Hello, I'm back at it again with another chapter in less than a week later. I had nothing else better to do during this whole pandemic. Please stay safe and healthy, and enjoy another chapter of this amazing series.


Chapter 18: Set Your Priorities Straight, Uraraka:

Around Lunchtime…

The class from room 1-A had just finished Cementoss's class of Modern Literature and it was time for them to go eat lunch. However, the class decided to stick around after class had ended to chat with their peers.

"Man I'm so hyped for this upcoming competition. I can't wait to be in the Sports Festival in front of the whole world!" exclaimed Kirishima as he clenched his fists in excitement.

"Yeah, we're gonna be one step closer to being big-time pros," said the tape user, Sero, as he lightly elbowed Kirishima.

"It's the reason I came to UA in the first place," said Sato as he smacked his fist into his hand.

"There are only a few chances in our lifetimes, so we gotta make the most out of it," said Tokoyami, as he once again sits on a desk like a bird in a nest.

"Oh man, Ojiro, I'm feeling kinda nervous about the festival. I just gotta find a way for the scouts to notice me," said the invisible Toru.

"Uh... ok. Just… maybe wear a shinier costume or something like that. Otherwise, you're gonna have a hard time at that," said Ojiro as his invisible friend was doing a cheer routine in front of him.

Izuku took a glance around the classroom to see the excited faces of his classmates, minus Kazume, who is still being silent towards everyone.

"Oh my, I can't believe everyone is so thrilled for the festival," said Midoriya.

"Well of course, we all came to UA for the purpose of becoming pro heroes. So obviously everyone's gonna feel very hyped about this event," replied Iida, as he imitates a silly boxing stance as he moved his fists in circles.

"Wow Iida, those are quite some interesting moves you have there. Ribbit," said Tsuyu, referring to his somewhat boxing stance.

"So you must be feeling excited too, right?" asked Iida to his best friend.

"Of course I am Iida, and at the same time a little bit nervous," replied Midoriya.

"And what about you, Kazume?" asked Iida.

". . . . . ." Kazume was still not responding to anyone. He still felt the frustration from the hate he got from the UA staff last night. The staff did not like his aggressive temper, so he stayed quiet to prevent it from lashing out, but the incident with Jiro in the homeroom didn't help. So he'd continue trying to remain distant with everyone… even his best friends.

"Hey Deku, Iida, and Kazume..." the three that were noticed turned towards Uraraka, who was making a determined face while she gave off a pink aura around her, "Let's do our best at the Sports Festival!"

"Uhhh, Uraraka? Why are you making that face?" asked Midoriya, feeling a little scared by the unusual emotion from his first best friend he made at UA.

"Yeah, it's quite unusual. You're usually the most laid-back girl in our class," commented Mina.

Mineta slowly blushed as he was imagining some lewd thoughts about Uraraka, "PM-"

*SLAP* Tsuyu quickly bitch-slapped Mineta's left cheek with her long tongue before he finished his lewd comment.

Uraraka raised her right fist in the air and shouted out to her class, "EVERYONE! I'M GONNA GIVE IT MY BEST!" The sheer intensity made everyone except Kazume feel a little odd. This seemed to make many of them rather uncomfortable. He just smirked.

Not many responded to her battle cry other than Midoriya, Iida, Asui, and Mina. She shouted out once more, "I SAID I'M GONNA GIVE IT MY BEST!"

"Okay, I get it," replied Sero.

"Are you sure you're feeling alright? You're not really being yourself," replied Kirishima.

The class started to head out to eat lunch. Kazume was still sitting on the desk silently, however, his friends wanted to invite him to eat lunch with them.

"Hey, you wanna eat lunch with us? It's fine if you don't wanna talk to us, but at least we can eat together in the lunchroom. So whaddya say," asked Midoriya.

". . . . . ." Kazume still didn't respond but then he nodded his head, agreeing to eat lunch with his friends.

As Uraraka, Iida, Midoriya, and Kazume walked out of the classroom, something was bothering Izuku in his mind. He wanted to ask Uraraka for a while why she wanted to become a hero in the first place. He was worried that it would make her feel uncomfortable sharing something personal with her friends.

