Sixth Sense

by EnergyMageFrea

... We used to be friends, or at least... we used to know each other. There was a lot of people I used to know, a lot of people who used to know me. That was a long time ago, and I don't even know who I am anymore. I've been dead a long time. I'm not sure if I even know how to live anymore... {Spoilers for the Manga and Anime, AizawaXOC}

28. Chapter 28- Want

Chapter 28
Want

Disclaimer: I do NOT own My Hero Academia, or its characters. I DO however, own my OCs and my story.

.:+:.

Perilous

.:+:.

"... I think... I need to make this clear, Shota." She murmured quietly, her hold on his wrist so light and yet so firm all at once. "... You don't owe me anything... You don't have anything to make up for either... I know... Despite what you might say on the matter, or act... I know what happened was awful for you... I know it... Bothers you worse now... Since... You know what happened after... With Simon... And... S... Surge... tch... And I know... you don't like letting people know it... But you do care... I know you hate this... I know it's painful... And I'm so sorry... But..." She paused, her hold on his shirt and his wrist got a little tighter.

"... Even with what happened... With Simon... The last ten years... Surge... And dying... I don't regret it. I never have, not once... I have never regretted saving you. Never."

He felt his heart skip another beat, his eyes widening as his breath stalled completely.

"... None of it has ever made me regret saving you... I never regretted it, and I still don't... I will never regret it... To me, you are worth dying for, I knew that... If I could protect you... It was worth it."

His eyes fell closed, his shoulders sagging as he held his breath a little longer, his soul absolutely ached at the words... Ached so terribly it felt like he was getting ripped in two.

For someone who didn't 'get' what they felt anymore, her words were so damn genuine, and honest, and firm...

She meant it, and it hurt.

How... How could she mean that...? After everything she had been through...?

.:+:.

Kesu nudged his nose against her shoulder lightly as she lay in the bed, her eyes fixed on the ceiling and having been that way for a number of hours now as everything went so, so quiet. It was late, probably close to some 4 in the morning (so early, perhaps in your perspective) and she had been laying there since 11 or so. Unsurprisingly, sleep had stayed far far out of her reach and she didn't mind- she didn't feel tired in anyway, she was just... Quiet.

She'd been silent since placing herself on the bed upon first walking in, and leaving Shota behind as he dropped her off at her door and headed to his with little a word. They hadn't said anything more to one another following first walking in the building, and her telling him she didn't regret what she did. To be honest they said little other than goodbye and 'I'll see you tomorrow morning'... But it wasn't tense, not like it had been.

She shifted for the first time in a long while when Kesu nudged her, his yellow eyes glinting in the dim of the room and gazing at her intently. He'd been watching her for quite some time, content to let her be in her own head until the want to know what was going through it outweighed his patience.

Her hand fell gently on Kesu's head as she rubbed at his ears, he purred that gravelly purr of his and Izaru let out a breath. "... Sorry... I didn't mean to drift off like that..." She mumbled quietly, "... I was just... Thinking..." She trailed off a bit as her fingers slowed, her eyes flashed as inevitably her mind when right back to where it had been.

She couldn't get it out of her head...What Shota did...? Interlocking his fingers with hers, the small, gentle press of his lips against her forehead...? It wasn't like him, those sorts of actions or gestures... They were so... Affectionate, in a way, and he'd never been like that- at least not lightly. And it had come out of near nowhere... And... And she wasn't sure how she felt about it either.

Of course not, like everything else she didn't know how to feel about, but... Well, she hadn't been tense about it, oddly enough. And she wasn't sure why he did it either, or what about him seemed to have shifted as he did so, or what about her words had hit him and earned a reaction like that. She had said it because... She felt she needed to.

There were several things she knew she needed to clear up, and straighten out with all of this, and with everyone. And a big part of that was finding some way to... Make up, for all the crap she put them all through- especially Shota... But the question was how?

Telling him all she had felt right in the moment. She hadn't planned it, and it wasn't something she would ever have imagined saying out loud... At least not now... But... She had, she felt like she needed to, like maybe it was something she needed to make clear, let him hear... But now having said it, and all these hours alone and in her own head, she just kept wondering if saying all of it did any good.

... I still don't know...

"... Do you think coming to UA... Was the right choice...?" She mumbled softly, Kesu tilting his head at the question. Izaru sighed, her hand pulling away from him and holding it up before her, her grey eyes scanning lazily over every burn on each fingertip. "... It's just... Being here... Brings up so many hurtful memories... And everything else that's happened while I was... Knowing and remembering all of this... I didn't mean to hurt any of them... Or make them feel, or relieve any of it... But it just... Keeps happening... And I don't know how to... Fix it..."

And... Where would I start...? Even if I could...?

Kesu blinked just once, his head tilting one way, and then the other, and she nodded a bit in reply. Izaru rolled over to be on her back again, her hand moving up toward her face. Her eyes flashed, tracing her fingers lightly across her forehead, a ghost of the sensation of his lips igniting under her touch.

... Did... I do the right thing...?

.:+:.

"After reviewing things a bit more, we've decided to give that program you mentioned a shot... The one to search security feeds for your cat? The Board has decided there's little harm in giving you access to traffic feeds and street cameras, in order to compile a more comprehensive list on where Simon sent you. It would actually be quite helpful if we could pull one together...

So that being said, I'll be stopping by UA later today to go over the finer details with you... But just out of curiosity, how long do you think it will take you to at least start a base program?"

"... I have most of the algorithm and structure already mapped out in my head, putting it to code and fixing any bugs first hand... I'd say maybe three or four days. Though that is barring any major complications, if something else does come up it might take a little longer."

"That's alright, we don't have a time limit set for you or anything like that. What help you can give is more than enough... I have things to do for most of the morning, but I should be able to make it to UA sometime in the afternoon. I'll give the Principal a call, and I'm sure you'll hear from either him or Aizawa when I am supposed to be there."

"... That's fine."

"Good... Hmm, how are things going, by the way? It's been a few days since you arrived, have you settled in alright?"

"... I think so."

.:+:.

Aizawa glanced left and away from the gym and his students toward the quiet, and still form of Izaru at his shoulder. Her eyes were fixed on the phone she held in both hands and was typing away diligently on- lines of code and lettering flashing across the screen constantly. She seldom ever stopped typing, being as intent on her work as she was, though the subtle tenseness in her shoulders and the way her head would tilt up every once in awhile told him she was entirely aware of what was going on in the gym, even while coding.

She'd been typing since this morning, following the call from Tsukauchi about implementing that program to track Kesu... and she continued to type even as the Special Moves Training went underway.

She'd said little about it, or even anything else for that matter. She'd seemed to just dive into the work with a sort of hyper-focus, and just continued typing no matter where she was or what was going on... She'd even kept going all the way through lunch.

Aizawa didn't much mind though, he'd been busy enough moving around and talking to the students as they continued on in their Training. He was still a teacher after all, having Izaru around didn't mean he could slack off. So he didn't, and instead he focused on his own job (near) as much as she seemed focused on her own. Izaru didn't move from where she was whenever he broke off from her, she stayed still in her spot and only faintly looked up as he left and came back. And then they just stood there together in silence on a constant (almost rhythmic) loop- in some ways it was content like that.

Nothing had been said between them about last night either, though Midnight had been curious about it when she caught him this morning. He wasn't looking to repeat what had all gone on (to Midnight, or anyone really...), so he simply told her that he and Izaru had 'talked' and had dinner, and that was it.

(Though grant you, something about that way Midnight was smirking when she asked gave him the feeling she had drummed up some ridiculous scenario in her head anyway... He payed Midnight little mind though, he usually did.)

Aizawa's eyes caught Kesu's from where the cat was settled inside the hood of Izaru's coat, his chin resting on her shoulder. The cat kept watching Izaru type away, before glancing around every once in awhile, and now he caught Aizawa's eyes in sheer silence, and the thought from their first meeting flashed through the Erasure Hero's mind again.

... What an odd cat.

Aizawa blinked though, his attention on Kesu broken as Izaru's diligent typing suddenly came to a halt, and she glanced up- but not at him.

Instead her eyes found the tall, looming raise of cement to which Tokoyami was standing, working on the few Special Moves he already had fairly well down. Though even as Izaru's eyes found the boy, she wasn't really looking at him- more in his general direction as she seemed to stare into space, biting the inside of her cheek as her eyes narrowed. Aizawa's immediate thought was maybe something was wrong, but she wasn't tense (well, any more tense than normal), she just stayed staring for a few moments, before grumbling a bit under her breath.

"... Wouldn't it just be simpler if I taught you how to write...? Or type at least...?" Izaru muttered aloud, her eyes shifting sideways toward Kesu- whose ears perked slightly at the words. "... You literally just spent the last ten minutes watching me try to figure out a null pointer error... And you are at least the same level of intelligence as a high schooler, so couldn't you learn to type and just tell me where I went- instead of me doing all of this work to track you?" She asked flatly of the cat, and Aizawa blinked, his face falling utterly expressionless as Izaru talked so casually... with the cat.

