BEEP BEEP BEEP

I smacked the top of my alarm clock and crawled out of bed, lazily flopping onto the ground and staring at the ceiling.

It was something of a herculean effort to summon the energy to get up after how rough yesterday was.

It's not that I didn't want to go to UA, I did. Hell, I was looking forward to today's hero training.

It was all the stuff that came before the hero course in the afternoon I wasn't looking forward to.

Regular classes.

Ugh…

When would I need math or cultural studies when I was busy punching villains in the face, or cleaning up the streets?

Oh well. If all the pro heroes who went to UA had to do it, then I shouldn't be complaining.

Getting off the floor, I went to my bathroom and showered, before drying off and getting my school uniform on. Once I had it on, I grabbed my phone, wallet, and keys before heading out of my house and locking the door behind me.

Izuku was waiting for me at the bottom of the steps and we greeted each other before walking to the bus. "Ready for our first real day?" I asked, stifling a yawn.

"Yep!" Izuku responds, in markedly higher spirits this morning than I, "I'm super excited for what the hero course will have to teach us!"

"Man… How are you so chipper right now? It's early."

"I had two cups of coffee before I left home!"

"Of course you did."

Izuku laughed a little bit before we continued on our path, midway towards the station we were joined by Himiko, also dressed and ready for school.

"Hey, you two! Are ya ready?"

Himiko, as usual, was hanging out just a little too close to me. I kind of wanted to get her away, but I figured that'd be rude.

"Yep!" Izuku responds with his trademark smile.

"I will be once we get through the morning. Remember we have to cross the hurdle of standard education classes before we can get back to our hero training."

Himiko sighed heavily, sharing my distaste for it, while Izuku remained optimistic, "It won't be that bad, I'm sure!"

….

"Ughhh."

Izuku groaned as he joined Himiko, Momo, Uraraka, Tenya, and myself at the lunch table.

"I was wrooonggg." The green haired wonder complains, "I didn't know a class taught by Present Mic could be so boring."

That elicited a laugh from Uraraka and me, Momo and Tenya didn't seem to agree though.

"Midoriya, surely it's not that bad! English may be a difficult language but it's an essential part of modern life! Of the fabric of our world!" Tenya, as usual, seemed ready with an impassioned speech for everything.

I swear he'd give an impassioned defense on the necessity of washing your hair twice if someone brought it up.

Momo picked up, "It's really not that hard once you get down to it."

"Easy for you to say." I respond, wielding a piece of sushi in my chopsticks and pointing it at her lazily, the arm propped up against the table, "You're some kind of super-genius. It's like you're Albert Einstein and Stephen Hawking's long-lost brainchild or something."

"I thought you weren't good at history, Okumura?" Tenya ponders, "Those are some old names to be bringing up."

Oh right. Hawking died like two-hundred years ago and Einstein died like 300 years ago, or something like that. "I'm good at a… Very specific period of history. It's all the more recent stuff I don't know anything about."

"Interesting." Momo notes, raising an eyebrow, "Is it some kind of fascination or something with pre-quirk society?"

"Uhm… You could call it that." I laugh nervously, "I watched a lot of documentaries on that stuff when I was younger, helped pass the time. Besides," I decided to throw in something my old-world dad once told me, "My dad always told me that if I'm going to sit around watching television I might as well be getting smarter while doing it."

"A smart man." The creation girl smiles, "He must be proud of you."

"I like to think he'd be." I wasn't able to keep a hint of melancholy out of my voice.

"I don't like that past tense…" Uraraka chimes in, "Is your dad…?"

"Yeah, unfortunately. My mom, too." I know Izuku knew, but the others looked at me with sympathetic eyes, even Himiko, who honestly looked kind of out of place with a look like that.

"Don't worry too much." I wave my hand casually at the looks, "They were heroes and they died heroes, and I've got plenty of money because of them."

"Who was your dad, Aki?" Himiko participates finally, after spending the past few minutes sitting next to me occasionally stealing glances in my direction.

I tried to ignore her nickname for me, "You guys might know him by his hero name. He was Sir Nighteye."

There were responses of recognition from almost the entire table, especially Himiko, who was the first to respond.

"I remember him! Wasn't he All Might's sidekick for a while?"

"Yeah, I think so. That was before I was born, though."

Izuku blinks, "Woah! Yeah, I forgot about that! Does that make All Might like your godfather or something?"

Uraraka giggles while throwing a look at Izuku. Man, it was so obvious how much she was already into him. Izuku was one lucky guy to snag a girl like that so soon, even if he was a bit too dense to notice when someone had feelings for him.

Why did I feel that was ironic of me to say?

Oh well. "I guess so." I respond with a shrug, "Maybe I'll ask him if I get a chance."

Come to think of it, if my father was Sir Nighteye, did All Might know I was the descendent of his sidekick and just not make note of that when he chose me? He must know, the quirk that me and the dad this world gave me had were too similar to each other to just be a coincidence.

I'd need to ask him.

I decided to change the subject before they ended up asking questions I wasn't able to answer, "Sooo… Chemistry sucks, right?"

Everyone looked kind of taken aback at the change of subject, but Himiko seemed happy to oblige me, filling me with a tiny bit of gratitude when she groaned loudly, "Yeah it does! I thought I was done with all that boring stuff when middle school ended. I don't want to learn that stuff! I just want to learn to be a hero!"

Perhaps a bit over-dramatically, she bows her head and takes a melancholic bite out of her bowl of white rice.

"Is it really that hard for you two?" Momo seemed surprised, "Chemistry is an incredibly simple subject when you get down to it."

Himiko humphs, "Easy for you to say, Ms. Atomic Structure! You live and breath stuff like that."

