"It's always been my dream to see you get involved with a boy Izuka," Inko giggled peeking out the window's blinds to see Shinso's back as he walked away from their house.

Izuka just blushed. She couldn't tell what was more embarrassing, the implication behind her mother's comment or the fact that she was gushing like a school girl in love. But Izuka didn't point out her humility because she was just so happy to see her mother in a cheery mood. She had just been so sad lately and nothing she had done had brought a smile to her face like tonight had.

Letting a smile slip through, Izuka knew that it was definitely going to keep getting better from here on out. She was not going to let that smile slip from her mother's face if she could help it.

"You know Izuka, I approve of him!" Inko shouted at her daughter who was retreating to her room for the night.

She stopped midway looking back at her mom with wide-eyes, slowly filtering what she had just told her, "You really wouldn't mind if I dated?"

"You're young Izuka, you have to live your life. Don't girls your age go out anymore?"

Izuka could tell her mom was confused as to why she was shocked at that declaration. She knew deep down that this talk would eventually come, but she had never thought that it would happen to her nor that it would be so easy.

Her mom didn't oppose like other parents she heard girls complain about and she had imaged that she would be fighting like in the soap operas and the girls in her class. Besides, it was beyond obvious that she wasn't attractive considering how she was the odd one in the class. Things like that didn't happen to girls like her and she'd come to terms that she wasn't cut for relationships.

"Did I say something wrong Izuka?"

Izuka shook her head, "Of course not; thank you for your support mom. G-Girls my age do go out it's just that…Shinso and I are just friends. I may not know what love is just yet, but I'll know it when the time comes and I'll be sure that you'll be the first one to know."

Inko ran to hug her daughter wondering what she did right to end up with such a kind-hearted young girl, "You know Izuka, sometimes feelings can grow over time between two people who've grown accustomed to each other. Love isn't necessarily something you can explain and when it does happen, you just get blindsided by it."

"I see." Izuka hummed thinking about the purple-haired boy as her gut tugged at her as if saying that he didn't feel that way about her and she shouldn't make a big deal of something that was nothing. But her mother never unintentionally gave words of wisdom often, and this had her wondering about her mother's own love life, "Is that how you felt with dad?"

Inko watched her daughter's shining eyes shining with curiosity. How could she tell her that her feelings for Izuka's father were beyond love? That love was only a word she knew of the past and the present love only surrounds Izuka's wellbeing? She couldn't tell her that the only feelings she ever felt was worry nowadays. So, she didn't and instead kissed the girl's forehead in reply because that's the only reply she could muster.

"Did you hear the news circulating the admissions office?" a secretary gossiped to her neighboring cubicle in a hushed tone.

"No, what's going on?"

That worrisome tone caught the flame hero's interest.

If there was an emergency, he wanted to be the first one to know and be there to save the day so he could become the Number One Hero. He greatly disliked coming in second to the scene of the crimes and continuously getting surpassed by All Might who always managed to be the first one there when something was wrong.

If he was honest, it was unfair and he would do anything to finally get the upper hand in beating the man. He secretly knew that at this rate, only possessing such a simple fire quirk, he would never accomplish such a feat as beating All Might but he was making sure that his successor would.

Endeavor had been keeping a close eye on his son who would one-day pass All Might with his own merit and strong ability from controlling both ice and fire at will. Although the boy despised using his fire quirk, Endeavor kept pushing and testing his patience to give into the heat. If he didn't, Endeavor knew he would never reach his full potential.

It would all be a waste if it ever came to that and Endeavor would never forgive him if that did happen.

"It appears that we've received our first ever quirkless candidate and it isn't even a joke! She's really serious and even included all the necessary paperwork with her application…"

He backtracked, freezing in his place as he filtered what he had just heard.

Although it seemed that this wasn't what the flame hero hoped to have heard, his ambitious mind took advantage of that knowledge knowing that there was a potential opportunity here. Realization dawned him as he handed Shoto Todoroki's recommendation papers to the admissions office that there was no guarantee that his son was going to use his fire side ever.

He would need a back-up successor with the same qualities as Shoto and what better way than for him to pass on the quirk to a son of a quirkless mother? He could have a non-defiant grandson who would grow to embrace and use both sides of his powers. The best part of this would be that Endeavor would have a better chance of the little monster listening to him. It would set his plan of seeing his blood be in the top hero rank back a few years, but it was a risk he'd be more than happy to invest in.