That cat that had also, somehow, been having a 'conversation' with Principal Nezu that day at the police station, though there hadn't been any actual spoken word on Kesu's part. And of course the Principal's comment of a 'creature very much like me' had not gone unnoticed by Aizawa either, though he hadn't actually questioned it thus far... But thinking on Kesu's incredibly odd mannerisms, level of understanding compared to regular cats, and the fact that he had seen and heard Nezu and Kesu having actual 'conversations' between them (though he wasn't entirely sure how the Principal understood anything on Kesu's end, even if the cat did understand spoken word...)... Aizawa had, more or less, come to the conclusion that Kesu was not your ordinary cat. And that Kesu was in all likelihood, one of those animals that had developed some sort of Quirk, and some Quirk that made Kesu smarter than a cat should be.

A lot like the Principal, actually... Maybe that's why they seemed to get along so well.

But even guessing all of that to be the case, it was still a little strange- as well as disconcerting- to see Izaru holding a normal conversation with a cat.

Kesu's ears twitched, before his head shook in a very human gesture of 'No'.

"No to the high school comment?" Izaru mumbled, she got another shake of his head. "... So, the 'no' was because you don't think you could learn to write?"

This time it was definitely a nod from the cat.

"... So when you 'read', do you actually know what every word is?" Izaru questioned next, and earned a shake of Kesu's head. "... So you just understand the gist, and not the specifics? And not by reading the words, but more guessing based on my mood, or other context clues...?"

Another nod

Aizawa sweatdropped, and Izaru let out a sigh. "... You're no help..." She grumbled. Kesu let out that raspy, strange gurgling purr of his and rubbed his chin along her jaw affectionately. Aizawa stared, his expression flat as can be for a few moments, before he quirked a brow at her.

"... Is that not something you should have asked a long time ago?" He deadpanned slightly. Izaru stiffened a little at the question and finally glanced over toward him, blinking. "If you've known he isn't a normal cat, wouldn't it have occurred to you to figure out how far his abilities go before now? You've been around him long enough to have at least wondered, right?" He mumbled.

Izaru's expression pulled just faintly, her eyes flashing as she bit the inside of her cheek. She glanced away from him, her hand tightening around her phone as she fell into silence for a few long moments, almost... Brooding.

"... You... You're right... I probably should have figured that out sooner... I suppose maybe... It never occurred... To...me...?" She mumbled softly and at length, her voice trailing off as her eyes narrowed at the floor. She was silent again for a little while more before she stiffened, her hand finding the back of her neck almost nervously. "... Ah... Actually... I have asked you all of those questions before, haven't I...?" She asked slowly, her eyes moving right toward Kesu- who nodded a little, and Izaru frowned slightly, her shoulders falling a bit.

"... Damn it..." She muttered quietly with a shake of her head, her eyes dropping to the ground. "... I guess... That bit got lost and jumbled up too... I don't... Really remember asking, but I suppose I feel like I did..." She trailed off again as her hands, and her phone with it, fell into her coat pockets. "... That would maybe explain... Why I automatically turned to making the program... And never considered there was another option... Maybe..." She mumbled lowly, before letting out a sigh, grimacing. "... I just... I don't know..." She whispered, and Aizawa's lips pulled into a tight line at the words.

So she just... Really couldn't remember if she'd asked about it before now, or what answer she might have earned if she had...?

He supposed that shouldn't have surprised him (what, with her memories of the last ten years being so fractured as they were...), but even still- he was a little surprised... And a little regretful he had brought it up, since now Izaru seemed to have faded back into her own head so far she must have been trying (and struggling) to recall anything. She was ten times more tense now in the last few minutes than she had been the whole day.

"... Leave it be." Aizawa grumbled quietly, and she jumped a little at the sound of his voice, looking up from the floor and toward him in question. "You don't need to brood about it, not right now anyway. You'll do enough of that later when Tsukauchi gets here... For now just leave it alone, and focus on something else. It does you no good to get consumed by whether you remember or not... Better to just leave it be, for the time being." He told her evenly.

Izaru nodded slowly, letting out another small breath as she looked away again. "... You're probably right..." She mumbled quietly. He waited for half a second, before moving his eyes away from her and pulling his phone out of his pocket to check the time. Izaru noticed it from the corner of her eye, and tilted her head just a bit in his direction. "... You waiting on something?" She asked softly, and he shook his head, replacing the phone back in his pocket.

"No, just keeping track." He replied flatly, before pausing slightly when he noticed she was still glancing his way. "... Vlad's Class is scheduled to take over the Gym in about twenty minutes or so." He elaborated,

Izaru blinked at the name, before nodding a bit. "I see..." She mumbled, looking away from him again and letting her eyes drop closed. "... I still haven't met him... Or them..." she mumbled almost absentmindedly, Aizawa nodded stiffly in unconscious acknowledgement of the comment.

Or Hound Dog, Snipe... Power Loader... or just about every other Staff Member, and student-

"Hey! How's the progress going?"

Izaru, Kesu and Aizawa all jumped slightly at the unexpected voice from behind them, and one of which they all recognized in the next second. Izaru and Aizawa turned in tandem with one another to see a familiar blonde moving through the Gym doorway, All Might waving toward the both of them with a small smile, and both Izaru and Aizawa's expressions nothing but blank between at the sight of the blonde.

"You're here again?" Aizawa deadpanned quietly, earning a slightly nervous grimace from the (former) No. 1, and a silent sigh from Izaru at the question. "... They're coming along." Aizawa grumbled lowly, and All Might nodded to the answer (even if it had only came after the first offstandish comment...). He said nothing of it though, and instead smiled again with another nod.

"... That's good to hear." All Might murmured in reply, and Aizawa only huffed. The blonde kept forward, drawing to a halt in front of Aizawa and Izaru, and his blue eyes moving toward the 'Villain', still wearing that same smile though it brightened a tad when he looked at her. "Hey Izaru." All Might hummed lightly, "Sorry I didn't get to see you yesterday, I was out handling a few things... Are you feeling better? You certainly slept a long while..." He asked, and she nodded just once.

"Yeah." Izaru murmured, he smiled a little more.

"That's great." He hummed, though his smile faded slightly when she glanced away from toward the ground for half a second, a little... tense?

It almost looked like she had something to say, but she seemed to second-guess herself right away. So, she refrained from saying what was really on her mind, and instead she let out a small sigh and glanced back up. "... sorry, if I freaked you out." She mumbled, and he blinked in surprise at the unexpected apology.

"Ah, it's alright..." He murmured quickly, "I don't mind being a little worried, as long as you're okay in the end." He added, smiling a bit more in an attempt to put her at ease about it. But she just bit the inside of her cheek at the words, her face pulling just faintly as seemed to deflate, though he wasn't sure why...?

His eyes darted sideways toward Aizawa as he saw the dark-haired man's eyes dropped closed in near exasperation- an exasperation that was nearly echoed in Izaru, and All Might felt like he missed something...?

Izaru grumbled some curse under her breath that neither Aizawa nor All Might caught, her hand raising from her pocket and pushing her hair out of her face in the same exasperation that had appeared so suddenly. She meant to say something, anything really... Some sort of apology or expression of... Regret maybe, or atonement- or really just an 'I'm Sorry' for all of it. Not just worrying him, or anyone else the last few days, or for everything they had heard and learned about what happened all these years... But for all the rest of it too, all the memories, and all the pain. For making them remember everything... All those terrible things she'd forced them through, and never wanted to.

Again, that nagging feeling came up- the need to try and fix it, and the infuriating realization she didn't know how... And worse, that it might not be possible.

She meant to say something, but the words never came, no matter how hard she wanted them to, or tried to force her mind to string them together... It was a repeat of two nights ago with Bakugou, and that made her all the more frustrated. Frustrated with herself, her mind, her ability to just... function damn it, talk to people, interact, anything at all. She hated it, she was annoyed with herself yes... but the exasperation, and the anger now stemmed more from being reminded that All Might had, in fact, been there at the Pit... and she hated that so much.

Because how was she supposed to make up for the crap he saw, and felt, when that happened? For either him, or Shota, or anyone else...?

'We need to talk'

But hell, what little bit of talking she had managed last night with Shota seemed to have been all she had, and that was awful... Because there was more she had to say... There had to be more she could say, right...?

Shit... I don't even know...

She bit the inside of both her cheeks now, and hard, her eyes locked on the floor. In the rational half of her head (what of it that wasn't so mixed up, hazed over and fractured) she knew that she did need to 'talk' with all them. Clear things up, discuss it... let them know. There were a multitude of things she needed to 'talk' about, and they all knew it too- Shota and Toshinori, Nemuri and Hizashi, everyone... and she and Shota had tried that talking last night, and it sucked.

It... Maybe it felt a little... better(?) now, that they had talked through some of it, but it still ached in her soul, terribly. And she still didn't understand that bit of it. She still didn't understand why the prospect made her body go rigid, her stomach tighten, make her... make her hesitate.

'Uncomfortable' again... but why the hell was she...?

So, so many things still she just didn't... Damn it

And to add to her frustration? And the multitude of swirling, biting, writhing feelings she didn't get? All the thoughts that wouldn't go away? Add atop the never ending, constant throb and prickle of things going on in the room- the small sensations of risk and danger and all around her, but that weren't connected to her. She wasn't in trouble, but there were other people around, and it was all about those kids that were training so hard everywhere in the gym. They were in the middle of Risky and Wary situations that sent a pulse like electricity through her body and her head at all seconds. None of them ever came to pass as true Danger, mind you, but the possibility was still there and she still felt it. And she was used to that, since a long time ago, but that on top of everything else... it just mixed badly.

She didn't know what to do with any of it, or with what she was feeling- the emotions, the guilt, the thoughts- none of it... Because... Because she wasn't sure what she wanted anymore.

