Chapter 9

Thanks to Coloradem, PasiveNox, Fencer29, AnimeFan13579, Cosmyk Angel, WindWolf777 and Coloradem again. 3

Logical-Tadkins, I didn't forget you.

Tacktician, yeah, a little meta and a little dark. Still a work in progress, though.

Yeah, I uploaded the last chapter twice. Don't worry, I re-read this one 4 times and I'm sure just as many mistakes still exist.

I love the suggestions. Send me more.

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She knew she really shouldn't be enjoying this as much as she is. The plight of her classmate was (supposed to be) no laughing matter as he lay there in misery. What sort of sadistic person would that make her to even smile at the thought…?

"Uraraka, your offer to help would be more believable if you would please wipe that grin off your face," Mezo Shoji said to her through his mouth tentacle. His back and head were still wrapped up, a large ball of tape was sitting on the floor next to them as they finally uncovered the last layer closest to skin and clothing.

"Well, you have to admit, it is a ridiculous situation," Ochaco said, trying to excuse her mirth. Her job was to hold the larger teen steady as Recovery Girl used a pair of medical shears to cut through the final layer of tape.

Recovery Girl just sighed as she finished cutting and put her medical shears down. She pulled a corner back until she got a good grip… SHRIPT! Another section of tape came off. Shoji let out short, high pitched yelp. Ochaco tried to stifle a giggle that still came out as a snort.

Shoji's tentacle-eye shot a glare at her. "You know something? I apologized before but I take it back. I'm not sorry. I don't wish suffering on any person, but your boyfriend earned his broken rib. He gave as good as he got, and if he's suffering at all, he should wear it like a badge of honor. Every bit of it," his tentacle-mouth finished with a teasing grin.

She wrinkled her nose at his banter and was about to respond when a dark-haired girl with pigtails and glasses rushed through the room, out the door and into the hallway without looking at them.

"Wait here a moment." Recovery Girl put down her tools with a sigh as she walked back in the direction the girl had come from.

The moment she left, Ochaco picked up the electric hair-clippers sitting among the tray of tools. "While she's gone, perhaps we should work on your face and head," she said, the clippers buzzed as she switched it on.

Shoji flinched as his tentacle eye widened and dilated, shying away from the clippers. "I profusely apologize for any injury or ill will my words or actions may have caused you or anyone associated with you," the mouth-tentacle said in a calm, diplomatic way.

Ochaco put the clippers down and turned them off, "That's better."

Shoji relaxed, wondering what poor Midoriya must have done to deserve, or earn, a girlfriend like Ochaco in the first place.

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When his classmate ran out of the room, Izuku had to hold himself back from running after her. It's not like it was out of character for her to avoid talking to… well, anyone. Chasing her for the sake of asking her why she was jilling-off next to his bed while he lay injured, however, would be difficult at best. He sighed.

Then deliberately sighed again. His ribs were healed, and his bruises too. Did she need a trigger to use her quirk, the same way he did?

The diminutive form of Recovery Girl poked her head through the privacy curtain, "Oh, good, you're still here. Just relax a bit and let me examine you."

"That was Amy Avido that was just here wasn't it?"

"That girl," Recovery Girl groused, "I told her not to do anything, it's only her first day." She looked up at Izuku, "And you! What's a General Studies student like you doing, hanging around with All Might and the hero students? That's a dangerous practice at the best of times."

"All Might hired me to be his assistant while he's teaching."

"Is that so?" She asked, not entirely believing him, but started poking a prodding the previously injured student's torso.

"Yes. I plan on becoming a quirk therapist," He said as he lifted his arm so Recovery Girl could inspect his ribs. "I suspected Avido might have a healing quirk, but she never mentioned it before."

"You've talked with her?" the old doctor asked suspiciously.

"Well, no. I sit in the seat directly in front of her. I'm still working on getting her to return my morning greeting, to be honest."

She looked over at the damp cloth still lying on the pillow where he shook it off, "I would appreciate it if you never spoke of what happened here. The last thing I need is a bunch of hormonal teenagers injuring themselves on purpose hoping for a free show." She poked his ribs particularly hard, but it wasn't even uncomfortable for him since he was already healed.

