Oh god, everyone, thank you for all the support and kind words you have given me. It truly is incredible reading all your comments, and I have no idea how I managed to get all of you wonderful readers. I am just astounded by all of you. I do have a couple of things to say at the end, so please go read that!

Also, I have started school again. Not that that should have much of an effect on my releases because hahahaha... I can assure you I will be continuing! *determined face*

The screen faded in to show the Tatooin Shopping District and its cheery welcome sign.

"I just realized how much of Star Wars fans the city's founders must have been," Kaminari commented.

"That wasn't already obvious? I mean, Tatooin Station and Shopping District, Orudera Middle, Degobah Beach Park," Jirou snarked.

"There's a beach park?"

"Oh right, you're from out of town, aren't you, Uraraka-chan? Yeah, Degobah Beach isn't too far from Tatooin Station, only about 10-minute walk," Touru explained cheerfully.

"No one goes there though because it's a giant dump," Ashido added on, shoulders slumping and her lips in a pout.

"Wait, you didn't hear?" Kirishima asked, eyes wide. At the responding questioning looks and head shakes, he actually started bouncing. "It's all cleaned up now! Someone's been cleaning it for like a year, and it's really beautiful now!"

"Holy shit, seriously?"

"How, that place was a total dump!"

"Ah, yes, I've seen it," Iida spoke up, his arms waving in accordance to his words. Both Uraraka and Todoroki leaned out of the way. "You see, I tend to run by Degobah on my morning jog, and actually saw the progress being made when the beach was being clean. However, I, like many others I've talked to, have no idea who's been doing the restoration."

"Yeah, that's the biggest mystery about the whole thing! No one knows who did it! I mean, there's plenty of rumors online, but nothing confirmed. Some think a local Yakuza got some new recruits to do it so they can use the beach, others think a few hero interns got together to do it, and another group thinks someone had been practicing their quirk on the garbage and that's why it disappeared so fast!"

"Wait," Yaoyarozu chimed in, her eyebrows scrunched together, "didn't the ending depict Midoriya running along a beach? And All Might did say that the reason why it was shown might give Aizawa ideas for a community service project? And then Midoriya said something about building muscles for ten months?"

All the students turned to look at their classmate, who was not looking at them and holding the water bottle he had grabbed earlier up to his mouth in a way that could only be so as to avoid questions.

"No way. I mean, I know Midoriya is strong, but there's no way he did that in less than a year. Especially all by himself," Ojirou tried to deny. There is no way the skinny thing they saw could clean an entire beach by himself. Then again, this was Midoriya, who could be surprisingly persistent…

"Well, it looks like we'll have to continue watching if we want to see if Yaoyarozu's theory is correct," Aizawa stated, looking towards the screen.

The camera panned around the shopping district, showing people going on their daily lives before pulling in to focus on a dark alley with a single bottle lying about. Looking closely at the bottle revealed the slime villain that had previously attacked Izuku just as he was waking up.

"Wh-where am I…? What happened…?" the villain managed to ask, before flashing back to the Texas Smash.

"Oh yeah… That bastard… If it weren't for that bastard…"

"Hey, Katsuki, aren't you and Midoriya childhood friends?" One of Bakugo's lackeys from earlier could be heard just as the three boys were shown on screen, Bakugo finishing off a can in such an odd way.

"You went a little overboard today," the other one pointed out.

The class just deadpanned at the screen. A little?

"It's his fault for getting in my way," Bakugo explained, emphasizing his nonexistent point by kicking Chekov's gu-the soda bottle and releasing the slime villain.

"Don't let it get to you."

Bakugo thought back to earlier, when Midoriya was explaining why he was trying for UA. "It's just been my goal ever since I was little. And well… I won't know unless I try…"

"He's an idiot dreaming like a kid." Bakugo lit off an explosion, destroying the can. "Just watching him pisses me off."

"Okay, there is no way you'd be holding a can like that if you weren't planning from the beginning on exploding it."

"Don't you know, Bakugo's all about the theatrics. Why else would he use his explosions when he could probably fly just by the force of his anger alone!" Mineta chimed in, making sure there were several classmates between him and the blond. This got a laugh out of the kids while Bakugo just glared at Mineta. However, he would not attack, that'd probably get him more remedial lessons at best.

Aizawa, meanwhile, was scratching something onto his paper. Present Mic leaned over his shoulder to get a look and found himself nodding along. Bakugo definitely needed anger management classes just like Midoriya needed counseling.

The two lackeys shared a glance before deciding to change tactics. "Then, why don't we go to the arcade for a change of pace? You'll come too, right, Katsuki?"

"Yeah."

"Then let's go to the one in front of the station!" the boys discussed, not noticing the sludge getting closer to them. "There's lots of prey there."

"You're terrible."

"What? If we get caught, it'll end up on my record!"

"Right thing to do for all the wrong reasons," Aizawa stated.

"Hey, look," the two lackies said, pointing at something behind their boss.

Bakugo turned just in time to see the slime take form. "An invisible cloak with a great quirk!"

"And this is another reason why it is illegal for people without a license to use their quirks so openly. Villains may see a quirk they like and either use them as a hostage or abduct the person," Aizawa explained.

"Kids especially, given just how raw their potential is, and how they have a harder time defending themselves against grown adults," Present Mic added on.