A quirk marriage would also be retribution to punish his son's rebelliousness against him and it was common enough that no one would bat an eye in his direction. Besides, it wouldn't hurt to see his quirk creation continue through another generation with little red-headed boys…or girls running around. He could care less about the gender as long as they lived up to his standards.

Now all he had to do was investigate about this quirkless girl. He had no doubt that she wouldn't get accepted into Yuuei and saddened by the news of not being able to become a hero, it would be perfect timing for him to sweep in and show her the opportunity of raising a hero instead. With her emotions fluctuating, he could easily convince her that she could be included in the hero community by being part of the best hero family in the world and nurture her kin into success. She could have children who would achieve her dreams like Endeavor did.

But first, he needed to make preparations to see if she was compatible with his aloof son; maybe she could even bring him out of his shell. It also wouldn't do if they weren't attracted to each other or if she came from a long history of quirkless relatives. But if everything turned out fine the-

Endeavor grunted, his chirpy mood fading as he watched his rival enter the admissions building too.

"Endeavor!" All Might greeted with the familiar hero with friendly enthusiasm, "So good to see you! How is work as of late?"

"Heroic as usual," scoffed Endeavor not wanting to make light of the situation like he did. Heroes are supposed to be serious and getting the job done, definitely not jolly, "What are you doing here at the admissions office? Submitting an application for your non-existent successor? Will your legacy finally die with you?"

All Might paled wondering if Endeavor had finally uncovered his secret about looking for an inheritor of One for All within the pool of the new upcoming students. Honestly, the man was a genius for a reason despite his always grumpy behavior. It made sense that he would be the one to add up the clues about why All Might had a folder of all the candidate's information in his hands.

It didn't help that rumors had spread amongst scouts and teachers that the applicants for the upcoming year were promising. According to the press, they were expected to be the most powerful and highly capable candidates to have ever applied in the past three years.

"I do hope you're prepared because Shoto will surpass you," Endeavor said with a prideful smirk and suddenly All Might knew what this was truly about. It wasn't about his secret coming loose, it was about the flame hero's one-sided rivalry and obsession with the hero ranks.

"Is that a threat I hear?" All Might bolstered with a chuckle letting out his nervousness from thinking that Endeavor had found out his secret, "Who says I'm not looking for a student that I see the potential to train and pour all my knowledge into?"

Endeavor glared at the Number One Hero, gauging to see if he was joking or not.

All Might just laughed, relishing in the feeling that he had finally gotten to the man. He really shouldn't but All Might enjoyed how his teasing seemed to have made Endeavor panic and feeling somewhat guilty, he walked away not wanting to give away too much.

If he had stayed, the situation would've escalated. There was no point in provoking the man who thought that he was better than everyone else. Although it was amusing and in his opinion, heroes shouldn't be so serious all the time; it just wasn't right!

This was why, even though All Might had to hide his intentions for finding a student to train, he had pulled Endeavor's leg by revealing a bit of the truth to mess with his mind. If not just to have a little fun himself.

Izuka rolled over to her side, relentless and unable to sleep.

She just couldn't close her eyes without seeing those piercing blue and red eyes from her nightmares. They always just stared at her, watching her every move and whenever she had this nightmare, the room seemed to suddenly drop temperature. She shivered, her body trembling until she woke up to the warmth and familiarity of her own room.

In her dreams, she had tried to make sense of those eyes. Tried to tie it to someone she knew, but she didn't recognize anyone with such captivating eyes that could hold both hatred and self-confidence. And this dream always ended the same with her wanting to reach the small light in those eyes; she'd take a peek into the light of those eyes trying desperately to understand the pain held in them until she felt an overwhelming sensation that she was drowning before getting pushed out of her own dreams.

One thing she learned from those haunting eyes was to never give up hope because she knew that every time she dreamt of it, she was getting close to the owner of those curious eyes hiding in the dark. She knew this because although the eyes were colorful, they were never vibrant always flicking here and there watching her every move in anticipation and fear.

And that's what intrigued her so much: how could eyes that held so much anger show fear towards her? It's not like she was powerful enough to destroy the individual behind these eyes once she finally reached them.

Getting up from her bed in hopes that a warm shower would help fight the cold off, Izuka couldn't help but be disappointed that even in her dreams she was weak. She held no more power in the dream realm than she did in real life; she couldn't even help those suffering eyes that called out to her.