Tenya chimes in, "I hate to agree with such a crass statement but she is right Momo. Your quirk relies on you having an intimate knowledge of all things chemical and compositional! It would be like if Akio was surprised we couldn't deadlift seven-hundred pounds, or Deku being surprised we can't start a fire as quickly as he can."

Momo sighs, "Forgive me, I sometimes forget that." She honestly looked kind of crestfallen over getting caught up in herself. It made me want to comfort her.

"Hey, don't worry about it! I mean hey, you're really smart, right? Maybe you can help the two of us study."

Momo positively lit up at that idea, and I remembered that she was supposed to REALLY enjoy the prospect of spending time with people and studying, "You think so? I mean we could! I could let my family know to expect people and make sure the gate is unlocked and I have enough tea for you guys and everything!"

With her big dark eyes positively shining with delight and the way she was talking a mile a minute, acting so excited over the prospect, I found myself blushing. She was unbelievably cute, I had to admit. This school was filled with really cute girls… It's almost like it was a requirement to be at least sort of attractive to be a heroine.

Suddenly I realized I was just kind of staring at her while she had asked a question and was looking expectantly, I blinked, "Uh- Sorry, what?"

Himiko looked at me, raising an eyebrow. Thank god she didn't catch on to what I was doing.

"I asked what kind of tea you guys liked?"

Himiko was the first to respond, "I really like Ginseng! I have it whenever I can."

Momo looked to me, "And you, Akio?"

"I uh…" I wracked my brain, trying to think of an answer. It occurred to me that the entire time I've been living in this place, the only time I drank tea was at Izuku's house because his mom fixed it for me. The rest of the time, I drank coffee or soda.

An unhealthy habit that seems to have followed me from one world and into this one.

"I don't really know… The only time I've had tea was at Midoriya's."

Gasps resonated across the table, "Wait, really?!" Uraraka asks in surprise, "What do you usually drink?"

Laughing nervously, I scratch my cheek, "Coffee… A-And water! Sometimes soda."

I downplayed just how much of the sugary drink I really had, but I didn't want to look bad in front of my friends!

"That's… Remarkable!" Tenya exclaims with an exaggerated hand motion, "To have lived here your whole life and never once tasted the most popular type of drink! It's statistically unlikely!"

Well, a lot of things about my life were statistically unlikely, I guess it fits.

Momo clapped her hands together, "Well! I guess I'll just have to make you some of my favorite tea and see if you like it! And if not, well, I can make a bunch of different kinds of tea!"

That was… Incredibly nice of her. "You don't have to, Momo, I'll be happy with whatever you serve."

"I insist! Besides, it won't be any trouble."

Smiling, I nod, "Well, okay then. If you insist."

Shortly afterward the bell rang and ended our lunch period. It was a good thing we all mostly finished eating, I don't think going into the Hero Course with an empty stomach would do very good for us.

We made our way up the stairs and towards where Class 1-A was located, our hero course.

Classes were a bit different in UA in that we actually did move around to different classes as we went as opposed to the teachers coming to us.

I guess that made sense in some way. Given how different everything else at UA was.

Once we were all seated, I swept my gaze across the room while we waited for our teacher to arrive.

I knew it was going to be All Might but some of the other students were skeptical that it would be the man himself. Boy, were they in for a surprise.

Everyone looked about as normal as they did yesterday. Todoroki's lack of an eye burn was still somewhat unsettling to me, but beyond him, everyone at least physically looked normal. Even Hagakure, as normal as she could look at what basically amounted to floating clothes.

The only person I couldn't see was Himiko, and that was because she was sitting directly behind me. I didn't want to look back at her on the off-chance she was looking at me - But it didn't feel like she was, maybe she was waiting on All Might?

"I AM HERE! ENTERING THROUGH THE DOOR LIKE A HERO!"

Right on queue.

The class murmured excitedly to each other while I heard Himiko actually squeal under breath in excitement.

"Oh my gosh! It's All Might! Akio! It's All Might!" She put her hands on my shoulders and shook me lightly, despite the fact that I wasn't facing her.

"I see him!" I mutter back, not able to keep myself from laughing a bit, "Calm down! He's going to speak!"

That seemed to work, she let go and looked to the front of the room.

This was the most attentive I'd ever seen her. In all the morning classes she'd keep poking me in the back asking me to entertain her because she was bored.

I guess that was the magic of having your idol in the room with you, from where I could see him, Izuku shared the same look.

All Might paraded in front of the podium, declaring, "Welcome to Basic Heroics! Think of this as your Hero 101 course. Where you'll go over the basics of everything you need to know in order to become a HERO!" He dramatically flares his arms out, "Today we're going to be focusing on one of the most important aspects of heroing!" Fishing out an index card, he displays it to everyone.

"Combat training!" Bakugo seemed delighted at the prospect, unsurprisingly.

"And what would a hero be without…" All Might presses a button as grandly as he could, "Costumes! The company that you sent your forms and design choices into has made specially tailored costumes for each and every one of you! Go on, take them!"

We all stood up and took the cases that contained our hero outfits, "Now get yourselves suited up and meet me at training ground Beta!"

Himiko was bouncing on her feet as she looked at me, holding her case, "I can't wait to see how you look in your costume, Aki!"

Laughing nervously, I muster up a smile, "Same to you." Then I join the others in heading to our changing rooms.

….

After changing, people began to make their way to the training ground in haphazard groups of who changed the fastest.

Midoriya and I were the last ones out, walking together as everyone disappeared into the dark tunnel that led into the training ground.

Izuku's costume was remarkably different from what it was in the show, but I guess that was because he had a completely different quirk now.