Wanting anything hadn't really occurred to her the last ten years, since 'wanting' didn't really exist when you literally do nothing but what you're told. But in some way she did think she wanted to find a way to find some normalcy, and find some way to get rid of how tense and uncomfortable she was with everything... And maybe wanted to find some way to make up for all the crap she'd done, and put all of them through. She knew what happened hurt them, so badly... and while she didn't really know why she hated that idea- the idea she'd put them through something like that, hurt them, made them sad, or cry-

She paused, her eyes flashing as she blinked several times, the exasperation in her face fading into quiet, faint surprise.

... want... to fix things... with them... between us... because...?

She swallowed, her eyes narrowing to slits as it felt like some neuron or synapse or whatever that had previously been broken and shredded... it connected again, out of nowhere.

Because... I still want to be friends with them... want...

.:+:.

"... I... I'm sorry... but I had to... and..." Hizashi mumbled softly, holding just a bit more tightly and enough it hurt- but she still kept quiet. "... Are we still friends?" He asked quietly, her eyes flashed, her breath halting. "... I know it's been... a long time... Izaru... and a lot of stuff has... happened... and is... confusing... but... but I am really happy to see you... have you alive..." She heard him swallow and she felt her stomach do that knotting thing out of nowhere.

"... I know this is probably... really out of the blue... but... I just keep thinking it... and it won't go away... are we still friends...? Cause... cause I want to be..."

... Friends...?

That word felt foreign for some reason... lost and unreachable like her ten years spent in a mind shredding haze. She knew what it meant, the definition of the word... but the opposite had happened this time, where she was left recalling the emotions that plagued ten years that were so hazy and dim, but unable to dredge the information up with it- this time it was the opposite. The information she recalled in an instant, but the emotion didn't come... And with that, she wasn't sure what to do. What answer was she supposed to give him if she didn't feel anything at that word?

... No... There was something. Something painful, twisting in her core... Some stinging sensation behind her eyes, making it hard to breathe.

Are we?

He wants to be... But..

... Do I...?

Can I...?

Her hands fell slowly, finding his back as she returned the gesture without thinking about it. Doing so felt... Right, she supposed. Appropriate... but damned if her hands weren't... shaking..?

I don't feel anything I understand when you say that... But...

"... Of course."

... Maybe in the future... Maybe something will make sense...

.:+:.

Her eyes dropped closed, her shoulders sinking and letting out a long, low breath as she shook her head at herself.

... so I did eventually find an answer to that question, huh...?

... it took a little to get there though, didn't it...? After what he said, last night...

... I've been going through the motions, because I don't understand what I feel, or why... I feel almost empty inside... like I really have been dead for ten years... but since the Training Camp... somehow... things have been swirling from under that black haze, more and more... I was starting to fill up again... just a little... and after last night... somehow I do... I feel less empty...

... Is it possible, to be normal again...? In what version of this story... Could I ever... live..?

She didn't have an answer, not a real one... because if she were to look at it rationally, given what had happened- the answer would have been no.

And yet she... hesitated.

... How odd...

"... ah, Izaru? Are you alright...?" Toshinori's voice brought her back out of her own head, her eyes snapping open in surprise. She blinked a few times, glancing up at him and that faintly worried look on his face, his expression nothing but searching as he tried his best to understand why it was she had fallen completely quiet for about three minutes there, and with no warning. She'd just stopped talking, all sense of attention on him or anything else vanishing as she seemed to fall in on herself- and the exasperation that seemed to suddenly ignite in her? Frustration even?

He hadn't a clue what any of it was about, and a questioning look he shot Aizawa's way just left him all the more lost- because the Erasure Hero looked not at all confused by the sudden silence at all. Instead, he was just watching Izaru from the corner of his eye, quiet as can be and intent.

Aizawa could practically see the gears grinding in her head, and see the frustration even though it remained still dampened down, and Izaru did her best to keep it back. No, he didn't really know exactly what was going through her head at that moment, and he was sure it was a great many things and not just one... But he had a general idea, and he recognized the posture as reminiscent of last night, of how hard a time she seemed to have just mulling through all of it. Like it was just a huge feat even thinking.

And that thought made something in him ache, somewhere deep in his core, just seeing her struggle, standing there, stiff, clearly getting frustrated, and stuffing it all down and bundling it up so she stayed quiet... Silent and suffering alone, and he swallowed.

But then suddenly she went from quiet, exasperated and worked up- to quiet and calm in about 30 seconds flat. Her shoulders relaxed, and the way her lips had pulled into a tight line suddenly went away too. All that silent, bundled up frustration seemed to melt away, almost like a switch had been flipped.

And that? That sudden, almost subtle change? He definitely had no idea what was going through her head to earn that effect, and he had no way of making a guess about it either.

"... hmm?" Izaru mumbled quietly in reply to All Might's question. The (former) No. 1 faltered slightly at the very non-answer, looking a touch nervous as he cleared his throat a bit.

"Ah, I was just asking if you're okay...?" All Might repeated himself, his blue eyes glittering as Izaru blinked at the words slowly. "You just got really quiet there all of a sudden..." He added quietly, and Izaru seemed to finally register what he meant.

"Oh, right... Sorry... I'm okay, though... I was just thinking..." She explained softly, his head tilting a bit. Izaru's eyes trailed away from him and toward the roof almost absentmindedly, quiet for a few seconds more, before her shoulders sank and she sighed. "... I forgot to initiate the data stream, that's why I keep getting the null error..." She grumbled quietly, following that exasperated sigh, and the No. 1 just stared, completely lost now. It seemed Izaru was no longer even talking to him, or about any topic he had been aware of- she switched gears so quickly All Might was reeling for it, though Aizawa quickly realized where her train of thought had gone. Izaru's eyes dropped closed as she shook her head at herself just a little. "... well shit..." She muttered.

"... Watch your mouth." Aizawa grumbled lowly, though he didn't sound at all annoyed- naturally so, since he generally couldn't care less about her foul mouth, it didn't bother him. The only reason he said anything just now was because it wouldn't be much a good idea to have Izaru talking like that around the students... And no, none of the students could possibly have heard her just then, but he took it as a chance to just remind her to be aware of it, so she wouldn't accidentally slipup in earshot of them some other time.

Izaru stiffened a little at the mention, biting the inside of her cheek and nodding. "Sorry..." She mumbled softly, casting Aizawa a glance that he didn't return, and then moving her grey eyes to All Might again. He still looked as confused as before, and she blinked, realizing that he really hadn't a clue what she just said or meant by it.

Right... I just... Got caught up in my own head...

"... ah, I'm writing a program that will scan through security feeds and look for Kesu, to compile a list of places I've been." She explained quietly for the No. 1, and he paused, before nodding as realization dawned on his face, and a small smile replaced the confused expression.

"Oh, I see. I think I remember Tsukauchi mentioning that." All Might murmured, his eyes moving toward said cat. "... though honestly, I'm still a little surprised you have a... pet...?" He added slowly, and Izaru shook her head slightly.

"Friend." Izaru corrected lightly, catching him off guard by the word. "Kesu's not an ordinary cat, he's... well he's sort of like Nezu." She murmured. All Might blinked once, his eyes widening and surprise falling across his expression, shock too. Izaru tilted her head toward Kesu as the cat shifted from her hood to sit on her shoulder instead. "He's an animal that's developed a Quirk, so in his case... he understands what people say, can to some extent... recognize characters in words, at least enough to get the gist. And he can keep track of long spouts of time like we can, and recognize specific people... stuff like that. He's around high-school intelligence, just illiterate." Izaru explained, earning a (definite!) nod from the cat.

All Might's jaw fell open slightly, and stayed that way for a few moments as the words seemed to sink in, before he closed it again, realization crossing over his face. His hand lift to run through his bangs as he let out an audible sigh of relief, and Izaru and Kesu both blinked at it, the No. 1's head falling back almost tiredly.

"Phew, so I wasn't actually losing my mind... good to know, I was starting to really wonder...!" All Might sighed, his head tilting forward again and glancing toward Aizawa, looking a slight bit exasperated. "... You know, you could have told me about that when you had me follow him the other day, Aizawa..." All Might pointed out, and the dark-haired man simply frowned, letting out a small huff as he kept his eyes off the blonde entirely.

"I assumed you already knew." Was the flat, entirely uncaring answer Aizawa gave him, and all Might just wilted a bit at the reply, looking defeated. Izaru blinked at it though, her eyes shifting toward Aizawa slowly- because he hadn't even really known that about Kesu until she said something today... right...?

She let it go... Though the way he and Toshinori acted with each other was... Odd. It was almost like-

-Not now... Just... Not now.

"... sorry, I suppose I've failed to mention that to any of you." Izaru mumbled quickly, glancing back toward All Might. "... though with how much time he's been sending around the Principal, I suppose I assumed he'd told the rest of you too...?" All Might shook his head a little, and even Shota shook his head too from the corner of her eye, followed by Kesu doing the same.

... Or not...

"Oh... Then I'll mention it to everyone else." She mumbled, biting the inside of her cheek and letting her eyes fall closed. "... sorry to make you question your sanity... I guess all of it would be a little strange, talking to a cat and all..." She added, her voice trailing away uncertainly. All Might smiled faintly in amusement to the comment, though he wasn't sure why he did- his lips twitched up at the corners without meaning to.

