Notes: I just want to take a moment to thank everyone for the follows and favorites. I did not expect this story to be popular, so it's really helped inspire me to keep writing as fast as possible. I do have a beta reader; she goes through a lot considering how much I write all at once.


friendly: kind and pleasant


It turned out that Ed and his brother Alphonse had had to move into the dorms upon their acceptance into U.A. since they weren't from around here. It made sense. Students from all over the country, maybe even the world, fought their way into the high school. It had the top hero program out there. Izuku happened to be lucky that he lived in the city where it was located. Actually, in retrospect, he felt like he'd been lucky all around, even if All Might had assured him that he'd worked hard for this.

Because the two brothers lived in the dorms though, Alphonse admitted that they had been eating junk food for the most part. They missed having a home cooked meal. Izuku had invited them over for dinner without a second thought and then remembered that he had to ask his mom. Of course she'd said yes. He thought she might have even cried, as embarrassing as that was. Neither one of them could remember the last time he had had any friends over.

Izuku tried not to think of that though. Being quirkless had affected not just his dreams, but the way other kids had looked at him. He didn't want to think that Ed or Alphonse might not be friends with him if he didn't have a quirk. They seemed like the kind of people that wouldn't be like that, but… He would never know.

"Aizawa is really scary!" Alphonse exclaimed as they walked to Izuku's place. "I thought for sure that he was going to really expel someone." He gave Izuku a relieved smile. "I'm glad it was just a trick."

Ed was clearly the more doubtful of the two, the one that questioned things more. "He doesn't seem like the type that would lie about that though." He shoved his hands in his pockets and looked up at the sky. "He doesn't seem like the type that would lie about anything."

"It did force us to produce our best results with our quirks," Alphonse pointed out.

Still, Ed shook his head. "Not all of our quirks are suited for physical tests though. His certainly isn't."

"That's why he had to cultivate other skills as a hero," Izuku said, thinking back to the way Aizawa had restrained Bakugou from attacking him while canceling out their quirks and lecturing them at the same time. The look in his bloodshot eyes had been piercing. He had to fight the urge to shudder. The number one hero wouldn't do that. He was going to have to get a hell of a lot tougher if he was going to do this. "He built them around the kind of hero he wanted to become."

"The kind of hero he wanted to become…" Ed repeated thoughtfully, as if he'd never considered it before.

Izuku had known in his heart what kind of hero he had wanted to be since he was a child. He wanted to become the greatest hero that ever was, even (especially) if it meant surpassing his idol. He wanted to become the number one hero. And as much as he screamed and fought, Kacchan did as well, just in his own way. To him, there was nothing less than becoming number one. He had been that way since Izuku could remember. It was number one or that was it.

Honestly, it was a shame that they were opposite of each other when they were on the same side and Izuku really did want Kacchan to accomplish his dreams despite his horrible behavior and antagonistic treatment, but…

That number one spot was Izuku's to claim.

"Why did you two apply for the hero course?" Izuku asked.

Alphonse clenched one of his hands into a fist and gave him a determined look. "I want to save people from disaster and protect them!" He then unclenched his fist and smiled shyly. "I guess that's kind of basic."

"No way!" Izuku replied. "It's very honorable. So would you want to focus on rescue, like Thirteen?"

Clearly relieved that Izuku didn't think him dumb, Alphonse nodded his head. He looked down at his unclenched hand and raised the other to join it. "My quirk gives me a lot of protection. In my armor form, I'm a lot stronger and I can take a lot of hits without any repercussion. I also have endless endurance. I don't get tired while in it so I can keep running for miles without taking a break."

"Don't let him fool you," Ed interjected. "He's not joking when he says he's stronger. In all honesty, he's a better fighter than me."

"Really?" Izuku asked. Alphonse blushed, but nodded his head. "Wow, that's cool. Your quirk would work for both rescue and combat if need be." He turned to Ed. "What about you?"