His suit was colored green and was made out of some kind of fire-retardant material. It covered him from head to toe like the outfit a fireman would wear, it had stripes of gold going down the torso and the boots had some kind of metal on the soles. On his face was something of a gas mask like a firefighter would wear. Except instead of completely obscuring his face, it had a glass visor over his eyes, and the mouth of the mask didn't have a filter. Deku explained this was because the mask was outfitted to intensify his fire when he channeled it through, so he wouldn't need to overdo himself too quickly by blowing extremely strong fire bursts.

He was like some kind of anti-firefighter and I thought that was pretty cool.

Once we cleared the tunnel, we joined the group of other students waiting for All Might to begin talking as he looked us over, "From this point on… You are all heroes in training!"

Uraraka started to talk to Izuku again, and it was clear to me that he was having a hard time coping with the fact that her outfit was so skin tight and form-fitting. Not that I could blame him, it was honestly even more distracting in real life.

While I was smiling at their back and forth, a voice called to me just out of sight, "Oh my god! Aki your costume looks just like one of All Might's old costumes! That's so cool!"

I whirled around and went to respond, "Tha-" Only to have my voice caught in my throat at the sight I was beholding.

Himiko was wearing a skintight multicolored suit that hugged her body in every possible way. It was colored in a mixture of purple, blue, and yellow. The jumpsuit was accompanied with curl-toed shoes just like a jester would wear, and she wore gloves with white frills on the ends of them. On her head was a Fool's Hat with two 'horns' on the top and one long one directly behind the horns mimicking a tail. She had frills circling her entire neck, I think that kind of neckwear was called a 'Ruff' but I couldn't remember exactly.

In her hand was a scepter with a purple rod and a steel top that looked like it had some kind of button on the top.

"H-Himiko! Your outfit, it's so…"

"Great, right?! But not as great as yours!"

I looked over my outfit again, giving it a once over.

A navy blue spandex suit with teal colored trimmings draped itself all across my body, I based its appearance off of the way All Might's costume looked when he was young. I had steel boots that covered both my feet and my lower knees made of a lightweight but durable material, and full gauntlets made of a similar material. The company made them to spec, so I could better withstand the power of One for All and had less of a risk of breaking my arms. I probably shouldn't be using it at full power anyways, but this would at least keep the problem from getting as bad as Izuku's did. I also had a belt clipped on my waist, it had several small pouches on it. After seeing how useful utility belts were in comic books, I knew I had to have one for myself. I didn't have much in them right now, but I hoped to change that.

Moving up to my neck, a thick scarf wrapped itself lightly around my neck and hung off my back. I got the idea for this from a few different sources, but I wanted to have an easy way to defend others in a pinch. The design company made this scarf able to expand to roughly the size of a tarp and it was made of materials that were both fireproof and resistant to several different threats. It wasn't a solution to everything but it was a good temporary relief.

I didn't have anything covering my head - At first, I considered a mask, but I opted against it. People should be able to see who's saving them in a crisis, in my opinion. The only thing different was that my normally very shaggy hair was somewhat combed, it'd get messed up pretty quickly in a battle but for now, it looked okay.

After my brief once-over, there was no more time to talk as All Might continued to explain what we were doing. "Alright! Today we will be doing a bit of old-fashioned combat training, as I said before!"

"Excuse me, sir!" Tenya shoots his hand into the air, clad in his armor as expected. It looks just as cool in person as I expected it to, honestly. "This is the same arena from our entrance exam, will we be participating in urban combat exercises?"

"Not exactly!"

All Might went on to explain the exercise - It was the same one I remembered. Teams will split up, one as heroes and one as villains, the villains will be tasked with defending a fake bomb while the heroes will be tasked with either capturing the villains or touching the bomb. The exercise ends in a villainous victory if the heroes are either all incapacitated, similarly bound, or the timer runs out before they can touch the bomb.

Tenya then raised his hand again, "Sir, one more question!"

"Yes, young man?"

"You said we will be divided into equal pairs, but there aren't enough students to make two extra teams! There are only enough for one extra team!"

All Might laughs before nodding, "Right you are young man! That is why two teams, which are randomly selected, will have three members instead of two! Those teams will go up against each other first, so there is no chance for imbalance!"

"That's very wise of you, sir!" Tenya responds, lowering his hand, "Thank you!"

"Alright!" All Might declares, "Now, everyone come up and take a number. Once you have your teams, the two tri-teams will be going first, after that the selections will be random!"

We all came up and drew our numbers, I was wondering who I was going to get on my team. After all, this was completely new. Completely up to chance!

I pulled out my number and went to find who I was with.

"Okumura!" I heard Tenya's voice declare, "It seems we're together!" He marched up to me, "It'll be good working with you!"

"Same to you Tenya, I wonder who-"

"Hey guys, looks like we're on the same team." Yamomo's voice called, waving her paper around, "Looks like we're one of the three mans."

This was my first chance to get a look at Momo's attire up close and I had to admit I was completely taken with it.

I mean it wasn't hard to be.

It was the same outfit I had watched on television a hundred times, seeing it in person was just another way to knock me off my feet, but I didn't want to stare too much.

Averting my eyes and clearing my throat, I spoke, "R-Right well, I guess we're up with the other three man then."

"I wonder who our opponents will be?" Tenya rubs his chin, in time for All Might to speak up in his grand voice.

"Alright! Will the two three-mans please step forward?"

The three of us stepped forward and were met with our opponents.

Bakugo glared at us, his arms crossed, "So you three are our opponents?" He grunts out, "Hm."

With him was Izuku, "Let's just make this a good match, guys!"

And Ochaco, who waved and smiled, "Hey guys! This is gonna be fun, right?"

We waved back, and All Might declared, "Right! Team Iida, you're the villains! Team Bakugo, you're the heroes! Villains, make your way into the building I've designated, you will have five minutes to set up before the heroes come in after you!"

