The Ministry of Defense has made their move, and Class 3-E doesn't sit around waiting for very long. There is always someone left behind to hold down the fort and leave the light on for when they come home.

The train Izuku took home from the dojo was empty. It always was. Well, almost empty. There were two other people in the train car with him. A man and a woman, both in expensive suits, both on opposite sides of the car with Izuku sitting in the middle. None of them ever acknowledged the others, so Izuku just counted the car as functionally empty, unless he needed to start talking out loud, which wasn't often.

None of that mattered right now. Now, he was on his way home from another grueling lesson with Sentoki-sensei and frantically texting his classmates. While he had been busy practicing, a bright beam of light had descended from the sky, covering the mountain they studied on.

Luckily, whatever it was (and yes, they had some very good ideas), it had happened within the last minutes of Sentoki-sensei's lesson, so Izuku hadn't missed much of the screaming about government bastards. More than half the class wanted to go up immediately and investigate, luckily, they were tempered rather easily by the others with just a little logic and reasoning. Not everyone could make it out there in a reasonable timeframe, and there was no telling how much (or little) coordination between the Ministry of Defense and the local heroes there was. In either extreme, there could very well be a swarm of heroes on the mountain that they wouldn't be equipped to deal with. They'd be flying blind in every sense.

When everything was settled, or as settled as it was going to get, Izuku put his phone away, bouncing his leg and jittering nervously while he tried desperately to stay still. They knew what was happening. The Ministry was taking their teacher from them, despite the less than one percent chance of death by not-so-fiery explosion. He hated it. He hated being stuck on this train with nothing to do and nowhere to go.

Even with him fidgeting every two seconds and gnawing on his lips, neither of his "companions" paid him any mind. When it got to his stop (the man got off two stops before), Izuku practically bolted out of his seat. He tried to keep himself to a somewhat decent walking pace, but just kept moving faster and faster. He was only three meters out of the station before he was jogging. Only a block away before he started sprinting. He should have been tired and worn out from his lesson, but the news had just filled him with tension and energy that refused to leave him.

Things started getting weird again as he approached his apartment building. There were armed soldiers roaming the streets, only small groups passing every once in a while, but enough to notice, and people were leaving. They were carrying bags and their eyes were wide. Some of the kids were laughing and playing, like this was some adventure. Others were nervously asking what was going on. Izuku paused for a second, watching the exodus of his neighbors, then he ran.

He sprinted up the stairs, carefully weaving through the crowd and doing his best to avoid knocking anyone over.

"Mom!" he yelled, bursting through the door and tripping over himself to get his shoes off.

"Izuku!" Thank god. She's still here. "Over here. Pack a bag, quickly."

Izuku stumbled again. Had they already come through? "Mom, what's going on?" he asked, rushing deeper into their little apartment.

Inko glanced in his direction, away from the small knick knacks she had been debating. "Oh, Izuku," she put down a picture frame she had been holding (A picture of them and the Bakugous, before Dad left). "Don't worry too much. I'm sure everything will be just fine. One of the downstairs neighbors, Wakusei-san, called ahead. Something about a… oh, I don't quite remember. But they'll be here soon to explain to us." Inko rubbed Izuku's back slowly as she gently pushed him further into the apartment. "Now, go pack a bag. Grab what you can and get ready to leave."

They hadn't been through yet. He had time. It would be fine. Everything would be fine. It was just a little evacuation.

There was a knock at the door. Izuku froze. Inko hesitated, before giving him a small push. "I'll take care of it. Pack." She turned around and opened the door. Izuku didn't move.

"Ah, good evening ma'am." That was Kamui Woods. Izuku slowly turned around. The hero was standing in the doorway, with three soldiers behind him. "The Ministry of Defense is evacuating this area. We-"

"Why?" Izuku hadn't meant to interrupt, but his mouth moved before his brain had even processed the words. But really, why would they need to be moved? It wasn't like Korosensei was going to attack anyone.