Ed pondered the question for a while, his hand still sunk in his pockets and his shoulders slumped. Izuku had noticed him thinking about it since he had brought it up. This was clearly that he hadn't thought about directly. He wanted to be a hero, no doubt, but what kind? Why? Everyone thought that was an easy question, but it really wasn't. Of course Izuku wanted to save people and protect them. Of course he wanted to give hope and bring peace. But becoming a hero was more than that.

Becoming a hero was his very being. It was who he was - who he had been denied upon being born quirkless. It was just him.

So what was Ed truly trying to accomplish by coming to U.A.?

"I guess," Ed finally said, definitely sounding like it was more than just a guess, "I want to keep people from suffering or dying pointlessly."

"You value life," Izuku said gently. It reminded him of how Ed had dealt with the robots during the entrance exam. Everyone else had been busy destroying them to earn points while Ed transformed them into something else. In a sense, he hadn't killed them. They had lived on in their own ways, just unable to do harm.

Ed nodded his head. "Hm, yeah."

Knowing that it was a good idea to change tracks and he was curious, Izuku asked, "So what did you think of Mustang's class today?"

As predicted, Ed scoffed. "He's the worst. Who thought it would be a good idea for him to become a teacher?"

"You have to admit that he's really strong," Alphonse said in a tone that suggested he was used to calming down Ed whenever he was riled up. It kind of reminded Izuku of dealing with Kacchan, but no, Ed wasn't mean. He just had a lot of passion and it got the better of him. "And he knows what he's doing with his quirk."

"I really wasn't expecting that lesson from him," Izuku added. "His quirk seems so…" - he waved his hands in a large circle - "grand. You know?"

The little ball of fire that had startled Ed had been little more than a huff from Mustang and while his destruction of the baseball had been small it had been incredible. Heroes with quirks like his - people like Kacchan - typically relied on large displays of power. To see something so large do the exact small amount of damage that he desired was unique. When Izuku had realized who was teaching them, he'd expected more of the same as Aizawa: pushing themselves and their quirks to their limit. Mustang was known for being loud, cocky, and brash.

It made Izuku think that perhaps he had been looking at Mustang all wrong the whole time. All those times he had fought a villain and won, had it been a tightly controlled use of his quirk? If so, was he capable of more?

The fight that they'd talked about during class came to mind. It had come out in public, but no actual footage had surfaced. If any had been taken, they were smart enough to know not to publish it online. That kind of control over a quirk was something to think about. Izuku wished more than anything he had it. If he could control his quirk even an inch without breaking himself, he'd be grateful. As of now, forcing All for One into a single finger was all he had.

"It must be due to his time working with Hawk's Eye," Izuku decided.

Ed gave him a look. "You think anyone can get through that ego of his?"

Izuku laughed. "If he lets them, sure. Flame Alchemist and Hawk's Eye are probably the most well-known duo in the hero world."

Because the Flame Alchemist had moved back to the area five years ago, Izuku had started paying more attention to him. Izuku had even seen one of his fights in person. It was imprinted in his mind. The only thing that he could compare it to was when Bakugou had been captured by that sludge villain, but even then, it hadn't been so messy. The fire…. It had looked like it was alive.

"You sure do know a lot about pro heroes," Alphonse noted.

Red immediately overtook Izuku's cheeks. "I, ah-" He laughed nervously. "It's interesting, isn't it? Studying their styles and techniques? It's a good source for ideas."

"You're such a nerd," Ed said with a chuckle. Izuku was used to being called a nerd, but normally it was an insult. He never would've known the difference if not for Ed. The other boy said it so differently, like it was a good thing, and it made Izuku smile. "No wonder we get along."

No wonder indeed.


After school, Bakugou spent too much time gazing down at his right hand, but he couldn't help but feel as if it had betrayed him somehow. His quirk didn't fail him. It was amazing. The only other time that he had felt let down by it had been when that sludge monster had captured him, but he would've gotten away eventually. He would have saved himself without any help from Deku. His quirk would help propel him to the top and no one would stop him.

