It was almost 5:30 PM when the rest of class 1-A arrived, pouring into the mess hall looking like zombies on their feet and ready to collapse any minute. Some gave up the fight against dignity and let themselves fall, Ashido making a particularly dramatic show as she kissed the hardwood floor.

"I can't feel my legs!" she cried, refusing to move even as Kirishima did his best to cheer her on.

"Come on, just a little bit further!" he pumped his fist. "You can't just end it here!"

The bubblegum pink girl groaned, muffled as her forehead rested against the cool ground. "I'd rather die than move another inch."

Izuku, Uraraka, Iida and Todoroki had spend the majority of their time waiting for the rest of the class by helping the Pussycats prepare dinner. They went from washing and chopping vegetables to boiling rice and seasoning the meat, the young Kota working in his own little corner and bouncing off any attempt to start conversation like a brick wall. Mandalay and Pixie-Bob answered many of Izuku's hero related questions; the blonde heroine especially enjoyed recounting her tales of dramatic defeats of dastardly villains.

"—of course, he didn't realize I could use the dirt in the potted plants by the window," she finished with a grin, retelling the story of a would-be robber during a casual shopping tour turned precarious.

There was a tap tap tap as quick steps stalked up close, a gruff voice snarling in displeasure. "Deku. You little shit."

"Nice to see you too," Izuku greeted his old friend, Uraraka and Iida eyeballing the scene testily from the sidelines, unsubtly creeping closer. For his part, Bakugou kept his distance and settled for verbal abuse over physical.

"How the fuck did you get here before me?!"

"If it makes you feel any better, I didn't do it alone," he gestured to his teammates, signing extra wide to include Todoroki who was observing the exchange with a passive mask from his own spot, separated from the rest. "I had some help."

"Figures," Bakugou puffed, shoving his hands into his pockets with a grunt. "I swear, if you're about to give me a lecture about the magic of friendship I'll seriously puke."

"Noted," Izuku bobbed his head in assent. Somehow, I feel it would go over your head anyways.

A loud voice cried out a short distance away. "FOOD!"

Ah—looks like Kirishima finally got Ashido back on her feet.

The heroine-in-training sped across the floor so fast Izuku suspected she might have used her quirk, plopping down by one of the long tables with tears of joy streaming down her face. Stars glistened in her eyes as she took in the wide selection of delectable cuisine, looking as if she had discovered the road to El Dorado.

"We should probably sit down before Ashido eats all the food," Uraraka quipped, lightly patting her freckled friend on the back as she passed him to find herself an open seat.

"Good idea," Iida concurred. His delivery was so deadpan Izuku questioned whether he realized Uraraka was only joking, before ultimately deciding it didn't matter, and he joined his friends in the buffet they helped prepare.

After dinner was over, everyone looking more than satisfied with their fill, it was time for a well deserved and well delayed bath. Izuku closed his eyes, exhaling a lengthy sigh of satisfaction as he finally felt his muscles begin to relax. An odd squishing sound to his left interrupted his peace and without missing a beat he called out:

"Mineta."

He opened his eyes a crack and gave the shortest student in their class a Look. The boy stood frozen by the wall that separated the men's and women's bath, one sticky and purple ball-shaped object in one hand and another already affixed to the wooden divide. Droplets of sweat trickled down his back, and Izuku suspected it had nothing to do with the hot steam surrounding them.

"Sit down."

He sat down.

Izuku closed his eyes and sank back down, nose almost touching water. He breathed slowly. Ardent and quiet chatter alike filled the background. Bit by bit it started to fade as Izuku filtered out the world around him, not even leaving his own thoughts behind. Things were calm… nice.

Peaceful.

He sank deeper into the water.

It never lasts long…


"Awwwright tiger, show me what you've got! Don't hold back!"

Izuku raised a fist. "...you sure?"

"Sure am!" the oldest and only male member of the Wild Wild Pussycats blared sonorously, limbs spread into a steady stance ready to tackle any attack sent his way.

"...alright then," Izuku nodded, settling his face into an even expression. He peered at his fist, considering. How many percent could he handle now?

"Five percent…" he mouthed, clenching his fingers tighter. He felt power surge within him, but it wasn't enough to strain him yet. "...ten percent." The fist began to shake. I can still take more

"Twelve percent," he declared. He reared his hand back and punched, air pressure and brute force alike surging forward sharply. Tiger's expression twitched once and he jumped out of the way just moments before the attack could hit him dead on.

"Woah—" he exclaimed in a breathless huff of air, stumbling on his landing. The leftover air pressure was almost enough to finish the job, but he held out until the last minute. Then, he swung a punch of his own and Izuku channeled a small amount of One for All into his legs before pushing back, narrowly avoiding the blow. He could feel the very tips of Tiger's knuckles graze his nose, but was otherwise unharmed.