"I promise," he agreed. "Is the quirk trigger absolutely necessary? Any sign of quirk dysphoria? I mean other than being pathologically shy?"

The elder hero looked up at him in surprise, "Quirk therapist, eh? If you really want to help her, then continue to try and get her to open up, don't take it too far, sonny," she warned him in all seriousness.

"I think my girlfriend would have something to say if I did," he laughed. "So, her quirk trigger is related to her shyness. Anything I can do to help?"

"She has a hard enough time trying to be normal, so don't aggravate her. Just be a friend, if you can. And keep her away from injured people."

"That 'aggravates' her?"

"If Florence Nightingale were a starving succubus that gives health instead of stealing it, that would be her, as you just saw." She seemed to catch herself and continued more softly, "You would be in a perfect position to help her, but only if you are serious about it," she finished firmly.

"Heh, I work with All Might, helping people is what we do."

"Ha! Good luck with that. Perhaps you can keep him in line as well. Just how much do you know about him?"

"Well, they say, 'never meet your idols', and that sort of applies here," Midoriya admitted with a laugh before realizing, "Oh, that. Yeah, he said and that the Heroics faculty knows the same thing, and it's one of the reasons I'm perfect for the job."

Recovery Girl hummed to herself before nodding, "Well, everything looks good here, Midoriya. Now perhaps you can assist me with our walking duct tape disaster."

"Yeah, sorry about that…"

"That was you?" she asked, slightly impressed. "Did you win?" The only reply she got was a small shy smile and slight nod. She laughed, "Oh, I'll bet Aizawa loved that."

"Yeah, 'Aizawa'. I don't recognize the name, what pro hero is he, anyway?"

In the end, after a long process involving a lot of lotion, Shoji was able to keep his hair and his eyebrows. He also found Midoriya to be far more agreeable than his girlfriend as he hissed sympathetically along with every painful tape removal along with near constant apologies given.

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The next day in homeroom, Izuku did his best to arrive early and waited for Avido to show up, hoping she would arrive early so he could talk to her. He remained in his seat and remained facing forward till she sat down. When he turned around, she was already buried behind a book.

"Avido?" he asked. He didn't expect an answer so he continued. "I just wanted to say thank you. Your quirk is amazing and fixed me up in no time. I hope you will continue working with Recovery Girl and I promise I won't say anything about it. I just wanted you to know I understand why you want your privacy. I still want to be your friend, but, I swear, I won't be a creeper about it. My girlfriend would have something to say if I did." He said with a laugh. "Anyway, thank you, again."

He was surprised when she looked up from her book. "Amy."

"Amy?"

"Short for Amanda. Call me Amy."

"Amy, then. And call me Izuku. Um, I know I'm pushing my luck a little, but would you like eat lunch with Shinso and me? We don't usually talk much, so we just eat together for company. Care to join us?"

She hesitated a moment as though weighing her options before replying, "Okay," as Shinso walked up to them, a look of surprise on his face.

"Wow. I can't believe you got…" Amy ducked behind her book and Izuku shook his head frantically as he made cutting gestures to stop Shinso from talking. "Ah, … inside so quickly. I mean that media circus outside. I think they were stopping every student for an interview. How did you two get in?"

"Ochaco ran interference for me so I could get to class early." Izuku said.

"Ochaco? Is that her name? It's nice." came a quiet voice from behind her book, her spectacles peeking over the top. Shinso was in shock since this was the first time he'd heard her voice.

"My girlfriend? Yeah, that's her. You probably saw her in the nurse's office yesterday."

Amy's ears turned pink and she hesitated a moment before saying, "Oh," and sinking behind her book again.

Shinso looked back and forth between the two of them. Midoriya was looking back at him, expectantly. Whether he was feeling left out or he remembered his promise to be friendly to the shy girl, he said, "By the way, good morning, Avido."

Both boys waited for a good five seconds and nearly turned back to the class before they heard a soft, "Hi." Shinso just shook his head as Midoriya gave him a thumbs up.

Mr. Ustada entered, signaling the start of homeroom, and announced that a class president needed to be selected. His little corner, no one wanted to participate, each for their own reasons. The rest of class, however, being the over-achievers that they are, put in their bid in the hasty constructed elections.