The moment his explosion had missed the ball, it had felt like he had been punched in the gut. Bakugou wasn't stupid - he knew that a distance shot with his quirk would be difficult - but he hadn't thought that he would fail so obviously. He couldn't do it. He'd realized it in that second that he couldn't and for a few seconds he had watched in horror as the ball went farther and farther out of reach. On the ground, he couldn't do anything, so he had shot into the air like a rocket.

It had felt good to explode the stupid thing in the moment, but when he had come back down, he had been hit by the fact that he had blown up himself. That wasn't typically an issue. He had never been self-conscious about it before because anyone else's opinion didn't matter. Except he hadn't just been around his classmates or any old teacher. The Flame Alchemist was right there, watching his every move. Bakugou had never once in his life felt the need to explain himself, but it had started to slip out of his mouth before he managed to catch himself.

"My quirk-"

Yeah, his quirk. The one that had so clearly not been compatible with Mustang's third lesson for the day. The ease with which Mustang had followed through with the example was awesome, but Bakugou had been too busy steaming over his misstep to truly appreciate it. When their hero costumes came in, as long as they followed his design ideas, he would have a way to use his quirk for long directional explosions, but they would still be massive. That had been the idea and he still really liked it, but he wanted to be capable of everything.

When they had talked about that particular hero and villain fight, Bakugou had noticed that Mustang had appeared kind of… Well, it looked like he'd been uncomfortable, like he didn't want to talk about it, but then he hadn't stopped them, not even when the rest of the class had begun muttering amongst themselves about it. If Bakugou didn't know any better, he would've said that Mustang wasn't proud of what he'd done.

That was ridiculous though. He'd done what needed to be done. That was what heroes did. That was what he would do. Who cared about what other people thought? People's opinions didn't defeat villains.

"Still mad?"

Bakugou spun around and saw Mustang standing there, leaning against the wall of the school. He looked around and realized that he was still standing outside of the building. Clenching his hand into a fist, he dropped it to his side and ground out a simple, "No."

"If you came in here thinking that you're already the best," Mustang pointed out idly, "you're never going to grow." He shrugged his shoulders casually, like none of this mattered even though it meant everything to Bakugou. "You don't have to, of course, but even the top heroes have room for improvement."

"Is that why you're not the number one hero?" Bakugou shot back.

Mustang didn't take the bait. Frustratingly he smiled, but not in the kind, understanding way that teachers usually did that pissed Bakugou off. It was the type of smile that said Mustang knew something Bakugou didn't. It was unpleasant. For some reason, it made Bakugou feel a little more at ease, because this was the hero that he knew. The kind of hero that was unforgiving and unflinching, the kind that he wanted to be.

"I can always stand to grow some more and there are a lot of reasons why I'm not the number one hero," Mustang replied, "but that isn't one of them."

"Why aren't you then?" Bakugou asked. The thought had crossed his mind before. Mustang's hero ranking sat steadily at number four no matter what he did. Every time Bakugou was certain that the Flame Alchemist would rise further, he didn't, even though Bakugou knew that the hero was better than that. It was as if he had hit some sort of ceiling and couldn't go any higher.

Mustang looked at him, the smile gone from his face, replaced with an unreadable expression. It was like he was trying to figure out what to say, if he could say anything. For a moment, Bakugou thought he might not get an answer and he was prepared to demand one when the hero finally said, "Because I can't."

It was an unexpected answer said so simply and it took Bakugou aback. He had thought that Mustang might try to give him some bullshit lesson or maybe an excuse or an explanation that he would be the number one hero in the future. Never give up or something like that. But it wasn't that at all.

"You can't," Bakugou repeated. Something in the way Mustang said those words didn't feel right. It didn't sound like he was saying that he couldn't become number one because he wasn't strong or smart enough. He sounded fully confident in his abilities. It sounded more like he couldn't because it was truly impossible - like he wasn't allowed, which no sense. The thing about heroes was that they made the impossible possible. They made the possibilities limitless.

As quick as the moment came over them, Mustang changed the mood, rubbing the back and putting on a sheepish grin. "Ah, I wouldn't make a good symbol of peace anyways," he sighed flippantly. "I'm much too restless." He pushed away from the wall and walked past Bakugou to leave the school. "Don't cause too much trouble."