"...impressive!" Tiger grinned, all fire and zeal. "But not enough! Next time, I want you to dodge it completely."

"Y-yes sir!" Izuku gave a salute of respect, somewhat out of breath. "I'm ready to give this training my all, so please don't hold back on bit on me! No matter what!"

Tiger laughed. "Big words, but I can tell you mean them! That's great! Just one thing…" he poked a paw into Izuku's chest, the force causing the boy to stumbled back. "I can see fire in your eyes, the kind that tells me you'd push yourself to your very limits to reach new heights and become even stronger! It's good to have passion, but don't forget that when it comes to training, there are no shortcuts. Don't push yourself harder than necessary just because you're impatient! If you do, the only thing that's gonna happen is you tearing yourself apart. That's all. Got it?"

"Um…" Izuku was a bit taken aback by the sudden turn in conversation. Now that he thinks about it, didn't All Might tell him something similar at one point?

"I'm happy to see you working hard, but overdoing it is no good either my boy!"

He wasn't sure. It was hard to tell memories from dreams nowadays. But…

...but I can't afford to be patient. I get what Tiger is saying, but he doesn't understand what's at stake. I have to work harder than anyone else, or

"You should relax sometimes, Midoriya. You're not the only hero out there."

Izuku frowned as Dr. Kyuusai's words unwittingly forced themselves to the front of his mind. Damn. Don't tell me the therapist actually works.

"...right," he answered after a moment of silence. He nodded up at Tiger. "Got it."

Tiger's eyes bore into him. The intense stare prickled the back of Izuku's neck. Then, the hero's face split into its usual sharp grin. He bobbed his head, satisfied.

"Awwwrrright!" he twirled around, facing a group of waiting students. "So, who's up next?"


"So… Midoriya!" Kaminari grinned as he situated himself on the bench opposite to him, slamming down his tray of food energetically, spilling some of the contents in the process. He didn't seem to notice.

Izuku looked at him questioningly as he sat down, shifting in place a few times to make himself comfortable. It wasn't that he and the lightning quirk user were on unfriendly terms, but it was still fairly rare for them to interact. Mainly because Kaminari would often hang around Kirishima, who in turn hung out with Bakugou… for whatever reason. The blonde would curse more than make actual human conversation, but Kirishima just laughed through it all without batting an eye.

It was pretty impressive actually. Especially since Bakugou had yet to kill the self-proclaimed friend.

"...yes?" Izuku inquired, genuinely curious as he studied Kaminari's beaming face. Then, that smile turned into something more mischievous, and Izuku immediately regretted entertaining him. That couldn't be anything good.

Kaminari reached a hand out, stretching himself across the table and slapped him hard on the shoulder. Izuku flinched and rubbed the spot. "Dude! You just keep getting cooler! I was gonna ask you earlier but didn't find the time—anyways! I got so many questions man. First there was Stain and now the hand dude. So, how'd you—"

Izuku's expression fell. Right… he should have expected that someone would press him on that sooner or later. Before his spirited classmate could get out another word, Izuku rose to his feet and uttered the first lame excuse that came to his mind.

"Sorry, I just remembered something I had to ask Tiger… I'll be back later."

And he left.

He just barely managed to catch Uraraka muttering, "Great going…" before he was out the door.


Izuku wasn't entirely sure how he ended up here. All he knew was that he needed somewhere quiet where he could go over his thoughts alone, with no curious and babbling mouths interrupting him. He didn't have a specific goal in mind when he left the mess hall, instead allowing his feet to carry him wherever they took him. That place was apparently here, on a tall cliffside overlooking the Beast's Forest. The green trees looked black in the dark light and Izuku could just about make out the training site hiding amongst the treetops.

It was the perfect retreat for quiet introspection. Except, as it turned out, this spot had already been claimed.

Kota didn't turn to his approach, settling for emitting a terse grunt to show he was aware of the green teen's presence.

Izuku sat down next to him. He didn't quite understanding why he bothered, but decided that his legs must have carried him here for a reason. He observed the boy silently for a minute, before offering up a small greeting. "Hey," he said, not quite sure where he was going with this or what he was even trying to do. "What are you doing up here?"

"Sitting," came the simple answer. "What are you doing here?"

Izuku shrugged. "Just needed some space to think," he hummed. "The stars are nice tonight."

"I guess," Kota tilted his head. They sat there for what felt like a lot longer than it surely was. The only sound breaking up the silence was the singing crickets and their own quiet breathing, until the companionable silence was suddenly broken by a question. "Why are you here?"

Izuku frowned, cocking his head in light confusion. "Didn't you ask that already?"

"No, I mean," Kota gestured wide with his hands. "Why are you here?"

Green eyes blinked in confusion. "I'm not sure what you mean…?"