He chuckled lightly under his breath, giving her a bright thumbs up, "No worries." He hummed,

Izaru blinked at the gesture and the behavior, her head tilting just a smidge- but she never asked, and her attention didn't stay on him for long either. Instead she ended up shifting, her eyes trailing away from him and back toward the gym as a voice broke through the clamor with ease.

"Let's go, Dark Shadow!"

"Aiyo!"

Aizawa, All Might, Kesu and Izaru all glanced up, their eyes moving among the pillars and raised sections of cement toward the voice- and the student it belonged to. His body was swathed in the deep, pitch black of 'Dark Shadow' as it bent and moved to cover his entire form like some sort of costume. All Might stepped up between Izaru and Aizawa, his eyes fixed on the student and immediately interested too, any intention of continuing his conversation halted for now. Izaru found herself fixed on the boy as well, but her immediate thoughts were taken up by trying to remember his name.

... To... Tokoyami... right?

"By donning Dark Shadow over my entire body, I can cover up my physical weaknesses... I call it; Tenebrous Abyss Body." The boy murmured, casting the words toward Midnight ahead of him. Izaru blinked, her head tilting at the name.

Tenebrous... what an uncommon word...

"Mmmm, that's a bit of a mouthful, isn't it?" Midnight called over toward the student with ease, smirking. "Ya gotta remember, it's important for your Special Moves to have names that are easy to say! Both for you, and your fans~!"

"Aiyo!"

"Yes ma'am, I will take note of that."

Izaru glanced right toward All Might as he started to move closer, his eyes scanning the students in intrigue.

"... hmm.. looks like some of the kids have figured out their style, huh?" He mumbled, Izaru's eyes caught Aizawa's for a second, before they both moved to follow the No. 1 forward closer to the students. But Izaru pulled up soon after starting to follow, and neither All Might nor Aizawa seemed to notice her do so. Her attention was suddenly caught by movement at the corner of her eye, Kesu noticing it too. She paused, hands in her pockets and blinking once as her grey eyes matched with the green ones of Izuku Midoriya.

The green-haired boy had just come back into the gym after visiting the Support Department, and he hesitated just outside the hallway door- a smaller boy with purple hair (and whom Shota had called the 'human incarnation of lust') continued walking back to his space even though Midoriya had stopped. He stopped as soon as he caught sight of Izaru across the way a bit, his eyes widening and intent, and a little surprised she seemed aware of his attention almost immediately. For a moment both Izaru and Midoriya stood in complete stillness, a few dozen feet between them and quiet. She saw the surprise dawn on the young boy's face, before he jumped a little and his wits seemed to catch up with him in no time at all- and his body caught up too.

"A-ah, Miss Izaru!" He stammered, his feet bringing him forward toward her (almost too quickly to be normal), and smiling nervously as he did so. Izaru reflexively stiffened the minute he started her way, and she ended up standing in rigid silence all the while as he walked, and still as he stopped in front of her... Almost like her body just wouldn't move.

What the... Hell...?

"H-hey, I- ah- hi! Can I talk to you really quick?" Midoriya asked, and she swallowed, her grey eyes flashing as she just blinked once.

There it was again, that feeling, twinge, whatever... she was on edge.

... Why...?

"... sure... what about..?" She managed to murmur after a brief second of hesitation, and he continued to smile as he nodded a bit.

"Oh, uh, great...! Thank you..!" He smiled politely, dipping his head once to her. "I promise it's nothing bad, I was just wondering-" He started quickly, his eyes flicking across Kesu and then back toward her... Before he broke off again and looked back at the cat, almost in a double-take, and his smile vanished in confusion.

"- you have a cat..?" He mumbled softly, and Izaru quirked a brow.

"... you saw him with Midnight and I yesterday, didn't you...?" She asked slowly. Midoriya jumped a little, blushing slightly in embarrassment as he waved his hand in front of him- and instantly aware he'd managed to throw himself off track without meaning to.

"N-no, I mean- yes! I did see him, but I guess I didn't really register it, but... oh, that wasn't actually what I wanted to ask...!" Midoriya murmured quickly, stiffening as he broke himself off and sighed, covering his mouth with his hands. "... Sorry, I don't meant to ramble, or get so sidetracked..." He whispered softly, and Izaru's expression softened ever so slightly at the words.

... What a nervous kid...

"... don't worry about it, I do it too." Izaru murmured softly, earning a blink of surprise from the young boy. "... and I know that wasn't your question, but just because you'll ask eventually- this is Kesu." She murmured, her head tilting to the cat on her shoulder. Kesu dipped his head toward Midoriya in what seemed like... A greeting...? ... Heh...?

Midoriya nodded a little sluggishly, smiling at the cat politely, though more nervous than anything- and it felt incredibly odd to do so. Quite honestly he wasn't sure why he did it either, it was just an unconscious reaction... Ms. Izaru surely didn't seem to find the gesture odd at all though.

"So, what did you want to ask..?" Izaru asked, and Midoriya glanced back at her and away from Kesu quickly.

"Oh, I was just wondering, since Mr. Aizawa said-"

"AP SHOT!"

Midoriya broke off at the loud voice (belonging to one Bakugou...), and the accompanying air-trembling explosion that followed the words. Both Izaru and Midoriya glanced away from one another and toward the sudden commotion, Midoriya looking both stricken and unsurprised all at once, while Izaru was emotionless as ever. The cement wall that stood in front of Bakugou was smoking from the clean hole he had just shot through it with one, small, compact attack. And an attack that was very much unlike the wanton, general explosive power over a wide area he had mostly stuck to using (well, as far as Izaru had seen...).

Bakugou smirked from his post above their heads and not far from where All Might and Aizawa had moved off too, Izaru let out a silent breath while Kesu's ears twitched. "Hell yeah! It worked!" Bakugou yelled, smirking and clearly pleased with himself, Izaru blinked.

... That kid is a class all his own, huh...?

"... I see Kacchan's already got a new move down..." Midoriya mumbled, sounding... Well, a little off-put if she was being honest. Her eyes shifted slowly sideways back toward the green-haired boy, his eyes still locked on his classmate and uneasy as his hands folded together nervously in front of him. Her eyes trailed from his face and then over the braces stretching along his arms (of which she was fairly sure had not been there this morning...), and down toward his shoes (of which also looked a bit different... Support Items, she assumed). Her eyes narrowed, the memory of seeing his arms black and blue and twisted back at the Training Camp suddenly flaring to the surface... His Quirk too powerful for his body to handle at full power... That's likely what the Braces are for.

Midoriya seemed to bite the inside of his cheek, tense, troubled even- and for a moment she wondered if seeing Bakugou's (seemingly) easy progress with the Training had him doubting his own progress... what a nervous kid... He looks so unsure of himself.

... Though she probably had little room to judge on either of those ends.

Izaru cast the thoughts off and turned her head back toward the boy, intent on calling his attention and redirecting him toward what they'd been talking about before the distraction. Her hand moved from her pocket absentmindedly and found a familiar place on the back of her neck, sighing silently as her eyes dropped closed, and then she halted.

Her eyes snapped open, rigid in place as the incessant, dull, throbbing rhythm of the familiar prickling against her skin and in her mind sharpened to a sudden, fine point, and felt like icy cold piercing through her very core. It was a sudden jump up from the inane chatter of all things Wary, to the pulse quickening, muscle locking, panic inducing rush of Danger that came with something... Perilous.

She felt her heart skip a beat, her pulse quickening with every millisecond as her eyes darted from Midoriya to above him, mind racing and senses on high alert trying to figure out why- why did it feel like someone was about to be hurting, and badly... who...?

She could tell almost immediately it wasn't a warning for something that would affect her, and she was fairly sure it had nothing to do with Midoriya either... Somehow she just knew.

It wasn't ever really clear what it was that made sense to her, she could put information and details together and come up with a hypothesis- but even then, there was always just some... feeling. An instinctual, gut-feeling almost when her thoughts landed on something, a person, a place, a reason, a theory, whatever- and just knew, deep in her core. Like something in her head just clicked.

"Ah, so Ms. Izaru I wanted to..." Midoriya started, his eyes finding the woman and trailing off, because she wasn't paying any attention to him...?

Midoriya swallowed slightly, his eyes flashing and immediately a little on edge- because that usually neutral and impossible to read Ms. Izaru was definitely tense, like something was really off.

Izaru's eyes snapped sideways, skipping straight passed Midoriya and sweeping over the people and the raised platforms of cement. Her grey eyes moved rapidly up toward where Bakugou was, and where All Might and Aizawa were at the base of the platform, and it just clicked.

Supernatural, rational, whatever- it never was all that clear, but what was clear?

Toshinori

"Midoriya." Izaru muttered sharply, and he jumped at the sudden drop in her voice, his eyes glittering in confusion as he immediately took note of the way she had tensed up and grown so steely serious. Her hand fell away from holding the back of her neck as she stepped closer to him, that hand falling on his shoulder and pulling him around slightly to face where she was still looking. She let him go as soon as he was facing the right way, and her hand swept up to point directly where Bakugou was. Midoriya's eyes flicked sideways toward the woman in confusion, before letting his eyes follow where she was pointing obediently, though he was still unsure of it all.

"... What's the matter...?" He mumbled quickly, his voice low and gaze searching, mind racing.

Why was she so serious all of a sudden...? Why such an abrupt change out of nowhere...?