"Heroes also have a hard time as it can be difficult to tell when it's a civilian just using their quirk, or a villain. And those who use their quirks to defend themselves can sometimes be hindering the heroes trying to save them than helping," All Might finished off. "It is not wrong to try and defend yourself, but as soon as a hero is on the scene, trust their judgement and experience as they have dealt with similar situations while the average civilian has not."

The students nodded in understanding at what the teachers were saying. They all knew the law, but they had never thought of the reason why it was there, outside of to avoid general chaos of everyone using their quirks whenever they wanted.

The title card appeared on the screen, reading in loud, red font: "What it Takes to Be a Hero."

The show then jumped back to Izuku's freak out. The boy's eyes wandered all over All Might's body, mind just not making sense of what it was seeing.

"Y-y-you're deflating…!" Izuku screamed, All Might himself channeling Aizawa for the amount of deadpan he was giving the boy.

"Buwahahahah!" Kaminari couldn't help it as he burst out laughing, grabbing hold of his stomach as he leaned into Kirishima who was in a similar state. Several other students were laughing as the screen froze on All Might's stern face.

"Oh god, sorry, it's just All Might's reaction!"

"To be fair, you do look like a really grouchy old man," Present Mic pointed out, chuckling as his coworker rolled his eyes.

Izuku began to look around the otherwise vacant rooftop. "Wait, up until now… Huh?

The room just erupted into laughter as Izuku accused All Might of being a fake.

"Oh lord, this is too good."

"I swear, I thought you said this one was smart?"

"He is… when he actually takes the time to think."

"Is the whole first meeting like this?"

"No… once I calmed down it actually got kind of serious," Izuku admitted, sinking lower into both the couch and All Might. The skinny man himself winced, though not from the physical pain.

"How serious are we talking?" Aizawa asked, glancing at where he knew the boy was, though could only make out the top of his mop. In response, All Might just waved at the screen.

All Might sighed before deciding to deal with the headache head-on. "I am All Might…" he started, though choked on the last syllable. Blood came spilling out of his mouth, leading to another screaming freak out from Midoriya.

"Please tell me we're getting an explanation for that, cause it's still not making any sense and is still freaking me out." Kaminari questioned, pointing towards the tv. Several other students nodded.

"Give it a minute," Izuku and All Might said together, in a bizarre synchronized manner.

"How much does Midoriya know exactly?" Present Mic asked.

"Technically, he knows more than the UA staff, with the exception of Recovery Girl and Nedzu." This was met with two deadpan looks from the Homeroom and English teachers. "It wasn't all at once."

"That's hardly the point."

"You know how the guys at the pool are constantly flexing and posturing?" All Might explains, with an animation of a chubby man sucking in his stomach. "It's like that."

"I-is it actually like that?"

"I don't know. I've always assumed that there's a transformation component to All Might's quirk."

"Well, you're not wrong, kid," Gran Torino admits. Izuku perked up quite a bit at that, stars shining as his mind raced at the possibilities- "Get your output to 50% and then maybe we'll talk about it." All the air was let out, Izuku hunching forward in his seat.

"No way… There's no way… All Might is fearless… He saves everyone with a smile… He's the greatest…"

"A fearless smile, huh?" All Might sighed before sitting down. The lighthearted music playing throughout the scene finished fading out to silence.

"Now that you've seen me like this, young man, make sure you don't write about this online, even accidentally."

"Um, I know that this is probably a matter of national security, and Midoriya wouldn't do that anyways, but what's the point of saying that?" Kaminari asked, tilting his head to the side.

"Yeah, I mean, it's not like anyone's going to believe him if he tells them he saw All-Might deflate like a sad, muscly balloon animal!" Ashido chimes in. Coughs immediately broke out as some of the group choked on their own spit (or blood), while others tilted over with laughter.

Aizawa looked like he was sending a silent prayer for patience… or death, either one. "It doesn't matter if anyone would believe him at the time. If Midoriya were to have posted about that online, and then All Might's secret got out to the world at large, that would put Midoriya at risk because how would he have gotten that information if he wasn't close to All Might himself?"

"Plus, there is my title as the Symbol of Peace," All Might added. "We already have seen once this year what a group of villains would do just to try and kill me. Now what if they found a way to find me when I am out as a civilian? Imagine the chaos that could bring."

The children's faces dropped. They hadn't considered that. Yes, most people wouldn't believe what All Might actually looked like, but villains were generally unstable, and Shigaraki had proven to be especially so. If he had any inkling on how to find All Might when the man wasn't in hero form and caught him off guard…

Izuku leaned forward, his eyes wide. There was the sound of fabric being pulled, a second pause, and then Izuku flinched back in what could only be horror.

The class all had very similar reactions to the scar presented in its full grisly glory. In front of them was pretty much an angry crater in a man's side, right where the spleen should be.

"You really showed him that on the first day?" Present Mic asked.

"I figured it would be easier if I showed him. After all, if someone with a strong quirk geared towards combat can still be injured like that…" All Might trailed off, wincing. It took the adults a second to make the connection, their eyes widening. All Might wouldn't have… Not to Midoriya.

"It's an injury I got from an enemy's attack five years ago. Half my respiratory organs were destroyed, and I lost my whole stomach. I became emaciated from repeated surgeries and the aftereffects.

"Right now, I can only work as a hero for about three hours a day."

"Th-that can't be…" Izuku responded.