With a shared look and a shrug we all headed inside the building and made our way up to where the bomb was located.

The building was just as needlessly complex and tall as I expected it to be, but Momo and Tenya seemed to navigate easy enough to it, so I just followed behind them and pretended like I knew where I was going as well.

As we were walking, I had to ask, "Hey Momo, why do you have a bookcase attached to your back when you could be using a carrying bag and avoid risking your book getting set on fire or lost?"

Momo laughed an understated laugh as we walked, "You may think it's an ordinary bookshelf, but in actuality it's made of very special materials, and the book itself has powerful magnets placed on the inside and outer edges of it to avoid it falling off. The book is also easily replaceable, given my quirk."

"Aah, I see. Very forward thinking!"

The small talk lasted us until we got to the bomb, where Tenya inspected it by lightly tapping its metal casing, "Hollow. Good thing it's not a real bomb, that would be particularly irresponsible of the school."

Both Momo and myself nod, before Momo takes a good look around, "Hmm. What do we know about our opponents? I admit I don't know much about any of their abilities, or of what you two are capable us. If we have knowledge ahead of time, we can work to counteract any plans they may have."

I answer promptly, tapping my finger to my cheek, "Izuku is very analytical and also very talented, but his quirk doesn't leave him much room for flexibility. Bakugo is by far our biggest issue, he has a strong quirk and knows how to use it, but he's not a team player. He'll likely rush ahead and leave the other two behind so he can try to take us out first. Uraraka seems very reliant on others right now, however I won't put it past her to go sneaking around if she's asked. So we should prepare for some kind of infiltration from her, and Izuku will likely be with her. Bakugo will be a rogue agent."

They both looked at me in mild surprise, and I suddenly realized I was probably rambling a bit. Is this what Izuku felt like. "E-Eh… Sorry if I got carried away."

"Not at all!" Tenya responded, "I'm just surprised you know so much about our classmates already."

"I am as well." Momo added, smiling, "I will admit though that was a clever analysis you just gave. I'm almost impressed."

I flushed a bit unwillingly, "T-Thanks. Uraraka is just a lucky guess, and I know both Izuku and Bakugo rather well since we went to school together."

"That explains why you and Midoriya seem to be such good friends!" Tenya responds, putting a fist into his hand dramatically, "What's our plan?"

Momo seemed to already be coming up with something, looking around the room we were located in.

It was rather wide open, plenty of space for a fight and at least three entry ways, but there were also a number of cement pillars holding the area up.

"Hmm… I'm inclined to agree that Bakugo would be hard to detain." The Creation Girl begins to make something, turning away from us and opening her shirt for room, "But the other two should be easy to subdue given we have the proper foresight and timing."

Both Tenya and I made sure to avert our gazes from her, and I spoke, "I think I should go out and go after Bakugo. If I can find him and keep him occupied long enough, you two can capture Midoriya and Uraraka and come with me to finish off Bakugo. Once we have all of them in captivity, we'll win!"

"That sounds risky, are you sure you can handle him?" Momo asks, it seems she was finished with whatever she was making from her front, she was holding whatever it was in her hand, "Let's all wear these. We can keep updated with each other."

In her hand was three ear pieces, one for each of us. We all took them and put them on.

"In a square fight I'd lose to Bakugo. At least right now." I respond, "But I've got a few tricks up my sleeve, I probably won't be able to incapacitate him, but if I can at the very least keep him distracted long enough for you guys to handle the other two, I won't need to worry about a one on one fight for very long."

"Alright, be careful Okumura!" Tenya warns, "I may not have seen much of Bakugo's capabilities as a whole yet but I know he's a dangerous opponent to face."

I give a thumbs up and wink to them while smiling as best I could, "Hey, don't worry about it. I've got this."

Then, I walked off out into the hallway, leaving Momo and Tenya to get to work on preparing to snag Izuku and Ochaco.

Despite my smile and confident words, I was kind of freaking out internally. I knew I was going to have to try my hardest to fight Bakugo - He'd be my toughest obstacle yet. My first real taste of combat.

I guess that was the point of this exercise, though.

…

I made my way down and heard the signal for the exam to start not long after. I hid in one of the empty rooms and waited for the inevitable signs that Bakugo was on his way.

Taking stock of where I was - I knew I was on the third floor, while the bomb was on the fifth. It might seem counterintuitive to position myself so high up, but it would give me time for Bakugo to come up on his own, away from Izuku.

I hoped he came alone and Izuku didn't follow him - I was banking on Deku knowing that reasoning with Bakugo was impossible and that they should come up with their own plan, but he might not.

My fellow hero-in-training didn't exactly always do the rational thing when it came to his childhood friend.

Sure enough, I heard the fervent stomping of boots against the ground coming up the hallway. He would need to turn in order to pass the room I was in and I waited for him right at the entrance so I could hopefully get the drop on him.

...Soon the stomping grew close enough, and I leapt out of the room and went to swing my fist at his gut, not using my quirk because I knew I had a high chance of seriously injuring him if I did that.

I managed to land my hit against his stomach and I heard him grunt in surprise and pain, but he quickly leapt back and gritted his teeth. "Well well, Okumura! I should have figured you'd come down here to face me, where are your teammates? Cowering with the bomb?"

"Doing a better job at cooperating than you are!" Looking Bakugo in the eyes, my quirk activates. I was aware that my eyes changed into something of a blue-looking target when this quirk was active, so that was perhaps my main tell. "Figured you'd come this way, and I didn't even need Foresight to tell that."

His hands sparking with ignition, Bakugo grinned a cocky and angry grin, "You damn idiot! You forgot your place once you lucked out with that second quirk. I'll remind you where you belong!"

Suddenly, he leapt towards me, yelling at the top of his lungs, "At the BOTTOM!"