Bakugou put a faint scowl back on his face. Damn teachers, always trying to parce off advice. Still, he could and would get stronger. That was the point of this place, was it not?


"Oh, your class looks so different from mine!" a girl's voice came from inside the room.

Izuku hesitated for only a second before stepping inside. The girl had been very loud, her voice carrying outside the room and down the hallway, but what he noted was her astonishment. When he peered inside, he saw that there was an unfamiliar girl in the room. Had they gotten a new classmate last minute? They already had the max amount of people in 1-A. Unless….

Unless someone had been booted out.

Izuku did a quick look around the room, counting everyone in his class. His heart leapt into this throat when he noticed one person missing. He opened his mouth to ask about them when someone bumped hard into his shoulder, almost knocking him down face first, and growled, "Move it!"

Panic flared in him briefly, but then relief washed over him, the two contradicting emotions leaving him to feel confused in the end. "Kacchan!"

All he got was a sharp glare from Kacchan and then he slunk to his chosen desk. He walked right past the blonde-haired girl as if he hadn't noticed her in the slightest. Did he truly not see that there was a stranger in their room? Did he even know that she wasn't a part of their class? Sometimes Kacchan acted like he was the only one in the class besides his rivals.

"Hey, Midoriya!" Ed called out. Izuku made his way over to them. The girl was talking with Ed and Alphonse, sitting atop Ed's desk in a way that was making Iida twitch on the other side of the classroom. "This is my friend, Winry. She's in the support class. She came to see what all the fuss is about the hero course."

That made sense. Izuku held out a hand for her to shake and smiled. "Support class? So you build gadgets that help heroes use their quirks to the top of their abilities?" He had seen some insanely brilliant ingenuity when it came to creating support pieces to help heroes. It was really clever. Many of them had quirks that helped them build their gadgets. He was so lost in thinking about all the different tech that he briefly forgot that he was talking to a girl.

"Oh yeah," Ed said with a laugh, "she's a huge tech freak."

Winry smacked him in the arm. "Shut up, you dork." She turned back to face Izuku with a bright smile. "It's nice to finally meet you. Ed told me about you. He says you have a crazy strong quirk!"

Blood rushed to Izuku's face and he turned as red as a tomato. Ed had talked to his friend about him? Whenever Kacchan had told people about him, it was usually about him being a quirkless nobody. "I, uh, well, it's not, um, yeah, ha-"

From his seat behind his desk, Ed laughed again. It was at Izuku, but it didn't sound mean. It wasn't like Kacchan, who made jokes and barked insults at his expense and then laughed at Izuku to make him feel small. Ed's laugh sounded more like an inside joke with him. "He's so modest," Ed said.

Winry hopped off the desk. "You could stand to have a bit of modesty. Your ego is gonna get you in trouble."

"It's not ego," Ed countered. "It's confidence."

"Could've fooled me with that big head," Winry threw back.

Before Ed could fire something in return, a tired, flat voice asked, "Did you switch classes, Rockbell?"

All three kids spun around to see Aizawa standing in front of the classroom. Well, standing was kind of a relative term, seeing as how he was still zipped up tight in his yellow sleeping bag. He was watching them with the kind of look that said he would rather be in bed than here but what could he do?

Winry jerked straight as if she'd been shocked and shook her head, "No, sir."

"Then what are you doing here?"

"Leaving, sir!" Winry didn't even spare them a parting glance before rushing out of the room with a speed that came close to matching Iida's. Izuku turned to look at Ed, who gave him a shrug of his shoulders, and then Izuku sat down behind his desk.

It was strange, but it had never occurred to Izuku that they could have friends outside of this class. There was the other hero course, 1-B, and then also support, business, and general studies. Izuku was so absorbed by his own class that he'd forgotten about the rest. It would be a good idea to know people in the other classes, especially someone in the support course. The kids in 1-A weren't his only competition for the number one spot.