He steadied himself in response to her own behavior though, his fists clenching at his sides and eyes narrowing, immediately on high alert. Even if he didn't understand where the sudden shift had come from, or why, it didn't matter. As long as Ms. Izaru seemed to feel something off, he would do well to be ready himself-

Midoriya's eyes widened, his heart skipping a beat as he saw the stone slab Kacchan had blown a hole through suddenly shift. It splintered around the edges, and the whole top half of the slab slipped, and then broke off- meeting nothing but dead air and the quick grip of gravity.

"Go." Izaru ordered sharply, her voice low and icy calm.

Midoriya jumped forward not a millisecond after the order, a waft of wind blowing up in Izaru and Kesu's faces, Midoriya's body erupting in Power in no time at all.

Bakugou spun around in the direction of the falling rock three seconds after it gave way, his smirk failing him as he jumped toward the edge of the platform and saw where it was headed.

"HEY! WATCH IT! ABOVE YOU!"

All Might turned, his head tilting up as a shadow fell over him. His eyes widened, locking on to the large, heavy slab of cement headed straight toward him- and too fast to move or even think of doing so. Much too fast to save himself.

Aizawa stiffened, his hand snapping up to grab hold of his scarf and heart leaping in his chest as the sudden danger became clear. Like the No. 1, he realized instantly it didn't matter how fast he moved, he likely wouldn't manage to wrap his Capturing Device around All Might and pull him out of the way in time.

Shit!

Izaru let out a small breath, standing still in her place and quiet, despite everything. Her eyes softened, her body relaxing, and simply watching now and only that... Because Perilous suddenly dropped to Wary again, all in the split second that kid's feet pushed him forward. The Danger was utterly erased, the feeling of the tension, the fear, the panic- all gone and shattered, in a single instant.

... That hardly ever happens... For Danger to drop to inconsequential, and even go away at just one action...

It was probably as close as she could ever get on her own to 'relaxing', or at least the normal equivalent of it... When it happened she knew there was very little, to near no chance that the person previously pegged for Danger would actually get hurt... In essence?

Saved

The last time she'd felt it happen, Shota had pulled her out of the way of being shot by Scarlet. And before that? The Pit, with Kine- back when she jumped in front of him, spared him Kine's brutality that final time. She'd died knowing he wasn't in Danger anymore, and that she'd done it... She'd saved him.

It was such a rare feeling though, and an exhausting one too, honestly. To be so on edge and worked up about Danger, and then to suddenly have it go away like that? At near the drop of a hat, in one second flat? It was incredibly similar to what Shota's Quirk did to her, making her crash... But this feeling, unlike what happened with her Quirk Erased- this feeling was one she didn't hate. And maybe even one she wished would happen more often.

... It hardly ever does, though... To be so certain, so assured of being... Truly saved, and safe... It's just... Never that easy.

... But... Maybe...

There was a blur of green that caught both All Might and Aizawa's eyes as time slowed down on a small instant. In it, the No. 1 lay eyes on someone who had once upon a time been so timid and small, and yet never hesitated... And still didn't.

Midoriya's leg swung around with incredible speed and power, smashing straight against the falling slab and rendering it nothing but miniscule pieces. Jagged light and energy of a pale green hue danced off the young boy's body as he landed in a crouch on the ground, and All Might smirked as his blue eyes landed on that same timid kid, and saw someone new, someone stronger, someone bolder. And someone who, in that instant, arrived at the answer he had been struggling for so long... The thing that really made that bumbling, unsure kid into someone who could really handle One For All.

All Might's attacks were centered on his fists, but that clearly hadn't been working out well for Midoriya. This whole struggle to learn and control One For All was largely stemmed by the boy's desire to be someone he just... Wasn't. He couldn't be All Might, couldn't fight like All Might- because he wasn't All Might.

So if trying to be exactly like the Symbol of Peace wasn't helping him progress?

As simple an answer as it was, it had taken Midoriya some time to reach it. And he was getting there, grasping at that idea- All Might could see it in the kid's eyes, and the sheer control and confidence the boy had just then as he obliterated the cement with utter ease.

Be your own person, with your own way of doing things.

If your arms are shaky, rely on your legs instead- Shoot Style.

"Heh, bingo." All Might murmured to himself.

Midoriya's head snapped around toward the No. 1 instantly after the danger was averted, and jumped up onto his feet from landing in a crouch. He was all nervous, rushing, and intent on his Mentor- who just stood there smiling still, unbothered by what would have been really, really bad for him (and had been so very close to actually happening...).

"All Might are you okay...?!" Midoriya asked quickly, stopping in front of the blonde and sweating up a storm. The No. 1 smiled and gave him a thumbs up in reply, though it didn't seem to make Midoriya cease with his fidgeting, or calm down for that matter.

Aizawa's fingers unlatched from around his Capturing Device, his shoulders sagging slightly as his quick movement, and the entire situation ceased as quickly as it started. He grimaced, casting a glance upward toward where the cement had fallen, and where Bakugou was standing, rigid.

... That could have been really bad... Shit.

"What was that Midoriya?! That was a lot of destructive force all of a sudden!"

"Yeah, I thought you were the Punching Type?"

Midoriya jumped, his attention diverting from All Might and toward the sudden voices, and he turned to see Kirishima and Kaminari quickly headed toward himself and All Might. They'd looked over the minute they heard Bakugou call out his warning, and seen everything that had followed- and immediately rushed forward the minute it was over.

"Oh, Kirishima... Kaminari..." Midoriya mumbled, blinking a few times as they stopped beside him. For a few seconds he failed to register what they had asked, before he smiled a bit shyly. "Oh, that 'destructive force' is all becuase of these new Iron Soles that Hatsume gave me. And Iida worked with me and gave me a few tips on fighting more with my legs and less with my arms..." He explained quickly, his hand rubbing at the back of his neck as he earned curious looks from his classmates. "I-it's really more I've settled on a direction now, though, not really anything concrete... And 'Shoot Style' is really more of a stopgap than an actual Special Move..." He mumbled,

"Not at all, it'll definitely be more useful than just a stopgap." All Might told him lightly, breaking into the conversation and earning Midoroya's surprised gaze. "Especially in the Provisional License Exam, it'll help a lot more than you realize." He hummed, and Midoriya blinked, looking both intrigued, and still a little unsure.

"All Might, it's a bit dangerous, you might want to keep your distance." Aizawa muttered as he moved himself forward to clear what few feet had been left between himself and the blonde. All Might glanced over as the Erasure Hero stopped near their small group, and grimaced faintly at the comment.

"That's a little rude..." He mumbled in slight exasperation, "... and besides, we avoided anything truly bad, so don't sweat it so much." He sighed, glancing away from a now frowning Aizawa and up toward the blonde boy who was looking down at them from his 'tower'- frowning himself, from what All Might could see. "Bakugou my boy! Sorry about that!" He called, and the younger stared for a few seconds in silence, before a snarl crossed over his lips and his anger seemed to flare out of nowhere (which was obvious from his voice, and the sudden explosion he set off too).

"Tch... Just... WATCH YOURSELF AND BE CAREFUL, ALL MIGHT! GOD DAMN IT!"

All Might blinked, falling quiet for a moment.

...'are you okay?', 'it's dangerous', 'be careful'...?

I get where they're coming from, but... Have I... Already been reduced into someone who needs to be protected...?

"Is everyone alright...?" A very flustered looking Cementoss appeared beside their group shortly, hovering slightly as he glanced between everyone, scanning for injuries, and letting out a sigh of relief when he didn't see any.

"Midoriya, you reacted super quick to that thing falling! You looked like you were moving way before Bakugou ever said anything, huh man?" Kirishima smirked, steering Midoriya's attention back to himself (and completely ignoring Bakugou's short temper overhead).

"Yeah, you got some killer reflexes dude." Kaminari smirked. Midoriya's face fell flat as he blinked at the words, before quickly shaking his head.

"O-Oh, it wasn't really me..! I only started moving so fast because Ms. Izaru told me there was something wrong...!" He murmured, smiling shyly. "She told me where to look right before the rock started to fall, and I just reacted once I realized it where it was headed...!" He explained quickly, earning blinks from everyone in the group, and Kaminari and Kirishima's heads titled in question. Midoriya only went two seconds after saying it, and seeing the intrigue and question appear on his classmate's faces, before he stiffened- wait, what?

Ms. Izaru... She seemed like she knew- but... How...?

"Ah, then I suppose I have both you and Izaru to thank for the timely rescue." All Might murmured, smiling softly, but not really seeming all that surprised at the information- nor did the other Teacher's either. Mr. Aizawa was straightfaced as ever and Cementoss smiled a bit in relief at the words, looking amused as well as faintly glad, while the students just looked all the more confused and lost.

All Might's attention shifted toward the right as he turned slightly in that direction too, the other teacher's looking that way as well, and the students stared. All Might smiled kindly and nodded toward the figure of the neutral-faced woman who had made her way up to the group slowly and very much at ease, even despite what all had gone on. Kesu walked a few paces behind her, having decided to jump down from her shoulder shortly after Midoriya took off, and the cat looked just as at ease as the woman.

"Thanks for warning Midoriya in time to keep things from getting too out of hand, Izaru." The No. 1 thanked Izaru with a kind, and appreciative smile- while expertly hiding what surprise hit him at the realization she had intervened there. After all, the only thing he had seen her use her Quirk for had been to stop Judge Keitaro from using his Compulsion- and barring that All Might had little clue why the man had been in trouble with it at all, he hadn't really gained any firsthand experience with seeing her use her Quirk (well, 'seeing' in the metaphorical sense he supposed). So this was his first time seeing it first hand, and like his trip down memory lane about DIN's exploits- he was both genuinely impressed, and grateful.