"Um, Uraraka? I was wondering… why did you decide to attend UA? Why do you want to become a pro hero?" Midoriya kindly asked his closest friend.

"Oh… well… it's because… I wanna make some money," Uraraka nervously answered as she scratched her hair behind her neck.

'WHAT?!' thought Kazume, as a little bit of Pain came out inside his head.

"You're doing it for the money? So what you're saying is that you're doing it to get rich?" Midoriya was unsure why she chose this route.

Kazume had to physically restrain himself. He grabbed his right arm, struggling with it. 'Hold… back… the… murderous… vigilante!' he thought, smacking it.

"If you want to sum it all up, then… yeah. Err, I'm sorry if it sounds selfish of me. You guys have outstanding goals. I just hope you won't hate me because of my selfish desire," said Uraraka, feeling nervous to hear the reaction from her friends.

"Of course we won't hate you. Your goal is to help your financial needs, which is a great intention for you to have," replied Iida.

Kazume continued to hold in his other self from lashing out at his best friend. He does not want to hurt anyone, especially Uraraka because he would hate himself for the rest of his life if he did something bad to her.

"That's right, it's just that I wasn't expecting that," replied Midoriya.

"You're fucking pathetic! You're probably gonna end up as a gold digger if this doesn't pan out!" Pain lashed out as Kazume couldn't hold it in anymore. His friends were shocked to hear him insult Uraraka like that.

Kazume quickly bounced back and regained control, "Sorry, I don't know what came over me! Please forgive me, Uraraka! What I meant to say was why exactly do you want to make a lot of money?" Kazume asked Uraraka to find out a better understanding of her goal.

"It's okay, I guess I didn't explain it well enough. You see… my parents own a construction company, but we haven't been receiving any work, so we're pretty much broke. Usually, I don't really tell people about this," Uraraka nervously explained to her friends, feeling a little scared of receiving another outburst from Kazume.

"I see, if she was licensed to use her quirk, I bet the costs of equipment would- no, then again the price wouldn't drop depending on a quirk…" Tenya surmised.

"A-actually, I think your quirk c-could be amazing for construction! Think about the practical a-applications of your quirk… you can literally render the use of cranes moot! I mean, a hero job pays m-more… and i-if that's what you want, I-I won't stop you…" Izuku said.

Kazume considered what other uses his quirk could have. He did note that other blood types taste differently.

"I know, right? I've been trying to tell my dad that since I was a little girl," said Uraraka as she pointed at them with finger guns, feeling a bit thrilled that her friends are on the same page with her, "but… my daddy wanted me to chase my own dreams to help my parents financially. So I decided that I want to become a pro. I'll sign up to a big agency and make lots of money so my parents can live an easier life."

A couple of seconds passed as the three processed what they just heard from Uraraka. Iida broke the silence as he applauded with his hands in the air.

"Bravo! That was so beautiful! So noble of you!" exclaimed Iida.

"That was… that was… FUCKING BULLSHIT! You really think a life-threatening job like being a hero is gonna help your worthless family live easy lives?! SET YOUR FUCKING PRIORITIES STRAIGHT, URARAKA! You could possibly die out there in the hero world and your parents would be more devastated than they already are!" Pain went off again. He received a big headache, still not a hundred percent fully recovered. Kazume felt completely devastated by what he had just done.

He looked at Uraraka, who was holding back tears from flowing out her eyes. At this moment, he wished that Pain was an actual person so he could kill him.

"I-I'm sorry! This is all my fault! The UA staff was right about me! I should've been expelled from school. I… I never belonged here and… I don't deserve any friends!" exclaimed Kazume before he ran away from his friends towards a bathroom to cry away his sorrows. He hated that he blurted out his frustrations. Now he'd worry the others.

The three were shocked by what they heard,

"*Sniff* Kazume was gonna be *Sniff* expelled?" said Uraraka, still trying to wash away her flowing tears.

The other two didn't know about it at all.


Inside the restroom...

"Pain… why the hell didja do that?!" Kazume yelled.

"Oh come on, you fucking crybaby, I was right! It's all some stupid little sob-story! Even your stupid little 'Friends' don't know shit about us, you're just playing at being a hero, complete with spandex!" Pain replied inside his head.

