the swipe, but that let her tap his forearm, activating her Quirk on him and leaving him floating helplessly in the air.

Uraraka smiled up at him. “Gotcha.” After making sure he was ready, she dropped her Quirk, letting him tumble back onto the mat. And then they started again.

This time, Uraraka made the first move, and Izuku had the good sense to dodge instead of block. She briefly overextended, so Izuku tried to sweep her legs out from under her to gain a literal upper hand. She rolled with it though, getting back on her feet before Izuku could press his advantage. She had certainly become a lot more skilled since her internship, and the fact that her Quirk let her take Izuku out in a single hit meant that he had to be careful with how he approached her.

Izuku and Uraraka locked eyes as they circled each other, waiting for another opening. And then Izuku thought he saw one, charging forward and feinting left before switching to his right the moment Uraraka committed to defending that side. He elbowed her in the side before coming up behind her and hooking his arms under her shoulders to hold her down. But then she activated her Quirk on herself and jumped, pushing Izuku onto his back as she swung over him and broke free of his grasp. Before Izuku could recover, she tapped her hand on his head, activating her Quirk and taking him out again.

Izuku shook his head, disappointed in himself. “That was a good move.”

Uraraka smiled as she released her Quirk on him. “Thank you.”

Despite his failure, Izuku couldn’t help but smile as the two of them faced each other again. Uraraka’s Quirk was so fascinating to go up against! Sparring against her wasn’t just physically stimulating, it was also intellectually exciting as he had to try and strategize around all the ways she could use it.

Uraraka made the first move again, swiping for Izuku with one hand before swinging around with the other as Izuku tried to move into her blind spot. Izuku was forced to dodge back to avoid instantly losing another round. With how wary Izuku needed to be of Uraraka’s Quirk, it was nearly impossible for him to get a safe opening. Uraraka seemed to be aware of that fact, keeping up her offensive much more aggressively than she had at the start of the spar.

But if Izuku wasn’t going to be given an opening, he’d just have to create his own. So as Izuku dodged Uraraka’s next swing, he grabbed her forearm in place of a counterattack. Uraraka’s Quirk came from her hands, which meant that he needed to take control of those if he wanted to win. Then he pulled Uraraka closer to him, moving the hand he was holding away from his body and grabbing her other wrist as she was caught off guard. And then Izuku hooked his foot around her ankle to throw her off balance before letting himself fall forward, landing on top of her with both his hands holding down her arms. “Gotcha.” He stared down at Uraraka, their faces mere inches away as they both breathed heavily from the exertion of the spar… And then he realized the position he was in. He immediately rolled off of her, looking away so that she couldn’t see the massive blush forming on his face. Which meant that he missed the identical blush forming on hers.

~

Ochako wasn’t sure what to think of her first semester at U.A. To say it was surprising would be a massive understatement. She could never have expected something like the USJ. It had been harrowing, and she had almost wanted to give up on U.A. after it. But she was glad she hadn’t, and not just because she still needed to become a hero to help her parents. It was also because she hadn’t expected to make a friend like Dekiru. Someone who was so obviously meant to be a hero, between his cheerful kindness and his determination to break through any obstacle in his way. Someone who inspired her to be the best version of herself that she could be. With her first semester of training to be a hero nearly behind her, Ochako’s future looked pretty bright. But as excited as she was to see what came next for her, she was just as excited to see what Dekiru accomplished next.

Chapter Text

Koroki hadn’t responded to any of Hitoshi’s texts for over a week. When put that way, it didn’t sound as serious as it felt to Hitoshi, but Koroki was his oldest friend. When Koroki first moved up into middle school, Hitoshi had taken him under his wing, keeping his underclassman safe and forging the only real friendship either of them had. It was just him and Koroki, the two kids with villainous Quirks alone against the world. So Koroki’s sudden radio silence left Hitoshi beyond concerned.

But before he jumped to any conclusions, Hitoshi was going to ask Koroki in person. Which is what led Hitoshi back to a place he had hoped never to return to: Geonis Middle School. But it wasn’t like he actually had to go inside. He just needed to wait outside for Koroki to leave, and then ask what was up. But as the minutes passed, and the crowd of middle schoolers moved past him, he didn’t see Koroki anywhere. So he steeled himself and walked inside.

As he moved through his old middle school, he couldn’t help but pick up on the stares and whispers from the students who still remembered him from the previous year. Fortunately, his U.A. uniform granted him enough legitimacy that none of his old bullies confronted him directly, but it almost felt like he had never left.

It wasn’t long before Hitoshi made it to his destination: the principal’s office. He knocked, but he didn’t wait for a response before opening the door and walking in. Unsurprisingly, the principal was surprised to see him. “Shinso! To what do I owe the… pleasure?”

Hitoshi decided to ignore the obvious sarcasm. “I’m just looking for Koroki.”

“Koro- Ah, of course. I’m sorry to say that I can’t help you there. No one’s seen him for almost two weeks.” The condescending smile on the principal’s face felt out of place with the words he was saying. “Who knows what he’s up to?”

“I- I see.” Hitoshi could hardly believe what he was hearing. That was the worst possible explanation for what had happened to Koroki. While Hitoshi was off at U.A., he had disappeared.

--

Hitoshi had to do something, that much he was sure about. If Koroki was in danger, there was no way that he was just going to sit back and leave his fate in someone else’s hands. But Hitoshi also knew that no one would let him help. Even without his “Villain Quirk” no one would let a fifteen-year-old into a missing person investigation. So whatever he did, he’d have to do on his own. Fortunately, his recent extracurriculars with Aizawa meant that he had all the skills he needed to conduct his own personal investigation. Hitoshi thought back to what Aizawa had taught him…

In my opinion, one of the most underappreciated parts of Hero work is investigation. Most civilians associate it with police rather than heroes, as if it's somehow below a hero to use their brain. But I digress. Investigation is a very important branch of Heroics, and the only way to see if it’s something you’ll focus on in the future is to teach you how it works. So let’s begin. When starting an investigation…

--

The principal said that Koroki had been missing for almost two weeks, so Hitoshi was working with a serious time deficit. But that wasn’t going to stop him from trying.

Unfortunately, he had almost no idea of where to start. All he could think to do was go to Koroki’s house, search his room to see if there was any evidence of what might have happened to him, and apologize for the breach of privacy later.

It was starting to get late by the time Hitoshi made it to Koroki’s apartment building and started climbing up the fire escape. Koroki’s foster parents were overall alright, but Hitoshi wasn’t sure how to convince them to let him go through their foster son’s stuff. So, he went into Koroki’s room the way he usually did: the unlocked window. Fortunately, no one investigating Koroki’s disappearance had realized that the window was left unlocked, so Hitoshi was able to slip right in and get to work.

Hitoshi rooted around for Koroki’s laptop, hoping that he’d be able to find something useful on it. Sure enough, at the top of Koroki’s search history, there was a video. As Hitoshi clicked it open, the video showed a black screen that was then colored by a blood splatter. And then a series of words appeared on the screen: Purge the Hero Stain.

“Oh no.”

--

You’ve mentioned that you would rather become an underground hero than a limelight hero, and part of what that would mean is that you would be patrolling at night. Because, for limelight heroes, daytime patrols make more sense. The bigger, bolder villains usually want an audience, and accidents are more likely to occur when everyone is out and about. But for a hero whose job it is to fight criminals, not flashy villains, you’d have to work at night, because that’s when they’re out as well.

--

Hitoshi was starting to put together what had happened. Koroki had always been cynical of heroes, saying that they were more interested in showing off their power than protecting people, so Stain’s message would appeal to him. So he went looking for someone who could connect him to others who felt the same way, and then he got in over his head and couldn’t get out.

So Hitoshi’s plan to find him was… to repeat his mistake. To follow Koroki’s footsteps until he found someone who knew where Koroki was. So, a few hours after he claimed to go to bed, Hitoshi was out on the streets, looking for trouble.

And it wasn’t long before he found trouble, in the form of a pair of voices coming out of an alley. “So, did he have the stuff?” “Yeah, and if it does what he says it does…”

That sounded suspicious. “Whatcha talking about?”

The pair turned to face him. “None of your business, brat.”

Hitoshi held up his phone. “Is it the cops' business? Because I have them dialed in, all I need to do is press call. So we can talk this out, or we can all talk to them.”

“Alright, brat, here’s what’s going to happen.” Something shot out of the criminal’s hand and slammed into Hitoshi’s wrist, knocking the phone from his hand. “We’re going to teach you to mind your own business.”

--

Currently, I would say that the biggest thing you need to work on is your fighting skills. Your Quirk is powerful, and the tricks I’ve been teaching you are useful, but you can’t always rely on them. There are some situations that you’ll just have to fight your way out of.

--

Hitoshi could probably use his Quirk to get out of this, but he’d rather not get caught for Illegal Quirk Use for these two. So it was time to put Aizawa's fighting tips to good use.

As Hitoshi was analyzing, something else shot out of the first criminal’s hand, an orb about the size of a baseball, but this time Hitoshi was ready to dodge out of the way. But no sooner did he dodge than the other thug was on him swinging a haymaker that Hitoshi ducked under before responding with a punch to the gut. As the thug buckled, Hitoshi turned his attention to the other one, avoiding another ball as he closed the distance. Hitoshi swung for his face, but the man was able to block it, responding by kicking out at Hitoshi. Hitoshi stumbled back, blocking as the thug tried to press his advantage. “You know, we really don’t have to do this.”

As he was focused on the first thug, he didn’t catch the other one coming up behind him until his fist connected with the back of Hitoshi’s head. “Yeah, we do kid.”

Hitoshi’s ears were ringing as he got back to his feet. He had gotten in a bit over his head, but he had an out. Because as the thug loomed over him, Hitoshi could feel his Quirk ready to take hold of him. So as the criminal swung, Hitoshi activated it, dodging the swing with ease before responding with an uppercut to the jaw, going straight for the knockout. Hopefully, the move had been fast enough that the man had no idea Hitoshi had even used his Quirk.

As the thug hit the ground, Hitoshi turned to the other one. He dodged back from a swing, and countered with a kick to the man’s knee. As the thug held his knee in pain, Hitoshi cautiously backed away. “I’ll admit, that 2-v-1 was tough. But now that it’s just you, are you willing to talk this out?”

The man looked over at his fallen companion before nodding. “Alright. What do you want?”

“I’m looking for an information guy. Do you know where I should look?”

The criminal nodded. “Sure, kid. I’ve got a name for you. Giran.”

Hitoshi crossed his arms. “And where do I find this Giran?”

He chuckled. “Oh, don’t worry. He’ll find you.”

Hitoshi rolled his eyes at the threat, but he admitted that it was probably the best he was going to get. He’d just have to make it work.

--

“You’re distracted. What’s going on?”

The next day, Hitoshi was back at training with Aizawa and he was not doing well. The question came as he hit the mat for what felt like the tenth time. It was his lack of sleep the night before that was holding him back more than anything, but he wasn’t about to tell his mentor about his legally dubious outing. “A friend of mine from middle school went missing. I’m worried about him.” He wasn’t sure how much he trusted Aizawa, but he couldn’t see any way that telling him this could backfire.

Aizawa nodded, sitting down on the mat across from Hitoshi. “I see. I’m sorry to hear that.”

He paused, so Hitoshi spoke up. “He’s like me. A kid with a so-called villain Quirk, so I’m just worried that no one’s going to care enough to find him.” That’s why Hitoshi was doing his own investigation after all.

“What’s his name? Your friend.” When Hitoshi looked at him in confusion, Aizawa elaborated. “If I know his name, I can look into his case for you. No guarantees, but if there’s anything I can tell you about what's happening, I will.”

Hitoshi paused, unsure if he wanted to give the name, but he decided that there wasn’t any harm in it. “Koroki. Shirakumo Koroki.” As Hitoshi said the name, Aizawa stared at him as though he had seen a ghost. “What’s wrong?”

Aizawa quickly steeled his expression. “Nothing, the name just… sounded familiar.” He got back to his feet. “I’ll look into your friend for you. But for now, let’s get back to training.” There was clearly a lot more to that than Aizawa was telling him, but Hitoshi knew that there was no way he’d get Aizawa to share what it was, so Hitoshi did as he was told and got back to sparring.

Chapter Text

U.A.’s written exams passed with little difficulty. Izuku felt more than confident in his performance, and even the less academically inclined members of 1-A seemed happy with the results. Uraraka had even thanked him for his help in preparing her for it.

But with the written exams out of the way, all that remained was the practical. 1-A was mostly silent as they put their costumes on, everyone starting to feel nervous over how important the coming test would be. Izuku quickly geared up and hurried to the training ground they’d be using, only to be met with over half of U.A.’s staff. Which didn’t make much sense. If they were just fighting robots, why did so many teachers need to be here?

Before Izuku could find an answer to his question, Aizawa-sensei started speaking. “Remember, everyone, if you want to go to the summer camp, you need to pass the exams, so don’t make any stupid mistakes today. I expect that many of you have asked around and believe you have some idea of what you’ll face today. Unfortunately, the test this year will be completely different.” All of 1-A braced themselves for what exactly that change would entail. “You’ll be split into teams of two to face off against a member of U.A.’s staff.” Izuku looked around at the shocked faces around him, and he shared their concern. Each teacher at U.A. was a competent pro-hero, so even with a 2-v-1, he didn’t like any of their odds. Pushing past his students’ worry, Aizawa-sensei continued. “Your pairings and opponents have already been determined to ensure that this exam properly tests each of you. Each exam will take 30 minutes, and in that time you’ll have to either handcuff your opponent or escape the arena. Sometimes a hero has to know when they’re outmatched and need to regroup.” Izuku felt Aizawa-sensei glance over at him, Iida, and Todoroki as he said this. “Finally, in order to even the playing field, us teachers will be wearing weighted bracelets and anklets to slow us down as a handicap. With all that out of the way, our first match will be Bakugo and Todoroki against me.”

--

A week before 1-A had their final exams, the teachers of U.A. held a meeting for Shota to reveal what would be happening in the exam, as well as his reasoning for the different pairings and matchups. “I’ll start with my own match. Todoroki and Bakugo both have the most raw power that I’ve ever taught at U.A., so I feel that the best way to test them would be to take that power away.”

Nezu looked over the packet of matchups that Shota had prepared. “That certainly makes sense. One question, you’ve chosen the neighborhood area. I think it would be quite easy for them to slip away from you and escape.”

Shota nodded at the critique. “True, but if Bakugo actually tried to escape, I would be shocked. He’s demonstrated a hyperfocus on fighting and proving he’s the strongest, so I expect him to try and fight me instead of running. As for Todoroki, she started this semester clearly overconfident in her Quirk. If she is able to acknowledge when she’s outmatched now, that still demonstrates that she’s grown over the course of the semester.”

Nezu nodded in understanding. “Very well. Good luck, Aizawa.”

--

Katsuki wasn’t sure what U.A. was playing at having escape count as passing. A hero’s job was to fight villains, not run away from them. So that’s what Katsuki was going to do: fight. Half-and-Half was saying something about how they should try and avoid fighting, but he didn’t need her help anyways, so he rocketed into the sky to track down their hobo teacher.

It wasn’t long before Katsuki found him swinging his way across the rooftops. Katsuki immediately rocketed toward him, an explosion sparking in his outstretched hand, only for it to fizzle out as his teacher looked towards him, his eyes flashing red. Katsuki landed roughly on the rooftop as his Quirk was canceled, but he immediately got back to his feet. He wasn’t about to let his teacher’s stupid gimmick power beat him. Katsuki swung for him, but his teacher just dodged each blow, not even countering, almost like he was toying with Katsuki. But Katsuki could bear the taunt, because all he had to do was wait for his opponent to blink for his Quirk to come back. He stared his opponent right in the face, and the moment he started to blink, Katsuki was ready, swinging forward with a right hook that exploded the moment that Katsuki felt his Quirk return to him “Die!”

But before the blow could connect, his teacher grabbed Katsuki’s arm and pulled it aside, causing the explosion to harmlessly hit the air. Then the hobo threw Katsuki bodily off the roof, and Katsuki barely had enough time to use his Quirk to slow his fall before it was nullified again.

His teacher landed in front of him but didn’t move to attack. “Discretion is the better part of valor, kid. Are you sure you want to do this?”

“If you think your damn tricks can take me down, you-” The hobo didn’t even let Katsuki finish, rushing forward and using his capture scarf to pin Katsuki’s arms behind him before he could even react. Katsuki struggled against the bonds, waiting for his Quirk to come back. “If you think this is enough to hold me-”

“I’d be careful breaking that if I were you.” His teacher cut him off again. “If you use your Quirk with your arms angled the way they are, you’ll hit yourself pretty hard.” And with that, the teacher looped his scarf around a light pole and started hoisting Katsuki up it. “Now, where did Todoroki get off to?”

The moment the man’s back was turned and Katsuki could feel his Quirk again, he activated it, ignoring the pain as it singed his back alongside the bindings. “We’re not done!” He landed hard on the floor. “I’m not losing to you. I don’t lose!” Then he rushed the hobo again, but the man dodged his swing before responding with a chop to the neck, and Katsuki was out before he hit the ground.

--

Obviously, Izuku knew that Aizawa-sensei was skilled, but part of him was still surprised to see Kacchan go down like that. Without his Quirk, there was nothing he could do against Aizawa-sensei. At least he gave Todoroki enough time to reach the exit and pass the exam. As Todoroki passed the threshold, Nezu’s voice called out over the speakers. “Todoroki has passed the exam! Next up: Uraraka Ochako and Sero Hanta vs. Vlad King!”

--

“The next fight I have planned is Uraraka and Sero against Vlad King.”

Shota glanced over at 1-B’s homeroom teacher as he took a closer look at the packet. “Alright, I remember those two a little bit from the Sports Festival, what makes me a counter to them?”

“Well, between Sero’s tape and Uraraka’s five-point activation requirement, both of their Quirks require something to latch onto. Your blood constructs should keep them from easily affecting you.”

Vlad King nodded as Shota finished his explanation. “And the location? The fake mall seems like it would give them a lot of other things to activate their Quirks on.”

Shota waved away the critique. “This isn’t supposed to be a hopeless fight, Vlad. If the two of them find a creative way to use their Quirks with the environment, that’s good.”

Vlad King put away the packet. “Alright, just don’t expect me to go easy on your kids.”

Shota rolled his eyes. Vlad King was always trying to start a rivalry between them over their classes’ performance. “I wouldn’t dream of it.”

--

Ochako wasn’t sure what the goal of this test was. Hers and Sero’s Quirks were pretty different, so she had no idea how the teacher was going to challenge both of them. It seemed that Sero was trying to figure it out too. “You have any idea what Vlad King’s Quirk is?”

Ochako shook her head. “It’s something to do with blood, but that’s all I know. Dekiru would probably know it.”

Sero rolled his eyes. “Yeah, but he wouldn’t be much help in the fight.” He wilted slightly from the glare Ochako sent at him. “I’m just saying! He-”

“He fought Stain.” Ochako cut him off “I think he can handle himself in a fight.”

“Let’s just table this for now. We have an exam to pass.” Ochako at least agreed with Sero about that. She wouldn’t be forgetting this conversation any time soon, but she followed him through the arena.

It wasn’t long before they found Vlad King. He was waiting for them, standing out in the open in front of the exit. Sero tried to take advantage of that by shooting out a string of tape from both his arms, trying to wrap the teacher up, but before they reached him Vlad King created a barrier of solid blood to block them. “Nice try, herolings, but I won’t go down to cheap tricks like that!”

Ochako realized that Vlad’s blood shield would make it difficult for either of their Quirks to be much use against him, but she couldn’t immediately think of a way around it, so she charged forward to try some trial and error. Sero backed her up, flanking left as she went right. Ochako swiped for the teacher, but he created a blood shield to block the swing, and sent her back with a punch to the gut in response. Sero tried to capitalize by sending out more tape, and he did manage to wrap the strands around Vlad King’s wrists, but that’s where the blood came out of, so the strands of tape were immediately torn off as the blood exploded out. Then he charged Sero, who let out an undignified shriek as Vlad King knocked him into the wall, creating another blood construct to pin him there as well.

Ochako tried to analyze her options as Vlad King turned back to face her. As unusual as Vlad King’s Quirk was, he still needed to get close to use it, so her Quirk would be able to take him out if she could just get it to activate. But attacking him directly wouldn’t work, she needed some sort of distraction. What did she have to work with? Right next to her was a bench that didn’t look like it was connected to the floor, and Sero still had one arm free… She could work with that.

Ochako locked eyes with Sero, and gestured toward the bench slightly with her head, hoping he would understand what she was telling him. Then she returned to her feet, using the bench to help herself up and subtly activating her Quirk on it as she did so. Then she charged Vlad King again, not fully committing to her attacks so that she was ready to dodge out of any of his counters’ reach. Because she was the distraction, and it wasn’t long before she had maneuvered Vlad King so that neither the bench nor Sero were in his field of view. That meant that when Sero sent out a strand of tape to wrap it around the bench, Vlad King didn’t notice until the bench slammed into his back. The bench being weightless made it easier to swing around, but it still had mass, so it easily knocked Vlad King on his face, giving Ochako more than enough opportunity to tap him on his head, activate her Quirk, and then get out of his range.

And then she had to decide how to decide what to do next. Vlad King couldn’t move, but trying to get the cuffs on him could still be a little tricky, and the exit was right there… “Sorry to leave you both like this, but I’ve got to go.” Ochako ran for the exit, leaving the trapped Sero and Vlad King behind her. And if leaving Sero pinned to the wall felt like payback, no one knew to judge her for it.

Chapter Text

The staff meeting to go through 1-A’s final matchups was making good time, Shota was hopeful he’d have time for a nap afterward. “Now then, onto the next match.”

“This is young Midoriya’s match, isn’t it?” Shota rolled his eyes at Yagi’s blatant favoritism.

“That’s right. Yaoyorozu and Midoriya will be going up against Ectoplasm. I will admit that this was a tricky one to plan out. Between Midoriya’s talent for strategy and Yaoyorozu’s practically infinite variety from her Quirk, I fully believe that the two of them could take down anyone at this table once. But that’s where Ectoplasm comes in. With all of your clones, you can wear them down, exhaust all their tricks, and back them into a corner where they’ll really have to push themselves to get out of it. I chose the apartment complex for this fight. Narrow corridors and stairways, and I’d like for Cementos to seal off the windows so they can’t escape that way. I expect the two of them to surprise me, but I’m not sure how they’ll come out on top here.”

--

Izuku wasn’t sure how he was going to come out on top here. Even though he hadn’t been told which Hero he would be fighting, or who he’d be fighting them with, he had been strategizing since Aizawa-sensei explained the rules of the exam. And in that strategizing, Ectoplasm was one of the Heroes he was most worried about. The only way he could think of to reliably beat Ectoplasm would be to have a partner who could simply power through the clones, but that solution was too obvious for Aizawa-sensei to set up the teams in a way that that would be possible.

Sure enough, he was paired up with Yaoyorozu. Her Quirk was certainly powerful, but Izuku had very little specifics on how it worked. What were its limits? Was it based on size, complexity, number of things she created? Did it have limits? He had never gotten a good opportunity to ask Yaoyorozu these questions, so he asked them now. It turned out that she used her lipids to create things, so larger creations could exhaust her very quickly. And she needed to know the atomic structure of whatever it was she created, though that only made her vast arsenal even more impressive.

The two of them were told to start the exam on the top floor of the apartment complex, so Izuku tried to strategize on the way up. “Between your Quirk draining your stamina and my limited-use Support Items, obviously contrasted with Ectoplasm’s ability to clone himself, we’re all but guaranteed to lose a war of attrition. When we make our move, we’ll need to press on until the end.” The building they were in had two staircases on opposite ends of the hallway, and it looked like Cementoss had sealed up the staircases so that they’d have to switch staircases each floor instead of taking one all the way down, which would drastically increase the amount of space they’d need to fight their way through. “That might actually be the point of this exam. Both of our styles favor approaching problems indirectly, so we’ve been given something to push directly through.”

Yaoyorozu nodded along. “That makes sense. I will follow your lead.” She seemed sad about something, but Izuku didn’t know how to ask about it, so he didn’t.

Instead, he got himself ready, so that the moment the start of the exercise was announced, he was off. Assuming that Ectoplasm started at the bottom, the further Izuku could get before running into his clones, the less space the two of them would have to fight through. And sure enough, he made it all the way down to the third floor before he saw a group of Ectoplasm clones rushing toward him. Izuku didn’t particularly like his odds in a fair fight against a Pro Hero, so he reached into his pack and threw a pair of Present Mic Patches into the swarm of approaching Ectoplasms. Normally he’d like to stick them to the wall before activating them, but given how crowded the hallway ahead of him was, he didn’t need to be too precise. Sure enough, the patches activated, disorienting the Ectoplasms enough for Izuku to get in and start taking the clones down, each one turning into goop and dissipating after a hit from Izuku’s Death Arms.

Once the patches turned off, the clones pushed forward again, forcing Izuku onto the back foot until he saw a matryoshka doll thrown out from behind him go into the crowd of Ectoplasms. Yaoyorozu’s warning of “Look out!” gave Izuku just enough warning to close his eyes as the doll opened up to reveal a flashbang, which went off and once again gave Izuku the opening he needed to push forward.

So they kept pushing, Izuku taking point with Yaoyorozu’s Quirk and his Support Items granting the openings needed for progress. They managed to fight their way to the next staircase, Izuku throwing down a swarm of Midnight Marbles to clear the staircase in advance. It turned out that even Ectoplasm’s clones needed to breathe.

Izuku and Yaoyorozu had even almost made it through the second floor and onto the final staircase, when a shout of surprise from Yaoyorozu forced Izuku’s attention back. More Ectoplasms had emerged from the apartments they had passed, so now he and Yaoyorozu were being attacked from both sides. It was a clever move from their opponent, albeit one that Izuku should have anticipated. But even if he had seen it coming, Izuku wasn’t sure how he could have countered it, and as he was strategizing that, one of the Ectoplasms took advantage of his distraction and landed a kick to the side of his head, knocking him back until he was almost back-to-back with Yaoyorozu.

As the Ectoplasms closed in, Izuku tried to think of a solution, but all he could think of was that he needed more time. So he threw another Midnight Marble at the Ectoplasms in front of him before grabbing Yaoyorozu’s arm and pulling her into one of the rooms, hoping that there weren’t any more Ectoplasms inside. Fortunately, there weren’t, so Izuku slammed the door and pressed his weight against it to try and stop the Ectoplasms from breaking through.

“Here, let me get that.” Yaoyorozu approached with a barricade that she had created, and attached it to the door, allowing both of them a moment to breathe. “I’m sorry I haven’t been of more assistance.”

Izuku shook his head. “No, you’ve done a great job of covering my back, I just underestimated how many clones we’d have to push through.” Now that he had a moment to think, Izuku took stock of what he had to work with, grimacing as he checked his Support Items. “That’s not good, I’m almost out of Support Items.”

Yaoyorozu was quick to offer assistance. “I can probably create more for you.” Izuku almost missed the next part, muttered under her breath as it was. “At least that way I can be of some use.”

Izuku cocked his head. “What do you mean?”

Yaoyorozu stared at the floor. “I am… ill-suited to these sorts of exercises. Tokoyami defeated me in seconds during the Sports Festival, if you recall.”

“That’s ridiculous.” Izuku objected. “One: I don’t think any fight in the Sports Festival was as embarrassing as my loss to Shinso. Two: That was to Tokoyami, he’s easily one of the most powerful members of our class. Three: He took you out in seconds because he knew that, if he gave you any longer than that, you would come up with a way to beat him.” Izuku paused, smiling at the hope that was starting to appear in Yaoyorozu’s eyes. “I should have asked you for advice on the plan before we started, so that’s on me. But now, we have some time to strategize. So let’s strategize our way out of this.”

--

Yaoyorozu ended up realizing the solution as she made a handful of Midnight Marbles for Izuku. Because if she could create the containers with the gas in them, why not just have the gas come off of her skin instead? That’s how Midnight’s Quirk worked, after all. So after equipping herself with a gas mask and a riot shield to keep any of the Ectoplasms from getting to her before the gas neutralized them, she was ready. Before they even opened the door, she let some of the gas seep through the crack underneath it to clear them a space. And then Izuku opened the door for her and she rushed out, shield first.

From there, it was almost shockingly easy to push their way to the exit. Izuku let Yaoyorozu take point, her large shield combined with the narrow corridor meant that the Ectoplasms didn’t have any way of reaching her from the front, and he covered her back in case more Ectoplasms tried to ambush them from behind. Sure enough, several did, but they came in small enough numbers that Izuku's remaining Support Items were able to immobilize them so he could dispatch them without much difficulty. And before Izuku knew it, they had reached the exit. Yaoyorozu gave him a silent nod of thanks as they walked through the exit together, hearing Principal Nezu’s announcement of their victory over the speakers.

--

Izuku was surprised to see All Might, albeit in his skinny form, waiting for him as he made his way back to his classmates. “That was a very impressive performance, Young Midoriya.”

Izuku smiled at the compliment. “Thank you, sir. Although, I feel like Yaoyorozu deserves more thanks than me. It was her plan that got us through, after all. Not to mention her Quirk is so fascinating, it was great to finally get a closer look at how it worked.”

All Might chuckled at his enthusiasm. “Don’t sell your own contributions short. Those Support Items of yours are very clever. You designed them yourself, right?”

Izuku nodded. “Oh, right!” He fished in his pouches for one of his remaining marbles before passing it to All Might. “Yeah, I came up with the idea while you were still training me for the entrance exam, but they’ve really worked well.”

All Might nodded along with what Izuku was saying. “Although, these aren’t even your greatest contribution to the fight. It may have been Yaoyorozu’s plan that got you to your goal, but you helped her get there. You realized she was struggling, and inspired her to rise above her worries. With that attitude, you’ll be a great leader someday.” Before Izuku could respond to All Might’s praise, Principal Nezu’s voice sounded on the speakers to announce the next match. All Might gave a laugh at how obviously Izuku lit up with excitement at the announcement. “Well, I’m sure you’re excited to watch that, so I’ll let you go. Good luck, Young Midoriya!”

--

Watching Dekiru work was as inspiring as ever, but something twisted in Ochako’s gut as she watched the end of Dekiru’s exercise. It took her a moment to realize it was jealousy, but that didn’t help her understand why it was there. Obviously, she wasn’t jealous of Dekiru, she was happy that he was able to solve his test so cleverly, just like he always did. It was just that, seeing how well he and Yaoyorozu worked together, how she was able to keep up with him and think on his level, Ochako felt… jealous of her. Which was still dumb! She should be happy for Dekiru that he was getting along well with her, maybe making another friend. And why would she even be jealous over him? It wasn’t like-

Oh. That’s exactly what it was like.

Chapter Text

U.A. had one final day of class to go over the exam results, but not everyone was excited. Kirishima and Aoyama went up against Cementos, and their strategy of running directly at him, trying to break through the barriers he made, didn’t end well for them. Ashido and Kaminari had been hoping the exam was against robots so that they could just blast them with acid and electricity respectively. Going up against Principal Nezu instead, they were unable to keep up with his strategizing. And while Todoroki had passed her exam, it was unclear if that success also transferred to Kacchan.

Izuku tried to offer his classmates some encouragement, but Aizawa-sensei cut him off to start class. “Unfortunately, there are quite a few of you who did not pass your practical exams. So in regards to the summer training camp, you’re all going.” Cheers erupted from the students who were worried about whether or not they’d be able to go, contrasted with Iida shouted something about how Aizawa-sensei’s frequent use of “rational deceptions” would eventually lead them to lose faith in him. Aizawa-sensei pushed through both. “My threat was mostly about the written exams, which all of you passed. As for the five that failed the practical exams,” which meant that Kacchan had failed, “the training camp will focus on building your strength, so excluding those of you who failed would be completely illogical. But failure is still failure. The five of you will be receiving additional lessons and training compared to the rest of your classmates, so don’t expect to get off without consequences. Now then, let’s look at your exams and how you all could’ve done better.”

--

Most of 1-A hung around the classroom even after Aizawa-sensei dismissed them, excitedly discussing the upcoming camp. Eventually, a few of them started offhandedly mentioning that they’d need to buy some things to prepare for the camp, and then Hagakure gave the idea for them all to have a mall trip together. So after everyone confirmed their schedules with each other, they all went home to start preparing for camp.

While leaving the building, Dekiru came up beside Ochako. “It’ll be weird hanging out with 1-A outside of class. Are you planning on coming?”

Ochako paused at the question. “I don’t know. I’ve told you about my family’s… situation. A shopping trip isn’t exactly my idea of a relaxing time. It gets noticeable when I’m the only one not buying anything.”

Dekiru nodded along with her explanation. “That makes sense. But if it makes you feel better, I’m not planning on buying anything either. Plus, I doubt all of 1-A is going to move around as a group. If you’re worried about other people, we could just hang out together.”

Ochako tried to calm her heart and remind herself that, as much as that sounded like a date at the mall, there was no way Dekiru meant it like that. Still, “That sounds fun!”

--

It was fun. Once everyone from 1-A showed up, besides Bakugo and Todoroki who said they wouldn’t be coming, the class quickly split into groups based on who needed to buy what, so it wasn’t weird that Ochako ended up going with just Dekiru. From there, the two of them just wandered the mall, looking in through the store windows and talking about the semester they had just finished. Dekiru was still excited about everyone’s final exam, going over how cool everyone’s Quirks were and how cool their solutions to the exam were, including complimenting Ochako on her quick thinking and effective teamwork with Sero. The day felt… normal in a way that the rest of their semester hadn’t. Ochako was more than grateful for the change of pace, and that she was able to spend it with Dekiru.

--

Uraraka had to use the bathroom, so Izuku wandered over to look at one of the nearby stores that had some new Hero merch in their window. The Hawks figures looked especially impressive. He was so caught up in the display that he didn’t realize someone was coming up behind him. “Oh, it’s someone from U.A., nice! You made it to the last round of the Sports Festival, right?” Izuku looked over just in time to see the man in a black hoodie put an arm around his shoulders. “Aren’t you the kid who fought the Hero Killer too?” Izuku was already uncomfortable with how class the man was getting, but that comment made him pause even more. This guy sure knew a lot. “I can’t believe I’m running into you again.” At that comment, Izuku tried to figure out where he had seen the guy before, and then it came to him.

At his realization, Shigaraki’s hand moved to Izuku’s throat, one finger hovering just above his Adam’s apple. “I guess from your point of view, we haven’t met since the USJ. Why don’t we spend a little time catching up?” Izuku wanted to shout, to warn everyone, but Shigaraki kept speaking. “Act natural, don’t make a scene. I’m just an old friend who ran into you at the mall, okay?” Shigaraki started leading Izuku toward a bench out of the way, and Izuku had no choice but to go with him. “Remember, if you fight back at all… well, it’ll be quick. As soon as all five of my fingers touch your throat, you’re a goner. You’ll turn into a pile of dust, neck first.”

Izuku pushed down his panic. “If you do that here, with all these people around, a Hero will come and catch you for sure.”

Shigaraki just laughed at that. “I doubt that. I have a teleporter, remember? If I wanted, I could stick around until the heroes showed up, and see how many more people I could kill until then. I mean, look at all these NPCs. Any one of them could use their Quirks to start a massacre whenever they wanted. And yet they’re sitting around, smiling! They’re convinced laws and rules will protect them, that nothing bad could ever happen to them, all because of so-called heroes like All Might. They can smile so thoughtlessly because he’s smiling thoughtlessly too, as if there’s no one in the world he can’t save. Like nothing could go wrong as long as He Is Here! But I’ll show them the truth. I’ll show them all!”

Shigaraki became more and more manic as he spoke, but his words made Izuku realize something. “You’re Quirk’s automatic.”

Shigaraki cut off, completely unprepared for that to be Izuku’s response. “What?”

Izuku wasn’t sure how the words slipped out, but he still clarified what he meant by it. “One of my friends has a Quirk that requires her to touch something with all five fingers, but she can choose when it activates. If yours worked like that, you wouldn’t need to keep one finger hovering like that, so that means you aren’t able to control it.” Which led Izuku to his actual point. “Manifesting that Quirk for the first time… I can only imagine what happened. I’m sorry.”

Izuku regretted his words the moment they were out of his mouth, as Shigaraki’s grip on his throat tightened even further, leaving Izuku almost unable to breathe. “You’re sorry? I don’t want your pity! I don’t need your pity!” His voice was filled with rage, but also a level of panic. He started obsessively scratching his neck with the hand that wasn’t over Izuku’s neck. Then Shigaraki paused, and when he continued, the overflow of emotion was gone. “But look at me losing my temper. I actually wanted to speak to you because I have an offer for you. I saw the articles after the Sports Festival, I heard how people tried to deny your strength after you fought the Hero Killer. Why do you still defend them? Why not join me, and make them pay?”

If he weren’t in such a desperate position, Izuku could’ve laughed at Shigaraki’s offer. “Because, even with everything that people have done to me, I still want to help people.”

Shigaraki laughed mockingly. “So what? You’re too weak to fight back, so you’ll just let people walk all over you? That’s real heroic and all,” he said the word heroic with vitriol, “but sometimes you have to stand up for yourself. Why don’t you let me help you?”

Izuku shook his head, as much as he could with Shigaraki’s hand on his throat. “I want to change things, obviously I want to prove the people who called me useless wrong, but I couldn’t possibly work with you. I want to fix the system, not burn it down.”

Shigaraki sighed. “That’s really a shame.” Izuku braced himself. He knew he was pushing it by denying Shigaraki outright, but he had never been able to speak against what he believed. And if Shigaraki wanted him dead, there wasn’t much Izuku could do about it anyway.

“Dekiru? Oh, there you… are.” Izuku looked up to realize that Uraraka had found him, and was standing only a few feet away, realization dawning on her face as to what was happening. And instantly all of Izuku’s resolve melted. He wanted to shout at her to go, to run, to get away, but his throat wouldn’t obey him, because she was here, she was going to get hurt, Shigaraki was going to kill her-

“Oh, I didn’t realize you were here with friends! Well, I’ll leave you two to it.” Shigaraki let Izuku go and started to walk away. He gave Uraraka a pat on the shoulder as he passed, shooting a sadistic grin at Izuku as he did. Izuku’s heart leaped into his throat and he wanted to scream, but Shigaraki must have kept one of his fingers up, because nothing happened, and Shigaraki continued on his way. Part of Izuku wanted to follow him, to see where he went, but his body just wouldn’t move, so he let Shigaraki disappear into the crowd.

And then Izuku’s adrenaline finally died down, leaving behind only his panic. Because that could have so easily have gone so much worse: If Shigaraki hadn’t liked his answers, or his questions in response (what was Izuku thinking asking about Shigaraki’s Quirk? Could he really just not help himself?), or if Shigaraki was just a little more upset, there was nothing Izuku could have done – he would be dead, who knows how many other people would be dead, Uraraka would be dead, and it would all be-

“Dekiru! Dekiru!” Uraraka was crouched down in front of him, trying to get his attention, but he didn’t even register that she was there. “Izuku.” She pulled Izuku close, and that embrace, combined with his name, helped pull Izuku out of his spiral, so he focused on the sound of her voice. “It’s okay. You’re okay. He’s gone. Everyone’s okay. I’m here.”

--

Once she had gotten Izuku calmed down, Uraraka reported the incident, and the shopping mall was temporarily closed. The heroes and police did a massive sweep, but by then, Shigaraki was long gone. Izuku and Uraraka were taken to the police station to give their statements about the incident. Before Izuku was asked to give his, he was given a short time to recover himself. During that time, he was surprised to see Aizawa-sensei come into the room where he was waiting. “I only got the basics of the incident. Are you okay?” Izuku just nodded. He was too shaken for a bigger response than that. “That’s a relief. All Might’s on his way too. In the meantime, is there anything you need from me?”

Izuku shook his head, so they waited in silence for a few minutes until All Might, in his skinny form, rushed into the room. “Young Midoriya! Are you alright?”

Aizawa-sensei motioned for All Might to keep it down, but Izuku just nodded. “I- I’m okay.”

All Might rested a hand on Izuku’s shoulder. “I’m so sorry I couldn’t be there to protect you. If I had just caught Shigaraki when I had the chance-”

“We both know that’s not a healthy path to go down, All Might.” Aizawa-sensei cut him off. “But I am sorry this had to happen to you, Midoriya. You’ve been through far more in your first semester than anyone your age should have to, and I wish I could have done something to protect you.”

“Thank you.” Izuku stared at the floor. “I just- I wish I could’ve done more. I’ve faced villains before, I’ve faced Shigaraki before, but this time I just… froze. I couldn’t do anything, I could barely think!” Izuku looked up in All Might. “Instead of my body moving before I could think, my body just wouldn’t move at all.”

All Might gave him a sad smile. “There’s nothing wrong with that. You were expecting a relaxing day of hanging out with friends, you were caught off guard, it makes sense that you weren’t ready. Even heroes are allowed to have emotions, Young Midoriya.”

“And besides,” Aizawa-sensei added, “you couldn’t have been asked to do a better job. You held yourself together under a lot of pressure, with a lot of lives on the line. The people at the mall, Uraraka, not to mention yourself, all of you are alive because you managed to stay calm.”

Izuku nodded along with his teachers encouragement. “Thank you.”

Aizawa-sensei smiled. “Of course, kid. Now, do you think you’re ready to give your statement?”

--

Ochako was only needed for a short statement, but she chose to wait for Dekiru. She didn’t want him to be alone after what had happened. But she hadn’t needed to worry, because she hadn’t been waiting long when a woman who could only have been Dekiru’s mother came in. She looked understandably panicked, so Ochako went over to her. “Are you Dekiru- Midoriya’s mother?” The woman nodded, so Ochako continued. “I’m Uraraka Ochako. I’m his friend.”

The woman’s eyes flashed with recognition. “Oh, my son’s told me so much about you.” The worry quickly returned to her expression. “Do you know if he’s alright?”

Ochako nodded. “He’s unhurt, but he’s… understandably shaken. I’m the one who found him afterward, which is why I’m here.”

Tears were welling up in Mrs. Midoriya’s eyes. “Oh, thank you so much! I don’t know what I would’ve done if something happened to him.”

The two of them sat down together in the waiting room, and it wasn’t long before Dekiru came out, followed by Aizawa-sensei. Mrs. Midoriya ran over to him immediately and wrapped him into a hug. “Izuku! My baby! I’m so glad you’re alright!”

Izuku was clearly still dazed as he responded. “It’s okay, Mom. I’m okay.”

Once the hug ended, Aizawa-sensei spoke up. “As your son’s teacher, I’m sorry that he has once again come into harm’s way.”

Mrs. Midoriya looked up at him. “I understand, but this wasn’t under your watch. I’m grateful that you are here anyway though.”

Aizawa-sensei nodded. “Thank you. The police are done with Midoriya for now, so I would like to take you home, if that would be alright.” He glanced over at Ochako. “That goes for you as well.”

Aizawa-sensei led them to a small, unassuming car. On the way there, Ochako moved next to Dekiru. “Are you sure you’re okay?”

Dekiru nodded. “Thank you for finding me. I don’t know what would’ve…”

“Hey, don’t worry about it.” She gave him the biggest smile she could muster. “We’ve got each other’s backs, right?”

Dekiru gave her a ghost of a smile back. “Right.”

Dekiru’s mom sat in the front with Aizawa-sensei, with Ochako and Dekiru in the back. Dekiru didn’t say anything for the whole drive, but at some point, Ochako couldn’t say for sure when, his hand found hers.

Chapter Text

Before Izuku knew it, the time had come to go on U.A.’s summer camp. He had made sure to pack all of his things the night before, so all that was left to do was say goodbye to his mom, who fretted over him as he got ready. “Are you sure you’ve packed everything? Oh, I don’t think you’ve ever been gone from me for so long before! If you get homesick at all, just give me a call. I’ll always be free to talk to you.”

Izuku gave her a reassuring smile. “Don’t worry Mom, I’ll be okay. I’ll be sure to let you know how my week goes though.”

Izuku’s calm seemed to extend to his mother just a little bit. “I know, it’s just… You’re growing up so fast! I can’t believe you’ll be turning sixteen while you’re gone, we’ll have to celebrate when you get back! You could invite some of your new U.A. friends, maybe even Uraraka?” She gave Izuku a knowing look, so he looked away as he felt a blush rising in his cheeks. Then his mom turned serious. “Make sure you thank her for me.”

Izuku nodded. “I will.” He gave his mom one last hug before stepping back the door. “Bye, Mom! I’ll be back before you know it!”

--

Once all of classes 1-A and 1-B arrived at U.A., they were loaded up on buses so that they could go to wherever it was that the camp would be taking place. U.A. had kept the camp’s location a secret due to security concerns about the League of Villains, so Izuku was free to wonder where they were going. It had to be somewhere fairly spacious to hold all forty students, and fairly secluded for security, did U.A. own a site like that? Or would the camp be with some other pro heroes? That would make sense, it would be a little rough for just Vlad King and Aizawa-sensei to watch forty kids by themselves for a whole week.

While Izuku was wondering this, he realized Uraraka was glancing over at him. “How are you holding up?”

Izuku sighed. “I’m doing better, but that’s a pretty low bar. I feel mostly back to normal, just a little shaken. Thank you, again.”

Uraraka smiled. “I’m happy I could help.”

“I think this week should help with that. It sounds like it’ll be fun.” Izuku quickly checked to make sure Aizawa-sensei was too far away to hear him call training “fun”. “A week away from the world to hang out with friends and become stronger heroes together. I’m looking forward to it.”

Uraraka nodded. “Me too.”

--

About an hour into the drive, they had their first stop. As Class 1-A filed out of the bus, Izuku looked around. It seemed like a weird place to stop. They were just on the side of a cliff, overlooking a forest. Izuku didn’t even see a bathroom anywhere. The view was nice, but Izuku doubted that Aizawa-sensei would have them stop just for a view.

Before Izuku could figure out that mystery, a pair of heroes in cat-themed costumes popped up in front of the class. “Lock on with these sparkling gazes!” “Strikingly cute and catlike!” “We’re the Wild, Wild, Pussycats!”

Izuku could barely contain his excitement as the two heroes moved into a dramatic pose. It was the Wild, Wild, Pussycats! Well, half of them anyway. The other two must’ve been meeting up with Class 1-B. Still, it was so cool to meet them! They were a four-person hero team specializing in mountain rescue! They were great at comforting victims with their cute, approachable aesthetic. Plus, it was so rare to see a Hero agency belonging to a team instead of just a person! Izuku wished he had his notebook on hand, but it was stuffed away in his bag, out of reach. The Pussycats made perfect sense as heroes for U.A. to work with during the camp! Pixie-Bob’s Earth Flow could be used to set up any sort of training space that the students might need. Mandalay’s Telepath Quirk would make sure that she could keep in touch with all of the students, no matter how far they were spread out. And then Ragdoll had Search, which would let her keep track of all the students at once and how they were doing. Tiger’s Pliabody then rounded it out, letting him take a much more hands-on role in the students training.

While Izuku was busy nerding out, Mandalay spoke to the class. “We own this whole stretch of land here, pretty much everything you can see. The camp will be taking place over there,” she pointed far off into the distance, “at the foot of that mountain. It’s currently 9:30 in the morning. If you’re quick, you might be there by noon.”

As she said that, Izuku finally realized why they had stopped at such a seemingly random spot. He turned toward Aizawa-sensei, and the man’s manic smile confirmed his suspicions. The training camp had already started. As the rest of 1-A realized what was going on, they started to rush back to the bus. But before they could get more than a few steps, Pixie-Bob placed her hands on the ground and activated her Quirk, creating a landslide to send them all off the side of the cliff.

Once 1-A had regained themselves from their fall, Mandalay poked her head over the side of the cliff to shout out to them. “Since this is private property, you’re free to use your Quirks as much as you want. Now, enjoy the Beast’s Forest!”

Izuku didn’t have to wonder long at why she called it that, as a trio of lumbering earth monsters, no doubt created and controlled by Pixie-Bob’s Quirk, lumbered into view. He took back what he had said about camp. This was not going to be fun.

--

Once 1-A had been… dropped off, Shota was free to continue to the campsite with the two members of the Pussycats. Pixie-Bob was busy controlling the creatures the students were fighting, so Mandalay made conversation with him. “It’s been too long, Eraser. Your class seems quick this year. And unless my math was wrong, I counted twenty.”

“Yes,” Shota sighed at the obvious jab, “I still have all my students this year. They’re a promising crop… on the whole.” He still wished he could get rid of Bakugo, but he was doing the best he could with the kid.

Mandalay nodded along. “Hopefully one of them can be a good influence on Kota.”

“How is the kid doing?” Kota was Mandalay’s nephew, but she had been taking care of him for the past two years, ever since his parents, the Hero duo Water Hose, were killed by a villain.

“He’s… about the same.” That was sad to hear, but understandable. Losing his parents at such a young age wasn’t exactly something he could be expected to get over. “They died saving people, the most respectable way for heroes to die. Not that a child would be able to understand that. To him, they just abandoned him, choosing some strangers they had never met over their own son. He doesn’t understand heroes, he might even hate them, which has made things a bit… difficult between us.” She gestured to her own Hero Costume. “I’m giving him time, I’m getting him help, but it hasn’t done anything. Hopefully, someday, he’ll realize why we do this.”

--

Class 1-A did not make it to the camp by noon. In fact, the sun had started to set by the time they stumbled out of the woods, exhausted. Despite it taking much longer than Mandalay had claimed, Izuku was proud of 1-A’s performance. Todoroki, Iida, and Kacchan led the charge, the first two’s experience against Stain and Kacchan's natural tenacity helping them act quickly. While they pushed forward, Yaoyorozu took command of the rest of 1-A, helping them figure out how to use their Quirks effectively against the monsters. Izuku did his best to keep up, even though being without his Support Items left him without much way to push past the constructs’ raw power. The only issue was, no matter how many creatures 1-A took down, Pixie-Bob just kept making more, so by the time they finally emerged at the camp, even Kacchan was spent.

Pixie-Bob was quick to congratulate them on their time regardless. “Honestly, I expected you guys to take a lot longer! Get your stuff off the bus, get cleaned up, and we’ll get you some dinner!” 1-A was more than happy to comply.

--

It turned out that the lodge 1-A was staying at had a hot spring. And after the long day of fighting their way through the woods, getting to relax in it was simply heavenly. Ochako could feel the stress of the day melting away as she just sat in the water.

While she was relaxing, she noticed Ashido scoot next to her. “So, what’s going on with you and Midoriya?”

Ochako looked away, embarrassed. “Nothing. Nothing’s going on there!”

Ashido just laughed. “C’mon, I’ve seen the way you look at him! You can’t tell me you aren’t into him.”

“I mean, yeah, but I don’t know if it’ll work out. I don’t know if he feels the same way.”

“Well, there’s only one way to find out: Ask him!" Ashido started shaking Ochako. "Please though, I have a thirst for romance and this class has been starving me! I’m begging you to ask him!” Ochako laughed at Ashido’s pleading. “Plus, I doubt you’re going to get a better opportunity to ask him than this camp. We’re all spending a whole week together, out in the woods, the time is right, girl!”

Ochako had to admit that Ashido was right. She was still afraid to tell Dekiru how she felt, she didn’t want to mess up what they already had, but she wouldn’t be a better time to confess.

--

Class 1-A was off at their summer camp, but Aizawa being out of town just meant that Hitoshi had more time for his extracurricular activities. Well, technically his training with Aizawa was extracurricular. So his… extra-extracurricular activities. Looking for trouble so that it could lead him to Koroki. He had stopped several petty crimes over the past few nights, so if he didn’t end up making it into the Hero Course, he could probably become a vigilante.

Before he could call himself out for that probably unwise train of thought, more trouble found him. A black car with tinted windows pulled up in front of him, and a man stepped out. He was big, clearly some sort of hired muscle, and he stood very intentionally blocking Hitoshi’s way. “Get in the car.”

Obviously, the smart thing to do would be to refuse and run in the opposite direction. So, Hitoshi got into the car. He saw that sitting opposite him was a white-haired man taking a drag of a cigar. “So, I heard you’ve been asking after me.” Hitoshi opened his mouth, but the man continued. “Oh, and before you answer, just know I remember you from the Sports Festival. So if you try to use your Quirk on me,” the muscle slid into the car beside Hitoshi, “he’ll kill you.”

Hitoshi factored that into his response. “You must be Giran.”

The man, Giran, laughed. “Good, you’ve got a head on your shoulders. What can I do for you?”

Hitoshi decided to cut straight to the chase. “I’m looking for Shirakumo Koroki. A friend of mine. You know anything?”

Giran made a large show of thinking. “Shirakumo… Shirakumo… the name sounds familiar. He’s a friend of yours you say? Well, I can check in with him, check your story, and if he agrees to a meeting… let’s say 10:00 am, three days time? He’s going to be a bit busy the day after tomorrow, but I should be able to squeeze you in afterward. How does that sound?”

It sounded… confusing. Giran made it sound like Koroki was there by choice, which was concerning to say the least, but Hitoshi doubted that Giran would be able, or willing, to answer any of his questions. “That sounds good.” It was a lead, more of a lead than Hitoshi had had in a while. He would take it.

Chapter Text

The next day, Aizawa-sensei woke up his class entirely too early, by most of their assessment. Ignoring the yawns and rubbing of eyes, he explained to them all what the purpose of the training camp was. “Normally, you’d be taking the test for your Provisional Licenses at the end of your second semester, but given the… events of this past semester, it’s been decided that you all need the tools to legally defend yourselves, so you'll instead be taking the test before the next semester starts. But that means you’ll be taking the Provisional Licensing Exam with a semester’s less experience than you should have by then. This camp hopes to make up that difference. Bakugo,” Aizawa-sensei tossed a softball at him, “Your distance at the start of the semester was 705.2 meters. Let’s see how much you’ve improved.”

Bakugo smiled, throwing the softball with an explosion and a shout of “Go to hell!” The ball sailed off into the distance, and Bakugo turned back to face the class with a smirk, only to be interrupted by Aizawa-sensei.

“That was 709.6 meters.” The smirk immediately fell off Bakugo’s face at how little he had improved. Aizawa-sensei continued. “As you can see, most of your instruction at U.A. has been focused on strategy and technique rather than raw power. This week, we’ll be focused on increasing the raw strength of your Quirks. Quirks are like muscles, and muscles have to be broken down to be built back stronger. It’ll feel like you’re dying, so try not to actually die.”

--

“Todoroki.” After assigning the rest of 1-A their unique training regimens, Aizawa-sensei gestured for Shoko to follow him. “I have an exercise prepared for you to increase your raw power, but that isn’t really where you need to improve on. No, your main weakness is the fact that you’re still only using half of your Quirk.” Shoko looked away. She had heard this conversation before, she knew where it was going. “Does your fire hurt you?”

Maybe she didn’t know where this was going, because she hadn’t seen that question coming. “No. No sir.”

Aizawa-sensei nodded. “I see. I figured that could be where your scar came from, but I guess I was wrong. So if that isn’t it, why don’t you use your fire?”

Shoko chose her words carefully before answering. “It is… difficult for me to use my left side. For a time I was resolved to never use it, but Midoriya showed me how foolish that mindset was. I know that, if I hold myself back, I will someday fail to save someone that I could have saved. Still, it is… difficult.”

“Difficult how?” Aizawa-sensei responded with a patience that Shoko didn’t know how to deal with. “Would you be comfortable showing me?”

Shoko nodded. Whether or not she was comfortable, she had pushed her teacher's patience enough. She extended her left hand, and let the flames dance across it. She tried to look away, to think of anything else, but nothing was happening to distract from the fact that she was using his Quirk, just like him. She shut the fires off and pulled her hand close as she tried, and failed, to get her breathing under control.

Once she had finally composed herself, she looked over to see Aizawa-sensei staring at her with a concerned expression. She prepared herself mentally for a reprimand. “When we return to U.A., I am going to recommend you see Hound Dog, the school counselor. Like you said, failing to get this under control could cost lives someday, but I don’t want to push through this block until I am sure how best to go about it. Until then, your task this week will be to create as much ice as you can in one blast, like in the Sports Festival, and then melt it as quickly as you can manage.” Then he walked away and left Shoko to wonder why he was letting her off so easily.