Despite getting her slumber cut short, she also looked forward to class today knowing that they would receive word about back about their applications and submit more papers to continue the process of admissions. It was going to be a good day for her. Not only that but at least she now had her training sessions with Shinso to see to. That was her favorite part of the day knowing that she was becoming mentally and physically stronger as it showed considering they had cleaned one-fourth of the beach already.

They would meet at the beach at the same time every day after classes, chat as they donned their clothes to reveal gym slacks underneath and then got to work for a few hours or until their hands reddened and they could go no more. However, they never met on the weekends seeing as how Shinso urged to have rest days and he once mentioned that he had other compromises that kept him busy Saturday mornings.

She hated taking these forced breaks, but would never tell him that. Nor would she admit that she would sneak off on her own and clean a little by herself every now and then; although she was sure he suspected it by giving her unnecessary breaks the following day claiming that they were working too hard.

This new part of her life was exciting for her. She no longer wallowed in her misery and she would find the owner of those eyes once she was strong enough to pass the entrance exam.

"Izuka? Everything alright?" Inko called through the door after hearing the shuffling feet of her daughter.

"Yeah, just going to take a shower."

Inko sighed, knowing that this was usual for her daughter to rummage around with her thoughts past midnight. She knew that her beautiful daughter was plagued with bad dreams and was saddened that she couldn't help her; recalling that very first night when Izuka woke up sweating, her body shivering and ice cold to the touch.

But she could make Izuka some warm tea to help warm her up and that's exactly what she did. What she wouldn't do, however, was tell her already troubled daughter about her surprise visit a month ago. If she ever found out, Izuka might be disappointed in her, but she had to understand that she was protecting her for her own good.

How would she react to learn that Katsuki had come looking for her after being cast away from him? Even if the blonde young man was now offering an olive brand and trying to amend his past with her daughter, she was not going to ruin Izuka's newfound luck gained from her new friend.

She had witnessed her daughter glowing every time they returned here from their workouts. Over these past weeks, Izuka was happier, smiled more, and the freckles in her eyes were brighter than ever. The blonde would only bring back washed away memories of pain and she didn't know if Izuka could take any more nuisances than the ones she was juggling with that Bakugo had already gifted her with.

"Shinso? What are you doing here?!" Izuka jumped as she realized that it really was the same purple haired boy standing in front of her school with an impassive look in his eye. Although it seemed like he didn't want to be here, she knew better as she caught that subtle glint in his eyes that he sent her way.

"I got bored waiting," Shinso said extending his hand out to carry her backpack in a gentlemanly manner, "It also grants us more time to spend together."

Izuka laughed startling classmates around her who only knew her as the girl without friends; the girl who didn't talk and was never loud. These curious eyes from the crowd continued to survey what was transpiring between the pair. It occurred to the onlookers that their quirkless classmate was very close to the boy from their rival school to be able to relax so much in his presence compared to how anxious she always appeared to be in class. If they squinted really hard, it almost seemed like a romance was blossoming the way the purple-haired boy was entranced by her and only her.

Izuka rejected his offer to carry her belongings, her face brightening with thought as she embarrassingly admitted, "I forgot to wear my work-out clothes! Let me go back and change quickly. Sorry Shinso, for making you wait even longer."

"It's not a problem, truly," Shinso said with a small smile tugging his lips as she entertained him with her cute worried facial expressions. "I promise I won't ditch you Izuka. I've waited for you to finish classes, I'm sure I can wait a little longer."

Izuka gave him a smile in exchange for his kindness before running inside to quickly change her outfit. She didn't want to keep him waiting too long and it was definitely not because she wanted to escape from all the prying eyes that were sizing him up.

Shinso watched as she disappeared his own eyes glued to her back, briefly ignoring the world around him, and he moved to sit on a nearby bench but ended up accidentally bumping into another person. His hypnotic state broke and he opened his mouth to apologized to the individual. He was right was on the verge of explaining that all his attention had been focused on one individual until he realized exactly who he had run into.

"You look like a fuckin fish with your mouth open like that."

"Oh, it's you," Shinso said, the apology all but vanishing from the tip of his tongue.

"What's your bloody problem?" Bakugo barks at him noticing all his 'gentlemanly' manners from that unspeakable night had managed to disappear. "Don't even know how to say that you're sorry? Pathetic shit."

Shinso choked back a sly remark and a growl at the blonde's crude words but for Izuka's sake, he held it all back. He was not going to cause a scene at her school; she was already known as the black sheep and she didn't need any more rumors tallied against her. Next time though, when they were alone he wouldn't pass up the chance to give the fiery blonde a piece of his mind.