It was very clear that Midoriya had been moving to act even before Bakugou's call, and well before All Might's own realization of what Danger he was in, and he had Izaru to thank for spurring such incredible reaction time from the boy. But even more than that, she'd also had the better judgment to warn Midoriya to act- rather than trying to get All Might to move by himself, or even warn Aizawa instead. Of which, both of the former options probably wouldn't have been as effective as sending Midoriya, or even worked. And he was sure she'd likely considered that, and more- and all that in mind she'd chosen the best option; warn Midoriya.

Izaru stopped a bit between All Might and Aizawa, her eyes moving toward him and hands in her pockets as he gave her his thanks. She blinked once as she nodded, just faintly.

"... Well that is pretty much my job." She murmured, almost offhandedly, before seeming to catch herself, and letting out a small sigh, her eyes flashing a bit. Her hand raised up out of her pocket and into the air, closing into a fist and thumb extended in an unexpected gesture of a thumbs-up... A very unexpected gesture, actually. All Might, Cementoss and Aizawa all seemed taken aback by it, surprised and eyes widening at an action that was more informal, causal and even easy-going than they would have ever expected from her- that same person who had been so tense, and distant, and even emotionless since she arrived in their lives again.

And to add to it, the thumbs-up didn't seen all that forced either. Not like that near artificial facade of friendliness and cheerful at ease that she had made herself appear to be, for all the world back in their younger years- as Shota had always noticed. It seemed almost genuine, if still a slight bit unsure- but only just.

But the real question was why all of a sudden-?

Everyone around her, both Staff and student all stood in silence, gazes riveted as they watched Izaru's head tilt a bit, her expression softening and grey eyes glinting as she smiled.

"... I am glad you didn't get hurt, though." Izaru murmured softly toward the No. 1, "The Danger got entirely avoided, and erased once Midoriya moved off... I'm glad the decision to warn him was the right one... and that it could earn that result right away." She told him quietly.

All Might blinked, his jaw growing slack as he just stood there, unmoving, and utterly quiet. It was the same reaction earned in everyone else, and his heart skipped a beat just as Cementoss and Aizawa's did. All three Pros halted, their minds shuddering to a stop and all on one thing- one thing that made something... Warm, stir in their chests.

Izaru glanced from All Might to Midoriya and nodded her head at him, offering up a bit of a more approving smile that was no less soft. "... Ah, and impressive reflexives by the way... You didn't hesitate any more than a second to what I said, so color me impressed, Midoriya... Most people can't react that quickly to orders from other people, even a lot of Pros..." She told him evenly. Her tone was not quite as approving as the smile, no- but it wasn't monotone either. And it still had Midoriya turning bright red in embarrassment to the completely unexpected praise from UA's newest (and maybe even most mysterious...) teacher.

And all three other teachers let out small breaths, Cementoss and All Might's stunned expressions taken over by gentle smiles, while Aizawa remained watching her. His expression softened to something calm and a little bit at ease, and maybe even faintly, surprisingly- pleased.

For the first time, through all of the turmoil, and the ache, the hurt and pain and regret, and through everything bad that had happened, and they had learned had happened- and even just seeing how much of a lasting mark it had all left on her... For the first time since knowing all the terrible things that had happened, and witnessing how they had rendered Izaru more puppet than living being... For the first time she smiled. And it was real.

They hadn't thought they'd likely ever see that in her ever again, and yet there it was. Some semblance of the Aneko Izaru from before everything... That person who had been dead.

That Aneko Izaru was now suddenly, faintly- alive.

And maybe... There is a chance.

One little thing, one smile from her and suddenly it felt like that looming shadow and dark hanging around her and over them slowly started to lessen, just a little. Suddenly it made them doubt all of it a little less, that question that kept nagging. It was such a wonderful feeling, and maybe one they had all needed badly, no matter however small, or fleeting as it was.

She smiled

"O-oh, u..uhm... Thank you...!" Midoriya stammered, flustered as can be as Izaru nodded slightly to the words. "... b... but you somehow knew something was going to happen, right? You were on edge even before the rock shifted, and you warned me ahead of time- but I'm a little confused, how could you have known about it...?" Midoriya mumbled, his green eyes glittering as he tilted his head in question.

"Yeah, how'd ya do that?" Kirishima and Kaminari both asked at once, Izaru blinked a few times, pausing for a moment as her smile faded a bit.

"... Ah, I actually think that's what you were planning to ask..." She mumbled nearly half to herself as her hand found the back of her neck. Midoriya's eyes widened a little as she let out a soft breath, "... I knew about it beforehand because of my Quirk, actually." Izaru murmured,

"Your Quirk?" All three students echoed, she nodded.

"... Without getting too far into the details and specifics, the biggest part of my Quirk is that I know when bad things are going to happen a bit in advance of when they do actually occur... When someone or myself is about to trip, or get hit, or be in the way of something that might cause injury... any sort of danger really, big or small." Izaru explained softly, their eyes all widening in intrigue. "There's a bit more to it than that... in a way it also makes me more hyper-aware and perceptive than compared to most people... but the part of my Quirk I'm at UA to use, has to do with the sensing danger bit."

"So like, if anyone were to try and come at you out of nowhere, you'd know fast enough to avoid gettin' hit?" Kirishima asked,

"And you could tell that All Might was somewhere with a chance of getting hurt even before the rock started to fall?" Kaminari grinned, "Oh, oh- and that's how you knew Hagakure was standing there, without her sayin' anything?! Cause of the whole hyper-awareness thing?!" He asked rather excitedly,

"With that kind of Quirk you'd be able to know whenever something might happen and react before it ever does, and even prevent it entirely..!" Midoriya breathed, his eyes widening in quickly bubbling excitement and nearly beaming. "You could even avert life-threatening situations, especially if you knew far enough in advance...! Of course that is taking account how far in advance you were able to know... but even if it only extends to a few seconds or even a minute beforehand, the forewarning would be enough to make it easier on you to dodge people and come up with plans to retaliate and counterattack...!" He grinned, looking more thrilled by the minute and even a little awed- Kaminari and Kirishima looked just as enthused by it. All three of them leaned in a bit toward her, and Izaru's eyes widened as the neutrality in her face gave way to hints of suprise and even uncertainty.

"That sounds like such a useful Quirk!" Midoriya beamed,

"Super cool man!" Kirishima smirked,

"Heck yeah, you actually aren't so run-of-the-mill, huh?!" Kaminari grinned, chuckling.

Izaru blinked, looking the slightest bit taken aback by the excited moods, and even a little unsure of what to do with them... because those weren't the sort of reactions she would had expected, or was even used to, in regards to her Quirk... and honestly she didn't...?

"So that's why you were added on to the Staff, cause your Quirk's almost perfect for helping up Security around the school!" Midoriya breathed, "Because of how your Quirk works you'll be able to tell whenever something goes wrong, and warn everyone to act accordingly, right? Just like you decided to tell me where to move and when?" He asked brightly, Izaru nodded slowly.

"... That's... the gist of it, yes..." She murmured,

"So like how far in advance does your Quirk kick in for dangerous things?" Kirishima asked,

"And how do you tell when something's really bad, or just a little?" Kaminari hummed,

"And how do you tell if it's because of something that'll happen to you, or someone else?" Midoriya asked too, all of them suddenly curious and Izaru seemed a little more unsure with every question.

"Ah, there's no need to start an interrogation..." All Might stepped in quickly, smiling and shaking his head at the three boys. By now they had Izaru looking just a bit nervous with all the questions, and he could pretty much imagine that she hadn't intended to be questioned so much, or really wanted it... but Izaru let out a soft sigh and shook her head at him, catching his eye from the side.

"... It's ok." She mumbled toward him, shrugging a little. He blinked at her, surprised at the answer, and just how quickly she seemed to... well, regain herself, and erase what little bit of uncertainty he had seen in her. She looked away from him and toward the students, calm now and steady as she matched their eyes.

"... How far I know in advance depends on how serious a situation it is. Only rarely do I ever know more than a few seconds or even just a minute ahead of time." Izaru explained coolly, placing her hands in her jacket pockets and grey eyes flashing, "It's usually a pretty small frame of seconds between getting the feeling something is going to happen, and when it actually does. So I have to think fast and come up with a bunch of different theories for what might be coming, based on what's around and what I know is going on, and might be possible... As for knowing what's bad and what's not so much... Mm, it just feels different, between it being someone about to trip and someone about to get hit by a car, or a rock..." She hummed, pausing for a moment in thought, "... It's the same thing for knowing if it's about me, or someone else near me... Closest I can get to describing it, there's like a... 'Gut-feeling'... It's just some sense of knowing which is right between the thought of 'I'm the one about to be hurt', or 'they're the one in danger'..." She shrugged a bit, "... Sorry I can't explain it better than that, I don't really... Know how to." She mumbled,

"That's alright." Midoriya smiled kindly,

"Yeah we get it, it probably just feels super natural to you since you've had your Quirk so long." Kaminari smirked.

"Either way, your Quirk sounds super cool!" Kirishima grinned, "I've never met anyone with a Quirk like that!"