--

Izuku was a little disappointed in his training regimen. Kacchan was sending explosion after explosion into the sky, Uraraka was lifting heavier and heavier boulders while herself weightless, and he was stuck doing normal workout exercises with Tiger. Not that there was much else he could do. Keeping up with Aizawa-sensei’s Quirks=Muscles allegory, there wasn’t much he could do beyond work on his actual muscles. He wasn’t the only one either, Hagakure and a few students from 1-B had Quirks that couldn’t really get statistical increases, so they were working out with him as well. And honestly, Iida wasn't doing much better with his exercise of running laps around the rest of the students. And if this was what Izuku needed to do to be a stronger hero, he’d gladly give it his all.

--

Now that they weren’t exhausted from fighting their way through the forest, it was up to the students to cook dinner for everyone. Granted, they were just as exhausted from training as they had been the day before, but Shota was hopeful that some of them would find the experience relaxing. But even if they didn’t, forty students would be able to get it done a lot faster than six teachers. And if the food turned out poorly, Shota had brought a stash of jelly pouches to get him through the week, so he’d be fine.

But it turned out that Shota needn’t have doubted his students' cooking ability, because the curry they made tasted pretty good. Not great, certainly, but passable. And after their exhaustion from training, it seemed his students had a much higher opinion of it than he did, practically shoveling it down as they talked excitedly about what training today had been like.

While Shota was watching his students, he caught movement out of the corner of his eye, and realized that Kota was sneaking off into the woods. The habits of Mandalay’s nephew weren’t exactly Shota’s responsibility, but he was pretty sure that the kid hadn’t eaten anything. And while Nemuri might call him a hypocrite for saying it, Shota knew the kid shouldn’t be skipping meals. So Shota grabbed an extra plate and followed the boy into the forest.

--

Kota’s little hideout turned out to be a cave in the side of the mountain that the lodge was built next to. Shota didn’t want to spook the kid, so he made sure to make enough noise that Kota could hear him coming. Immediately the kid whirled around to glare at him. “Go away! I don’t wanna hang out with some hero wannabees!”

Shota ignored the boy’s jab and placed the plate on the ground. “That’s fine, but you should still eat up, kid. You’re a growing boy.”

Kota didn’t soften his glare. “I don’t need help from you, hero!” He nevertheless snatched up the plate. “I know you don’t really care about me, you just think helping a kid makes you look more heroic or some nonsense. That’s all that Heroes care about.”

Shota sighed. “That’s not it, kid.” He wasn’t sure how to put it into words a child could understand, and he doubted he could do a better job than Mandalay, but he still tried. “I know it’s hard, losing someone. Back when I was my students' age, I had a friend. We were training to be heroes together, we promised that when we graduated, we'd start an agency together, but we weren't able to. Because, one day, when we were interning with a pro together, a villain attacked us. And my friend, he… died.” There was no point mincing his words with the kid.

Kota scoffed. “So? That’s what Heroes are supposed to do, right?”

Even though Shota knew better than to put stock in the kid's words, part of him was furious at the kid belittling his sacrifice. “He didn’t die because he wanted to go out like a Hero. He died to save me. He died because he believed in something hard enough to give it everything he had, including his own life. I know it’s unfair, but don’t blame them. They didn’t want to leave you.” Shota left without checking to see how Kota responded. He knew Kota wouldn’t understand. Not yet at least, but maybe someday he would see what Shota was saying.

--

Shota was proud of his students. The training regimens he put them through were brutal, yet he had heard almost no complaining out of them. Even the remedial group, despite having additional lessons, was bearing it well. Bakugo especially was channeling his usual rage into determination to succeed rather than pushing back against him. If the week continued like this, Shota was confident in their ability to pass the Licensing Exam, early as it was.

Shota was interrupted from his musing by a phone call, and when he saw who was calling him, he was surprised he had made it to day three before having this call. “Yagi.”

“Aizawa! How is camp going?” The Number One Hero’s nervous voice came out of the phone.

“Everything’s been fine, the students are doing well, the Pussycats’ Quirks have made training them simple, and there hasn’t been any suspicious activity whatsoever.”

Shota rolled his eyes as the Symbol of Peace let out an audible sigh of relief. “That’s good. Are you sure you don’t need me? I have a good rapport with the students after all.”

“We’ve talked about this. We don’t want another USJ, and that means keeping your massive target away from the students.”

“I know that,” Yagi countered, “But what if I was just in the area? In my shrunken form, no one would even need to know I was there!”

A year ago, Shota would never have compared the Symbol of Peace to a mother hen, but here he was. “The rest of Japan needs you too. We’ll be fine, Yagi.”

Yagi sighed. “You’re right. I know you’re right. Stay safe, Aizawa.”

--

It was announced at dinner that, since they had all been doing such a good job with training, they would be rewarded with a little competition between Class 1-A and 1-B: A Test of Courage. Each class would walk through a path in the woods in pairs, while the other class did everything they could to scare them. Whichever class managed to spook the other the most would win! Sadly, the remedial students weren’t allowed to participate, because Aizawa-sensei said they needed to do more lessons. Kaminari and Ashido were nearly inconsolable at the announcement, Bakugo just scoffed and said that he didn’t want to do such a dumb activity anyway, Kirishima made them promise to give a manly showing in his absence, and Aoyama... said something. It was always hard to understand what he meant.

Everyone else, however, finished up their dinner and trickled off in twos and threes to where the competition would be. Dekiru stayed behind until all the plates were cleaned, and Ochako waited for him. Because Ashido was right: This was her chance. They were walking over to the Test of Courage, but until they got there, it was just the two of the, She was still a little scared to tell him she liked him, but she knew it was something she needed to do.

She was still actually working up the courage to say it when Dekiru spoke up instead. “There’s something I wanted to tell you.” Ochako stared up at him in concern. She had something she wanted to say to him, what could he have that he wanted to say to her? “It’s about the mall.”

“I told you already, you don’t need to thank me for that. I know you would’ve done the same for me.” That would’ve been a good transition into Ochako's confession, but she was still trying to find the right words. And even if she knew what to say, Dekiru wasn't done.

“That’s not it. It’s just, it made me realize something.” He stopped walking. “I was afraid, I was vulnerable, I needed help, and you were there for me. And it wasn't just that day. From the first day we met right before the Entrance Exam, whether I’m nervous, or overwhelmed, or just need someone, you’ve always been there. To catch me when I fall. You are the kindest person I’ve ever met, and you’re so determined to fulfill your dreams, I-” Dekiru paused, and Ochako had to remind herself to breathe. Everything he was saying sounded like it was headed in a particular direction, but she couldn’t actually believe it until he finished. “You’re the first friend I made in years, but I want to be more than that.” And then whatever well of courage that allowed Dekiru to get all of that out dried up. “If- if you want to, of course! Like I said, I value your friendship, so the last thing I want to do is jeopardize that, and-”

Dekiru turned beet red as he tried to cushion what he had just said. But as adorable as his nervousness was, Ochako had been feeling the same panic mere moments ago, so she did what she could to remove his worries. She closed the few steps distance that was between the two of them, and pulled Dekiru close. “I was working up the courage to tell you the same thing.”

Dekiru let out a soft “Oh” and returned her embrace.

Dekiru had given her such a sweet confession, so Ochako tried her best to do the same. “I’m flattered that you think I’m determined, because you… The whole world could be standing against you, and you would never falter. Sometimes the whole world is standing against you! But you’re sure enough of yourself that you don’t need them. And your confidence isn’t arrogance, you don’t think you’re better than anyone else, and all you want to do is help people, even if they don’t return the favor. And you’re so smart, and passionate, and excited over the things you love! I’m just… so happy that I got to meet you, because every day, you inspire me to be better.”

With that said, Ochako just held him, and let him hold her. For a moment, the rest of the world didn’t matter, and it was just the two of them, together. But then Dekiru released her with a final squeeze. “We should probably get back to our classmates.”

Ochako didn’t want to go. She just wanted to stay with him, in that moment. But he was right. And besides, they were only halfway through their week of camp. They weren’t going anywhere anytime soon.

Chapter Text

Class 1-B was chosen to be the scarers first, so Ragdoll led them into the forest so she could set up her post at the trail’s midpoint to ensure no one took any shortcuts. That left Class 1-A to be paired up and sent in. But since 1-A had five students in the remedial class, that meant that someone wasn’t going to be paired up. And by luck of the draw, that was Izuku. But it would be fine, Izuku was looking forward to using this as an opportunity to learn how Class 1-B’s Quirks worked.

The first pair to go in was Hagakure and Koda. A few minutes later, they were followed by Ojiro and Mineta, then Todoroki and Yaoyorozu, then Shoji and Tokoyami. Uraraka went next, giving Izuku one last wave as she entered the forest with Iida. But a minute after Sato and Asui went into the forest, Izuku noticed something strange in the distance. “Is that… smoke?”

As Sero and Jiro, the only other students in the clearing, echoed Izuku’s concern, some unseen force lifted Pixie-Bob and yanked her out of the clearing, and no sooner had she disappeared from sight than they heard a sickening crunch. And then emerging from the trees were a pair of figures, the first holding some sort of giant bludgeon, and the second a lizardman in what could only be described as Stain cosplay.

It didn’t take much to figure out that they were villains, so Izuku entered a fighting stance, only to be stopped by Mandalay. She didn’t say anything, but he heard her voice inside his mind. Everyone! Two villains are attacking us in the clearing. It’s possible that more are coming. Everyone, return to the lodge immediately. We’re regrouping. Do not engage unless necessary. She stared directly at Izuku as she broadcasted the message, and then she spoke just to him. “We can handle this. Get to safety.” She looked over at the other students. “All of you. Go.”

Izuku wanted to fight, he wanted to help, he wanted to make sure everyone was okay… But he nodded. And then he turned and ran back to the camp.

--

Shota had just gotten his students, along with Monoma from 1-B to listen up when he received Mandalay’s message. His blood froze as he realized that U.A. had done everything they could to keep the camp safe, but it hadn’t mattered. Another USJ was upon them, and there was no backup on its way to bail them out this time.

Weighing his options, Shota realized that, as much as it hurt to say, he needed to stay put. Ensuring that the lodge was a secure place for his students to return to was more useful than running out there and trying to track them down. He’d just have to trust that the kids- He froze in his thought process as he remembered Kota. There was a six-year-old out there, on his own, during a Villain attack. And Shota knew where he would be. He turned to Vlad King. “Vlad, I need you to hold down the fort here. I’ll be back as soon as I can, make sure my students don’t do anything reckless.” And then he ran.

--

Shoko smelled smoke. Which didn’t make sense: she was pretty sure no one in Class 1-B had a fire Quirk, Bakugo was back at the lodge with Aizawa-sensei, and she obviously hadn’t set anything on fire, so that only left- Mandalay’s message interrupted her thoughts and confirmed her suspicions.

Yaoyorozu turned to her worriedly. “You heard her, we need to get back to the lodge!”

She started to go, but Shoko grabbed her arm. “We need to make sure the way is safe first.” Placing her hand on the ground, she created a pillar of ice to send her up and give her a vantage point. It looked like they were in the middle of the villain attack. To their left was a forest burning in blue flame, and to their right was a cloud of purple gas. At least the way back to the lodge seemed clear.

Shoko slid back down to the ground and told Yaoyorozu what she saw, but before they could leave, they heard movement coming from their right. She readied herself to fight whoever made the noise, but relaxed as she heard their coughing and saw that it was only a pair of 1-B students stumbling out of the gas.

Shoko couldn’t quite remember their names, but Yaoyorozu didn’t seem to have that problem. “Kendo! Are you alright?”

The girl nodded weakly. “I- I’m okay. But the rest of our class is still in there.”

Yaoyorozu steeled herself. “Then we need to go in after them.” She pulled several gas masks out of her arm and began passing them out. “Todoroki, let’s go.”

Shoko paused. “No. You all should go on ahead, but someone needs to do something about this fire. If it’s a villain’s doing, then it will only keep spreading unless someone deals with them. I can keep my temperature under control with my ice, and I’m assuming this mask will work for smoke as well.”

Yaoyorozu looked conflicted, but then she gave Shoko a nod. “Alright. Good luck, Todoroki. We’ll try to deal with the gas as well.” And then they split, each going to fulfill their own mission.

--

Shota swung through the trees with his capture scarf desperately hoping that he could find Kota before anyone else did. But as he approached the cave, instead of the little boy he was looking for, he saw a tall, muscular man. His heart nearly froze before he noticed Kota was still there, cowering at the villain’s feet. Shota wasn’t too late. He would save Kota. He instantly activated his Quirk before wrapping the villain up in his capture scarf and slamming into him, knocking him to the ground. Looking over him, Shota recognized the villain Muscular. He could cover his appendages with extra muscles, drastically increasing his strength and speed. He had been responsible for a rampage two years back… the one that had killed Kota’s parents. What were the odds of that?

Slamming the villain’s face into the ground to knock him out and slicing off the part of his capture scarf that was restraining him, Shota turned to Kota. “Kid, are you okay?” The kid was understandably too frightened to speak, so he just nodded. Shota continued. “That’s good. That’s good. I’m going to take you back to the lodge now, it’s all going to be okay.”

Kota looked momentarily relieved, but then his eyes widened again. “Behind you!” Kota’s shout was all the warning that Shota received before Muscular’s fist slammed into his back, sending him flying. Shota had been too focused on Kota to verify that Muscular was really unconscious. Either the villain had been faking it, or the hit had just dazed him for a few moments. Either way, this fight had just gotten a lot more desperate. Without his Quirk erased, Muscular was strong, Shota was almost certain that that one hit had broken his back. But Muscular wasn’t as strong as the Nomu from the USJ, and even that monster hadn’t been able to keep Shota down that easy.

By the time Shota was able to get up and activate his Quirk on Muscular, the villain was already leaping toward him with a fist reared back to strike. And while erasing her Quirk before the blow connected probably saved Shota’s life, the leap alone had given Muscular’s fist a tremendous amount of momentum. Shota stumbled back, barely bringing his arms up to cover his face in time to block Muscular’s next swing, but leaving himself open to a punch to the gut.

Shota had been sloppy in not confirming his takedown, and now he was paying for it. Even without his Quirk, Muscular was bigger and stronger than Shota, and with Shota’s broken back limiting his mobility, he didn’t have a way to overcome that deficit. It looked like Muscular was going to beat Shota to death with his bare hands. But until then, Shota would keep his eyes open, keep Muscular’s Quirk off, and buy as much time as he could. “Kota, run! Get back to the lodge!” He didn’t dare take his eyes off Muscular long enough to see if the kid had listened to him.

At Shota’s shout, Muscular gave a sadistic grin. “Are you sure you wanna send him back to the lodge? It’s not exactly going to be a safe haven.” Shota’s eyes widened at the taunt. The villains in the clearing had been a bluff. They wanted all of the students to gather in one place so that they could target all of them at once. Shota had to get back! He had to warn them!

But first, as another punch to the face reminded him, he had to worry about himself. The blow knocked him back onto the ground, and before he could recover, Muscular planted his foot on Shota’s chest. “Not so tough now, are you, hero? Now shut off your Quirk so I can finally have some fun!” Shota knew he was on his last legs, but he would keep fighting for as long as he could. If he was lucky, Kota was hidden away somewhere, and-

A splash of water hit the back of Muscular’s head. Kota’s Quirk! Why was he still here? “Stay away from him, you big bully!”

Muscular shook the water out of his hair as he turned back to Kota. “You’ve got some balls, kid! But okay, I’ll humor your request. Mr. Hero over here will get to watch you die.”

No! Shota couldn’t let that happen, but as he tried to get back to his feet, his strength failed him, and he fell back down again. He couldn’t even keep his eyes open, and he could hear the muscles covering Muscular’s arms regrow. But he couldn’t just give up! This kid was even younger than Shirakumo had been, and Shota had made a promise that nothing like that would ever happen again, not on his watch. So he grabbed the side of the mountain and hauled himself to his feet, not trusting himself to stand unsupported. Then he flared his Quirk at Muscular, causing the villain to turn back in annoyance. “Really? I thought we were over-” The villain was cut off as Shota sent his capture weapon out at him, wrapping him up before swinging him around and into the cliff on the other side of Shota. And before the villain could recover, Shota stumbled forward, nearly falling onto Muscular and swinging fist after fist into the villain’s face until he was sure, this time, that he was out for the count.

Shota slowly returned to his feet, stumbling to the point where he had to lean on the mountainside for support. “Kota! That was reckless, but thank you. Now come on, we need to get moving.”

Kota moved towards him, but he looked understandably worried. “You’re hurt! You got hurt for me! Why?”

“Because, kid, I needed to make sure you were alright. And now,” Shota kept stumbling forward, “I need to get back to the lodge, and make sure my students are alright as well.”

Shota only made it three steps before the ground rose up to meet him.

--

As Izuku ran through the woods, he tried to figure out what could possibly be happening. This must be the League’s doing, but how did they find the camp? And what did they want? He was so caught up in his theorizing that he didn’t realize what was going on before Sero grabbed him and Jiro and swung the three of them into a treetop.

“What’s happen-” The question died on Izuku’s lips as he saw Sero’s terrified expression, and following his classmate’s gaze, he realized where that worry came from. The lodge had a massive hole in its side, and as they watched, another hole was created as Vlad King was sent flying threw it. And emerging from that hole was a hulking monstrosity that Izuku had hoped never to see again. It was the Nomu from the USJ.

Chapter Text

Shoko didn’t have a specific plan to find the villain responsible for the fire. She had seen roughly where the center of the fire was, and she was hoping that that’s where the villain behind it would be. Fortunately, she wasn’t under too much of a time constraint to find them. Yaoyorozu’s gas mask kept out the smoke, and keeping her Quirk active over her right side meant that the heat didn’t get to her. The only reason Shoko needed to hurry was to keep the fire from spreading too far.

As she ran, a cracked twig, barely audible over the crackling of the fire, was all the warning Shoko received before a jet of blue fire shot toward her. She had just enough time to create a wall of ice to block it, and while the attack reduced about half of her shield to steam, it did its job in keeping her safe.

As Shoko turned toward the source of the fire, a younger man with black hair, covered in burn scars, stepped out of the treeline. He gave her a manic grin. “Todoroki Shoko. Just the girl I wanted to see.” Before Shoko could ask what that was supposed to mean, he sent another wave of fire at her, forcing Shoko to dodge behind a tree.

Shoko moved from cover and immediately sent out a wave of ice, freezing the villain in place. But the man just laughed. “Do you really think this’ll hold me?” Blue fire flared out of him, melting a way out of Shoko’s ice prison. Then the villain stretched his arms out toward Shoko again, readying another attack.

From working with her own Quirk, Shoko understood a lot about temperature-based Quirks. Their biggest weakness was that, no matter how adjusted the body was to the Quirk, there was a point where they changed the body’s temperature too much. Surrounded by fire and with a way to heat herself if necessary, that wasn’t a concern for Shoko, but with how much of the forest was already on fire, the villain had to be approaching his limit. Which meant that she could almost certainly win a war of attrition. So she planted her right foot and sent a stream of ice to meet his attack. A direct competition like this would only benefit her power and endurance.

But as the two attacks connected, Shoko’s ice melted before the villain’s fire. Her eyes widened as she realized her miscalculation. She didn't have enough power to turn this into a war of attrition. Because somehow, this villain had more power than her. More power than even Endeavor. That was the last thought she had before the wave of fire hit her.

--

The Nomu was here. Why was the Nomu here? What could they possibly do against it? Izuku watched as Vlad King struggled to his feet and tried to fight it, but it had been created to kill All Might. He didn’t stand a chance, the Nomu slamming a fist into his chest and hopefully just knocking him out.

Then Izuku saw Kacchan rocket out of the building and slam an explosion into the side of the Nomu’s head, but it didn’t even budge, instead grabbing Kacchan’s arm and slamming him into the ground. Then the monster lifted its fist, and Izuku was sure he was about to see Kacchan die, but then it paused before releasing Kacchan instead. Why did it let Kacchan go? Did the League have some sort of plan for him?

Izuku realized that those questions weren’t important right now. What was important was doing something. But as he got ready to jump down into the fray, Sero grabbed his arm. “What are you doing? What are you supposed to do against that?”

Before Izuku could respond, Jiro came to his defense. “Sero, let him go. Whatever Midoriya’s about to do, he has a plan.”

“Yeah, but that thing was made to kill All Might! And none of us are All Might, especially not him!”

As Sero protested, Izuku had an epiphany. “That’s it! We aren’t All Might.”

“What do you mean that’s it?” Sero continued. “That’s the problem, not the solution!”

Izuku pushed past Sero’s protests. “The Nomu was specifically designed,” Izuku was pretty sure the word Shigaraki used was “min-maxed” “to fight All Might. Meaning that it was made to counter super-strength. Just super-strength. It doesn’t have an answer against the varied powers of our class, so we just need to use them creatively to take it down.” Izuku thought over who was still in the area, and assuming he could reach them all, Izuku already had an idea of what to do.

First, Izuku needed to use the people right in front of him. He turned to Jiro first. “Can you find the rest of our classmates?” And while she was busy with that, “Sero, back at the USJ, the Nomu didn’t do anything unless Shigaraki commanded it to. It seems like part of its experimentation made it unable to think for itself. So if you tape its eyes, it might not think to take the tape off.”

Sero looked skeptical, Izuku was honestly skeptical himself, but he did it anyway, and while the Nomu seemed confused by the sudden darkness over its eyes, it made no move to deal with it. Before Izuku could celebrate too much, Jiro followed up with a report. “It sounds like almost everyone made it out of the building, but they’re all scattered. Who do you want to find first?”

Izuku thought for a moment. “Ashido.” Jiro nodded and pointed in the right direction, and Izuku was off. The Nomu must have heard him, but its aim was off with its eyes closed, so Izuku only heard a slam as a tree behind him was obliterated by the monster’s charge.

Ashido was hiding in a bush with Kirishima, but both waved Izuku down as he got close. “What are you doing?”

“We need to take that thing down.” Izuku didn’t waste any time with his explanation. “It has some sort of self-healing Quirk, but burned cells can’t regenerate. That’s how Endeavor took out the Nomus in Hosu.”

“Okay, but how does that help us? We don’t have any fire.”

“There are multiple types of burns.” Izuku saw Ashido's expression change as she realized what Midoriya was saying. “If you hit it in the leg, it won’t be able to move around nearly as well.” She could probably kill it if she wanted, but Izuku figured that no one wanted that.

But while Izuku had been strategizing with Ashido, the Nomu had found them. Izuku turned just in time to see it charge toward him, only for Kirishima to suddenly push him out of the way and take the hit instead. The shockwaves by themselves sent Izuku even further away, and Kirishima was sent through several trees before he hit the ground. Izuku bit back a scream, knowing that any noise would lead the Nomu right to him. Kirishima wasn’t moving, but Izuku had to trust that he was just unconscious, and that his Quirk had softened the blow just enough for him to survive.

Ashido took one look at Kirishima’s fallen form, and her body moved into action. She ran past the Nomu, splashing it in the leg as she passed, and turned to stare down Izuku with a shout of “Go!” The Nomu turned toward the sound of her voice, but as it twisted, Izuku heard a snap as its leg gave out beneath it and it crashed into the ground. It still tried to chase after her, but between the blindness and the awkwardness of moving with its arms, it wasn’t even close to keeping up.

With the Nomu once again disoriented, Izuku continued searching. So far, the Nomu was blinded and crippled, but they still needed someone who could pacify it. Then Izuku saw a flash of blond hair, and he had his answer. “Kaminari!” Except, it wasn’t Kaminari. It was the 1-B student who had also failed his final exam. “Wait, who are you again?”

The 1-B student seemed utterly appalled at Izuku’s question. “To not even know who I am! I should have expected such arrogance from Class 1-A. I am Monoma Neito, and-”

“That’s great,” Izuku cut him off, not having time for his inferiority complex, “what can you do to help against the Nomu?”

Monoma seemed taken aback by Izuku’s bluntness, but he still answered the question. “I can copy Quirks, which is why I was trying to get to Vlad-sensei-”

Izuku interrupted him again, ignoring his annoyance. “You should copy the Nomu instead. It has enough Shock Absorption to negate hits from All Might, you’d be invincible.”

“And why do you think I would listen to you? Don’t think I don’t know who you are, you-” Monoma was cut off a third time, not by Izuku, but by a scream from the Nomu. Monoma's voice had been gradually rising as he spoke, and it had heard him. It was clawing its way toward the two of them, but then they all heard the sound of a tree shattering, and Izuku turned to see Jiro running away from the tree in question, having plugged her jacks into it to loudly destroy it. The Nomu was distracted by the noise and charged toward it, and when Izuku turned back to Monoma, the boy’s face was nearly white with fear. “I’ll- I’ll try your plan out. Invincibility doesn’t sound so bad.”

Izuku recognized that that was the best he was going to get, and turned to find Kaminari again. As he passed the holes in the lodge that the Nomu had made, he finally saw Kaminari curled underneath one of the desks. “Kaminari!”

Kaminari startled back, but then calmed slightly as he actually looked at Izuku. “Oh, Midoriya. It’s just you.”

Izuku reached out a hand to help his classmate up. “I need your help.”

Kaminari just stared at the hand instead of taking it. “How- how am I supposed to help? Against that?”

“Kaminari. You are the only person here who can actually stop that thing. It’s got a lot of physical strength, sure, but there’s no reason for it to be resistant to your shocks.” Well, its Quirk was called Shock Absorption, but that was about a different kind of- never mind. “All you need to do is get to it, and then taze it, and we’ll be saved.”

Kaminari still seemed hesitant. “But, it’s so strong, and fast! It’ll kill me!”

“No, it won’t. Trust me. I’ll go with you, and we’ll be fine.”

Kaminari stared up at Izuku, and he must have trusted something in Izuku’s expression, because he took Izuku’s hand and pulled himself up.

And then they ran. Izuku smiled as he watched the Nomu slam blow after blow against Monoma, while the boy laughed maniacally and monologued about the power and superiority of Class 1-B. The Nomu was so distracted that it didn’t even register Kaminari until the boy leaped onto its back and wrapped it into a headlock, activating his Quirk with a shout of “Indiscriminate Shock!”

And as Kaminari’s Quirk faded, the Nomu fell. And after a moment, Izuku realized that it wasn’t getting back up. Izuku fell to his knees as the adrenaline left him, and he just started laughing. Because he could not believe that that had worked. He looked around at his classmates. Kaminari was reeling from the effects of over-using his Quirk, but that would fade in time. Kirishima was being carried over by Ashido and Sero, but the boy was clearly still breathing. Kacchan had been dazed from when the Nomu had slammed him into the ground, but he was already getting back up. As for everyone else, they were completely fine. The League of Villains had thrown their greatest weapon at them, and they had come out the other side okay. They were going to be oka-

“Well, herolings, I gotta say I’m impressed.”

Chapter Text

When Ochako heard Mandalay’s warning, her first thought was Dekiru. There were villains in the clearing, and Dekiru was in the clearing, so she needed to get back to him as quickly as possible. That also took her in the direction that Mandalay had told her to go, so Iida wouldn’t need to be a stick in the mud about it.

With all of the roots and such around the path, Iida wasn’t able to utilize his Quirk to its full potential, so they ended up actually running side by side, until they were interrupted by a knife flying out from the trees. If Iida hadn’t stopped suddenly, it would’ve gone through his face. The villain responsible for the knife, A blond, fanged girl who looked to be about their age, followed right after it, dropping from the trees and sending Iida to the ground with a kick. “Aw… you dodged my knife. Don’t worry though, I have more!”

The villain raised up an additional knife to stab down at Iida, but Ochako charged in, forcing the villain to switch targets. She forced Ochako back with a swing, but as she tried to follow it up with a stab, Ochako grabbed her arm, activated her Quirk, and threw the villain into a tree.

The responsible thing would be to try and restrain the villain then and there, but Ochako didn’t have time for that. She needed to get back to Dekiru. First, she turned back to Iida. “You okay?”

Iida nodded as he returned to his feet. “Thank you for your assistance.”

With that, the two of them continued down the path, ignoring the villain’s shouts as they went. “Get back here! We were going to have so much fun!”

--

Shoko lifted her hands to cover her face as the flames engulfed her. If she hadn’t already been cooling herself with her Quirk, she probably would’ve died on the spot. As it was, the heat of the blast was enough to cover both her arms in mild burns, and the force of it knocked her back into the tree behind her. Shoko sank to the ground, ears ringing, as the villain approached her. “Honestly, I expected more from you. Aren’t you supposed to be Endeavor’s perfect golden child?” Shoko was still too shaken from the hit to wonder how he knew that. As the villain reached her, he yanked off Shoko’s gas mask, crushing it underfoot for good measure. “I want to see your face as I kill you.” His hand flared with blue fire, “You know, the real Dabi’s going to be so disappointed when he finds out I killed you, but I’m going to enjoy it.”

Shoko could feel blood trickling down the back of her neck from where her head hit the tree, and both her arms were screaming in a familiar pain from the burns. She could barely move through the pain, but she managed to shift just enough that her right hand was touching the ground, and she sent a wave of ice at the villain, not to trap him, just to knock him away. The villain was so caught up in his gloating that he didn’t see the blow coming, and as he stood up, his torso was slowly turning into sludge. “Damn, I got sloppy. Well, kill you next time, little-” Whatever word would’ve come next was cut off as his head turned to sludge as well, and he turned into a puddle on the ground.

Shoko wasn’t sure why he had turned into sludge like that, but she wasn’t about to question it, because she’d probably be dead if he hadn't. Then again, a cough made her realize, she might die anyway. She had dealt with the villain causing the fire, but now that Yaoyorozu’s gas mask was busted, the smoke was becoming a real issue. She forced her body up, pulling her shirt over her mouth and nose to try and help her breathing, and slowly made her way out of the fire. Her adrenaline carried her just past the line of fire before she finally collapsed.

--

Even if she clearly disliked him, Tenya was grateful to have Uraraka with him. Her help had been invaluable against that villain earlier, and it looked like that would be all the trouble they would be running into. The clearing where they had left the heroes was just ahead of them.

But as Tenya emerged into it, he realized that the trouble wasn’t yet behind them. Because the pair of villains that Mandalay had warned them about were still at large, and seemed to have the heroes on the back foot. As Tenya entered the clearing, everyone briefly turned to see which side was getting backup, and before he could properly react to the situation, one of the villains was charging toward him. A lizardlike man, dressed in what was clearly an imitation of the Hero Killer’s outfit, wielding a sword. “You!”

Tenya dodged the swing and responded with a Quirk-powered kick to the villain’s stomach, knocking him back. The villain seemed unperturbed by the blow, and continued to stare Tenya down. “The Hero Killer was interrupted before he could purge you, I will rectify that mistake!”

But before he could follow up on that threat, the other villain put a hand on his shoulder. “We’re outnumbered, Spinner. We should go. Besides, we’ve done our jobs. One way or another, the attack has been decided.”

Tiger charged both villains. “As if we’d just let you go!” But before he could reach them, portals like from the USJ appeared, and both villains disappeared into them, the lizardlike villain, Spinner apparently, staring Iida down until the moment he vanished.

Mandalay looked around warily. “Alright, it seems they’re gone. But there’s no telling how many more are out there, so we should hurry back.”

Uraraka seemed to need no further instruction, running in the direction of the lodge with an urgency that Tenya didn’t understand. After all, those villains had made it sound like the attack was practically over.

--

Izuku had thought it was over. He had been sure it was over. But standing before him were four more villains: One in a full black-and-grey bodysuit, one dressed like some sort of stage magician with a mask over his face, and one in the mismatched combination of a middle school uniform and a gas mask. Standing in front of those three was a man in a long black coat who was covered in burn scars. “Well, herolings, I gotta say I’m impressed. The plan was to let the Nomu run wild and just pick up our prize when it was done, but you’re going to actually make us work for it.”

While Izuku and the rest of his classmates were standing back hesitantly, Kacchan rocketed himself directly at the villains. “It doesn’t matter how many of you there are, I won’t lose!”

The burn villain dodged out of the way of Kacchan’s attack, and the magician came up from behind Kacchan before the boy could react and put a hand on his shoulder. In an instant, Kacchan disappeared, and Izuku barely saw the marble that appeared in his place before the villain pocketed it. “An inelegant solution, perhaps, but one that gets the job done.”

The burned villain smiled before putting a hand to his ear. “We have the target. Kurogiri, get us out of here.” On cue, a series of portals opened behind the villains.

The villain with the gas mask seemed disappointed to be leaving. “Can’t we just finish what the Nomu started? It’s just a couple of hero brats.”

The burned villain shook his head. “We have what we came for, and there’s no telling when another pro shows up. We’re leaving.”

The villains were getting away, and while Izuku was relieved that it seemed the attack was ending, they had Kacchan. Izuku couldn’t say for certain what they wanted with him, but he could give a pretty good guess. The villains had seen the Sports Festival, had seen the power and fury that Kacchan had exhibited, had noticed how he felt disrespected by U.A., and they took all of those puzzle pieces to mean that Kacchan was villain material. Not that Izuku was worried that Kacchan would join them. Ever since they were four, all Kacchan had wanted was to be a hero who always won. Despite his flaws, his pride and his fury, he would never become a villain, out of pride if nothing else. But that’s what Izuku was worried about. Kacchan would refuse to join them and probably refuse explosively, so the League of Villains would kill him.

Izuku wasn't about to let that happen. But even as he ran toward the villains to try and stop them, he knew he was too late. They were just too far away. But then, a beam of light that could only have been Aoyama’s Quirk shot out from the treeline and hit the magician in the side of the head, making him drop the marble that contained Kacchan. The burned villain dove for it, but Izuku did the same, and the two of them slammed into each other as the marble rolled away from both of them.

The villain got to his feet first, but before he could move toward the marble, Izuku grabbed his ankle and pulled him back onto the ground. Then Izuku was on his feet, but was forced back as blue flames surged around the villain.

The villain started moving toward the marble again, but Izuku had an idea. He charged the villain, slamming into him shoulder first, and knocking him back through a portal. But as he went through, the villain reached out and grabbed Izuku’s arm, pulling him through as well. And then the portal closed.

--

It was over. The villains had retreated, and Ochako had made it back to the lodge. And Dekiru had been closer to the lodge, so she had no doubt that he was alright as well. But then Ochako actually saw the lodge, and the state that it was in, and her confidence faded. The lodge had been attacked, Vlad King was on the ground unconscious, Aizawa-sensei was nowhere to be seen… and while she could see a good number of her classmates, Dekiru was not among them. There wasn’t anywhere else that Ochako could think he could be, so why couldn’t Ochako see him?

Ashido noticed Ochako come in, and the girl came up to her. “You’re okay!”

Ochako pushed past the concern. “Where’s Dekiru?”

From the way Ashido turned away at the question, Ochako knew the news was bad before the girl even spoke. “The villains… took him.”

Ochako didn’t register falling. Her strength simply left her, and then she was on the ground. “No… No he can’t… I just… We were going to… He can’t be gone. He can’t.”

--

Mandalay had been a Pro Hero for over a decade, but she had never felt this defeated. Returning to the lodge, she had expected a spot of safety, somewhere to use as a base while they moved onto the cleanup phase of the attack. Instead, it was the place the villains had hit the hardest. Standing next to the near ruin, Mandalay took stock. Vlad King and Pixie-Bob were unconscious, Eraser Head and Ragdoll were MIA, and they only knew the whereabouts of a dozen of the children, of whom Kota wasn’t one. And with only herself and Tiger still in fighting shape, she couldn’t even go looking for the rest of the students, because what if there were more villains? Both of them would be needed to protect the students they already had with them. Mandalay looked over the injured students, ignoring the blood dripping down her arm from where Spinner had cut her, because she didn’t have time to worry about it, the students needed all her focus. The villains had done so much damage, and that was ignoring the worst part: That one of the students had been taken on their watch.

--

Chapter Text

Izuku hit the ground in a roll, struggling with the burn villain until he ended up on top. Izuku held up his fist, ready to swing down, but before he could, a hand wrapped around his neck, with one finger hanging up an inch away. “What the hell, Dabi? This isn’t the one I wanted!”

The burn villain, Dabi, moved out from under him as Izuku was paralyzed by fear from Shigaraki’s hand on his throat. “We had the brat, Compress had him in a marble and everything, but then this one got in the way. I couldn’t even go back to the target because he pushed me through the portal.”

Shigaraki sighed. “You really do have a habit of being annoying, but that could always be made useful. You consider my offer, Midoriya? Will you let me help you get your revenge on those who have tried to keep you down?”

Izuku considered lying, and playing along until an opportunity for escape presented itself. But given Izuku’s earlier refusal, they’d have no reason to trust him now unless they had him go through some sort of test of loyalty. A test that Izuku was sure to fail. So, lying wouldn’t get him anywhere. “You wanted Bakugo.”

Shigaraki once again seemed confused by the question. “I mean, yeah, but he’s not here, so I’m asking you to join us instead.”

Izuku almost laughed. “If you’re serious about what you said, about wanting to help me to avenge myself on those who’ve mistreated me, Bakugo’s at the top of that list.” It hurt Izuku to say it, because he still believed that Kacchan would be a great hero someday, but it was true. Now that Izuku had seen what actual friendship looked like, there was no denying that the way Kacchan had treated him for those ten years was wrong. “If you were serious about wanting to fix society by breaking it down, you wouldn’t have tried to recruit him, you just wanted him because he’s powerful.  Your goal is destruction for its own sake, and you thought that appealing to my ideals would hide that from me.”

Shigaraki laughed. “You think you’re so much better than me, with your fancy ideals? Yeah, I just wanna destroy anything that pisses me off. But guess what? Right now, that includes you!”

Izuku tried to prepare himself. He had given his life to save Kacchan. That’s what I hero was supposed to do, right? But still, he couldn’t push away the regret. He still had so much more to do, he needed to become a hero, he had just confessed to Uraraka!

But before Shigariki’s final finger touched his throat, someone else spoke up. “Let’s not be too hasty, Young Tomura.”

Shigaraki turned and looked toward a TV with the words “Audio Only” on it. “Why? He said he won’t help us, can’t I just kill him?”

“Well,” the voice explained, “Quirkless bodies make for the best Nomus, and given that they are in such short supply, I would rather not waste this one. Besides,” Izuku could almost hear the sadistic grin the speaker almost certainly had as he said this, “wouldn’t it be so impactful when the child the heroes failed to save reemerged as the engine of their destruction?”

Shigaraki released Izuku’s throat, but Izuku had a hard time viewing it as a mercy. He had assumed that Shigaraki was the boss of the League of Villains, but if there was someone above him, then they were probably even more terrifying. But before he could say anything, another portal opened behind him, and he was shoved through it.

--

The most recent attack on U.A. was all over the news, and Hitoshi was reeling. Not just because Aizawa was in the hospital, not even because Midoriya had been abducted, but because the news story included descriptions of each of the villains in hopes that someone might know something leading to their capture. And one of those villains was a middle schooler with a Quirk that could create a powerful poisonous cloud. In other words, one of the attackers was Koroki.

Of course, it could be a coincidence. It could be some unrelated middle schooler with a gas Quirk, but once Hitoshi became aware of the possibility that Koroki had joined the League of Villains, it all made too much sense. Koroki had always had a disdain for heroes, so he would become inspired by that video of Stain that was going around. Hitoshi had already known that. What he hadn’t put together before now was that looking for Stain sympathizers would lead him straight to the Hero Killer’s old partners. So now Koroki was working with the most dangerous villains in Japan. The villains who had kidnapped Midoriya.

Speaking of Koroki, Hitoshi was approaching the meeting spot, and he saw his friend leaning up against the wall, waiting for him. As he noticed Hitoshi approach, Koroki gave a wave as if nothing was out of the ordinary. “Hey, Hitoshi!”

Hitoshi couldn’t quite match his friend’s enthusiasm. “What were you thinking?!”

Koroki at least had the decency to look a bit embarrassed. “I know, I know, I should’ve told you, but I wanted to make sure I could get anyway without any hangups. But, before you ask, I’m completely fine.”

That was comforting to be sure, but Hitoshi still had other questions. “Why are you doing this?”

Koroki had the audacity to laugh at the question. “C’mon Hitoshi, you know why. Since we were four, everyone around us has been telling us that we’re doomed to be villains, pushing us down to make sure that the ‘future villains’ know their place, so I’ve decided to give them what they so clearly wanted! Make them pay for everything they’ve done to us.”

Every word of what Koroki said was what Hitoshi had been worried he would say. And Hitoshi understood what Koroki was saying, but the last thing he wanted to do was prove the people who called him a villain right. Some might call that spiteful, but if it works it works. And Koroki's explanation still left one question. “How does Midoriya fit into your little manifesto?”

“We weren’t supposed to grab him. It was supposed to be Bakugo, but Midoriya got in the way and ended up getting taken instead. The boss, the big boss not Shigaraki, has some sort of plan for him, but I don’t fully understand it.”

“And you’re just okay with that?”

“I mean, I guess. Like I said-”

“Pushing back against the people who hurt you, right?”

“Look, I told you-”

“How does kidnapping and probably killing a Quirkless kid pay back the people who hurt us?” It was clear that Koroki didn’t have an answer to that, so Hitoshi paused before changing his approach. “Look, with everything we’ve been through for our ‘villain Quirks’, imagine how much Midoriya’s been through for having no Quirk at all. He’s probably one of the only people who can understand where we’re coming from. Maybe that’s why, when I used my Quirk on him, he didn’t freak out. If anything, he just became curious as to how it works, and how useful it would be for a Hero. He learned about my Quirk, he felt my Quirk, but he still thought I could be a Hero. He’s probably the first friend I’ve made since you. If anyone deserves to be a target for your revenge, and I’m not saying no one does, it’s not Midoriya.”

“What do you want me to do? I’m not gonna break him out, if that’s what you’re asking.”

Hitoshi thought for a moment before answering. Then he came up with a probably terrible plan. “Let me do it.”

“What?”

“Tell the League I want to join, for the same reason that you joined, and then I’ll break Midoriya out. Once I rescue him, you can pretend that I lied to you too so you can stay with the League.”

Koroki nodded. “I’ll- I’ll see what I can do. Just... be careful.”

--

Shoko woke up in the hospital. Between the burns on her arms and the smoke inhalation, she wasn’t sure how long she had been out. Apparently Recovery Girl had been by while she was out, so her arms were as good as new, and now that she was conscious she was free to go as soon as a parent came by to pick her up. So, while waiting for Endeavor to arrive, Shoko wandered the hospital.

She hadn’t gotten far when she passed an open door, and realized that Yaoyorozu was on the bed inside. Her classmate was awake, but her injuries must have been more severe than Shoko’s because Shoko could see some bandages still on her. She looked up as Shoko knocked on the doorframe. “Oh, Todoroki. Come in.”

Shoko studied Yaoyorozu as she entered the room, worried over how severe her injuries seemed. “What happened? Did the gas villain do that to you?”

Yaoyorozu shook her head. “No, he went down easily enough. One punch from Tetsutetsu and he turned in a pile of goop. It seems one of the villains can make copies of people, kind of like Ectoplasm. It was after that. We ran into a Nomu, it cut me, and I lost a lot of blood before I was able to receive aid.” A cloud of worry passed over Yaoyorozu’s face, but it left as soon as it appeared. "My injuries fortunately aren’t as bad as they look, I just haven’t had the strength for Recovery Girl’s Quirk. And,” here Yaoyorozu gave a smile, “I managed to get a tracker on the Nomu, so now the Heroes know where the villains are hiding. They’ll be able to save Midoriya.”

Shoko had been nodding along with Yaoyorozu’s explanation, but she froze at those final words. “What?”

Yaoyorozu turned to Shoko in concern. “Has no one told you yet? The villains, they… they took Midoriya. It sounds like they were trying to abduct Bakugo, but Midoriya got in the way, because… because that’s what a hero would’ve done. But I’m sure the heroes will be able to bring him back, safe and sound.”

Shoko had only heard the first half of what Yaoyorozu said. “Where is he?”

“What? Todoroki, I don’t know-”

“You said you gave the Heroes the location of the Nomu, where is it?”

Yaoyorozu was clearly alarmed at Shoko’s questioning. “Todoroki what are you trying to do?”

“If Midoriya’s in danger, I can’t just stand by and do nothing!” If it weren’t for Midoriya, Shoko wouldn’t be able to use her fire at all, and he had helped her without any sort of ulterior motive, purely out of the goodness of his heart. But Shoko didn’t just want to repay that out of a transactional sense of obligation. Shoko didn’t have a lot of experience in this department, but she was pretty sure that Midoriya was her friend. And what are friends for if not to help each other when in need?

Yaoyorozu’s eyes widened as she realized what Shoko was saying. “Todoroki, what you’re proposing is extremely dangerous, and probably illegal. At best you wouldn’t do anything, at worst you’d get in the way.”

Yaoyorozu’s discouragement didn’t stop Shoko. “Please. I need to help him.”

Yaoyorozu looked away. “I’m sorry, Todoroki. I can’t help you.”

Shoko realized that Yaoyorozu was not going to be swayed, so as much as she wanted to fight, she stormed off instead. If Yaoyorozu wouldn’t help her, she’d find some other way. She had to.

--

Ochako was home. Not her parents’ apartment, but the one she had by herself near U.A. All by herself. She had barely left the apartment since being dropped off there after the attack, maybe just once to grab groceries. Not that she had really eaten anything. There just… didn’t seem to be a point to it. A point to anything. Not when life could be cruel enough to let her tell Dekiru how she felt, show her that he felt the same way, and then snatch him away. So she just sat there, curled up on her bed, and cried until her eyes had no more tears to give.

Her scar from the USJ was hurting again too. Recovery Girl said that it was fully healed, but Ochako could feel it, a slight pulsing pain over her stomach. It was a constant reminder of how weak and useless she had been at the USJ, and how weak and useless she still was. She had thought that after her training with Gunhead, and everything else that had happened over the semester, she had gotten stronger. But Dekiru had been taken, right from under her nose, and she hadn't been able to do anything about it.

Her phone lit up, but she almost didn’t bother to look at it. After all, it was probably just one of her classmates, asking if she was okay, as if she could possibly be okay after- after everything. But it wasn’t anyone from her class. It was a message from Hatsume, and it said:

Guys, I have a plan

Chapter Text

When Hatsume gave a time and place to meet with no further explanation than “I have a plan,” Tenya wasn’t sure what to expect. He was the first to arrive at the place Hatsume had designated, a park right across from a train station. The sun was starting to set as he arrived, so the park was mostly empty as he waited for his classmates. Todoroki arrived first, and Iida was relieved to see that she was well enough to leave the hospital. Next was Uraraka, who seemed to be taking Midoriya’s disappearance worse than the rest of them, which made sense given that she had known him for the longest.

Finally, Hatsume showed up as well, somehow the last person to arrive at a meeting that she herself arranged. “I don’t know how to preface this, so I’ll just jump right in. I’ve been working on an upgrade to Ten-Million’s Hawk Eyes to let him control them from his phone as well as his costume, just because that would be a lot more convenient for undercover work once he goes pro. Anyway, part of that upgrade means that he can track the Hawk Eyes from his phone, and I can do the same in reverse. His phone isn’t on anymore, whether it was destroyed or just died I’m not sure, but I have its last location.”

As Hatsume spoke, a flicker of hope appeared in Uraraka’s eyes, but Tenya was the first to speak. “That’s incredible! Have you told the Heroes yet?”

Hatsume stared at the ground. “No. I haven’t.”

“Why not?”

“Because if I do, they won’t let me help.”

Tenya tried to reassure her. “This is you helping. If they know where Midoriya is-”

Before Tenya could finish his explanation, Uraraka pushed past him. “Where is he?” Tenya remembered Uraraka seeming uncharacteristically focused and determined in the leadup to the Sports Festival, but that paled in comparison to the fire in her expression now.

Still, Tenya tried to dissuade her. “I understand you want to help Midoriya, but we can’t just-”

“No, Iida, I don’t think you do understand!” Uraraka cut him off. “I know you feel like you owe Dekiru for Hosu or whatever, but some of us actually care for him! And we’re not going to sit around on the sidelines when there’s something we could do to help!”

Tenya recoiled from the accusation. Of course he cared about Midoriya, to say otherwise was ridiculous! But what Hatsume and Uraraka were suggesting, wasn’t that exactly what he had done in Hosu? “Todoroki, please tell me you agree that this is extremely dangerous and illegal.” She had been at Hosu, she was there for the lecture they had received afterward, so surely she would agree with him.

“I’m with Uraraka.” Tenya’s jaw dropped as Todoroki gave her answer. “I may be new to having friends, but I think this is just the sort of thing that friends are for. If nothing else, I know Midoriya would do the same for any of us.”

Tenya was too shocked to speak, looking between his classmates’ faces and finding only determined expressions. Realizing that he would not be able to convince any of them, he hung his head. “Very well. If you will not be dissuaded, I will help you.” If it had been for anyone but Midoriya, and if anyone but Todoroki had tried to sway him…

As Hatsume shared the location with them and they started to board a train, Hatsume spoke up again. “By the way, does anyone have Purple’s number?” It turned out that no one did, only Midoriya had. “That’s a shame, I’m sure he would’ve loved to help out.”

--

Hitoshi hesitantly stepped through the portal leading him to the League of Villains hideout. Koroki said that they were on board with his joining, but Hitoshi wasn’t blind to how risky a plan this was. Still, whatever the risk, he was willing to do it for Midoriya.

Hitoshi had to steel himself almost immediately as the first person he saw upon walking through the portal was Shigaraki. “So, you’re the one Mustard told me about. Why do you want to join the League of Villains?”

Hitoshi shrugged with a feigned indifference. “You’ve already heard… Mustard’s" Hitoshi stumbled over his friend's villain name, "story, mine’s not too different. Everyone’s always told me that my Quirk made me a villain, and the things they did in response… they’re the real villains. I just want to pay them back.”

Shigaraki nodded along, seemingly pleased with what he’d heard. “That makes sense, but aren’t you a U.A. student? Why not just stick with what you’ve already got going for you?”

“I thought that, if I went to U.A. and became a hero, I’d be able to prove people wrong. But the Sports Festival was my big chance, and you know how that went. U.A. picked Bakugo over me, ignoring whatever reason they demoted him in the first place because all they care about is power.”

“Yeah, that Bakugo guy’s the worst. If you ask me, he represents everything wrong with Hero Society.” Hitoshi didn’t miss the way one of the other villains rolled their eyes from behind Shigaraki’s back. “Well, that all sounds good to me! Welcome to the team, Shinso. You’ll probably need to come up with a villain name at some point, but for now, just make yourself at home.”

Hitoshi could barely believe that had worked.

--

While Nezu didn’t share Aizawa’s scathingly low opinion of the press, he wasn’t looking forward to this. U.A. had failed even more than they had for the USJ incident, and the press was likely going to tear them apart for it. Still, this press conference was extremely necessary, for several reasons.

Besides, Nezu was confident in his ability to spin any question that the reporters asked him, so he gestured for the first one to ask her question. “Kizuki Chitose from Shoowaysha Publishing. There’s been a lot of talk about Midoriya Izuku’s inclusion in the Hero Course, would you agree that this incident demonstrates that heroism is just too dangerous for the Quirkless?”

Ah. This was going to be a long night. Nezu had been expecting the press’s attack to target U.A., not Midoriya, but he was still prepared for this. “Not only do I disagree with the idea that Midoriya’s abduction proves your premise, but I also disagree with your premise itself. Heroism is dangerous regardless of Quirk status. Case in point, were it not for Midoriya’s heroic actions, Bakugo Katsuki would have been taken by the villains instead, and if I recall correctly, you have spoken at great lengths about how impressive his Quirk is.” That was perhaps a tad unprofessional, but Nezu still held a slight grudge over Kizuki’s interview with Bakugo after the Sports Festival. “Once the heroes find and rescue Midoriya, I am confident that he will continue to prove himself a worthy hero.” Nezu smiled as he noticed Kizuki trying to hide a grimace. “Now then, next question?”

--

Shigaraki was gone somewhere, Koroki didn’t really know where, but he did know that this was his chance. He didn’t have a good reason to take Hitoshi to the lab where Midoriya was being held, and Shigaraki would recognize that fact. Kurogiri, on the other hand, seemed to have a fondness for him that Koroki wasn’t sure where it came from. Maybe it was just because he was young, but whatever it was, he would use it to his advantage. “Kurogiri! Can I ask you something?”

Kurogiri looked up from the glass he was polishing. He seemed to spend more time polishing those glasses than anyone spent using them. “Of course, Mustard. How can I help you?”

Koroki put on an expression of feigned indifference. “I wanted to show Hitoshi around, could you take us to the lab?”

“I doubt the Doctor would appreciate you bothering him. Between the Pro Hero and Midoriya, he has a lot of work on his hands, and should not be interrupted. Why do you want to go there anyway?”

Koroki waved away the question. “Because, it’s so boring here! What are we supposed to do, just sit around and wait for something to happen? If we’re not doing anything, I want to show Hitoshi all the cool stuff we have.”

Kurogiri thought for a moment. “In that case, perhaps the Nomu storage would be preferable?”

“C’mon, I know all the cooler Nomu are kept at the lab. I promise we won’t disturb the Doctor, can you just take us to the lab? Please?”

Kurogiri’s expression softened. “Very well. Be sure not to break anything as well.” He reached out a hand to Koroki, almost like he was going to ruffle his hair, before pulling it back. Then he opened a portal and allowed Koroki and Hitoshi to step through.

Once they were on the other side, Koroki visibly relaxed. “I’m so glad that worked.”

Hitoshi seemed equally relieved. “Thank you, Koroki. I’m going to go find Midoriya, you should probably go give yourself plausible deniability.”

Hitoshi turned to go, but Koroki reached out and grabbed his arm. “Hey, be careful. Don’t do anything stupid.”

Hitoshi gave him a grin. “Oh, I think we crossed that line a long time ago.” Then his expression turned serious. “But I’ll do my best.”

--

Toshinori rolled the Midnight Marble that Midoriya had absentmindedly given him through his fingers. As the Symbol of Peace, he had only rarely felt nervous before the start of a mission, but this was one of those few times. Midoriya was in danger, kidnapped by potentially the evilest villain to ever live. And while All Might was going to do everything he could to save him, what if it wasn’t enough? What if he was too late? What if All for One knew just how much Midoriya meant to All Might, and killed him on the spot? No, that couldn’t be possible. Not even Midoriya knew just how much he meant to him.

When Toshinori had first learned that his Quirk was fading and that his time as a Hero was running out, he hadn’t reacted well. The few heroes with whom he was close enough to call friends told him to retire, to leave the Hero world gracefully before it was too late, but that hadn’t been how he had seen it. If he only had a few years left with his Quirk, that just meant he needed to be a Hero even more. Because once his Quirk faded, All Might would be no more. And what good was Toshinori without All Might? Without his Quirk, he wouldn’t be able to save anyone, and then he was as good as dead anyway. Might as well fight until the last of his strength left him. So he fought, pushing past every reasonable limit and pushing away anyone who might try to slow him down.

That was when he had met Midoriya, and realized just how wrong his train of thought had been. Because All Might didn’t save Midoriya. If anything, All Might just made the situation worse. It was Yagi Toshinori, the powerless shell of his former self, who reached out his hand to the boy and helped him to become a hero. And Midoriya was doing it all without a Quirk to begin with. So every time Midoriya helped someone, or inspired one of his classmates, or proved in any way his worthiness to become a Hero, it gave Toshinori hope that, even when All Might faded away, there would still be hope for Toshinori. He just hoped that he’d be able to tell the boy all of that.

Toshinori’s train of thought was interrupted as Aizawa came up next to him. There were very few times in his life that Toshinori was as thankful to Recovery Girl for her Quirk as he was now. Because without her Quirk, there was no way that Aizawa would be in a fit state to take part in this raid, and if All Might was right, if All for One was really behind this, there was no one he’d rather have by his side. Aizawa asked him if he was ready to move out, and Toshinori nodded, but the other Hero must’ve seen something in his expression because he added “Don’t worry. We’ll find him.” Toshinori hoped he was right. They had to find him.