Kazume's head throbbed, he rubbed his temples, tears streaming down his face. Pain decided to have a little fun with Kazume, being a hallucination, he could shift to whoever he wanted… someone he loved would sweeten the pot nicely.

Kazume felt a familiar hand on his cheek. He shut his eyes, trying to make him go away.

"Awww… c'mon… don'tcha miss your 'sister'? Come on, I know you want her! Some girls like bad boys!" Pain cooed, appearing in the mirror as Melissa. Kazume started to seethe, his hands clenched into fists.

Pain-Melissa got behind him, wrapping her arms around his shoulders, her head in the crook of his neck. She pressed her lips against his ear, whispering.

"I want a handsome hero like you… but you're too soft!" Pain teased, in a stunning mockery of Melissa's voice. Kazume's eyes glew red, his fist reared back, his fist dug into the glass, silent.

This was Kazume's true rage, the silence was only for those he loved, he didn't want to dignify that imposter with a response. Only a whisper.

"No,"

He left the bathroom, his bleeding hand barely bothering him. This was nothing compared to the pain he felt seeing Uraraka crying. His eyes smoldered with an inner fire. Pain was surprised, maybe he should use Melissa's face more often.


Meanwhile…

After Kazume stormed off into the restrooms, the three stood there in silence as they felt concerned about their friend. It was like he wasn't being himself, but like the one that… hurt villains mercilessly back in the USJ. Seconds later, All Might stormed into the scene.

"YOUNG MIDORIYA… THERE YOU ARE!" shouted All Might.

"Oh hi All Might! What are you doing here?" asked Midoriya, feeling a little bit cheered up to see his mentor.

"To have lunch. Do you mind eating with me?" asked the Symbol of Peace.

"Uh, sure thing, All Might," replied Midoriya.

"Pfft, that's so adorable!" Uraraka burst with laughter, feeling a bit better.

"Young Uraraka, are you feeling alright? Your eyes look a little red. Something bothering you?" asked All Might as he saw Uraraka's tear streaks and puffy cheeks, she was using a tissue to dab at her eyes, which were still leaking some stray tears.

The number one hero had his suspicions, maybe a certain red-eyed, angry suspicion was involved...

"No it's fine. Thanks to you, I'm feeling better," replied Uraraka.

As Midoriya separated from the group, eating lunch with his favorite idol, the only ones remaining in the group were Iida and Uraraka. As they sat down at a table, the atmosphere wasn't the same as it was before. Both felt bummed out that their lunch plans were ruined, wishing that Midoriya or Kazume could join them.

"What's up with Kazume? Just earlier he was fighting with himself, physically holding himself back from attacking. Would the real him… actually attack me?" Uraraka said as she looked down at her miso soup, feeling down.

"Of course not, Uraraka. You two are best friends, deep down he would never hurt you," replied Iida.

"Then why did he say those mean things about me? And why would he say that he would rather die keeping others alive back in the USJ? Why did he say that he doesn't have a bright future compared to us? Do we… even know the real Kazume?" Uraraka asked Iida plenty of questions, as she tried once again to hold back tears.

Tenya shrugged, "We truly don't know. What he's like is none of our business, but I can't help but feel worried about him. He just… he's so… odd," he sighed. Uraraka nodded.

"Is there anything we can do to help him?" asked Uraraka.

"I'm afraid it's best to just leave him be. Perhaps the vice president Momo has a point, he has been through so much since the USJ. He needs time to cool off, maybe later on when he's back to his normal, regular, kind and caring self we can talk to him," Tenya stated, Uraraka chuckled a little.

"Kind? Isn't that… reaching a little? He's kinda like some kind of 'Badass extraordinaire' kinda like that old show's main character with the punching ghost thingie…" said Uraraka.

Tenya let out a giggle, "You're right, he's somewhat similar…"

"So anyways, what's up with All Might and Deku?" asked Uraraka.

"Well, maybe they want to talk about the time Izuku. Oh and remember that time Asui asked him something on the bus?" said Iida as he remembered the big question Tsuyu asked about Izuku's quirk…


"Isn't it kinda similar to All Might's?" (From Chapter 10)


"Since both of their quirks are kinda similar, it's quite possible that All Might is taking a liking to him. How fortunate!" finished Iida.