"I mean, why do you want to be a hero?"

Izuku was struck dumb for a moment. Where was this question coming from?

"I don't understand—"

"You're not like the others," Kota cut him off. "I can tell by looking at you. You've lost people too, haven't you?"

The young hero-to-be was stunned. He could tell? Just like that?

"...yes," came the hesitant answer before he shook his head, perhaps to clear his thoughts, before continuing the conversation. "Nevermind that. How is this relevant?"

Kota looked annoyed.

"How did they die?"

Izuku considered the question. How was he supposed to answer that? Oh you know, they were just brutally murdered over and over again as I watched, but hey! That was all in an alternative universe so they're not actually dead. No biggie.

"...they were killed by villains," he settled for instead, holding back the pessimistic bitterness in his voice as much as he could. Kota nodded in understanding, crossing his arms over his chest and grimaced with a click of his tongue.

"My mom and dad were killed by villains too," the young boy informed, voice unusually subdued. Izuku turned to him in surprise but didn't speak. "They were heroes. That's why they died."

A beat.

"Oh," Izuku replied, not sure what else to say. "I'm sorry."

Kota gave him a look.

"Shut up."

The teen frowned and scratched his neck awkwardly. "...sorry?"

Two small palms slammed against the rocky floor. "Seriously, stop it," Kota dismissed the apology, his chubby face drawn together into an irked look. "Everyone always says that and I don't get it. I know who killed my parents and it wasn't them, so why do they keep freaking apologizing about it?! As if that would make me feel better."

He turned away from the other to stare over the forest, suddenly silent. Then, he muttered softly, "You've lost people to villains too… do you want me to apologize for that?"

Izuku shook his head, even if if was impossible for Kota to see him at this angle. "No."

"Good, because I won't," he crossed his arms over his chest once more and Izuku had to keep in a giggle at the childish gesture. He didn't want Kota to start yelling at him again.

"So?" the smaller of the two said after a moment of nothing but the breeze passing between them. Izuku blinked dumbly.

"Huh?"

"Why do you want to be a hero?"

"Oh, right… sorr—" Izuku stopped himself. He wasn't sure if Kota would tell him to shut up again if he continued. He thought over the question for a brief moment. He didn't need much time. The answer was obvious. "Because I don't want to lose anyone again. I have to protect them."

Kota looked at him. Eyes solemn. "...even if you had to sacrifice yourself to do it?"

Izuku didn't hesitate. "Yes."

That was apparently the wrong thing to say as Kota rose suddenly, his whole body shaking with furious trembles.

"That's so selfish!" he shouted, angry tears blossoming in the corners of his eyes. "That's what's wrong with you heroes! You're always so ready to die to save others, but what about the people you leave behind?! Did they ask you to die for them?!"

"What are you…?" Izuku cautiously moved into a standing position as well, unsure of how to handle all the fury now unexpectedly directed at him.

"I'm sure dying to save others makes you feel real good about yourself," Kota continued, red faced. "But it's everyone else who has to deal with the fact that you're gone!" a broken sob tore through the angry barrage and the yelling turned into a hoarse whimper. "I would rather my parents were normal and alive than heroes and dead."

"Kota…" Izuku bit out. "I understand how you feel."

"Do you?" the boy glowered at him, his skepticism evident. "If you did, then why are you still training to be a hero?!"

"Because, while I understand losing your parents hurts… if it weren't for people like them, there would be many more people out there feeling like you do now," he took a deep breath. Kota still looked far from satisfied, but he wasn't crying any protests. "Maybe that doesn't make you feel better, but that's the truth."

The kid puffed. "Whatever," he looked away, refusing to meet the young heroes eyes. Izuku wasn't sure if he said the right thing or not, or if any of his words reached Kota. But he said what he wanted to say; it would be up to Kota whether he accepted it or not.

There was a tense thread hanging in the air, growing ever tighter as time went on. Izuku didn't know what would happen once it snapped, and decided he'd rather not find out. He needed to head back anyways, before someone came looking for him. That would be sure to make things even more awkward than they already were. He brushed the back of his pants, clearing it from stray dust and dirt before announcing, "I'm heading back."

Kota grunted. "Like I care."

Izuku began to turn around but paused, casting the young boy a last look. "...oh, and by the way; I'm not planning on dying any time soon. If I did, who would be there to protect the ones I care about? So… there's no need to worry about me."

Kota let out a squawk of indignity. "Worrying?! Who's worrying?! Dumbass! Don't go around putting words in my mouth!"

Izuku laughed lightly, the sound carrying in the chilled night breeze. "Take care Kota. Don't stay out too long."

And he left.


AN: Almost... there...

Poor Kaminari keeps saying the wrong things. :( It's not his fault he's an idiot. Haha.