Chapter Text

A man matching the villain Dabi’s description had been seen entering a supposedly closed-down bar in Kamino shortly before the attack on U.A., and young Yaoyorozu’s tracker was transmitting from a warehouse in a distant part of the same city. So the Heroes planned a two-pronged assault. Endeavor would lead a team to the warehouse, while the team attacking the bar would be led by All Might.

Toshinori took some comfort from the number of heroes around him. Between the two teams, over half of the Top Ten was part of this raid. And if Toshinori was right, and All for One was part of this, then Aizawa would probably have a greater impact than any of them. Toshinori waited quietly on the rooftop across the street from the bar until he heard the signal through his earpiece: Aizawa’s voice, sounding entirely unamused by their ruse, knocking on the League’s front door with the message “Pizza Delivery.”

The moment the words were said, All Might sprung into action, slamming through the wall of the building and into the bar, nearly crushing a few villains who were standing too close to the opening he made. Nearly all of the League of Villains was in the room, but All Might saw no sign of his protégé. He had to trust that Midoriya was simply at the other site. In the meantime, he had a job to do.

Once the immediate shock of All Might’s arrival wore off, Shigaraki called for Kurogiri to create a portal out of there. But before he could, Kamui Woods, an up-and-coming young hero, followed into the room after All Might and sent out a web of branches to constrict the entire League. Dabi scoffed at the flimsiness of the restraints but just as quickly as his Quirk flared to life, it vanished again as Eraserhead came in through the door, followed by a swarm of police officers. Still, it wouldn’t be too long before Eraserhead had to blink, so All Might and Edgeshot, another seasoned member of the Top Ten, took out the villains whose Quirks were the most dangerous, Edgeshot flitting through Kurogiri to knock him out, and All Might subduing Dabi with a chop to the back of the neck. Then All Might turned to the defeated villains, giving himself all of the gravitas of the Symbol of Peace. “It’s over villains! There’s nowhere left to run. Because we are here!”

After pausing a moment to survey the captured villains, All Might turned to Shigaraki. “Your game is over, Shigaraki Tomura! Now, where is he?”

All Might had seen countless villains over the years wilt under the gaze he turned toward Shigaraki, but the villain instead stared right back at him. He opened his mouth to respond, but before he could, there was another voice. “Come now, All Might! How could it be over when I haven’t even started yet?” All Might turned toward the TV in the corner from which the message came, fear gripping his heart. He knew that voice. It was All for One. His worst fears had been true.

Just as All for One spoke, a strange slime burst from the mouths of each League member before consuming them entirely. All that was left as the heroes froze in surprise was All For One’s laughter. “Well, All Might, as excited as I am to face you once again, I suppose I’ll have to entertain myself with the heroes at my warehouse until you arrive.”

All Might turned toward the hole in the wall in surprise. The other team was in danger! He didn’t have a moment to lose! So he grabbed Eraserhead by the arm and rocketed himself through the night sky.

--

Izuku wasn’t sure how long he was out for, but when he came to he was strapped to a table with harsh operating lights glaring down at him. A voice off to the side caught his attention. “I hope you haven’t been feeling neglected, but I had to make sure I properly extracted Ragdoll’s Quirk before I began working on you. It’s such a fascinating Quirk! And whenever I see a Quirk that interesting, I simply must have it.”

Izuku could hardly believe what he was hearing. Taking Quirks? The Nomu had multiple Quirks, sure, but he still had no idea how that was possible. But also, the voice sounded familiar, and he craned his neck to look at the speaker, a shorter, bald man with a bushy mustache and goggles covering his eyes. Izuku couldn’t believe his eyes. “Doctor Tsubasa?”

Doctor Tsubasa seemed surprised by Izuku’s remark. “I think I went by that name once. Have we met?”

“You were my childhood Quirk doctor. You gave me my Quirkless diagnosis.” In fact, the man hadn’t aged a day since then.

“Really? I suppose the Nomu project was still in its infancy, so I didn’t realize how valuable Quirkless bodies were, but I really should have kept tabs on you. Oh well, I guess I got my hands on you anyways, so all's well that ends well!”

Izuku tried to fight against his restraints to no avail. “Why are you doing this?” Maybe if he could just keep the doctor talking, he could figure something out.

For his part, the doctor was happy to talk. “Power. It’s all that really matters, after all. I’m surprised you haven’t learned that after ten years of having none. There was a time when I didn’t have any power either. I was Quirkless, just like you. But then I met him.”

The doctor seemed almost wistful as he spoke. “All for One. The greatest villain to ever live. The Demon Lord of Japan, who ruled the underworld with an iron fist and the ability to give and take Quirks. He gave me power. A Quirk to slow my aging nearly to a stop, so that I could serve at his side forever. My knowledge of Quirks was unmatched and was only strengthened the longer I was able to study the effects of his. It was perfect.”

Here his expression soured. “Until All Might appeared. That idealistic fool tore down my master’s criminal empire until he was forced to confront the upstart himself. And then… the impossible happened. All Might killed him. I did everything I could to save my master, but it was too late. But soon All Might will pay for what he’s done, and once he is gone, I will spread All for One’s blanket of fear across Japan once more, until the day that Shigaraki is ready to take his predecessor’s place as the Demon Lord of Japan!”

As much as Izuku had tried to come up with a plan during the villain’s monologue, he had nothing. His hand and feet were strapped down, the table wouldn’t budge, and there was nothing within arm’s reach for him to use. The doctor suddenly seemed to remember he was there. “Ah, sorry, I seem to have gotten carried away for a moment. Let’s begin your operation, shall we? You’ll be a fine Nomu once we’re done with you.” Izuku tried to squirm away, but the doctor gripped his arm and held it in place. “Don’t struggle, I promise that it will hurt much less if you just let it happen. It’ll hurt a great deal either way though.”

The first incision was a shallow cut with a scalpel, stretching all the way from Izuku’s shoulder to his wrist. But as the doctor prepared for the second cut, a faint alarm began blaring, causing the doctor to sigh loudly. “What is it now?”

Izuku craned his neck to see what the doctor was looking at, and realized that there was security footage of the bar to which he had first been teleported, along with some sort of warehouse, both of which were being raided by heroes. The doctor shook his head. “After the press conference, I really thought I had more time.”

Izuku smiled as he watched the Heroes, led by All Might, restrain the entire League in seconds. “It’s over! The Heroes are here, and it’s only a matter of time before they get me out of here!”

The doctor seemed unfazed by both the attack and Izuku’s taunt. “First of all, the Heroes aren’t here. My lab is not under attack, so even if the Heroes win this day, they won’t be able to save you. Secondly,” he pressed a button by the computer and leaned into a microphone. “How could it be over when I haven’t even started yet?”

Izuku watched as the doctor switched buttons to start issuing commands to Nomu. “Johnny, warp the League to my lab.”

Sure enough, the League vanished from the bar. Izuku once again struggled against his restraints, knowing that an attack from the Heroes would be his best chance at escape. “Whatever it is you’re planning, it won’t work! Not with All Might there.”

The doctor smiled a sinister grin. “I suppose you’re right. After all, you managed to take down my anti-All Might Nomu. But then again, I wouldn’t have risked it on that mission unless I had a suitable replacement ready.” He turned back to the microphone. “Johnny, warp Alfonse to the Nomu warehouse. Alfonse, kill everything.”

--

It took less than a minute for All Might to travel the five kilometers the warehouse that his fellow heroes had attacked, but he could tell that much had already happened in his absence. In front of the warehouse was an entire block that had been reduced to rubble, with the Heroes from the strike force laid out, hopefully just unconscious, all across it. And standing in the middle of it all was a masked man in a suit. All Might had no doubt as to who it was. So he placed Eraserhead down on a nearby rooftop that was untouched by the destruction and leaped into battle. “I’ll have you return my student, All for One!”

All Might swung as he crashed down on All for One, but the villain simply held up his hand and caught his fist. “Have you come to kill me a second time, All Might?” Before All Might could respond, the villain slammed his other fist into All Might’s gut, sending him crashing through a building.

All Might rose out of the rubble slowly. Whatever strength Quirks All for One was using, he was physically on par with All Might. And he seemed to have the same Shock Absorption as the Nomu from the USJ. Still, All Might wouldn’t let that stop him. “I won’t repeat the mistake I made five years ago. This time, I’ll make sure you’re locked up for the rest of your sad life!”

With that, All Might charged again, and All for One raised his hand to block again, but then Eraserhead’s Quirk activated, and All Might’s fist connected with the villain’s chest, sending him flying back. All Might readied himself as All for One returned to his feet. Whatever the villain threw at him, he would be ready. For Midoriya’s sake.

--

Izuku watched in horror as tore through the Heroes, including heavy hitters like Endeavor and Best Jeanist, in seconds. He hadn’t thought anything could be more terrifying than the Nomu from the USJ. He had been wrong.

“Impressive, isn’t it?” The doctor gloated. “I built Alfonse to serve as a dummy All for One, to keep his mantle of fear alive until Shigaraki was ready to inherit it. It has just as much strength, shock absorption, and regeneration as the previous model, alongside a few extra key Quirks, and more intelligence so that it can strategize on its own without commands. Between its strength and an A.I. program disguising my voice as my old master's, it shouldn’t be hard to convince the world that he’s returned. And even if they don’t believe it, it won’t matter once All Might is dead.”

Almost on cue, All Might arrived onto the scene, slamming into the Nomu with all his might. But the Nomu didn’t even budge as it punched the Symbol of Peace through a building and the doctor continued playing the part of All for One. The doctor laughed to himself as All Might charged again. “Raw strength won’t save you this time!” But his smile faded as the blow sent the Nomu flying. “How? The Shock Absorption should’ve- Eraserhead.” Izuku smiled. If he had to ascribe a weakness to Aizawa-sensei’s Quirk, it was that it didn’t give him any extra power, it just leveled the playing field. But All Might made up for that weakness and then some. Unaware of Izuku’s realization, the doctor muttered along with the fight. “When you escaped my grasp that day, I knew you’d come back to haunt me.”

The doctor made it sound like he and Aizawa-sensei had a history. “You mean at the USJ?”

The doctor turned toward Izuku. “That’s right, I forgot you were there. No, this was many years ago. But, I don’t have time to explain it to you right now, so how about you go to sleep until this whole thing is done.”

He picked up a syringe, but as he walked toward Izuku, Izuku heard someone. “What’s up doc?”

The doctor looked up in surprise. “Who said tha-” He froze midsentence as Shinso walked into the room, punching him in the jaw and laying him out in a single blow.

Izuku couldn’t believe his eyes. If the Heroes didn’t even know about this hideout, how was Shinso here? Izuku realized there would be time for questions later as Shinso undid his restraints. “Come on, Midoriya, let’s get you out of here. I assume those are your clothes over there?”

Izuku’s nakedness hadn’t been high on his list of priorities a moment ago, but he was grateful that his clothes weren’t too far away, tossed haphazardly into a pile on the ground. He started to put them on, but he heard a crash as he finished pulling on his shorts. He turned to see that Hitoshi had crashed into a cabinet, and standing where he had been a moment ago was the doctor. “I admit, that was a good punch. But Twice’s Quirk has made it possible for me to operate on myself, finally giving myself some of the fruits of my research. I haven’t been able to work on myself too much, just a few basic modifications, but it should still be enough for the likes of you.”

Chapter Text

Izuku analyzed his opponent, trying to find any detail he could to give himself an edge. The problem was that he hadn’t been expecting the doctor to also be a fighter, so he had almost nothing to go on. All he knew was that, given how he sent Shinso flying like that, he probably had some level of super-strength. Which was bad for Izuku. As simple a power as super-strength was, that simplicity came with advantages. It was a balanced power with no clear weaknesses to exploit. You either had a way to push past it, or you didn’t. And without his Support Items, Izuku didn’t. Also, his arm was still bleeding from where the doctor had cut him, and the blood loss wasn't going to help him.

But before he could worry about that, the doctor charged him, forcing Izuku onto the defensive. He dodged swing after swing, knowing better than to try and block a super-strength punch. Fortunately, his opponent didn’t seem to have any training, so his swings were fairly sloppy. Unfortunately, his super-strength seemed to also come with increased speed, so it was all Izuku could do to keep pace with the blows.

And then he couldn’t, a kick to the leg catching him off guard and sending him to the ground. Izuku barely managed to roll out of the way of a follow-up punch that cracked the floor tiles where it impacted.

Then Izuku was up on his feet, attempting an offensive of his own. He managed to land a few hits on his inexperienced opponent, but they seemed to barely faze him, and before he could retreat to a safe distance, the doctor swiped at him, sending him through the monitor that the doctor had been watching before. As Izuku struggled to return to his feet, he glanced over to where Shinso was still unconscious from being sent through a cupboard. The heroes didn't know about the lab, and his rescue was out of commission. Izuku needed to win this fight on his own. And he wasn’t sure if he could.

--

All for One was uncharacteristically quiet, but that quiet gave All Might hope that he was putting up a good enough fight that his nemesis didn’t have time to gloat. But that made sense. With Eraserhead providing support, whatever Quirks that All for One had planned on using did nothing, and he was forced to rely on whatever strength he had from non-Quirk enhancements.

Which was still a great deal, unfortunately. Even without Quirks, he seemed to be matching All Might almost blow for blow. All that All Might could hope for was that his opponent was rusty, and would give an opening before too long.

But an opening didn’t present itself before Eraserhead was forced to blink. And in that one instant, All for One’s arm expanded in size before sending a massive blast of energy straight into All Might, sending him through yet another building.

All Might was back on his feet in an instant, and by the time he reached All for One again, Eraserhead’s Quirk was once again active, so the villain staggered back from the blow. All Might didn’t let up on his offensive, raining down blow after blow without any heed to his own safety. He needed to end this quickly, not only was Eraserhead’s stamina a serious factor in the fight, but All Might’s time limit had only gotten shorter as the semester went on. A few more hits like that Air Cannon, and All Might would once again be powerless.

But reckless offense like that had obvious downsides, and All for One used his fury to land a fist directly into his injured side. All Might nearly doubled over from the blow, and he barely had enough time to pull his arms in front of his face to block the follow-up. While All Might was still on the defensive, All for One paused, glanced off to the side, and leaped away. It took All Might a crucial moment to realize why that was. All for One had figured out where Eraserhead was, and was about to remove him from the fight. “No!”

--

While Hatsumei and the three 1-A students headed by train toward Midoriya’s last known location, there was a commotion as people saw news of the Heroes’ raid on the League of Villains. “It sounds like the Heroes just raided those villains who attacked U.A.!” “That’s a relief, you can’t just let people get away with attacking high schoolers!” “Do you think they’ll be able to save that Quirkless kid?”

As he heard everyone talking, Tenya let out a sigh of relief. “Well, it sounds like the Heroes have the situation under control. I would imagine that our help will not be needed. I think we should-”

Hatsume interrupted him before he could finish his thought. “About that, it doesn’t look like the Heroes targeted the hideout we’re headed to. It also doesn’t look like they’ve found Midoriya yet, so if anything, we’re more needed now than ever.”

--

Izuku batted aside another swing, but he couldn’t react fast enough to avoid a kick to the ribs, sending him back into the wall and probably breaking a few ribs in the process. The doctor looked down at him as he tried to return to his feet. “I must admit, Midoriya, I admire your spark, but you must realize that there’s nothing you can do against me. You simply aren’t powerful enough.”

As much as Izuku hated to admit it, he knew the man was right. He tried desperately to think of something, to find something that could turn the tide, but there wasn’t- Then he found it. Across the room, rolled onto the floor due to the fight, was the syringe the doctor had been about to inject Izuku with before Shinso had arrived. If it had some sort of anesthetic, and if Izuku could just get to it, he might have a chance.

Unfortunately, the doctor was between him and the syringe, so he would have to be careful. He feinted rushing the doctor, but then switched and vaulted onto the operating table, jumping off of it in hopes of getting past the doctor in one movement. He almost made it, but the doctor grabbed onto his leg while he was midair, and slammed him into the ground, face-first. Izuku reached for the syringe, but it was still just out of reach, and as Izuku tried to crawl towards it, the doctor slammed a foot into his back, forcing him to cry out in pain. Izuku pushed through the pain, and just barely managed to wrap his fingers around the syringe as the doctor kicked him in the side, flipping him onto his back.

“I’m afraid I was a little overzealous in fighting you. All of these injuries are going to drastically increase how long it takes to turn you into a Nomu. I guess I don’t know my own strength yet. Oh well, there will be time enough for that later. And besides, it’s your fault for hanging on for so long.” The doctor grabbed him by the neck and picked him up, punching him in the face once more for good measure. The blow almost made Izuku drop the syringe, but he managed to grip it as hard as he could, and twisted his arm to jam the syringe into the doctor’s arm. The doctor looked down at it in surprise. “Oh. Oh dear. That’s- that’s not…” He dropped Izuku as he stumbled backward, and then collapsed.

Izuku’s head swam as he forced himself to his feet. He wasn’t in the clear yet, but he just... couldn’t think straight. He glanced down at his still-bleeding arm and realized that was probably because of the blood loss. He’d… he’d need to deal with that pretty soon. That would… that would be bad. And then he could… he could figure out what came next.

--

All Might managed to catch up to and tackle All for One mid-air, sending them both crashing through the building Eraserhead was standing on instead of through Eraserhead himself. But with the two of them inside the building, Eraserhead didn’t have line of sight, so as All Might tried to capitalize on his position with a punch to the face, the villain didn’t even budge. The mask, however, shattered, leaving All Might face-to-face with… a Nomu. It looked different than the one from the USJ, but between the exposed brain and the rictus grin, that was unmistakably what it was. But then, where was All for One? If this monster had been posing as him, was it possible that the villain was well and truly dead?

All Might didn’t have too long to be relieved, however, as the Nomu stretched a hand out to him and released another blast of air, sending him back several feet. All Might braced himself for a second blast, but then the Nomu aimed its arm at the ceiling instead, aiming for Eraserhead. At the realization, All Might ran out of the building instead, shouting for Eraserhead to get out of the way. He saw the hero’s face turn toward him just before the shockwave hit the roof, sending him flying in a shower of rubble. All Might tried to reach him, but another blast of air knocked him out of the way, and he heard Eraserhead hit the ground with a thud.

All Might looked back at the Nomu, who was aiming its arm at Eraserhead, and before he had even thought, All Might moved. He jumped in the way of the blast, holding up his arms as he barely held his ground. Then the Nomu blasted him again. And again. And again. And with each blast, All Might could feel his Quirk failing him more and more, until he felt himself forced back into his skinny form, with only his right arm holding onto its power. He knew he was only a few more hits away from his Quirk failing him entirely, but that final hit never came.

For a moment All Might wondered if the Nomu was toying with him, but realized what was really happening as a voice spoke up from behind him. “Come on, All Might, you can’t give up now! Show this thing what the Symbol of Peace can do!” All Might glanced back to realize that Eraserhead was still conscious, and while he was too weak to stand, he had pulled himself to one knee and was staring directly at the Nomu, his Quirk flaring. “It’s now or never!”

Despite how dire the situation was, All Might smiled. Then he charged the Nomu, putting everything he had into one final blow. His fist connected with the Nomu’s face, and it staggered back from the impact, but then it steadied itself.

All Might’s spirits sank. He had thrown everything he had at the Nomu, he could feel his Quirk giving out entirely, what did he have left? Oh. That's what he had left. As the Nomu swung for him, All Might held up his strengthened arm to block it, still feeling the arm break from the impact with how weakened his Quirk was. But then he took Midoriya’s Midnight Marble in his other hand and threw it directly into the Nomu’s face. As monstrous as the creature was, it still needed to breathe, so All Might dodged one final blow from the Nomu before it collapsed to the ground, unconscious.

All Might’s senses from his many years as a Pro Hero told him that the press was watching, so he scanned the sky until he saw a news helicopter in the distance, and then he locked eyes with it before using the last dregs of his Quirk to bulk up and raise his fist in victory.

~

Hitoshi was glad that no one except Midoriya had been around to see his “rescue”, because he wasn’t sure how he’d live down getting tossed through a cabinet by someone he had assumed wasn’t a fighter. Fortunately, it didn’t seem like he had been out for too long, and when he came to, Midoriya was sitting up on the operating table, bandaging his arm, and the doctor was properly unconscious. Midoriya looked over at Hitoshi as he returned to his feet. “Oh, hey Shinso. You’re up… That’s good… I wasn’t sure how to… how to carry you… out…” And then Hitoshi watched as Midoriya fell back onto the table.

Chapter Text

For a brief moment, Hitoshi had entertained the possibility that Midoriya would be strong enough to walk out on his own, but he had pretty much assumed going into this that we would have to carry Midoriya out. The silver lining, he thought to himself as he lifted Midoriya into a fireman’s carry, was that his training with Aizawa left him more than strong enough to do that at a reasonable speed.

But as he left the doctor’s main lab, he realized that he had no idea where the exit was. He probably should’ve figured that out before he had blown his cover. But it was too late for that, all he could do was keep looking and hope that he found an exit before anyone found him.

Wandering through the complex, and trying not to be intimidated by the Nomu on display, it wasn’t long before Hitoshi saw a door that looked promising. It wasn’t labeled, none of the doors in this building were labeled, but Hitoshi had been gradually getting higher and higher, so he had to be close to the exit now.

Before he could try the door, however, he heard someone behind him. “I should’ve known you were going to betray us, but I have to admit that that was fast.”

Hitoshi turned around to realize that Shigaraki had found him. “I was never really on your side to betray you. The only one I betrayed is Koroki.” If Hitoshi was lucky, Shigaraki would believe that Koroki had no part in this plan. If Hitoshi was really lucky, Shigaraki would respond.

He had never been that lucky, so he shouldn’t have been surprised when Shigaraki just grinned and put a finger to his lips, letting Hitoshi know that he knew about his Quirk. Hitoshi would need to fight his way out of this, and against an opponent who could kill him with a single touch, he didn’t like his odds.

But before Shigaraki could attack him, the exit door slammed open, and Hitoshi saw Todoroki run through it, followed by Uraraka, Iida, and Hatsumei. Todoroki quickly took stock of the situation, and sent a wave of ice at Shigaraki, freezing him in place.

Uraraka ran right toward Hitoshi, looking over Midoriya worriedly. “Is he… is he okay?”

Hitoshi nodded. “Yeah, he’s unconscious, but he should be alright.”

As Uraraka breathed a sigh of relief, cracks appeared along Todoroki’s ice before it shattered into a million tiny pieces. Shigaraki smirked as the cloud of ice particles settled around him. “Did you really think that would work on me?”

Todoroki placed herself between Shigaraki and Shinso, and Uraraka and Iida quickly did the same. “Hatsume, help Shinso get Midoriya to safety. We’ll deal with him.”

--

From the outside, the villains’ hideout just looked like an abandoned corner store. Iida wanted to make sure that this was the right address, but Hatsumei assured him that it was and that this store had allegedly been shut down for years. Todoroki took the lead, making her way over to a side door and trying it. “It’s locked, but I might be able to freeze it and-”

“No need,” Hatsume interrupted her, “I have lockpicks.” Iida looked like he was going to have an aneurysm as Hatsume knelt down by the door and started picking the lock.

Ochako leaned against the wall to make sure that no one watching from the street could see what she was doing. “How’d you learn to pick locks? That doesn’t seem super relevant to Support Engineering.”

Hatsume didn’t look up from her work. “It’s not. But it is a very productive use of my urge to fidget. Well, productive depending on who you ask.” She gestured toward Iida, who still looked mortified that he was a part of this. After a minute or so the door swung open, and the four of them snuck in.

The hideout looked unassuming from the inside as well, seeming like nothing more than a normal department store. Todoroki started feeling along one of the walls. “Everyone spread out. There must be a secret entrance somewhere.” As Ochako checked the walls, she thought she heard something. It sounded like people were talking. It sounded like… Shinso? The noise was coming from the other side of the wall, so she grabbed the large shelves covering it and activated her Quirk, practically throwing them to the side to uncover a door that was hidden behind them. “Guys, I found it!”

Before Ochako could run through the door, Todoroki took the lead, and Ochako followed her through the door, down a flight of steps, and through another door before they emerged into the hideout proper, and saw Shigaraki about to attack Shinso, who was holding Dekiru. She had no idea what Shinso was doing here, but she had much bigger priorities than figuring that out.

As Todoroki tried to slow down Shigaraki, Ochako rushed to check on Dekiru. He looked rough, with bruises all over him, and his right arm covered in bandages. She didn’t want to leave him like that, she wanted to make sure that he was okay, but as Todoroki said that they needed to keep Shigaraki busy as Shinso escaped, Ochako knew she was right. The first priority was getting Dekiru out, they would follow when they could.

Besides, Ochako realized, her Quirk was an effective counter to Shigaraki’s. Because while their effects were quite different, the two Quirks were quite similar in application: whoever got the first hit would win.

Ochako and Iida ran toward Shigaraki, Todoroki hanging back to support them from behind. Iida reached Shigaraki first, and sent out a powerful kick that the villain narrowly dodged. Before he could try and counter, Ochako was on him, forcing him to jump back and away from her swipe. Todoroki took advantage of the opening to send out another wave of ice, freezing him to the floor while he was still off-balance.

Ochako kept up the offensive, hoping to activate her Quirk on him before he could unfreeze himself, but he shattered the ice too quickly and stretched his arm out toward Ochako. His reach was longer than hers, so she tried to dodge back, but she couldn’t keep her balance with the sudden shift of momentum, and fell onto her back. Shigaraki loomed over her, about to swipe at her, but before he could, Iida blindsided him with a kick, sending him back into a wall. Iida reached out a hand to help Ochako up, which she begrudgingly accepted.

Weirdly, Shigaraki was laughing as he returned to his feet. “You know, I was really disappointed to not be able to fight All Might today. So as much as the doctor had plans for Midoriya, I’m more than happy trading him in for the three of you. The only problem is, I don’t know how I’ll get credit for killing you when my Quirk doesn’t leave much left to be identified.”

Shigaraki ran for Iida, but as Ochako turned to intercept him, he turned to swipe at her instead. She narrowly avoided his swing, and while Iida managed to kick him while his back was turned, it didn’t throw him off for long as he turned back toward Iida with another swing. Ochako and Iida both danced around Shigaraki warily, trying to get in close but unable to get through safely. And then Todoroki broke the stalemate with another wave of ice, not even bothering to freeze him in place and instead just having it slam into him and knock him away.

Ochako needed a better opening to safely use her Quirk, so she just eyed Shigaraki warily as he returned to his feet. They had gotten a good few hits in on him, but they didn’t seem to be slowing him down. “Man, you U.A. brats are persistent! But I think I see my mistake. You should always go for the mage first.”

With that, Shigaraki turned and ran directly toward Todoroki before the other two could get in his way. Todoroki sent a wave of ice at him as he charged, but he just stretched his hand out and shattered it, barely slowing down. Iida ran after him, but Shigaraki had been expecting that, and turned around to turn his Quirk on him instead. Fortunately, Iida had moved faster than he had expected, so he hadn’t yet finished turning, so instead of his palm, it was his elbow that slammed into Iida’s stomach. Still, the impact was enough to send Iida onto his back, and Shigaraki wasn’t going to give him time to get back up.

Uraraka ran as hard as she could, trying to catch up, but she knew she would be too late. She was too far away, Iida would be dead by the time she arrived. Ochako was willing to die to bring Dekiru home, she had made some sort of peace with that, but she hadn’t considered losing someone else to her focus on Dekiru. Iida had said that this was a bad idea from the beginning, and now-

Before Shigaraki could get his hand on Iida, a plume of fire shot out from Todoroki and nearly engulfed him. Shigaraki tried to dodge back from it, but that sent him straight into Ochako, whose arm was already outstretched to remove his gravity. The contact then pushed Shigaraki back toward Iida, who had returned to his feet and sent out a powerful kick that the villain was helpless to dodge. The kick sent him back toward Ochako, so the two of them batted Shigaraki back and forth, hitting him with everything they had to try and take him down. And then Todoroki shouted for them to get out of the way, and as the two of them did so, a massive jet of fire went out from Todoroki and straight into the villain, the force of it sending him slamming into the far wall.

And when Todoroki’s fire faded, the villain didn’t move. After watching him for a few, wary moments, Ochako released her Quirk and watched him fall to the ground, but then he remained still.

Ochako turned to praise Todoroki for the powerful finisher, but she realized that something was wrong with her. The other girl was hyperventilating with her eyes squeezed shut as she held her arm in a death grip. Whatever it was she was going through, Ochako realized that this wasn’t the place for it. Ochako hurried to her side. “Todoroki, we need to go. Can you move?” She nodded, so Ochako led her back out of the hideout with Iida watching their backs.

~

Once they were a safe enough distance away, Todoroki pulled herself out of Ochako’s grasp. “Thank you for that. I…”

Todoroki seemed unsure of how to finish her sentence, but Ochako responded anyway. “Of course, Todoroki. We all had each other’s backs back there.”

Iida gave an awkward nod at Ochako’s words. “Yes. I must request that neither of you do anything like that ever again, but… thank you.” The three of them took a moment to breathe after the tense fight, and then Iida continued. “We should probably check on how Hatsume and Shinso are doing with Midoriya. That was the whole point of this after all.”

Ochako pulled out her phone to ask Hatsume what her status was, but instead saw a text from the other girl saying that they had successfully gotten Midoriya to a hospital. He was safe. Tears of joy and relief began to leak from Ochako’s eyes. “Guys! Hatsume says she got Midoriya to a hospital. We did it. We saved him! We actually saved him!”

Chapter Text

If Aizawa didn’t drop Hitoshi immediately for how reckless he had been, Hitoshi would need to thank him. He never would’ve been able to carry Midoriya so far without his training, and it would’ve been beyond embarrassing to get his friend away from the villains only to fail like that.

Hitoshi stopped a block away from the hospital and turned back to Hatsume. “You should go. I can take him from here.”

Hatsume stopped in her tracks. “Why?”

“If I’m the only one to bring Midoriya to the hospital, I have a cover story prepared,” Hitoshi explained. “But if you’re there too, you’ll need to explain how you're involved, and that might end up bringing everyone else into this too. This way we can cover our tracks.”

Hatsume nodded before turning away. “Good luck, Purple. I hope you know what you’re doing.”

Hitoshi didn’t, but that had never stopped him before.

--

After the battle, Toshinori and Aizawa were moved out of the media’s sight so they could be patched up. Toshinori stared at the ground in defeat. “I failed.”

Aizawa let out a sigh. “How did you fail?”

“Midoriya wasn’t there. We didn't find him anywhere. This whole operation was to save him, and he’s still missing. He’s out there, going through who knows what.”

“We’ll find him.”

Toshinori shook off Aizawa’s comfort. “That’s what you said before. And besides, I doubt I’ll be doing anything.” He took a deep breath before continuing. “My Quirk is gone. It’s been fading for some time, but that fight took everything I had left. I was willing to give my last bit of strength to save Midoriya, but…” He looked up Aizawa, the desperation clear in his eyes. “You have to save him. Please.”

Aizawa nodded. “Of course. I will not rest until he’s found.”

Before Toshinori could respond, a police officer ran into the medical tent. All Might, sir! They found Midoriya!”

--

While he wasn’t nearly as beat up as Midoriya, Hitoshi did have some bruising for the hospital to look over. And while they were doing so, a detective in a trench coat made his way into Hitoshi’s hospital room. “Hello, I’m Detective Tsukauchi. I’m the primary detective assigned to the League of Villains case. Would you mind answering a few questions?” Hitoshi shook his head, so the detective continued. “I’ll keep it simple. How did you find Midoriya?”

Hitoshi took a deep breath before answering, choosing his next words very carefully. “Shirakumo Koroki, I think his villain name is Mustard. He was a friend of mine in middle school. He disappeared when he joined the League, so I was trying to find him. I eventually managed to contact him, at first I wanted to help him escape the League, I figured he was under some sort of duress, but when I realized that wasn’t the case, and that he wanted to be where he was, I asked him to take me back to the League’s hideout with him. I told him that I would pretend to join, but then break Midoriya out when their backs were turned. That part has to stay secret.” He locked eyes with the detective. “Please. If the League knew that Koroki knew I was going to break Midoriya out, they’d kill him.”

“My lips are sealed.”

With that promise, Hitoshi continued. “Once I convinced the League that I was on their side, I snuck through their lab. Some doctor-looking guy was operating on Midoriya. I managed to free Midoriya and tried to punch the doctor out, but he must’ve had some sort of super strength, because he punched me through a cabinet instead.” Hitoshi gestured toward his bruising. “I blacked out for a bit after that, and when I came to again, the doctor was unconscious and Midoriya was a few seconds away from passing out himself. From there, I was able to carry him to the exit, and I brought him straight here.” Nothing Hitoshi said was technically untrue, he just left a few massive gaps.

The detective narrowed his eyes as if he knew that Hitoshi was hiding something, but then he smiled as though nothing was wrong. “I see. Well, while I shouldn’t need to tell you that what you did was remarkably unwise, none of it was illegal, so I’ll just wish you a good day, and ask that next time you reach out to the authorities before doing anything so reckless.”

Hitoshi nodded, letting out a sigh of relief as soon as the detective had left the room. That could have gone so much worse.

--

The plan was to be at the hospital in shifts so that someone would be able to tell everyone if Dekiru’s condition changed, but also they wouldn’t all need to exhaust themselves. Ochako would be willing to never get tagged out though. Last time she had let Dekiru out of her sight… all this had happened, so she wanted to stay as close to him as she could for as long as possible.

As Ochako sat in the waiting room, she heard someone call out to her. “Hello there, Uraraka, right?” Ochako looked over to see Mrs. Midoriya. She looked like she hadn’t slept much in the last few days, and her eyes were red from crying, but Ochako understood why. She hadn’t slept much either while Dekiru was gone. “Do you know anything about how Izuku’s doing?”

“The doctors haven’t let me see him,” which was true, though it wasn’t the same as saying that she hadn’t seen him, “but it sounds like he’s stable and recovering.”

Mrs. Midoriya let out a sigh of relief. “That’s good… that’s good… I just can’t keep doing this, worrying if he’ll be alright…” She seemed to forget Ochako was there for a moment, but then focused on her again. “But I’m glad that he has friends to support him through this.”

Before Ochako could respond, Mrs. Midoriya walked over to the help desk. “I’m here to see Midoriya Izuku.”

The receptionist scrolled through a list for a few moments before answering. “Currently, his visits are restricted to immediate family. Are you-”

“I’m his mother.” Mrs. Midoriya didn’t even let the receptionist finish.

“Of course, ma’am. I’ll take you to him.”

Mrs. Midoriya took a few more steps, but then paused. “Is it possible for me to bring someone with me?”

The receptionist shrugged indifferently. “I guess so.”

Mrs. Midoriya looked back at Ochako and gestured for her to follow, which she did gratefully.

--

Before Hitoshi left the hospital, there was one more person he needed to talk to. “What were you thinking?!”

Hitoshi stared at the floor as Aizawa upbraided him. “Midoriya’s my friend. I had to help him.”

“You help him by telling us where he is. By leaving it to the people who have been trained to deal with it. That isn’t you, not yet. You could’ve died!”

“I know, I know.” Hitoshi was bracing himself for the consequences. He had gotten lucky with the detective, but he knew just how poorly this conversation could go. “I wasn’t even looking for Midoriya at first. I was looking for Koroki.”

The last sentence had been muttered almost to himself, but Aizawa still heard it. “That doesn’t change anything! You should’ve left it to the pros, even if it was for Shira-” Suddenly, for reasons Hitoshi didn't understand, the fire seemed to leave Aizawa. He had to take a moment to compose himself before continuing. “I’m pushing your enrollment in the Hero Course back.” He held up a hand as Hitoshi opened his mouth to protest. “I understand- I see why you did what you did, but I’m not going to enable such reckless behavior. The last thing I want is for you to end up dead.” Aizawa locked eyes with Hitoshi, trying to convince him that he truly cared.

Part of Hitoshi wanted to believe him. Part of him was just upset that Aizawa was pushing his dream back with just a few words. “Can I go?” Aizawa nodded sadly, so Hitoshi pushed his way past his mentor, trying to force back the tears of frustration until he was out of sight.

--

Izuku had a moment to himself when he woke up. It took him some time to realize where he was, but when he did, he let out a sigh of relief. He was safe. Shinso must’ve carried him out after he passed out. Izuku would need to thank him.

He took a moment to look himself over. His bruises still hurt, which made him hope that Recovery Girl would make an appearance before too long, and his right arm was still bandaged, though the bandaging was of a much higher quality than the rush job he had done for himself. He ran his left hand along it, remembering the cut the doctor had made. Between how long the cut had been, and how much he had likely aggravated it during his fight, Izuku wasn’t hopeful that it would heal cleanly, but he’d worry about that later. For now, he was just happy he was safe.

While he had that thought, the door opened. “Izuku! You’re awake!” His mom rushed into the room and pulled him into a hug, causing Izuku to wince as it aggravated the ribs that were at least bruised if not broken. She immediately pulled back as she heard his wince. “Oh, I’m so sorry, it's just… you’re okay! I was so worried, I know the doctors said you’d be okay, but what if they were wrong? What if you didn’t wake up? I… I can’t lose you, Izuku. I can’t.”

Izuku put a hand on his mom’s shoulder, trying to comfort her as her tears threatened to bring out his own tears. “I’m okay, Mom. I’m right here.”

She gripped his hand in her own as she started to wipe her tears away. “I know, I’m sorry, I’m such a mess right now." After a moment she seemed a little more composed. "Oh, you should say hi to your friend too, she’s been waiting for you to wake up as long as I have.”

Izuku looked toward the door where his mom had pointed, and realized that Uraraka was standing in the doorway, not wanting to intrude on the family reunion. A smile broke out on his face as he saw her, which she immediately returned. “Hi.”

--

It was a shame, really. The doctor was quite fond of this lab, but now that the Quirkless boy had escaped, he would need to relocate and move everything to one of his redundancies. What had Shigaraki been thinking, trusting some random teenager with a sob story? Still, the doctor thought, he shouldn’t be too hard on the boy. He had paid for his mistake. Those U.A. students had certainly done a number on him on their way out. He would need to ensure that their deaths were sufficiently gruesome as punishment.

The doctor had gathered up the League so he could explain what had happened and Kurogiri could warp them all away, and Dabi was the first to speak up. “So, if Shigaraki’s out of commission, who’s in charge?”

The doctor laughed. “Well, that’s a silly question. I’ve been in charge since the beginning, so I will continue to be so.”

“And what if I object to that?” Flames licked dangerously across Dabi’s hand as he spoke.

The doctor locked eyes with Dabi, undaunted by the threat. “You’re smarter than that.”

Dabi scoffed. “What, are you saying you’d kill me?”

The doctor thought for a moment, pretending to take the rhetorical question literally. “No. My modifications haven’t made me fireproof, so you could likely incinerate me before I could defeat you. But that’s not what I said. I said you’re smarter than that. Because as powerful as you are, Dabi, your power has limits. I, on the other hand, create power. So even if you chafe under my authority, you’re smart enough to realize that it’s a price worth paying.” The doctor smiled as Dabi broke eye contact with a huff. Good. “If it makes you feel any better, I’ll need to be undisturbed for some time, so you may lead the rest of the League in my absence.”

Dabi nodded, and as Kurogiri opened a portal, he followed the rest of the League through it.

Once he was gone, the doctor delicately picked up Shigaraki’s injured body. “My poor boy. It seems those brats got the best of you this time. But it’s okay. You can make as many missteps as you need to until you get it right. All of this is for you, after all. And next time, you’ll be so much stronger. Stronger than all of them. I promise.”

Chapter Text

“Any questions regarding my decision to initiate a dorm system at U.A.?” There were none, fortunately, so Nezu ended the meeting and dismissed all of U.A.’s staff.

Shota tried his best to make a quick exit. Nezu’s plan was all well and good, keeping the students close would make it a lot easier to keep them safe, but that depended on the students’ parents trusting them with their kids, even after everything that happened. The difficult task of convincing said parents was left to Shota, as he was 1-A's homeroom teacher. Talking to people wasn't exactly his favorite thing to do, so he wanted to get through it as quickly as possible.

But before he could get far, Kayami Nemuri, or Midnight as the rest of Japan knew her, stopped him. “Shota. They just released the real names of the League of Villains’ members, and I saw... Shirakumo Koroki… please tell me that there’s an explanation. That it’s a coincidence, or something.”

Shota hung his head. He had known that this conversation was coming, but that didn’t mean that he was ready for it. He had already looked into the kid for Shinso back when he was just a missing person, and while he hadn’t found anything that his protégé would be interested in… “It’s not a coincidence. It’s exactly what you think it is.”

Nemuri let out a gasp as she brought her hands up over her mouth. “No, no that can’t… We have to help him, Shota. He needs our help!”

“He doesn’t want our help. Tsukauchi asked Shinso about him, and he said that he wanted the kid to abandon the League, but he said no. We need to… We need to treat him like he’s any other villain.” Shota was trying to convince himself with his words just as much as he was trying to convince her. He wasn’t successful at either task.

“How can you say that?! He’s not just some villain, he’s just a kid! He’s- He’s-” Nemuri choked up before she could finish her sentence. “He can’t be a villain. He can’t be.”

--

Endeavor was furious. Not only had he lost his opportunity to surpass All Might because the hero retired, but the number one had also specifically gone out by taking down a villain who had defeated Endeavor in seconds, proving once and for all that the Number Two Hero was nothing compared to him. The fact that Endeavor had been named the temporary Number One didn’t help his anger. If anything, it exacerbated it, as he resented the, as he saw it, pity title.

And as always happened when Endeavor was angry, he took it out on Shoko. Not directly, per se, he called it training, but Shoko had learned over the years that training was infinitely more brutal when Endeavor was upset. Throughout the training session, Endeavor berated Shoko for how little she had done at the training camp, only narrowly defeating a single measly villain before passing out. Shoko knew better than to correct him and say that she had saved Midoriya, because she doubted that he would be happy to hear that she had broken the law again.

Luckily for Shoko, they hadn’t gotten too far into the “training session” when Aizawa-sensei came by to ask if Shoko would continue attending U.A., even after the villain attacks. As Endeavor went to speak to him, Shoko snuck off to find an ice pack to deal with the few bruises she had already suffered.

With the ice pack acquired, Shoko followed the sound of voices until she was listening in to the conversation between her old man and her teacher. “In short, that’s why U. A. feels it is important to switch to a dorm system. Will Todoroki Shoko be continuing at U.A.?”

From her place beside the door, Shoko heard Endeavor scoff at the question. “Of course she will. She’s going to become a powerful Hero someday, she won’t be scared off by a few villains.”

“I’m glad to hear that. Thank you for your time.” With that, Aizawa-sensei opened the door and began to leave, stopping when he noticed Shoko. “Ah, Todoroki. How’s your recovery going?”

“Good, thank you sir. How’s Midoriya?” Endeavor hadn’t let her visit him in the hospital yet, so the question was genuine, even if she had seen Midoriya much more recently than Aizawa-sensei realized.

“He’s recovering well, fortunately.” Aizawa looked as though he was about to go, but paused as he noticed something. “What’s the ice-pack for?”

Shoko felt the urge to try and hide the ice pack, but she knew that, now that he had seen it, that would only make things more suspicious. “Training accident.” Before Aizawa-sensei could follow that line of questioning further, Shoko changed the subject. “I only heard a little bit of your conversation, did you say that U.A.’s becoming a boarding school?”

Aizawa-sensei nodded. “Nezu’s been wanting to make the transition for some time, and this seemed like as good a time as any to make that switch. Do you have an issue with that?”

Shoko shook her head. “No sir. I was just curious.” If anything, the idea made her excited, if for no other reason than because it would let her be free of him.

--

Izuku had sadly been right in that his arm didn’t heal fully. The cut had fortunately just been skin deep, so there wasn’t any loss of muscle function, but a long, thin scar now ran from Izuku’s shoulder to his wrist. The rest of his injuries had healed though, Recovery Girl had seen to that, so now all he had to do was rest.

And after everything that had happened, taking a few days to rest was actually quite nice. His mom had been by his side the whole time, and being close had been good for both of them. Uraraka had also been by a lot, which had been nice as well. He hadn’t had the heart to continue their conversation from before the attack had started, but he was happy to have her there to talk to and keep his boredom away. Both of them were with him on the day he was to be discharged when Aizawa-sensei came by.

--

Ochako was surprised when Aizawa-sensei came to visit Dekiru. He seemed just as surprised to see her there, but then his eyes found Mrs. Midoriya. “Hello. First, I would like to apologize for what has happened to your son. He was under our protection, and we failed to protect him.”

Mrs. Midoriya sighed. “That’s what you said last time, and I forgave you last time, but last time it wasn’t actually your fault. This time it was, so I don’t feel nearly as forgiving.”

Dekiru came to their teacher’s defense. “Mom, he did-”

“That’s alright, Midoriya.” Aizawa-sensei cut him off. “I deserve her criticism. Now, there is a reason beyond my apology that I came here today. U. A. has come to the decision that the best way to protect our students going forward is to implement a dorm system, essentially turning U. A. into a boarding school. It’s all included, so there would be no extra cost to you, but I am making the rounds to ask each of our students’ parents if they are willing to take this extra step, and trust U. A. with their children in this way.”

Mrs. Midoriya thought a moment before answering. “I want to trust you, I want to trust U. A., but this is the second time that something like this has happened to my son in as many weeks. And like I said, the first one wasn’t your fault, but this one was. I don’t think I can trust you to keep my boy safe, and as his mother, I want to make sure that he is safe above all else.”

Dekiru looked devastated at what his mother was saying, at the conclusion she seemed to be working her way towards, and Ochako agreed with his worry. At this point, Dekiru was half her reason for being at U. A., if he had to leave… Before Ochako could finish that thought, Dekiru tried to interject. “Mom, please, I-”

Mrs. Midoriya held up a hand to silence her son. “I’m not finished yet. I misspoke slightly a moment ago. Because I don’t just want my son to be safe, I want him to be happy. And this past year, as chaotic and dangerous as it has been, he’s been the happiest I've ever seen him. Part of that, I’m sure, is that he’s working toward his dream of being a hero, so any Hero School would work for that. But more important is the simple fact that he has friends now. Miss Uraraka’s been here almost as often as I have, and he’s had other friends visiting him while he’s been here. And while I know Izuku hasn’t told me everything about his middle school experience, I know that that wouldn’t be the case there. So if I forced Izuku to leave U. A., even if I let him transfer to another Hero School, I sincerely doubt he’d be half as happy as he is now.”

While Ochako was still processing everything that Mrs. Midoriya had said, she took Ochako’s hands in her own. “I’m trusting you to keep my son out of trouble. Or I suppose,” she gave Ochako a smile, “since that’s a bit of an impossible task, I’m trusting you to make sure he can get out of whatever trouble he’s gotten himself into.”

Ochako nodded, confused as to how the conversation had gotten here, but happy to agree if that meant that Dekiru would be able to stay at U. A. Aizawa-sensei seemed to share her confusion. “Does that mean that you’ll be allowing Midoriya to attend U. A. this coming semester?”

Mrs. Midoriya didn’t look away from Ochako as she nodded.

--

Aizawa-sensei asked if he could tell Izuku a few things in private, so Izuku’s mom and Uraraka left the room to give them the necessary space. “Once again, I would like to apologize for what happened. You and your classmates were my responsibility, but in the chaos of the attack, I made several crucial mistakes, and you paid the price for them.”

“It’s alright, Aizawa-sensei,” Izuku tried to wave away his teacher’s apology. “I’m okay now.”

“But that wasn’t any of our doing. If Shinso hadn’t done what he did, I don’t want to think about what would’ve happened.” Aizawa-sensei looked deep in thought about something, but then he shook himself out of it. “Don’t tell Shinso I said that. What he did was reckless, and irresponsible, and he shouldn’t have done it… But I’m glad it worked out the way it did.”

“Me too.” Izuku paused a moment before asking the question that had been on his mind almost as long as he’d been awake. “How’s All Might? I’ve seen things about his fight on the news, but not much about what happened afterwards. Is he okay?”

Aizawa-sensei sighed before answering. “Well, you know that the fight revealed All Might’s weakened form to the public. The reason that his current state hasn’t been elaborated on much is because his Quirk is gone. It was already fading, and that fight took everything that he had left in him. The Symbol of Peace is gone. But the man underneath is alright, all things considered. He’s relieved that you’re alright, and he wishes that he could come visit you himself, but he can’t go anywhere right now without creating a media frenzy.”

Izuku was silent. The Symbol of Peace was gone. All Might had used up the last of his strength trying to save Izuku. It was his fault. Aizawa-sensei seemed to sense Izuku’s thoughts, because he quickly spoke up again. “Don’t blame yourself, kid. You knew that his time with his Quirk was running out, this just expedited the process. If he hadn’t run out then, he’d still run out soon enough. And besides, he chose that fight because he wanted to save you. Because he’s a hero, and that’s what heroes do. Okay? It wasn’t your fault.” Izuku nodded, and Aizawa-sensei gave him a rare smile. “Well, I should let you rest. I know how much Recovery’s Girl can take out of you. I’ll see you on campus, Midoriya.”

Chapter Text

Izuku’s mom got very emotional over seeing Izuku go, which he figured was pretty fair. Besides the obvious reason that “he was growing up so fast!”, everything that happened after their previous farewell probably made her wary of this goodbye as well. Nevertheless, with one last tearful hug, his mom let him go off to start his second semester.

As sad as it was to be saying goodbye to his mom for an extended period of time, Izuku was happy to be back on campus. His mom had been right: he was happier at U.A. than he had been since… since his diagnosis. And a big part of that was because of his friends and his classmates, so he was relieved to see that they were all there, and that none of them had been removed by their parents.

They were all assembled in front of their dorm building, giving each other greetings until Aizaw-sensei addressed them. “Welcome to your new dorm building: The 1-A Heights Alliance. Principal Nezu is hopeful that this new arrangement will not only keep all of you safe from any future villain encounters, but will also allow you to grow closer with your classmates. Now, some of you might be wondering why we had all of you return to the dorms several weeks before the actual start of the semester, when none of the other courses are on campus yet. There are a variety of reasons for this, including the two I already mentioned, but the main one is that all of you were unable to get the training that I wanted from the summer camp, so we’ll be making up for lost time now. But training won’t start until tomorrow, so take today to get adjusted the new dorm system. Speaking of, there are a variety of policies and guidelines that you’ll be expected to follow now that you live on U. A.’s campus. I don’t have time to go through all of them now, but you were all sent a packet, so you will be expected to know them. If you didn’t pay attention to the packet as much as you should have, I see that your Class Rep is holding several extra packets, so take one if you need one.” Kaminari and Ashido both sheepishly made their way over to Iida to take a packet from him. “Finally, U. A. has tried to fulfill as many of your roommate requests as we could, but if there are any issues, do not hesitate to let me know. Now, go move into your dorms.”

--

Ochako was in awe of the dorm building. She knew that U. A. had money, but she hadn’t expected them to go all out on the students' living space. A whole building, just for the twenty of them, with a full lounge, and kitchen, and dining room, and everything she could possibly want. It was definitely a step up from her previous apartment, and she hadn’t even stepped into her room yet.

But before entering her room, she hesitated. She hadn’t put anyone in for her roommate request. While all of the girls in her class seemed nice, she didn’t feel especially close to any of them. Well, except maybe Todoroki, but knowing her, she probably requested to have a room to herself. But whoever Ochako ended up with, she was sure it would be fine. She’d be fine.

On opening the door to her room, she was surprised to find Todoroki already inside, unpacking. “Oh! We’re roommates!”

Todoroki glanced up at her. “You sound surprised. Is it a problem?”

“Oh no, of course not!” Ochako tried to wave away the question. “I just expected you to ask for a room to yourself.”

Todoroki seemed confused. “Why? We’re friends, aren’t we?”

“Of course,” Ochako backpedaled, “you just seem like a really private person.”

Todoroki thought for a moment. “I suppose. But I want to give this a try.”

Ochako nodded along with her statement, realizing that it made sense. Plus, she was happy to have Todoroki as her roommate. Getting past that confusion, Ochako was faced with the equally confusing realization that Todoroki seemed to be setting up tatami flooring in their room. “What are you doing?”

“Setting up tatami flooring.”

While that did technically answer Ochako’s question, it did nothing to deal with her actual confusion. “Why?”

“My home has traditional flooring like this, so I wanted to make this room feel a bit more… like home.” As Ochako put her things down and began to unpack, Todoroki spoke up again. “I don’t sleep well in unfamiliar places. I was exhausted enough at camp that it didn’t matter, but I need a bit more of a permanent solution for the dorms. Hopefully this works.” After listening to her explanation, Ochako turned back to her unpacking, but then Todoroki continued again. “Is it alright if I do this? I realize that I should have asked you before remodeling our room. I haven’t ever really shared a room before.”

Ochako nodded. “Of course! Can I help you set it all up?”

Todoroki thought for a moment. “I… would appreciate that.”

--

Izuku’s decision of who he wanted as a roommate was not a difficult one. Iida was really the only guy in their class who he felt he could comfortably room with. As they were both unpacking their things, Iida taking out a library’s worth of textbooks and Izuku setting up as much Hero merch as he felt would fit, Iida spoke up. “I want to apologize.”

Izuku looked up in surprise. “Why?”

“While you were… gone, Uraraka said something to me about how she truly cares about you, while I merely pretend to out of a sense of debt for what you did in Hosu.”

“What? I don’t think-”

“After some reflection," Iida cut Izuku off, "I realized that she was right. I have done what I have done out of a sense of obligation. My actions were unbecoming, and you deserve better. I apologize.”

Izuku just paused, unsure how to even begin to respond to the apology. “It’s… It’s okay. I honestly didn’t notice.”

“Yes, but-”

“How about this,” Now it was Izuku's turn to cut Iida off. “If you’re sorry for how you did in the past, we can start over.” Izuku stretched a hand out to Iida. “Friends?”

Iida stared at the hand in surprise before taking it. “Friends.”

--

Once Izuku had finished unpacking, he got a text from All Might asking to meet up, so he hurried outside to find the hero sitting on the front steps, waiting for him. He was in his weakened form. He was stuck in that form now, Izuku remembered with a pang. All Might heard Izuku’s approach and turned to face him, letting Izuku see that his arm was in a sling. “Ah, Young Midoriya, there you are.”

As painful as it was to see his hero weakened like that, Izuku did his best to put on a smile. “All Might.”

“Just Yagi’s fine. I can’t keep going by my hero name forever.” He started walking away, gesturing for Izuku to follow. “Come with me. I wanted to talk with you.” Izuku didn’t need any more prompting to hurry after him.

Once they were out of view of the dorms, All Might started speaking. “I’m glad you’re okay, Midoriya.”

Izuku just nodded. “Thank you, sir.”

All Might took a deep breath, as though he wasn’t sure how to say what he was saying. “I feel that I am underselling my relief. If something had happened to you, I’m not sure what I would’ve done.”

Izuku paused. “What?” He knew that All Might cared about him, but he was a hero, he was supposed to care. That though… that must have been an exaggeration.

“When you first met me, I’m afraid I was at my lowest. My Quirk had been fading for five years, but I still hadn’t come to terms with it. If anything, I had only become more afraid, more desperate to hold onto any power that I still had left. So when I told you that it was impossible for someone without a Quirk to become a Hero, it was the fear of my own powerlessness that was talking. But you proved me wrong. Again and again, you showed those who doubted you that you were as true a Hero as anyone, that your lack of Quirk didn’t matter. And through that, you… you gave me hope that I would still have a purpose even after my Quirk faded. So if that lackey of All for One’s had taken that hope away… I don’t know what I would’ve done.”

Izuku felt tears coming from his eyes as he listened to his hero’s praise. “Oh. I- I see.”

All Might stopped and turned toward Izuku, pulling him into an embrace. “I’m glad you’re okay, my boy.”

--

Shoko had hoped that the tatami floors would do enough to make the room feel like home, that they would keep the nightmares away. They didn’t.

Tonight, her nightmare took the form of a memory. Shoko was walking through her home when she heard her mother’s voice. “I feel like I’m going crazy, I can’t- I can’t take it anymore. Every day, the children look more like him. And Shoko- her left side- whenever I look at her, all I see is her father. I can’t raise them anymore. I feel like I’m going to-”

Shoko glanced into the kitchen to see her mom talking on the phone while preparing a pot of tea. “Mama? What’s going-”

Before Shoko could finish her sentence, her mom turned to face her, her silver eyes burning into her with an expression of rage and terror as the whistling of the kettle grew deafening.