At lunch the three sat together in the cafeteria. Midoriya considered the room as a flaw in the design and planning since the room was barely large enough to accommodate all four branches of the school all eating at the same time. No wonder they needed a pro hero like Lunch Rush to be able to feed this mob successfully.

"Midoriya," Shinso said in exasperation, "you're going to continue to ask me to train every day, aren't you?"

"Yup," Izuku answered.

"It's better that you get used to the word, 'no' sooner rather than later, then."

"Why do you want to help him so bad?" Amy asked, still hunched over her food. "In a way, you sound like you might take credit for his success."

"That's not it." Izuku cried, "Ok, that's not entirely it. I want to help because I truly want to see Shonzou succeed. Helping people just gives me a bit of self-satisfaction. I wouldn't ever boast about it, but I suppose you could argue that it is a bit selfish to want to be a background character in your friend's achievements. That's part of being a support hero."

"It's not that selfish," she muttered.

Shinso asked, "Avido, you're working in the nurse's office with Recovery Girl, aren't you? Are you going to try for a doctor or a nurse or something?"

Amy seemed to shrink a little, "I… I'm not sure I can be anything…"

"You can." Izuku said immediately. "Recovery Girl is the best. If you keep working with her, I know she will do her absolute best for you. She was worried… I mean, you are going to go back today, right?"

She pushed the food around her plate, "I think so… Yes," She nodded to herself firmly, "yes, I will."

"That's good." Izuku said, relieved.

Shinso's eyes shifted back and forth, "Midoriya, what were you doing in the nurse's office? Did you get hurt or something?"

"Ah…" Izuku stalled. The details of his visit weren't something he wanted to tell, especially as Amy's eyes snapped over to him as well.

An alarm rang out, nearly deafening in intensity. "Level three security breach." A recorded voice came over the intercom, "All student please evacuate. Repeat. Level three security breach…"

"What is that? What's going on?"

"An intruder alarm. I've been here three years and I've never heard one before," a nearby student answered.

Sometimes, trying to remain unnoticed at the back of a room has its advantages. Like now. Everyone in the crowded cafeteria collectively moved to one of the two exits at the opposite ends of the room, and got stuck. Izuku grabbed Shinso's arm and held him back from joining the mob, Amy stayed behind them.

Taking a moment and now able to observe them from a distance, Shinso noticed, "This is crazy. If they start to panic, they are going to start hurting themselves. This is only get worse unless someone can do something." Shinso knew there was no way he could control enough people to influence a mob like this.

"Yeah. I don't know what to do except stay out the way." Izuku said.

"They are going to hurt themselves?" Amy spoke up behind them, her voice sounded… hopeful. Izuku looked back to see Amy grin with a bit of drool pooling at the corner of her mouth. Her knees pressed together, shaking as she grew more and more unstable. "They could, right? They might get stepped on… trampled… maybe a fight…"

"Amy." Izuku said, grabbing her shoulders. "Amy, look at me. Nothing is going to happen."

"… there might be blood." She looked at him; no, "through" him, he realized. Her hand pressed into her groin with a moan.

"Shinso, help me get her over into that corner." Being in the back of the room, everyone else crowding around the doors, the boys took her by the arms and hauled her to the walls. Amy didn't resist as she was leaned against the walls.

"The hell is going on? What do we do now?"

"I don't know. Just, just turn around, stand there and do nothing. We'll got to hide her as best we can." Izuku said. He too turned his back on Amy, standing ramrod straight as he stood shoulder to shoulder with Shinso. The taller boy copied his stance as they did their best to hide Amy from view.

Fortunately for them most of the crowds were busy still trying to exit as their complaints began to turn to angry shouts and cries of pain. The pair of boys heard Amy as she breathed out, "I can hear them…" Shinso's eyes shot open as Amy moaned and started panting heavily in a manner he'd only heard in certain videos he would never actually admit to watching.

"Amy, what do you think they are doing?" Shinzo asked, but he only received a moan in response. Izuku grabbed his arm to keep him from turning around. The tired looking boy grit his teeth in annoyance and looked over at his nominal friend to demand an explanation but Izuku just shook his head and mouthed the word, "later".