Foresight told me what he'd be doing, and I shifted my body-weight, and as he brought one of his palms closer to me to try and explode me, I grabbed his wrist and reeled around, pulling his weight with me and slamming him against the concrete wall.

Letting out a gasp of pain and spit, he promptly fell to the ground and I let go of him, jumping back. Close quarters were his domain and I needed to stay at range, "You know Bakugo, you might not be cut out to be a hero, but I hear construction companies could always use a demolitions expert! Maybe that's more your speed?" I joked, knowing every quip I made at him only served to rile him up further.

Kicking himself up, Bakugo growled at me, "Would you SHUT UP?" He abruptly charged at me again, this time trying to fire off his explosion before it go to me.

Foresight once again coming to my rescue, I had just enough time to sidestep his attack, as the momentum carried him past me, I kicked him in the back and sent him sprawling onto the ground, "We could do this all day, or you could hold still long enough for me to get the tape I need to capture you out! What do you say? How bout you give me a break? I kind of want to finish before lunch time."

I couldn't help it at this point, and it was working. Like Spiderman taking on Rhino! Except, you know, I was fighting an explosion murderer.

"Shut. UP!" He used a minor explosion to send him into the air, in a quick motion he whirled around and directed a kick at me.

I went to block as my foresight directed, but right as it was predicting his next move, he sent out two minor explosions behind him that increased his velocity, despite blocking my face, he hit me directly and caused me to nearly fall backwards, it was all I had to simply force him off.

"If you can predict my moves, then I'll just have to break through your defenses!" Bakugo declared, "See what you can do about that!"

This was starting to worry me - I wasn't exactly the most durable person in the world right now. I had to keep a brave face though, like I know All Might would.

So, I unleashed my most devastating quip yet.

"So, Bakugo's your last name. You behave more like a Baka-go though."

A pun to rule them all.

That only seemed to push him over the edge, "UUGHH! SHUT UP!"

Before he could move towards me again I leapt back a few feet, figuring I should get distance before he charged at me.

However, he wasn't planning to charge me this time.

Instead he raised his arm and began to pull the pin on his gauntlet, "Let's see you predict your way out of THIS!"

Was he seriously going to use that?!

Shit, maybe I went too far!

There was no way I could dodge this, so I did the next best thing.

Knowing that only using a finger would not protect me against this, I charged One for All through the entirety of my left arm and cocked it back.

I knew the exact Smash I needed to use, it was just too bad I couldn't say it out loud without Bakugo connecting the dots.

As the explosion cooked off and rushed towards me, filling the room with fire, I slammed my fist out, 'TEXAS SMASH!'

The explosion and the mixture of wind and pure force that was the Smash met together in the middle, cooking off an explosion dead in the center of the hallway where we had been fighting.

The force of the explosion was thankfully not large enough to actually level the floor but as I held myself back from getting blown off my feet, I knew the damage was going to be massive.

All Might's voice came on the speaker, "Young Bakugo! Do not use another attack like that! Your mission is to stop any damage to this building and your attack is potentially lethal to your fellow student! Use another and you will be disqualified."

I was momentarily distracted by All Might's announcement, but that didn't stop me from foretelling Bakugo leaping through the smoke at me, "I don't need that to beat you, now DIE!"

With one arm incapacitated, I knew I couldn't just deflect his attacks. I was getting desperate.

I raised my other arm and as quickly as I could fired off a Delaware Smash, aimed directly at Bakugo.

Bakugo was faster than me, however, and once the smash was fired off, he used his explosions to redirect his movement and went right under the attack, instead allowing it to punch a hole in the ceiling.

No amount of foresight would allow me to react quickly enough to that! Not in my current state. I was forced to brace myself for impact, shutting my eyes and covering my face with my one useful arm.

THUNK

...The impact never came.

Instead, when I opened my eyes, I saw Bakugo wrapped in some kind of capture net, falling harmlessly to the ground with a loud grunt, "WHAT THE HELL?! GET THIS OFF ME!"

"And it's decided! The villains win!"

Coming out of the smoke and debris was Momo, carrying a device I could only assume shot out the net, "You really made a mess down here, didn't you?" She idly looked around, before spotting my arm and gasping and rushing over, "Your arm! It's just like at the entrance exam!"

I waved my good hand, "Y-Yeah, don't worry. It's fine."

Momo turned away from me for a second, "Hold on." She commands, and I could only nod.

After a minute she had a medical-grade splint, which she used to set my arm, "This will hold you until we can get you to the nurse."

Bakugo wasn't finished yelling, "HEY, YOU WON, NOW CUT ME FREE DAMN IT!"

She was still fixing the splint on my arm, and I grunted in pain, "You should probably set him free before he tries to blow up the building."

"I will in a minute." She responds calmly, "You're injured, you need attention first."

Having her this close to me, taking care of me like this… Hell, it almost made the pain shooting through my arm tolerable.

It took another minute but soon my arm was in the splint, and Momo held out her hand towards the air, creating a knife and kneeling down, cutting Bakugo loose.

Bakugo grunted and got up, before storming off, not even looking at either of us.

Momo looked back at me as she stood up straight, "Tenya's already cut the others loose by now and is probably heading down, let's get back to the observation room so we can get you to the nurse."

I nod and start to walk with her.

I had only walked about five feet before the world suddenly started to spin and I was falling.

"Gotcha!" Momo caught me in her arms, "You're really not well. Come on, I'll get you there quickly!" Then, she started to jog.

I had my eyes closed as I coughed, "Adrenaline's wearing off is all… Trust me it's… Not that bad."

"You can't fool me! You can't walk, your arm is broken and one of your fingers on your other hand is broken. Your injuries might not be fatal but I know they're serious."

Yeah I guess it would be a fool's errand to trick Momo, given how smart she was.