And then Shoko awoke with a cry, sitting up and trying to regain control of her breathing as she pressed her right hand over the burn over her left eye. She had gone through enough nightmares that she knew how to calm herself down after them. It wasn’t like anyone else had ever been there to help.

“Todoroki?” Shoko remembered with a start that Uraraka was in the room, and realized that she was awake and staring at him with obvious concern. “Are you alright?”

Shoko composed herself, grabbing her arm and pulling it off of her face. “I’m fine. Just a dream.”

“Okay.” Uraraka was still staring. “Do you wanna talk about it?”

Shoko considered the offer for only the briefest of moments. “No.” Shoko laid down again and turned away from Uraraka, ignoring the way she still felt eyes on her back. She didn’t need Uraraka’s pity.

--

He hadn’t made his class get up nearly as early as he had at the camp, but Shota was still pleasantly surprised at how awake and ready to go his class was. He had sat up the night before in their dorm’s lobby, but no one had even tried to sneak out on the first night. Which was good, it meant that they were taking staying at U. A. seriously. “Alright, the summer camp was supposed to focus on increasing the raw power of your Quirks, but we don’t have as much space to work on that here as we did there, so you’ll be split into groups. One group will be working on strengthening their Quirks, one group will be doing physical exercises, a third will be sparring to learn some more technique with their Quirks, and the last group will be given time to experiment and try to find new ways to your Quirks. You’ll be switching out at regular intervals, and here’s your schedules.” He passes around a packet to each of his students. “The Provisional Licensing Exam is in four days. The summer camp was already supposed to be an accelerated course, but now you have even less time. If you aren’t going to give this your all and go Plus Ultra, you don’t stand a chance of passing the exam. Now, get to work.”

Chapter Text

Class 1-A was excited as their bus pulled up to the site of the Provisional Licensing Exam. But they were also quiet, as mixed in with that excitement was a lot of nervousness. Aizawa-sensei had impressed upon them just how important this test was, and just how undertrained they were compared to the U.A. students who took it in the past.

Stepping out of the bus and seeing all the students from all the other schools didn’t help either. There had to be hundreds of students getting ready for the exam, maybe as many as a thousand!

One of those students, a purple-haired boy in a black cap who was probably a year or two older than them, crossed his arms a few feet in front of the class. “So, this is the famous 1-A. You seem to have been at the center of crisis after crisis. I suppose today we’ll see whether or not you learned anything from those hardships.”

All of Class 1-A seemed put off by that challenge, but Kacchan was unsurprisingly the first to respond. “The hell’s that supposed to mean?!”

Before the student could respond, a girl wearing the same hat pushed her way in front of him. “Hey, don’t be mean to them, Shishikura!” She pointed at Kacchan. “Hey, you’re Bakugo right? The one who won the Sports Festival? Oh man, I loved watching you fight! I hope we can meet up during the exam!”

Kacchan just scoffed. “If you were watching the Sports Festival, you know I won’t go easy on you.”

She gave him a manic grin back. “I would hope not!”

“Shishikura! Utsushimi! Let’s go!” Hearing their teacher calling after them, the two students finally left 1-A alone with the girl, Utsushimi, turning around to give them one last wave.

Once they were out of earshot, Uraraka leaned in toward Izuku with a whisper. “Who were those guys? Why would they pick a fight with U.A. like that?”

“Well,” Izuku whispered back, “their caps meant they’re from Shiketsu, the only Hero School in Japan that’s on par with U. A. Meaning that, once we get into the exam, they’re definitely a school to look out for.” Besides that, what the girl had said to Kacchan made Izuku realize something. After the Sports Festival, 1-A’s Quirks and capabilities had been made public. Any information from the Sports Festival was bound to be outdated by now, but it was still a lot more than 1-A had on any of their competitors. Between that and U. A.’s overall fame, Izuku realized that Class 1-A was going to have a massive target on their backs in the exam.

Aizawa-sensei pulled Izuku from his thoughts by beckoning them all toward the changing rooms, but as Izuku followed after his classmates, he felt eyes on him. Turning toward where the feeling was coming from, he saw a girl who had apparently decided that her only color was white. White hair, white uniform, white eyes… Once the girl realized that Izuku had caught her gaze, she gave a cold smile before turning and vanishing into the crowd.

--

A well-dressed if disheveled man walked up to a podium in front of them and began to speak. “Okay, let’s get on with this exam thing.” He let out a yawn. “Sorry, we’ve just been so short staffed recently, I haven’t gotten much sleep. Anyways, about the content of this whole licensing thing, all 1,540 of you will be competing in a free-for-all exercise, or whatever we’re calling it this year.”

“Here's the thing. We’ve got a lot of Pros running around, to the extent that most of them are kinda redundant. You’re all here to get Hero licenses, so you’ll become part of this problem yourselves pretty soon. Unless, of course, we start becoming a bit pickier about who we hand out licenses to.” Lifting his head up, he stared directly at the crowd of applicants in front of him. “Only 100 of you will pass the first round of this exam.”

Shocked and worried murmurs broke out all over the auditorium at his words, and Izuku could understand why. From his research, most Provisional Licensing Exams had around a 50% pass rate, but this would be dropping that number to less than 10%.

The speaker pushed through the murmurs to continue his explanation. “That’s right, the world can be pretty crappy. I suppose I should say something about luck.” He paused a moment. “Anyway, I should probably explain the rules.” He held out an orange ball and some kind of metal disk. “Each examinee will place three of these targets on any exposed part of their body.” Each of you will also have six of these balls. When a target is hit by one of the balls, it lights up. If all three of your targets light up, you’re eliminated, and the person who hits your third target takes the credit for taking you down. You need to take two people down to pass, and the test will end after one hundred people pass, so be quick about it. Anyways, I think that’s everything. You have five minutes to get situated before the exam starts.”

As the balls and targets were passed out, Izuku started strategizing. Six balls for two sets of three targets meant that they had no margin for error, unless, of course, they sniped the third target from students that other people had already targeted. The only other solution would be to restrain or pacify their opponents in advance to guarantee that each ball hit. Izuku realized that 1-A would be excellent at that objective. Quirks like Todoroki’s, Sero’s, and Mineta’s could easily immobilize opponents, while Kaminari could incapacitate them long enough to tap their targets. All they needed to do was stick together.

Iida seemed to have the same idea. “1-A, this way! We should fight our opponents as a group.”

While most of 1-A was happy to comply, Kacchan unsurprisingly had other ideas. “I don’t need any of you extras’ help.” He rocketed off before anyone could counter.

Izuku was slightly more surprised that Todoroki spoke up next. “I apologize, but I am able to use my Quirk much more freely on my own.”

As she turned to go, Uraraka ran after her. “Todoroki, don’t go off on your own!”

Part of Izuku wanted to go with them, but he had to trust that, with Todoroki’s raw power and Uraraka watching her back, they’d be fine. The rest of 1-A needed his help.

Iida in particular was looking at Izuku expectantly, so he spoke up. “We need to be especially careful at the start of the test. Once the test gets going, it should devolve into a more opportunistic chaos, but for the start, I expect all of our opponents will have the same target. Us.”

Tokoyami glanced at him skeptically. “Why? U. A. is known to produce the strongest Heroes, so why would our opponents choose to challenge the most dangerous monster?”

“Because,” Izuku replied, “U.A. may be impressive, but it's also known. After the Sports Festival, our Quirks and fighting styles are out there for public viewing. Not only will a target with a known Quirk be more appealing, that knowledge of our Quirks will give them a serious advantage over us. At best, we won’t be able to surprise our opponents with anything, and at worst, they might have specific plans in place for dealing with us. So unless we want each other to fail, we need to stick together and watch each other’s backs.”

Kaminari was the next to speak up. “Wait, but if we have to be on the defensive, how are we supposed to win?”

“We only need to be on the defensive in the beginning. Once the exam’s in full swing, it will be much harder for our opponents to target specific people or play out complicated plans. That’s when we strike. Any questions?”

There were none, so Izuku took a moment to prepare for the coming storm. He placed one of his targets over his heart, as it was somewhere he would instinctively protect, one on the small of his back, because it would be very difficult for an opponent he was facing to hit it, and one on his right side, roughly under his elbow, because it would be an awkward place to aim for from any angle. And with that, he waited for the test to begin.

Once the test began, Izuku was almost immediately proven right as a veritable army of students surrounded 1-A, apparently considering their knowledge of 1-A’s Quirks so valuable that they were willing to ignore everyone else until they had been picked off. Which didn’t seem like a good plan to Izuku. It was one of those ideas that makes less sense the more people are doing it because there weren’t quite enough 1-A members for even seven people to pass from them, so if everyone was targeting them, the odds were not in any specific person's favor. If Izuku were one of those other students, he would try to pick off the other students targeting U.A. while they were distracted.

As Izuku was musing on this, the swarm of students threw a volley of balls down upon 1-A. Which, again, was not necessarily the smartest choice. While one or two balls might end up getting lucky, none of the individual students had a good chance of success. And if they were all that willing to put their success in the hands of fate like that, Izuku doubted that they’d make very good heroes.

Regardless, Izuku needed to protect himself from the volley, which was achieved simply enough by covering his three targets. Some of his classmates took more active roles in avoidance, with Ashido shooting streams of acid to melt the balls before they got too close, and Sero sending out strands of tape to snatch the balls out of the sky. And when the volley ended, and 1-A took a moment to breathe, not a single one of them had been hit.

Izuku smiled. If they were lucky, this lull would be the perfect opportunity for chaos to break out, and all the other classes to turn on each other instead of targeting them. He was, unfortunately, not lucky, as the chaos that broke out took the form of the ground underneath their feet shaking as if from a massive earthquake, scattering the entire class.

--

Katsuki had been hoping that the Provisional Licensing Exam would be a challenge, but so far, it didn’t seem like the extras he’d be going up against had much to offer. For example, the pack of idiots who were trying, and failing, to follow him without his noticing. “I know you’re there! Just come out already!”

Five heads popped up from the industrial-themed terrain that made less sense the longer Katsuki looked at it. They were dressed like ninjas, but they were all in bright Power Rangers colors that made it very obvious where they were. “Hasty are we, Bakugo Katsuki?” The one in red spoke first. “Ready to lose?”

Katsuki almost didn’t bother getting into a fighting stance. “What a bunch of idiots.”

The red ranger laughed. “I see your ego hasn’t changed since the Sports Festival, but there are five of us against one of you!”

“Yeah,” Katsuki replied, “there’s five of you. So if you go after one person at a time, there’s no way in hell you’ll have enough time to pass. Why do you think I went off on my own? This way I don’t have anyone slowing me down.”

That at least wiped the smirk off of Red Ranger’s face. “That… That wasn’t the counterpoint I was expecting.”

“And besides,” Katsuki continued, “it doesn’t matter how many of you there are, I’ll still win.”

“That was more what I was expecting.”

With that, Katuski was sick of talking, so he rocketed straight toward Red Ranger, ready to get this whole test over with.

Chapter Text

Once again, Katsuki was disappointed. The Power Ranger wannabees had been all talk, completely unable to back up their threats or withstand his explosive power. They had all gone down without a challenge, so all Katsuki had to do was tap their targets and move on with his victory.

But then something– someone slammed into him from behind, knocking him down and pinning him to the ground. “There you are! I was worried you’d pass before I could find you, and it looks like I was almost too late! I’m not surprised though, I knew you were strong.” Katsuki tried to crane his neck to see who was talking to him, but he couldn’t move enough to really see them. The voice, however, sounded like that Shiketsu chick from before the exam.

Katsuki moved his hand so that his palm was resting on the ground, and then fired off an explosion, rocketing himself up and knocking the Shiketsu chick off of him. Then he whirled around, ready to follow up with another blast… only to realize that she had disappeared.

--

Shoko hadn’t expected any of her classmates to follow her. She had all but told them not to, after all. But Uraraka said that she needed someone to watch her back, and Shoko didn’t feel like arguing with her. Besides, if she had to choose someone to have watching her back, it would be Uraraka.

The two of them had fortunately managed to reach a quiet part of the arena before the exam started, so they had the opportunity to look around and choose their battle. Hearing the sound of fighting not too far away, Shoko chose to head towards it, figuring that, since there was a time limit on the exam, it would be best to get it over with as quickly as possible. Following the noises, she found the purple-haired Shiketsu student from earlier, Shishikura or something, noticeable by the fact that he was still wearing the Shiketsu cap, facing off against another examinee on a wide street of the faux city. As Shoko watched, something shot out from Shishikura and wrapped around the other examinee, who twisted and shrank until they turned into a strange blob and fell onto the ground. Looking more closely, Shoko realized that similar blobs littered the ground around him. It was more than enough students for him to pass, so what was he doing?

Before Shoko could figure out an answer to her question, he seemed to realize she was there. “Ah. I was hoping a few U.A. students would escape the initial onslaught and find me. I have respect for your school. I take pride in the fact that our institutions are considered equals.” He smiled as he talked about U.A., but then his expression turned into a glare. “Your class, however, is shameful. Bakugo’s boorish behavior during the Sports Festival… and you. The scion of an insult to the title of Number One.”

Shoko gritted her teeth at his words. Why did everyone have to compare to him? Without another word, she sent a wave of ice at the Shiketsu student, only for him to narrowly dodge out of the way. During the brief window she had created, Shoko turned to Uraraka. “I can’t use my biggest attacks without hitting all of the students affected by his Quirk, and I’m not sure how vulnerable they are in that state.”

Uraraka nodded. “That sounds tricky. How can I help?”

Shoko thought for a moment. “Removing his gravity probably won’t do much against his Quirk, but still… Try to get out of sight, maybe inside one of the buildings, and wait for an opening to surprise him. Just- be careful. It looks like if he hits you with those blobs once, it’ll be enough to take you out.” Uraraka nodded and disappeared into one of the side streets as Shishikura several fleshy blobs at Shoko.

Shoko created another stream of ice, splattering the blobs and forcing Shishikura to dodge again. This time, Shoko pressed her advantage, creating an ice path to slide toward him. She couldn’t make any ice attacks while moving like this, but that didn’t stop her from throwing one of her balls at Shishikura, who had all of his targets placed in the middle of his chest. He had apparently not expected a conventional attack like that, and it bounced off of the target, which turned red seconds later. “Clever. But don’t expect that to work again.”

Shoko stopped her ice path and sent another wave at him, but he once again dodged out of the way. Having to rely on precision attacks was making this a lot harder. And before Shoko could try another attack, Shishikura launched another pair of blobs at her.

Shoko created a wall of ice to block the attack, but, to her surprise, they just curved around it and shot toward her from both sides. Shishikura could apparently control them, which immediately made them much harder to deal with. Shoko barely had enough time to duck under them and create an ice path to glide away, but they kept following her, keeping pace and possibly even gaining on her.

While Shoko tried desperately to escape the attack, Shishikura taunted her. “You heard what the examiner said about how oversaturated society is with heroes, correct? I’m simply doing my duty to ensure that none who are unworthy pass this exam.” That reasoning sounded ridiculous to Shoko. One hundred students would pass this exam, and there was nothing Shishikura could do to change that. “And if you are anything like your father, I expect you are one of those unworthy examinees.”

Shoko wanted to scream at that insinuation, but she swallowed her rage and focused. She suddenly stopped sliding and created a pillar of ice right behind her, which slammed into the blobs hard enough to dissipate them. Then she charged Shishikura, assuming from his decision to keep his distance that he would be worse at close range. Evidently, Shishikura hadn’t been expecting that, as she was able to tap a ball in her left hand against another one of his targets before he could get away. But before Shoko could disengage, another blob appeared suddenly from behind him and wrapped itself around Shoko’s left arm. It felt so slimy, and strange, and so entirely wrong that Shoko gave into instinct, her left arm flaring up and burning the sludge away.

Immediately, however, Shoko found that she couldn’t breathe. She tried to steady herself, to focus, to force herself to continue the fight, but she felt like she was on fire, even after she extinguished her arm.

Shishikura smirked at her, a host of blobs appearing behind him. “I mean, look at this. You can’t even use your own Quirk properly. What a waste.”

“You might think she’s unheroic, but at least she’s not the one gloating!” Shishikura turned toward Uraraka as the girl burst from cover and ran toward him, shooting out a blob instinctively. The blob slammed into Uraraka before she could react to it, but he wasn’t able to activate his Quirk on her before a ball, thrown by Uraraka while he hadn’t been looking, slammed into his final target, turning them all red.

Shishikura hung his head in shame as he realized he had lost. “Well played. I hope the two of you do not disappoint in the future.” With that, he turned and walked away, the students he had used his Quirk on returning to normal as Shoko and Uraraka readied themselves for another fight.

--

While Katsuki couldn’t see the Shiketsu chick anymore, he knew better than to assume that she was gone. So he wasn’t surprised when she struck again, but that didn’t mean that he was ready for it, as her elbow slammed into his back and her other arm grabbed his wrist and yanked it back. While he was off balance, she pulled her face close to his ear. “You know, I’m not supposed to be here right now, I’m supposed to wait with the others. But I just had to meet you.”
Rather than respond to that, Katsuki fired a series of explosions out of his free hand, swinging himself up and around so that he could send a kick into the chick’s head, forcing her to let go of him as she was sent to the ground. She was up almost instantly though, with a manic grin on her face.

Katsuki realized that, if the girl had just been trying to pass, she could’ve waited until he tapped targets on two of the Power Ranger wannabees and left before picking up his leftovers. But Katsuki figured that he knew what she wanted. She wasn’t content with just passing, and had tracked down the toughest target she could find so that her victory could be undisputed. Katsuki smirked. Finally, this test was getting interesting.

Katsuki wasn’t given any more time to think as the girl drew a knife and charged him. He swung his hand around, creating a series of explosions to keep her back, repeating the move as she kept trying to get close. Katsuki only realized how much cover the smoke from his explosions was giving as a knife hurtled out of the smoke and directly toward his face, cutting his cheek as he dodged it at the last second. While he was distracted by the cut, the girl came out of the smoke right after it, brandishing another knife and knocking him down before he could react. Then she was on top of him, bringing the knife down on him with both hands while that wild grin was still spread on her face.

Before the knife could land, Katsuki let off an explosion to knock her off of him. Katsuki was actually nervous as he returned to his feet. He had figured that Shiketsu was the school for straight-laced sticks in the mud, but this crazy chick was actually trying to kill him! Still, he was Bakugo Katsuki. He could do this.

He went on the offensive, rocketing toward her and sending an explosive right hook before she had time to disappear again. She ducked under the swing, but Katsuki fired off a blast with his left hand before she could make use of the opening. He let out a brief sigh of relief as the blast made her drop her knife, and used the opportunity to keep up his assault.

But as he swung, she dodged to the side before grabbing his arm and biting down hard enough that her fangs drew blood. Katsuki launched himself back in surprise, and watched the crazy chick warily as she licked her lips with a grin. Katsuki had to admit that she was putting up a good fight, but he had worked up a good sweat and his Quirk was ready to be used at full power. It was time to end it.

As the crazy chick charged him again, he once again let out a series of explosions to keep her away. And then, once there was enough cover of smoke, he launched himself into the air, keeping himself airborne until he saw the chick move through the smoke to where he had been a moment ago. Then he aimed his gauntlet and pulled the pin, just as she looked up and realized what was about to happen.

By then it was too late, of course, so while she avoided being in the epicenter of Katsuki’s blast, the explosion sent her flying. Now that he finally had control of this fight, Katsuki refused to let up, rocketing towards her and knocking her back with explosion after explosion. Then he grabbed her throat and slammed her into a wall, his free hand already ready and crackling.

But then he saw the expression on her face, and he was taken aback. She didn’t seem scared or worried, she was instead staring at him with stars in her eyes, and her panting didn’t sound like it was entirely from exertion. While Katsuki paused, she forced out a whisper to him. “You’re… incredible.”

Katsuki smirked. “Damn right.” He released her throat, and she slumped to her knees as he turned away. “But you put up a much better fight than those Power Ranger wannabees. Feel free to tap some of their targets. I’ll see you in the next round.” When he turned back to check if she was listening to him, she was unsurprisingly gone.

Chapter Text

By the time Izuku managed to get clear of the immediate chaos, the only members of Class 1-A that he could still see were Tokoyami, Ashido, and Asui. The four of them took a moment to breathe at the edge of a fake city. “So, where do we go from here?”

Ashido glanced back at Izuku. “With how much you took charge at the summer camp, I thought you’d have that answer.”

Izuku shrugged. “That’s fair. I have an idea, but I’m a little torn. Part of me wants to go back into the chaos and help our classmates, but I also don’t want to drag all of you back into that.”

Tokoyami opened his mouth to respond, but before he could answer, something slammed into one of his targets with enough force to knock him to his knees. Looking around for the source of the attack, Izuku saw someone standing atop one of the nearby buildings, pulling back another round from a slingshot. “Everyone get inside, now!”

Izuku led the way into the nearest building, with Tokoyami still nursing his side as they entered. Before Izuku could analyze what was going on, a trio of examinees in matching outfits emerged from cover and charged them. Izuku had a brief moment to choose between fighting and running, and given how off-balance his team was, he chose the latter, throwing a handful of Midnight Marbles to cover their escape. The next room that they managed to retreat into was fortunately empty, but as Izuku and his classmates took a moment to breathe, they heard the door they had come in through lock behind them.

It only took Izuku a moment to realize they were trapped.

--

Saiko Intelli grinned as she watched the hologram her classmate was projecting. It was an incredibly useful Quirk, able to map out a building-sized space, everyone in it, and anything larger than a shoe. With it, she could ensure that she always had the information edge in this fight. Combined with her Quirk-boosted intelligence, she was unstoppable. “Hmm… it looks like we’ve managed to catch four U.A. students.” She had prepared plans in advance for each and every U.A. student, now she just had to put them in place. “Activate all the floodlights in the building, it should be enough to keep the shadow Quirk manageable. Cold Air, start overloading the AC, I want to weaken that frog girl. Everyone, be careful around the acid girl, I doubt she’ll intentionally hit anyone too bad, but any stray hits could still hurt.”

One of her classmates raised her hand. “What about the fourth one? With the helmet?”

Intelli laughed at the question. “Oh, there’s no need to worry about him. He’s Quirkless.”

--

As the doors clicked shut behind Izuku, he didn’t immediately panic. Then the lights overhead flared to life, briefly blinding him with their intensity. That was much more worrying, because A) It meant that Tokoyami couldn’t use his Quirk as effectively, and B) Whoever they were going up against knew that bright lights would be effective against Tokoyami. Which meant that they were dealing with someone who had analyzed 1-A during the Sports Festival, and had a plan in place to deal with them. In other words, Izuku’s nightmare scenario.

Izuku felt a chill go down his spine. He didn’t realize it was actually getting colder until Asui stumbled with a yawn. “It’s- so cold… ribbit.” Without another word, she collapsed onto the floor and curled up into a ball.

Ashido hurried to the other girl’s side. “Tsu! She’s going into hibernation, we need to get out of here!” She looked around the room. “I can probably melt through that door right there.”

Izuku nodded as he looked at the door, an overwhelming metal thing that looked to have even been welded shut. Going through there was the obvious choice. “Wait.” It was too obvious. “Whoever we’re fighting obviously knows Tokoyami and Asui’s Quirks, so they must know yours as well. And while they can’t decide what you use your acid on, they can make one option way more obvious than the rest.”

Ashido paused, looking just as nervous as Izuku felt. “So it’s a trap?”

“It might be. Fortunately, I have a way to find out.” Izuku released the Hawk Eyes from his costume, sending one through the crack under the door. “I was right. There are five students on the other side of that door, all ready to strike.”

“What do we do then?”

“Something unexpected.” Izuku thought for a moment. “The ceiling. You can make a hole in the ceiling, and we can climb up and make our way from there.”

Ashido nodded, and created a globule of acid before throwing it at the ceiling. It was only a few moments before there was a hole big enough for them all to climb through. “Tokoyami, do you think Dark Shadow’s still strong enough to carry a person?”

“The glaring light has made him too docile for battle, but I believe that should still be within his abilities.”

Izuku smiled. “Good. I’ll boost you up, and then you can carry us all through.”

With Izuku’s help, Tokoyami clambered up through the hole before sending Dark Shadow back down to help up his classmates. Asui and Ashido had both made it up when the doors that they had originally come through slammed open and the students from before charged through. Izuku threw another volley of Midnight Marbles at them before he felt Dark Shadow grab him and pull him through the hole.

Once he was through the hole, Izuku wasted no time sending his Hawk Eyes out again, having them spread out and search the whole building. “Now then, let’s deal with this cold.”

--

The plan was failing. Not only had the U.A. students realized that the door was a trap, but once they escaped, they had managed to track down Cold Air and remove her from the test. Which didn’t make sense, because none of them had Quirks that could have helped them find her. Now the frog girl was back on her feet, and the U.A. students were hurrying through the halls, clearly with a specific destination in mind. It wasn’t one of the exits, so where could they be… oh. They were headed for her. Intelli smiled. They had surprised her so far, but with the shadow Quirk still out of commission, she was confident in her team’s ability to overwhelm them. She put a hand up to her earpiece. “Everyone, hurry to my position.”

--

Izuku briefed his classmates on his plan as they hurried through the halls. It was clear that their opponents had a strategist coordinating their movements as well, so they needed to get to them in order to gain the upper hand. Fortunately, it hadn’t taken the Hawk Eyes long to track her down, and now it was just a matter of taking her down.

Hurrying to where the eyes had seen the enemy strategist, Izuku finally found himself face to face with the white-haired girl who had been watching 1-A before the exam. Between her and 1-A, however, were a pair of other students, who rushed to their strategist’s defense. One of them had a massive hammer, but a single glob of acid from Ashido took it out of commission as Ashido used her opponent’s surprise to land a punch on her jaw. The other student got a kick from Asui, who then sent out her tongue to immobilize her.

The strategist seemed unperturbed by her classmates’ defeat. “Well, I must say I’m impressed by how much of a fight you’ve put up, but it’s over now. Everyone, get them!” She smirked as the rest of his team charged toward them through the hallway behind Izuku.

The smirk vanished, however, as Izuku started to laugh. “Did you think I didn’t see that coming? No, I just needed all of you in one place before I showed my hand.” Taking some Present Mic Patches out of his belt, Izuku began throwing them at all the light fixtures he could see, shattering them as the Patches went off. Izuku turned to Tokoyami as the room darkened considerably. “This enough?”

Instead of responding, Tokoyami smiled. “Revelry in the dark.” With that, he released Dark Shadow, sending him slamming through the oncoming crowd of examinees, taking them all down in a single move.

In place of the smirk that she had been wearing before, the strategist’s face was now contorted in shock. “No… no… how did you… How dare you!” She grabbed a battle axe and charged Izuku. Izuku briefly wondered what Support department had given a Hero-in-Training an axe, but he dodged the swing before responding with a punch from his Death Arms, the second impact shattering the axe haft. Then he slammed his other fist into the girl’s gut, sending her flying back into the wall.

Now that her initial burst of shock was over, the girl just hung her head in defeat. “Well played. You have defeated me entirely.”

Izuku smiled as he looked over at his classmates. “Not just me, it was-”

“Just take the compliment. It was like 80% you.” Ashido cut him off before he could finish. “Anyway, there were enough of these guys for us to pass right?”

“Yeah. Let’s get out of here.”

--

Returning to the waiting room, Izuku was relieved to see that his group wasn’t the only members of 1-A to have already passed. Uraraka was chatting with Todoroki, but she immediately ran over to him the moment she realized he was there. From there, Izuku got to listen to her excitedly explain how their exam went, and the crazy Shiketsu student they had had to take down, and Izuku returned the favor of explaining what his little group had gone through.

“That’s crazy! You took out like a dozen students!”

Izuku blushed at Uraraka’s praise. “That part was mostly Tokoyami, to be honest. But what about you! You finished off a Shiketsu second-year!”

Uraraka blushed at Izuku’s praise. “I mean, Todoroki did most of the work there.”

Before Izuku could respond, he noticed a large crowd of 1-A students entering the waiting room, with Iida at their head. “Iida! You made it! I was a bit worried after the whole earthquake situation.”

Iida took off his helmet as he listened to Izuku. “I will admit, the situation was quite tense for most of that exercise. I attempted to round up all of 1-A again, but I was having very little luck until Aoyama had the idea of using his navel laser as a beacon. Not only did it bring the rest of 1-A to us, it also drew in enough curious examinees from other classes for us all to pass. I was worried to not find you there, but it seems you managed to pass without us.”

“I did, though like you said, it was close.” Izuku went back to Iida’s explanation. “So you focused on helping the rest of 1-A over passing? I’m impressed, Class Rep!”

Iida gave a smile at that. “Thank you, Midoriya. But after everything I’ve been through, there’s no way that I am leaving anyone behind.”

As Iida finished, a voice rang out over the loudspeaker. “Alright, it looks like round one is over, so we’ll be moving onto round two in a few moments. You’ve all proven yourselves in a fight, but there’s more to being a Hero than fighting, so this next exercise is going to be focused on rescue.”

Chapter Text

“Alright, for the hundred of you who passed the first test, please turn your attention to the screen.” As all of the examinees watched, the screens in the waiting room switched on to show scenes from the exam area. Suddenly, a series of explosions went off across the entire area, causing a massive amount of damage. While all the students stood in shock at the reckless destruction, the explanation continued. “For the second and final round of the exam, you will be conducting rescue exercises and saving civilians in the aftermath of a faux-villain attack. There will be a large panel of judges rating your performance, including the actors playing the victims, so treat this as you would the real thing. Good luck.”

--

The main thing that Tenya noticed from the explanation of the second exercise was that the criteria for passing were not specified. This made sense: If this was to be a test of how they would perform in a real rescue, any sort of artificial metric would add in too much error.

Looking around as the exercise started, Tenya was struck by how disorganized many of the applicants seemed. It seemed that they hadn’t all gotten as lucky as 1-A had in regards to passing as a group. It just meant that 1-A needed to be better organized than their peers, and as Class Representative, that was Tenya’s responsibility.

He clapped his hands together to get his classmates’ attention. “Everyone! As urgent as this situation is, I believe that taking time to properly prepare now will be advantageous in the long run. Without knowing how many civilians are in need or where they are, I believe it would be best for us to split ourselves into teams, perhaps four teams of five people each. I will take leadership of one team, Yaoyorozu of the second, Midoriya of a third, and for the fourth team…”

Tenya paused for a moment, trying to decide who should lead the fourth team, but before he could, Bakugo interrupted him. “I better be getting a team if you’re putting Deku in charge of one!”

Tenya grimaced under his helmet. Bakugo would certainly not have been his first choice, but it was better than having him go off on his own like he had the first round. “Very well then. Midoriya, do you have any ideas as to how we should divide the teams?”

Midoriya seemed deep in thought for a moment. “Well, each team will need someone who can lift rubble, as well as a way to just remove it, some way to find people who need help, someone who can move around quickly… Give me a second.” He pulled out a notebook and pencil and started to scribble on it.

While Midoriya was working on that, Yaoyorozu stepped forward as well, placing an earpiece into Tenya’s hand. “Here. I don’t have enough for everyone because I want to save my strength, but if each of the leaders has one then we should be able to stay in contact.”

Tenya took off his helmet and placed the earpiece in his ear. “Good idea. This way if anyone requires assistance, we will be able to provide it.”

As Tenya put his helmet back on, Midoriya approached him again. “Alright. I’ve come up with the teams. Let’s do this.”

--

Ochako trusted that Dekiru had a plan with how he laid out all of the teams, but she was still disappointed to be stuck on a team with Bakugo. She obviously wanted to be with Dekiru, but she would’ve chosen Yaomomo or even Iida over Bakugo. Still, she was going to make the best of the hand she was given. Even if Bakugo himself was doing an unsurprisingly bad job working with everyone else. Koda sent out some pigeons to try and find trapped civilians, but Bakugo didn’t want to wait, forcing the rest of them to chase after him.

It wasn’t long before they stumbled across someone, trapped underneath a pile of rubble at the edge of a large apartment building. Ochako hurried forward. “Don’t worry, I’ll get you out of there.”

Before she could get to him though, Bakugo held an arm out to stop her. “Nah, I’ll get it.” Ochako opened her mouth to protest, but Bakugo cut her off. “Don’t worry, I won’t hit him.” Bakugo let off an explosion, clearing away most of the rubble and letting Kirishima pull the civilian the rest of the way out.

For a moment, everything seemed fine. But then Ochako heard a crack, and the building sagged before falling directly toward them. Kirishima hardened himself and threw himself over the civilian. Bakugo shot off an explosion to try and slow it down, but it was clear that wasn’t going to work. Realizing that they were all about to be crushed, Ochako reached up and caught the building.

In the instant before her Quirk activated, she felt both her arms break as it landed directly on them. And then, she felt her Quirk activate. Even though she had removed the building’s gravity, she could still feel its weight. It was way past anything that she had ever tried to lift before, to the extent that she didn’t even have to put her hands together to release it, and instead had to consciously focus on not letting her Quirk slip away from her. And she couldn’t do that, because if the building fell, they would all die.

Ochako was on her knees, with the contents of her stomach all over the ground, but she hadn’t even processed that fact because she was too focused on keeping her Quirk up. After what felt like an eternity, she faintly felt Kirishima grab her and start carrying her out from under the building, and then putting her down with a shout that everyone was safe, and she could let go of her Quirk now. Ochako let out a sigh of relief at Kirishima's confirmation, and heard the building crash as she closed her eyes.

--

Beyond just having a relevant Quirk, the most important trait for a rescue exercise like this was, according to Izuku, being able to effectively use the resources at one’s disposal. And that’s where he was hoping to excel. He had Shoji on recon, using his Quirk-made eyes and ears to locate any civilians nearby in need of rescue, and when they found them, Shoji and Todoroki were able to take the lead in saving those who were trapped under any sort of rubble. As for Kaminari and Ojiro, they were in about the same boat as Izuku, with their Quirks not providing much of a benefit. Still, Izuku was pleased with their progress, with teamwork and efficient work making up for a lack of raw power.

Things were going well, with the five of them moving through the ruined city from civilian to civilian. But then another explosion sounded in the distance. Kaminari stared off toward where it came from. “Was that Bakugo?”

Izuku narrowed his eyes. “He shouldn’t be over there, but maybe…” He put a hand to the earpiece Yaoyorozu had given him. “Kacchan, was that-” He hadn’t even finished the question before Kacchan shouted that it wasn’t. “So it sounds like it wasn’t him. Which isn’t good. Maybe one of the explosions just didn’t go off earlier, or…”

Before he could finish, the supervisor’s voice rang out over the speakers. “It would seem that the villains responsible for the city’s destruction have returned to finish the job. I shouldn’t have to tell you to do something about that.”

Izuku let out a sigh as he realized what was happening. “Of course it wouldn’t be that simple.” Not only did they need to rescue civilians, but they also needed to allocate heroes toward fighting villains at the same time. Izuku looked around at his team again. “Most of our team is much more suited to fighting than rescue, but I don’t to steal Sho- Tentacole away from this. Your recon capabilities are some of the best in class.”

Shoji created additional ears on his arms and pointed them all around him. “It sounds like Creati’s team is still nearby. I could potentially join them.”

Izuku nodded. “That sounds good.” He put a hand to his earpiece again. “Creati, we’re sending Tentacole your way, the rest of us are going to deal with the villains who just showed up.”

“Understood. Do you need any assistance from our team?”

Before Izuku could answer, Kacchan shouted over the comms. “Stay out of this, Ponytail. I’ll handle it!”

Ignoring Kacchan’s outburst, Izuku turned back to his own team. “Alright Tentacole, Creati’s ready for you. Everyone else, let’s move. Kacchan will be joining us in a moment.”

--

Hurrying their way to where the “villains” had shown up, Izuku and his team were faced with a large number of thugs led by Gang Orca: a top-ranked hero with a heteromorphic orca Quirk. The hero, currently playing a villain, smirked as they approached. “Finally, I was wondering how long it would take you heroes to face me!”

Rather than respond to the taunt, the team entered a fighting stance, with Todoroki being the first to speak. “What’s the plan, Dekiru?”

Izuku thought for a moment. The minions looked to be prioritizing quantity over quality, so Gang Orca was the main threat. “Chargebolt, Tailman, deal with the minions. Shoko and I will keep Gang Orca busy.”

As his two classmates went off to deal with the minions, Izuku turned his attention to Gang Orca, running through everything he knew about the Hero. Part of his Quirk gave him super strength, so Izuku wouldn’t be able to do much in a straight fight. He also had some sort of sonic attack, so the Present Mic Patches would either do nothing or be super effective.

While Izuku was strategizing, Todoroki acted first, sending out a wave of ice trap Gang Orca. “I doubt that’ll hold him for very long, how do we take him down?”

“I have an idea, but I’m not sure if it’ll work.” Izuku paused. “With his mutation, Gang Orca dehydrates very easily.”

Todoroki nodded. “So if I use my fire-”

Izuku cut her off. “I don’t want to make you do anything you don’t want to, if you’re not ready.”

Todoroki shook her head. “No, I need to be able to use my fire. I need to be ready.” As Gang Orca shattered the ice with a sonic blast, Todoroki’s left arm lit up, engulfing the Hero in a massive stream of flame.

Izuku turned toward his friend in concern, and sure enough, as the fire ended, she was clutching her arm and breathing heavily. Izuku grabbed her shoulder and tried to get her out of the fight, but Gang Orca recovered before he could get far, slamming into Izuku and sending him and Todoroki in different directions. Todoroki slowly returned to her feet, and flames once again flickered across her arm, but they kept going out before they could do anything. Before Todoroki could find herself again, Gang Orca charged her again, slamming into her with a sonic-boosted headbutt and sending her to the ground.

With Todoroki swiftly immobilized, Gang Orca turned his attention toward Izuku. "So, what tricks do you have up your sleeve?"

Izuku moved his hands behind his back to grab a pair of Present Mic Patches, but before he could throw them, an explosion slammed into Gang Orca's side as Kacchan entered the fight, placing himself between Izuku and Gang Orca. "Stay out of this, nerd. He's mine."

Izuku was immediately ready to disregard Kacchan's command. Gang Orca was a top-ranked hero, as cool as Kacchan was, he would need help. They would take him down together.

"Alright, the final civilian has been rescued. The exercise is now over. Congrats, I guess."

Or not.

Chapter Text

If Shota hadn’t already been planning to have Todoroki start meeting with Hound Dog to discuss her aversion to her fire, the events of this exam would have instantly impressed that need upon him. He knew that Todoroki didn’t like her fire, but he hadn't realized just how bad it was. To freeze up like that in the middle of a battle… If that had been real, if Gang Orca had been a real villain, she would be dead. With that in mind, Shota was forced to agree with the judges' decision not to pass her. As skilled as she was, throwing her into an active situation before she had full control over her Quirk would be the height of irrationality. Someone would get hurt, and it would probably be her. Better to wait until she was ready.

--

Katsuki couldn’t believe his eyes. How the hell did he not pass? Yeah, there was the incident with the building, but Round Cheeks was still fine. And besides, he was leagues stronger than all the other extras who passed the exam, so how did these idiots get away with not passing him? Hell, even Deku had passed. These idiots were about to give a Provisional License to Useless, Quirkless Deku, but not to him. The only silver lining was that there was going to be a remedial course for the students who passed the first test but not the second. And Katsuki was going to ace that, because he was still the best. This didn’t change that.

--

Izuku could barely believe his eyes. He passed! While he hadn’t made any glaring mistakes during the rescue, he hadn’t been sure if he had done enough to pass, but he apparently had! In fact, the vast majority of the class had passed, with the only exceptions being Todoroki and Kacchan. While Izuku understood how Todoroki had failed, he wondered what Kacchan could have done to make them not pass him.

Then they mentioned the remedial course, and Izuku couldn’t help but be rubbed the wrong way by it. As happy as he was that Todoroki and Kacchan were getting a second chance, it kinda made it sound like being good at a fight was more important than rescuing people, but Izuku didn’t really have time to think about that right now.

Izuku quietly got in line to receive his Provisional License, but then he heard Uraraka’s voice beside him. “Great job, Dekiru! Um, could you help me pick up my license?”

“Of course! But why can’t you-” Izkuku stopped midsentence as he looked over at Uraraka and realized both her arms were in casts. “What happened?!”

“I, um… caught a building?”

Izuku’s eyes widened in surprise. “You did what?”

“Well, the building was going to fall on us, so I reached up to activate my Quirk on it, and I… caught it, I guess.” Uraraka somehow looked sheepish as she explained it.

“That’s incredible! I had no idea your Quirk could lift that much weight! What did it feel like, and…” Izuku trailed off as he realized there was a more important question than his theorizing about Quirks. “Are your arms okay?”

Uraraka gave him a nod. “Recovery Girl should be able to fix me up, but she’s still at U.A., so until we get back…" She slowly raised her casts in a shrug. "Yeah.”

Izuku nodded at that, and there was an awkward moment of silence as the two of them waited in line. “But hey, we made it. We’re officially Heroes now.”

Uraraka smiled at that. “You’re right. We did it, Dekiru.”

--

When Koroki joined the League of Villains, he hadn’t expected to be bored. And yet, here he was, stuck in their hideout with absolutely nothing to do. Dabi claimed to have some sort of master plan to destroy the new number one, but he hadn’t told anyone anything about it. Right now, it was Spinner who had come up with a plan, and was in a meeting with Dabi to discuss it now, with a copy of the doctor, created by Twice, supervising the meeting to ensure that he agreed with whatever it was that they were working toward. Koroki hadn’t been invited to the meeting. Obviously. He was "just a kid" after all.

As he was lying on a couch, trying to come up with something to do, Toga opened the front door and slipped into the hideout. Koroki barely even turned to look at her. “And where have you been? Dabi said we’re all supposed to stay put.”

Toga just giggled in response, sitting down on the couch cross-legged next to Koroki and turning to face him. “I met such a cute boy today!”

Koroki raised an eyebrow skeptically. “And is this boy… alive?” In the past couple of weeks, Toga had told Koroki stories about a lot of her past crushes, and none of the stories seemed to end well for the boys involved.

Toga’s grin only grew at Koroki’s question. “Oh, he’s tougher than that. He’s a Hero student after all!”

“And where exactly did you run into a Hero student?”

“At the Provisional Licensing Exam!”

Koroki’s eyes widened in disbelief. “You snuck into the Provisional Licensing Exam! How? Why?”

Toga waved off his question. “Oh, getting in was easy. I just had to attack one of the other students and steal a little bit of her blood. I didn't take a ton of blood, so she’ll be fine. I think. And I just had to meet Katsuki! I was so disappointed when I didn’t get to meet him last time. And now that I have seen him…” Toga licked her lips. “He was perfect.”

“Right, well…” Koroki rose to his feet, quickly getting uncomfortable with this conversation. “I’m going to go literally anywhere that isn’t here.”

Before he could get far, he heard Kurogiri’s voice. “Are you sure no one knew you were there?” Koroki hadn’t even realized he was there, but there the man was, standing in the doorway with a half-washed plate in his hands.

Toga nodded. “Of course not, I’m careful.”

Koroki rolled his eyes at Toga’s answer. There was no world in which he would call her “careful”, but that was beside the point. Kurogiri continued speaking. “Still, that was very reckless of you, Toga.”

Toga just laughed at Kurogiri’s admonishment. “Whatever, dad.”

Kurogiri ignored the comment. “Please do not take any unnecessary risks like that in the future without informing the rest of the League. That goes for both of you.”

Koroki narrowed his eyes at Kurogiri. “Wait a second, how did I get pulled into this? I didn’t do anything!”

“I have noticed your boredom these past few days, and I want to make sure that it doesn’t lead you to do anything foolish.”

Koroki grit his teeth. “I don’t need your advice. I’m not a kid.”

“You categorically are." Kurogiri let out a long sigh. "Still, I know that both of you are great assets to the League of Villains, and that you will both continue to be so. To do that, however, you need to remain safe, and it is my responsibility to ensure that you do so.”

Koroki felt his anger fade as Kurogiri spoke, and it was replaced with embarrassment for snapping at him like that a moment before. He hated being treated like a kid. It was why Toga, despite her insanity, was one of the few League members that he could stand. But when Kurogiri treated him like a kid, it didn’t feel as bad for some reason. It was like Kurogiri wasn’t patronizing him, and he just genuinely cared. It felt... weird. “Alright. I’ll stay safe.”

Kurogiri’s eyes shifted in a way that made it look like he was smiling. “Thank you, Koro-" Just as quickly as the expression appeared, it vanished, returning Kurogiri to his usual stoic expression. "Mustard.”

--

After Recovery Girl healed up her arms, all Ochako wanted to do was go to bed and pass out. So she went straight to her room, only to find Todoroki sitting in the corner. “Are you alright?” Immediately, Ochako realized it was a dumb question. She obviously wasn’t alright, she was sitting on the floor, breathing heavily, and even shaking slightly.

Todoroki’s eyes shot up as she spoke, the brief flash of panic fading as she realized it was just Ochako. “I’m fine.”

As much as Ochako just wanted to sleep, she instead sat down on the floor right across from Todoroki and stared right at the other girl. “No you’re not. So what’s wrong?”

Todoroki grimaced at her before answering. “I’m just… disappointed by today.”

Ochako raised an eyebrow. “Is that really all?”

Ochako stared directly at Todoroki until, finally, the other girl broke with a sigh. “I thought I was ready to use my fire. I know it’s mine, and that I can use it for good, so why can’t I just make it work!” Todoroki rubbed her left arm as she spoke. “I’m just glad that I’m not staying with Endeavor right now. I’m not sure exactly how he’d react to my failure, but I know I wouldn’t like it.”

As exhausted as she was, Ochako’s eyes widened at that comment. “What?”

Todoroki seemed to suddenly realize what she said. “I-” She hung her head. “Has Midoriya told you anything about my past?”

Ochako shook her head. “No. If there’s anything you’ve confided in him, he’s kept it a secret.”

Todoroki let out a long sigh before looking back up at Ochako. “In that case, what do you know about Quirk marriages?”

--

The next semester of classes wasn’t set to begin for another week, but U.A. was still allowing the students to stay on campus until then. Izuku had taken U.A. up on that offer, as it more sense than packing up and unpacking again for such a short period of time.

Even though he didn’t necessarily have anything to do, he made sure to wake up as early as ever, going for a quick 5K run as the sun started to rise over campus. About halfway through his run, he saw All Might sitting on a bench by the trail Izuku was running on, and the former number one waved as he noticed his student. “Good morning young Midoriya!”

Izuku slowed to a stop, smiling as he saw his teacher. “Mr. Yagi! I passed!” Izuku immediately pulled his provisional license from his pocket and showed it to him.

All Might chuckled at his enthusiasm. “Yes, I saw your previous texts about it. I’m proud of you, my boy.” All Might placed his hand on Izuku’s head and ruffled his hair, and even after all this time, Izuku still felt himself warm as his hero said he was proud of him.

After ruffling Izuku’s hair, All Might continued. “Actually, I was hoping to catch you while you were out on your morning run. See, I received a certain offer yesterday, and I realized that it would make a nice reward for you passing the Licensing Exam.”

Izuku tried to figure out what All Might could mean, but he couldn’t think of anything. “What sort of opportunity?”

All Might turned toward Izuku with a smile. “Tell me, Young Midoriya: What do you know about I-Island?”

Chapter Text

“What do you know about I-Island?”

Izuku paused, surprised by All Might’s words. “It’s a man-made Island that wanders the oceans of the world. More importantly, it’s a gathering place for the brightest scientific and engineering minds in the world, and thus the Support Item capital of the world. Why?”

“Well, the I-Island Expo is coming up in a few days, and a friend of mine just so happened to give me two tickets.” All Might paused to let Izuku put the pieces together himself.

As he realized what All Might was offering, Izuku’s jaw dropped. “You’re offering to take me to the I-Island Expo? THE I-Island Expo? That’s incredible! I’d love to! I can start packing now! When do we go? There’s like a gala, so I should bring something nice, right? I think I packed something like that to bring to U. A., do you want to check if it’s fancy enough? I mean, I wouldn’t want to embarrass-”

All Might held up a hand to try and get Izuku to slow down. “I’m glad you’re excited, but calm down. We have more than enough time to figure all those details out. So, that’s a yes?”

“Yes! Definitely! I mean-” Izuku took a deep breath. "Yes."

--

I-Island certainly didn’t disappoint. Even just looking down at it from the plane, Izuku was in awe that an entire city was able to wander the oceans on an artificial island. The fact that it could float was a technological marvel, forget that it could move. The central tower alone looked like it was a hundred stories tall. It also felt a little weird to be traveling with All Might. Flying first class, someone showing up at the airport to take their bags for them, a bunch of little extravagances that made sense for the Number One Hero, but were definitely not things that Izuku was used to.

All Might explained that his friend worked in the central tower, so the two of them made their way in that direction, with Izuku continuing to be amazed by everything around him. There were so many Heroes around too, from all over the world, and Izuku just wished he could stop and take notes on all of them, but he knew that there simply wasn’t time.

Izuku was just starting to see the entrance to the tower when he heard someone calling over to them. “Uncle Might! Is that you?” A well-dressed girl with blond hair and glasses who looked to be about Izuku’s age ran towards them and wrapped All Might in a hug, almost knocking the retired hero over.

“Melissa! My goodness, you’ve grown so much! I can hardly believe it!” All Might briefly returned to his Hero form to lift Melissa into the air, but he could only hold it for a moment before poofing back down to his weakened form with a cough that fortunately didn’t include any blood.

Melissa laughed at All Might’s antics, seemingly untroubled by his weakened form. “I’m so glad you could make it Uncle Might. I know Papa’s gonna be so excited when he sees you.”

All Might nodded along with her. “I suppose we shouldn’t keep him waiting then!” He started walking toward the building again, but then stopped and turned back to Izuku. “Right, I almost forgot. Melissa, this is the student that I mentioned.”

Izuku was briefly caught off guard as the focus of the conversation shifted to him, but he recovered and extended his hand to Melissa. “Hi, I’m Midoriya Izuku. Like All Might said, I’m a first year in U.A.’s Hero Course.”

Melissa shook his hand with a smile. “I’m honored to meet one of Uncle Might’s students, Midoriya. Now,” she turned back to All Might, “shall we go surprise Papa?”

--

There was only a handful of Support Items on display in the lobby of the central tower, but Izuku assumed that if Hatsume were here, it would be enough to push her into a hyperfocus to rival some of his own. The receptionist waved at Melissa as she entered, and directed the three of them to where Melissa’s “papa” was.

Eventually, the three of them arrived at a lab, and Melissa gestured for Izuku and All Might to wait outside so that she could go in first. “Hi, Papa! How’s research going?”

Izuku couldn’t see into the room, but the voice that responded seemed familiar. “Melissa, what are you doing up here? I thought you were busy with some research of your own.”

“Well, even with how tight-lipped you’ve been about your research, I’ve picked up that you just had a breakthrough, so I invited someone to the Expo to celebrate with us!”

At that, All Might moved into the room, his arms extended dramatically. “I am here! To see my dear old friend!”

As Izuku peeked into the room, he realized why Melissa’s dad’s voice sounded familiar. He was David Shield. The David Shield! All Might’s first sidekick, back from his days in America! The designer behind every single All Might costume he ever used! A Support Item genius even outside of his association with All Might! In hindsight, Izuku should’ve guessed that this was the friend All Might had spoken about. No one else at I-Island could’ve had a connection with All Might that even came close to this.

As All Might revealed himself, David Shield’s mouth dropped in shock, before he eventually turned it into a smile. “Toshi- All Might! I can’t believe you’re here! How long’s it been!”

All Might laughed at that. “Let’s just say too long and leave it at that, I already feel old enough teaching at U. A.”

David Shield chuckled at All Might’s response. “I’ll be honest, I never had you pegged as a teacher, but it sounds like you’ve been doing alright there.”

“Oh, speaking of, I actually brought one of my students with me.”

All Might gestured toward Izuku, who was once again unprepared for the attention. “Um- hi, sir. I’m Midoriya Izuku. It’s really an honor to meet you, Mr. Shield.”

David Shield waved a hand dismissively. “There’s no need to be so formal, but I appreciate it.”

All Might chuckled at Izuku’s awkwardness. “Yes, young Midoriya here’s a promising young Hero. Melissa, why don’t you show him around a little bit, give me and Dave some time to catch up?”

Melissa smiled at the suggestion before turning to Izuku. “Sure! Do you want to see my lab?”

“Sure!”

--

“Alright! Welcome to my lab!”

As Melissa closed the door behind them, Izuku looked around in surprise. “You know, when you mentioned a lab, I thought you were exaggerating, but this… this is something else. How do you have all of this at like, sixteen?”

“Seventeen, actually.” Melissa gave him a smile. “But, if I’m being honest, this is probably mostly nepotism. I do think I’ve proved myself worthy of it though. Wanna see some of my inventions?”

“That sound great!”

Melissa reached through a few shelves before finding something and grabbing it. As she turned around, though, she paused. “Uncle Might’s told me a lot about you, you know. One of the things he said was that you’re Quirkless.”

Izuku nodded nervously. He wasn’t sure why Melissa was bringing that up, but he wasn’t feeling very optimistic. “I am.”

Melissa gave him a soft smile. “Me too.”

“Oh.” Izuku took a moment to fully process that. “I’ve- I’ve never met another Quirkless person my age.”

“Me neither. There aren’t many in this generation.” Melissa let out a dry chuckle. “We’re a dying breed. What was it like? For you. I know the statistics, but my dad’s important enough here that people knew better than to mistreat me in any obvious ways.”

“Well,” Izuku wasn’t sure how to start. “If you know to ask that question, you can probably guess what it was like. I basically didn’t have any friends before I started at U. A.” That didn’t quite explain it though, so Izuku gave a specific example. “When it first became clear that I wasn’t getting a Quirk, the other kids started calling me ‘Deku.’ It’s a play on the kanji of my name, and it basically means ‘useless person.’ I think… I think the fact that I wanted to be a Hero made it worse. That I never just accepted that I was useless like they all said I was.” Izuku looked up at Melissa and smiled. “But, here I am. I’ve got a Provisional License, and I’m on my way to become a real Hero, so I guess I wasn't useless after all.”

Melissa chuckled at Izuku’s sudden enthusiasm. “So you are. Why do you want to become a Hero? If I may ask, that is.”

“I just wanted to help people.” Izuku shrugged. “It sounds really generic, but it’s the truth. I saw how much heroes were able to help people, and put a smile on their faces, make them believe that everything will be alright, and I knew that there was nothing I’d rather do.”

Melissa nodded along with Izuku’s explanation, smiling as he reached his conclusion. “That’s why I do Support. I wanted to be a Hero too for a while, but Uncle Might helped me realize that there were other ways I could help people, and I realized that, if I couldn’t be a Hero, I’d be the one who helps the Heroes.”

“I think that’s what All Might tried to tell me when we first met. It didn’t quite come out right though, if I'm being honest.”

Melissa’s face fell at that. “Yeah, Uncle Might wasn't at his best for a while. And I don’t just mean physically. Ever since six years ago, he’s been colder, more distant. Like he didn’t have time for anything other than his work. I didn’t know about his injury, so I didn’t know what had happened, I was just worried about him.” A smile slowly spread across her face. “But then, a little over a year ago… things changed. He started reaching out to us again, started smiling again, I mean real smiles, not the professional ones he just does for the cameras. He was back to his old self again. And then, as he spoke to us on the phone or through videos, it became clear why. He had found someone, a young Hero-to-be, who had inspired him, and re-lit the spark that I was worried was gone. When I saw his injury…” Melissa paused again, almost choking up. “I- I was putting on a brave face when I saw him today, but he’s so small now. And… frail. I wasn’t expecting that. But, I was saying that, um... I was really worried that it would make him fall back into his coldness, and his distance, but he clearly hasn’t. He’s still smiling. And I think… I really think that’s because of you. So… thank you for saving Uncle Might.”

