Izuku was the first quirkless student at UA, ever. There had never been any, not even in Support, Business, or General. Standing in front of the massive door to Class 1-H wasn't just intimidating, it was downright frightening. He felt almost paralyzed yet students from other classes bustled in the hall around him. He couldn't dawdle any longer without bringing attention to himself. Taking a deep breath, he walked in.

The interior of the classroom was shockingly normal. A second glance at the door figured its size was intended for those with mutation-type quirks, students and teachers alike. A few students were already milling about, sitting in desks or chatting in small groups. Izuku ducked his head and claimed a seat near the window.

After a few furtive glances around, Izuku pulled out one of his idea notebooks. Every design that he had already made was torn out so that if the notebook was found in connection to him, there would be no link from Midoriya Izuku to Nexus. Thinking back to his last villain encounter and subsequent escape from custody, Izuku was determined to design a long distance weapon that would work with his fighting style. He had no way to deal with villains capable of flight or other quirks that put them in the air. Going down this train of thought, Izuku quickly found himself in what his mother referred to as 'drafting mode'. One hand brought up to his chin as he muttered softly and the other to the notebook, recording the more important bits.

Izuku was just pondering if he could get away with something similar to the underground hero Eraserhead's capture weapon when someone sat heavily down in the desk in front of him. He looked up just as they slammed their hands on his desk. He couldn't even get a word out before the strange girl flipped his notebook around and studied the page he was on.

Quickly, he grabbed it and slammed it shut, "Can I help you?"

She met his gaze and her eyes were bright yellow with a black cross. They were shining with excitement, "Those designs looked really cool but they should be more flashy!"

"Uh… Thanks?" He clutched his notebook to his chest. Izuku was torn because on one hand, someone besides his mother had complimented his designs. On the other, the idea notebook was something precious and if looked through with a critical enough eye, someone could connect the dots.

She seemed unfazed and stuck out her hand so fast and so far into Izuku's face that he scooted his chair back a good foot in reaction. "Hatsume Mei." She said, "Pleasure."

He looked down at her hand and then back up to her. A moment passed but her hand didn't drop. Inwardly sighing, Izuku took it and gave it one firm shake, "Midoriya Izuku. The pleasure is all mine."

Hatsume opened her mouth to say something, but was cut off as everyone abruptly scrambled to find their seats. At the front of the classroom, Pro Hero Power Loader stood, calming gazing across his class. An old, familiar part of Izuku wanted to squeal and fanboy. As far as he knew, Power Loader was a truly good hero, but that perception could be simply because Izuku had not yet found the time to research the hero. He hoped that getting to know him as Power Loader-sensei would not change that perception.


Izuku wanted to be invested in class, but English was a language he was already fluent in. So instead, he spent his time gazing out the window. He didn't want to attempt to design with Hatsume sitting directly in front of him, so he gazed. A cluster of students caught his eye and at first he figured it was a second or third year class, already getting into the swing of things. Then a student with an unforgettable shock of ash blonde hair stepped up. It was class 1-A then.

The teacher, who Izuku identified as Eraserhead, signaled to Bakugou who then threw something in his hands with an explosive force. Izuku's skin crawled uncomfortably when he saw the sparks of Bakugou's explosions and he almost turned away. Until another student caught his eye.

His hair was a perfect split of red and white. His face wasn't turned towards the window, but Izuku doubted there was anyone on the planet who had that hair besides Shouto. Izuku hadn't seen him in years. He tried to catch glimpses or mentions of him on the news, but Endeavor kept his lips shut about his family. To many, it was a surprise that he had a wife, let alone four children. He had resigned himself to never seeing Shouto again but there he was, just outside the window. A student at the same school as Izuku.

His entire life, Izuku had been a nerd. A quirkless, bullied nerd. He never wanted class to end because that just meant it was time to get chased. Today, however, the clock could not be any slower and more agonizing. He had to catch Shouto before he left school. To see how he was doing, to talk to him.

His leg bounced underneath his desk and he desperately wished for something to occupy his hands with. Dismissal was just within a few minutes and then Izuku would bolt to find Shouto.