…

I was whisked away to Recovery Girl's office and left on the medical bed so she could tend to my injuries.

Of course, that came with a healthy lecture.

"What did I tell you about using your quirk like that?" Recovery Girl wags her finger, "Going too far is dangerous, young man! You'd better figure out how to control that thing, and soon!"

Laughing softly, I nod, "Believe me, ma'am, I'd love nothing more than to never break my bones on purpose again. This time it wasn't even really a choice. Damn Bakugo and his grenade arms…"

"He is a strange young man, but my point stands." Then, she used her quirk and my arm and finger began to right themselves. "You'll likely be falling asleep shortly, I'll put your arm in a proper cast for the healing to continue."

"R-Right, thank you…" I yawn heavily, "Ma'am…"

The exhaustion from the healing and from the fight caught up to me, my eyelids were growing heavy. Soon, my vision of the room was lost to the welcome respite of sleep.

…

(All Might POV)

"That concludes our training! For your first exercise, you all did wonderfully! Now, you must change back into your uniforms and return to the classroom!"

The assorted students nodded to me and gave out a, "Yes sir!" Before leaving.

They all performed about as well as I expected, some needed more work than others but that would come with training and dedication.

Meanwhile, I went to go check on my 'apprentice' or whatever the proper term for that would be.

What Bakugo did was reckless and he received a proper reprimand for it, so I couldn't blame young Akio for his reaction. I'd have done the same thing in his shoes.

Then again Gran Torino always said I was reckless, so maybe Akio and I were just too alike?

When I arrived in Recovery Girl's office, I let go of my Hero Form, the power of One for All retreating into my body again, leaving me my 'normal' short self. "How is he?" Was the first question I asked as I walked over to look at Akio.

The young man was out cold, his scruffy blue hair covered his eyes in this state, and the steady rise and fall of his chest was the only real indication that he wasn't dead. Even though I knew better - Recovery Girl would never let a student die on her watch.

"He's fine, should wake up soon. He's been out since the end of his exam, after all. All Might, I told you to try and help him get his quirk under control! Did Gran Torino help you?"

"Yeah, he did. Honestly the kid is progressing a lot smoother than I expected, all things considered. It's a wonder he hasn't gained control of his power yet."

"How much do you really know about him, All Might?"

The question took me by surprise.

I'd been training this kid for a year now, give or take, and what could I say I knew about him? Sure, I knew he had the same fire as me and that he had the stuff to be my replacement, and there was one other thing…

"I know enough that I'm just as certain of my faith in him now as I was a year ago."

"This isn't about his father? Not even a little bit?"

"Of course not. I mean sure, I was interested in the kid's development, and I promised myself I'd keep an eye on him after what happened, but I wouldn't have given him my quirk if I didn't see the potential he had. I didn't give it to his dad, did I?"

"I guess you're right." Recovery Girl turned in her chair to look at Akio, "I'm still worried about the boy. It's not healthy for him to be straining himself as much as I know he is."

"It isn't… But it's for the best. This power… One for All. The user won't have proper control of it unless they push themselves and go beyond. The power comes at the price of tough training and dedication… But once he has control of it, you won't have to worry about broken bones."

Recovery Girl seemed deep in thought, "I hope you know what you're doing, All Might."

I honestly didn't, but I was learning to teach and mentor as much as Akio was learning to use One for All.

"I hope so, too."

With that, Recovery Girl suggested I get back to deliver my final words to the class for the day, and so I left. I just hoped Akio wouldn't let this power ruin his body before he gained control over its percentage.

…..

(AKIO POV)

After waking up I was discharged and told to get changed back into my normal outfit and make my way to class, as the day was wrapping up and it seemed my classmates were waiting for me.

It was a bit difficult changing with a caste on but I guess it could have been worse. At least my Costume only sustained minor damage, nothing that couldn't be repaired. Better than Izuku's original costume in the show, at least. That was probably just because I actually had this one made by a company, though.

It was already afternoon and the window-lined walkway to the classroom was given an orange tint to it as I headed back to class 1-A. It was kind of peaceful, to look out the window and see the sun throwing colors across the sky.

As I looked to the exit, I saw Bakugo leaving with Izuku in tow, they seemed to be having some kind of conversation. It was likely that Izuku was trying to calm Bakugo down after his loss.

I wondered how that would go. I certainly wasn't going to go down there…

Once I reached 1-A, I slid open the door and was greeted almost immediately.

"Hey, there he is! Man of the hour." Kirishima waved from leaning back in his seat.

Everyone waved to me and greeted me in varying degrees as I waved back, "Hey guys. Were you waiting for me?"

Well, some did a lot more than wave.

Himiko got up and rushed over to me, rushing me down and hugging me, "I didn't think we'd see you again today! Your fight was so cool!"

I blushed and went to get her off of me, gently, "E-Easy, still kind of sore."

Himiko let go, giggling, "Sorry!"

Momo and Tenya came over, Tenya being the first to speak, "I must commend you for holding your own against Bakugo long enough for us to get our job done, it shames me to say that I doubted you for even a second!"

Laughing a little bit, I give a thumbs up with my good hand, "Hey, I told you I got this."

Momo smiled a sort of smug smile, "As far as ending the fight with a broken arm and nearly fainting from exhaustion qualifies as 'having this.'"

I deflated and sighed as her correct respond got some snickers, "Ugh, how did you guys capture Izuku and Ochaco anyways?" I figured changing the subject would be a good thing to do right now.

"Well, let me tell you!" Momo declares, before starting to go off on her story…

Momo and Tenya were busy setting up their traps - Laying out nets on the ground and blocking off certain entrances so the heroes would only have one area to enter from.