"STOP! EVERYONE STOP!" A voice over a bullhorn echoed through the cafeteria. Izuku recognized Yaoyorozu, poised in a crane stance with a bullhorn held to her face as her an ankle was held at arm's length above the student's heads by Ochaco. "THERE IS NO REASON TO PANIC. THE REPORTERS FROM THIS MORNING HAVE BROKEN IN AND TRIPPED AN ALARM. PLEASE CONTINUE THE EVACUATION IN AN ORDERLY FASHION. I REPEAT, THE REPORTERS ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR TRIPPING THE ALARM. THERE IS NO REASON TO PANIC. PLEASE PROCEED WITH THE EVACUATION."

Unfortunately, Yaoyorozu was obviously, to him, weightless as her skirt continued to float above her waistline. This earned an "ooh" of appreciation from nearby boys before Izuku heard his girlfriend yell, "Hey, stop looking, you pervs!" and Youyorozu's skirt folded like an umbrella. She probably put Gravity Point on her legs, Izuku concluded. The poised Creation user didn't seem at all phased from panty display, however, as she floated to the floor in a graceful manner.

Behind the pair of boys in the corner, Amy grabbed Shinso's shirt causing him to jump, but he valiantly held his position. She squeaked out a moan before she started breathing heavily as though she were catching her breath. When she finally calmed down, she announced "I'm ok, now. Thank you both." They turned around to see her smoothing out her skirt. She looked gratefully at both of them before her eyes rested on Shinso.

"What? Do I have something on my face?"

Izuku studied him for a moment before chuckling, "Heh. You lost the bags under your eyes. You look like you actually had a good night's sleep for once."

Shinso looked a little put out, "What the heck…?"

"I'm sorry," Amy bowed.

"Ah…Don't worry about it." Shinso said hastily.

"Now that that's over with, why don't we escort you to the nurse's office." Izuku spoke up, "With your permission, maybe we can bring Shinso up to speed. Would that be ok?"

She looked at the taller boy, "Call me Amy."

"Then you can call me Hitoshi," he replied.

"'Hitoshi', huh?" asked Izuku.

"You can still call me 'Shinso',"

"Aw." Izuku complained, which earned a giggle from Amy.

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Walking back from the nurse's office, and getting permission from Amy. Izuku was explaining Amy's situation to Hitoshi.

"So, quirk dysphoria, explain what that is again?"

"It's a psychological condition where a person's quirk affects the way a person thinks or perceives their surroundings. It's really a rather broad term that covers a lot of ground. Like if a child grows up with an invincibility quirk but he has a hard time understanding why other kids might not survive a fall off a cliff."

"So, for Amy…?"

"It's not really her quirk, but her quirk has a trigger; a certain set of conditions that need to be met for her quirk to work."

"You mean her… libido?" Hitoshi asked, trying to be diplomatic about it.

"Exactly. We don't know if that is a psychological crutch or a physical gate, but either way, Recovery Girls is getting her what she needs in terms of therapy and support. As her friends, we can help her with that, like we did today."

"I'd imagine any healing quirk would be valuable enough to go through that amount of trouble. But, remember, I'm not planning on being in class for very long, you know."

"Yeah, about that," Izuku said, creating the segue. "I hear they have an open gym that any student can use at any time. You wanna meet up after school and go work out?"

"Midoriya," Hitoshi sighed in exasperation, "in what universe would I ever…?"

"Midoriya?" A scruffy man in black clothes wearing an extensive length of white scarf and a scruffy beard had just walked past, turned to address them. "Izuku Midoriya?"

"That's me." Izuku responded, "Can I help you?"

"You can explain to me what you were doing yesterday when you involved yourself with my students."

"Yesterday… You're professor Aizawa, the homeroom teacher for class 1-A. You're Eraserhead. This is great. Maybe you can help us settle an argument…"

Hitoshi glared at Izuku with an obvious, "Read the room, dude…"

Aizawa interrupted him, "How about you answer my question. What was going through your head when you involved yourself in that match."

"I… I was just trying to be helpful. The teams were uneven and…"

"… and you thought it would be funny if a gen-ed student showed up the hero course, right?"

Shinso was left gawking at Izuku. It was like watching a train wreck. What exactly did he do to the hero students and how could he get in on the action?