"Me either." Midoriya smiled brightly,

"Yeah! What would you even classify it as? Premonition Type? Enhancement?" Kaminari mused, smiling as he snapped his fingers and laughed. "Hey! You're kinda like UA's own personal 'Danger Is Near', huh?! If you're here to keep an eye out for anything to go screwy, you're kinda doing the same thing- just on a smaller scale!"

Izaru blinked at the comment that immediately had All Might, Cementoss and Aizawa stiff as boards- their hearts plummeting at the words, and forgetting to breathe for a few seconds too.

Danger Is Near...?! Crap...

But Izaru didn't react at all, which was lucky as the students were all focused on her and not on them- and might have noticed the reaction they earned from the other teachers at the sudden (very real!) comparison

"Danger Is Near?" Kirishima echoed, turning toward Kaminari, who nodded brightly.

"Yep! That guy's super popular in the news and on the Internet right now!" The blonde replied easily, "He was a really big thing like ten or something years ago! There's this website he kept posting 'Warnings' on, tellin' people to look out for things that were gonna happen around the city- and most of the things he posted about came true!"

"Oh yeah, I remember a little bit of when DIN got really popular..." Midoriya mused, "The site stopped getting posts for a really long while though... There was a post about Kamino Ward a few days before it happened, right?" He asked, and Kaminari nodded again.

"You got it! That's the first thing that's been posted in over ten years! And that's why the media's going nuts about it right now." Kaminari grinned,

"But wasn't what got posted from someone who hacked into the site?" Midoriya mumbled, "That means that it wasn't the original Danger Is Near, right?"

"Yeah, but everyone's pretty sure it's gotta be someone with a similar Quirk. How else could they have known about the stuff that went down in Kamino days ahead of time?" Kaminari murmured, Midoriya nodded in understanding.

"Oh so I get it, Ms. Izaru's Quirk kinda works like that Danger Is Near's guy must, huh? But on a smaller scale..." Kirishima murmured, "... Since you really only know about the stuff a small amount ahead of time?" He asked, his eyes trailing toward Izaru, who simply nodded once.

"Yeah." she replied easily. "I suppose in that sense I could be like a small-time Danger Is Near for UA... Though I really wouldn't compare myself with him." She told them lightly, and all three of the students smiled at her, nodding.

The three Pros around them all collectively let out silent sighs of relief, glad to see that (somehow) they had arrived at the topic of Danger Is Near, but avoided all parts of it they intended to keep secret, and so easily... Though that was in no small part thanks to how calmly Izaru handled the suggestion and the questions that came with it.

(Small thanks to that closed off and emotionless part of her that had taken over maybe... Enough whatever surprise or nervousness that hit her when DIN was brought up as it did them, it didn't show through enough to tip the kids off.)

Midoriya blinked, realization dawning on his face as he glanced toward his classmates and their sudden change in costume. "Oh, you guys upgraded your costumes too, huh?" He asked with a small smile, the conversation immediately steering somewhere else. Izaru and Aizawa seemed to sigh silently at it, while Cementoss and All Might just smiled at the students, and how quickly they seemed to shift gears.

"Ah, you noticed?" Kaminari smirked,

"Yeah man, you ain't the only one changing things up." Kirishima grinned, "Everyone's getting all into it~!"

"Heck yeah! Ya wanna see what I've drummed up?!" Kaminari grinned, patting the device strapped to his arm and a new wash of excitement flaring in no time at all. "I swear it'll be cool! Really blow your mind-!"

So easily distracted...

All Might's attention on the three younger boys failed when he felt something grab tight hold on to the back of his shirt out of literally nowhere. His eyes snapped sideways in surprise to see Izaru had grabbed on to his shirt, and was eyeing Kaminari with the utmost caution and even... Fear.

The No. 1 Hero blinked, swallowing slightly when he saw how rigid she had gotten so suddenly, her eyes glittering and expression nothing but sheer tense. Even the way she grabbed on to him was in itself almost fearful, and she looked so afraid.

Izaru's eyes narrowed to slits as she visibly swallowed, her hold on his shirt tightening a fraction further. Kesu at her heel rubbed his jaw along her leg, as if it was meant to be comforting, the cat's yellow eyes glinting as he peered up at the rigid woman. All Might's eyes narrowed, stiff in his own place and a little afraid to move lest doing so set her off- though he wasn't sure he could move much, she was holding on to his shirt so tightly.

But, why did she look so scared all of a sudden...?

"... Izaru...?" All Might mumbled quietly, earning her eyes as she glanced toward him quickly, before grimacing a little and hissing under her breath. She bit the inside of her cheek, and he felt her hand on the back of his shirt hesitate, like she planned to let him go but her fingers weren't listening. She forced herself a low breath, finally pulling back from him all the way and letting him go, her hand shaking as she drew it back to herself and shut her eyes tight. All Might's free hand instinctively lift to reach out toward her, all attention on the students shattered now as he looked her up and down, trying to process what had her looking so freaked out. His eyes caught Aizawa's on Izaru's other side as the dark-haired man stepped forward a bit, the two of them locking gazes for only a split second, before Aizawa set his gaze on Kaminari instead.

"Don't start showing off for the fun of it, this is training, not a game." Aizawa muttered flatly, his tone bringing Kaminari's rising excitement for showing off his new tech to a sudden, slamming halt. All three students glanced toward their Home Room teacher, looking a little off-put at how utterly flinty, and slightly harsh Mr. Aizawa's tone sounded just then.

"If you plan to goof around, do it somewhere where you won't catch other people in the crossfire." Aizawa grumbled lowly, looking directly at Kaminari as he said it. Kaminari smiled nervously as Mr. Aizawa's head tilted toward the opposite end of the gym, the Erasure Hero motioning for him to get back to his assigned place (and where Aizawa had earlier taken time to move, and place Kaminari on the opposite end of the gym and out of eyeline from where he and Izaru had mostly been standing), before Aizawa gave Kirishima and Midoriya a similar gesture.

"Get back to work, and back to your places."

All three students nodded, smiling nervously under what stony stare they were held under from their Teacher. "Yes sir...!" They said in unison, Aizawa let out a low sigh.

"That's it for you, Class 1-A! Time's up!"

All eyes turned to the call that rang out behind them, the voice belonging to one Vlad King- who now stood in the door to the gym, grimacing as he ordered the training to a sudden halt.

"Class B..." Midoriya mumbled in surprise,

"Bad timing..!" Kamimari grumbled,

Izaru let out a breath that sounded more like a growl, All Might still hovering ever so slightly as she stepped back a little and shook her head, her hands stuffing themselves in her pockets, shoulders hunched. "... Sorry..." She told the No. 1 quietly, and his blue eyes flashed at the soft, slightly shaky apology. He shook his head a bit, eyes still searching, still trying to understand what happened...?

He stiffened a little, his heart skipping a beat- because what had prompted her grabbing on to him in the first place?

Kaminari had been working up to showing off his new gear, specially fitted for his Quirk... His Electric Type... Quirk...

All Might's blue eyes snapped over toward Kaminari and Aizawa both, the thoughts somehow finding a way to click in his head, and his gaze matching with the latter- earning a tense, almost imperceptible nod from the Erasure Hero, and his stomach knotted in the same instant his heart dropped.

... Oh... Izaru...

He swallowed, looking away from Aizawa quickly and down toward Izaru again where she was still standing stiff in her place, quiet and eyes locked on the floor. He took a tiny step closer to her, leaning in just a bit as he shook his head once, offering up a small, somewhat reassuring smile. "... It's okay, you don't need to apologize..." He told her softly, and Izaru just grimaced, her eyes still not meeting his and not garnering any sort of reply. She just stayed absolutely quiet, hardly even seeming to breathe as she stared down at the floor, her expression so strained still, though she seemed to be doing her best to shake it off.

All Might's posture wilted, a pained expression passing over his face for half a second, and neither he nor Izaru really paying any attention at all to anyone else, or the group coming in the gym doorway. Aizawa cast All Might and Izaru a quick glance, frowning to himself for a moment before quickly motioning for Cementoss to follow him- leading the two of them, and the students forward toward Vlad and his Class, while leaving All Might and Izaru to lag behind for another few moments on their own. All Might glanced over his shoulder toward them as they moved away, biting the inside of his cheek at how quickly Aizawa moved to put some distance between Izaru and everyone else- just to give her a minute to try to calm down and compose herself, and she sorely needed whatever few moments could be afforded without everyone around. Kesu even cast Izaru and himself a quick look, before moving away to follow Aizawa's lead.

The No. 1 looked back around and toward Izaru again, letting out a quiet breath as he resigned himself to just standing there, for however long she needed. He didn't want to walk away, even if it might have been a good idea to give her space. He didn't budge, because he remembered what she'd said in the Teacher's Lounge those few days ago;

".. I don't really like... Being alone... Either..."

... and he wasn't sure if she felt the same way at that moment, but the insecurity he'd seen when she'd said that was showing through right now- worse, it was actual fear.

And he hated it, because he hadn't ever considered it, or even thought about it- but Aizawa clearly had... or maybe Izaru had already seen Kaminari's Quirk yesterday, and Aizawa had been around to see it...... He must have, that's why he was so quick to stop Kaminari from showing off his new tech and Quirk with it...

Izaru shook herself out a bit, her eyes locked on the ground a few more seconds before she forced another long, low sigh and straightened up, her eyes dropping closed... and slowly but surely, the rigidness in her shoulders faded away enough the rest of the world would never guess she'd spent those few minutes barely keeping herself from freaking out all the way.