Little do they know that Shoto Todoroki was overhearing their conversation from the table across as he was eating his Soba.

'All Might and Midoriya, huh? Are they somehow related?' thought Todoroki.


Meanwhile, in the Teacher's Lounge…

All Might and Midoriya sat alone in the teacher's lounge as they talked about the USJ incident and that the big fight with Nomu lowered All Might's time limit to only fifty minutes.

"Wait, you can only go for fifty minutes?" asked Midoriya.

"Yeah, I may have overused my quirk too many times and that Nomu was a handful to deal with, but hey that's what heroes are for. They always face against the odds," replied All Might.

"I see," said Midoriya, feeling a little down.

"Hey, there's no need to be upset. I am still here, afterall," replied All Might, however Izuku was still feeling down and he had to get to the bottom of what's bothering him, "Young Midoriya, what seems to be the matter?"

"It's… Kazume. He's not really feeling himself," said Midoriya.

"What do you mean? Sure, he may be a bit difficult to understand. Not everyone is perfect," said All Might, attempting to cheer him up and not worry about Kazume. Yet, even he was worried. Kazume was far from a normal hero candidate. He was dangerous, able to kill anyone, he was specifically trained to break heroes. He couldn't tell Izuku about it.

"He yelled at Uraraka, All Might. It's just… not like him at all to yell and insult her like that. In fact, I think he was trying to hold back, ever since he arrived late to Aizawa's homeroom class. He never spoke with anyone, until he almost threw a knife at Jiro," responded Midoriya.

All Might nodded, 'He was always quite jumpy, that one… yet there's another detail that bothers me…' he thought, 'He seems to talk to himself quite a lot…' All Might shuffled awkwardly. What else could Kazume be hiding?

"So that explains why Uraraka felt upset earlier," he said, a bit relieved that he finally had an explanation for it. Maybe Kazume had something pent-up? That kid was a mystery...

"Uhm… I might be… overstepping here, but… what's going on with him? A-and on top of that… who is he really?" Izuku asked.

"I guess I should've told you about him a long time ago. Kazume's… actually adopted," explained All Might.

"He was adopted? What happened to his parents? And…" Midoriya had millions of questions in his mind.

All Might quickly cut him off and continued speaking, "Let me finish, young Midoriya. Remember that scar on my chest during that big fight? Well, it turns out that same day was the day his parents were killed. Two years later, I saved his life in the alley and took him to the hospital to treat that scar on his face. I was about to leave but he asked me if he could one day become a hero and where could he find a place to stay. So I told him that he too can be a hero if he can promise to do good things for the world, and also, I took care of finding him a place to stay with my best friend overseas. And now, he's here at UA reaching the top in scoring at the entrance exam and the Quirk Assessment."

Izuku processed what All Might explained, and he had a question in mind, "You told him the same thing you told me as well? So have you… thought about…"

"Oh goodness no. Of course I didn't choose him as my candidate for my quirk back then. Trust me, I'll never ever regret picking you as my successor, so please don't think otherwise," All Might cut him off, as he told Midoriya that he did not want to choose Kazume to have One For All. He wished that he could tell Izuku why but… he just can't. Izuku cannot know what Kazume really was like back then. He's no longer that person… right?

"Regardless, are you nervous?" All Might asked.

Izuku nodded, worried that he might not make it very far. He still couldn't control One For All very well.

"Hey, no need to worry. I'm sure you're gonna do fine, young Midoriya. It doesn't matter if you win or lose the Sports Festival as long as you tell the whole world that...," All Might then transformed to his muscular form and stood tall, "I AM HERE!"


Meanwhile…

There was only twenty minutes left until the lunch period was over. Kazume went to his locker room to grab his bento he received from Melissa before she left yesterday. He didn't feel like eating since he lost his appetite after that incident in the bathroom and the one before with Uraraka and his friends. However, he can't say no to Melissa's excellent cooking. She tries hard to make delicious meals for him, but who would he eat lunch with? The cafeteria is always crowded, and he wants to be alone right now.

However, after he picked up his bento, he noticed a letter at the bottom of his locker, shoved at the bottom, near hidden underneath his box. He cocked his head to the side.

'Strange, who the hell would want to give me a letter?' thought Kazume.