Bakugo watched with a suspicious glare as the purple-haired idiot coughed and ignored his presence instead if fighting him like a man. Which meant that Shinso was no man and not worth his attention.

Smirking, Bakugo turned his back and continued his route home without a second thought about why he was even there. Instead, his mind was filled with thoughts that he had beaten the good for nothing purple-brained idiot. And he should've pushed his pride away and really focus on the important things because he couldn't stop thinking about that unanswered question for the rest of the day.

Meanwhile, Izuka starred at her reflection with a heavy sigh, silently berating herself for forgetting to wash her gym clothes.

She instead resorted to wearing her sports bra and joggers; which happened to show a bit more than she was comfortable with. Pinching her cheeks knowing she had already taken too long in the bathroom, she twisted her ponytail and tied it back into a high bun with her scrunchie. It was too late to change the situation and now all she could do was see the bright side of things.

In a hurry, she hastily escaped from the room with her bookbag covering her bare stomach as she ran towards the male sitting on a bench glaring at the sidewalk as if it had offended him.

"Everything alright Shinso?"

The purple-haired boy snapped looking up at her as he took in her appearance. He never had a doubt that she wasn't attractive, but at that moment, her presence further strengthened his growing opinion of her. Her attire was the perfect balance of conservative and revealing leaving much to the imagination and her stomach looked enticing enough to touch as he wondered if it was as smooth as it appeared to be. And it didn't help that her freckled skin rivaled that of a very captivatingly painting.

She was cute and why anyone didn't want to befriend such a beauty bogged his mind.

Izuka blushed scarlet thanks to her insecurity as his eyes roamed from her head to her toes. She knew she wasn't that nice to look at so she couldn't help that his prolonged stare made her uncomfortable.

Shinso noticed that hesitancy in her stance as she shifted from one foot to another and before she could say something negative about herself, he said, "You look nice. Green suits you perfectly."

"Thanks," she said in a breathless tone as he caught her off guard with his comment. Scratching her cheek, she shifted the conversation into a more common territory, "We should get going. The beach isn't going to clean itself you know."

"Right," Shinso agreed, standing and purposely not offering to carry her back seeing as she held tightly onto it in front of her like a security blanket. His jaw clenched and it irked him that she didn't see what he was seeing. He briefly wondered who else saw this side of her.

"You're tense, are you sure you're okay?" Izuka asked again in a motherly tone, disregarding her outfit for a brief second and as concern for her purple-haired friend consumed her. He wasn't usually like this, he was usually very indifferent but something seemed to have immensely bothered him for it to show.

"It's nothing important," Shinso shrugged it off not wanting to make her feel insecure again as it seemed that she temporarily forgot about her self-doubt.

"Surely, it must be something if it's on your mind," Izuka said with a light laugh as she placed her hand on his shoulder in a means to comfort him and let him know that he could trust her, "I've read that it helps to talk about it with a friend."

"Taking liberties with this new friendship of ours?" Shinso joked and he managed to get a laugh out of her. He very much preferred her this way; happy and care-free.

"What if I am?" Izuka teased realizing that they were a few blocks away from the beach already. "That's what true friends do. They're quite horrible if you think about it."

"I can't help but agree that you are bad for me," Shinso teased back and received a jab in his ribs by her elbow. "Hey! That's my good side you're abusing."

"Really? I couldn't tell…" she hummed, faking ignorance while the sun shone in her face hiding her blush before she sprinted off into the sandy shore knowing he'd be hot on her heels any second now to get her back for her comment.

"Don't run off coward! Come fight me!"

"I'm no coward!" Izuka giggled shouting back at him, but he had caught up with her and lifted her into the air earning a scream in return. "Put me down so we can have a proper spar!"

"Will you promise to stop bruising my ribs if I do?" Shinso teased setting her down and they fell into a side-by-side routine as they cleaned the beach.

Hours passed and Izuka relished every blissful little moment. Nothing special ever happened in her life so it was no shock that her life had never been perfect, but these small moments as the sun kissed the ocean's surface came relatively close. She loved how her worries seemed to disappear and all she could worry about was what she would clean next.

"I think once we finish cleaning, we will be ready to spar each other," Shinso lightly commented starring at the new visitors admiring the clean parts of the beach view too.

Izuka briefly wondered when they arrived and how long they've been here, "That'd be great. I can't wait to start working on my fighting stance and learning how to defend and attack."

"Maybe two weeks after spring break, we'll get there."