Izuku didn’t know what to say. All Might had made it clear that he valued Izuku, but to hear it like this… he couldn’t fully believe it. Fortunately, Melissa wasn’t finished. “Midoriya, I-” Melissa’s voice caught, and she suddenly looked away from Izuku. When she spoke again, her tone was drastically more neutral. “Do you want to see some of my Support Items?”

--

“So, how bad is it?”

Toshinori sat up on the examination chair and pulled some of the sensors off of himself as Dave began his explanation. “Well, your Quirk has faded far faster than my initial estimates, but you already knew that. That being said, it isn’t quite as bad as I feared.”

“How so?” Toshinori stood up and walked over to where Dave was sitting and looked over the data, not that he could understand any of it.

“Well,” Dave sighed, “you still have a Quirk. It’s still showing up on the scans, even if it is too faded for you to make use of it.”

Toshinori just shrugged at the news. “Well, I suppose that’s good.”

He pulled a shirt on and was about to leave when Dave spoke up again. “I really didn’t want to believe it. I thought… I thought I could find a solution, that there was a possibility besides… besides... I’m not ready for All Might to be gone.”

Toshinori turned back to his friend and gave a sad smile. “I know, Dave. But he is, and we just need to learn to live with it.”

“But what if we can’t? Japan still needs All Might. The world still needs All Might!”

Toshinori shook his head. “I’m not sure about that. All for One is gone, we’re sure of that now, and as for other villains, there are other heroes to deal with them. I think this next generation of Heroes is particularly ready to fill that need.”

Dave looked conflicted in a way that Toshinori had never seen before. “Toshinori, please. You’re protégé seems nice, and I’m sure he’s very skilled, but you have to know that he’ll never be able to fill your shoes. No one will.”

Toshinori sighed. “Perhaps. But don't count my students out yet. If you give them a chance, I do believe they’ll surprise you.”

Chapter Text

Izuku didn’t want to downplay Hatsume’s Support skills, but Melissa’s inventions were giving her a run for her money. After showing off a handful of smaller prototypes, Melissa handed Izuku a small, red disk with some sort of speaker in the middle. “This is my most recent creation, and while it might not be the most technically impressive, I think it might be one of the most generally useful things I’ve made. I call it the ‘Full Support’. Most Support Engineer’s just make gear for Heroes but don’t provide any assistance in the field, even though there’s a lot that they could probably do, so this was designed to fix that problem. It’s currently just a rough draft, so it only has two main uses. The first is a speaker that works on a private channel with this,” she held up what looked like a USB stick mixed ith a microphone, “and the second is as many different adaptors as I could find, so that if there’s any sort of tech that needs to be remotely controlled, the Hero can just plug it in and the Support Engineer can handle it from anywhere.”

Izuku nodded along, already thinking about all the ways that could be useful. “That’s awesome! I definitely agree with you about how helpful that could be for heroes.”

Melissa smiled at the compliment. “Thank you. Like I said, I was just thinking about all the other ways that Support Engineers could be helpful to heroes. And if heroes like you are out there giving it their all, how could I do anything less?”

--

Apparently, it was tradition for I-Island to send all of the winners of the U. A. Sports Festival invitations to their annual Expo. And this year, that meant that Katsuki received one of those invitations. But even though he knew how big an event it was, Katsuki was tempted not to go. Why the hell would he want to go off and pretend to get along with a bunch of pretentious extras?

His mom wouldn’t let him say no, however. The old hag went on about how it was a networking opportunity, and he should try to make connections for his Hero career, and that he should just get out there and stop sulking about the Licensing Exam. And while Katsuki resented the idea that he was sulking, he did acknowledge that the rest of what the hag said was true. If he was going to be the Number One Hero someday, he needed to get used to going to events like the Gala.

And so far, I-Island knew how to treat a champion. The plane ticket was first class, they had someone waiting for him at the airport to take his bags, and the hotel suite they had him in was pretty fancy. Still, he didn’t have anything to do until the Gala started, so once he had his stuff unpacked, he just sat around, hoping that the Gala itself wouldn’t be too boring.

--

Once Melissa finished showing off her inventions, she asked Izuku if he wanted to tour the Expo, the answer to which was a resounding yes. And everything Izuku saw just further cemented I-Island’s spot as the Support Item capital of the world. While he wasn’t able to appreciate the inventions for their craftsmanship the way that Hatsume or Melissa would be able to, their possible applications for heroism were enough to get him just as excited.

As Melissa was bragging about her dad and how many of these inventions used technology that he designed, Izuku heard a familiar voice behind him. “Dekiru? Is that you?”

Izuku whirled around, his face lighting up in surprise as he saw who it was. “Uraraka! Hey!” He ran over and pulled her into a hug, and then turned back to Melissa, who briefly seemed disappointed about something, though the expression passed before Izuku could be sure he saw it. “Melissa, this is Uraraka, she’s one of my classmates at U. A.” With that introduction over, Izuku turned back to Uraraka. “What are you doing here?”

Before Uraraka could answer, Melissa saw something over her shoulder. “Shoko? You’re here!” Sure enough, Todoroki was somehow here as well, and Melissa ran over to her excitedly. “I don’t normally see you until the Gala!”

Izuku looked between everyone in surprise. “Todoroki, you’re here too? Wait, what did Melissa mean ‘normally’?”

“Well,” Todoroki explained, “as one of Japan’s top Heroes, Endeavor has always received two tickets to the I-Island Expo, and he typically brought me along to get me used to the world of Heroes.”

“And that’s where we met!” Melissa chimed in. “Two little girls of roughly the same age, dragged along to a grown-up event by their famous dads. Speaking of, is he around?”

Todoroki shook her head. “His new position as Presumed Number One has kept him too busy to attend. He still wanted me to be here though, so I offered his usual ticket to Uraraka. Since this is Uraraka’s first time here, I offered to show her around the Expo.”

Melissa nodded along with Todoroki’s last statement. “That was a good idea. Things can get a little crowded during the Gala, so it’s nice to get a look at everything now. Speaking of the Gala, I assume I’ll see you both there?”

Uraraka looked awkwardly at the ground. “I don’t know. I don’t have anything fancy enough for an event like that.”

Todoroki shrugged. “I would offer to help, but I doubt my suits would fit you.”

Melissa rolled her eyes at Todoroki’s “help”. “That won’t do at all! Come back to my lab with me, I can make you a dress for tonight.”

Uraraka looked up in surprise. “Really? Are you sure?”

Melissa nodded. “Yes. I’ve made plenty of Hero costumes for class, this should be a piece of cake. Let’s go.” She turned to go, before seemingly remembering that Izuku was still there. “Sorry, I don’t mean to ditch you. You can walk back to the lab with us if you’d like, but I think once we get there, it should just be us girls.”

Izuku nodded, slightly blushing at the comment alone. “Yeah, that makes sense.”

--

On the walk back to the lab, Midoriya and Uraraka settled into easy conversation, catching up and asking each other how the other’s trip had been. Melissa ignored the slight pang that that made her feel and wandered up next to Shoko. “So, you brought a friend. I take it U. A.’s been good then?”

Shoko thought for a moment before nodding. “It has. I was not looking for friends, but I seem to have found them nonetheless. And I suppose I have Midoriya to thank for that.” She gestured toward him as she spoke. “He’s been pushing me to be the best Hero I can be… and even to use my fire.”

Melissa paused. “Really? I know that’s a touchy subject for you, is it-”

“It’s fine. His pressure to use my fire has come purely from a place of wanting me to do my best, and knowing that using my full power to save people is more important than some petty grudge. He insists that it truly is my fire, not Endeavor's, and that I should use it to be the kind of Hero I want to be. I’m still… not quite there yet with my fire, but he’s helping me get there.”

Melissa stared ahead at Midoriya. “He’s something else, isn’t he?”

“He is impressive.” Shoko agreed, not picking up on any second meaning Melissa might have had.

“And what’s Uraraka like?” Melissa pivoted, “You must be pretty close to invite her to the Expo.”

“I suppose so.” Shoko seemed to think for a moment. “At first, it was just that she was Midoriya’s closest friend. From our first day of class, she stood by his side, even when everyone else didn’t think that someone Quirkless should be in the Hero Course. So when I became Midoriya’s friend, I ended up naturally becoming friends with her as well. But since then, she has proven herself as kind and caring as anyone I have met. I told her about Endeavor, and my mother, and my scar, all of it and her only question was how she could help me.”

Melissa gave Shoko a little side hug as she finished explaining. “Well, I’m glad you’ve been able to find such good friends at U. A.”

Shoko let out a chuckle. “I was not planning to find friends, but I am glad I’ve done so as well.”

--

It wasn’t a long walk to Melissa’s lab. Ochako waved nervously at Dekiru as Melissa shooed him away before turning her attention back to Ochako. “So, shall we get started on that dress?”

Ochako shifted nervously. “Again, you really don’t have to-”

“I said it’s fine,” Melissa cut her off, “besides, you’ve got to look nice for Midoriya, right?”

Ochako felt a blush creep across her cheeks. “Is it that obvious?”

Melissa just laughed at her embarrassment. “Kinda, yeah. Are you two dating, or...?”

“I’m not sure.”

“What does that mean?”

Ochako stared at the ground. “We confessed our feelings to each other at the summer camp. But then… the League of Villains attacked, and Dekiru was kidnapped, and we just… haven’t mentioned it since. And while part of me hopes that it’s just that there hasn’t been a good time, part of me is worried that… well... what if he changed his mind? What if he- what if he doesn't like me like that anymore.” Not that Ochako was going to say this out loud, but when she first saw Dekiru with Melissa at the Expo, part of her had definitely assumed the worst.

“Well, I don’t think you have anything to worry about.” Melissa put a hand on Ochako’s shoulder. “I saw the way his face lit up when he saw you.” And then, almost too faintly for Ochako to hear, Melissa added. “I’m jealous.”

“What?”

Melissa’s eyes briefly widened. “I said that out loud, didn’t I?” Ochako nodded warily, so Melissa continued. “It’s just… when Uncle Might told me that he was training a new Hero who was super determined, and kind, and also Quirkless like me, I might have developed a small crush. I was… um… very excited to actually meet him today.”

Ochako let out a snort at how immediately Melissa’s composure broke. “Did he… live up to your expectations?”

“Well, I might’ve expected him to be a little taller, but in all the ways that matter, yes.” Melissa quickly composed herself again. “All that to say, he clearly cares for you. You have nothing to be nervous about. And while I will absolutely try to capitalize if you mess up, I do wish you the best of luck with him tonihgt.”

Ochako laughed at Melissa’s partial support. “Thank you, Melissa.”

“Of course. Shoko, do you have anything to add?"

Todoroki had clearly not been paying any attention to the conversation, instead looking over some of Melissa's prototypes. "What?"

Melissa let out a laugh at her obliviousness. "That's what I thought. Anyways, let's make that dress!"

--

While preparations for the expo went on, a man overlooked I-Island from his balcony. After a few moments, he pulled out his phone and made a call. “We infiltrated the expo without a problem. When do the goods arrive?”

The voice on the other side of the line was nervous, still clearly not used to working with him. “3 PM. You’ll find them at Gate 66.”

“Then we’ll be waiting.”

The man was about to hang up, but then the voice on the other side spoke up again. “Oh, and there’s been a complication. All Might is here.”

The man rolled his eyes at the concern. “We all saw watched Kamino, doc. All Might’s not going to be a problem.”

“You know that’s not what I meant. If you hurt him…”

“Okay, okay. We won’t touch him. Goodbye.” The man hung up with a sigh. This was probably the weirdest job he had ever done, having to keep his claws retracted the whole time. But, if the item he was stealing was half as powerful as his client claimed, all of this playacting would be more than worth it. All he had to do was wait.

Chapter Text

Melissa working on her dress was a much more laid-back experience than Ochako was expecting. If she had been working with Hatsume, she probably would’ve had to convince the support engineer not to include a rocket launcher or something. Melissa, on the other hand, was happy to create a simple pink sleeveless and knee-length dress with a few white frills, a black bow, leggings, and some nice white flats completing the outfit. It was simple, but Ochako didn’t really need anything more. Dressing up this much already made her feel out of place enough.

While the dress was being worked on, Todoroki took the opportunity to go and change into her outfit for the gala as well: a white suit with a dark blue shirt underneath and a red tie. Ochako would’ve guessed that Todoroki would be a suit girl, but the inverted colors really made it stand out.

Melissa’s outfit ended up being somewhere between the two of them: A blue sport coat over a white button-down and a matching blue ankle-length skirt. Between the coat and her glasses, she looked really professional, though not as stoic or reserved as Todoroki.

Once the three girls were dressed and ready, they made their way down to the entrance of the Gala. Even from the outside, Ochako could tell that the event was huge, covering several floors of I-Island's central tower. She felt incredibly out of place, but she pushed down that feeling as the three of them waited for Dekiru to join them.

It wasn’t long before she saw him hurrying toward them. He had a brown suit with a yellowish shirt underneath, which wasn’t necessarily the best color coordination, but he looked good in it. He would probably look good in anything, Ochako thought to herself, before blushing as she registered the thought. Dekiru slowed down as he caught up to them. “Sorry I’m late. I couldn’t get the tie tied good enough. Luckily,” he pointed at his bow tie, “this is a clip-on.”

Ochako laughed a little at Dekiru’s enthusiasm as Melissa responded to him. “It’s alright, the Gala’s just starting. Anyway, now that everyone’s here,” she looked over the whole group, “shall we go in?”

--

So far, the Gala was just as boring as Katsuki had been worried that it would be. It was just a bunch of boring, stuck-up extras talking about nothing while he had to wear uncomfortable clothes and pretend to care. He wanted to punch something. Or someone.

Before long though, he saw All Might through a gap in the crowd. Katsuki had been genuinely saddened at All Might’s retirement, a feeling that was very unfamiliar to him. Katsuki had admired All Might’s indomitable will and unequaled power for as long as he could remember. All Might was the Strongest, the Hero who always won. It was what Katsuki had always aspired to be, and it made it hard for Katsuki to believe that All Might was now retired. Katsuki hadn’t seen much of the Number One Hero since Kamino, so he made his way over to him now, planning to least offer his condolences, but then he saw who was standing next to him. Somehow, Deku was at the Gala, and was standing right next to All Might, clearly out of place in a place like this.

Katsuki froze as he saw him. How the hell was Deku here? Had he gotten a pity invite or something from being Quirkless? Or worse… had All Might brought him with him? Katsuki felt his rage building. He had known that All Might cared more about the nerd than he should’ve, but to invite him to I-Island, to show that he was his personal favorite... it made Katsuki's blood boil. Katsuki was the strongest in their class, he was the one who should be getting All Might's attention, not Deku! Deku was nothing, worse than nothing, it was Deku’s stupidity and weakness getting captured by villains that forced All Might into retirement! So why the hell was the nerd standing next to All Might and acting like he belonged there?! Katsuki turned around and stormed off, leaving the room entirely to get as far away from All Might and Deku as possible. It took everything in Katsuki not to simply explode on the spot. Literally.

Katsuki was so caught up in his own anger that he almost didn’t notice when someone called his name. As they called after him again, he turned to the voice and saw the blue skin and purple hair of that lady who had interviewed him after the Sports Festival, Chi-something, or whatever her name was. Blue Girl made her way over to Katsuki, a drink in one hand and a smile on her face. “Bakugo! What a surprise to see you here! How’s my favorite new hero been?”

--

Melissa always looked forward to the Gala. Not only did her Papa get to show off, and she got to see all the new inventions he had worked on, and a bunch of new people came to the island for her to see, but she also got to spend some time with Shoko. The two of them didn’t interact much throughout the rest of the year, with Shoko being absolutely terrible at staying in touch over long distances, so getting to check in and catch up at the Gala every year was always a great experience. And this year was no different, even though Shoko clearly was. And not in a bad way either. In the past, Melissa had needed to pry information out of Shoko, but now she was talking freely about her time at U. A. And those stories were positive, instead of just her talking about how her brother Natsuo fought with Endeavor again, and how Endeavor definitely deserved it. And she was smiling. Shoko was actually smiling! Melissa had hoped that U. A. would be good for her friend, but this was more than she could possibly have hoped for. It made her smile as well to see her friend doing so much better.

That smile faded as she looked over to see Uncle Might standing by a table in his weakened form, all alone. He looked sad, which was a surprising expression to see on the ever-smiling Symbol of Peace. Melissa put a hand on Shoko’s shoulder, who was in the middle of telling Melissa about a friend of hers from General Education. “I think I should go keep Uncle Might company.”

Shoko looked over, her expression turning serious as she saw how Uncle Might looked. “I see. I’ll be nearby.”

Giving her friend one last smile and a nod, Melissa made her way up to where Uncle Might was standing. “Hey Uncle Might!”

Uncle Might gave a small smile as she approached, though it didn’t do much against the sadness in his eyes. “Melissa! If you’re looking for Young Midoriya, I’m afraid he just left.”

“Did he?” Melissa didn’t like the sound of Midoriya leaving Uncle Might all alone. It didn’t sound much like a Hero.

“Well, I shooed him off. Told him to enjoy the Gala instead of just hanging around me. He probably would've spent the whole Gala right here if I let him!” Ah. That sounded more like Midoriya. “That boy’s too nice for his own good sometimes. I’m proud of him, though.”

Melissa smiled. “Yeah, he’s something else. But I’m actually here for you.” She pulled her uncle into a side hug. “How are you doing?”

“I’m doing alright.” Melissa just raised an eyebrow until All Might corrected himself with a dry chuckle. “You got me there. It’s… strange. Normally, at an event like this, I’d be swarmed by attention. Too much attention, enough to make me want to shrink back into this form just to have a little breathing room. But now… well, you can see for yourself. And it’s not like no one knows that it’s me. I’ve done press conferences in this form now, so while it might not be as recognizable as my Hero form, it’s no secret or anything. It feels like the world’s just… moved on, and no one cares for little old All Might anymore.”

This… this was exactly what Melissa had been worried about. Uncle Might had been one of the most famous people in the world for so long, so it wasn’t surprising that this transition would be a bit jarring. Still, Melissa was in the business of helping Heroes, so she would do what she could to help Uncle Might. She put an arm around his shoulders, still a little off-put by the fact that she was now taller than the former giant, but refusing to let that show to him. “Well, regardless of what the rest of the world thinks, you’re still my hero, Uncle Might. And that’ll never change.”

Her words obviously didn’t magically fix the situation, but the sadness in All Might’s eyes lessened as she spoke. “Thank you, Melissa.”

--

The Gala was nice, but Izuku couldn’t help but feel like he didn’t belong with all of these rich important people. So after All Might all but dismissed him, he started wandering the Gala aimlessly, eventually making his way out to a balcony to get a little fresh air. There was a great view of the island, so he just leaned up against the railing, admiring how the city looked at night. After a moment, he realized someone had come up and leaned against the railing next to him. “It really looks beautiful, doesn’t it?”

Izuku turned to realize that it was Uraraka who had come up to him, and he couldn’t help but just stare at her. Melissa had done a great job with her dress, and Uraraka looked beautiful, even more than usual. “Yeah, you are.”

The two of them blushed as they simultaneously realized what Izuku had ended up saying, Uraraka regaining her composure slightly faster. “Th- thank you. You- um… you clean up nice too.” There was a moment of awkward silence between the two of them before Uraraka spoke up again. “I- I wanted to talk to you. About- about what we said right before the attack.” Izuku felt his heart sink as she spoke. He had hardly been able to believe it at the time, and with all the time that had passed, he couldn’t let himself get his hopes up that should could possibly actually like him. Oblivious to his worries, Uraraka continued. “Do you still mean what you said? Do you still… feel like that about me?”

Despite his fears, the answer to that question was obvious. “I do.” Then, after a moment, Izuku nervously repeated the question. “Do- do you?”

Uraraka smiled at his answer before giving her own. “I do.”

Izuku couldn’t help but let out a laugh of joy as a weight he hadn’t realized he was carrying was lifted off his shoulders. He had been dreading this conversation, and yet… “That was the whole conversation, wasn’t it?”

Uraraka couldn’t help but laugh as well. “It really was. Oh, we’re both such a nervous mess. We could’ve just gotten that over with when you were in the hospital!”

Izuku pulled Uraraka close. “We should have. But hey, here we are now.”

Uraraka opened her mouth to respond, but before she could, an alarm started blaring all around them, and the doors to the rest of the Gala all closed as security barriers slammed down before them. Izuku felt his stomach drop as he realized what was going on. “No, no, this can’t be happening. Not again…” Why was this happening again? Were the two of them just cursed or something? What were they supposed to do?

Izuku’s train of thought was broken as Uraraka put both her hands on his. “Dekiru. Look at me." Izuku did, his breathing slowing down as he stared into Uraraka's determined eyes. "This won’t be like last time. Do you know why?” Izuku smiled as he realized what she was about to say. “Because I’m here. And you’re here. And as long as the two of us are here, together, there’s nothing we can’t handle.”

~

Chapter Text

Helplessness wasn’t a feeling that Toshinori was very familiar with. As the Symbol of Peace, he had been the exact opposite of helpless, always able to save the day with a smile. Even if he wasn’t always able to save everyone, there was never not something he could do, even as his Quirk left him with less and less time to do it.

Now, however, as a group of four villains stormed into the room he was in, Toshinori knew that there was nothing he could do to stop them. He pushed Melissa behind him protectively, not that he’d actually be able to protect her in this state.

Fortunately, there were several other heroes at the Gala, but as they prepared themselves to fight back against the villains, the building’s security systems kicked in against them, restraining them in seconds. As the Heroes struggled against the restraints, one of the villains, a tall man with red hair and a metal mask over his face, began to speak. “In case you haven’t caught on, the security systems are under our control now, and we have this whole building on lockdown. You can’t run, and I wouldn’t recommend fighting either.” The villain gestured toward the restrained Heroes to prove his point. “Fortunately, if you all just sit tight and play nice, this’ll all be over soon. All Might seems to have the right idea, so just follow his lead and you'll be alright.” Toshinori felt his shame building as the villain taunted his helplessness. “Now then, would the renowned Dr. Shield please step forward?”

Toshinori felt his heart sink even further as he saw Dave step forward. Whatever the villains wanted with his friend, he doubted it could be anything good. “What do you want?”

The villain gestured for him to come even closer. “Don’t worry, we just want a little something from your vault, and we need your credentials to help us get it.”

“And if I refuse?” Dave had never been on the front lines of Hero work before, so Toshinori was amazed by how composed his friend was.

“Well, given that two of the people who matter most to you are in this room…” As the villain spoke, he raised his hand, and knives from around the room started to lift up from off their tables. Then they all suddenly flew towards Toshinori and Melissa, Melissa letting out a cry of fear and clinging closer to Toshinori as the knives all stopped mere inches away from them. “If I were you, I wouldn’t want to find out what would happen.”

Dave nodded gravely. “Alright, you’ve made your point. Put the knives down, and I’ll go with you.”

“Of course.” The villain lowered his hand and all the knives clattered to the ground. “Swordkil, take our friend up to the vault.”

Toshinori stared in worry as his friend was led to the exit. He was almost out the door when Melissa let out a terrified cry of “Papa!”

Dave turned back, and gave Melissa a calm smile, despite everything. “Don’t worry Melissa. Everything will be alright.” Then he was pushed out of the room, the security door slamming shut behind him.

--

“You failed the licensing exam?” Katsuki nodded, his frustration already building at Blue Girl’s unnecessary question. That’s what he said, wasn’t it? “That’s terrible.” And right on cue, there came the pity. “To think our Hero System has become so broken that they somehow failed the applicant with the most talent, it’s reprehensible.”

That… didn’t sound like pity. In fact, it was exactly what Katsuki had been saying. “What?”

Blue Girl just shrugged. “Well, it’s clear that you’re going to make a great Hero someday. I mean look at how powerful your Quirk is, how could there be any doubt? So for them not to pass you, there must be something seriously wrong with them.”

Katsuki felt a smile forming as he responded. Finally, someone understood! “Yeah. It’s pretty messed up. Especially since Deku somehow passed.”

“The Quirkless one? What were they thinking!" Blue Girl paused a moment before continuing. "Bakugo, when we all get back to Japan-” Whatever Blue Girl had been about to say was cut short as an alarm started blaring and the security doors around the room slammed down, trapping everyone in the room.

Katsuki looked around in surprise and annoyance. “The hell’s going on?” His gut said that there was a villain attack going on, but whatever it was, he wasn’t about to stay cooped up in here for it. He walked toward one of the security doors, his palms already sparking as he got ready to blow the door to hell. He smirked as he realized that, at the very least, this Gala wouldn’t be as boring as he had feared.

--

“This won’t be like last time. Do you know why? Because I’m here. And you’re here. And as long as the two of us are here, together, there’s nothing we can’t handle.”

The logical part of Izuku’s brain knew that that wasn’t true, that there were plenty of things that the two of them couldn’t handle, even together. But he also knew what Uraraka meant, and so he was more than happy to tune out the “logical” voice in his head. “Thank you.” He took a deep breath. “But we need to figure out what’s happening.”

At that moment, Izuku heard a voice coming from his pocket. “Midoriya, can you hear me?” Izuku had accidentally put the Full Support item in his pocket after Melissa showed it off to him, and then he moved it to his suit pocket so that he could return it to her during the Gala. And it was apparently good that he did, because now Melissa was speaking through it.

Izuku pulled the item out and spoke into it. “I can hear you. What’s going on?”

“There are villains at I-Island.” Melissa was whispering, but she sounded like she was close to panicking. “I mean, I sure you figured that much out by now, but they have the whole building on lock-down. They’re blocking all signals in and out, but fortunately my Full Support is on its own frequency, so it looks like that’s getting through. But, Midoriya… they took Papa.”

Izuku nodded, sharing Melissa's worry at that. “Where is he?”

“They said they were taking him to the main vault. But they have the whole building on lockdown, you’d never get there! Maybe if you could reach the control room, and plug Full Support into the main computer, I could regain control of the building, but even that’s so high up, you’d never reach-”

Izuku quickly cut off Melissa’s rambling. “How high up?”

Melissa’s rambling returned as though it hadn’t stopped in the first place. “The eighty-fifth floor, but with the building on lockdown, you’d never-”

Even as Melissa told him it was impossible, Izuku had already come up with a plan. “Don’t worry, Melissa. We’ll save your dad. I’ll let you know when I get to the control room. For now, stay safe.” Izuku returned the Full Support into his pocket and turned to Uraraka. “Uraraka, I need-” Before Izuku could finish his thought, something occurred to him. “Is it, um... is it alright if I call you Ochako?”

A blush formed on Ochako's cheeks at Izuku's question. “I’d like that. Is it okay if I still call you Dekiru?”

“Of course it is.” Ochako gave him that name after all. Even if it was his Hero name now, it was a reminder of just how important she was to him.

The two of them stared at each other for a moment, just smiling, before Izuku finally remembered where they were. “Right! The villains.” He took a moment to clear his head before continuing. “Do you see that balcony up there?” He pointed up to a balcony high up on the main tower, continuing his explanation as Ochako nodded. “If my math is right, it’s on the same floor as the control room. Could you get us up there?”

Ochako looked up again, craning her neck almost straight up. “It might take us a while to float up there, but it looks doable.”

“Perfect. I guess if we’re going into a fight,” Izuku pulled off his bow tie and slipped off his jacket, “I could use a little more mobility.” Izuku missed the slight blush on Ochako’s face as he took her hand and felt his gravity disappear. “Shall we?”

--

Of all the years for Endeavor to not be at the I-Island Expo… When the old man heard that he had missed a chance to save All Might from villains, he was going to be so disappointed. Honestly, even Shoko would have appreciated his being here. Melissa was hiding behind a table, explaining the situation to Midoriya, so Dr. Shield was in good hands, but someone still needed to deal with the villains. And having Endeavor here would make it much easier for Shoko to do that.

As Shoko tried to find an opening to attack, the leader of the villains put a hand to his ear. “What? Oh, you’ve got to be kidding me. Nobu, Daigo, someone’s trying to break out. Deal with it.”

The security doors opened and the two villains hurried out of the room, leaving their leader alone. This was going to be the best chance that Shoko got, she just needed to wait until the villains were a bit further away so that they wouldn’t hear and come back. But then the villain cocked his head as if he heard something. “Ms. Shield, are you calling for help? It’s a bit too late for it to do anything, but I still can’t have that.” He started raising his hand, the knives on the ground shaking as he did so, and Shoko knew that, her concerns aside, she needed to act now. So she placed her hand on the ground and sent a wave of ice toward the villain, hoping to trap him in place. Fortunately, I-Island’s Quirk usage laws were a lot less strict than Japan’s, so even without her Provisional License, using her Quirk in an emergency like this wouldn’t cause a repeat of Hosu.

The villain apparently hadn’t registered her being there, and so was completely caught off guard as the ice surged up to his neck. “Ah, if it isn’t the Number Two Hero’s brat. I guess I should’ve seen this coming.”

Ignoring the villain for a moment, Shoko turned toward the civilians in the room. “Everyone get out of here, now!” She might not have been sure how dangerous this villain was, but she knew that fighting him would be a lot harder if she had to worry about protecting civilians. She sent out another wave of ice to jam the security door, making sure that the villains wouldn’t be able to shut it again, and watched as the civilians all fled the room, some of them carrying the restrained Heroes to safety as well.

Melissa paused in the doorway and looked back and Shoko. “Be careful.”

Shoko just nodded back at her and turned her attention back to the villain, loosening her tie so that she'd actually be able to breathe in the inevitable fight. She had done her best to restrain the villain, but she was under no delusions as to how long that would hold him for. Sure enough, knives from all over the room lifted off the ground and shot toward the villain, cracking the ice until it finally shattered, letting the villain simply step out of it. “You can’t stop me, but I do appreciate the fire.” He let out a chuckle. “If you’ll pardon the pun, that is.”

Shoko just rolled her eyes at the taunt and entered a fighting stance. Her friends had the rest of the attack under control, but they needed her to take the villain down, and she wasn’t about to let them down.

Chapter Text

As much as Shoko wanted to get this fight over quickly, she didn’t know quite what the villain was capable of. So she hung back, dodging through the knives that the villain kept sending her way and looking for an opening to strike back. She created a wall of ice to block one particularly close attack and sent a wave of ice at him in response, but the villain simply moved a table into the path of the attack, blocking it entirely. This fight was starting to turn into a war of attrition, so if Shoko wanted to win, she’d need to do something desperate.

So as the villain sent another volley of knives at her, Shoko quickly formed a dome of ice, letting the knives slam into it. The ice cracked under the onslaught, before finally breaking in a cloud of mist. Moving out of the way of the knives as they continued their flight, Shoko jumped out of the shattered dome, using the mist as cover to send another wave of ice at the villain. Once she heard it impact, slamming the villain into a wall, Shoko leaped up onto the ice wave and slid down it right into the villain, jumping off of it to slam a kick into the side of the villain's head.

A weakness in close combat was common in fighters whose Quirks allowed them to attack at a distance, but it was one that Endeavor had made sure to drill out of Shoko. So she kept up her assault, swinging a series of kicks and punches to keep the villain from getting enough room to properly use his Quirk. She felt a grim satisfaction as he seemed hard-pressed to defend against her assault, until suddenly he swung a punch of his own at her. Too late she noticed the metal glove on his hand, and realized that it would let him use his Quirk to make the blow much faster and stronger than it otherwise could be.

The fist slammed into Shoko’s gut, sending her flying back halfway across the room. She coughed in pain and tried to return to her feet, but she was too dazed from the blow to find her footing. The villain smirked down at her, knives floating in the air around him. “Not bad, kid. Give it a few years, and you might be able to beat me. Which is why I'll need to make sure to kill you now.”

As the knives started flying toward Shoko, she pressed her right hand against the floor, sending out a massive glacier to cover half the room, stopping the attack and hopefully freezing the villain completely. He had been able to break out of her ice before, but with how much thicker this attack was, she was hopeful that it would hold him. A moment later, she finally had the strength to return to her feet, hand still pressed against her gut. Shoko stared at the glacier as she used her left side to melt some of the frost that had gathered on her from her final attack. As much as she hoped that she had stopped the villain with her final attack, she wasn’t going to bet on it.

Still, she was surprised when the wall to her left started to shake, and she barely had enough time to spin around and create another ice wall as it exploded, sending a volley of re-bar her way. And as the dust cleared, the villain leader stepped through the hole in the wall. Shoko grimaced. It looked like this fight was far from over, and if he had managed to avoid her biggest attack, she didn't like her odds.

--

Despite how useful he was, Kizuki Chitose couldn’t help but be very frustrated with Bakugo. When the security doors slammed down, trapping everyone in the room they were in, the blue-skinned reporter had briefly panicked, but she had quickly come to the conclusion that the walls were there for their safety. Bakugo apparently had different ideas, immediately letting off an explosion and sending the doors flying. Chitose sighed. Whatever Bakugo’s plan was, it was her job to put a positive spin on it. She turned back to the other people in the room, a professional smile plastered on her face. “Don’t worry everyone! He’s going to get us out of here!”

That seemed to put some people’s minds at ease at least, and they happily followed Bakugo through the halls and to the exit, though he seemed like he could care less about them. Chitose really would need to coach him on his public image.

Pushing that thought to the side for now, Chitose realized that Bakugo had stopped, as a pair of what were obviously villains were blocking the hallway he had been moving through. “Everyone back to where you were, and no one needs to get hurt. Otherwise…” The villains simply let the threat hang in the air.

Unsurprisingly, Bakugo didn’t care about that threat, instead grinning as his palms started sparking. “Ah, a pair of villains. Good. I was hoping for some excitement.” He didn’t give the villains any more warning before letting off a series of explosions to launch himself right at them.

--

Ochako held Dekiru tightly as the two of them floated up to the balcony. If it weren’t for the fact that I-Island was being attacked by villains, she would’ve found the moment romantic, just the two of them floating through the air, staring at the starry sky. Still, she forced herself to focus, reaching over to the balcony and swinging the two of them over it before returning their gravity.

Once he returned to his feet, Dekiru took charge, using Full Support to ask Melissa for directions to the control room and leading the two of them there. It wasn’t long before they reached it, and Dekiru kicked the door open, revealing a lone villain hunched over the computer screens. Once he saw the two of them, rather than try to fight, the villain turned and ran through a side door. Dekiru started to pursue, but Ochako just tapped his shoulder as she sprinted past him. “I’ll stop him, you help Melissa regain control.”

Dekiru nodded and turned to the computer, letting Ochako chase after the fleeing villain. The villain was clearly not in the best shape, so Ochako was slowly but surely gaining on him. That was until another villain suddenly lunged at her from a separate hallway, forcing Ochako back.

As the new villain placed himself between Ochako and the one she had been pursuing, Ochako noticed that his entire forearm was replaced by a sort of blade. For a brief moment, Ochako felt the cut on her stomach ache, as she felt like she was back at the USJ, hopelessly out of her depth. She shook her head to try and clear away her doubts. Despite the similar Quirk, this was clearly a different villain. And even if it wasn’t, she was stronger than she had been at the USJ. She could do this.

Unaware of Ochako’s internal struggle, the new villain spoke back to his compatriot, not taking his eyes off Ochako. “The hell’s happening here?”

“Swordkil, I’m so glad you’re here. A pair of Heroes showed up at the control room, I’m not sure how they even got up there.”

The villain, apparently named Swordkil, just rolled his eyes. “Heroes? This is a teenager. Still, I’ll handle it. You make sure our evac’s secure.” The villain from the control room turned and ran at that, letting Swordkil turn his full attention to Ochako. “I’d rather not kill a kid, but I’ll do it if I have to. Now scram.”

Ochako ignored the attempted intimidation and instead entered a fighting stance, waiting for Swordkil to make the first move. When he didn’t immediately do so, the two of them began circling each other, waiting for an opening. Ochako realized that she had a slight advantage in this fight: while she could clearly tell what her opponent’s Quirk was, he’d have no way of knowing hers, or of knowing that it could immobilize him after one wrong move.

As the two of them continued circling each other, Ochako waited until they reached opposite sides of where they started, and then she turned and ran in the direction that the first villain had fled. Realizing that he had left his ally open, Swordkil rushed after her, but that was just what Ochako had wanted. She suddenly stopped in her tracks and ducked low, letting the villain’s swing pass over her head as she slammed an open palm into his chest. And while he was caught off balance by the sudden lack of gravity, Ochako sent an uppercut straight into his jaw. With no way to brace himself against the blow, the villain was knocked out instantly, and Ochako returned his gravity and let him crash to the floor.

With the immediate threat taken care of, Ochako turned back to the direction where the previous villain fled. But as much as she wanted to make sure that he didn’t escape, she didn’t know how many more villains were out there, and she didn’t want to leave Dekiru alone. So, with a long sigh, Ochako turned around and ran back to the control room.

By the time Ochako made it back, it looked like Melissa had successfully been able to regain control, and Dekiru was now strategizing with her as to their next moves. As he heard Ochako approach, Dekiru turned and gave her a smile. “Ochako! Everything okay on your end?”

“I was ambushed by another villain. I’m alright,” Ochako quickly reassured at the worried look on Dekiru’s face, “but while I was dealing with him, the first one got away.”

Dekiru nodded. “That’s alright. As long as we can make sure Dr. Shield’s safe, the other Heroes can make sure all the villains are apprehended. Speaking of,” he pointed toward one of the security cameras, “I found him. It doesn’t even look like he’s guarded! Which seems weird, but I won’t look a gift horse in the mouth. Melissa,” Dekiru turned back to the Full Support. “Will you be alright by yourself?”

“As long as I stay plugged into the computer, everything should be fine. Please, Midoriya, Uraraka, save Papa.”

“Of course.” Dekiru turned back to Ochako. “Let’s go.”

--

Somehow, Shoko’s fight was going even worse than before. The villain had switched tactics, mixing in thrown tables with his knife attacks, forcing Shoko to recognize each attack and respond differently. She was hard-pressed even to attack back, much less land any hits. At this point, Shoko could only think of one way to beat him: to use her fire. Hopefully, she’d be able to hold herself together long enough to take him down.

While Shoko was steeling herself, the villain briefly stopped his assault and put a hand to his ear. “What?! How?!” He growled at whatever the response. “Fine, I’ll be right there, just make sure our evac is ready.” With that, he turned his attention back to Shoko, who had used the opening to catch a much-needed breath. “Sorry to cut this short, but I have places to be.” The villain raised his hands, and Shoko heard the ceiling above her start to creak. That was all the warning she got before it crashed down on top of her. She barely had enough time to create a dome of ice to shield herself, and by the time she was able to extricate herself from it, the villain was long gone.

Chapter Text

It didn’t take long to go from the control room to the vault, especially not at the pace that Izuku was running. Even though it didn’t look like there were any other villains this high up in the tower, he wanted to get Dr. Shield to safety as quickly as possible.

It seemed that Izuku’s haste paid off, because when he and Ochako made their way into the vault, Dr. Shield was still by himself, and was in the process of removing a briefcase from a safe on the wall. He looked very calm for the circumstances, and if Izuku hadn’t been told that the villains were using him, he would have just looked like Dr. Shield was retrieving something for his research.

“Dr. Shield!” The man turned his attention to Izuku as Izuku called his name, and for some reason, that was when a look of nervousness flashed across his face.

Dr. Shield pulled the briefcase closer to his chest. “Midoriya! How did you get up here?”

“Melissa helped me end the lockdown. Now let’s get you out of here before the villains come back.” Izuku gestured for Dr. Shield to hurry over, and the man hesitated before walking over.

He continued looking around nervously. “Right, I guess we should go. I’ll um… I’ll hold onto this.” He gripped the briefcase, somehow even tighter than before. “For safekeeping.”

As Izuku watched Dr. Shield with a growing wariness, Ochako put a hand on his shoulder and whispered into his ear. “Dekiru, something seems wrong about this.”

Izuku nodded. “I know.” He didn’t want to suspect All Might’s former sidekick, but all of the signs were pointing in that direction. “Dr. Shield, what’s going on here?”

Dr. Shield flinched away at the question. “What do you mean? Nothing’s going on!” Almost immediately, he seemed to accept that Izuku didn't believe him, and he let out a long sigh. “Fine. I- I hired the villains to help me steal this.”

Even though he had suspected it, Izuku couldn’t bring himself to believe it until the words left Dr. Shield's mouth. “Why?”

In place of an explanation, Dr. Shield placed the briefcase on the ground and opened it to take out some sort of helmet. “This is the Quirk Amplification Device, or the QAD for short. It’s currently just a prototype, but it can already drastically increase the power of the wearer’s Quirk. The potential uses of this device are practically limitless, but my superiors decided that it was too dangerous, and locked it and my research notes away in this vault, never to see the light of day again.”

“So what?” Ochako responded, “are you just pretending to be some misunderstood genius whose inventions are more important than anyone else’s safety?”

Dr. Shield seemed panicked, desperate to defend himself. “No one's safety is in actual danger! I told the villains that if they hurt anyone, the deal is off." He turned to Izuku, with a pleading look in his eyes. "Melissa's down there, I would never toy with safety. It's just, well..." He took a deep breath, clearly unsure how to begin his explanation. "I started work on the QAD about six years ago, after-”

“After All Might’s injury.” Izuku cut him off.

“Exactly!” Dr. Shield seemed relieved as Izuku finished his sentence, and began explaining a line of reasoning that was already going through Izuku’s mind. “All Might was, is, the greatest Hero to ever live, so when I heard that his Quirk was fading, I tried everything I could to find a way to reverse the process. And I did it! After Kamino I was worried that I was too late, but after some testing with Toshi this week I have confirmation that All Might’s Quirk is still there, just faded beyond use. All Might might be gone, but with this, I can bring him back as strong as ever, maybe even stronger.” He reached a hand out to Izuku. “Please. I know you admire All Might just like I do. Let me help him.”

Izuku felt frozen in indecision. Because on the one hand, this was wrong. All of this was wrong. He couldn’t believe that he was even considering letting villains get away. On the other hand… it was for All Might. If Dr. Shield was right, if All Might could really come back, better than ever, wouldn’t it all be worth it? “Dekiru, I-” Ochako briefly spoke up, and for a moment, Izuku was hoping that she could somehow take the decision from him, but she was clearly just as conflicted.

Izuku just didn’t know what to do. Of course, he wanted to help All Might, both because Japan could use the Symbol of Peace back and because All Might had helped him so much, it’s just… he didn’t want to do it like this. He needed guidance. What would All Might do here? Actually... that answered it. There was only one answer that Izuku could imagine All Might giving. “No. Even if it means that All Might will never be a Hero again, this isn’t how he would want to come back. Even if you offered it to him after this, he might refuse.”

--

When Shoko had given them an opening to escape, Melissa quickly broke away from the main group to find a computer for her to access with Full Support. So once Midoriya had the other end plugged into the central computer, it was practically child's play for Melissa to regain control of the whole tower. The defensive barriers were lifted, the elevator was turned back online, and the authorities were notified of what was happening. It turned out there were more villains in the tower than just the four who had taken her dad, but Melissa was able to free the other Heroes at the Gala, and they were able to deal with the additional villains with ease.

It looked like Midoriya had even caught up to her Papa. It was weird that they were staying in the vault for so long though… Curious, Melissa activated the sound on the camera in the vault, and she couldn’t believe her ears. It was inconceivable that her Papa could be conspiring with villains. It was for Uncle Might, but still! He had been her Hero for her whole life, even more than Uncle Might was. He was the reason she wanted to be a Support Engineer, the reason she wanted to help people. Listening to him now, trying to justify what he was doing, it felt like her entire world was being turned upside down.

Before she could think much further about it, however, she heard a voice. “Hey, you! What are you doing?” Turning in surprise, Melissa realized that, while she had been focused on the conversation in the vault, one of the villains had found the room she was hiding in, and was standing in the open doorway. “You were calling for help, weren’t you?” Melissa tried to deny it, but the words died in her throat as the villain aimed a gun at her. “Wolfram doesn’t appreciate people interfering with his plans.”

Melissa closed her eyes tight, bracing for whatever came next, but then she heard another voice. “Get away from my niece!” She opened her eyes again to watch Uncle Might, still in his shriveled form, appear in the doorway, sending a fist right into the villain’s jaw. The villain dropped to the ground, the gun sliding along the floor. Uncle Might kicked the gun even further away as the villain returned to his feet. “Walk away now, villain. I won’t go easy on you.”

The villain seemed unphased by Uncle Might’s threat. “C’mon old man, I’ve heard the news. You’re retired. Don’t make threats you can’t keep.” With that, the villain charged forward, swinging at Uncle Might.

While Uncle Might did his best to defend himself, his fighting style was built around his Quirk, around how to most effectively use overwhelming power, so without that overwhelming power, his fighting experience didn't help him very much. Eventually, a punch landed straight into Uncle Might’s gut, sending him staggering back and forcing him to drop to one knee. Without even thinking, Melissa felt her body move, running toward him with a cry of “Uncle Might!”

But then, Uncle Might held up a hand to stop her. “Don’t worry Melissa. It’ll be alright. Do you know why?” As he slowly returned to his feet, despite the obvious difficulty, he smiled. “Because I am here.” He turned to glare at the villain. “You’re right. I am retired. But I still have more than enough power to deal with a punk like you.” Suddenly, in a burst of steam, Uncle Might bulked up to his full form, now towering over the villain who looked to be questioning all of his life choices that led him to that moment. “This is your last chance. Run.”

The villain didn’t need to be told twice, turning tail and fleeing as fast as possible. The moment he was out of sight, however, there was another puff of steam, and Uncle Might deflated back down again, coughing up blood and leaning against the wall for support.

Melissa couldn’t hold herself back, running toward Uncle Might and all but tackling him into a hug. “Thank you! I was so scared, but you saved me!”

Uncle Might patted her on the back, but it didn’t seem like his heart was in it. “I got lucky. If that villain had called my bluff…”

“Don’t say that.” Melissa looked Uncle Might in the eye. “You saved me. And that means, Quirk or no Quirk, you’re a Hero. Understood?”

Uncle Might let out a smile. Not the heroic smile he had given earlier, but a real one, far warmer than anything he gave in his buffed form. “Understood.”

--

Dr. Shield seemed almost in shock at Izuku’s answer. “What? N- no, you can’t. I thought you would understand! I- I- I can’t let you stop me!” With that, he broke into a run, but he barely made it five steps before Ochako tackled him to the ground, sending the QAD flying away.

Izuku quickly went to retrieve the item before it fell, but then Dr. Shield’s voice rang out again. “How dare you! You’ve already ended All Might’s career once, how can you stand to do it again!” Izuku froze, his fingers inches away from the device. The words hurt. It had been hard not to blame himself for All Might’s retirement, since All Might's final battle was solely to safe him. All Might’s reassurance that he wasn’t to blame was the only reason he was able to move past that guilt. But Dr. Shield’s words just dragged him all the way back there. Still, Izuku had made his decision.

As he picked up the QAD, Izuku turned back to Ochako. “What do we do from here? Do you think we should hold onto the device, or would it be safer to put it back in the vault?”

Before Ochako could answer, a new voice rang out. “Well doc, you seem to have gotten yourself into quite the mess.” Turning toward the voice, Izuku saw a larger man in a metal mask. Given his words to Dr. Shield, it was safe to assume he was another one of the villains the doctor had hired.

That assumption was immediately confirmed by the doctor’s own words. “Ah, Wolfram, there you are. Could you please help me out here?”

The villain smirked. “With pleasure.”

Chapter Text

 Katsuki had to hand it to the villains, they were at least stronger than the extras he went up against at the Licensing Exam. One of them immediately bulked up into a twelve-foot purple-skinned monster, and was shrugging off Katsuki’s blasts like they were nothing. Katsuki wasn’t sure what the other one’s Quirk was, except that it had something to do with their hands, given that they were way bigger than normal, but he wasn’t interested in getting close enough to find out more.

The fact that it was a 2-v-1 certainly wasn’t doing Katsuki any favors, but it was nothing a Hero like him couldn't overcome. No, the main issue was all the extras clogging up the hallway, keeping him from using his whole power. Stupid extras, either help out or get out of his way!

“Everyone, the Hero’s got this! Let’s get back to the room for now!” Finally. Blue Girl apparently chose the latter, herding the rest of the useless extras back to the room they had been trapped in earlier. Katsuki smirked as he finally gained some room to work with. Plus, he was starting to build up a sweat. It was time to win this fight.

Big Purple charged him, ready to slam down with both his fists, but Katsuki just rocketed into the air, over the attack, sending down an explosion into the villain’s face. It didn’t seem to hurt him too much, but it wasn’t really supposed to. It was just supposed to blind him as Katsuki rocketed past, toward Big Hands.

Big Hands swiped at Katsuki, but it was easy for Katsuki to send out another blast to dodge out of the way, using another explosion to reposition to exactly where he needed to be to take him down. He let off explosion after explosion, knowing that taking Big Hands down now was his best chance to turn the fight from a 2-v-1 to a 1-v-1.

Once Katsuki was sure that the villain was taken down, he turned his attention back to Big Purple, expecting him to already be bearing down on him. He was surprised to find that that wasn’t the case, and that the villain had instead grabbed Blue Girl, and was holding her up by the neck. She was doing her best to fight back, flailing about and hitting him in the chest, but it didn’t look like there was anything she could do against him. “Alright, Hero. Take one step, and this lady gets it.”

Katsuki paused for a moment, weighing his options. Obviously, giving up was out of the question. Heroes always won, so he’d need to find a way to win here. But there was no way he was reaching Blue Girl before Big Purple crushed her neck, and he’d rather not let the one person who recognized his potential die. Fortunately, he had just figured out a way to attack from a distance. It would just need to be a quick draw.

“Alright, fine, just don’t-” Katsuki started speaking, feigning a surrender to hopefully make the villain let his guard down, before bringing up both his hands. He cupped his left hand into a circle and placed it over his right palm, sparking off an explosion with his right hand and letting his left-hand funnel the blast straight into the villain. The villain only had time to widen his eyes in surprise before it impacted, letting off an explosion that was way bigger than even Katsuki could have hoped for, forcing the villain to drop Blue Girl and sending him flying back. Katsuki immediately pressed his advantage, launching himself forward and throwing back a right hook, letting out everything he had as he sent an explosion right into Big Purple’s big purple face, sending the villain crashing through the wall behind him. Katsuki felt his arm scream in pain as the blast went way past his limits, but as the dust settled, he saw that it did the trick. Big Purple was shrinking back down to his normal size, and he didn’t look to be getting back up any time soon.

As Katsuki admired his handiwork and nursed his arm, Blue Girl came up next to him. “That was some impressive work, Hero.” Katsuki smiled at the praise. It had been too long since he had heard something like that. “When we get back to Japan, there are some… like-minded friends I want you to meet. I think it would be worth your while.”

If her friends were anything like her, Katsuki was tempted to take her up on the offer. Between that and the fight, maybe this Gala wasn’t such a waste of time after all.

--

“Ah, Wolfram, there you are. Could you please help me out here?”

The villain, apparently named Wolfram, smirked. “With pleasure.” He raised a hand, and several floor tiles started shaking, straining free of the floor.

Thinking fast, Izuku held out the QAD in front of him threateningly. “Stay back! If you know what this is, you should know you don’t want me to use it!”

Wolfram just laughed in response. “Ha! That’s a nice bluff, kid. Unfortunately, I watched the Sports Festival, so I know just how empty that threat is. And besides, if I was really worried about it, I’d just do this.” He stretched out a hand toward Izuku, and Izuku felt the QAD pulling away from him. He held on tighter, straining against the villain’s Quirk, until eventually, the weakest link broke. With a loud crack, the QAD snapped in two, half of it flying toward Wolfram as the other half stayed in Izuku’s hands.

As half the QAD landed in Wolfram’s hands, he stared at it for a moment in surprise. “Ah. This makes things… complicated.”

Dr. Shield, still being pinned by Ochako, shouted up at him. “Don’t worry, as long as I have my research notes, I can make another one. You’ll still get paid!”

Wolfram chuckled as he threw the broken QAD to the ground. “Well, that’s good to hear. If you couldn’t make a replacement, this would’ve all been a waste of time.”

Dr. Shield looked confused. “Why did you say it like that?”

“Come on, doc, I thought you smart! Why the hell would I help you get big bad All Might back up to his prime?”

Dr. Shield’s face paled as the realization hit him. “You- you were never going to help me. You just wanted the QAD for yourself.”

Wolfram smiled. “Now you're using your brain! But if the QAD's broken, I’m just going to need you to make me a new one. Or several. Depends on if I feel like sharing infinite power.”

Realizing that Dr. Shield was no longer working with the villain, Ochako let him go and moved in front of him protectively. “You’re not going anywhere with him.”

“Just try and stop me.” Wolfram pulled an arm back, causing a floor tile to fly through the air and slam into Ochako’s back, sending her to the ground with a cry.

“Ochako!” Izuku ran toward her, but he only got a few steps before floor tiles and other bits of debris started flying at him as well, forcing him to focus on defending himself. Ochako was strong. She’d be fine. He hoped.

Izuku dodged and weaved through the debris, trying to make his way closer to Wolfram. He swung for the villain as soon as he was close enough, but Wolfram just dodged away from the blow, sending a floor tile slamming into Izuku in response. Izuku groaned as he returned to his feet. He had hoped that a long-ranged Quirk meant that the villain would crumble in close quarters. Villains covering their weaknesses made things a lot harder.

Out of the corner of his eye, Izuku saw Ochako tap all the floor tiles that Wolfram had loosened with his Quirk, and then started throwing them at the villain. He whipped around, activating his Quirk to catch them in mid-air one after the other. “Not bad, but did you really think that would work?” Then he sent them all flying back at her, practically burying her under them.

Still, she gave Izuku an opening, and before Wolfram could switch back to focusing on him, Izuku slammed an elbow into the villain’s side, forcing him to nearly double over in surprise and pain. Then Izuku sent his head right back up with an uppercut. As Wolfram staggered back, Izuku dropped down, sweeping his leg in hopes of bringing the villain to the floor. But before the blow could connect, Izuku felt the floor shift under him, causing him to immediately lose his balance and start to fall. Before he even hit the ground, Wolfram’s fist slammed into his gut with more force than seemed humanly possible, sending him flying across the room.

As Izuku struggled to his feet, Wolfram just stared down at him with a smirk. “I’ve got to say, between you two and Endeavor’s brat, U.A.’s churning out some promising Heroes. All the more reason for me to need the QAD.” Izuku heard the ceiling above him start to shake, and that was all the warning he got before an entire section of it collapsed onto him. He managed to lunge forward and dodge most of it, but a large slab of concrete crashed into his leg, pinning it. It didn’t feel broken, but he still wouldn’t be moving anytime soon.

With him immobilized, Wolfram turned his attention to Dr. Shield, who had backed himself into a corner and was staring at him in terror. He was too terrified to resist as Wolfram walked up to him and punched him in the jaw, knocking him out in one blow. He then lifted the unconscious scientist into a fireman’s carry, pulled the briefcase with the research notes to himself with his Quirk, and walked out of the room with one last look at Izuku. “Better luck next time, kid.”

Izuku struggled, trying to pull his leg out, but the rubble was just too heavy. Maybe if Ochako… “Ochako!” He turned to look at the pile of rubble that Wolfram had buried her under, letting out a sigh of relief as it shifted, the tiles floating up weightlessly as Ochako emerged out from under them.

She dusted herself off before realizing the predicament Izuku was in. “Dekiru!” She rushed over to him, pulling the rubble off of him and helping him up to his feet before pulling him into a hug. “Are you okay?”

“I’m alright. Are you okay?”

“A little bruised, but I’ve been worse.” Ochako pulled back from the hug, and her expression turned serious. “I assume Wolfram got away with Dr. Shield?” Izuku nodded. “What’s the plan?”

Izuku didn’t know. Wolfram was clearly stronger than either of them, his long-ranged Quirk meant that Ochako’s Quirk wouldn’t be able to easily immobilize him, and Izuku didn’t have his Support Items to try and eke out a surprise win. Izuku wasn’t sure how they would be able to win this. But that didn’t mean he was going to stop trying.

“We go after him.”

--

Izuku guessed that Wolfram would have the easiest time escaping with a helicopter or something like that, so the two of them ran up to the top of the tower, which the vault was fortunately relatively close to, so they didn’t need to climb too many stairs. Still, they were both out of breath by the time they made it to the roof, just in time to see Wolfram step onto a waiting helicopter. The rotors were already spinning as it got ready to take off, and Izuku’s heart sank as he realized they were too late. There was no way they could get close enough in time to stop Wolfram from getting away. Unless… “Ochako!” He stretched out his hand to her. “Throw me at him!”