Kamui Woods glanced over his shoulder and then at Inko, whose face shown with blatant confusion, before turning his full attention to Izuku. "There's a delicate operation in the area. We don't want any civilians being caught up in it."

"How long will we be away, Kamui-san?" Inko asked.

"I've been told it will take about a week," Kamui Woods answered, "so you should pack for at least that. We have a shelter set up for those that need to stay in the area and have nowhere else to go if you need it."

No. Izuku would not place himself under direct surveillance. Not when his teacher needed him. But where else would they go? He needed to be here, and they couldn't afford a hotel. Well, they could, technically. Izuku had seen the kind of money his dad sent them, but Inko hated spending it. Hated relying on Hisashi any more than was absolutely necessary. They lived comfortably, but no more than that.

"Is the intersection of Touri and Douro outside the evacuation zone?" He didn't like this plan, but it would keep him out of sight and in the area. It should be far enough. They were just on the edge of the area that was allowed priority enrollment from Asano-san's agreement with the residents when he bought out the school.

"Uh, yes," Kamui-san said, "it is."

Inko immediately straightened. "Izuku, honey, we don't have to go there, if you don't want to. There's nothing wrong with staying in an emergency shelter for a little while."

Izuku shook his head. "I want to stay here, Mom."

Inko's eyes narrowed. "If this is some hero watching thing-"

"What? No! Mom, I haven't watched any hero fights in months!" Izuku quickly defended.

"Wait, you're that kid, right?" Kamui-san interrupted. "The quirkless kid from the sludge villain incident almost a year ago."

Izuku forced himself not to wince. That was hardly how he wanted to be remembered. On the other hand, the quirkless kid did more than several trained professionals…

"I'm glad to see we got through to you. What you did was very dangerous."

Izuku could feel his back straighten and his muscles tense. "Actually," he said slowly, eyes locked on firmly on Kamui-san's, "I've just been too busy training."

"Oh?"

"Yeah, preparing for entrance exams. I've applied to four hero courses."

"Oh. Well, um…"

"Izuku, why don't you go get packed. Are you sure about staying with the Bakugou's?"

Izuku glanced down at his mom and shook off the last of the anger burning quietly in the back of his mind. He nodded. "Yeah. Things are… past their worst. Probably. I can at least be civil. I can't say much about Bakugou, though."

Izuku saw his mom twitch slightly at his use of Bakugou's last name instead of his first or his old childish nickname but ignored it. He sent one last look at the soldiers and Kamui-san and turned into his room to pack. He left the door open, listening in the whole time, just in case.

Inko was fuming quietly while Mitsuki cursed up a storm. She was furious. Furious that there was a villain on the school campus, and no one had even noticed. Furious at the government for not doing something sooner. Furious at the school for putting her baby in such an isolated area that allowed this to happen in the first place. Furious at the reporter for even implying that the students would have known something. (But mostly afraid, because what if they were right?)

She probably should have been furious sooner, when they sent him out there at the beginning of the year. She should have been furious before that when her son started trying to secretly buy more and more notebooks. She had assumed it was just for his hero studies until recently. Until his grades stopped dropping and started rising when he got away from the idiots that looked down on him and got a teacher that actually cared.

As it was, she was furious now and she didn't know where her son was.

"Katsuki!" Mitsuki yelled.

A thump was followed by footstep pounding down the stairs before Katsuki entered the room. "What do you want, you old hag!" he yelled back.

"Where the hell is Izuku!"

"How the hell should I know? He spends all of his time out with his shitty classmates!"

"It's been two days, Katsuki! How can you know how he spends his time, but not know where he is!"

"I know because that's what they always fucking do, hag! They stick together all the fucking time! And he's not here! I'm not his keeper!"

"Katsuki!" Inko yelled, cutting over the screaming match before Mitsuki could keep it going. "What do you mean they stick together?" she asked, quickly lowering her voice once she had their attention.