"W-wait, only three hours?" Uraraka spoke up. "B-but Hero Studies is an hour and a half long, same with 1-B."

"A-and, before USJ, didn't you help like a shit ton of people?" Sero added. Everyone on the floor was at least two shades paler, realizing just how close they were to being screwed during the villain attack.

The teachers offered no comment, no comfort to assuage their worries. Eventually, they swallowed it down, going back the show.

"Five years ago… Was that when you fought Toxic Chainsaw?"

"You're well informed. But a punk like that couldn't defeat me.

"This fight was not made public to the world. I asked for it not to be.

"I will save people with a smile. The Symbol of Peace cannot be daunted by evil. I smile to show the pressure of heroes, and to trick the fear inside me." Izuku took a sharp inhale at this new information. All Might, scared. Does not compute.

"Just like Crimson Riot."

"No hero isn't scared when they're on duty. One slip could easily mean the deaths of an innocent, or our own," Aizawa explained, recalling the horror of villains attacking his students-children-and nearly having to witness one's face disintegrated. "To not be scared is just being stupid. However, we cannot let the civilians see that, or else how could they trust us to keep them safe."

"A hero's job isn't just to save lives, but also provide hope that everything will be okay."

"Pro-heroes are always risking their lives. I cannot simply say 'You can become a hero even without power.'"

Both All Might and Izuku winced at the words as did the other Pros. While All Might was kind about it, there really was no gentle way of saying it. Pros put a lot of time and dedication into their work. Aizawa trained for years before UA, and that training only got more intense there. Yes, he fought practically quirkless, but so did majority of his opponents. A quirkless hero would not have that luxury.

The students… were not so understanding. Merritt actually snapped back on several gags to the more vocal protesters. Others just radiated unhappiness. Only a few seemed to agree with the teachers.

"Okay, so obviously some disagree," Merritt said. "Now, I'm going to have to ask you to recall that this was over a year ago, and time tends to change things, whether that time be 10 months, or a couple of hours."

"I-I see…"

"If you really want to help others, then you can also become a police officer. They're often teased because they get villains delivered to their doorstep, but that is also a fine occupation," All Might added, getting up to walk away. He made it to the door before stopping to add, "It's not bad to dream. But you also have to consider what's realistic, young man."

A growl could actually be heard from in front of All Might. A very murderous aura surrounded Uraraka as she glared at the screen. Several of the surrounding students leaned away, while Iida put his hand on her shoulder.

"U-Uraraka-san, it's okay. All Might wasn't wrong, I did need to think things through a bit more back then. B-but it's fine now, right?" Izuku stuttered, giving a wobbly smile. Everyone just gave him a rather critical look before Present Mic looked up.

"Hey, Merritt, can I get a highlighter and a pen, different color from what Eraserhead has?" Both items appeared right before the man, who quickly uncapped the highlighter and dashed something on Aizawa's paper before going in with the pen and circling whatever he highlighted.

"Mic-sensei?"

"Just somethings to do for when we get back."

All Might closed the door behind him, going down the stairs coughing. He moved his hand to his pocket, checking on the villain, who was not there. The walking skeleton began looking around, like he had just dropped both bottles in the stairwell. Conveniently, a loud explosion went off in the distance, and smoke could be seen from the window next to the man.

"Don't tell me…"

"Well that was convenient." Jirou commented.

"Fate often twists events to make sure everything goes as planned." Tokoyami tried to explain, only to be shot down by the other worldly being watching them.

"Eh, not really. She's more of a bitch who thinks she's always right and that the future can't be changed. Honestly, she's the biggest headache I get during these kinds of events."

"Wait, so the future can be changed?" Ojirou asked.

"What do you think the whole point of this was? To torture your teachers and classmates? Yeesh, why do you mortals like to think there's no changing the future. I mean, not even your perception of the past is set in stone, what makes you think your future is?"

The scene quickly cut back to Izuku, who also noticed the explosion.

"A villain? What hero will be there?" Izuku immediately fell back on old habits and turned to run towards the scene of danger. Well, he was until he thought back to what All Might had said. The boy stopped in his tracks, his face dropping more and more before he let a breath out and left.

"Midoriya-kun, you weren't…" Iida asked. It was rather hard not to instantly jump to that after what they have seen so far. But he's here now, right? That has to account for something!

"Hm? A-Ah, no, I'd never!" Izuku assured, waving his hands in front of him. Several classmates let out the breath they were holding. "Besides, I could never leave my mom like that…"

There was a pause, then a clicking of a pen as Present Mic leaned back over into Aizawa, aiming for the paper. Aizawa in response slapped the blond's hand away.

"Yes, I know, you don't need to make anymore notes!" Aizawa continued to smack his colleague all without showing the paper to any of the kids. "I'll bring it up with Hound Dog as soon as we get back!"

Back with All Might… how does that man do hero work with ease but can barely run 10 city blocks as a civilian?

At Tatooin Station, people ran around as explosions ripped apart store fronts. Death Arms and two unnamed heroes arrived quickly on site just to witness the slime villain completely encapsulate Bakugo, only the latter's hair visible.

"A child was taken hostage?!" Death Arms could be heard as Bakugo struggled to pull away from the villain. "You coward!" Death Arms threw a punch. It was not effective.