“What?!” Ochako stared at him in shock. “I’m not about to- That’s too dangerous! I’m not losing you again!”

“But I-” Before Izuku could finish his response, he felt the air around him suddenly chill as a stream of ice shot toward the helicopter as it started to take it off, covering the lower sections of it and keeping it grounded.

Turning back to the doorway, Izuku let out a relieved smile as he saw Todoroki standing there, breathing heavily. “I wasn’t too late. Good.”

Chapter Text

When Shoko realized that the villain was gone, her first thought was actually relief. That fight hadn’t been going well, so she was grateful for the unexpected reprieve. But after catching her breath for a moment, she remembered that she hadn’t just been trying to survive, she had been trying to stop the villain. And now that she had failed, one of her friends would probably end up paying the price.

If Shoko didn't want that to happen, she needed to find him again, and the person most likely to be able to help her was Melissa. Shoko pulled out her phone and called her friend, relieved when she picked up. “Shoko, are you okay?”

“I’m fine.” Shoko went straight to business. “I lost the villain leader, do you know where he is?”

“Hang on, it’s hard to switch between all the cameras…” Melissa let out a gasp. “He’s got Papa. He’s- I think he’s headed towards the roof. There’s a helicopter up there, he must be trying to get away, Shoko, you have to stop him!”

Shoko paused. “I’ll try, but I’m not sure if I’ll make it up all those stairs in time.”

“Take the elevator. You usually need security clearance to get that high, but I should be able to bypass it.”

“Got it.” That sounded much faster than running.

Before Shoko could hang up, she heard All Might’s voice coming from the phone as well. “Be careful, Young Todoroki.”

“I will be.” She just hoped she wouldn’t be too late.

--

Izuku couldn’t help but smile as he realized that Todoroki had arrived to back them up. He had been willing to fight against Wolfram to the end, but Todoroki’s presence made it much more likely that they’d actually win. Still, while Todoroki’s attack took out the helicopter, Wolfram was still a threat, so they needed a plan. First, though... “We need to get Dr. Shield to safety.” He turned to Ochako. “We'll keep Wolfram busy, you take him and float him down.”

”Dekiru-” Whatever Ochako had been about to say was cut off as Wolfram stepped out of the helicopter, which started to shake as he tore pieces of it off with his Quirk to use as weapons. So instead, she just said, “Be careful.”

Izuku nodded. “I will.” Then he sprang into action, breaking off to the left as Ochako went right and Todoroki sent a wave of ice straight down the middle to keep Wolfram’s attention.

The villain simply raised the flooring to meet it, causing the ice to scatter harmlessly. Izuku tried to use it as an opening to get close, but Wolfram reacted first, forcing Izuku to dodge back from a Quirk-enhanced punch. Wolfram continued his assault, forcing Izuku to stay on the defensive, until suddenly his foot caught on something. Looking down, he realized that Shoko had frozen his foot to the ground, trapping him in place.

As Wolfram was thrown off balance, Todoroki closed the distance as well, swinging a punch toward Wolfram, and while the villain was barely able to twist out of the attack, it left him wide open to Izuku’s fist slamming into his gut.

Not giving him time to recover, Izuku and Todoroki both kept up their assault, swinging blow after blow at Wolfram, knocking him back and forth between the two of them until, with a shout of “Enough!” he ripped up all of the floor around him and sent it flying away, knocking both Izuku and Todoroki back.

The villain then slammed a fist into the ice around his foot to free himself and looked around, breathing heavily from exertion and rage. His eyes widened as he was just in time to see Ochako leap off the side of the roof with Dr. Shield in her arms, but too late to do anything about it. “No!” Todoroki sent another wave of ice at him, hoping he was distracted, but Wolfram used the metal floor to launch himself into the air and over the attack, tearing off the tail of the helicopter in midair and sending it straight at her. Since the attack came at her left, Todoroki was forced to twist around to block it with a wall of ice, leaving her wide open as Wolfram landed with a Quirk-enhanced punch to her back, dropping her to the ground.

And then, he turned his attention back to Izuku. “I’ve got to hand it to you kids,” the villain cackled, “you’ve beaten me.” As he spoke, he ripped the rotors off the helicopter and threw them at Izuku. “You’ve taken away my crew,” Izuku narrowly dodged between the blades as they dug into the floor around him, “you’ve taken away my target,” the rotors pulled themselves out of the ground and swung for Izuku like swords, “and you’ve taken away my escape.” Izuku continued dodging, but then the floor shifted under him, throwing him off just enough for one of the rotors to cut into his side. Izuku dropped to one knee and clutched his side, trying to figure out a plan as Wolfram walked menacingly toward him. “I won’t get away with this, I know. But if I’m going down, I’m taking you with me.”

In desperation, Izuku charged Wolfram one last time, feinting a punch with one hand to actually drive his other fist into the villain’s side. Wolfram took the hit, not even bothering to dodge, and instead putting all his strength into a punch to Izuku’s chest, sending him staggering back. For a brief moment, Izuku felt his foot slip over the side of the roof. And then he fell.

--

As important as it was to get Dr. Shield to safety, Ochako needed to get back to the fight as quickly as possible. She knew that Dekiru had promised to be careful, but she also knew just how little control he actually had over that. So, rather than taking Dr. Shield all the way to the ground, she found a balcony about ten floors down and aimed for that instead. As she descended, trying to ignore the sounds of fighting behind her, Dr. Shield came back to consciousness with a start. “What- what’s happening.”

“I’m saving you.” Ochako touched down on the balcony and placed Dr. Shield on the floor, returning both of their gravities.

Dr. Shield stared up at her in surprise. “Why? I helped Wolfram, this is all my fault.”

As much as Ochako agreed with him, she tried to keep her expression sympathetic. “Because I’m a Hero. And Heroes help people. And despite everything you said about Dekiru, he’s a Hero too. Even after you accused him of ending All Might’s career, he ran all the way up to the roof, picked a fight he can’t have expected to win, and then split up mid-fight just to save you.” Ochako looked up toward the roof wistfully. “He’s the greatest Hero. He-”

He was falling. Dekiru was falling through the sky. Ochako didn’t even have a moment to think as she tapped herself to remove her gravity and leaped for him, hoping desperately that she would be able to catch him. He fell just a hair faster than she had expected, so she reached her hand down in desperation. Seeing her fly towards him, Dekiru reached his hand out as well, just barely managing to catch hers. His weight started to pull her down for a moment before she removed his gravity as well and then grabbed onto the side of the building to stop her momentum.

Once the two of them had slowed to a stop, Ochako gently and carefully pulled Dekiru up to herself. He stared at her in surprise and awe as she pulled him close. “You- you caught me.”

“I’ll always catch you.” As she wrapped her arms around him, she felt something wet. "You're bleeding!"

Dekiru just smiled at that, wrapping his arms tightly around her as well. "It's just a scratch. I'll be alright. Thanks to you." Suddenly, he remembered something, his head shooting up in alarm. “Todoroki’s still up there! She needs our help!”

Ochako nodded in understanding. “Hold on tight.” As Dekiru held onto her, Ochako grabbed the building tighter and propelled them up as fast as she could. After a few moments, they launched past the roof, letting Ochako see just how desperate a situation Todoroki was in. She was doing her best to hold off Wolfram on her own as he threw object after object at her, but his assault wasn’t giving her room to breathe, and it was only a matter of time until she slipped up, with drastic consequences.

As Ochako tried to figure out a plan to help, Dekiru spoke up. “Throw me at him.” This time, Ochako didn’t protest, grabbing Dekiru by the arm and flinging him straight at Wolfram, returning their gravity just as Dekiru slammed into him, sending the villain to the ground. As Dekiru tried to pin him, Wolfram reached out, grabbing onto some more debris with his Quirk and sending it toward Dekiru, but the attack didn't get far before it was intercepted by an ice wall from Todoroki. With Wolfram’s attack intercepted, Izuku kept up his assault, punching down repeatedly at Wolfram, until the villain grabbed himself with his Quirk, roughly projecting himself up and knocking Dekiru off of him.

But Ochako hadn’t been idle after throwing Dekiru at him, and as Wolfram shook himself free, she grabbed him by the ankle and activated her Quirk on him. Then she swung him around like a ragdoll, slamming him face-first into the ground before returning his gravity. As Ochako let go, Wolfram slowly forced himself up onto his hands and knees, but before he could get any higher, Todoroki sent out a thin layer of ice over the ground, freezing all four of his limbs to the floor. And before he could use his Quirk to struggle free, Izuku slammed a fist into the back of his head, sending him back down to the floor. And after a moment, it became clear that he wasn’t going to get back up again.

~

It didn’t take long to confirm that Wolfram was down for the count, and to ask Melissa to send some Heroes to the roof to retrieve him. Once that important business was taken care of, Ochako noticed Dekiru catching his breath on the roof's edge, his legs dangling off the side as he stared out over the ocean. She smiled as she watched him, before slowly making her way over and sitting next to him. “Be careful not to fall off again.”

He just smiled back at her. “Well, if I did, I guess you’d just have to catch me again.” They both let out a chuckle at that. After a moment, Dekiru spoke up again. “You know, I guess you were right.”

“About what?”

“We made it. Together.” Dekiru wrapped an arm over Ochako’s shoulders and pulled her close, and the two of them stared out at the ocean. Eventually, Izuku broke the silence again. “You know, if we had just fought a few extra hours until sunrise, this would be really romantic.”

“Actually, I think it’s already perfect.” Ochako rested her head on Dekiru’s shoulder as she spoke. And she meant what she said. No matter when or where, she couldn’t ask for more than being with Dekiru, her… “Oh. We never finished our conversation. Again. Are we dating?”

Ochako glanced up at Dekiru just in time to see a blush creep across his face. “I- I would like to be.”

“That’s good. Me too.” Ochako nestled in closer to her boyfriend, and the two of them stared out into the night together.

Chapter Text

The I-Island Expo was the most anticipated event of the year for the Hero Support world, so the next day was always full of news articles around the world about how the Gala had gone. But this year, instead of the usual pieces about new support items or who had been seen at the Gala, the news was focused instead on the fact that the Gala had been attacked by villains, and that, as it turned out, they had been hired by the lead scientist of I-Island to steal one of his inventions. Most of the news coverage told the story of how a trio of U.A. first years, led by Endeavor’s daughter, saved the day by stopping the leader of the villains and rescuing Dr. Shield after the villains unsurprisingly turned on him. There was, however, one article by Shoowaysha publishing that was focused on a different student, Bakugo Katsuki, and how he had helped a group of civilians escape during the attack, even defeating a pair of villains single-handedly in order to keep them all safe. That story was made much more compelling by the fact that the reporter telling it, one Kizuki Chitose, was one of those civilians he had saved. Still, whatever the focus, every article about the attack on the Gala could agree on one thing: this class of U.A. students was a force to be reckoned with.

--

Izuku wasn’t entirely sure how much sleep he had gotten, but he guessed it was somewhere in the range of three hours. The attack had gone much later than the Gala was supposed to, and then he had needed to wait by Wolfram until the Heroes picked him up. And even once everything had calmed down and he could’ve gone to bed, neither he nor Ochako wanted to leave each other, so they just… stayed up together. And now he was starting to slightly regret that decision. And he couldn’t even sleep in the next day to make up for it, because his plane was leaving that day. So instead, he was hurrying through his hotel room and packing everything he brought, trying desperately to push back his exhaustion.

As he finished packing, Izuku heard a knock on his door, and ran over to find All Might waiting for him. “Are you all packed, Young Midoriya?”

“Yes sir. I’m ready to go. How about you?”

All Might waved the question away. “Oh, there’s been a slight change of plans. Given everything with Dave, I’ll be staying on I-Island a few extra days, just to make sure everything’s in order. I’ll be back in time for school starting up again though.”

“Right. That makes sense.” Izuku paused for a moment, wondering how to phrase his next words. “I’m sorry about what happened, with Dr. Shield. I can’t imagine what that feels like.”

All Might just laughed at Izuku’s question. “It’s not your fault, my boy. If anything, I should be thanking you. If it weren’t for you, Dave would’ve been kidnapped, and those villains would've used his invention to cause unimaginable harm.”

“Well, I-” Izuku stuttered at the praise. “I didn’t do it alone.”

“I know, and I’ll be sure to thank Young Todoroki and Uraraka as well.” All Might smiled down at him, before gathering his thoughts. “Well, we should be off. Apart from the villain attack, what did you think of the Gala? I’m glad you and Melissa were able to meet.”

“Oh yeah, it was definitely cool meeting her. She was a big help towards stopping the villains too.” He thought for a moment about All Might’s question. “But the Gala was fun. It was awesome looking at all the Support inventions, and seeing a bunch of Heroes from around the world, and-” Izuku smiled to himself, “Ochako and I are dating now, so that’s exciting.” Izuku startled as All Might began coughing. “Mr. Yagi! Are you okay?”

All Might held out a reassuring hand as he straightened up. “Just surprised, young Midoriya. I hadn’t realized something like that was brewing, and I’m a little disappointed in myself for not noticing. Still, I suppose congratulations are in order.”

“Thank you, sir.”

--

Once he had dropped Midoriya off at the airport, Toshinori returned to I-Island’s hospital, where Dave was being kept, under guard, to recover from the mild injuries he had suffered from Wolfram. Toshinori was still shaken by his friend’s actions, but he was still going to be there for him. “Hey, Dave.”

Dave smiled up at him from the hospital bed. “I’m still Dave? That’s a relief, I was worried you’d be furious with me too.”

Toshinori shook his head. “No. What you did was reckless, and stupid, and downright wrong, but part of me is almost flattered that you would do all that, betray all of your principles, just for me.”

That got a chuckle out of Dave. “I’m glad you can see it that way. But you’re right. It was a bad idea, even before Wolfram stabbed me in the back.” He sighed and turned to look out the window. “Your protégé, Midoriya, he understood that too. I explained everything to him, I figured he would let me get away with it if he knew it was for you, but he didn’t. He said that what I was doing was wrong, even to save All Might, and that you wouldn’t accept the QAD anyways if this is what it took.”

Dave’s words rendered Toshinori speechless for a moment. He knew that Midoriya had saved Dave from Wolfram, but he hadn’t realized what had happened before that. “Well- Young Midoriya has a very high opinion of me. I hope he’s right. I hope that I would say no, but with how many people I know I could save with it... I don’t know that I would. But… that just means I’m glad I didn’t get the choice.” That Midoriya had resisted that temptation only cemented his heroism even further in Toshinori's mind.

Dave looked back at him, noting the conflict in his face. “I’m sorry. I didn't mean to- I just wanted to help.”

"I know, Dave."

And then, after a moment, Dave's expression suddenly softened. “You were right about one thing, though.”

Toshinori glanced at him in surprise. “And what was that?”

“Those students of yours are something else.”

Toshinori allowed himself to chuckle at that. “They certainly are. Like I said, Japan’s in safe hands.” The two of them sat in silence for a moment before Toshinori remembered something. “I saw Melissa on my way here.”

Dave’s expression darkened. “Right. Did she- did she tell you what she said to me?”

Toshinori shook his head. “I could tell she was upset, but she didn’t say anything specific.”

Dave let out a dry chuckle. “That’s a bit of an understatement. She’s furious with me. She can’t understand why I did would work with villains, and turn against every bit of morals and integrity that I helped her learn. She feels betrayed. I can’t blame her, either. If I were her, I’d want nothing to do with me. Especially since- Toshi, she said that one of the villains I hired nearly killed her.”

“Ah. So she told you that.”

“She did. And she said that you saved her, that you were her Hero even without your Quirk.” Dave stared at the ground as he spoke, but Toshinori still saw the tears streaking down his face. “I’ll never be able to thank you enough, Toshi. If something had happened to her- It would’ve been all my fault- I don’t know what I would do.”

Toshinori put a comforting hand on his friend’s shoulder. “There's no need to thank me, old friend.”

After a moment, Dave composed himself enough to speak again. “I have a favor to ask. I have no right to ask anything of you-”

“That’s nonsense, I owe-” Toshinori tried to interrupt him, but his friend just kept speaking.

“I don’t. Not after last night. But it’s okay, because the favor isn’t for me. Please, make sure Melissa’s okay. I'm going to be locked up for a long time after what I did, and I deserve it, but- I’m just afraid that she’ll be all alone.”

“She will never be alone.” Toshinori gave his friend’s shoulder a reassuring squeeze. “Not as long as I am here.”

--

It turned out that Dekiru’s flight back to Japan was on the same plane as Ochako and Todoroki’s, so Todoroki had been willing to swap seats with Dekiru to let him sit next to Ochako instead. The fact that they were dating still felt unreal to Ochako as they held hands and stared out the window together as the plane took off. “I-Island was so cool.”

Dekiru nodded excitedly. “It really was! Getting to see all of those awesome Support Items… this trip really was awesome. I mean, if you don’t count the villain attack.” He paused a moment. “Is it weird that that didn’t immediately factor in for me?”

“I mean, after this past semester, the attack just felt par for the course.” Ochako let out a laugh. “So yes, definitely weird. Maybe a little concerning. But I’m no better. The main thing that felt weird to me about this trip was how expensive everything was. Like, I’m grateful Todoroki brought me along, but I’ve just felt so constantly out of place. Even now! I doubt flying is always supposed to be this… fancy.”

Dekiru raised an eyebrow in surprise. “Have you never flown before?” Ochako shook her head, so he continued. “Yeah, my parents and I visited California once when I was three, and while I don’t remember much about the trip, I can definitely say that this is a lot nicer than that was. But given that I came here with All Might and your seat was meant for Endeavor, I can’t say I’m too surprised.”

“Wait, you came here with All Might? I was wondering how you got to I-Island, but dang, you really are his favorite!”

Immediately, Dekiru’s face turned red as he tried to stammer out an excuse. “Um- I wouldn’t say favorite… exactly, I-”

Ochako just smiled at his embarrassment. As cool as Dekiru was, he was also really easy to fluster. That wouldn’t necessarily be a good thing, except he was also really cute when he was flustered. But, as cute as it was, she held up a hand to shush him. “I was just teasing. Besides, I don’t mind if you’re All Might’s favorite.” As she spoke, she rested her head on his shoulder. “As far as I’m concerned, that just means he has good taste.”

Almost immediately, she felt her exhaustion from the wild day before starting to take effect, and when Todoroki later got up to use the bathroom, she noticed that both Ochako and Dekiru were curled in on each other, fast asleep.

Chapter Text

Something about the new semester always made Togata Mirio excited. He could practically feel all the new experiences that the semester would bring right around the corner. But even compared to his usual excitement, something about this semester felt extra special. Maybe it was just that it was one of his last: as a third-year, his time at U.A. was about to come to an end. Or maybe it had something to do with Principal Nezu summoning him to his office on the first day of classes.

“Hey, Hey Mirio! Why do you think Principal Nezu called us to his office?” Hado Nejire, one of Togata’s classmates and best friends, brought Togata out of his reflection as she popped her head into his line of view and started excitedly asking questions.

“I’m not sure, Nejire, but I guess we’ll find out!” Mirio gave a confident smile as he chuckled at Nejire’s usual enthusiasm.

“I do hope we aren’t in trouble for anything.” With almost the opposite of Nejire’s bouncy enthusiasm, Amajiki Tamaki, Togata’s other best friend, practically dragged his feet behind the other two, staring at the ground.

“Aw, come on Tamaki!” Mirio put an arm reassuringly around his friend’s shoulders. “What have we done that could be in trouble for?”

“Well, there was that inci-”

“Exactly!” Mirio cut him off. “Nothing at all. Now,” By this point, the three of them had made it to the door to Principal Nezu’s office, “let’s see what’s up!”

--

Toshinori felt uncharacteristically nervous at the start of his first Heroics class of the new semester, almost as nervous as he had felt before his first Heroics class of the previous semester. But while last time he had been worried about his complete lack of experience teaching, this time his nerves came from a new source: his weakened form. While all of his students obviously knew about it, this would be the first time many of them had seen it in person. He was worried about how they would react. Would they still respect him, or would they see him as weak? While his logical mind told him that his fears were unfounded, that didn’t make it much easier. Still, he reminded himself, this lesson came from Principal Nezu’s request, so there wasn’t much he’d even have to do.

As Class 1-A gathered, Toshinori slowly made his way in front of them, wearing a simple U.A. tracksuit that still felt too baggy on him (No point even trying to make one of his old Hero Costumes work for this, it would just be a further reminder of how far he’d fallen). “Alright, students! For your first Heroics lesson of the semester, we’ve got something special planned for you: some guests! Please welcome Amajiki Tamaki, Hado Nejire, and Togata Mirio, your upperclassmen and U.A.’s Big Three!”

Toshinori saw Midoriya’s eyes widen at his last words. Good, his protégé had heard the name before, and he knew what it meant. It wasn’t just that these three were the strongest heroes in their class or that they were leaps and bounds ahead of their peers, they were quite possibly the strongest heroes to come through U.A. since… well, since him. If Toshinori was right about why Nezu wanted these three here today, then it was a clever plan. Spur the students on by showing them just how much room they still had to grow.

With the introduction out of the way, Togata emerged from the fake city that would be used for training today, flanked by his two classmates, all of them wearing their Hero costumes. Unlike Amajiki’s grim expression and Hado trying to “look tough” but doing a poor job of hiding her bubbly personality, Togata was smiling ear-to-ear. If Toshinori didn’t know how powerful the three of them were, he would’ve found the image comical. Togata posed dramatically with his hands on his hips as he addressed the class. “Alright, newbies! Principal Nezu asked us to come down and tell you all there is to know about work studies!” Togata gave an exaggerated pause as though waiting for some sort of response to his statement, but the complete silence he got instead didn’t manage to dampen his enthusiasm. “Alright, it seems like you have no idea what’s going on, so I’ll explain. You all got your Provisional Licenses a year earlier than most classes, but part of what that means is that you’re now fully authorized to work with Pro Hero agencies as part-time sidekicks. And that’s what work studies are! Any questions?”

Unsurprisingly, Togata’s lackluster explanation left plenty of questions. “Wait, how’s it different from internships?” “Why are we supposed to do these?” “Won’t it interfere with our classes?”

Amajiki visibly paled at the sudden rush of activity from 1-A, but Togata just held his hands up sheepishly. “Alright, I can see that my explanation left a little to be desired. All Might has some informational packets on what exactly these work studies entail, so I’ll just say what I’m here to say.” His expression suddenly turned serious as he spoke. “All three of us are where we are today as Heroes because of the experience we were able to gain through our work studies. But since seeing is believing, today you’ll be given the chance to see just what that experience has done for us. You’ll be given five minutes to prepare, and then thirty minutes to take the three of us down. Big Three, let’s get in position.” Then he turned and walked into the faux city, his classmates following behind him.

--

The Big Three… Izuku hadn’t heard too much about them beyond the name, since the only time they worked together was in the practical media embargo of U.A., but he knew enough to be worried. Any third year at U.A. was already practically pro-level, so for these three to be noticeably ahead of that was concerning. Even more concerning was how willingly and casually they had challenged 1-A to a 3-v-20. There seemed to be no doubt in their mind that they would win, so if Izuku wanted to prove them wrong, he’d need to be as tactical as possible.

Fortunately, it seemed that Iida had the same idea. “Everyone stay close! we don’t know what our opponents are capable of, so we need to-”

“Shut up Four Eyes!” Kacchan unsurprisingly objected. “If these stuck-up third years think they’re better than us, I’m going to show them just how wrong they are!” Ignoring Iida’s protests, Kacchan rocketed into the sky and away from the group.

Izuku knew that trying to dissuade Kacchan was pointless, so he turned to Jiro. “First thing we need to do is find where the Big Three are. Can you hear them?”

Jiro sent one jack into the ground and held the other in the air for a moment before nodding. “There’s one in the air, they’re facing Bakugo, and one on the ground running straight towards us.”

Izuku nodded. “Alright, we need to get ready for a fight then… Wait. Where’s the third one?”

“Hi everyone!” Izuku spun around in surprise to find that, somehow, without any of them noticing, Togata had appeared right in the middle of them. “Mind if I pop in?” Immediately, Todoroki, Aoyamo, Sero, and almost half the class sent attacks directly at him, sending up a massive cloud of dust. But when the dust cleared, Togata was gone, only for him to pop up out of the ground behind Todoroki, taking her out with a chop to the neck before Izuku could even shout out a warning.

Undeterred by the show of power, Kirishima ran straight toward him, hardening his whole body as he swung, only for his punch to pass straight through Togata, leaving Izuku very confused as to how his power worked. Was it teleportation or phasing? Was it somehow both? How could it be both? While Izuku was trying to figure it out, Togata responded with a punch to Kirishima’s gut, only to immediately take a few steps back, nursing his hand. “Ow, that’s hard. Guess I’ll leave you for last.”

And then he was gone again, and before Izuku could try to figure out where he went, a swarm of octopus tentacles appeared and wrapped around a quarter of the class, yanking them back to where Amajiki had joined the fight. Even as he ran toward where Togata had reappeared to take down Tokoyami, Izuku had to admit that the Big Three had come up with an impressive plan. Have Togata lead in order to throw 1-A out of sync and take out their glass cannons, and then have the other members of the Big Three mop them up once they’re distracted. Nearly half the class was already out of commission, and if Kacchan weren’t keeping the third member busy, things would probably be going even worse.

What's worse, the rapid attack wasn't giving Izuku any time to form a plan, but he still tried his best. “Kaminari, Ashido, Ochako, you’re good counters to Amajiki. Power types, with me.”

Togata just smirked. “Alright, nice teamwork. We’ll see if I let you get away with it.” And then he disappeared again, giving Izuku only a few moments to announce his actual plan. “Ochako, throw Kaminari at Amajiki.”

Kaminari’s eyes widened. “What?”

“You’re a shock grenade, that’s our best chance to take him out. Go!” Fortunately, Ochako was quick to act, grabbing Kaminari’s arm and hurling him straight toward Amajiki, the blond already shouting out his attack as he flew. Izuku still had no idea how to pin down Togata, but if he could just take out one of them-

A beam of yellow energy slammed down from the sky, sending Kaminari straight into the ground. Staring up at the source of the beam, Izuku saw Hado propelling herself on similar energy spirals, looking a little battered but still clearly in fighting shape. Which meant that she had already beaten Kacchan. That… that was bad.

As Izuku tried to remake his plan, Togata popped out of the ground again. “Oh, hey Nejire! The redhead’s a little hard for me to punch, could you take him out for me? Thanks!” With that, he disappeared again, and Amajiki and Hado continued their assault. And before Izuku could even try to stop them, he felt something shift behind him, and turned around just in time to see Togata pop out of the ground behind him. “You’re a strategist, aren’t you? That means I need to keep you busy.”

He sent a punch right for Izuku’s face, and even though Izuku tried to block it, the fist just went straight through his guard to hit him in the face, his helmet fortunately blunting the impact a little. As Izuku staggered back, he reached in his pocket for his Midnight Marbles, throwing out a handful of them in a wide spray. Hopefully, Togata still needed to breathe. And even if he didn’t, the marbles might make enough of a smokescreen for him to get a lucky hit in. Izuku rushed toward where he had last seen Togata, swinging as hard as he could, but as the smoke cleared, it became apparent that Togata had just disappeared again.

Not waiting for Togata to reappear, Izuku started throwing his Present Mic Patches all around him. Sure enough, as soon as Togata reappeared, the Patch went off, the blast of sound disorienting him as he brought his hands to his ears. Izuku charged him, trying to press his advantage, but his upperclassman still had the wherewithal to make Izuku’s hits phase through him, responding with a punch to Izuku’s gut that left him doubled over in pain. And as Izuku struggled back to his feet, he felt something slimy wrap around his torso, pinning his arms to his sides, and realized that it was one of Amajiki’s octopus tentacles.

Togata just glanced past Amajiki. “Tamaki, I wanted to see what other tricks he had up his sleeve!”

“I just want to be done with this, Mirio.” As his opponents chatted nonchalantly with each other, Izuku looked around to realize with shock that his entire class had already been taken out. Forget trying to beat the Big Three, they had never stood a chance at surviving them.

--

“So, what did you think of our underclassmen?”

Unsurprisingly, Tamaki kept his answer short. “They were loud.”

“Oh man, they were so cool!” Nejire, for her part, seemed more than happy to use enough words for the both of them. “Like, there was that frog girl, what kinda frog do you think she is? And the pink girl, with the acid, what do her horns do? And then there was that boy who attacked us on his own, like, what was he thinking?” Though she probably had a million other questions, Nejire paused. “Why do you ask?”

“Well,” Mirio replied, “Since I'll be graduating soon, Sir could use a new Work Study. So I was just trying to see if any of them stood out to you.”

Tamaki shook his head. “The fight was over too quickly, and I was trying not to think about how I might see them all again. But the way you said that makes me think you already found someone.”

Mirio just smiled as his friend hit the nail on the head. “Yeah, there was one that I think Sir would like.”

Chapter Text

Once the first day’s classes had ended, Izuku and his friends took the opportunity to meet outside and catch up. “So, how was the rest of everyone’s break?”

Shinso rolled his eyes at the question. “You can’t just ask that, Midoriya. Because no matter what we say, it’s going to look lame compared to what you three did.”

Ochako laughed at that, snuggling in close to Izuku. “I guess he has a point. I-Island was exciting, to say the least.”

“I still want to ask!” Izuku protested. “I’m sure everyone else did some cool stuff too!” He leaned more into Ochako, wrapping an arm around her as he settled in to listen to everyone else.

“I doubt it will sound exciting to the rest of you,” Iida chimed in, “but after I was properly moved into U.A., I spent the remainder of my break with my brother.”

“That’s awesome! How’s he doing?”

“As well as can be expected. He’s gotten use to his limited mobility, and has even returned to leading to Team Idaten, though he is now forced to do so from the sidelines.”

“That’s exciting.” Ochako sat up a little more, though still leaning against Izuku’s side. “Ingenium’s a great hero, so it’s good he still gets to help people. Speaking of-”

“Hang on,” Shinso interjected. “Before we move on, what's up with the two of you?” He pointed toward Izuku and Ochako.

Ochako let out a yawn. “I guess I’m still a little jet-lagged from I-Island.”

“Not that, you’re both so… physically affectionate today.”

“Oh, that. Well…” Ochako blushed slightly, and then glanced up at Izuku as if asking for permission to share, “we’re dating now.”

Shinso just rolled his eyes. “Took you long enough.”

“Shinso!” Iida looked appalled. “That’s no way to respond to that!” Then he turned to the two of them. “Congratulations to the both of you. I’m sure you’ll be able to balance this with the rest of your responsibilities.”

Izuku nodded at Iida’s… very Iida response. “I’m sure we will. Anyway, Hatsume, did you work on anything over break?”

Hatsume just groaned. “It's been a disaster. They’ve apparently increased security, so I haven’t been able to sneak into the workshop until today. And even though I had a little mini workshop set up in my room so I could work on babies whenever I wanted, I had to take it down because they gave me a roommate!”

“You have a roommate?” Shinso scoffed. “That does not sound fun.”

“It’s not!” Hatsume ranted. “She’s some transfer or exchange or whatever, which I didn't even know U.A. did, but she's apparently a 'special case', whatever that means, but she clearly thinks she's special, and that she’s better than me, and she’s taking up my space, and she’s just the worst! I swear-”

In the middle of Hatsume’s tirade, Todoroki suddenly sat up a bit further, looking at someone behind Izuku. “Melissa?”

“Shoko! There you are, I’ve been looking everywhere for you!” Izuku turned his head, and sure enough, there was Melissa Shield, dressed in a U.A. uniform, for some reason. “Oh, hey Midoriya. Uraraka.”

Todoroki stood up to greet her. “I’m glad to see you, of course, but what are you doing here?”

“Well after…” Melissa seemed to suddenly notice all the other people, and stopped herself. “Everything, Uncle Might became my legal guardian, so it just made sense for me to transfer to U.A. It’s no I-Island, but it’s probably the best Support Course I could find anywhere else. Anyway, I guess these are the rest of your…” Suddenly, her gaze turned cold. “Friends.”

Izuku looked back and forth between Melissa and Hatsume as they stared daggers at each other. “Oh, I guess you two have met? That makes sense, you are classmates.”

Melissa didn’t break eye contact with Hatsume as she answered. “We’re roommates, actually.”

“Ah.”

Shinso made no effort to hide his laughter.

--

One of the new aspects of living at the U.A. dorms was a chore rotation to make sure that everything stayed relatively neat without any one person having to work too hard, and Izuku’s name was up for taking the garbage out to the dumpster.

Izuku let his mind wander as he headed outside. He definitely wanted to do a Work Study, and he probably would’ve even without today’s demonstration. He couldn’t afford to fall behind his classmates after all. But the question remained: Where? He thought about working with Manual again, but the packet All Might handed made it clear that Work Studies for first years would have to be with trustworthy Heroes with good track records concerning Work Studies and Internships, so the Hosu Incident probably disqualified him, not that Izuku blamed him for it. And apart from that, Izuku didn’t really have any relationships with Heroes to draw on. Maybe he could ask All Might for a recommendation? Then again, he didn’t want to leech off of All Might too much, he could go to one of his other teachers instead, maybe Aizawa-sensei?

“Ha, Trash, amiright?” Izuku was so deep in his thoughts that, when a voice seemingly came out of a wall, he was caught completely off guard, dropping the bags of trash in surprise. “Oh, sorry, didn’t mean to startle you like that!”

As Izuku regained his bearings, he realized that it wasn’t actually the wall that was talking, and that instead there was a face sticking out of it, which would be just as weird except that Izuku recognized the face. “Togata? Why are you here? And how are you able to do that? Your Quirk seems so versatile, what does it actually do?”

Togata laughed at Izuku’s barrage of questions. “I’d be happy to tell you about my Quirk, but first-” Suddenly, Togata’s face slid back into the wall, only to come back a few seconds later. “Sorry about that. Needed to breathe. Anyway, are you interested in doing a Work Study?”

Izuku’s eyes widened. “Of course! I know that I need to work harder than any of my classmates to become a Hero, so I was planning to find a Work Study.”

“Awesome!” Togata smiled. “Here I was rehearsing my sales pitch, but you were already ready to go! Well, anyways, since I’m graduating soon, my mentor could use a new Work Study, and I think you’d be a great fit! How about this Friday after classes I take you over to his agency for an interview?”

“Of course! Thank you so much!” Togata gave a smile and started to phase back through, only for Izuku to stop him. “Wait, who’s your mentor?”

“Oh, right!” Togata phased an arm through the wall so that he could smack himself on the forehead. “Sometimes I feel like I can only phase through things because my head’s so empty. My mentor is Sir Nighteye.” With that, Togata phased back through the wall, not noticing the way Izuku’s eyes widened at the reveal.

“Wait, Sir Nighteye?! All Might’s former sidekick Sir Nighteye?! That’s who you work under?! That’s who you want me to work under?!” Izuku fired question after question at an empty wall as Togata was long gone.

--

It only took a moment after Ochako knocked on Dekiru’s door for it to open. “Hey, Dekiru, I was wondering if…” She trailed off as she realized who had actually opened it. “Oh. Hey Iida. Is Dekiru there?”

Iida looked slightly taken aback to see her. “Ah, Uraraka! Midoriya is here, yes. I suppose that, now that the two of you are… dating, I should’ve expected this… Do you… need some... privacy?”

Ochako just rolled her eyes. “It’s not like that, I just need his help with something.” She pushed past Iida to make her way into the room. “Hey, Dekiru!” It was almost comical how easy it was to tell which half of the room belonged to who. Todoroki's traditional flooring and Ochako's minimal decorations helped their room blend a little, but here it was an obvious split right down the middle, with Iida’s side lined with textbooks and backup pairs of glasses, and Dekiru’s covered with All Might merchandise. Because of course it was.

Dekiru was sitting on his bed, working on something on his computer, but he looked up as Ochako made her way in, his face lighting up as he saw her. “Ochako! What’s up?”

“Do you have a minute to help me with something?”

“Of course!” Dekiru shut his laptop and walked over to her. “What is it?”

“I think I’m going to do a Work Study. I mean, I assume you’re doing one?” Dekiru nodded. “Then I need to work just as hard as you if I want to keep up with you. Plus… Unlike our internships, these are paid.” Ochako hoped that Dekiru understood why that was important. He knew about her family situation, he should be able to put the pieces together. “That’s an opportunity I can’t afford to pass up.”

Dekiru just nodded. “Of course. How can I help?”

“I don’t know what Hero to do it with. Gunhead was great, he really helped me find my confidence and learn some hand-to-hand, but I don’t think that’s what I need this time. So,” she held out a binder toward Dekiru, “I found the list of all the Heroes who gave me an offer to intern with them after the Sports Festival. I figured that, if they were interested in me before, they’re probably still interested in me now. There’s still a good many to go through, but I know that, if anyone will be able to help me figure out who to go with, it’s you.”

--

The number of offers Ochako received after the Sports Festival hadn’t seemed like a lot at the time, she was just happy she got any, but going through them all now really made it clear how many there were. The one upside of how long this took was that Ochako got to witness Dekiru in his natural element: analyzing Heroes. The two of them were seated together on his bed, going through the list Hero by Hero, and while Ochako was a little disappointed that he didn’t know all the Heroes off the top of his head, that disappointment was more than outweighed when he reached over to his desk for a numbered set of notebooks containing all his research on Heroes labeled “Hero Analysis for the Future.” And he was just… so enthusiastic and excited about all of this.

“So, probably not Slidin’ Go then?”

Dekiru shook his head. “No, I mean he’s a pretty good Hero, but I don’t think his Quirk would be a great match for yours. Plus, Deika City’s a shockingly peaceful town: good for an easy internship, but not the best if you’re looking for field experience.”

“Alright then.” Ochako drew a line through the Hero’s name. “Next on the list is Rock Lock.”

“Rock Lock, let’s see…” Dekiru glanced through a few of his notebooks before settling on #6. “Alright, it looks my entry on him is a bit outdated. It says here he’s a sidekick to an agency in Tokushima, but if he sent you an offer he must be independent now. Give me one second.” Dekiru pulled out his laptop again and made a few quick searches. “Yep! He went independent just a few years after I wrote that entry, and now has an agency in Kyoto. I really should’ve updated it. Anyways, it looks like he’s a smaller, neighborhood level Hero, but he has made some appearances outside his neighborhood for disaster relief and the like.”

Ochako nodded along. “That sounds good. I still want to be a Rescue Hero, but having a complete focus on it like Thirteen probably isn’t the best idea. Just thinking back to… you know.”

Dekiru just nodded as Ochako trailed off, knowing exactly what she was thinking of, but choosing not to dwell on it. “Right, well, I can’t find any issues with him off the bat, but if you want I can do a more thorough search later. Anyways, back to what I wrote down earlier. His Quirk is… hmm. It’s called Lockdown, and it lets him freeze in place anything he touches.”

“That sounds kinda like mine.”

“It definitely does. He might not be the highest ranked Hero on this list, but it sounds like he might just be able to give you some good, personalized, advice. He’s probably the most promising opportunity we’ve found so far."

"He definitely is." Ochako nodded. "I'll have to check him out. But can we go through the rest of the list, just in case? I don't want to miss anything." Plus, Ochako was really enjoying this, and she'd hate to end it early.

Luckily, Izuku looked to be enjoying this just as much as her. "Of course! Onto the next one."

--

Shota was pleased with how 1-A’s Work Study program was going. So far, no one had actually secured one, and only a handful of students had even asked for permission to go off-campus to meet with potential Work Studies. Normally, he would be disappointed by his class not showing enough initiative, but in this instance, he would let it slide. He knew how dangerous Work Studies could be for upperclassmen, forget first years like them. They'd have time to prove themselves later. For now, all he wanted was for his class to be safe.

Shota was shaken from his thoughts as Iida approached him after class. “Aizawa-sensei, may I have a moment of your time?”

Shota just nodded at his student’s overly formal manner. “Of course, Iida. What is it?”

“I’ve filled out my paperwork for a Work Study. Here you are.” He handed Shota a stack of papers, and flipping through them, Shota saw that they were indeed what he said they were.

“Well, Iida, that was faster than I expected. I didn’t even realize you were looking for a Work Study. What agency will you be working with?”

“I will be working with Team Idaten.” Ah. That explained that. Still Tensei was a reliable, responsible Hero, and would be doubly so toward his own brother. Shota could only commend Iida's choice.

Chapter Text

Another semester, another opportunity for Hitoshi to fall behind his friends. He appreciated Aizawa’s help, sure, but he knew that it wasn’t going to be enough to keep him on pace with 1-A. And now, to make things even worse, they were getting Work Studies: a chance to go off and get real-life field experience while he was stuck in General Studies, doing absolutely nothing. It was beyond frustrating.

He needed to hit something, and fortunately, U.A. offered plenty of outlets for him to work out some stress. So, he found a punching bag in one of U.A.’s gyms and started laying into it as hard as he could, hoping to work out his frustrations in peace.

“Shinso, right?”

Well, so much for the peace part. Hitoshi stopped his exercise to turn to face the speaker, and was surprised to find the Pro Hero and U.A. Teacher Midnight. “That’s me. Can I help you?”

“Shota’s told me a bit about you. You were friends with Shirakumo Koroki, right?”

“I am.” Hitoshi had no idea why she’d ask him about Koroki, but he was sure he didn’t like her use of past tense. “Has something happened to him?”

“No, nothing like that. I just… I wanted to ask you a few questions about him.”

“Right.” That made sense. He knew Koroki better than anyone, it made sense that Heroes would want to get some information out of him.

“Why do you think he became a villain?”

--

In an effort to mitigate the boredom of waiting for Dabi’s next move, Mr. Compress decided to teach the rest of the League of Villains poker. Results were… mixed. Dabi was way too reckless, willing to go all in on a merely decent hand. Toga had absolutely no poker face, so it was immediately obvious whether or not she had a good hand. And Twice… Twice didn’t seem to have any idea what he was doing. But, with Kurogiri abstaining and Spinner busy, that meant that Koroki was somehow in the final three with Compress and Magne.

In between hands, Compress decided to strike up a bit of conversation. “Now Mustard, I’ve been wondering, what is a kid like you doing becoming a villain?”

Koroki just rolled his eyes at being called a kid. “This again? I’m not much younger than Toga, you know.”

Compress just chuckled. “Yes, well, Toga has made it quite clear what motivates her. I was asking about you.”

Koroki thought for a moment, trying to decide on how to say it. “Well, like most of you, I’m here because of Stain. Because he finally drew attention to things that I’ve known to be true for a long time.”

Compress gestured for him to continue. “And what would that be?”

“That the word ‘Hero’ has lost all meaning. That the people that society calls Heroes are just greedy glory-seekers. They don’t care about saving people, hell, they’d sell out their own family members for a scrap of limelight!” Koroki took a breath to calm himself. “I want to fix that. I want the word ‘Hero’ to mean something. And I want those fakes to pay for what they’ve done to it.”

While Koroki was speaking, Dabi had made his way behind him, and then put a hand on his shoulder. “And they will. We’ll make sure of it.”

--

Villains still needed to eat, and since he was one of the least recognizable members of the League, Koroki was on grocery duty, with a disguised Toga as “help.” “Did you see that cashier? He was cute!”

“Please just focus.” Koroki tried to ignore Toga’s usual comments and instead watched the street, noting the palpable change in society that had set in after the Number One’s retirement. It was unease, plain and simple. All Might had been such an overwhelming presence for so long that people didn’t know what to do now that he was no longer here.

Then again, some people knew exactly what to do. Breaking Koroki out of his reflection, the glass window of a nearby shore shattered as some giant masked Villain burst out of it with a cash register. Despite being with the League, Koroki didn’t have much sympathy for common crooks like this guy. They were only loyal to themselves, with no goal beyond making a quick buck at someone else’s expense. So as a Hero appeared to square up against the Villain, Koroki just leaned against a wall and chose to watch how it would play out. He didn’t even care if the Hero ended up winning. He knew he wouldn’t, though.

Sure enough, another masked Villain, came up behind the Hero, knocking him out with a crowbar to the head. Then the two villains ran down an alley where, presumably, the rest of their little gang was waiting. Koroki heard the sound of a car starting, and then, suddenly, an explosion.

That piqued Koroki’s curiosity enough to override his caution, and he inched toward the alley to get a better look at what had happened, Toga right behind him. “I thought you said to focus.”

“Shut up.” He made his way to the alley and peeked his head around, letting out a gasp at what he saw. The villain’s getaway vehicle was a smoldering wreck, but that had been expected. No, what was shocking was the way that all of the villains seemed to be fused to the truck, like they had been taken apart and reassembled on all the truck’s different surfaces. And standing in the middle of that grisly sight was a group of men in a series of bird masks.

Koroki decided that whatever was going on here wasn’t worth getting involved in, and was about to pull back when one of the strange men, wearing a half-mask that only covered his mouth and nose, spoke up. “Curiosity’s a dangerous thing, kid. Get lost.”

Koroki bristled at being called a kid. “I can handle myself.”

The man had the audacity to laugh at Koroki’s response. “Can you now? Nemoto, what’s this kid’s deal?”

“Who are you, boy?” Another of the men, dressed almost exactly like a historical plague doctor, asked the question, and Koroki felt himself suddenly compelled to answer.

“Shirakumo Koroki.”

The first man, obviously the leader, seemed to think for a moment. “Now… where have I heard that name before?” Suddenly, there was a gleam in his golden eyes. “That’s right, that’s one of the members of the League of Villains. Well, it looks like this is my lucky day. Go tell your boss that the young head of the Shie Hassaikai would like to meet with him.”

--

Planning the downfall of Hero Society was tiring work, so Dabi decided to take a quick smoke break, standing on the current hideout’s balcony and overlooking the city. Unfortunately, he didn’t get much peace or quiet before his burner phone rang with Mustard telling him that some Yakuza boss wanted a meeting. Dabi’s first response was to laugh. In an age of Heroes and Villains, the Yakuza were little more than a joke, so the idea that one of them thought he was worthy of the League's attention was utterly ridiculous. But still, Dabi was bored, so he decided he might as well humor the guy. He moved back inside, looking for their teleporter. “Kurogiri. You got an abandoned warehouse or something we can use for a meeting?”

The warper was polishing a glass, almost reflexively, but he stopped as Dabi spoke. “Of course. Shall I open a portal?”

“Yeah. And gather the rest of the League too. If this guy thinks he’s on the same level of us, I’d like a show of force.” Dabi cracked his neck as he walked through Kurogiri’s portal, ready to see what this yakuza punk thought he had going for him.

As the League gathered in the warehouse, each walking through their respective portals, Dabi turned his gaze to the middle of the room, where Mustard and Toga emerged from a larger portal, followed by a man who must’ve been the yakuza leader who asked for this meeting. Honestly, Dabi wasn’t impressed.

Apparently, though, the feeling was mutual. “I thought I asked for a meeting with the boss. Where is Shigaraki?”

“He’s busy. He doesn’t have the time to humor ever washed-up yakuza member with a supplication. You’ll make your request to me, or not at all.”

Dabi smirked as he saw the yakuza leader twitch in frustration at his comment about the yakuza. “Washed-up, huh? I guess you’re not wrong. But, times are changing.”

Magne just laughed at his comment. “Let me guess. You’re excited about All Might’s retirement? Think that means it’s time to make a big move?”

The man chuckled. “Oh sure, it’s nice to not have him looming over us any more. But I’m more interested in All for One’s absence. See, the old-timers always feared him, even after rumors of his death. But now that those rumors are confirmed… Those of us in the shadows and those in the light are both leaderless.”

“And let me guess. You hope to fill that void?” Dabi began to smoke. “Read the room. We’re part of the League that forced All Might into retirement. If anyone’s taking over, it’s us.”

Even with Dabi’s intimidation, the man refused to back down, locking eyes with him. “Oh, and do you have a plan for that? You’ve got power, sure, but ever since Kamino you’ve done nothing but hide. Even now, where’s your real leader? Not that he’s much of a leader. He had Stain on his side, not to mention high power villains like Muscular, and he’s managed to waste them completely. He just doesn’t know how to play the game.” The yakuza leader chuckled. “You know, I was planning to make this offer to Shigaraki, but if he won’t even deign to speak with me, I’ll make it to his underlings instead. Unlike all of you, I have a plan. All I need is money, but if word got out that the League of Villains put themselves under me, I’d have all the support I need.”

Dabi was ready to incinerate the man then and there, but Magne moved first. “We didn’t band together to serve under some outsider’s boot!” She rushed him, ready to bludgeon him to death with her massive club, but then the yakuza ducked under the swing. And suddenly, Magne was gone, exploded into a cloud of blood and viscera.

And there standing in the middle of it, was the yakuza. “Ugh, what a mess. Just remember who made the first move.”

Toga was about to charge him, screaming bloody vengeance, but Dabi was able to call out to her first. “Stay back!” And that was all the warning he gave before sending a massive wave of fire directly at the yakuza. As the blast ended, he gave a satisfied grin as he watched a charred corpse collapse to the ground… only to realize that the yakuza was somehow safe and unharmed behind it, having been shielded from the blast by whoever that was.

As Dabi came to that realization, even more masked men, likely yakuza, burst into the warehouse, the yakuza leader glancing back at them. “You’re late.”

“Sorry, Overhaul. It was difficult tracking your location after you went through the warp gate.”

Ah. So that’s what happened. Dabi had to admit that it was kinda clever, even if it wouldn’t matter. He raised his arms, ready to send out another wave of fire to incinerate them all, but then something hit his shoulder, and he suddenly couldn’t use his Quirk. He couldn’t even feel it anymore. It was like it never existed. Looking over, Dabi saw some sort of red syringe sticking out of his shoulder. He let out a small chuckle as he put the pieces together. If the yakuza had just led with this, it would’ve saved them both a lot of time.

As Dabi had that revelation, the yakuza leader took a few steps back to be shielded by his underlings. “Now then, we could all fight this out, but killing each other isn’t exactly productive. A death on both sides, let’s call it even.”

Toga shouted out in indignation. “How dare you! Big Sis Mag is worth way more than your-”

“Can it, Toga.” Dabi cut her off. “I’ll consider your offer, bastard. Now get out of here.”

“That’s all I can ask.” The yakuza leader placed a business card on the floor of the warehouse and made his way out with the rest of his gang. “Come talk to me after you’ve had a moment to calm down.”

Chapter Text

For years, decades even, Todoroki Enji had dreamed of the day that he would surpass All Might and become the Number One Hero. He had poured blood, sweat, and tears into becoming a Hero capable of outdoing the Symbol of Peace, pouring his whole being into strength, efficiency, and results. And then, when it was clear that no amount of personal effort would ever be enough to surmount the insurmountable Number One, he turned to… even more drastic measures.

And now, All Might was gone. He had retired, leaving the Number One spot to Endeavor. But the title was empty, and he knew it. It was clear on every patrol, as the civilians he saved looked at him like what he truly was: sloppy seconds. Because he hadn’t surpassed All Might. The Symbol of Peace had gone out in a blaze of glory, cementing his status for all time as Japan’s greatest Hero, and ensuring once and for all that, no matter what Endeavor did, he would never be able to escape his shadow. And that meant that everything Enji had done, all the hard work he had put himself through, and all the pain he had inflicted, had been for nothing. And he was still trying to come to terms with that realization.

Pulling him from his thoughts, Enji realized that his phone was ringing, and that his eldest daughter was calling him. “Fuyumi, what is it?”

“Hello Father. I just wanted to check in with you. I talked to Shoko earlier today, and-”

“How is she?” Enji realized suddenly that he had cut her off. “I’m sorry. You were saying?”

Fuyumi just laughed. “It’s alright Father. I get that you’re excited to hear from Shoko. She’s doing good. Her friend from I-Island apparently just transferred to U.A., so between her and the rest of her friends, I think Shoko’s the happiest she’s ever been.” Enji tried his best not to grimace. Of course she was. Of course his youngest daughter was finally happy, now that she was no longer under his thumb.

Unaware of his turmoil, Fuyumi continued. “But, welll... While I am happy to keep giving you these updates, I think you should talk to her yourself sometime.”

“No.” Enji nearly shouted. “No, I couldn’t.” Not after everything he had done to her. He had hurt Shoko the most of all of his children (Except Toya, of course). Shoko would probably hate him for the rest of her life for what he had done. Enji wouldn’t blame her.

--

Once classes ended on Friday, Uraraka and Midoriya headed to the train station to interview for their Work Studies. Iida didn’t even need to interview, since he was already doing his Work Study with his brother. That just left Shoko, who couldn’t even move toward a Work Study, because she didn’t have a Provisional License yet. So, instead, she was stuck in the first of her stupid therapy sessions that Aizawa-sensei was making her take. She shouldn’t call them stupid, she reminded herself. She wanted to get better. She wanted to get over whatever mental block was keeping her from using her fire, even though she had accepted that it was hers. So, if this would help her work toward that goal, if it could help her become the best Hero she could be, she’d be grateful for it. But that didn’t mean she was excited about it.

If Hound Dog, U.A.’s School Counselor, recognized Shoko’s dissatisfaction, he didn’t mention it. “Well, I suppose we should get started. Since it’s our first session, let’s start with some expectations. What are you hoping to get from these sessions?”

Shoko raised an eyebrow. She had assumed that was obvious. “I want to be able to use my fire.”

Hound Dog nodded. “Right. That’s what Aizawa mentioned. Is that all you want from this?”

“Yes.” Shoko responded tersely.

“Alright then.” Hound Dog paused a moment before continuing. “Walk me through what happens when you try to use your fire.”

Shoko thought back to the last few times she used her fire. “For the first few seconds, everything’s fine. And sometimes, if I’m lucky, it stays fine. But most of the time, everything falls apart. I fall apart. I can’t focus, I can’t breathe, I can’t think except to think that I’m a monster, that I'm just like him.”

“Him?”

Shoko hesitated at the question. “Nothing I say leaves this room, yes?” Hound Dog nodded, so Shoko steeled herself before answering. “Endeavor.”

“I see. Now, to an outside observer, the Number Two-" Hound Dog stopped himself, "I guess Number One now, Hero wouldn't be a terrible person to emulate, so what is it about him that you don’t want to be?”

“I…” As Shoko got to that point, she realized that she didn’t want to continue. Hound Dog had said that he wouldn’t repeat anything she said, but she wasn’t sure she trusted him. And even if she did, she didn’t want to just dump her whole life story onto him. So, she chose a compromise. “He’s… so focused on strength. Efficiency. Results. It’s like nothing else matters to him. He’s so… cold, as ironic as that sounds. I don’t want to end up like that.”

“Well, I’d start by saying that it’s your Quirk, not his, and that using it doesn’t make you anything like him, but I’m guessing you already know that.” Shoko just nodded. “I thought so. So it’s not your conscious mind that’s the problem. There’s something that you’re still unconsciously linking between your father and the fire half of your Quirk. As for what that link is… I think we might be able to find it faster if you’re fully honest with me.” Shoko froze. How did he know? How much did he know? Did he- “But, if you aren’t comfortable sharing everything yet, you don’t have to. All I’ll ask is, does someone know?”

Shoko struggled to maintain her composure. “Y- yes. I’ve told a few of my friends about it.”

Hound Dog nodded. “That’s good. It’s important to have people in your corner.”

--

Shoko knew better than to expect all her problems to be solved in a single session, but she still couldn’t help but be frustrated by how little it felt like that had accomplished. And part of it was her fault, of course. If she wanted this to work, she needed to be honest with Hound Dog, but how was she supposed to trust him with... with everything?

All of Shoko’s frustrations about therapy just mingled with her frustrations about not being able to go on Work Studies, but fortunately, she knew a way to push both of those frustrations out of her mind. Exhausting herself with training. So, she hurried back to her dorm, changed into gym clothes, and hurried to one of U.A.’s many gyms, only to realize Shinso was already there, her friend looking up from his workout as she walked in. “Hey Todoroki. I guess we had the same idea, huh? If we can’t go on Work Studies, this might be the next best thing.”

Shoko shrugged. “I suppose so.” And then, under her breath, she added, “It’s not much of a substitute though.”