Izuku was getting a little irritated. "That wasn't my intention. True, I may have thought they weren't taking the challenge as seriously as they could, but…"

"It was absolutely brilliant, is what it was!" To say Aizawa didn't enjoy the look on the two gen-ed boy's faces would be a lie. "It's been all my class could talk about this morning. I admit, when All Might asked for you, by name, to be his teaching assistant, I had to wonder what game he was playing. I thought he had a screw loose. You're going to be observing 1-B today, correct?"

"Wait." Hitoshi couldn't take it anymore, "You're working for All Might?! Why didn't you tell me?" Even Aizawa quirked an eyebrow. This would be something that any student would normally brag about.

"Well, I mean, it would sound weird coming from me, right?" Izuku said as he scratched the back of his head. "And, yes, 1-B today and 2-B tomorrow."

"The notes you took were pretty insightful. I'm sure you'll do a good job. What is your goal here at UA?"

"I'm hoping to be a quirk councilor or quirk therapist someday."

Aizawa just gave a thoughtful nod, "Hmm. You knew a couple of my students from before UA, didn't you?"

"Ah, yes?" He didn't like where this was going.

"Since your name came up a lot, so perhaps you can tell me. Who is 'Deku'?"

Izuku flinched. If Izuku had his way, nothing before UA would exist, except for Ochaco, of course. "That… that's me," he admitted with a resigned sigh. "I'm Deku. It's something Bakugo used to call me to make fun of me… because I'm effectively quirkless." He said all this without making eye contact.

Aizawa knew how to recognize signs of bullying and abuse. This case in front of him was obvious. "How bad?" He asked, his voice heavy with sympathy. Izuku didn't answer right away. "How bad did it get?" he asked again, a little more insistent this time.

"Look, I… I don't want to get him in trouble." Izuku answered. "Katchan's dreamed of becoming a hero ever since we were kids. I don't want to take that from him."

Both Shinso and Aizawa stared at him before Aizawa broke the silence, "Fair enough. I'll just have to keep an eye on him. And Uraraka? Everyone's saying you trained her?"

"Uraraka?!" Shinso broke in, "You trained Uraraka? As in Ochaco Uraraka, the girl who got the highest score in the entrance exam? That Uraraka?"

"Um, yes." Izuku answered, leaning away from Shinso, almost wishing he were same tired boy he always knew. He seemed to have too much energy now. "We met nine months before the exam. Uh, she has a lot of natural talent."

"Is that what you're going with?" Aizawa asked as he sensed a deception, though he couldn't tell if the boy was just being modest or if something more was going on. "I'll admit, she's currently out-performing the students who got in on recommendation."

Shinso jaw literally dropped before complaining, "I don't even know who you are anymore."

"And you're dating her too, I hear." Aizawa said with a glimmer in his eye.

"FUCK!" Shinso spun around as though he had taken a physical blow and leaned against the wall for support. Izuku looked at Aizawa and almost swore he maybe saw something kind of resembling what could have been a genuine, if slightly sadistic, smile. Though his scarf was hiding the lower half of his face so it was hard to be sure.

"You said you had a question for me." Aizawa changed the subject as he turned back to Midoriya. "What is it?"

"Oh, right. Shinzo here wants to transfer into heroics after the UA sports festival, and we know you did the same thing when you were a student. I've offered to help coach him, but I think he believes he can get by just on his quirk."

Shinso turned back around as he was interested in the answer as well. Overall, things weren't looking well for him. There was no way he could get out of working with Midoriya if everything they had just said was true. He hated gym class. His only hope was Eraserhead's answer.

"I see." Aizawa said, turning to Shinzo as he looked the boy over. "I'll be honest with you. Transferring into the Hero course is extremely difficult," Shinso's heart sank. "but not impossible. If you did make it in, the very first thing I would do put you and a very punishing physical training regimen in order to get you up to speed with the rest of the class." Forget sank, his heart dropped right to the floor. "Hero work requires you to give it your all both physically and mentally. No true Pro hero is ever a one trick pony." Through the floor and straight to the basement. "The sooner you start, the better. You could do a lot worse than getting yourself a personal trainer. What's your quirk, anyway?"

"Actually, it's…"

"Ah, we'd rather keep that a secret for now." Izuku interrupted, putting his hand up to stop Hitoshi from saying too much.