"No way!" Izuka protested, "The heavier stuff will probably delay us by two days within our vacation but we'd be fully finished by spring break."

"Not at the pace you're going asking me for help with pushing debris every now and then," Shinso teased poking her upper bicep which seemed to be toning rather attractively, "Spring break is three months from now."

"Well, now that you're in a much happier mood, care to tell me what was on your mind? I really did mean it when I said you could tell me anything, we are friends after all."

Izuka sported those big, round puppy eyes that pleaded him to give in and Shinso couldn't seem to look away from how green her eyes glowed. They seemed to be glowing with more confidence than that last time when they were covered by her tears.

He almost gave in to telling her that Bakugo's rude attitude was still in his mind – almost. Shinso didn't want to ruin their little piece of quietness by bringing up the topic that seemed to bother them both and he found himself telling her another secret that wouldn't hurt them as much instead.

"It's about next month. I'll be going out of town-"

"Next month?" Izuka asked biting her bottom lip in worry. This changed things; mainly her new routine that she loved.

"Are you mad?" Shinso asked a bit self-conscious that maybe he had strained their relationship and he had wanted to avoid that.

"Of course not," Izuka said reassuring him that he hadn't done anything wrong. It wasn't his fault, but she couldn't help that her thoughts seemed to swarm in her head, "What would I do with a whole month without you?"

Shisno watched that she was on the verge of pulling her hair out and fondly concluded that she was stressing with thoughts that she'd be alone again. With him gone, she wouldn't have these little escapades of reality and he grinned realizing that she wanted him around. She was afraid that things would go back to how it was with him gone. With a warm smile, he placed a hand on her head, ruffling her curls to help calm her.

"It's just a month and then I'll be back. That's why I'll be there outside of your school waiting for you so we could spend more time together to make up that lost time." Shinso mentally noticed that he rather liked when her eyes grew with enthusiasm too, "That is if you don't mind me coming to your school every day."

Izuka smiled returning the gesture and patted his head too, "You're amazing Shinso. Thank you."

The rest of the weeks had gone by quickly and Izuka found herself constantly glancing out the window during her last class trying to catch a glimpse of her friend waiting outside. She had already gotten used to him just smiling and waving at her from the glass below. It was going to be so hard for her to readjust back to the old ways when he wasn't there for the upcoming month.

"What are you starring at Deku?" Katsuki growled bringing her mind back into the classroom as she noticed that everyone was looking at her and she tensed wondering what she had missed. "We don't have all day, just answer the damn question already."

"That's enough," her professor for that hour said before Bakugo's aggression escalated knowing the blonde's anger was easily ignited when it came to the petite girl. "Why don't we end it here considering Ms. Midoriya isn't the only one with glazed eyes. Izuka, before you leave please see me."

The students laughed at the teacher's joke but rushed in a hurry of excitement that class had ended fifteen minutes early.

"Nice going idiot," Bakugo mumbled nearby, mirth covering every word as he enjoyed that she was getting called for a little talk because she was daydreaming. It wasn't good for her to be distracted by god knows what. She needed to pay attention in class if she wanted to succeed in life and once her plan of becoming a hero backfired, she would need high marks to get accepted into a decent job.

Izuka just stole a glance at him, knowing whatever she said would be pointless. He was already agitated and she would appreciate it if she didn't get held up by him too considering that she still needed to change her clothes. She didn't want to worry Shinso with why she was taking so long.

Packing her things, she quickly made her way over to the professor's desk preparing herself for a warning speech about her unacceptable behavior.

"Midoriya, on behalf of Yuuei I apologize for their slow response to your application. They seem to be behind this year since they've received more applicants than what they expected. You're just missing a few papers to declare what major you'll be specializing in." Her professor spoke handing her a vanilla file that seemed rather stuffed than the others sitting on his desk and her eyes briefly caught one with Katsuki's name on it. His, in particular, seemed empty compared to her own.

"I know you won't change your mind about the school you want to get into and I have no qualms with it," he continued snapping her eyes back onto her own folder, "but we have to be realistic Izuka. Apply for the Hero class and give your dream a shot, however, look into Yuuei's other extraordinary class departments to see what may be the better fit."

She was wide-eyed taking into consideration her professor's advice to heart. He was right, she was quirkless after all and she would need a backup plan in case she got rejected. Somehow, the folder in her hands had gotten heavier in weight these last few minutes.

Somehow, she managed to nod and say, "I'll look into it."

"Good! Now get out of here I'm sure your friend is still outside waiting."