"... Are you alright, Izaru?" All Might asked softly, his head tilting down to try and catch her eyes, and at last she looked up, nodding stiffly.

"... Yeah I think so... Sorry to... Grab you like that..." She mumbled softly, shaking her head at herself just once. "... I didn't... Mean to..." She muttered, but All Might just shook his head at her with a gentle smile.

"Don't worry about it." He told her quietly, she nodded a bit, before glancing behind them toward where everyone had started to gather.

"... We have plans to use Gamma Gym from today on, you'd best get out of here Eraser." Vlad grumbled, his voice managing to catch her interest this time around, and seeing him standing in front of Aizawa- who sighed at the words.

"We still have ten minutes left." Aizawa grumbled in reply, "You have a little trouble telling time, hmm?" He muttered lowly, Vlad just huffed quietly.

"Oh Look~! It's Class A!" A boy behind Vlad shrilled, smiling crookedly. "Did you know? Half of all people who take the Provisional License Exam fail! That means all of Class A can fail together ~!"

"Oh, it's him again..." Kirishima mumbled with a glance at the pale-haired boy,

"Still trying to get in our heads, huh?" Kaminari sighed, his own head tilting a bit as he took in the other boy's appearance, and turned toward a girl who had arrived with the rest of Class B. "Is that really Monoma's costume?" He mumbled, she shrugged.

"He said since his Quirk is just copying other Quirks, he didn't need to stand out that much." She mumbled,

"Stand out he says..."

"If both classes are taking the Provisional License Exam, that means we're gonna be fighting against one another to pass, right?" Midoriya murmured, his eyes darting among the members of Class 1-B filing in, while the rest of 1-A were already slowly moving toward the doors to meet up with them.

"Not quite."

The green-haired boy jumped slightly at the sound of Aizawa's voice, the eyes of all of the students in earshot turning toward him. Izaru glanced toward him too, her head tilting slightly and interest sufficiently peaked (as well as her mind distracted from... well, a few minutes before).

She had been aware all the Training was for the Provisional License Exams, though she had heard little about it... It hadn't really become a major part of the conversation last night, nor anytime before that. And besides, she wasn't even all that aware of went on with the Exams anyway, since she hadn't been around when Shota and everyone else took them in their own school days.

Izaru's hand pulled out of her pocket as she pushed her bangs back out of her face a bit, her feet moving her forward slowly as All Might followed her instantly, staying at her shoulder as they both moved closer to where Aizawa and Cementoss were standing.

"A Class and B Class are going to be taking the Exam at different venues." Aizawa muttered, continuing on with his explanation as Midoriya glanced his way in question.

"That's right, the Exams are held twice a year, and strive to keep from pitting students out of the same school against eachother. So each class from the same school are sent to different testing locations." Vlad murmured, and Midoriya glanced toward the other Homeroom Teacher, "Of course that also means you'll be pitted against the other Hero schools." Vlad added, and Midoriya looked a touch uneasy at the mention.

"And don't forget, across the country the number of first year students that pass the Exams are extremely small... Which means you'll likely be the only first-year students in the Exams too." Aizawa murmured, "You were all placed on the fast-track for the Exams, given everything that's happened. That's a sort of experience under your belt, but the other students you'll be facing are older, and have been training much longer than any of you. They will have unknown Quirks, and will be much more effective with them than all of you are with your own." He told them lowly, and all the students as a whole went stiff, Aizawa's words hitting home in a way they, and the whole premise of the Exam hadn't just yet. Izaru even narrowed her eyes at the Erasure Hero, her head tilting just faintly as she and All Might drew to a halt a few paces to the right of where he was standing.

"Overall, even though the test material is unknown, the disadvantage for all of you is incredibly clear." Aizawa mumbled lowly, his chin falling admist his scarf as his eyes dropped closed, and the listening students seemed to gulp. Aiwawa shrugged a little, letting his posture deflate a little more and allow near tired boredom to take the place of how grim the words had been. "... Try not to think about it too much. But keep it mind anyway." The Erasure Hero added almost offhandedly, and leaving the students looking none too reassured. Izaru let out a quiet breath, biting the inside of her cheek as she shot Aizawa a quiet look from the side.

... but of course they'll think of little else now...

She shook her head and looked away, letting her eyes drop closed.

"Class A, head back to the dorms." Aizawa ordered coolly, and the students nodded firmly.

"Yes sir!"

"I'll start putting the gym back in order then..." Cementoss murmured, already moving away to start cleaning up what mess Class A made of the gym and the floor. Kesu, who had placed himself at Aizawa's heel, jumped lightly onto the dark-haired man's shoulder, and the Erasure Hero said nothing, nor reacted to it at all.

"Hmm? Oh Izaru, we haven't met yet."

Izaru blinked her eyes open, her grey gaze settling on Vlad as he addressed her, and the silver-haired man moving forward a bit further as his class started to file inside the gym with 1-A headed out. He stopped in front of her and All Might and extended a hand, Izaru hesitating for half a second, before raising her own to return the gesture, shaking once. "It's nice to meet you," he smiled slightly, dipping his head toward her as she nodded back.

"... Ah... Likewise." She mumbled softly, and their hands disconnected.

"Would you be alright if I introduced you to my class?" Vlad asked softly, a sort of gentleness breaking into his voice out of near nowhere. All Might beside them seemed to deflate a little that the question had be asked at all, but it still had-

"... Yeah." Izaru murmured nearly right away, near calm as can be as she gave him a firm nod. Vlad blinked in surprise at the small spark of surety that appeared in her out of nowhere, and All Might did the same- how could she seem so calm, after looking so terrified just a few minutes beforehand? Least of all agree to talk to anyone, and many people she didn't know?

"... I won't remember all of their names straight off... But I'll give it my best shot." Izaru told Vlad lightly, her grey eyes glinting a bit and he smiled at the answer.

"There's no rush." Vlad hummed in reply,

Izaru nodded and tilted her head toward All Might. "... I'll catch up with you in a little, alright... All Might?" She told him softly, "... I'll be fine..." She mumbled, a bit quieter, and he hesitated and still very uneasy, before nodding anyway.

... Something's different... all of a sudden... but what...? Even outside of reacting to Kaminari's Quirk... something's changed, and I don't...

He bit the inside of his cheek, nodding toward her once more.

"Alright."

All Might broke off and headed toward where Aizawa was paused at the entrance to the gym, Kesu on his shoulder and content, with Aizawa content that way too. The No. 1 Hero cast a somewhat anxious glance back toward where Izaru was standing beside Vlad, the whole of Class B looking their way. Midnight was there too now, having (somehow) found her way to Izaru's side and standing beside the other woman with the utmost calm and easy smile on her face.

"... I didn't even think what seeing Kaminari's Quirk might be like for her..." All Might mumbled as he stopped close to Aizawa, and earned a small frown from the man at the mention of it. "... even if it's not the same person... Any Electrical Quirk is going to feel like, and be a reminder of what happened..." The No. 1 mumbled, and Aizawa sighed.

"... I know." Aizawa muttered slowly, "... Though I didn't think about it beforehand either... I just saw the way she reacted yesterday." He pointed out quietly, and All Might grimaced slightly at that.

"... Even though just the idea set her on edge, and she's still clearly tense around everyone... She talked with the kids and answered their questions really well... And skirting around Danger Is Near like that... ." All Might mumbled, "... Even telling Midoriya to act... Something's different today." The No. 1 mumbled, the last bit earning a blink from Aizawa."... Somehow... She seems a little less tense... A little more... Laid back, maybe... Something changed between the last few days and today... Enough she even managed a smile..." All Might mused, before he paused and he glanced sideways toward Aizawa. "You went out with her last night, right?" He murmured, "Did something happen? Did she mention anything...?" He asked, and Aizawa frowned slightly, his eyes dropping closed and away from All Might altogether.

"... She asked if she thought all of us were still friends, even after everything." Aizawa murmured lowly, All Might's eyes widened. "... She doesn't have a good handle on what she feels, or how to react and act with everything that's going on... For her, a lot of it is still just as jumbled as the last ten years... But there are things that keep popping up underneath it all, and that was one of them... She didn't know if it was 'alright' to be friends with anyone after what's gone on... And though she asked the question, I don't think she knew if she even wanted to be friends again on her own." Aizawa murmured, the No. 1 wilting at the words, blue eyes glittering. "... Honestly I don't have a good handle on what is going through her head." Aizawa mumbled, shaking his head a bit at himself. "... But I think maybe she settled one thing in all her thoughts... And that's what you say is 'different'."

Aizawa's eyes opened and trailed straight passed All Might and toward Izaru, who had a hand raised as she waved a bit at the Class B that was giving her their full attention.

"... What that one thing is specifically, I couldn't tell you... But there's something clicking now that wasn't before. Something that's made it possible for her to start to relax, and even settle in to something... Normal." Aizawa murmured softly.

And maybe he was wrong about that, and it wasn't just one thing she had managed to work around to understanding now. But either way, the basis still stood, and All Might was right- today something was different.

She smiled, and his heart did that thing again... Fluttering, warm...

... Happy.

---

Hello everyone!

I hope you enjoyed the chapter, though perhaps it wasn't super exciting- the next one is gonna be a bit lighter in mood though, so I hope you look forward to it!

Thank you all for sticking with me and for reading! Your patience and your time is greatly appreciated!

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