"What is this? I can't grab hold!" Death Arms tried to pull his arm out of the slime, but only wound up making himself an easy target for the villain's swipe. The muscular man flew back into a storefront. The two other heroes ran forward only to be sent back by the villain.

"Heh. Don't come near me!"

"Rargh!" Bakugo cried as he managed to free his mouth from the slime. "I won't let sewage like this swallow me!"

"Is there any sewage you would let swallow you?" Kaminari asked the explosive user.

"Shut up, you half-baked Pikachu."

Bakugo continued to fray his vocal chords screaming at the sentient sludge while unleashing more powerful explosions. Said explosions proceeded to push the heroes back slightly while leaving the villain unaffected.

"What power! I've hit the jackpot! With this Quirk and power, I can get revenge on that guy!" the villain monologued inside his head, grinning maniacally.

"Holy shit, he doesn't even see you as another person!"

"Huh, totally have no idea how it feels to not be recognized as another human being instead of just a vestal for a quirk," Todoroki deadpanned, though no one could tell if he was being serious or sarcastic. At least no one but the one that followed him up without missing a beat.

"Or to have your entire worth determined by the lack of one."

There was a slight pause as everyone turned to look at the two boys. "Anything you want to explain, Todoroki? Midoriya?" Mic asked.

"Not really, Mic-sensei." Izuku said, Todoroki humming in agreement.

"Alright, how about instead of what you want to explain, is there anything we should know about?" Aizawa followed up. Midoriya's was somewhat understandable, they were watching it right now. Todoroki's… was worrying.

"Mreh, you'll see," Merritt chimed in, sounding disinterested. Probably because she already knew what kind of shitshow this was, as well as when the rest would learn. "I mean, you're currently watching the reason behind Midoriya's comment. As for Todoroki… give it about 18 episodes."

"What happens in 18 episodes?"

Merritt proceeded to ignore the question and start the episode up again.

"Woah, what's that?! Could he be a big-shot villain?" one of the ever so helpful rubberneckers asked. Instead of answering, something else caught the audience's attention.

"She's here! The rookie hero, Mt. Lady!" Sadly, celebrations were cut off as she quickly noticed the problem with someone who had a gigantification quirk working in a metropolitan area like Musutafu. Other heroes also appeared on screen, only to be able to do one or two minor things to not really help the situation, but not make it worse.

"Wait, wouldn't it have been better for Backdraft were to focus on the source of the fires than trying to put them out? I mean, Bakugo could easily reignite them even if they are put out, and if he can't…" Jirou asked, looking towards her teachers. Aizawa was glaring at the Pros on screen. Well all except for Kamui, who actually got innocents out of fires. Instead, the Voice Hero was the one to explain things.

"It's possible that's true, as even if it didn't dilute the slime, it would dilute Bakugo's sweat and lessen the potency of his explosions. However, no one at the time knew what caused Bakugo's explosions, and dousing a suffocation victim with water when they're already struggling to breath is not a good idea. Plus, what if that were to just cause the slime to grow. I'm not agreeing with what the heroes did in this situation, I'm just explaining their choices" Mic quickly cut in, seeing many students start to jump in. It was good that they were analyzing the situation and coming up with strategies, but they did need to recognize limits, whether it be in quirks, or lack of information.

The sludge pulled Bakugo closer into its grasp, clamping harder down on the poor boy's airways. The villain then noticed some heroes approaching and lashed out, making them jump back.

"It's no use! There's no one who can take care of this at the scene right now!"

"All we can do is wait for someone with a more suitable quirk!"

"Let's hold back the damage until then!"

"Don't worry, I'm sure that someone will be here soon!"

"I feel bad for that kid, but he'll have to bear it a little longer."

"Wait, they were just going to let Bakugo continue to suffocate!" the outcry rang out amongst the students. Seriously, they didn't know how long Bakugo could hold his breath for, especially while using his quirk and fighting back!

"God, what if All Might wasn't there! Or that quirk…less… middle schooler…" Suddenly things clicked, at least for those who heard the story and watched the video. Slowly, as one, they turned to Izuku, who, conspicuously, was holding his water up to his mouth, again. Then to Bakugo, who was doing his own version of a pout.

Gran Torino then cracked a grin. "So that's how, huh?" He didn't expand upon it, though both All Might and Izuku understood, the latter growing pink, while the former gaining a slight proud look before messing with the boy's hair. It was suddenly noted that Midoriya wasn't pressed up against his idol's side, and thinking back, hadn't been the last several times they've looked.

Deciding collectively not to comment on their most recent revelation, they turned back, only to see All Might finally get to the scene. The older Pro quickly realized what had happened and immediately started blaming himself.

"It was back then! I was too distracted by my time limit! I can't believe I made a mistake like this after admonishing that fan. Pathetic… Pathetic…" All Might scolded himself right before the title card appeared.

"What! But I was the one that distracted you!" Izuku immediately came to take the blame from his idol.

"Midoriya, stop." Aizawa cut the boy off. Right away, the greenet's mouth snapped shut and he turned to his black-haired teacher. "Both you and All Might had roles to play in the events that led up to this. However, for one, All Might should have known better as not only is he a Pro Hero, but has been one for many decades now. For another, I can tell that both of you have already beaten yourselves over this enough the past year, and I will not add another scolding onto it. Just learn from your mistakes and make sure to never make them again." Aizawa sighed. A problem child, indeed. "The same goes for the rest of you. Am I understood?"