"Okay." Power Loader-sensei said from the front of the class, "Class dismissed, but if Midoriya would stay behind for a second, I would like to talk to him."

Izuku wanted to just leave him. But Power Loader caught his eye and smiled at him as he shoved his notebooks in his bag. He affected his best trademark sunny smile and approached his teacher, who waited until the other students filed out to begin speaking.

"I just wanted to let you know, Midoriya, that the school is aware of your unique situation and will do anything to accommodate it. You're being excused from Physical Education but your time during that period is to be used productively. As a Support student, you will be allowed to use the Development Studio as long as you are supervised by another teacher. There is also a unisex bathroom on each floor and as well as one in Recovery Girl's office. If you have any questions or concerns, feel free to let another staff member or I know."

Power Loader put a heavy hand on Izuku's shoulder in which he probably intended to be a comforting or supportive gesture. It just made him jump though. Izuku fought to keep his smile on his face, "Thank you, sensei. I will keep that in mind! Is there anything else?"

He wanted to scream when Power Loader actually put a thoughtful hand to his face for a moment. "Hmm…" He hummed, "Can't think of anything. Have a nice day, Midoriya."

Izuku nodded and walked out of the room only to start up a brisk pace once in the hallways. There were less students around which made it easier to navigate his way to the exit. Just as he took one step outside the main building, he saw a two-toned head duck it's way into a dark car. Just his luck.

Izuku really could not wait to dig up some solid dirt on Endeavor so he could expose him. There were other heroes he had information on, but he had nothing on the Number Two besides his less than stellar attitude and Shouto's verbal account when they were 12. Izuku knew his best bet was the missing Todoroki child that the world seemed to not know about. It really would be easier if he knew the man's name, but, alas, Endeavor kept his children's given names private. He didn't even know what the Todoroki brother looked like, so that didn't help.

With all his digging though, Izuku had found information on Shouto's mother. Using some unsavory methods, he had discovered she had been hospitalized, classified as a "danger to herself and/or others". Yet no matter how hard he digged, there were no updates on her condition since her initial admission yet she had not yet been released. Izuku sent her anonymous flowers from time to time but he had no idea if she ever received them.

In all the blur of studying for the entrance exams - as well as being Nexus - Izuku had not sent Todoroki Rei flowers in a while. He started on his path home, mentally counting out the change in his wallet to see if he had enough money for a bouquet and postage. He was mentally debating the merits of two different types of flowers when he ran head on into something very solid.

Izuku wasn't 12 anymore, so he didn't fall down on his ass. He did stumble back though and quickly bowed, firing off an apology for being so airheaded.

"It's no problem, man." the person said and when Izuku straightened, he was greeted by a very large amount of bright red hair.

He was only distracted for a moment until the redhead started talking again, "Hey, you're a UA student, right?"

"Ah! Yes!" Izuku replied, noting his uniform to be the same.

The redhead snorted, "No need to be so stiff, dude. We're all good here. I'm Kirishima Eijirou, first year Heroics student, class 1-A. You?"

1-A meant the same class as Bakugou and Shouto. "Midoriya Izuku. I'm in Support, 1-H." Izuku said.

Kirishima seemed to light up, "Oh that's really cool! There's been a rumor going around that there was a quirkless kid admitted this year and apparently they're in the Support department but no one will confirm anything."

He froze for a moment before forcing himself to relax, "Oh really? Maybe they're in my class?"

"Maybe!" Kirishima said, smiling, "They gotta be so cool then. It's manly as hell to be quirkless and still go for a field with heroes. I'd think I'd quit if I was them, but that just proves how brave they must be!"

Izuku searched Kirishima's eyes for anything, but only found unbridled admiration and honesty. He opened his mouth to say something when Kirishima's phone buzzed loudly. He smiled sheepishly as he answered the call, speaking in hushed tones to the person on the other line. The call didn't even last for a minute before Kirishima was looking at him with an apology on his lips, "Hey, sorry, I gotta go. But it was nice meeting you, Midoriya!"

Kirishima waved as he jogged in the other direction. Izuku allowed himself a small wave back.