"You know I can just look it up." Aizawa stated.

"I'm counting on it," Izuku nodded, "but for now, the walls have ears and if word got out, it might put us at a disadvantage during the sports festival."

The teacher did a quick scan of the hallway but didn't find anyone, but, taking quirks into consideration, he couldn't really find fault with his logic. But that did remind him of just how long they've been talking in the middle of the hall. "Fine. Out of curiosity, what would you start him on?"

"Since there is only a month or so before the Sports Festival, there isn't much time for strength training, so we would be focusing on endurance, speed, and reflexes." It worried Shinso that Midoriya had such a ready answer. He wanted to protest that he didn't need that sort of thing with his quirk before the phrase, "one trick pony" echoed through his mind and cut off any form of protest. "Mix in some quirk training, of course."

"You are such a poser." Shinso accused. "I haven't even told you what my quirk is yet."

"Yeah, but you really haven't told anyone at all, so I figured there was a good reason for it." Midoriya said, calmly. "I mean, if you had told me what it is right now, would that give me an advantage or would keeping it a secret give you the advantage?"

Shinso realized the green haired boy was right. It was a trap that could only be sprung if a certain condition was met. If Midoriya knew what the trigger was, he could easily defeat it.

Hearing only silence come from Shinso's mouth as it hung open, Aizawa could only nod his head and say, "Very rational." He straightened up. "Well, good luck to you. And if you can keep your boss in line, it would make life a lot easier on the rest of us." He patted Midoriya's shoulder as he walked past. "Afternoon activities have been canceled due to the break-in. Go home."

"Mr. Aizawa, wait." Izuku called as he dug into his bag and pulled out a notebook. It looked a little older and the teacher couldn't make out the writing on the front. Izuku flipped back and forth to a specific page and held it out to him. "Can I get your autograph?"

"I don't do autographs…" he stopped as he saw an amateurish drawing of himself along with a bunch of hand written notes. "What is this?" he asked, taking the notebook, but not the pen that was offered.

"Oh, it's just kind of a hobby," Izuku explained as Aizawa started reading. "Uh, Mr. Aizawa?" he waved the pen towards him, trying to get his attention.

"I don't put my name on anything before I read it, Midoriya. That's free advice." The older man flipped the to the next page, then the next, and again before it switched to a different hero entry. He flipped to the back page to see the notebook completely full and the last entry finished on the inside of the back cover. He flipped it closed and read the title, "Hero Analysis for the Future, Vol. 10."

"How old is this?" he asked.

"About three years, I'm working on volume fourteen now…"

"I'm going to hang on to this and if I like what I read, I'll sign it. Deal?" Midoriya looked like he had been asked to kill his pet kitten. "You have more of these with you, I take it, in case you run into the other Heroics' faculty, correct?" Izuku nodded slowly. "I'll make you a deal, give them to me and I promise to get those signed for you as well. Sound good?"

"Well, no." Izuku said but hastily added, "I mean, it's not just about collecting their autograph, it's about getting to meet them as heroes too, you know?"

"The whole fanboy experience, huh?" he said causing Izuku to wince. It was true, but it made him sound like a creeper when said out loud. "You know that since you're All Might's assistant that meeting them is bound to happen anyway. But this way you can do your job without coming across as some rabid fan while they're in the middle of teaching." Aizawa said, "Trust me, I won't let anything happen to them."

Izuku watched as the homeroom teacher of class 1-A continue on his way towards the nurse's office with his prized possessions. Granted, he had only three of the fourteen he had written, but he never thought his notebooks were worth anything to anybody else. It wasn't just his thoughts on heroes, it was almost a diary and even though he had them practically memorized, to know they were in the hands of someone else. He actually surprised himself just how attached he was to those notebooks.

"Hey. You ok?" Shinso was shaking Izuku's shoulder with a concerned look on his face.

Izuku squared his shoulders as he realized he was slumped over a bit. "Yeah. I mean, they're only books, after all, right?" he said, before slumping over a little once more. "I'm going home."