"Yes, Sensei!"

After the eye catch, a boring view of the sky line was shown, just to reaffirm that all of this took place in the same town. It then cut to Izuku, his head buried miserably in his book as he made his way through the streets. The class got a nice look at both Chekov's entry and a Red Herring, though none noticed as they were too interested in the actual entries.

"Damn, Midoriya, I knew you took notes, but I didn't realize they were that good."

"Huh, will probably have to look through those entries to see how accurate they actually are," Present Mic said, trying to read as much as he could. Next to him, Aizawa was quickly scribbling down while muttering something about code lessons and Nedzu.

"Di-Did Midoriya write 'sexy' in his entry for Mt. Lady?!" This comment led to several members breaking out laughing. Several more, including the boy himself, turned a bright red. Noticeably, two members seemed almost pensive, one actually bringing her hands up to her chest.

"Wh-What! N-No, it's not like that! I-I was noting h-how she was marketing herself!"

"Oh, is that how it is?" Kaminari responded back with a big shit eating grin.

"Yes! Several female heroes like Midnight-sensei and Mt. Lady use their sex appeal, while others rely on cuteness! I just make notes on how heroes present themselves as well as their quirks," Izuku explained, curling in on himself and trailing off towards the end.

"That's actually really good, Midoriya," Mic cut in. "UA doesn't touch on it too much, and even then, it's not until your second year at least, but how you present yourself really does matter. For example, if you were to be shown as easily angered and prone to violence, you might not be called in as often for things that might require more emotional stability, even if you have a useful skill set. Part of the reason you don't see Endeavor doing hostage situations or kidnappings."

"Even a top hero said it." Izuku sighed, closing the book with tears just a hair's breadth from falling. He quickly scolded himself, which just drove the stake even further in. Thankfully, an explosion rocked him out of his spiral before unwritable things could be done to the number one hero.

"Wait, Midoriya just so happened to wander over to a villain fight without paying attention?" Ojirou was honestly impressed. It took serious muscle memory to be able to pull that off without even thinking.

"Now we see why All Might was laughing at Tokoyami's comment about Midoriya being drawn to these kinds of situations." Sero added. Jesus, walks with Midoriya would probably end either with watching a villain fight, or actually being in said fight. Coin toss really, now that they were training to become heroes and had villains gunning for them already.

Izuku slowly made his way over to the crowd, body on autopilot while his brain chided him for actions long ingrained. His head started to bob, trying to get a good view of the fight, ignoring that depressing voice inside that was raising a certain brunette's blood pressure. However, once he got a good view, he wished he hadn't.

"Why is that guy here?! Did it get away from All Might?!"

"And now time for round two of Self-Blame: Midoriya Addition."

"Eraser, please stop picking on your students."

"Did he drop it?" Midoriya thought back, recalling seeing and then not seeing the slime in All Might's pockets. "If he did… then it's my fault…"

Bakugo immediately turned to agree and take his anger out on the poor boy, only to have his gag snapped into place, hard. He toppled over, and immediately started clawing at the shiny material, while muffled screams could be heard. The students watched for a few second and then turned back towards the screen. Better to just let the explosive blond tire himself out.

"Why aren't the heroes doing anything?"

"They can't. Apparently, the villain caught a junior high schooler. It's been like that for a while."

These catch Izuku's attention immediately. "Caught…? It's been like this for a while? How can they bear that suffocation? I thought I'd die after a few seconds."

"Midoriya, that's not something to be impressed by."

"I was more impressed by how much they were fighting, though it made sense once I found out it was Kacchan."

"Midoriya, most people fight pretty hard when something is trying to kill them."

"Oh."

There was a slight pause before once more Present Mic was leaning into Aizawa's personal space. And once more, he was being swatted away. "Hisashi, will you stop that! Yes, I know that we should start that as soon as we get back, but you drenching the paper in highlighter ink will not make that happen sooner!"

"Wasn't that the villain All Might was chasing earlier?"

"All Might? No way! He's here?"

"I think I saw him earlier."

"Seriously?! Then what's All Might doing?!"

"That's not going to end well." Shouji said, realizing the implications of the situation. A villain who All Might had been seen chasing, now causing chaos, seemingly without the Number 1 Hero around? Especially with Midoriya in earshot, watching the entire thing.

On screen, Izuku started to blame himself for another person's problems, all while trying to muffle his crying. And on just the other side of the crowd was All Might, gripping his old wound. Two peas in a self-loathing pod.

Izuku sent his best wishes to the poor innocent trapped, hoping that a hero with a suitable quirk would appear soon. The villain pulled the child's head back to reveal a slightly familiar face, though it didn't click until the eyes opened to reveal wide, red eyes.

Wide.

Red.

Bakugo.

Scared.

Any and every thought left the small greenet's mind as he tore through the crowd, his legs moving to save his childhood bully. Everyone around him, especially All Might, was thrown into a panic seeing small boy run to confront the villain.

Outcries immediately rang out! Yes, they knew what was coming, but did he seriously not have- right, Midoriya.

Aizawa looked like he was taking it the worst. His hands were in front of him in throttle positions, only for him to then bury his face in his now frozen fingers. He will be discussing self-preservation with the boy and Hound Dog as soon as they got back, they were not waiting for the school term to start again or even the training camp.