Izuku tried to catch Shouto everyday at school, but he's barely managed a glimpse of him around the hallways. He tried searching for him in the cafeteria, but he wasn't there. He also seemed to just disappear the moment students were dismissed for the day.

Ever since that first day, Hatsume stuck to his side like glue. He really didn't mind it. She was a brilliant inventor and Izuku often tried to sneak in ways to discuss ideas for his vigilante weapons. She was an odd combination of completely oblivious and incredibly observant. Izuku had not once yet participated in their English class, yet she managed to figure out he was fluent. On the other hand, she constantly zipped around at high speeds, not fully realizing that Izuku had issues with breathing due to his binder. She just didn't seem to connect that Izuku not participating in PE meant that he was unable to in some way.

Izuku and Hatsume often sat with each other at lunch, but they hadn't quite settled on a table yet. They rotated between a few but more often than not, they gave up their seats for a larger group. By the end of the first week, there was only one lunch table with more than one open seat. In fact, all the seats but one were empty.

As they approached the table, the other occupant seemed to be irritated and Izuku desperately wished that they weren't irritated at them, but at something else entirely. He just wanted to sit down and have lunch without going through five different tables. Hatsume and him sat across from each other on the other side of the table, giving the other person a wide berth.

Hatsume promptly jumped in to telling him all about the new ideas she had and Izuku had to remind her several times that she actually needed to eat. He kept stealing glances at the other person, somewhat waiting for them to kick the duo out. But they seemed content to just glare at the table while they ate their food.

In the middle of a rant about material science, Izuku looked over and they made eye contact. The other person seemed to bristle but Izuku just raised a hand and waved, a small smile on his face. Hatsume looked between the two and slammed her hands on the table (she seems to make a habit of that), "Are we finally including Mister Loner here?"

The stranger quirked an eyebrow but didn't say anything. Hatsume stuck out her hand, right in his face, "I'm Hatsume Mei, and my buddy is Midoriya Izuku. We're in the Support Department, class 1-H. You are?"

He looked at Hatsume like she had grown a second head. Izuku knew that he was probably just stunned by how forward she can be, so he decided to butt in.

"Hatsume, don't go scaring strangers." He told her, swiping at her still outstretched hand, "He doesn't have to talk to us if he doesn't want to. I would say he could also make us move but I'm not sure there's another table to move to."

The boy turned to Izuku and seemed to size him up. They just looked at one another for a moment before the boy sighed, possibly having found what he was looking for, "Shinsou Hitoshi."

Hatsume lit up and scooted over the seats to sit across from Shinsou. Izuku didn't miss the fact that she left her half-eaten food behind and slid over at well, setting her tray in front of her. Shinsou looked even more confused at this development, "Why exactly are you talking to me?"

Izuku looked at Hatsume for an answer, just as she was doing the same to him. She shrugged so it was left to him, "There are no lunch tables left and… um… Always make allies where you can?"

Shinsou raised an eyebrow again but didn't say anything else. However, Izuku got him to talk a few times before the lunch break was over. He wouldn't mention this to anyone, but he was very proud of that fact.


It was Monday when Izuku finally got his chance. He had arrived to school early, as usual, and was standing in the hallway, a little ways away from the door to Class 1-A. It wasn't even to see if he could talk to Shouto. He actually was there hoping to catch Kirishima, seeing if he could talk to him again. The redhead seemed bubbly in an entirely different manner than Hatsume. Hatsume's brain worked even faster than her mouth and most of the things she said were at least preceded by some thought. Thinking before you speak isn't a bad trait to have, far from it, but it put Izuku just a little on edge. He wanted to trust her, but the fact that she was constantly brainstorming weapons was something akin to a red flag. Perhaps more of a yellow one. Kirishima, from what Izuku gleaned from their short encounter, seemed the brutally honest type, in a friendly way.

Which is what led him standing a few feet from the door to Class 1-A before classes started. He hadn't run into Bakugou yet, which was a good thing. He was getting more and more nervous by the second though, as the chances of that encounter increased. He was just turning around to head to his own classroom when a red and white head turned into the hallway.

He tried to keep his pace slow and even when he walked up to the other boy, no need to frighten him. It has been three years after all.

"Hey, Shouto! What's up?"