Shinso watched him go. This. This is why he didn't want to build friendships he knew wouldn't last. They made him feel…, well, just feel. He hated that. And then there was the whole training thing… which, if anything, made him feel like a hypocrite, rejecting Midoriya's offer because he thought the green boy was just some hack, but now that he comes with references, it was too good an offer to pass up. Plus, if he was working with the hero classes, the might a friend that sticks around after all.

"Hey, Midoriya!" he called after the green teen as he ran to catch up. "Listen, I know this is bad timing and I probably look like an ass for saying this, but," he took a breath, "I… would like you to train me."

Izuku looked up at the taller boy, a smile slowly lit up his face, "For real?"

Shinso nodded, "I'm sorry I didn't take you seriously and, you're right, if you did brag about… everything, it would have sounded insincere. But, yeah, please, help me train."

"This is a serious commitment. Eraserhead was right, you are a bit behind in raw physical ability…"

"Hey," Shinzo protested, even though he knew his new coach was right.

"… but it's nothing we can't overcome." Izuku opened his bag and pulled out a notebook and pencil. "First off, what's your quirk?" he asked as he wrote down Shinzo's name on the first page.

This was it, the final test that extremely few of his former peers had passed. Most labeled is quirk, and him by extension, as villainous. Statistically, the odds of Midoriya not accepting his quirk were not in his favor. Shinzo took one last breath to brace himself for a leap of faith. "Brainwashing," he announced.

Izuku wrote it down, "Uh-huh, and what does it do?"

The lack of reaction was disappointing. Not in the same way a rejection would be, but still… "I can take control of someone's body, forcing them to do anything that I tell them to."

Izuku suddenly stopped writing and looked up as though stunned and Shinso's heart sank, expecting another declaration of using his quirk for villainous intent. "That would be awesome!" Izuku exclaimed. "You could stop a bank robbery in an instant with no casualties. Hostage situations would be a snap, no lives lost since you can just make them give themselves up. I wonder if you can make a bad guy punch himself in the face. No. In the balls. Collectively, a whole group of villains just punching themselves in the balls en masse. Though I suppose it wouldn't matter, since you could just have them give themselves up in the first place…"

"What the hell are you talking about?" Shinzo was repulsed by the suggestion, but filed it away as possible future takedown technique.

"Sorry, I got ahead of myself. Plus, I blame my girlfriend's influence." Izuku scratched the back of his head, embarrassed.

"You're girlfriend punches people in the balls?" Shinzo was going a little green with the prospect.

"Uh, no. Just forget I said anything." Midoriya laughed nervously as he went back to writing. "Tell me how it works exactly, step by step."

"I don't think anything close to whatever you're imagining it is. I have to ask a question, and when they respond they are under my control. Any question will do and only activates when I want it to." Shinzo finished.

"Can they break out of it on their own?"

"No, but if they get bumped or jostled, that will usually stop the control."

"Is that it?" Midoriya asked, to which the other boy nodded. "Hmm… So, the biggest weakness is in the setup…"

Shinso took a bit of offense to that, but couldn't deny it. "In a way," he supplied, "It's not unlike Avido's quirk, where it requires a trigger."

"Yes, only more like setting a trap instead of achieving a certain state of mind." Which should have sounded better, but still didn't quite seem as satisfying to Shinso's ears. Midoriya was finishing his writing before he announced, "Ok. I have a few ideas for your quirk. But I have to agree with Mr. Aizawa. We need to get in better shape physically. Tomorrow, bring some running shoes and gym clothes and arrive 2 hours earlier. We can use the track for a morning run and after school we can use the gym."

"You're kidding, right? None of that is nessesary, with my quirk, I could…" Shinso faltered. Izuku could practically see him remember everything Mr. Aizawa had just talked about. "Shit."

"Exactly. If you really want this, you have to commit to it, fully and completely. Mr. Aizawa already expelled one student who wasn't taking his class seriously."

"It's been less than a week, how could…" He hesitated before continuing, "You know, after meeting him, I could actually see him doing that."

"I know, right?" Izuku agreed. "A month is really not a lot of time. Can you do this?"

"This is what I want." Shinzo took a deep breath, mentally preparing himself to give up a lot of free time and really work hard towards his life's goal. "I can do this."

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Fluffy filler, but I need another chapter or two before I can tackle the USJ, so comments and suggestions are encouraged. It's late, so I'm keeping this short.

Until next time…