Given how Shinso chuckled, it sounded like he still heard her. “Yeah, I guess not. You know, I’ve been here since classes let out. What took you so long?”

“I had a therapy session with Hound Dog.”

Shinso’s eyes widened for a moment. “Oh, sorry. I didn’t know you were, um, doing that. Then again, after everything you guys have been through this semester, I can’t say I’m surprised.”

“It’s not about that. It’s…” Shoko clenched her left fist. “I’ve been having trouble using my fire.”

“The fire you swore not to use? Sorry, I guess I’m a little out of the loop.”

“I use it now.” She sighed. “At least, I try to. But every time I do, I just… fall apart completely.” Shinso opened his mouth to respond, but Shoko cut him off before he could. “I’d like to work out now, if you’re done talking.”

“Oh, right. Yeah, I should probably get back to work too.” With that, Shinso returned to his workout, allowing Shoko to start hers as well.

--

“Ugh, I’m so jealous.” Shinso had decided to challenge himself by matching Shoto’s workout. That had apparently been a mistake. “You made that look so easy.”

Shoko took a swig of water before answering. “It’s not easy, I’ve just been at this a lot longer than you.”

“I guess that’s fair.” Shinso plopped down, leaning his back against the wall. “Um… now that your workout’s over, do you want to talk about it?”

Shoko raised an eyebrow. “Talk about the workout?”

“No, the… your session.”

“Why would I want to do that?” Shook turned to go, but Shinso called after her.

“Because I know a thing or two about hating your Quirk.”

Shoko was tempted to just keep walking, but then she thought back to what Hound Dog had said. Shinso already knew everything, he had overheard everything when she told Midoriya, so what did she have to lose? “I- sure.” Shoko took a seat on the floor across from Shinso. “What do you have to say?”

“I, um… I didn’t expect you to say yes.” Shoko rolled her eyes, but eventually, Shinso continued. “I guess I can tell you what made me not like my Quirk, and you can stop me if any of it sounds familiar.”

“Sure.” Shoko gestured for Shinso to continue.

“Well, a big thing for me was that I knew how dangerous my Quirk was. Like, I could take away someone’s free will and make them do whatever I wanted. I obviously knew I would never make someone do something bad, but what if that ever changed?" Shinso seemed to lose himself in his thoughts for a moment before remembering that Shoko was still there. "I know fire’s pretty dangerous, is it something like that for you?” Shoko shook her head. “Okay, so maybe it’s the other thing. I thought of my Quirk as a Villain’s Quirk, and that using it made me a Villain.”

“That’s a bit closer.” Shoko chimed in. “For the longest time, I viewed my fire as Endeavor’s, and that using it would make me just like him. That's why I swore not to use it in the first place. Midoriya helped me realize just how wrong that was, but I guess I haven’t fully internalized his words yet.”

Shinso nodded along with Shoko’s explanation. “Okay, that’s something I can work with. For me, the main reason I saw my Quirk as a Villain’s Quirk was because that’s what everyone told me that it was. Having people like Midoriya say it was something praiseworthy made things better, but another big thing was realizing that I didn’t care what those other people thought, so why would I repeat it to myself?”

Shoko chuckled. “That’s a good philosophy.”

Shinso shrugged. “Yeah, it certainly worked for me. But to bring this back around to you, is there anyone who told you that your Quirk made you like Endeavor?”

Shoko thought for a moment. “Well, Endeavor, for one. But, like you said, I couldn’t care less what he thinks.”

“Anyone else then?”

Shoko tried to think back. Was there anyone else? Fortunately, she didn’t know that many people, so it wasn’t hard to go through them all in her head. “I don’t think- Wait.” It wasn’t for her Quirk, exactly, but maybe… “Yes, there is one other person.”

“Okay.” Shinso gestured for her to continue. “Who is it?”

Shoko pressed a hand over the left side of her face. “My mother. She called my left side unbearable, because it reminded her of him.”

Chapter Text

After classes on Friday, Izuku and Ochako both had interviews with potential Work Study mentors, so even though they would be going in opposite directions, they walked to the train station together. “Are you nervous?”

Ochako nodded. “Yeah, I just really want this to go well.”

“Well,” Izuku encouraged, “you’ve got this. After everything you’ve done this past semester, especially with I-Island still fresh in people’s minds, there’s no way he’ll turn you down.”

Ochako seemed relieved by Izuku’s words. “Thanks. Are you nervous?”

Izuku sighed. “Yes.”

“But doesn’t everything you just said to me apply to you too?”

Izuku thought for a moment. “I- I guess it does.”

“Then I guess you’ve got this too.” Ochako pulled him into a hug. “Do you want to wait for each other at the station so we can walk back together?”

Izuku nodded. “Yeah, that would be nice.” He gave her a smile. “That way we can celebrate getting our Work Studies together.”

Ochako smiled back at his optimism. “That’s the spirit. We’ve got this.”

“Hey, Midoriya!” Togata’s voice pulled Izuku out of the moment. “Not to interrupt, but Sir’s very big on punctuality, so we should probably get moving again.”

“Oh, right!” Izuku gave Ochako one last squeeze before running after Togata. He turned to wave back at Ochako. “See you afterwards. Good luck!”

--

The train ride to Nighteye’s Agency in Yokohama was two hours, which gave Izuku plenty of time to ask Togata all of the questions he had about his Quirk. “First of all, what is it? Because most of the time it just looked like phasing, but there was also the teleporting, where you’d sink into the ground and pop out somewhere else. I have a few theories, but none of them make total sense.”

Togata chuckled at Izuku’s enthusiasm. “It’s called Permeation. It allows me to make part or all of my body intangible. It sounds pretty straightforward, but I’ve learned a lot of extra tricks to it this past year.”

As Togata spoke, Izuku took out his notebook and began writing notes. “Interesting, interesting. I noticed it worked on your costume too, can you take other things, or other people with you?”

“You’re an observant one, aren’t you? Sadly, it doesn’t work like that. The only reason my Quirk works on my costume is because it’s been specially designed with my hair woven into it so that my Quirk recognizes it as part of me. It took a long time for me to grow enough hair for it, but let me tell you, it was worth it. Before I got this costume, there were quite a few… incidents.” Togata seemed to shudder at the memory of them.

Izuku nodded, somewhat taken aback, before continuing to his questions. “But back to the warping. How do you get there from phasing?”

“Oh, that’s actually simple once you figure it out. All I do is activate my Quirk over my whole body so that I slip through the floor, and then deactivate it. Turns out, matter doesn’t like overlapping with other matter, so when I deactivate my Quirk, I get rapidly shot out of the ground. Controlling where I pop out is a little trickier, but that just takes practice on controlling my momentum before I go intangible.”

“That’s incredible! You’re basically untouchable, and if you ever somehow get pinned down, you can just sink into the ground and pop out wherever you want. It’s such a powerful Quirk! But wait,” Izuku’s face shifted from excited to pensive. “When Kirishima or I swung at you, our attacks passed right through you, but you didn’t phase through the floor then. Which would mean that you were being specific about which parts of you were intangible. And that moment you punched me through my block, you would’ve had to turn your fist intangible to pass through my block only to immediately turn it back once it was through… that would take immense control.”

Togata’s grin grew wider and wider as Izuku analyzed his Quirk. “Oh man, Sir’s gonna love you! Because you’re right, my Quirk’s really complicated to use. Even for something as simple as walking through a wall, I can’t just pass through and be done with it. I need to turn all but one foot intangible, pass most of my body through, and then shift feet and pass my other leg through. And that’s for the simplest thing I can do! Plus, there’s the fact that, when I’m intangible, I can’t feel anything, light passes right through my eyes, sound passes right through my ears, and I can't even breathe! A year ago, I was hopeless with my Quirk. It took so much foresight to use that I would spend a whole fight just figuring out what I was going to do. But then Sir picked me up, and taught me how to predict my opponent, how to read a fight. Because, with my Quirk, I don’t have time to think, I just have to know. And I never would’ve gotten there without Sir.”

Izuku just stared in awe at Togata’s speech. “Wow. I’ll be honest, you probably should’ve told 1-A all of that when you were telling us about Work Studies.”

That got a full laugh out of Togata. “Hah! You’re right, I probably should’ve.”

“Speaking of Sir Nighteye, how do I impress him?”

“Well, Sir thinks that Hero’s should be positive and inspiring, so that’s the place to start. Smile, try to make him laugh, and you should be good. And if that fails, just show him how smart you are.” Togata gave him a thumbs-up. “Sir has a much better eye for talent than me, so if I saw your talent, there’s no way he can miss it.”

--

Ochako checked the address Rock Lock had given her one more time because, from the outside, the building looked no different from a regular apartment building. And yet, this was the place. She let herself in and walked up to the floor he had told her, buzzing the doorbell. Almost immediately, the door swung open to reveal Rock Lock. “Are you Uraraka, from U.A.? Great, follow me. The office is this way.”

As Ochako entered into the apartment after him, she glanced around at the apartment. “This… this isn’t an agency. This is a home.”

Rock Lock looked a little embarrassed at her observation. “Well, since I don’t have any staff or sidekicks or anything like that, it was more economical to have my home double as my agency.”

Ochako couldn’t really fault his reasoning, and followed him into the office, which did look much more like she had expected, with the only personal touch being a photograph on the desk of Rock Lock and a woman, smiling at the camera together. “Who’s that?”

“Hm?” Rock Lock turned to where Ochako was pointing. “Oh, that’s my wife. She’s out with our son right now. I, uh,” he rubbed the back of his neck nervously. “I wanted the apartment as professional as possible for your visit. To be fully honest, when I sent you an offer after the Sports Festival, I didn’t expect anything to come of it. Because you’re a U.A. student, so you probably received way bigger offers than mine. But, if you end up going with me for a Work Study, I’ll be sure to give you the best experience I can.”

“I see.” Ochako thought for a moment. “I will admit, this isn’t exactly what I was expecting. But I don’t mind the size, it means I won’t get lost in the shuffle that top Heroes probably have to do. Plus, I don’t really expect to be a top Hero myself, so this should be a better indicator of what I should expect. And I doubt I’ll find a better match for my Quirk than you. More than that,” she glanced down at the photograph on Rock Lock’s desk, “I have a lot of people that I care about. And I know that being a Hero can force one to sacrifice one’s relationships, and it might be a little selfish, but I don’t want that to happen for me. And you seem to have figured out that balance, so I want to see how you managed it.”

Rock Lock smiled as Ochako finished her explanation. “Well then, thank you for choosing me as your Work Study mentor. I promise I won’t let you down.”

--

Even though he wasn’t even in costume, Togata was recognized by several people while he led Izuku to the Nighteye Agency. It seemed that, despite just being a student, the other boy had already made an impact on the community around him. It was impressive, to say the least.

Eventually, the two of them made their way to the agency, with Togata leading Izuku to Sir Nighteye’s office. Before opening the door, he turned back to give Izuku an exaggerated smile. “Remember, you got this.”

Then Togata opened the door, revealing Sir Nighteye, seated at his desk and looking through a report of some kind. He turned as they entered, his golden eyes seeming to dig into Izuku’s soul from behind his glasses. “Ah, Lemillion. A few minutes early today, very good. And I assume this is Midoriya?”

He extended a handshake, which Izuku accepted, feeling too intimidated by the man’s presence to attempt a joke. “Yes sir. I’m grateful to be here.”

“Good.” Sir Nighteye turned to Togata. “You’ll be patrolling with Bubble Girl today. Once I’m done with Midoriya, I’ll have a great deal of paperwork to get through. You may go.”

As Togata left, phasing through the door rather than opening it, Izuku felt his nervousness start to build. He glanced around between the scattered All Might memorabilia, a collection that rivaled his own, and he realized just how much All Might meant to his former sidekick. Thinking back to what Dr. Shield had felt about him after Kamino, Izuku wasn’t optimistic about what Sir Nighteye was going to say.

”How is All Might doing these days?”

Izuku was caught off guard by the suddenness of the question. “Sorry?”

Sir Nighteye clicked his tongue disapprovingly. "All Might. I understand he’s your teacher. How is he doing?”

"As well as can be expected. Obviously losing his Quirk was hard on him, and Dr. Shield’s… actions didn’t help, but he seems to be moving forward, focusing on teaching. And I’m very grateful, beyond grateful, for everything he’s done for me.” As Izuku spoke, he felt his anxiety rise and rise until he couldn’t help it, throwing in the last line in a vain attempt to placate Sir Nighteye’s inevitable anger.

"I see.” Sir Nighteye’s expression was completely unreadable. “Well, as you said, it is as good as can be hoped for. Don’t blame yourself.”

Izuku didn’t understand what he was hearing. He had expected a lot… more. ”Sir?”

”Did you expect me to blame you? To hate you for forcing the Symbol of Peace into retirement?” He paused, as though those were questions that Izuku would ever actually answer. “It’s not a bad guess, but… I was there when All Might received his injury. I knew this day was coming, and, to tell you the truth, I expected it would be much worse.” He paused, letting the silence hang for a moment. “Now, Togata speaks highly of you. What did you think of him?”

“I-” Izuku hadn’t expected the question, but he was ready for it nonetheless. “I think he’s incredible. His control over his Quirk… he makes it look effortless, but given his explanation, it actually requires an incredible amount of planning and focus. Plus he’s clearly trained his body as well, which is something a lot of Heroes, especially students, forget to do. And it’s not just his Quirk or his power. He’s clearly a natural leader, with the way that the rest of the Big Three was willing to follow his lead. And he’s also clearly made an impact on the community around your agency, despite not even being a proper sidekick yet. I think he’s going to make a great Hero. He might even break the Top Ten faster than Hawks did.”

Sir Nighteye analyzed Izuku for a moment, seemingly searching for any trace of dishonesty. Finding none, he nodded. “You see it too then? Good. Yes, I believe that Togata Mirio will become a great Hero as soon as he's graduated. I was hoping that he would be able to shoulder some of All Might’s burden, but now I will have to settle for him fixing whatever mess Endeavor ends up leaving behind. And he recommends you…” Sir Nighteye looked around his office, seemingly lost in thought. “I think it goes without saying that you will be able to learn a great deal from him. But I believe that he will benefit from the partnership as well. So, Midoriya Izuku, I accept your request to do your Work Study here.”

Izuku was a little confused by Sir Nighteye’s words. The man made it sound like he would be doing his Work Study with Togata, rather than with him. Still, he wasn’t about to look a gift horse in the mouth. “Thank you, sir. I promise I won’t let you down.”

--

Dekiru was already at the station by the time Ochako arrived, and his face lit up as he saw her. “Ochako! How’d it go?”

“Great!” She hugged him excitedly. “How about yours?”

“A little confusing, but I was accepted, so it was good!”

“Well, I knew you could do it.” Ochako released Dekiru from the hug so they could start walking back to U.A., hand in hand. “I start Monday. How about you?”

“Also Monday. Ochako?” She hummed in response, so he continued. “I was just thinking that, even though we’re dating, we haven’t actually been on a date. And with Work Studies coming up, we’re both going to be really busy.”

Ochako glanced down. “Yeah, I guess you’re right. That sucks.”

“Anyway,” Dekiru continued, “I was wondering if you’re doing anything tomorrow evening.”

Ochako’s face shot up. “Are you asking me on a date?”

Izuku smiled, his cheeks turning red. “Y- yes. Would you be free to go on a date with me tomorrow?”

Ochako squeezed him as tight as she could. “Yes!”

Chapter Text

“Todoroki, I need help!”

As Ochako burst into their dorm room, Todoroki was immediately on her feet. “What’s wrong? What’s happening?”

Ochako quickly realized with embarrassment that Todoroki had vastly misunderstood the seriousness of her request. “It’s… it’s nothing. Just, um, Dekiru asked me out on a date.”

Todoroki visibly relaxed, though she was still clearly confused. “And is this… a problem?”

“Of course not! It’s exciting, it’s just, also kinda scary. I’ve never been on a date before, so have absolutely no idea what I’m doing.”

Todoroki nodded. “I see. I’m not sure how much help I’ll be in that regard, as I haven’t been on a date before either.”

“Right, I should’ve expected that.” The two of them thought in silence for a moment before an idea occurred to Ochako. “Do you think Melissa might be able to help?”

--

Half an hour later, Ochako, Todoroki, and Melissa were seated in a circle on the floor, with Ochako having just finished re-explaining her nervousness to Melissa. Melissa thought a moment before responding. “I think it’s reasonable to be nervous. I mean, with how much the two of you like each other, I doubt anything could go too wrong, but still, it’s a big deal.”

Ochako nodded along. “Thanks." Just hearing confirmation that she wasn't crazy was reassuring. "Is there anything I should be doing right now, to like, get ready?”

“Do you have your outfit picked out yet?” Ochako shook her head. “Alright, let’s start there. Do you know what the two of you are doing?”

“I don’t. Dekiru just told me about it earlier today, so I don’t know anything yet.”

Melissa chuckled. “Well, there’s another reason to not be nervous. It sounds like this was a last minute idea from Midoriya, so I doubt he’s much more prepared than you.”

That was a comforting idea, but Ochako was hesitant to accept it. “Are you sure? This is Dekiru we’re talking about. He always has a plan.”

--

“Iida, I need help!”

As Izuku burst into his dorm room, Iida was immediately on his feet. “What’s wrong? What’s happening?”

Taking a moment to breathe, Izuku realized that his seeming panic had given Iida the wrong idea about what this request was about. “Don’t worry, it’s nothing like that. It’s just that… I asked Ochako out on a date, and I have no idea what I’m doing.”

Iida nodded. “I see. I’m not sure how much assistance I will be able to be, but I assume you have some sort of plan for this date?”

Izuku shook his head. “Not yet. Asking her out was just a spur-of-the-moment thing, because I know we’re both about to be really busy with Work Studies, so I knew this was our only chance.”

“Well, I hope you’ve at least already gotten permission to go off campus for it.”

Izuku froze. “Right. I’ll be right back.”

--

Izuku ran the entire way to the Teacher’s Dorm, only stopping to catch a breath once he was right outside. Once he had composed himself, he knocked on the door, which was opened by Midnight-sensei after just a moment. “Hey, Midoriya. How can I help you?”

“Is Aizawa-sensei there? I need to ask him something.”

“I’ll go get him for you.” Midnight-sensei closed the door, leaving Izuku to wait for a minute or so before Aizawa-sensei opened it again.

Despite the late hour, their teacher looked less tired than usual, though that was a really low bar. “What is it, Midoriya?”

“Well, I just asked Ochako out on a date but since we’re both about to be so busy with Work Studies I asked if she’d be free tomorrow but then Iida reminded me that we’re going to need permission to go off campus so I know it’s kinda last minute but could the two of us have permission to go off campus tomorrow evening?” Izuku took a deep breath after he was finished, only realizing after the fact how nervous he had gotten.

Aizawa-sensei didn’t comment on Izuku’s rambling, and instead just nodded. “Sure. But,” he added before Izuku could reply, “I’ll be tagging along as a chaperone. It’s not that I don’t trust the two of you, but given how much of a magnet for trouble your class, and especially you, have been, it would put me at ease to know for sure that you aren’t somehow getting caught up in a villain attack, natural disaster, or equally catasrophic event.”

Izuku nodded. “Thank you, sir. I’m really grateful.”

Aizawa-sensei just nodded back and closed the door.

--

Izuku made sure to make it down to the lobby of 1-A’s dorm a good ways before he told Ochako to meet him there. Partly he just felt it would be polite of him to be ready first after the date was his idea, but partly he needed the extra space to pace nervously and in peace. As much as he appreciated Iida, the boy was not the best help for trying not to overthink.

He had realized earlier in the day that he didn’t actually own that many nice clothes, so he was briefly concerned that he’d need to re-use his outfit from the I-Island Gala, but he had eventually managed to find a navy blue polo and some black pants. His hair had resisted any and all efforts to get it under control, so he just had to hope that Ochako liked it messy.

A little over ten minutes before the arranged meeting time, Izuku heard the elevator ding, and out stepped Ochako. She was wearing a simple cream-colored dress with a black long-sleeved shirt under it to keep out the slight September chill, with a simple hairband to accessorize her hair. As she saw Izuku, she startled. “Dekiru! You’re already here. I was hoping to be early.”

“I guess I beat you to it. I was just really nervous, I want to make sure this date goes well.” Izuku realized that his words had gone out ahead of his brain, and stared at the ground nervously. “You, um, you look nice.”

Despite the awkwardness of Izuku’s compliment, some of Ochako’s nervousness faded as he spoke. “You too. I noticed at I-Island that you clean up nice, but now that we’re dating, I guess I can actually say it.” A blush crept across her cheeks as she spoke, reminding Izuku that she was just as unsure of what to do as he was.

Well, if neither of them knew what they were doing, they’d just have to figure it out together. Izuku reached a hand out to Ochako. “Shall we?”

--

Dekiru explained that he hadn’t been able to plan much for the date, just dinner and a little treat after, but Ochako was just excited to be able to spend some quality time with him, so that lack of a plan didn’t dampen her enthusiasm at all.

Dekiru had picked out a French restaurant with fancy waiters, and candles, and everything one would expect from a date. Ochako couldn’t help but grin at just how perfect it all was… and then she looked at the menu and saw the prices. “Dekiru, this place is kinda expensive.”

He waved away her concern. “Don’t worry, this is my date, so I’m paying for it.”

That… didn’t necessarily help. Even if he was paying for it, she didn’t want to be a burden on him, so “maybe I can just get an appetizer or something, I don’t want to-”

“Ochako.” Dekiru reached across the table to place a hand on her arm. “It’s okay. I know your... situation with money, and I'm sorry if this is making you uncomfortable, but I did the math. I have enough for this, and with Work Studies just around the corner, I think I can afford to splurge a little for our first date. But more importantly, I’m happy to spend some money on you. Because I know you’re worth it.”

“O- okay.” Ochako tried to keep tears from welling up as she listened to Dekiru. “Thank you.”

--

Going into the date, Ochako had set up a lot of expectations. She had imagined it as this sort of magical moment that she wasn’t sure how she would ever measure up to. But as it turned out, she needn’t have worried. It wasn’t magical per se, neither of them were transformed or anything, it was just the two of them getting to spend some uninterrupted time together. And that was all Ochako could want. There were no classmates to intrude, or assignments to worry about, or villains to interrupt-

Interrupting that thought, the doors to the restaurant slammed open and a man who was very clearly a villain strode in. “Alright everyone! I’d like to get this over with as quickly as possible. Wallets and jewelry on the table, now! And don’t bother calling for a Hero, turns out there’s a nice little gap in patrols here at this time, so they’ll never get here in time.”

Ochako glanced at Dekiru, and the two of them simply shared a nod. She had really hoped that they could just have a normal date, but if they needed to stop a villain… that’s what they had trained for.

Before they could spring into action, however, Ochako remembered that Aizawa-sensei was there too, as he slowly walked toward the villain, his Quirk flaring. “Just once. Just once, I want my class to have a normal day. Is that really so much to ask!”

The villain wilted under his glare. “I- um- who- what?”

Before the villain could fully gather his thoughts, Aizawa-sensei swung for him, laying him out in a single punch. Their teacher then grabbed the unconscious villain by the collar and looked back to where the two of them were sitting. Despite how exhausted he always seemed, Ochako had never seen their teacher look so done. “I’m going to make sure the cops pick this guy up. I will be back. Do not go anywhere. And do not, somehow, find yourselves in more trouble. Just sit tight for five minutes.”

As Aizawa-sensei dragged the villain outside the restaurant, Ochako and Dekiru shared another look before simultaneously bursting into laughter at the absurdity of what had just happened.

--

The treat that Dekiru had mentioned was mochi. Ochako shouldn’t have been surprised about it, given how obvious her love of mochi was, but she was still grateful for the dessert. As they ate, Dekiru led her to a beach to watch the sunset. The water was on the wrong side to watch the sun disappear behind it, but it was still beautiful to see the reflection of the sunset sky on the waves. “This is a nice view.”

Despite wearing a smile just as big as Ochako’s, Dekiru shrugged. “Eh, I guess it’s a bit of a downgrade from the top of I-Island.”

Ochako rolled her eyes. “True, but we didn’t have to fight a villain to get this one, so I’ll take it.”

“Aizawa-sensei did though.” Ochako let out an undignified snort at that, which Dekiru was nice enough to ignore. “See, when I was planning this, I forgot that it was sunrise that’s really special on this beach. That’s when the sun’s over the waves.”

Ochako perked up, curious. “You’ve been here before?”

“Yeah, I’m from the neighborhood, and this is actually where I did my training for U.A.” Dekiru glanced around wistfully as he spoke.

“Wait, how’d you train at a beach?”

“Moving trash. Yeah, a year ago this spot was filthy.” He gestured to the whole beach as he spoke. “The tides moved junk here, and then people used that as an excuse to do some illegal dumping of their own, so there was a lot of trash for me to move.” He froze, and then buried his face in his hands. “Oh no, now you’re going to think I just brought you here to brag! I swear, I just thought it was a nice spot, and it means a lot to me, and-”

“It’s okay.” Ochako put a finger to his lips to shush him. “I know you didn’t mean it that way. You’re just proud of what you did, and that’s fair.” Ochako glanced back at the beach. “Now I’m curious though. When you say moving trash, do you mean like picking up cans, or bigger stuff?”

“There was some bigger stuff, like a couple fridges… I had to push a truck one time, that was rough.”

In Ochako’s opinion, Dekiru had spoken way too nonchalantly given what he had just said he was able to do. “You had to push a truck!?”

Dekiru chuckled, clearly reminiscing about the incident. “Yeah, All Might was a bit of a taskmaster about-”

Ochako’s eyes widened, as Izuku dropped reveal after reveal. “You trained with All Might!?”

--

As his students made their way back to U.A., Shota hung back a good few meters, putting his Underground Hero skills to use to help them forget he was even there. If she were here, Nemuri would probably be gushing about young love or something equally saccharine, but for his part, Shota was still happy for the two of them. With how much his students had been through this school year, it was easy to forget that they were just that: students. They weren’t supposed to be handling villains and fighting for their lives, they were supposed to be doing stuff like this: going on dates, saying something embarrassing and laughing it off together, holding hands as they walked each other home. So Shota was glad that they had the opportunity to participate in it, even if it was just for one day before they were thrown back into the line of fire with Work Studies.

Chapter Text

So far, this was looking to be another disappointingly frustrating semester for Katsuki. When he heard those Big Three idiots wanted to fight them, he had been excited, ready to prove himself against U.A.’s strongest. But it turned out he went into it too confident, so that spiral chick was able to just make a mockery of him, dancing out of his range and peppering him with little blasts until he finally went down.

And then, of course, there was the fact that those idiots only fought them in the first place to demonstrate the massive improvements that 1-A could expect from Work Studies… WHICH HE WASN’T ALLOWED TO DO!!! So now a third of the class was out there getting real-world Heroing experience while Katsuki was stuck on campus, trying not to explode.

The one bright spot in all of this was Blue Girl. She had followed up on her offer to introduce Katsuki to some of her ‘like-minded friends’. She had sent Katsuki a time, which he was free for (thanks to not being able to do Work Studies!) and he was able to get his permission to go off campus from the hobo, so for once in this stupid year, there was nothing getting in his way.

Blue Girl was waiting for him after he got off the train to Deika City. “Bakugo, there you are. How was your trip?” Katsuki just shrugged, not particularly interested in small talk. “Right, well, if you would follow me, I’m quite excited for today.”

As they walked through the city, Blue Girl somehow decided that trying small talk again would be a good idea. “So, how’s your new semester going?”

“Terrible.” Katsuki eagerly took the chance to vent. “The big thing this semester’s apparently Work Studies, but I can’t be a part of them, because they didn’t give me a Provisional License! It’s infuriating!”

Blue Girl clicked her tongue. “That is terrible. I don’t understand why U.A.’s so determined to waste their biggest potential. But, it sounds like I’ve chosen a good friend to introduce you to. He’s a… personal Quirk trainer, so he should be able to help bring out some of that potential U.A.'s so intent on wasting.”

That certainly got Katsuki’s attention. He hadn’t been sure what to expect from this little meeting, he mostly just accepted because he had nothing better to do, but if this would somehow help him become stronger, than the trip would definitely be worth it.

--

Blue Girl led Katsuki to a massive gym complex, flashing an ID to the man at the front desk before leading Katsuki to a private space. Katsuki was actually impressed with the building, in terms of size and resources, it even gave U.A. a run for its money. Even the room Blue Girl took him to would me more accurately called an arena, stretching to the size of a full stadium.

Waiting for them in that arena was a young man with long white hair who was inexplicably wearing a pale blue parka. “There you are. I was starting to worry you’d be late.”

Blue Girl just laughed at the cold greeting. “Hello to you too, Geten. Anyway, here’s the U.A. student I told you so much about. Bakugo, Geten. Geten, Bakugo.”

Parka seemed unimpressed. “Bakugo Katsuki. I saw your performance at the Sports Festival. You had potential, but how has that potential grown I wonder?”

Katsuki smirked. “You asking for a demonstration?”

Parka entered a fighting stance. “Naturally.”

Blue Girl rolled her eyes. “I should’ve known you two would hit it off. I’ll give you two some space.”

Parka ignored Blue Girl. “Well, what are you waiting for? There’s no countdown in a real battle.”

“Suit yourself.”

Katsuki launched himself at Parka, but before he could get close, the ground erupted as massive crystals of ice burst from the pipes. “Show me what you’re made of, Bakugo!”

--

Parka was infuriatingly strong. At first, Katsuki had just assumed he was a knock-off Half-and-Half, creating a bunch of ice, but then he started controlling it, sending it flying through the air at Katsuki and forcing him onto the defensive. Once Katsuki got his rhythm going, and worked up a proper sweat, he had been able to give a much better fight, but he hadn’t quite been able to take Parka down. And now he could feel himself running out of sweat, and he knew his window for victory had passed.

What’s worse, Parka seemed to realize it too. “That’s enough, Bakugo.”

“No!” Katsuki snapped. “I can keep going, and I won’t stop until I beat you!”

Parka just sighed. “You’re past your limit. Fighting me any more won’t accomplish anything. You’ll just have to do better next time.”

Katsuki was about to shoot back that he couldn’t care less about his limits, but then he paused. “Next time?”

“Of course. You have potential, Bakugo Katsuki. And while I’m sure that U.A. is doing what they think is best, talent like yours deserves special attention. I’ll send you a training regimen as well, just to make sure you fully grow into your potential. Unless you don’t think you can handle it?”

Katsuki rolled his eyes at the obvious challenge. “Of course I can handle it.”

“Good.” Parka waved him off. “Then that will be all for today, and I hope to see you again next week.”

--

The moment Bakugo was gone, Chitose turned to Geten. “So, what did you think?”

Geten thought for a moment. “Well, you’re certainly right about one thing. He’s strong. I actually had to try to keep up with him. I hadn’t expected that for his first training session. So if that’s his starting point, I can only imagine his potential.”

Chitose smirked. “Well, I’m glad you agree. In that case-”

“I wasn’t done.” Geten cut her off. “I didn’t like his little tantrum at the end. If he’s to do what you seem to expect from him, he’ll need to be able to compose himself better than that.”

“I wouldn’t get too caught up on that, Geten. He’s just a child after all.” Chitose glanced back in the direction Bakugo had left. “He may not be ready yet, but with proper care and nurturing, he will be. I’ll be sure of it.”

“You’re acting like we have more time than we do.” Geten countered. “If he isn’t ready, then maybe we should all focus our energies on someone who is.”

“Geten, Geten, Geten.” Chitose chuckled. “You need more faith. Have my instincts ever been wrong before?”

“Not catastrophically.” Geten ceded.

“Well then, trust me. Bakugo will be ready. He will be our Symbol of Power.”

Chapter Text

Another train ride to the Nighteye Agency meant another opportunity to ask Togata about Quirks. And since Izuku had learned enough about Togata’s own Quirk last time to start making some of his own theories, he moved on to the rest of the Big Three. “What’s Amajiki’s Quirk? All I got to see in our fight was some octopus tentacles, is there something more to it?”

Togata laughed at the question. “Something more? Oh, you bet there is! While the octopus tendrils are one of his biggest go-to’s, his Quirk lets him manifest characteristics of anything he eats.”

Izuku’s eyes widened at the explanation. “Anything?” The possibilities were endless.

“Well,” Togata admitted, “not everything has had a clear, practical use. But yes, anything he eats.”

“That’s still insane. I mean, the possibilities are endless. With enough practice and foresight, he could adapt to any situation, and perfectly tailor his arsenal to fight any Quirk.”

“What else do you expect from the Big Three’s strongest?”

Izuku raised an eyebrow. “Somehow, I thought that was you.”

Togata laughed off the compliment. “No, I can’t take credit for that. I may be hard to pin down in a fight, but I’m not the strongest in the Big Three. I’m the leader, and you of all people should know there’s a big difference there.” For a moment, Togata turned serious. “No, Tamaki holds himself back sometimes, he doesn’t believe in himself nearly as much as he should, but when he finds his resolve and sets his mind to something, there isn’t a force on earth that could stop him.”

-

Sasaki Mirai, better known as Sir Nighteye, glanced up from his mountain of paperwork as his two students entered his office. “Punctual. Good. Midoriya, I’ve heard good things about your analytical skills, I will be testing those soon. Unfortunately, I need to get through this paperwork first. Our current investigation has me rather occupied. In the meantime, I believe the best use of your time would be to go on patrol with Togata. I will see both of you upon your return.”

The students left promptly, and Mirai allowed himself a small smile as he heard Midoriya already start asking Togata questions about the upcoming patrol. He was glad to find that the two of them had already built up a rapport. It made his plan all the more likely to succeed.

From the very beginning, Mirai had trained and readied Togata to become All Might’s successor. And with the boy’s cleverness, drive, and charisma, he had become someone worthy of filling even those gargantuan shoes. But even All Might needed a sidekick: someone in his corner to stay in the background and ensure that the Symbol of Peace worked at his peak efficiency. Mirai couldn’t help but see some of himself in Midoriya, and he supposed there was a kind of poetry to it: for All Might’s protege to be the sidekick to Mirai’s, just as he had been All Might’s sidekick all those years ago.

-

There was a back exit to Rock Lock’s apartment. Leaving through it at the start of their first patrol somehow made it feel a bit more professional to Ochako than if they had just left through the front door.

It didn’t take long after they had started their patrol before they someone, an older man probably on his lunch break, called out to Rock Lock. “Hey, Rock Lock! Oh, did you finally get a sidekick?”

Ochako took the opportunity to introduce herself. “Just a Work Study student. I’m Uravity, from U.A!”

“Oh, just a student? Well, you picked a fine mentor for your Work Study. Rock Lock is a good man, and an even better Hero. You be sure to listen to him.”

Ochako couldn’t help but smile at his earnestness. “Thank you, sir. I will.” As the patrol continued, it became clear that the old man wasn’t alone in his respect for Rock Lock, as civilian after civilian called out to him, or waved, or otherwise made their appreciation of him known. So, Ochako decided she might as well ask him the question that made her want to do a Work Study with him in the first place. “How do you balance being a Hero with having a family?”

Rock Lock had to think before he gave his answer. “It’s about… managing your own expectations. And knowing what kind of Hero you want to be. If I wanted to be a Hero who climbs the charts, and pushes their way toward the Number One spot, that would take everything I had. That would consume me, and leave nothing left for my family. And the thing is, there is the temptation to go down that road, not for the fame or the prestige, but because the harder I’m working, the more people I save, right? But, I have to remind myself that I’m never going to be a Hero who saves everyone. I’m never going to be the Number One Hero. But I can be a Hero who keeps his community safe, and the Hero who is also a good husband and father. And that’s the Hero I would rather be… It sounds selfish when I say it out loud, huh?”

“No… Maybe a little? I don’t know. You’re only human, and you aren’t trying to be more. Like you said, managing expectations, recognizing your limits. I get that. The original reason I was planning to become a Hero was so that I could make enough money to financially support my parents, and I might as well help people while I’m at it.” The confession felt easy to say after Rock Lock’s own. “And this past semester has really showed how little idea I had of what I was getting myself into, but the plan hasn’t really changed that much. And that feels selfish! It feels like I’m not trying as hard, or caring as much as my classmates! But, it’s clear that none of the civilians in your community think you’re a fake Hero, so maybe I can be a real Hero as well.”

-

It didn’t take long on their patrol for Togata to start making small talk. “I know I saw it before, but I really like your Hero costume! It’s a great mix of personality and practicality.”

“Thanks, a friend actually designed it for me.” Izuku realized he should probably return the compliment. “I like yours too! It feels really classic, almost like All Might’s Silver Age costume!”

Togata just laughed at the compliment. “Yeah, well, having to weave my hair into the costume kinda limited my options, so it ended up looking like spandex no matter what. I am fond of the cape though, makes me look larger-than-life and protective. And it’s designed to be easy to ditch if I need to, so no practicality concerns there.” Togata swooshed his cape dramatically to cap off his explanation. “Oh, by the way, what’s your Hero name? What am I supposed to call you on patrol?”

Izuku straightened up taller as he announced his Hero name. “Dekiru. It’s-” his voice lowered a bit. “Also from a friend. My girlfriend, now, actually.”

Togata gave him a playful bumb on the shoulder, “Aww… good for you! Mine is Lemillion! Because I may not be able to save everyone, no one can, but saving a million people… well that’s an ideal worth working towards.”

Izuku nodded along with Togata’s explanation. There was something about the way he talked that made it easy to feel inspired. From there, they fell into an easy silence until Togata broke the silence once more. “So, I’ve guessed you’ve already learned what the main purpose of patrols is?”

Izuku gave off the answer he had been taught. “It actually isn’t primarily to fight villains. While that does happen sometimes, the main point is for the Heroes to simply be present, remind everyone that they’re hear, and promote a general feeling of safety.”

“That’s right! I think that’s part of the reason Sir felt okay letting the two of us patrol together without a Pro Hero present. In a nice neighborhood like this, the odds of us running into trouble are pretty low.”

Almost on cue, something ran into Izuku’s legs, nearly knocking him to the ground.

Chapter Text

The something that ran into Izuku’s legs was actually a someone, a little girl who looked to be about six years old, with silver hair, red eyes, and a small horn a little off center on her forehead.

Izuku crouched down to the girl’s eye level, making sure that his helmet’s “friendly eyes” were on. “Sorry about that. I didn’t see you there. What’s your name?”

The girl didn’t respond, instead just staring at Izuku, shaking silently. That was when Izuku took a closer look, and noticed the bandages on her arms peeking out from underneath a threadbare gown. She didn’t look dirty, but everything else about this girl pointed toward neglect or worse. “To- Lemillion, I think we should-”

Before Izuku could finish, a voice rang out from the alleyway the girl had run out of. “Ah, Eri, there you are.” The girl, presumably Eri, let out a quiet whimper as she heard the voice, instinctively trying to hide against Izuku. “Come along now, Eri. Let’s not bother these heroes any longer.”

Izuku glanced up as a man emerged from the alleyway, staring down at him and Eri with cold golden eyes. Izuku wrapped his arms around Eri protectively. “She doesn’t look like she wants to go with you.”

The man shrugged. “Well, you know how children are… Actually, you both look rather young, so I doubt you do. What agency are you with?”

“We’re just Work Study students, wouldn’t really feel fair to call us a part of an agency.” Togata hurried to answer before Izuku had a chance. He seemed incredibly tense for some reason.

Whatever that reason, Izuku remained focused. “What’s with the bandages on her arms?”

“Ah well…” the man paused. “It’s a bit delicate, do you mind stepping into the alley so we can talk a bit more privately.”

That sounded like a trap to Izuku. “We can talk low. Right here.”

The man sighed. “Well, if that’s how you want to do this…” Almost like a nervous tic, he tugged on one of his gloves. And instantly, Eri rushed out of Izuku’s arms and back to the man’s side. “Ah, done with your tantrum now, are you? That’s good, let’s be on our way.” With that, the two of them turned away and began to walk back down the alley.

Izuku rose to his feet, ready to stop them, but Togata put a hand on his shoulder to stop him. “We can’t.”

Izuku pulled Togata’s hand off of him. “Why not? There’s clearly something wrong here!”

Togata looked conflicted. “Because, he’s… Sir can explain. We should head back to the agency. Now.”

Izuku didn’t understand what possible explanation there could be, but he let Togata pull him away from the little girl who needed his help.

-

Despite how useful their Quirk-erasing bullets could be, Dabi was having a hard time hiding his disdain for Chisaki. The yakuza leader wasn’t doing himself any favors by showing up late to a meeting on his own turf. “You make me walk in circles for half an hour, and you still can’t be bothered to get here before me?”

“My apologies. We have to be very careful about our privacy. As for my delay, we narrowly avoided a small crisis today.” Chisaki folded his arms as he sat across from Dabi. “So, did you consider our offer?”

“I’ve considered a partnership. None of that ‘putting ourselves under you.’” Dabi reached into his jacket for a cigarette before offering one to the yakuza leader. “Smoke?” Chisaki refused, predictably. He looked appalled by the offer. Dabi shrugged, lit his own with a finger, and continued. “You need our reputation, I’m intrigued by your firepower, our interests temporarily align. But, before I say anything definitive, what is your plan? Erasing Quirks is no joke, it must be something ambitious.”

Chisaki smirked from beneath his mask. “Caught onto that, did you? I must say I’m impressed. Very well. I believe that Quirks are a poison. I believe that they have corrupted our society, and led fools to dream impossible dreams. So I am quite happy to have developed a cure. You’ve experienced their effects firsthand, so you should know how effective they are. And what you were hit with was merely a rough draft, I’ve nearly cracked the code to making the Quirk erasure permanent. What’s more, the formula for these bullets is heavily reliant on a Quirk that I have in my possession, so the Shie Hassaikai does and will always have exclusive access to producing them. All I need is the funding to start mass-producing them, and your reputation should be enough to get me that. Once production begins, I will use this monopoly to restore the yakuza to their rightful place at the top of the criminal underworld, and from there… who knows? Wiping out all Quirks may be unfeasible, but to get of the strongest ones? To lay low all those whose Quirks have made them think they are gods? That would be child’s play.”

Dabi let out a full laugh, causing the yakuza leader’s eyes to widen in surprise. “That’s it? You’ve developed something that could change the world, upend society and remake it in your own image, but restoring the yakuza and sniping a few Heroes is the farthest you can clearly see? I thought you had more of a spark.”

Chisaki looked as though he might burst a blood vessel, though whether it was from Dabi’s insults or the fact that Dabi was currently putting his cigarette out on the yakuza’s nice table was anyone’s guess. “I don’t know how long a leash Shigaraki has you on, but you won’t find me nearly as forgiving.”

“Tsk. Is that any way to talk to your new business partner?” Dabi relished in Chisaki’s confusion. “No, your ambition is lacking, but your idea has promise. You can tell whoever you want that you have the League’s backing.” Dabi stood to leave before he could make a counter-offer. “Oh, and I’ll be sending some people by sometime to check in on my investment. See you then!”

-

Sir Nighteye’s knuckles whitened as Togata gave his report. “And you’re sure that you gave him no reason to be suspicious of you?”

Izuku couldn’t help but interject. “I’m sorry, but what’s going on? Who was that guy, and why are all of you so nervous about him?”

Nighteye turned to look at Izuku, as though he had briefly forgotten he was there. “Of course. I should’ve told you in advance, but I hadn’t anticipated that you would run into him. That man was Chisaki Kai, the young head of the Shie Hassaikai yakuza. This agency is currently leading an investigation into him and his organization, and while we haven’t yet ascertained the exact nature of his plot, the scale of it could potentially shake all of Japan. If he were to realize that we are onto him, we could lose any chance of stopping his plan.”

The explanation left a sour taste in Izuku’s mouth. “So you’re okay abandoning a likely abused child just because you think he’s up to something bigger?”

“Yes.” Sir Nighteye sighed. “I shouldn’t be surprised you feel that way. You learned from All Might after all, it’s inevitable that some of his ‘save everyone’ mentality would rub off on you. And while that mindset is all well and good in its proper place, you cannot afford such ideals.” He stared Izuku down, as though daring him to respond. “That will be all for today. You are dismissed.”

Chapter Text

It was shaping up to be another relaxed patrol with Rock Lock of talking and waving to civilians, until Ochako heard a voice come in through her earpiece. “Just received reports of a robbery, suspects fleeing the scene in a vehicle, all nearby Heroes, please engage.”

Rock Lock paused as the dispatcher called out where the car was. “I know the street. Come on, we’ll cut them off!” Ochako hurried after him, cutting through alleyways to come to a main street just in time to see the getaway car barreling down the street. Rock Lock glanced back at her. “Have you ever had to stop a car before?”

Ochako thought for a moment. She hadn’t, but she had an idea of how she could. Getting a running start, she leaped into the air, activating her Quirk on her self so that she could sail right over the car, at which point one tap from her would stop it right in its tracks. But then the car swerved unexpectedly, and Ochako had no way to change her direction in mid-air to compensate, so she ended up just sailing harmlessly past it.

Ochako restored her gravity and landed back at the ground, turning back around to see that Rock Lock had gotten a hand on the side of the car, and his Quirk had it locked in place. He gave her a thumbs-up with his free hand. “Good effort! Practice makes perfect for this sort of thing, and their swerve ended up sending them straight to me. Now come on, I doubt they’re about to just give up.”

Sure enough, once the villains realized that their getaway vehicle was immobilized, they all rushed out, ready to fight whatever Hero was getting in their way. But the first villain barely had enough time to activate his Quirk, popping a series of small blades out of his arm before Ochako was on him, tapping him and instantly removing him from the fight. Ochako paused briefly to wonder how she ran into some many villains with variations on “knife-hands” before turning her attention to other villains.

One of the villains, a man with a blocky jaw, glanced between Ochako and Rock Lock, seemingly realizing that they were outmatched. “Oh no, I’m not going back!” Before Ochako could stop him, he reached into his jacket, pulled out a syringe, and injected it into himself. “Oh yeah, that’s the stuff!” The villain slammed a fist into the street, causing the ground to shake and sending a fissure straight for Ochako. She leaped over it, using her Quirk on herself to carry her over it and into the villain, tapping him with her Quirk in hopes that not being able to touch the ground would keep his Quirk out of action.

Ochako was ready to continue the fight when Rock Lock called out to her. “Uravity, the building!” Ochako turned around to realize that, while the villian’s attack had missed her, it had struck the side of a nearby building, sending a massive crack up its wall. It fortunately didn’t look the whole building was going to collapse, but it didn’t look stable either.

Ochako spared one last glance back at Rock Lock. He seemed to have the fight mostly under control, so she turned her attention to the rescue, removing her gravity once more to leap into the building through the crack made by the villain’s attack

Immediately, she could tell that turning her attention to rescue was the right call. Parts of the ceiling had already fallen away, and the rest of it looked like it was going to give out soon as well. Fortunately, Ochako’s momentum carried her straight into the ceiling, making it easy for her to tap it and remove the force that would’ve caused it to collapse. Fortunately, she didn’t need to remove the whole building’s gravity this time, just the at-risk section of roof. With her perch on the ceiling, she glanced around the room for any more dangers, and saw a man on the floor, pinned under some of the rubble that came loose from the initial attack.

“Don’t worry sir! I’m here to help!” Ochako took a deep breath before placing her hands together, activating a technique that she had just recently started developing: Partial Release. Picking and choosing which objects she restored gravity to always did a number on her stomach, but she didn’t have much choice. She needed to get down to the ground to help evacuate the man who was injured, but she had way too many things that she needed to keep in Zero G.

Ochako resisted the urge to vomit as she landed back on the floor, hurrying over to the man and lifting the rubble off of him with her Quirk. “Come on, let’s get you out of here.”

The man couldn’t let out much more than a wheeze. “Thank you…”

Ochako just nodded. “Don’t mention it. That’s what Heroes are for.” She shouted up at the ceiling. “If anyone’s up there, move away from the damage. If you can’t, I’ll be up to help you soon.” There wasn’t a response, which she could only hope meant that anyone up there had already moved. Still, she needed to be thorough. It wouldn’t do to leave a rescue half-finished.

-

By the time Ochako was done checking the building, Rock Lock had finished fighting the villains, and the police had come to take them all away. “I’m sorry I wasn’t able to be more help in the fight.”

Rock Lock waved away her concern. “Nonsense! You took out two villains the moment the fight started. And even if you weren’t there for most of the fight, that doesn’t mean you weren’t helping. Because Heroes always have a lot of objectives to focus on. That’s why we have to work a lot harder than villains do. For villains, a win is a win, whatever they have to sacrifice to get there. But for Heroes, only perfection counts as victory. Catch the villains, and save everyone.”

-

“So yeah, that felt really good. You were right, Rock Lock has been a really good mentor.” Since they both had such little free time, Ochako and Dekiru were being intentional about meeting up after Work Studies to debrief about how their days had been, so Ochako was sitting on Dekiru’s bed, having just finished describing the fight, rescue, and Rock Lock’s advice afterward.

“That’s… that’s good. I’m glad your Work Study is going well.”

Ochako narrowed her eyes. Something was clearly wrong with Dekiru, but he didn’t seem like he was going to bring it up himself. “What’s up?”

“It’s nothing…” Dekiru tried to wave her off, but then he seemed to think better of it. “No it’s not. There was an… incident, a couple days ago, that I didn’t tell you about. It’s kinda confidential, so I can’t tell you any details, but… I’m glad Rock Lock’s been a good mentor. Sir Nighteye’s more of a ‘greater good’ Hero than a ‘save everyone’ Hero.”

“Oh.” Ochako could only imagine what sort of ‘incident’ had Dekiru down like this, but she knew enough. She pulled Dekiru close. “I’m sorry. You know if you need to talk to anyone, I’m here, however much you’re able to say. And, well, now you have a second opinion about what Heroes are supposed to do, so I’ll let you pick which of our mentors you agree with.”

Dekiru practically melted into her embrace. “Thanks, Ochako.”

“Of course.”

Chapter Text

“Hey, Dekiru! Are you off to your Work Study too?”

Izuku smiled as he answered Ochako’s question. “Yep!” With the different schedules of their mentors and the different distances they had to travel, leaving for Work Studies at the same time was a rare treat. “Even if we only get to go to the train station together-”

“Actually,” Ochako cut him off. “Rock Lock said we weren’t meeting at the agency. Instead, it sounds like I’m going to the same place you are!”

Izuku’s smile widened. “So we get to spend the ride over there together to?!” He reached out a hand to Ochako. “In that case, shall we?”

As she took it, Izuku heard a familiar voice behind him. “Hey, Midoriya, wait for me!” Izuku turned to see Togata hurrying toward him, with the other two members of the Big Three not far behind. Togata made a dramatic show of catching up to them and then turned to Ochako. “I don’t believe we’ve properly introduced before, I’m Togata Mirio.”

“Uraraka Ochako.”

“I assume you’re off to a Work Study as well?” Ochako just nodded. “Who are you with?”

“Rock Lock, but today it sounds like I’m going to the same city as you two!”

“That’s funny…” Togata paused. “I mean, not that funny, it’s just that Tamaki and Hado are coming with us too. I wonder what that’s all about?”

Just then, Aizawa-sensei walked by, not slowing down as he passed them. “You won’t find out if you miss your train. Get a move on.”

Izuku was the first to react. “Wait, Aizawa-sensei? You’re coming too?” Aizawa-sensei didn’t pause or respond in any way, leaving the five students to hurry after him.

-

It turned out that the reason they were all going to the same city was that Sir Nighteye had called a meeting with a large number of Heroes. Aizawa-sensei was there, obviously, as well as Rock Lock, and Fat Gum and Ryukyu, Tamaki and Nejire’s mentors. There were also a lot of Heroes that Ochako didn’t even know, though Izuku probably would.

Ochako tried not to let what Dekiru had told her sour her opinion of Nighteye as he started the meeting. He was quick and efficient, giving a brief background of the yakuza group, the Shie Hassaikai, that his agency had been monitoring. He explained how, under their new leadership, the Shie Hassaikai had spread out connections over most of the Japanese underworld, becoming the largest dealer of the Quirk-enhancing drug Trigger, albeit with some plausible deniability. Apparently the thugs that Ochako had helped taken down a few days prior had gotten their trigger from them.

“Recently, however,” Nighteye continued, “it seems the Shie Hassaikai has been selling a new product. Fatgum, if you would.”

Fatgum gave an explanation of how during a routine fight break-up, one of the villains had shot his mentee with a special bullet that took away his Quirk, and he had only just gotten it back this morning. Amajiki shrunk into himself even further during the explanation.

Then it was Aizawa-sensei’s turn. “I was brought onto this case because I am something of any expert on Erasing Quirks, but I was unfortunately not able to provide much insight. However the drug works, it doesn’t have any similarities to my Quirk.”

“Fortunately,” Nighteye took the floor again, “The villains were not able to expend all of their stock before they were apprehended, so the remaining bullets were able to be analyzed in a lab.” He paused. “The results were… concerning. It seems that one of the chief ingredients of the Quirk-Erasing Drug is human blood. A specific human’s blood, and it is that person’s Quirk that gives the drug its effect.

“With how monitored the yakuza are, we know the Quirks of all of its members, and none of them seem capable of this effect. Which puts us at something of a brick wall. We do, however, have one candidate for whose Quirk is being used.” Nighteye pressed a button, bringing up a video on the screen behind him. It was footage from a security camera of Dekiru and presumably Togata on patrol. As they passed by an alleyway, something slammed into Dekiru, almost knocking him over. Even through the grainy footage, it didn’t take long for Ochako to recognize that it was a little girl, and that she needed help.

Then, she caught someone standing just at the edge of the alleyway. Dekiru and Togata had a conversation with whoever it was, at the end of which, the girl ran out of Dekiru’s arms and into the alleyway. Dekiru seemed about to go after her, but Togata put a hand on his shoulder, stopping him.

Nighteye let out a sigh as the video ended. “What you just watched is an encounter two of my Work Study students had with a young girl named Eri. Her identity and origins are unknown, but given that Chisaki Kai, the de facto leader of the Shie Hassaikai, risked discovery to retrieve her himself, I can only assume that she has some significance to his operations. She is currently the most likely source for the Shie Hassaikai’s Quirk-Erasing Bullets.”

One of the Heroes gathered said what everyone was probably thinking. “Seems like we could’ve resolved this whole thing if those two had just rescued her then and there.” Ochako saw the shame in Dekiru and Togata’s faces as he pointed out their failure. Ochako wished that they hadn’t been seated by agency so that she could offer Dekiru some sort of comfort, but all she could do was vow to do whatever it took to help him save Eri.

And luckily for her, Nighteye got to a way they could all do just that. “The reason you have all been gathered here, is because each of you works in a city that the Shie Hassaikai has some sort of presence. We currently do not know where Eri is being held, but if we all investigate our local areas, we should be able to narrow down the possibilities, and launch a rescue.”

-

Immediately as the meeting ended, before they could even leave their seats, Izuku felt Togata’s hand on his shoulder. “We’re going to save her.” It wasn’t a question, or an observation, it was a command.

Izuku put his own hand over Togata’s. “Of course we will.” They had to.

Before the conversation could continue, Izuku was pulled into an embrace by Ochako. “I’m so sorry. But I promise, I’m going to do everything I can to help you make this right.”

The Big Three had hurried to Togata’s side as well. Nejire seemed serious and focused for the first time Izuku had seen. “Don’t worry Mirio. With all of us together, we’ll save little Eri in no time!”

Even Amajiki spoke up. “Don’t lose hope, Mirio. We’ve all got your back.”

Izuku and Togata locked eyes, their resolve strengthening. After all, with all of this support, how could they possibly fail?

-

Koroki didn’t like the Shie Hassaikai so far. They had killed Magne, for one, which he still kinda blamed himself for. They also just seemed insufferably proud for a mere yakuza group. But, Dabi had told him and Toga to work with the Shie Hassaikai for the foreseeable future, and until Shigaraki returned, he was in charge.

So the three of them entered into the Shie Hassaikai’s annoyingly maze-like hideout so that Dabi could present the pair of them. As they entered the meeting room, Dabi lounged on the couch and had the two of them flank him from behind. “Well, Chisaki, here are the members of the League of Villains that I’m going to have helping you.” ‘Help’ was a generous term. They were here to observe, but beyond that they could do as they liked. Toga certainly appreciated the freedom, because what she wanted to do was kill them all for what they did to Magne.