"Why did I run out?! What am I doing?! Why?!"

"Die in an explosion!" the sludge retaliated, not realizing that his opponent had a PhD in dodging Bakugo explosions.

"What do I do? What do I do?!"

"You ran in without a plan?!" Iida cried out! How? Midoriya seemingly always had a plan. Except for maybe Stain. And All Might. And if Asui-san was to be believed, USJ… never mind.

As if answering, Izuku's mind pulled up its own version of his notebook and opened to Kamui Wood's entry. Immediately highlighted was the explanation of Pre-emptive Binding Lacquered Chain Prison on page 25. In a fit of inspiration, the boy shrugged off his backpack and threw it at the sludge, nailing the villain in the eye with a pencil case.

This endeavor immediately proved far more fruitful than what the heroes had been attempting. It actually gave Bakugo the chance to breath, unobstructed by sludge.

"To be able to understand the purpose behind another hero's moves and retool them to work in your own situation…" Gran Torino knew the boy had a good head on his shoulders, but that good while untrained?

"And all within a few short seconds while panicking…" Present Mic agreed. Midoriya Izuku was clearly more than they expected.

The students themselves were impressed and also confused. Yes, they knew that their classmate was good at analyzing heroes, but to the point of impressing two Pros? Honestly, the only ones not impressed were All Might, who was probably used to it and had maybe read some entries in that infamous notebook, and Aizawa, who… wait, didn't he put hard page limits on the last several of Midoriya's analysis papers?

"Why are you here?!" Bakugo coughed out, almost sounding like he was scolding his rescuer.

"My legs moved on their own!" Izuku responded back, clawing at the sludge. "I don't know why thought!"

"Oh good, even the problem child doesn't understand why he did what he did," Aizawa said, unknowingly coining his own personal nickname for the boy. Present Mic it seems has given up on scolding the other Pro and was just shaking his hung head.

"I think there were various reasons," the future narration added on, thankfully giving some answers to the questions everyone was answering. It then flashed back to all the people in his life that told him he couldn't, from Dr. Tsubasa all the way to All Might. But right before the answer, it was just black. "But at that moment…"

"You looked like you were asking for help…"

"Shit."

Everyone turned away from the screen where Deku was saving his first person while wearing a smile on his face, over to Gran Torino, who had his face buried in his hands.

The elder took a deep breath before giving his student a Look. "Really, Toshinori? You had to choose someone so much like Nana?"

There was a pause as the taller hero blinked, before a lopsided grin broke out across his face. He then reached up to rustle Izuku's hair, for which the boy (happily) accepted. "You say that like it's a bad thing, Sensei."

The elder just scoffed, but his grin was all the answer needed. However, only the two of them understood, and they happened to have an audience.

Izuku turned to his mentor and looked at him. "Wait, was Nana-san…?"

Toshinori's grin turned soft, indulgent, with a slight touch of sorrow. "Ah, my mentor."

O-oh. Izuku's eyes automatically started to water at the admission. To be compared to the one that… the one that meant so much to All Might…

There was nothing stopping the flow of tears, though no one was too worried, as it was clearly a different brand than the ones from the previous break down. Though no one else understood exactly what was going on, they could figure it out pretty easily.

Instead of trying to ask questions about the fun history of their teacher/colleague, they went back to the show. Though Aizawa made note to again scold the Symbol of Peace about favoritism.

Somehow All Might heard what the boys had said (One for All empowers hearing? the senses as a whole?) and started berating himself with renewed strength, though at least buffing up this time.

"Just a little longer," the villain commented, almost gleeful while killing a young teenager. Wait, no, his eyes definitely showed glee. Then, he realized the current threat to his plans and rose his hand like appendage to swat away the teen even smaller than the one he was trying to kill. "Don't get in my way!"

The Pro Heroes finally started moving at this, running to pull the boy away while questioning his mental health. However, the one that got there in time was a surprise to everyone, tanking the explosion.

"I really am pathetic," a deep voice said. Izuku, not feeling the expected impact, let down his guard, only to be met with the sight of his idol, who had already run out of time that day, with his arm buried in the villain's slimy body. "Even though I admonished you, I wasn't putting what I said into practice!"

The muscular man broke free, grabbing onto Bakugo's arm with his other. He then swung his arm forward, all while pulling both Bakugo and Midoriya behind him. Blood spewed out of his mouth as he gave his last piece to Midoriya before calling his attack.

"Pros are always risking their lives!"

The gale produced caused the two boys to swing wildly with each other, grounded only by All Might holding onto their arms. Ahead, Mt. Lady shielded many civilians with her arms while forcing herself as low as she could just so she wouldn't be blown away. Overhead, what could only be a category 5 tornado whipped up, though thankfully dissipated after a few short seconds.

"Holy shit," Kaminari could only say.

"Jesus Christ!" Ashido agreed.

It was not hard to see why the kids were taken away. All Might rarely used that amount of force, so it was rather hard to gauge just how much power he actually had. This, this was another level.

…And someone managed to injure him in a fight.

All Might was shown panting with exertion. The other Pros looked on in awe, not noticing the sudden darkening of the sky. It wasn't until some of the civilians watching noted the sudden change in weather that they reacted.

"Rain?"

"Don't tell me it was from the wind pressure just now…"

"An updraft developed and…"

"He made… clouds…?"