He opened up the letter and read it. It was written with a red pen and the words were written in fancy cursive. It said:

Please meet me outside during lunchtime near the big cherry blossom tree to the right of the UA gate. I want to talk.

"I guess I gotta go meet this mysterious person immediately, there's not much time before lunch period ends," Kazume said to himself as he grabbed his bento and headed out.

He made it to the big tree, where he was supposed to meet, but nobody else was there.

'Is this some kinda prank? Oh well, this is a good spot to eat lunch,' Kazume thought, as he sat down next to the tree to eat lunch, which was ramen and sirloin steak. He loved eating protein since it helped build stronger muscles… to kick that bastard's sorry ass.

"Sorry I'm late, it was really busy making a line to get lunch," said the mystery person.

Kazume looked up to see who was the mysterious person who sent him the letter and… he was the last person he expected to see. It wasn't Bakugo, Todoroki, nor Mineta, but…

"Momo? What are you doing here? Were you the one that left the letter in my locker?" asked Kazume after he finished his ramen.

"Yes I did. I really want to have a chat with you," replied Momo.

"But why? After what I've done to you, after all those insulting comments about you, you still want to have a chat with me? Why Momo, why?"

"Because you saved my life, along with Jiro and Kaminari. And I don't think I had a good chance to thank you for it after you… you… went out cold," Momo spoke with a soft voice, feeling some guilt that Kazume put his life on the line to protect her.

She was always the 'capable' one, being one of the only students who got in on recommendation. Yet she fell short of the mark just by a little bit. By a little bit, she remembered how useless she felt during the hostage situation with Denki… how useless everything seemed. Then, bloodsoaked and raging, came Kazume, looking like what she imagined the Red Death to be like for the partygoers from 'The Masque of the Red Death.' He saved them, as injured as he was.

I'm sorry Pain, I should've done better. It was my fault that Kaminari ended up being held hostage. I must be a complete joke, getting recommended to come to this school," continued Momo.

"Hey!" exclaimed Kazume as he put both hands on her shoulders and looked straight into her eyes, "It is not your fault that the villain held Kaminari hostage. Don't beat yourself up over this now, it's in the past. I've blamed myself enough… don't go blaming yourself too! And no, you're not a complete joke of a student. Your quirk is creation, right? You can create any non-living thing you put your mind to and help protect yourself and others from harm. And lastly, you don't need to thank me, I did what I needed to do because it's what heroes do. Seeing you alive and unharmed after defeating those is enough gratitude you gave me before I went out cold."

Momo was shocked, Kazume was praising her, he almost never had anything nice to say about anyone. She felt something roll off her shoulders, the burden of blaming herself was gone. She couldn't help but laugh, laugh until she cried.

Kazume didn't know what the hell to do. One second, he let all that spill out, and now she was smiling and… crying? He didn't understand.

"Oh no, did I say something wrong to make you upset?" Kazume felt worried that he just made another girl upset. First Uraraka, and now Momo? He felt like scum.

"No, not at all. I feel happy that you said those kind things to cheer me up. Thank you so much, Pain," replied Momo.

"No, call me Kazume," said Kazume, causing Momo to form stars in her eyes. Her face filled to the max with joy. Kazume backed up, a little weirded out by the sudden change, he'd never exactly got such a reaction to his name being said other than from Melissa. It was odd.

"So does that mean we can be friends?" said the joyful vice president.

"Uh I don't think we can be friends yet, not after what I've done to you, Jiro, Uraraka, and Asui. I'm sorry," Kazume replied. Momo felt a bit bummed out, hoping that the feud between them would officially be over if they became friends, "Don't feel too bad, Momo. We may not be friends, but we can start over and maybe get along,"

As lunchtime had passed, both walked back to the class. After the conversation in that tree, both were able fix their inner conflicts. On one end, Momo was able to end the feud between her and Kazume. And on the other end, Kazume was feeling much better after the horrible incident with Uraraka and in the bathroom…

And it was all thanks to Momo.

TO BE CONTINUED…


And… done. Another chapter finished. Reviews are always appreciated so please send me one. And if you enjoyed this story and can't wait for more, make sure you favorite and/or follow this story. Thank you all for reading.