Katsuki shrugged. "The 3-E kids are almost always together. They usually even stay up on their little mountain well after school lets out. Hell, most of the time they hang out together even when there's nothing school related. Biggest bunch of misfits in the entire fucking place, but they're the closest group of friends on the damn campus."

Inko opened her mouth to speak again but was cut off by a knock at the door.

"I'll get it," Mitsuki grumbled. "And don't think this is over, brat. We're continuing this conversation later."

Katsuki rolled his eyes but dropped down on the couch to wait. Inko slowly settled herself on a chair to one side. She desperately wanted to keep asking Katsuki questions. He had the most accurate and detailed knowledge of Izuku's school life other than Izuku himself. But she couldn't do it. Not without Mitsuki.

When Mitsuki returned, she wasn't alone and was clearly unhappy about it from the purse of her lips. An old man in a dark suit with his skin wrinkled and his hair turning grey followed her into the house. His eyes were an unusual shade of electric blue, and his fingernails came to a sharp point. "Ah, Midoriya-san," he greeted with a bow. "I am Manuke Dairi. I am here on behalf of the Ministry of Defense."

Inko understood Mitsuki's expression now and found herself copying it. "I hope you plan on offering a formal apology." She bit out. Katsuki tensed slightly, and his head whipped in her direction, glancing nervously between her and the government worker. "How is it that it took you this long to find a villain this powerful? That you allowed him almost completely unfettered access to children?"

"That is precisely why I am here, Midoriya-san," Manuke-san answered. "We are uncertain as to how long this monster has been in the area, or how much contact he has had with any of the students. The Ministry has decided that it would be best to… take them in for a short while. For their safety and, potentially, the safety of others. We need to know if he made contact with them and what effects it could have."

Inko bristled under the accusation. "My son would never willingly work with a villain-"

"Damn right he wouldn't," Katsuki interrupted with a snarl. "Deku doesn't have a single evil bone in his body. He's been dreaming of being a hero since he was fucking born."

"Katsuki, let us handle this," Inko quickly reprimanded. While she appreciated Katsuki's support, now wasn't the time. "Well?" she pressed, turning her attention back to Manuke-san.

"What you say may be true," he admitted, "but the Ministry can never be too careful. And do you think he would hold so firmly if his family was threatened? He and his classmates were seen snooping around the blockade as well. It is my experience that no matter what people say about all life being equal, they will always put the lives of their loved ones over strangers'."

He was right. Izuku would probably burn the world if it meant she was safe, and she knew it. After all the years of isolation from everything else, she couldn't say she was surprised that Izuku valued her above everyone else.

"Do not worry, Midoriya-san," Manuke-san continued. "This will not show up on any permanent records, and the children will not be harmed. They will be safe, and we will only be performing a few psychological evaluations until we feel it is safe for them to return home. At the very latest, if you are correct about your son's convictions, he will be returned to you, safe and sound, before you move back into your apartment.

Inko rose. "You had better hope we are both right," she said, her blank look morphing into a petrifying glare. "Because if a single hair on my son's head has been harmed, you will learn exactly how far a mother will go for her son."

Manuke-san merely smiled calmly back at her. "We shall see, Midoriya-san," he replied. "Although, I would keep the death threats to a minimum if I were you."

"Get out of my house," Mitsuki hissed.

The man glanced at her briefly and nodded. "I will be going now, Midoriya-san," he said, giving her another bow. "It was nice to meet you, although I wish it had been under better circumstances."

Inko said nothing and just watched as the man turned calmly on his heel and walked back out of the house as though nothing had happened. As though he wasn't keeping her son from her when she wanted him here with her most. The door closed behind him, and Inko slowly sank back down into her chair, body sagging as the anger and fury left her in a rush. Izuku was being detained by the Ministry of Defense. Izuku wasn't going to be allowed to come back to her until after the Ministry apprehended or killed the villain up on the mountain. Her head sank into her hands, and she sobbed.

Mitsuki crossed the room in a few strides and quickly wrapped her arms around Inko, holding her tight and letting her cry. "Katsuki, go get the tissues," she said. For once Katsuki didn't argue with her.