Thankfully, the ones closest to All Might were the two boys, knocked out from being so close to the epicenter. Else someone might have noticed the blood trickling from the Symbol of Peace's mouth, despite no other wounds visible.

Instead, cheers for the successful hero rang out among the crowd, everyone ecstatic at seeing just how much hold over nature the larger than life idol seemingly had. The man himself held his hand above his head, hiding the brief moment he lost his balance. Almost no one would have noticed it, not unless you were looking at his feet as he rocked back on his heels.

A quick look over his shoulder at his soon to be student, passed out from the excitement and the amount of pressure his body wasn't used to being near. Yet.

The students themselves were celebrating. Yes, they knew the outcome. Most had seen it on TV themselves. But that? Feeling so close to the action, with the music hyping up their emotions? That was something else.

"Holy crap, that was awesome!"

"All Might just blew the slime away!"

"Did you see that tornado!"

"Holy shit, and this is only the second episode!"

"And it's not done yet. You kids have a few more minutes left," Merritt said, ending the cheers.

"Wait, what? But All Might defeated the slime villain," Uraraka chimed in, almost forgetting her anger at the pro hero. Actually, all the students seemingly have.

"Yes, what more could there be in the episode to take up several minutes," Iida responded. He had also been caught up in the festivities, though his own merriment was… slightly more subdued than his classmates'.

"A certain pair still need to have a conversation about what had just happened."

This set the kids on edge. There were really only two pairs that could be referring to, and one was likely not to happen. Recalling the last conversation, the two had on screen, the mood dropped. At least it did for everyone except Izuku, his face flushed ever so slightly and… was he hiding… a smile?

"After this, heroes collected the scattered sludge, and safely delivered it to the police."

Izuku was shown looking over at All Might, who was surrounded by news reports, all trying to get the latest scoop. Sadly, for the poor boy, he was not so lucky.

"Jeez, there's a limit to how rash you can be! There was absolutely no reason for you to put yourself in danger!"

"What?! But if Deku-kun didn't run in then who knows how long Bakugo would have been in that situation!"

"Yes, but he still ran out and put himself in harm's way," Aizawa cut off. Hopefully his students would listen to him, even if they didn't stop to think things out themselves. "Remember, no one there but Midoriya knew about All Might's time limit. From their perspective, All Might either got lost or held up, and Midoriya running out just added another potential casualty.

"As for the problem child, he does need to stop putting himself in danger and start thinking of a plan before he leaps." There was a pause as the words sank in, and then another as things were considered, because, well, Midoriya. "This will not be the last time I'm going to be saying that, will it?" The resulting silence was answer enough. "God damn it, I should have expelled you all on the first day."

Apparently, the scolding/praising went on for quite a period of time, as the next scene was set as the sun started to set, and everything was cast in a golden glow. Izuku was shown making his way home, his head down.

"I wanted to apologize to All Might, but he was being interviewed… I'll try sending him a message on his website when I get home."

"Deku!"

"Kacchan…?"

"I never asked for your help! And you didn't help me! Got it?!"

"Bakugo, could you, maybe, calm down on the rage just a hair? You're really starting to seem like one of those small angry balls of fluff people call dogs."

"OMG! That'd be so cute! Puppy Bakugo! Barkugo!"

Instead of the screams that were expected, there was only silence. Looking, the students found their classmate, still gagged, murder in his eyes, and flipping them off as hard as he could. It was not as intimidating as he had hoped as most of the students surrounding him all just laughed, along with others outside their circle.

"I was fine by myself! You're a quirkless failure playing without a full deck! Don't think you can look down on me! Are you trying to make me owe you?! Don't look down on me! Damn nerd!"

"Is that Bakugo's way of trying to protect Midoriya?"

"No, it seems more like he's just mad that Deku-kun saved him."

"Mm, he most likely didn't want to be saved by anyone, but Midoriya would have been the bottom of the list."

"It's just as Kacchan said. It's not like I accomplished anything, or changed something. But I'm glad. Now I can think of a realistic future…"

Once more there was growling. Once more Uraraka seemed almost like a demon, ready to rid the world of its Symbol of Peace. And once more, everyone leaned away.

"I am here!"

"Wha?! A-All Might?! What are you doing here?" Thankfully, Midoriya had managed not to scream that. "You were surrounded by reporters until just now…"

"Hahahaha! Getting away from them was a piece of cake! Why? Because I am All Migh-" and the triumphant theme that had been playing in the background screeched to a halt as the hero deflated in a puff of smoke and a spray of blood. Of course, Midoriya reacted like a normal person, despite already having seen both from the man at least once that day.

After the boy calmed down and All Might stopped coughing, the hero got straight to business. "Young man, I have come with thanks, a correction and a suggestion."

This caught the everyone's attention. The last time the two spoke was not kind on Izuku, but this… was this where their relationship actually started? Izuku himself thought back on the day, a slight chuckle coming out when he recalled how he acted when learning about One for All.

"Anything you want to share with the class, little listener?" Present Mic asked. It was actually rather nice seeing the boy seemingly in a better mood. The first episode had been hard, and this one not much better. If he could smile and laugh about what came next… Maybe things would be okay.

"Huh? Oh, just remembering my reaction to All Might's… 'suggestion'."

"Oh, you can remember that through all the tears?"

"Hey!"