Chisaki nodded at the offer, trying to pretend that he was in charge of the situation. “Well, I’m sure I can find some use for them. Will that be all?”

“Yeah, just one. I ran a spare Quirk-Erasing Bullet by a doctor friend of mine, and he said it’s made of blood. Whose blood is that?”

Chisaki seemed to debate sharing the secret for a moment. “That would be Eri. The boss’s grand-daughter. She has a Quirk that can rewind organic matter, so, with some tinkering, I’ve altered it to rewind the evolutionary process to erase Quirks.”

Dabi seemed to think for a moment. “So its all gotta come from one person? That’ll put quite the cap on your supply.”

“Oh, you’d be surprised.” Chisaki laughed. “When you have a way of bringing her back from the dead, you can get a shocking amount of blood out of a six-year-old girl.”

Dabi laughed at the explanation, not seeing any issue with, but Koroki was immediately glad that his villain costume included a mask to hide how much he paled at the implications of what Chisaki had said. Suddenly, Toga’s plan looked a lot better.

-

“Sir Nighteye, I wanted to ask you something.”

Sir Nighteye sighed as Izuku approached him after the meeting. “Are you here to gloat, Midoriya? To tell me that you were right, that we would’ve stopped Chisaki already if we had just saved the girl in the first place?”

“No, I…” Part of Izuku was insulted that Nighteye would even think that of him. “I wanted to ask you what you meant, when you said that ideals were all well and good, but I couldn’t afford them. So, what was that?”

“Look at All Might. He is… he was an unstoppable Hero who truly could save everyone. He less had ideals than he was himself an ideal. And it’s good that he was, because those ideals pushed him to save everyone, and inspired hope in those around him. But you and are not All Might. We will never be able to save everyone, and will never inspire the world like he does. So we have to focus on saving the day, whatever sacrifices that may entail.”

Nighteye’s explanation left a poor taste in Izuku’s mouth. “So ideals are just for All Might?”

“And those like him,” Nighteye answered. “Ideals are for those powerful enough to make those ideals a reality. Those strong enough that they don’t have to choose between saving everyone and saving the day. Like All Might, yes. But Togata as well, someday. That’s what I’ve been training him for. As for you, I had hoped for you to be for him what I was for All Might, someone to protect his ideals by doing the things that must be done, that he can’t.”

“I… I see.” Nighteye turned to go, but then Izuku found the courage to speak. “You know I can’t accept that, right? All Might was my inspiration. He’s the Hero that I want to be. And even though I’ve accepted that I’m never matching his scope, I refuse to give up on his spirit. You talked about him being an inspiration, he inspired me to those ideals, and I’m not giving up on them for some ‘greater good’.”

Nighteye sighed, but he chose not to respond, walking away and leaving Izuku alone.

Chapter Text

Izuku’s Work Study with Nighteye was starting to feel like a burden. As the days went by without any progress toward finding Eri, he felt a growing urge to do something drastic. He wasn’t sure what he would do, he wasn’t sure what he could do, but he just wanted to do something. The waiting was slowly killing him.

As Izuku returned to U.A. after another long day of Work Studies, he didn’t realize someone was waiting for him until they called out. “Hey, Green!”

Izuku looked over to see Hatsume coming towards him, clearly very excited. “Hey, Hatsume, what’s up?” A new invention, if he had to guess.

Hatsume launched straight into an explanation. “Okay, so, you know Melissa Shield?”

Izuku no longer knew where this was going. “Yes?”

“Well,” Hatsume continued, unfazed by Izuku’s uninterested response, “The whole time she’s been at U.A, I’ve had the sense that there was something wrong with her. And finally, I’ve figured it out.” Hatsume pulled out her phone and shoved an article in Izuku’s face. “Her Dad’s a villain!” She seemed excited about this information.

Izuku just took the phone from her, looking closer at the article in question. Sure enough, it was talking about the attack on the I-Island Expo. Izuku let out a long sigh. “Hatsume, did you actually read the whole article?”

Hatsume paused, clearly not getting the reaction she wanted. “Why?” Izuku wordlessly scrolled down and handed it back to her. “‘…Fortunately, the attack was foiled by the valiant efforts of U.A. students Todoroki Shoko, Bakugo Katsuki, Uraraka Ochako and Midoriya…’" Her voice trailed off as the realization hit her. "You already knew?”

"Yes, Hatsume," Izuku sighed, "I knew. I was there. This was like, news, I've talked about this, how did you not know that?" He rubbed a hand over his face. "Look, I know you hate Melissa or something, but just stop... whatever this is. She's not a villain. Her dad's barely even a villain, and she helped us stop the villains attacking I-Island. No one is more upset at him than she is. So I swear, if you try to use this against her... just don't." Part of Izuku knew he could've been more diplomatic about that answer, but he was far too drained to care as he walked past Hatsume and back to his dorm.

--

“Anyway, thanks for letting me hang out in your room.”

Shoko just nodded at Melissa’s comment. “That’s what friends are for.” At least, that’s what she assumed. She was still getting used to having friends, and having enough freedom to hang out with them, and invite them over, and just… be normal with them. Even with Melissa, who she had been friends with for years, she was used to just seeing her once a year at the I-Island Expo, so this year-round friendship was new and exciting. Shoko probably wouldn’t have any idea of what she was doing if Midoriya hadn’t pulled her into his friend group earlier that year.

“I just…” Shoko was pulled out of her reflection as Melissa spoke. “I needed some space from Hatsume. I hate to say this, because it makes me feel really mean, but… I just do not like her. She’s messy, and loud, and unprofessional, and inconsiderate, and just takes up 100% of any room she’s in, 100% of the time.” Her voice dropped. “And it doesn’t help that she clearly hates me.” Melissa shook her head to clear her thoughts. “I mean, what am I supposed to do?”

Shoko thought for a moment. “I’ve always been a proponent of avoiding people, but I’m not sure if that strategy has actually led to any positive results.”

That got a chuckle out of Melissa. “Thanks, Shoko. I’m mostly just venting right now, but I appreciate the input.”

Shoko nodded, unsure if that was sarcasm. “Of course.”

--

Ochako had the day off from her Work Study, so she took the opportunity to head over to Support Department. As she got to the labs, she saw that both Melissa and Hatsume were there, working seperately on their own projects. "Hey guys, I was wondering if you'd be able to help me with something-"

Before she could even finish explaining what she needed, Hatsume jumped at the opportunity. "Of course! How can I help you?"

"Well, I've been practicing a lot with using my Quirk on myself, but I realized recently that I don't have any way to control myself while I'm airborne. There was an incident recently where that lack of control would've been really bad if my mentor wasn't there to pick up the slack."

Hatsume grinned. "Well, do I have the baby for you, Floaty!" Ochako still found Hatsume's tendency for nicknames a little funny, though she supposed that hers was a bit better than Dekiru's 'Green'. "Do you remember my jetpack from the Sports Festival?"

"A jetpack?" Melissa had caught up to the conversation by now, and was looking over Hatsume's shoulder. "That doesn't seem like a good idea. Uraraka's looking for precise control. If she turned that on while she was weightless, she'd just rocket straight into a wall."

"You just stay out of this!" Hatsume snapped, spinning around to face Melissa. "This is my thing! I make babies to help my friends, it's what I'm good for! You can just go back to your friends at I-Island and stop trying to replace me!"

"You think I have friends at I-Island!?" Melissa shot back. "Well, I did too, so I guess we're both wrong! This isn't about you, you self-important ___, I'm not trying to replace you, I'm just trying to help the only people I can actually trust!"

Hatsume froze under Melissa's shouting. "I- I-" She turned and ran, pushing past Ochako to get out the door. Once she was gone, Melissa slouched down onto the desk with her head in her hands.

Ochako glanced between Melissa and the door, unsure of who needed her more. Eventually, she chose to help the person right in front of her first. "Melissa, what did you mean by not having any friends at I-Island? When I was there, I got the sense that you were popular."

"I- I was." Melissa pulled her head out of her hands. "When I first met Midoriya, I mentioned to him that my Dad's importance shielded me from a lot of Quirkless discrimination. Turns out, I didn't realize how much that was true. Add to that the fact that he's now a villain and a traitor, and... there's a reason that I go to U.A. now. My 'friends' made it pretty clear that they never want to see my face again."

Ochako put an arm around her. "I'm so sorry. I had no idea."

"Of course you didn't. I didn't want to tell you." Melissa sighed. "That's why I need you guys. Because you already know everything, and you still want me around."

"Of course we do." Ochako comforted her. "And I'm sorry that Hatsume... hasn't, but I promise, we're going to stick with you."

--

Well, Hatsume Mei reasoned as she sat curled up in the corner of the hallway, she had had a good run. A whole semester with the same group of friends had to be close to a new record. But that was all obviously over now. She had made sure of it back there. From their earlier conversation, she knew who Green was going to side with, and that everyone else would side with him.

Mei had known this moment was coming since Shield first pushed her way into the friend group. Not only was she just as smart as Mei, she was reliable, and funny, and pretty, and just… good at people. She was everything that Mei wasn’t, so it was only a matter of time before Shield replaced her entirely. Mei had seen the writing on the wall, and selfishly she had tried to do something about it, but her actions had only served to hasten her demise.

As the first tears started to streak down her face, Mei heard footsteps coming toward her, and realized, to her dread, that Floaty was coming toward her. She really should’ve run further. She tried to brace herself for what she knew was coming, even though she knew there was no preparing. “I- I’m sorry. I swear I’m sorry. Now please just- please just leave me alone.

Floaty’s face fell at that. “Hatsume. I’m not just going to abandon someone who needs help.”

Mei just stared out the window. “Just focus on helping your friend.”

She heard Floaty take a seat next to her. “Assuming you mean Melissa, I already helped her a little. But, you’re my friend too, so now it’s your turn.”

Mei didn’t look toward her. “Am I though? I- I appreciate the effort, but please don’t delay the inevitable. If you’re going to drop me, just get it over with already. I know Green already hates me.”

Floaty let out a long sigh as she put her arm around Mei. “No, he doesn’t. Dekiru’s been going through a rough time, so whatever he said to you, I’m very sorry, I’ll make sure he apologizes, but I promise that it wasn’t really about you.”

Mei didn’t want to hope, but… “Does that mean… you aren’t getting rid of me?”

Floaty actually laughed at that. “No, Hatsume, we aren’t getting rid of you. I’m sorry for not realizing you felt threatened by Melissa, but we don’t have a quota on Support Course friends, okay? Besides, do you remember Kamino? We don’t leave anyone behind.”

Mei didn’t know what to say. “Okay.” She just stared out the window, letting the feeling of relief wash over her.

Then Floaty stood up and reached a hand down to her. “Well, let’s go.”

Mei let Floaty pull her up. “Go where?”

Floaty smiled down at her. “I still need some help with a Support Item. You got any ideas?”

Mei smiled right back at her. “Of course I do.”

Chapter Text

Ever since Tenya was a boy, he had dreamt of one day working under his brother Tensei as a proud member of Team Idaten. And starting to work there now as part of his Work Study, he was not disappointed. Despite his injuries from the Hero Killer keeping him from doing field work, Tensei was still an excellent leader and mentor. He had Tenya pair up with different sidekicks, some of whom Tenya had admired for years, and all of whom had different lessons to teach him. One patrol he worked on keeping an eye on large areas with Watchbird, on another Bigshot led him in tight urban movement. Tenya was learning more aspects of being a Hero each day, and the way in which Tensei went about teaching him gave him a much better understanding of what good leadership meant.

One day, as he returned from patrol, Tenya noticed that the energy around the agency was very different. It was crowded as well, a swarm of policeman and other Heroes making it a bit difficult to move through the space. Tenya pushed through the crowd, trying to make his way to his brother. “What’s going on? Tensei, what’s happened?”

“It’s okay, Tenya.” Tensei wheeled through the crowd toward him. “Nothing’s happened.”

“Then what’s with all of these people?”

Tensei sighed. “Follow me.” He led Tenya into a briefing room, before clicking a button to cause a screen to flash on. “Police found this in Hosu today.”

The image on the screen was of a taped-off crime scene, as a Hero lay dead in an alley, bled out from several stabs to the chest. Tenya felt his blood run cold at the sight of it, not just because it was gruesome, but because it was familiar. It looked exactly like the sort of crime scene the Hero Killer would’ve left behind back when he was active. It reminded Iida of the alleyway in Hosu where he had foolishly rushed in, nearly getting himself and two of his classmates. With a sharp intake of breath, Tenya realized why it looked so familiar. “That’s- that’s him. The Hero that Stain was targeting when I ran into him. The Hero I- I saved.” That had been the one good thing to come of his foolishness, and now it seemed it was all for naught.

Tensei nodded grimly. “That’s right. And beside him, we found a message, written in his blood. ‘I will finish what he started.’”

Tenya’s mind was racing for just who would be cruel and sadistic enough to do such a thing. “Spinner. From the League of Villains. He was clearly heavily inspired by the Hero Killer, and he said almost the same thing to me during the attack on the summer camp.”

“Good reasoning. That’s what the police think as well.” Despite the gravity of the situation, it was clear that Tensei was proud of his analysis. “And that’s why there are all these extra Heroes here. Because if this psycho wants to finish the Hero Killer’s work, there are two major pieces of business that he left unfinished. Me and you.” Tenya followed his brother’s reasoning so far, but his brother wasn’t done yet. “And that’s why I think you should take a break from your Work Study.”

Tenya assumed he must have heard his brother wrong. “What?”

“The whole reason that U.A. started its dorm system was so that you’d be somewhere safe in case any villains were targeting you. And now here you are, leaving that sanctuary when we know for a fact that there’s a maniac out for your blood!”

“So I should just hide?” Tenya was appalled at the very idea. “A Hero is supposed to protect others from danger, not keep himself safe at their expense! If you were in my shoes, you would never-”

“And look where that got me!” Tenya was taken aback as his calm, easygoing brother shouted at him. Immediately, the flash of anger faded, and his brother looked remorseful. “Please, Tenya. You’re going to be the best of us. You’re going to save so many people. I just know it. But you have to get there first. I can’t… I can’t let this,” he gestured toward his own paralyzed legs, “happen to you.”

“I know.” Tenya’s emotions had cooled as well following his brother’s outburst. “And I have learned my lesson from Hosu. If you remove my Work Study, I will have no choice but to accept your decision. But if you do, I promise I will be very frustrated with you. Because if I am to become a great Hero, if I am to save people when I am grown, I will need to start to build those patterns now. So I can’t just run when I am in danger.”

Tensei sighed. “I knew you wouldn’t accept. But, you can’t blame me for trying to keep my kid brother safe. Well, now that you’ve turned down my plan…” He wheeled his way back to the door and knocked on it. “There’s someone here with an alternative offer for you.”

A policeman in a long tan coat opened the door and walked into the room. He turned to Tensei. “He’s sticking around?” Tensei just nodded. “Alright then.” The policeman turned to Tenya. “Hello. I’m Detective Tsukauchi, we may have met after the USJ Incident. Straight to business, how would you like to help us catch this new Hero Killer?”

Tenya stood a bit straighter at the offer. “I would be honored to be of assistance.”

Tsukauchi smiled. “Alright then. Let’s get to work.”

--

It took less than a week before it happened. Tenya ran into a purse snatcher during his patrol, and given his speed, he pulled ahead of the Heroes he was patrolling with, chasing the purse snatcher into an alley. A rapidly growing shadow above him was all the warning he had to get out of the way as Spinner leaped off a rooftop and stabbed down at him. Tenya turned to face the villain, who seemed to take the large fall quite well, pointing his sword toward Tenya as he rose to his feet. “Good. It would have been anticlimactic if you died so easily.”

Tenya ignored him, instead placing a hand to earpiece. “It’s him.”

Tensei’s voice was quick to respond. “Good. Now get out of there. The rest of Iidaten will take care of him.”

Sure enough, Onemu Shinya turned the corner, summoning a blast of energy to slam into Spinner. But as the blast impacted, Spinner’s scales seemed to harden, and he wasn’t even phased by the attack. Then he leaped at Tenya faster than should’ve been possible, swinging his sword down at his head. Tenya managed to block the swing on his bracers, but that left him wide open as the villain sent a fist into his chest with enough force to crack his armor and send him flying.

Tensei’s voice sounded panicked as he watched the fight from Watchbird’s cameras. “What’s happening? We know what Spinner’s Quirk is, how is he doing that?”

As Tenya slowly rose to his feet, he watched as Big Shot and Tough Grab caught up to Spinner, and attempted to tackle him, only for Spinner to shake them off by suddenly growing to be two stories tall. “Pathetic false Heroes! Do you truly think you can stop a Hero Killer with such a display! I am here for a purpose, so leave, or I will kill you for getting between me and my prey.”

Tensei’s voice once again came through the comms. “Okay, that’s definitely new. What is this? It’s almost like… Oh. We never did figure out who the mastermind of that operation was. Spinner’s been made Next Level.”

Tenya only half understood what his brother was saying, but the effects were clear enough. Though half a dozen Heroes from Team Iidaten were now fighting Spinner, it did not look like they were making any progress against him. “Tensei, I’m sorry, but I need to help them.”

“No! Absolutely not!” Tensei was adamant. “He’s stronger than we expected, but he’s still overplayed his hand by having a big, open fight like this. The big guns are on their way, all the team has to do is keep him busy until then.”

“And what if they can’t last until then? I know you have been preparing me to one day lead Team Iidaten, but I have learned from you that a true leader does so from the front.”

It was clear from Tensei’s voice that he could tell he was once again losing the argument. “I know, Tenya. But not yet, please. Besides,” Tensei tried to appease Tenya’s rational side, “look at the terrain. In a cramped alley like this, you don’t have room to dodge. All you’d get is a single straight shot.”

“I suppose you are correct.” With that, Tenya turned and started to run in the opposite direction.

Even fighting off several other Heroes, Spinner noticed Tenya’s attempted escape. “Get back here, False Hero! False Ingenium! Face your end like the Hero you pretend to be!” He broke free of the rest of Team Iidaten and chased after Tenya, lunging forward on all four limbs.

His pursuit was pointless, however, as Tenya’s speed meant that he had no chance of catching up. That is, until Tenya stopped suddenly, much to Tensei’s dismay. “Tenya, what are you doing? Why did you stop?” Tenya didn’t respond, instead facing the charging Spinner and entering a runner’s stance, causing it to finally click for Tensei. “Oh.” For a brief moment, Tensei’s fear for his brother’s life faded, as he realized exactly what he was about to do. “Get him, Ingenium.”

Tenya didn’t respond. He was far too focused on the moment. The road beneath his feet, the villain charging at him, the energy humming expectantly in his legs. And then he moved, with a single shout of “Recipro-Burst!”

The flames from his engine legs burned blue as he moved faster than he ever had before, fast enough to shatter the windows of cars as he rocketed past them over the speed of sound. He didn’t swerve to the left or right, but pushed directly toward the incoming Spinner, who seemed to realize just too late what was about to happen. “You wanted Ingenium? Well here I am!” Tenya leaped into the air, slamming a kick directly into the Hero Killer imitator’s face as he shot past. He felt the villain’s scales harden against the impact, but they nevertheless shattered against the overwhelming force and momentum of the impact, laying the massive villain low on the ground.

Iida was too focused on his attack to plan his landing, skidding painfully as he hit the ground and eventually slowed to a stop. His leg was broken from the impact with the villain’s face, but it was okay, because as the moments passed, Spinner did not get back up.

--

It did not take long for first responders to arrive on the scene, which Tenya was grateful for, because he was very much in need of their help. Tenya was being loaded into an ambulance when he was stopped by Tensei, who had finally made it onto the scene alongside Detective Tsukauchi. “That was incredible! That speed, that focus, I never hit those levels, not even at my best! How do you feel? Not physically, I mean, you look pretty rough there, but taking down a villain by yourself like that!”

“I was not by myself,” Tenya protested. “The rest of Team Iidaten-”

“Just take the credit, kid,” Tough Grab cut him off. “The rest of couldn’t do much more than distract him.”

Before Tenya could argue the point further, Detective Tsukauchi chimed in. “Well done, kid. Learning that members of the League can pop up with upgrades like that is concerning, but today’s a victory. You should be proud.”

The paramedics seemed to want to take Tenya away quickly, but before they could, Tensei reached up and grabbed his hand. “Seriously, great job out there. I’m not about to stop being protective of you, you are my little brother after all, but I am willing to accept that you might just be a little further along than I gave you credit for. Well done, Ingenium.”

Tenya warmed with pride, and gripped Tensei’s hand tightly. “Thank you, Ingenium.” Tenya didn’t miss the way that Tensei smiled at the response, or the tears of pride that threatened to spill from his eyes.

Chapter Text

When Todoroki Natsuo had gone off to college, he had been planning to just keep his head down and get through it. But he had ended up really spreading his wings once he was out from underneath his thumb. His time at college was much more social than he had expected. Not to the extent that it was a detriment to his studies, but he had made some friends, and even been invited to some parties. One of them required something a bit nicer than the clothes he had thought to bring to college, so he was back at the house, retrieving a few things he had left there. “Anyway, thanks for helping me find these, sis.”

His sister Fuyumi just smiled. “Of course, Natsuo. Anything else I can do to help? Could I make you some tea?”

Natsuo waved off the offer. “Thanks, but I really want to be out of here before he gets back.”

Almost on cue, he heard the front door of the house slide open. So much for that idea, he’d just have to push past him as quickly as possible. Natsuo grabbed his clothes and stormed his way to the main exit, where sure enough, Endeavor was there. “Hello, Natsuo.”

Despite it having been months since Natsuo had been back to the house, he didn’t seem at all surprised to see him. Which meant that… “You told him I was coming.”

Natsuo heard Fuyumi hurrying behind him, but he didn’t turn to face her. Still, she understood exactly what he meant. “I’m sorry, Natsuo, but I knew you wouldn’t talk to him otherwise.”

That made Natsuo turn. “Of course I didn’t! After everything he’s done-”

Fuyumi cut him off with a rare demonstration of spine. “He wants to make it right!”

Endeavor still hadn’t said anything to defend, giving some truth to Fuyumi’s words, but Natsuo knew better. “No he doesn’t. It’s just, with the Hero Top Ten, and his formal induction as the Number One Hero, already has everything else he wants, everything he hurt us for, so now he wants us to help bleach his conscience too. But I say that he can’t get forgiveness for his sins while he still has everything for which he committed them.” Natsuo turned back to face Endeavor. “If you really want forgiveness, prove it.” Then he pushed past him and left the house, ignoring Fuyumi’s attempts to call him back in.

--

The Hero and Support Courses didn’t leave much room for fun, so Melissa proposed that they get together to have a girls’ night sleepover. Shoko and Uraraka were hosting it, since Hatsume claimed she wouldn’t be able to make her room ready for guests without, in her words, ‘aborting’ several in-progress babies. So, it was the four of them, hanging out together, spread out around the floor of Shoko and Uraraka’s room.

“You know, Todoroki, your hair’s really been growing out.” Shoko ran a hand through her at Uraraka’s words. She hadn’t really put much thought into it, mostly missing it since it had been growing gradually, but her classmate was right. Her two-toned hair, usually kept above her shoulders, was starting to creep down her back.

“I guess you’re right. I’ll probably have to get it cut soon.” Shoko paused. “Actually… I’ve never had long hair before. Endeavor never let me.” Shoko surprised herself by saying that last part out loud. But then again, she was among people who already knew about Endeavor, who she trusted with her past. “So since I’m not under his control anymore, I think I’ll let it grow out. See what it’s like.”

“Yes!” Uraraka seemed excited at the idea. “I’m sure it’ll look great grown out!”

“Although,” Melissa added, “If it gets much longer, you’ll need to start worrying about it getting in your face, which won’t be great for Hero training.” Shoko was already aware of that. It was why Endeavor hadn’t let her grow it out before. Melissa’s solution was different, however.

“Do you know how to braid hair?” Shoko shook her head. “I figured. Well, a Girls’ Night should be the perfect time to help you practice!” Melissa moved herself in front of Shoko, sitting down with her back to her. “If you keep growing your hair out, it’ll probably end up closest to mine. And obviously braiding your own hair is going to a lot different than braiding someone else’s, but we can still try out some different styles, and see what you might want to use for yourself.”

Shoko’s first attempt was, in her estimation, terrible, and her second and third weren’t much better, but her friends remained supportive throughout her efforts. Uraraka even pointed out that, once she had this skill down, she’d be able to make some truly beautiful braids with her hair, which wasn’t an adjective Shoko had ever considered applying to herself before. It was one of the most fun experiences Shoko had had, and the fact that she was learning such a useful skill was a nice plus. Without her new friends, she might never have learned how to braid her hair. After all, who else would’ve taught her? Oh. Shoko’s hands in Melissa’s hands stilled, which her friend quickly recognized. “Shoko? What’s up?”

Shoko didn’t want to bring down the mood, but once she had the thought, she needed to let it out. “I had a session with Hound Dog today. He thinks I should visit my mother.”

Sure enough, everyone’s expressions shifted to concern, with Uraraka letting out a small gasp. “Oh, that’s…”

Melissa turned around to face her. “Your mom who poured boiling water on your face?! Why would he want you to go back to that?”

Shoko pulled her arms back towards herself as Melissa turned around, no longer sure what to do with her hands. “Because he thinks that she’s why I have trouble with my fire. That she’s the one who, in my mind, connects my fire with Endeavor. And that actually seeing her, and talking to her, might help me move past it. And I think... I think he might be right.”

Uraraka reassuringly put a hand on Shoko’s shoulder. “That’s wonderful! But, I know you’re probably nervous about seeing her again. And while I won’t pretend to know your parents, I do know my parents, and everything I know about them tells me that she would want nothing more than to see you, and make things right, and that, when you see her again, she’ll be so proud of who you've become.”

Melissa seemed unconvinced. “But she hurt Shoko. She could’ve killed Shoko! She can’t just…” Melissa suddenly choked up, her sentence hanging unfinished in the air.

It took Shoko a moment to realize that Melissa’s comment might not have been about her. “Melissa, did something happen with your father?”

“No.” Melissa wiped a few rebellious tears out of her eyes. “Not really. He’s just been trying to get in touch with me since I got to U.A. But I’d be happy never seeing his face again.” She let out a sigh. “But don’t let my family issues stop you. If you think seeing her will help you, then I’m happy for you.”

Shoko clenched her fists nervously. “I think it will.” She hoped it would.

--

Stuck in the hideout of the League of Villians, Dabi was starting to get bored. He had been using his time well, starting some schemes for the League of Villains, but none of them had taken off like he had hoped. Even after the Doctor had injected several extra Quirks into him, Spinner had gotten caught almost immediately, and the Shie Hassaikai were being way too slow for his liking. Which left Dabi with nothing to do but plan for a vague future vengeance.

The television droned on in the background, some inane news segment about the state of Heroes, but then something about it caught his attention. The Top Ten Hero Presentation was coming up soon. The old bastard was going to be officially declared Number One.

That gave Dabi an excellent idea on how to cure his boredom. He would ruin Endeavor’s special day.

Chapter Text

This Hero meeting was a smaller one, involving only the heads of the agencies involved, no sidekicks or interns. The topic was also very simple. Eri had been found. All that was left was to save her.

With that news shared, and a date set for the raid on the Shie Hassaikai, the meeting was adjourned. Sir Nighteye made a point to speak to each of the Heroes involved individually, thanking them for their assistance in the investigation locating Eri. Eventually, he made his way to Takagi Ken, better known as Rock Lock. “Thank you for your assistance looking for Eri. But now that she’s been found, I understand if you won’t be able to assist with the raid, especially since it will be far from your usual city.”

So that was why he was making sure to catch everyone on their way out, he wanted to give them an out without anyone else noticing to judge. Takagi appreciated the honesty, but he knew he couldn’t accept it. “Don’t worry, I’ll be there. I know large-scale confrontations like this aren’t exactly my style, but, well… I have a kid at home too. I’m not about to leave this unfinished.”

Sir Nighteye nodded appreciatively. “I am happy to hear it. Now, what of your student? I know you voiced some concerns over their presence on this mission.” When Takagi hesitated, Sir Nighteye continued. “I am simply hoping to have as accurate an estimate of our forces as possible.”

Takagi sighed. “I’d like to keep her out of this. Because it’s dangerous. And while we may be doing this to save a child, she’s still a kid too. But… I know we could use all the help we can get. She’ll be there, but you had better do everything you can to make sure all the kids on this mission come out of it alright.”

--

Even after his many run-ins with villains, this was the first time that Izuku had actually known about the confrontation in advance. So the anticipation, the adrenaline, the nervous energy as he tried to prepare for every possibility and imagined every way things could go wrong, it was all new to him. He didn’t know what to do with it, so he just told himself that it would be okay, that they would save Eri this time, over and over again, like a mantra.

The Heroes gathered around the Shie Hassaikai’s hideout as the time for the raid arrived, and an officer approached the front entrance, reading out a warrant and giving the yakuza a brief chance to come quietly.

They didn’t take it, of course, and everything descended immediately into chaos. A giant villain burst through the wall and started scattering the Heroes, with a swarm of thugs backing him up. By the time the Heroes pushed through that swarm and through to the tunnel complex that made up the majority of the base, their numbers were reduced to just the Nighteye Agency, Rock Lock agency, and Aizawa-sensei, less than half of their starting forces. But they couldn’t afford to wait around for everyone else to catch up. The Heroes had no idea how many exits these tunnels had, or where they all ended up, so if Overhaul managed to get Eri and escape through one of them, they would lose her, possibly forever. They needed to push through before he had that chance.

But as the Heroes pushed through the base towards where they knew Eri was being held, they turned a corner to find a wall that was on their map. Sir Nighteye was the first to speak. “This… this shouldn’t be here. I saw the path, and this wasn’t here.”

“Let me check it out.” Togata approached the wall and stuck his head through before pulling back towards them. “The wall’s pretty thin, and the path continues normally past it. Overhaul must’ve formed it to slow us down. I’ll keep going, and you can catch up.”

“Lemillion, wait!” Sir Nighteye tried to slow his student down, but Togata ran through the wall and hurried forward regardless. Izuku understand Sir Nighteye’s hesitation, even with Togata’s skills, it would be dangerous for him to go alone, but more than that, he shared Togata’s urgency. They had to save Eri. They had too.

Fortunately, Togata wouldn’t be alone. “Don’t worry, I brought something that should work for this.” Izuku hurried toward the wall and began to set something up.

Rock Lock glanced towards him skeptically. “Is that… a breaching charge? Why do you have that?”

“I don’t normally, and I don’t plan to add it to my usual kit, but for a raid against a villain who can do this,” Izuku gestured to the suddenly constructed wall, “it seemed prudent.” Izuku finished setting up his ‘Ka-charge’ and took a few steps back. “Alright, now everyone stand back, and we’ll be right through.” And then, under his breath, Izuku added “We’re coming, Eri.”

--

As the base shook under the impending Hero invasion, it only took one look between Koroki and Toga. “Wanna cause some chaos?”

Toga cackled. “Of course I do!”

Since Koroki’s Quirk didn’t work nearly as well in groups, they split up. Toga ran towards the chaos, towards the Heroes, but Koroki picked a different target. Eri.

One of the Eight Bullets was guarding it as he arrived. “Good of you to join us, Mustard. Once the Boss get’s here, we’ll-” A single bullet ended him before he even realized Koroki wasn’t on his side, and Koroki turned his attention to the locked door to Eri’s room. It had a passcode, that he didn’t know, but there had to be some way he could bypass it.

Before he could, however, he heard footsteps behind him. “So, a traitor then?” That was all the warning Koroki got before a surge of spikes shot across the floor, passing through where he had been standing a moment before and impaling the door behind him.

Turning toward the source of the spikes, Koroki was unsurprised to find Overhaul himself facing him down. Koroki immediately activated his Quirk, sending a column of gas down the corridor to engulf the yakuza leader. Overhaul’s Quirk was powerful, frighteningly so, but his fancy bird mask didn’t actually provide enough protection to stop Koroki’s Quirk, so all Koroki had to do was survive until he dropped dead from it.

Sure enough, Overhaul didn’t even have time to send out another attack before he doubled over coughing and wheezing from the poison gas. But before Koroki could celebrate, Overhaul placed a hand to his own chest, and suddenly his coughing stopped. He stood back up to his full height and began slowly and effortfully walking toward Koroki.

It took Koroki a moment to realize how Overhaul was countering his Quirk, but when he did, his eyes widened in disbelief. Overhaul was using his Quirk to take apart the poison in his lungs, rendering it safe to breathe even as Koroki pumped his lungs full of it. Koroki switched tactics, drawing his gun once more and unloading into the yakuza leader, but the bullets did little more than inconvenience him, the bullet holes healing almost instantly as he continued his slow advance toward Koroki. Koroki backed up nervously as he kept firing, kept trying, until finally, he heard his gun click as the entire magazine was spent.

Then Overhaul, unharmed from the entire magazine emptied into him, took his free hand and pressed it against the side of the wall. A rumbling in the ceiling of the tunnel was all the warning Koroki received before the entire thing collapsed onto him, burying him in the rubble.

Even from underneath the rubble, Koroki could hear Overhaul's taunting. "If you’re still conscious under there, be glad I don’t have the time to properly finish you off. It would be most painful.”

Chapter Text

Suneater could barely stand, but it was okay, because he had done what he needed to do. The yakuza thugs he had stayed behind to defeat were unconscious and restrained at his feet, and wouldn’t be able to interfere with the rescue any more. It had been a hard fight, more than what Suneater would’ve trusted himself to beat on most days, but he had pulled through, because he couldn’t afford to fail. Because Mirio was counting on him, the Hero Lemillion was counting on him. He would save the day, without question, and all Suneater had to do was support him.

--

Mirio could feel the weight of the mission pushing down on him as he sprinted through the yakuza base, in the direction he hoped Chisaki had taken. Various members of the yakuza tried to stop him, but Permeation meant that there wasn’t much they could do to slow him down, and the walls Chisaki had put up to slow pursuit were much more of an obstacle for them than for Mirio. He felt bad leaving the yakuza members there for other Heroes to deal with, but he had bigger priorities. He couldn’t let Chisaki escape with Eri. Not on his life.

But there was still hope, because as Mirio turned a corner, he caught his first glimpse of Chisaki, flanked by a yakuza member dressed like a plague doctor. And in Chisaki’s arms was Eri.

Given that Mirio was prioritizing speed over stealth, Chisaki heard him coming, and created another wall to try and slow him down. All that accomplished, however, was giving Mirio a smokescreen as he phased through it and decked Chisaki in the face. The punch sent Chisaki straight to the floor, and caused Eri to tumble out of his arms. Togata sent a punch at the other yakuza before he could react, and then scooped Eri up into his arms, moving her away from the two villains. “Don’t worry, Eri. I’m not letting you go this time. We will save you, I promise.” Despite his comforting words, Mirio recognized that he was in something of a tight spot. The wall in the direction he came from meant that he couldn’t just take Eri and go, and he wouldn’t be able to effectively use Permeation with her in his arms. Choosing the lesser of two evils, Mirio set Eri down, keeping himself between her and the yakuza. “I just need to deal with these two first.”

The plague doctor had pulled a gun, and fired a bullet at Togata, but it passed harmlessly through him as he activated his Quirk. Then he phased into the floor, popping back out in just the right spot to gut punch the plague doctor. Then Mirio pressed his advantage, laying into the yakuza member until he was unconscious. Chisaki was on him as soon as he did, but his swipe passed harmlessly through Mirio’s chest as he pivoted to punch Chisaki in the face again. Chisaki staggered back before bringing his hand to the floor, sending a wave of spikes in Mirio’s direction, but Mirio simply phased through the floor again, popping out behind Chisaki to continue his assault.

No matter what Chisaki tried, Sir Nighteye had trained Mirio too well for anything to catch him. And while Chisaki was tough, and stubborn, and absolutely refused to go down easy, Mirio was stubborn too, and he could tell that Chisaki was starting to falter against Mirio’s assault. Just a little longer, and it would be over.

But that was when Mirio heard a groan next to him. The plague doctor wasn’t quite as unconscious as Mirio had assumed. And while he didn’t have enough strength to stand, he did have enough to move his arm, and aim his pistol. He had enough strength left for one more shot. And while that shot wouldn’t do anything against Mirio, he wasn’t aiming at Mirio. He was aiming at Eri.

At first, Mirio thought it was a bluff. To the yakuza, Eri was a valuable resource. Surely he wouldn’t try to kill her? But then, he didn’t know the full extent of Chisaki’s Quirk. He could potentially bring Eri back from the dead, which was a luxury that they didn’t have. And who was to say that the yakuza wouldn’t be willing to kill her out of spite, to ensure that, if they couldn’t have her, no one could.

Mirio processed all of that within a split second, so as the yakuza pulled the trigger, he knew what he had to do. He tackled Eri out of the way, shielding her with his body as he felt the bullet impact his back.

It didn’t hurt as much as he had expected, so Mirio rose back up to his feet, ready to continue the fight. That had been close, but it would take more than a bullet to stop him from fulfilling his promise to Eri, to Midoriya, to himself.

Chisaki smirked beneath his mask, as though that one shot suddenly made Mirio vulnerable, and sent another wave of spikes in Mirio’s direction. Mirio activated, his Quirk, ready to phase back into the floor and continue the fight… but his Quirk didn’t respond.

Pain wasn’t a new feeling for Mirio. He was a Hero Student, after all, so he had taken some pretty serious hits while he was still getting the hang of his powers. But ever since Sir Nighteye, ever since he truly mastered his Quirk, he had started to forget what it felt like. He felt it now, as Chisaki’s spikes impaled him. It was overwhelming, all-consuming. He struggled to stay conscious, and would’ve collapsed if the spikes didn’t hold him in place upright. It might’ve been the pain making it hard to think, but the only thing on his mind was “H-How?”

Chisaki laughed cruelly, now that his victory was in sight. “Quirk-Erasing bullets, remember?” Ah. That would do it. That was that, then. Mirio had failed. Everyone else would have to make up for it.

Chisaki wasn’t quite done gloating, however. “And I believe that the bullet you were hit with is the new, permanent variety. So even if you do survive this, your Quirk is gone for good, stolen from you by the Quirk of the very person you were trying to save.” That managed to break through Mirio’s haze. Mirio loved his Quirk, needed his Quirk, had spent countless hours improving his Quirk, how could it just be gone? He couldn’t… he couldn’t… “But don’t worry. You won’t be surviving this.”

Chisaki slowly moved towards Mirio, relishing his power. “You see, this is what I hate about Quirks. You charged in here, so sure you would be able to save Eri, because of your Quirk. Because you thought you were special. Because your Quirk gave you all of these stupid, foolish dreams. Well, let me bring you back down to reality.”

It might have been delirium setting in, but Mirio laughed at that, even as it hurt to laugh. “You think people need Quirks to dream?” Chisaki seemed momentarily taken aback by Mirio laughing in the face of death. “Boy, is there someone you need to meet.”

Almost as if on cue, the false wall behind Togata detonated.

Chapter Text

Interference from the yakuza didn’t end once the Heroes got underground. One of the villains had a Quirk that let him re-shape the terrain, and he used it to scatter the remaining Heroes in a faux earthquake. When the dust settled, Ochako was alone in one of the tunnels. She was about to call out, for Dekiru, or Rock Lock, or anyone, but she realized that she was just as likely to call villains to her position as fellow Heroes. Besides, she needed to focus on the mission, saving Eri, and trust her teammates to take care of themselves.

But when she heard the sound of fighting, she moved towards it without thinking, because if someone within her reach needed her help, she wasn’t about to abandon them. Turning a corner, she saw that her worries were unfounded, as Rock Lock was there, standing over… another Rock Lock, this one with a stab wound in his chest.

The standing Rock Lock turned to her as she approached. “Oh, hey. This one shapeshifted into me, but don’t worry, I’ve got it handled. You go on ahead.”

Ochako wanted to trust him, obviously, but there were two Rock Locks, so she needed some way to tell which one was real. And since knives didn’t feel like her mentor’s style, she was leaning toward one in particular.

Sure enough, perhaps recognizing that Ochako wasn’t falling for their tricks, the imposter lunged towards her with a stab of their knife, but Ochako was ready. Batting the knife aside, she swung for them with an open palm to try and activate her Quirk, only for the imposter to jump back out of range.

Then they cocked their head at her. “Wait, I remember you.” The disguise melted off of them to reveal the girl from the League of Villains who Ochako had fought at the summer camp attack, Toga or something like that. “You’re the girl I fought before.” She gave a pout. “You were no fun then, and you seem even less fun now.” She turned to go, but glanced back at Ochako one more time. “He could probably use your help.”

Instinctively, Ochako turned towards Rock Lock, narrowly ducking the knife that the villain threw at her head. Toga laughed as Ochako turned back to face her. “Can’t blame a girl for trying!” Then she actually turned and ran.

Ochako let her go, because she was right: Rock Lock needed help. Ochako took out her medical supplies and started bandaging the wound, eventually hearing a groan from Rock Lock. “Thanks for the save, kid.”

Ochako didn’t look up from her work. “Of course. Are you okay?”

“I don’t think she hit anything vital, so it’s mostly my pride that’s injured.” He let out a dry laugh at his own comment. “Well, I think I can handle myself from here. You should keep moving.”

“What? I can’t just leave you!”

“I’ll make my way back towards the entrance, look for other heroes, and stay safe. I’m clearly out of the fight, but you aren’t. And I hate to say this, but we need as many hands on deck as we can. So go. For Eri.”

That final appeal got through to Ochako. “Alright. Just, stay safe.”

She stood to go, but Rock Lock grabbed her arm to stop her. “Remember, we’re here to save a kid, but you’re still a kid too. If you die, this isn’t a victory for the Heroes. Understood, Uravity?”

She nodded. “Got it. I’ll be careful.”

Rock Lock released her arm. “You better.”

Then Ochako turned and ran deeper into the tunnels. She had gotten so turned around that there was no way to tell if this was even the right way, but with no way to orient herself, she just had to pick a direction and trust that it wouldn’t be in vain.

Eventually, she ran into a cave-in of one of the tunnels, not like the false walls that Overhaul had put up before, but like the ceiling had just collapsed. It would take time to clear it, time Ochako wasn’t sure she had, but her Quirk made her the perfect person to do it.

But as she cleared out the rubble, she found something unexpected. There had been another member of the League of Villains trapped underneath the cave-in, the one responsible for the gas cloud, Mustard. Ochako took a step back warily as he rose to his, only for his leg to buckle. It seemed that, while the rubble had fallen in such a way as to not completely crush, he hadn’t made it out unscathed. Despite having to support himself against a wall, the villain did his best to look intimidating. “Don’t worry, Hero. I have bigger priorities than fighting you.”

Ochako could tell that he was all bluster, especially as his mask had broken off to reveal just how young he is, but she wasn’t here to fight him either. “Like what?”

“Paying Overhaul back for dropping a roof on me, for starters.” He laughed. “Although, to be fair, I betrayed him first.”

Ochako stared past him, down the now cleared hallway. “Overhaul was here?”

“Yeah, he must’ve gone that way.”

“I see. Well, thanks for the info.” Ochako pushed past the villain entirely and hurried down the tunnel. If Mustard was genuine about wanting to fight Overhaul, she probably could’ve taken him with her, but she wasn’t sure if she wanted to trust him that far. Still she had to be grateful to him. She now had a lead on Overhaul. She was going the right way. Now she just had to get to him before he could hurt anyone.

--

As the dust from his Ka-Charge settled, Izuku took a moment to survey the scene in front of him. He had found Overhaul, who was already turning to face the latecomer. It looked like Togata had found him first, but had somehow lost the fight, standing impaled and half-conscious on some protruding spikes. It didn’t give Izuku much hope for his own chances in the fight, but that didn’t matter. Because he saw Eri, and he had made a promise to save her, so he would face any odds to keep her safe.

Izuku entered a fighting stance as Overhaul let out a long sigh. “Another Hero slips through my net? Really, you can’t find good help these days. So, Hero, are you here to save the day? Please make this quick, I still have to escape after I've killed you.”

Chapter Text

Togata turned toward Izuku, even that little movement clearly causing him pain. “Dekiru, you need to go. Take Eri and run. I’ll… I’ll keep him busy.”

Izuku kept his eyes locked on Overhaul. “If I leave you, you’ll die.”

That didn’t give Togata pause. “Focus on… on the mission.”

Overhaul smirked. “You really should listen to him. If you try to fight me all by yourself, you’ll both die. Of course, he’s not really in a position to ‘keep me busy’ so I’m not sure what options you have.”

Izuku didn’t respond, instead subtly pulling out a pair of Midnight Marbles and throwing them at the villain. A lucky hit, and he might be able to end this fight quickly.

This wasn’t that hit, as Overhaul placed a hand to the ground, creating a wall against which the marbles burst harmlessly. Then the wall grew spikes, and hurtled straight for Izuku, forcing him to narrowly dodge out of the way.

The moment Izuku got clear, he threw another volley of marbles, and these ones struck true, causing Overhaul to double over in coughing. But before Izuku could celebrate, Overhaul placed a hand to his chest, and the coughing suddenly stopped.

It took Izuku a moment to realize what had happened, but when he did, he felt his blood go cold. Overhaul had used his Quirk to de-tox himself, meaning that Izuku couldn’t use his Midnight Marbles to sneak an easy victory. He’d have to win this fight fair and square.

And to do that, the first thing Izuku needed to do was get in close. Overhaul responded with a volley of floor spikes as Izuku tried to close the distance. He was hard pressed to dodge them all, one of the spikes slicing into his leg as he wasn’t entirely successful, but what was important was that he made it. Overhaul had been crouched over to make his attacks, leaving him exposed to Izuku’s direct attack, forcing him onto the defensive. He was quick, however, making it hard for Izuku to land any direct hits. Fortunately, Izuku  was creative, tossing a Present Mic Patch behind the villain, so that when he dodged back from one of Izuku’s swings, he stepped right into it, the blast of sound disorienting him enough for Izuku to land a hit right on his jaw.

Izuku tried to press his advantage, but the moment Overhaul hit the floor, he sent out another wave of spikes, forcing Izuku to dodge back and narrowly weave between them. Then Overhaul went on the offensive, charging Izuku with a swipe. Izuku was forced to put all his effort into dodging, knowing that, with Overhaul’s Quirk, any connected attack would be lethal.

Izuku was doing his best to dodge, but he knew it was only a matter of time before he fatally slipped up. He needed to create an opening and give himself some breathing room. He flicked up another marble, which burst against Overhaul’s face. It wouldn’t take him out of the fight, that had already been established, but Overhaul still needed to take the time to de-tox himself, and that was all the time Izuku needed. He deflected the swing Overhaul made, and went on the offensive, slamming a fist into Overhaul’s gut to knock the wind out of him, and following it up with a hook to his jaw, forcing the villain to stagger back. Izuku followed up his assault, only for Overhaul to bat the third strike aside, Izuku’s gauntlet shattering under Overhaul’s Quirk. It was a much better option than losing the hand, but Izuku still jumped back in a panicked surprise.

Overhaul didn’t chase him, however, instead taking the moment to catch his breath. “I have to commend your effort, if not your wisdom. Do you still think you can beat me?”

Izuku gritted his teeth. “Yes. Because I have to.”

Overhaul let out a long sigh. “Another foolish dreamer. It really is a plague. See, him I understand,” Overhaul gestured toward Togata, who looked to have passed out from the pain. “With a Quirk like his, of course he’d think he was invincible. Of course he would dream. You, however, what even is your Quirk? What inane delusion is fueling your dream?”

Izuku considered bluffing, but decided there wouldn’t be much point in it. “I don’t have a Quirk. My dream is all my own.”

Overhaul paused, clearly surprised by that answer. “Really? I can almost respect that. But no, to dream because your Quirk gives you confidence is already foolish. Dreaming without even that security is simply asinine.” Overhaul placed a hand to the ground, sending out another wave of spikes at Izuku. He started dodging, trying to find another opening to get in close, but none appeared. Overhaul was done playing around with him, and was going to continue his assault until Izuku made a fatal mistake.

It didn’t take long for him to make that mistake, either, tripping over one of the smaller spikes as he dodged out of another’s way, falling off-balance to the ground. Izuku stared at the incoming wave of spikes, knowing he didn’t have enough time to get back up and dodge them. He closed his eyes and braced for impact.

Except, it was a different impact that he felt, coming from the side and scooping him up and out of the way. When Izuku opened his eyes, he was in Ochako’s arms, as she soared out of Overhaul’s reach using the jetpack Hatsume had built for her. “Please stop nearly dying. I cannot take it much longer.”

Izuku smiled to see her. Despite his bravado against Overhaul, he hadn’t really seen a path forward, or a way to save Eri with just his own strength. But now… “You need to get Eri and Lemillion out of here.”

Ochako clearly didn’t like the plan. “And what about you?”

Izuku steeled himself. “Someone needs to keep him busy.”

Ochako opened her mouth to respond, but then closed it, and settled for smacking Izuku on the helmet instead. “The Heroes don’t win unless everyone makes it out, remember? That includes you. I’m not about to let you sacrifice yourself. We’re taking him down together, and then we’re all getting out of this together, got it?”

“Got it.” And, now that Izuku thought about it, Ochako was a perfect match-up against Overhaul. “He needs to touch things to use his Quirk on them, so if you manage to remove his gravity, that should disarm him. Just… be careful. If he touches you first, he’ll kill you.”

Ochako nodded. “Just like when I fought Shigaraki. Got it.”

Izuku was grateful for her apparent calm at the plan. “Good. We'll need to- Wait, Shigaraki? When did you fight him?”

Ochako paused. “Did you not-? No, I guess we never told you. I’ll explain later. For now, let’s deal with this one.”

Izuku glanced back down at Overhaul, who was clearly getting impatient waiting for them to make their next move. “Yeah. Let’s do this.”

Chapter Text

Shota would be the first to admit that he had been sloppy. He had ended up on his own after the yakuza scattered the incoming Heroes, but he had continued to push forward, knowing that he had the best chance against Overhaul of anyone. Unfortunately, he had been ambushed by a group of yakuza grunts, and right when he thought he had dealt with them all, one of them he had thought was already unconscious managed to strike him from behind with his Quirk, slowing his movements down to a crawl. What was worse, this villain seemed to be aware of how Shota’s Quirk worked, grabbing the back of his head and slamming him into the ground without letting him get a good look at his assailant.

Having Shota pinned helplessly, the villain apparently couldn’t resist gloating. “Well, if it isn’t Eraserhead. What a fine catch. You know, the boss was quite interested in your Quirk, before he found a far superior version in Eri, of course. Still, I’m sure he’d love to study you if he had chance.” Shota heard the sound of a knife being drawn. “Unfortunately, with everything descending into chaos around me, I don’t think that’s a risk I can take.”

Shota closed his eyes and braced for the end, but before the blow fell, he heard a gunshot. For a brief moment, he was confused, as he had been sure he had heard the villain draw a knife, not a gun, but as he heard the thump of the villain’s body land beside him, he realized that he wasn’t the one who had been hit. Shota rose slowly, the effects of the Villain’s Quirk having not faded, and turned to look at his savior, excepting to see a cop but being met instead by a silhouette withing a cloud of purple gas. He recognized the Quirk instantly. It was the villain Mustard, from the League of Villains. Or rather, Shirakumo Koroki. “You’re lucky we have a common enemy today, Hero, or else my next bullet would be for you.”

Despite the bravado, Shota could hear Shirakumo’s pained breathing. It seemed neither of them were in a good state for a fight. Still, Shota knew Nemuri would never forgive him if he didn’t make an effort to stop Shirakumo from leaving. He might not forgive himself either. “Wait.”

Shirakumo did, though it was clearly more from idle curiosity than anything else. “What?”

Shota slowly rose to his feet, forcing out each word through the lingering effects of the yakuza member’s Quirk. “Just, wait. Whatever you’ve… done, we can… talk this out. You’re just… a kid. You don’t have to… dig yourself deeper. Just, wait.”

Shirakumo gave a mocking laugh. “Oh? Has the teacher gone soft just because I’m a kid? Don’t worry, I’m not a hapless, misguided youth for you to save. I know what I’m doing, and it’s exactly what I want to do.”

He turned away again, and as much as Shota tried to follow, the yakuza member’s Quirk made catching up to him an impossibility, so he was forced to settle for calling feebly after. “No! Shirakumo!”

--

Izuku had been ready to sacrifice himself to save Eri. He had been ready to sacrifice himself just to buy the rest of the Heroes a little more time. But now, he had backup, and he had a plan, and he had an actual way to win.

Izuku had Ochako drop him off back down on the ground before she shot back up into the sky. Her Quirk would be instrumental in stopping Overhaul, so he just needed to keep Overhaul busy. Overhaul seemed willing to be distracted, wasting no time in sending another wave of spikes at Izuku. Once again, it took all of Izuku’s effort and focus to weave between the spikes, but this time, he knew he didn’t need to keep it up forever. Sure enough, the assault stopped as Ochako closed in on Overhaul, forcing him to put up a wall to block her, covering it in spikes for good measure. Ochako narrowly managed to avoid flying directly into it, a pair of fans on her palms, designed by Melissa, helping her manage the tight turn.

Overhaul had managed to avoid the first attempt, but the plan was still a solid one, as Ochako only needed to get lucky once. And with Overhaul’s attention on her, Izuku took the opportunity to close the distance once more, trying to take all of his attention away from her, managing to get in a solid hit on Overhaul’s gut before his attention was fully shifted back to him. Izuku prepared to press his assault, but rather than fight him conventionally, Ovehaul allowed himself to fall backwards, tapping his hand to the ground to shoot up a massive spike, forcing Izuku to step back to avoid getting impaled. Then he turned smoothly to meet Ochako’s approach, a swipe of his arm forcing her to abort her attack to avoid getting hit.

But, Overhaul had left himself open for a single moment, and that was all Izuku needed, coming up behind him and pinning him with one hand grabbing his wrist, and the other elbow pressed into his back. Overhaul tried to reach Izuku with his free arm, but couldn’t quite reach. This was just the opening Izuku had needed. “Uravity, now!”

But as Ochako flew down, ready to immobilize Overhaul, the villain pressed a hand to his chest, and suddenly the arm that Izuku was holding onto exploded into viscera. Izuku took a step back to shock, so caught off guard by the sudden brutality that he didn’t realize Overhaul had regrown the arm until it closed over his face. Izuku’s helmet shattered around him, and the only reason his head wasn’t the next thing to go was because Overhaul had needed to turn his attention back to Ochako, creating a full concrete cocoon around himself to keep her from catching him.

Then the cocoon shattered, flying off in all directions, and Izuku, still reeling from his brush with death, was too slow to dodge, the impact sending him sprawling onto the floor. He vaguely heard Ochako shout “Dekiru!” and the cry of alarm helped bring him back into the fight.

Unfortunately, it seemed that Overhaul had caught her concern as well, and he gave a smirk, placing a hand to the ground and sending another volley of spikes at Izuku. He was leaving himself wide open to an attack from Ochako, but she wasn’t about to make use of that opening. Not when Izuku was clearly not going to be able to dodge the attack coming for him. She shot towards him with all the speed she could muster, pushing Hatsume and Melissa’s inventions to their limits, and it nearly wasn’t enough. Because while she was narrowly able to push Izuku out of the way, she was unable to get clear herself, letting out a cry of pain as a number of the spikes sliced into her, knocking her weightlessly into the wall.

Ochako dropped to the ground, releasing her Quirk on herself in order to catch her breath. “I’m okay,” she reassured Izuku, and while her cuts seemed to be mostly superficial, he could tell the hit had taken a lot out of her, and he wasn’t doing much better.

Izuku glanced back at Overhaul, who was gloating over them. “An impressive showing, heroes, but I’ve told you already. You can’t win.”

Izuku ignored him, slowly rising back to his feet. He kept his eyes on his opponent, but spoke back to Ochako. “Ready, Uravity?”

He heard Ochako once again remove her gravity behind him. “Ready.” The fight was not going well for them, and the longer it went on, the worse off they were going to be, but their goal hadn’t changed. They just needed to get through his defenses once. And they would keep fighting for as long as it took to do it.