She cried, Mitsuki held her and passed her tissues, and when she finally stopped, she was exhausted, and the questions she had wanted to ask Katsuki were forgotten. She went to bed, and slept, knowing her son was probably scared and alone, and there was nothing she could do about it.

Luckily, while she had forgotten, Mitsuki had not, and the next day, they got the full story of what happened in Aldera Junior High, and how Izuku's class had turned it all on its head.

Inko did her best to keep herself busy over the following days, but she couldn't help marking off each one as she got closer and closer to reuniting with Izuku. She couldn't help thinking of him every time a hero passed the house or the news talked about the monster that caused all of this.

The day before Izuku was due to be released, a knock at the door froze everyone in the house. Slowly, Katsuki leaned out from around the corner into the living room where the rest of the occupants were sitting. Masaru rose to his feet, and silently went to answer the door.

The remaining three waited in tense silence. They could hear Masaru at the door, talking to someone. The conversation didn't last long before the door closed again, and Masaru returned.

He shook his head slightly, when he saw Inko, and she felt her heart fall. Izuku wasn't back yet.

Masaru cleared his throat slightly and held out his hand. Held out the envelopes in his hand. "UA's test results," he said simply. "They decided that… with all the heroes in the area, they might as well send someone to deliver it to us by hand. They sent Izuku's as well."

Katsuki was over in a second, forgetting the tense atmosphere and ripping his letter from his dad's hand.

"Katsuki, we should wait for Izuku to get back before you open that!" Mitsuki snapped as Inko took Izuku's letter from Masaru with shaking hands.

"No, no," Inko said, shaking her head and holding Izuku's envelope close to her chest. "Please. Open it. I-Izuku will be back soon. There's no need to wait on our account."

"See," Katsuki said as he turned to return to his room and open the letter in private, "Aunty thinks I should open it."

Silence echoed in Katsuki's wake.

Inko stifled her sobs, trying desperately to avoid wrinkling the letter. Izuku would be back soon. He'd be able to open his letter tomorrow when he came home.

He would.

He had too.

He'd come too far not to.

Mitsuki and Masaru wrapped their arms around Inko, letting her cry on them. Letting her take comfort in them.

"I-Izuku wi-will be h-home tomorr-ow," Inko whispered.

"Yeah," Masaru whispered back, "he will be."

"You bet your ass he will be," Mitsuki said. "You won't be the only one pounding down doors if he's not."

"I-I need to go to the post office and get the rest of Izuku's letters. They won't be able to deliver them to the apartment."

"That can wait, Inko," Masaru said, trying to sooth her.

Inko shook her head. "I should go get them."

Mitsuki gave Masaru a small shove. "Do you want me to come with you?" she asked Inko.

Inko hesitated but nodded. "I don't think I want to be alone right now… I miss him."

Mitsuki hugged her again. "Let's get going. We don't want the post office to close before we get there."

Inko nodded and stood on shaking legs. "Yes. We should go."

That night, the Bakugous and Inko ate spicy curry and celebrated Katsuki's success, not only as a student in UA's hero course, but also as the highest scoring student in his year.

On a side table next to Inko's bed, a small stack of four envelopes sat unopened and waiting.

An old and weary man waited on a trash ridden beach. He grew more frantic as time passed, eventually leaving late at night when it was clear whoever, or whatever, he was waiting for wasn't going to come.

Twenty-eight human kids and one artificial intelligence snuck through the security perimeter and fought their way to the top of the mountain, meeting up with their beloved teacher.

Unbeknownst to those in the city bellow, those twenty-nine students killed their teacher, the supposed monster and villain, minutes before a beam of light covered the area, going completely unnoticed by the grieving children.

Hello! I'm back! And we're almost done with Assassin in Training! I don't have a name for the next section yet (which starts with Izuku's new school year), but unfortunately may need to hiatus again to make sure I have it ready and enough buffer to last for a good long while. It's two week until the next update.

NoS