"Are you sure this will work?" Tenya asks, "I would think our classmates might avoid something as simple as floor traps…"

"That's what these are for." Momo holds up one of the net launchers, "We just need to make sure we use them at the right moment. Izuku might be easy to restrain in that suit of his but Uraraka is probably going to be a bit slippery."

"I have faith in you." Tenya responds to her, "After all you proved to be one of the most strategic class members already. Do you think Okumura will be fine?"

Sighing, Momo shrugs, "I hope so. He looked confident, so we just have to put our faith in him."

Once the set up was finished, the two of them hid away from the direct view and waited for things to kick off.

….

After awhile the sounds of combat below were getting rather loud, and Momo expressed concern, "I hope he's okay down there… Sounds like a real bad fight."

"Have faith." Tenya responds, "Let's just do our part, then we can help him!"

Sure enough, soon Izuku came by the entrance with Ochaco, "Hold on Uraraka, that's a floor trap. I'll burn it with my quirk, then we can go in."

"What if they're waiting for us, Izuku?"

"Hmm… You're right. Maybe try floating yourself over while I disable this?"

"Good idea!"

Momo nodded to Tenya and the two of them waited just thirty seconds before leaping out, Momo shot her net-gun at Uraraka, catching her mid glide and sending her onto the floor trap, causing it to pull both her and Deku into it.

"A master stroke, Yaoyorozu!" Tenya exclaims, "Sorry you two, it's all in the spirit of the exercise!"

"Can't believe I didn't think of that!" Izuku grumbles as he struggles, "I guess we're trapped." His voice clearly defeated.

"Cheer up, Izuku! We did our best!"

"Iida, stay here and watch them for any funny business. I'm going to go down and see if Okumura needs any help."

"Right!"

….

"So, that simple huh?"

"All the result of careful planning!" Tenya proclaimed.

"Speaking of planning," I note, looking between Himiko and Momo, "When do we plan on studying?"

Momo's eyes lit up adorably again, "Oh! I can't believe I almost forgot! Here, I'll give you two my cell number so we can keep in touch. Just text me so i can get your numbers back." She quickly summoned a piece of paper in her hand, writing the information down on a regular pen she had on her before handing us two slips of paper.

I pulled out my phone, as did Himiko, and we recorded her number.

I noted that Himiko's phone was a rather outdated flip-phone model. Seriously, weren't those things really cheap and old at this point?

I could tell other people noticed but it's unlikely they wanted to say anything.

I sent Momo a text telling her it was me, and said, "Alright there, now you've got my number. I should probably start heading home, if class is done for the day. This arm needs rest if I'm gonna be ready for tomorrow."

Himiko did much the same as me, "I'll come with! I love talking to people but I should be catching the train."

"Sure thing, let's get going." I wave to the others and the two of us leave the classroom after Himiko and I grabbed our stuff, the others would probably be leaving before too long as well, since the day was over.

…

The walk to the train station was peaceful enough. Himiko was kind of growing on me in the short time I'd known her - Maybe I was just trying to give her a chance, since she seemed to be nothing but friendly, if a bit creepy and strange at times. Her genuine infatuation with All Might also helped me convince myself she didn't really have any sort of villainous carry-over or whatever from the show.

Once we got on the train, I sat down on one of the seats, with Himiko next to me and sighed.

"So, Aki! What are you gonna do now that school's over for the day?"

"I don't really know. Rest, probably. Gonna be boring since my arm is going to be in this cast until tomorrow morning according to Recovery Girl, so I can't use my computer very effectively or anything. What about you?""

Himiko sighed, suddenly looked a bit dejected, "Nothing. Same as always. It's so boring at my place!"

Humming, I realized if I went to her place I could get an idea of if she's really a hero or just pretending. That would finally confirm me one way or the other. "Want me to come over for a bit? I've got nothing better to do."

I expected some sort of excited gasp or something, but instead she looked away nervously, "A-Are you sure? It might be extra boring… You know, my house isn't that fun."

There was something suspicious.

What could she have to hide from me? With the way she's been acting towards me these past few days, she should be jumping at the chance to spend time with me outside of school. I couldn't pass this up now, so I pressed. "It's fine. Besides, if we get bored at your house we can just walk around outside, you know?"

Himiko still looked nervous, before nodding, "O-Okay. That sounds fine!"

With that, I nod and we fall silent, the rest of the train ride spent that way until we finally arrived at our stop.

Once we got off, we started to walk much like we were walking to my home. No trace of Izuku, so it's likely he caught the train before this one and got home early. Or maybe he was still at UA, who knew.

"Well go on and lead the way." I gesture once we passed my apartment complex, "You said you lived down this way, right?"

"Yeah, just this way!" She started to take the lead.

'Just this way' ended up being quiet the trek.

We went through one alleyway wedged in between the fencing, into another alleyway, and kept twisting and turning for I don't know how long.

We were getting into visibly less well-kept space now, with trash starting to become common to see on the ground and dead plants joining them in some occasions. Nobody approached us, but the people I did see didn't look the friendly type.

Just when we were getting to the point where I questioned exactly where she lived, we came across a run-down building that looked like a set of abandoned and under-kept tenements. "W-Well, here we are!" She gestures, "Come on!"

How could someone live in a place like this? It looked like people hadn't lived in here in ages!

We walked into the building and began to climb steps. Indeed, it seemed very few people lived here. The ones who did looked homeless, or at least near-about. What kind of place was this?

"Himiko…" I mutter once we pass an opened apartment door with a woman just… Sitting inside staring at the wall. "You live in this place?"

"U-Uhh… Yeah, you must think it's… Pretty lame, huh?"

"I think I'd use a different word for it…"

Deplorable sounded more like it.