"If you hadn't been there… If you hadn't told me about your life… I would've turn into a guy in a bodysuit who was all talk. Thank you."

"That can't be… It was my fault in the first place. I got in the way of your work, and I said all those impertinent things even though I'm quirkless…"

"That's right. It was because it was none other than that timid, quirkless you at the scene that I was able to act."

"Damn…"

"So Midoriya-chan actually did help Bakugo."

There was a slight, low growling from the other side of the room than the last three had originated from. However, no other actions were taken under Aizawa's glare. No one was that stupid, not even a pissed off Bakugo.

"Top heroes have stories about them from their school days. Most of these stories have one thing in common: Their bodies moved before they had a chance to think."

A faded Deku ran out of the crowd and at the slime villain, the soft music starting to swell. The meaning behind All Might's words sinking in as tears started to well in the young man's eyes. Fighting them back, Izuku bowed his head.

"For some reason, I remembered my mother's words," the narration spoke up, followed by the faint memory of Mama Midoriya apologizing to her son. The well of emotions became too painful for the future hero, choking him with the pain from the past, and the fragile hope that somehow had yet to die.

"That was true for you, too, wasn't it?" That was what pushed him over the edge, the damn broken as Midoriya Izuku sunk to his knees, crying in front of his lifelong idol.

In the crowd, emotions also ran rampant. Most of the students had their own tears, and while none were bawling like Midoriya on screen, they weren't exactly shy about it either.

Amongst the teachers, Present Mic was not ashamed of his tears making up for Aizawa's lack of visible emotions. Toshinori and Izuku, who both had been there, obviously, shared a smile. This was a nice memory close to both their hearts. Gran Torino watched both his students with a soft look.

Oh, what Nana would have given to be here and see Toshinori with his boy.

"That's not it, Mom. Back then, I wanted you to say… The words I wanted to hear were…"

"You can become a hero."

"Dreams can become reality." The scene froze, showing the sobbing boy kneeling in front of the man that gave him his dream, and his reality.

"By the way, I forgot to mention that this is the story of how I became the greatest hero."

"Eh?" Error, unable to process.

"Well, that's a twist," Aizawa snarked. All Might himself broke out laughing. Mic was shaking his head in amusement, just realizing how interesting the next few years will be.

"Okay, if it were anyone else in this class…" Kirishima said, trailing off.

"But since it's from Midoriya… A future version, yeah, but still Midoriya…" Sato pointed out.

"Just because that's what the show said, doesn't mean it will happen," Todoroki cut in. Everyone tensed, ready for another tense declaration of war between the two. Midoriya turned and watched his friend as the half redhead turned to look directly at the greenet. What he noticed, and the others didn't, was the slight softness, the lower tension. This wasn't a declaration of war… "After all, any of us can snatch the top spot for ourselves."

It took a second, but only that to get the challenge that was not hidden. Izuku felt his mouth pull into a grin. Oh, so that's what Todoroki was doing?

"Well then, we're all going to have to work hard to get there! Hope you don't go easy on me!"

The other two of the group were the ones who understood next. "To go easy on you would be an insult to your drive, Midoriya, as well as the fine institute that we are attending!"

"Plus, we're all aiming to be heroes, Deku-kun! Why not aim for the top and go Plus Ultra!"

It was only now that the rest of the class had caught on. Each with their own grins, ready to face what future comes at them in such a way that only teenagers could pull off. The adults looked on fondly. Maybe there was actually some hope for what was to come.

Yes, the episode is finally done! Again, thank you for all the kind words and support you've given me up until now. I really do like this series, and even as I read other stories that cover events from canon, my mind starts wondering how our kids would react (and what remedial lessons Aizawa would be giving).

Now for a couple of quick things:

1) I am still taking animal suggestions and will for the next couple of chapters! I have actually gotten a few suggestions that I really like, so I've since settled on Aoyama, Ashido and Shouji's (though with Shouji, I still need to decide upon the exact species). That means that I still need suggestions for Oujiro, Kaminari, Sato, Jirou, Sero, Touru, Mineta, Yaomomo, and Torino! I also am trying to decide upon specific species/breeds for other characters (so like Izuku and All Might are both bunnies, but Izu is a Holland Lop and his dad is a French Lop). Those characters are Asui (frog, duh), Iida (dog), Kouda (turtle/tortoise), and Shouji (octopus(how did I not choose that the first time around?)). So please leave your suggestions down in the comments!

2) I decided to add a couple new pairings, but again, background. One is somewhat canon. I just thought it'd be cute. Also, I'm still not telling you All Might's sweetheart, though someone pointed out that I'm the one who gave away their sex. You are right, but I will say that sweetheart in my family is generally used towards females, and so does my version of Kirishima. Sorry for those who wanted All Might to be gay. He's still in the GSRM community, but over on the ace spec instead.

3) Yes, I decided to up the rating. Mostly because I realized these were teens, and one of them was Bakugo. Oops.

4) Izuku actually sat up in this episode. He is no longer pasted against All Might's side. See, for the first and most emotionally taxing episode, he'd need All Might's comfort (why they were so affectionate, don't worry, other students will get their shot at comfort from their idol since Toshi is a giant, dorky, teddy bear). For the second one, it's just residue from the previous, and thus Izuku needs his dad less. Next episode he'll start sitting with his friends.

Once again, thank you all for not only reading, but giving me such support. See you next time!