We eventually reached a room that she opened with a rusted key, once she headed inside she squealed, "Rat!" Then took out a knife from her jacket and tossed it with expert precision at the large vermin, killing it in the blink of an eye.

I jumped in surprise, "Jeez, Himiko!"

"Sorry! These things get in here sometimes…" While she went to retrieve the knife, I looked around the room.

There was barely anything in regards to furniture. A single bed pushed into the corner, a run-down desk with a hot-plate plugged into the wall on top of it, and a single door that led to what I presumed was a bathroom I wanted nothing to do with.

She didn't even have a dresser - What clothes she had were piled into a ball in the corner! That didn't look sanitary…

"Himiko… You really live here…" I was astonished, "Where are your parents?"

She looked back at me after getting her knife from the rat and tossing the rat out the window, there were the beginnings of tears in her eyes, "H-Hopefully the same place as yours…"

Oh…

"I see… What happened, if you can tell me?"

She went and sat down on her bed, "When I was a little girl… We lived somewhere better. They were heroes… But a villain discovered where we lived." She swallows a lump in her throat, "They came and when my parents were sleeping… They… Well… You know… I only got out cause I was awake when I wasn't supposed to be. I left and tried to get help, but the villain caught me first. I thought I was dead, but… A hero patrol saved me. They beat the villain and took me to an orphanage…"

I was stunned, but had one question, "T-Then… Why are you living here? Not there?"

"I did for a few years… Until two years ago. The owner of the orphanage kicked me out because I was… Scaring the others." She began to tear up more, and the tears began to fall. I had no choice but to move over and put an arm around her as I sat with her.

"H-He said I was 'unwell' and should be in a crazy house… I just wanted friends! A-And my quirk… It was making people nervous, cause they thought I was taking people's blood… I wouldn't do th-that!"

I suddenly felt horrible for assuming Himiko was up to no good as she continued to bawl openly, burying her face into my side once she realized I was sitting next to her.

"How did you find this place…?"

"I didn't have the money for anywhere better… I-I only get to stay here because the owner doesn't even check this building. It's like… For squatters."

This was all so… Jarring compared to what I was expecting from this girl. Completely out of left field! But I knew what I had to do.

"Himiko…" I mutter softly, trying to comfort her, "I can't let you stay here. Not in these conditions… Come stay with me."

She looked up at me, shocked, "R-Really? W-Why would you want me there? Aren't you scared of me?"

"Why would I be scared of you?" I ponder, "Sure, you do act a little weird sometimes… But that's just part of who you are. I don't have a lot of space, but it's more comfortable and a lot safer than living here. You can be like… My roommate or something. And don't worry about paying rent, I've got plenty of money."

"Well… Okay. I promise I'll be on my best behavior, anyways."

"Now get your clothes together, use my bag to carry them." I shoulder my backpack off my back using my good arm, since my other one was still incapacitated for the time being. It meant I had to let go of Himiko, but that was fine considering she had to get up anyways.

She took my bag with a thanks and went to do just that. She didn't have many changes of clothes, which made me think my laundry room was going to be getting a lot of use tonight.

I stood up and looked around, this place honestly disgusted me...

Himiko finished packing up, probably having to push aside some of my school work, but that was fine, "I'm ready. I won't stay too long… I don't want to impose."

I shrug, "It's fine. It honestly gets boring there anyways. You'll get the bed until I can buy a second bed, now let's get out of here. This place gives me the creeps."

So, we left. I personally wanted to hurry as much as possible back, but Himiko needed to lead me back using her intricate network of alleyways.

Honestly a part of me was worried about letting her into my home, but the overwhelming side of me that desired to do good won out. Besides, it wouldn't be permanent. I could help her get her own place before too long, I was sure. I'd probably need to help pay, but… Well, that was just something that I'd have to deal with when it came to it.

...Besides, two teenagers living in the same house while not sharing any blood relation was going to raise questions, questions I wanted to avoid because I honestly didn't want to think about anything like that. Not with anyone.

I wonder what Izuku would think? I'm sure he'd understand once it was explained. He would likely be doing the same thing if he could.

It was already dark by the time we got back to my complex and I opened the door, walking inside. "Well, welcome to my home." I gesture, "It's not much but I think it serves me well."

Himiko was of course looking around curiously, "This is so nice and so clean!"

"Yeah well… I try. Anyways, bedroom is that door there. You'll be sleeping in there and I'll be sleeping on the couch. Don't worry about it being bad or something, the couch is pretty cozy. The bathroom is right there." I gesture to it, "When you want to shower or anything. There's a laundry room, where you should probably be unloading your clothes. Didn't look like you had an automatic washing machine in that building…"

She shakes her head, "I washed them in the bathtub."

"Alright well, go ahead and unload them. Try not to get my homework or anything thrown in there with it. If you have questions about how to use it… Well, come ask I guess, or you can borrow my phone and look it up."

"I think I got it!" She states confidently, before walking off, seeming to have a pep in her step.

I sighed, wondering what I'd just gotten myself into. Having a roommate was something I had gotten used to in the old life but this was… Different.

I just hoped it wouldn't come back to bite me in the ass eventually.

….

That night, I had finished setting up the couch as my resting spot, both Himiko and I had gotten our showers and changed into casual clothes. Himiko thankfully had a pair - Maybe I could get Momo to go shopping with her one day? It seems like she'd need that.

Himiko needed a lot of things, I felt.

As I laid in bed, getting ready to fall asleep, I wondered what tomorrow would hold. My memory of the show was fuzzy, and with how different things were, you could never be certain.

I just hoped it wasn't too intensive.

A/N: Howdy folks! The poll is still ongoing. And I would like to assuage the fear that this move-in will in any way be indicative of a relationship. I have plans one way or the other. The poll will close on Wednesday and whoever has the most votes will win and become the primary ship.