AN: I do not own MHA.

(U.A. Gym)

Sato and I were sitting on a bench, sipping on some water for our workout break. I had taken my buddy through All Might's American Dream plan, heavily modified to the original to help me increase my control over One for All.

"Man, Midoriya, I thought I worked hard but you just put me to shame!" My more muscular friend said, "You're ripped as hell, but with this workout I expected you to be a lot bigger!"

"My diet isn't really made for bulking up and plus I don't have the body type for it," I explained.

"We can exchange our diet routines later," he said, before pulling something out of his giant gym bag, "Put these on."

I looked at what was now in my lap. Two red boxing gloves. "Sato, what are these for?"

"We're going to box obviously," he answered, having his own pair on now, "You can't fight for shit, which is really bad since you're a strength enhancer. Overwhelming force isn't always going to cut it. Plus learning how to punch correctly will help you put a lot more power in your attacks with less strain from your quirk."

I never thought about that. I eagerly put on my gloves before getting in front of Sato. I spent the next thirty minutes being tutored by my new friend. He showed me the correct way to do the four most basic punches: jab, straight, hook, and uppercut.

After that, we drilled the punches. He would call out a series of numbers and I was to respond by doing the correct punches. One was a jab, two was straight, three was the hook and four was uppercut. The drills were more intense than I thought, I had worked up a good sweat from just those.

The last part of the training was a few spars with Sato. Even though he went easy on me, I still was getting destroyed. Especially since I was having a hard time not throwing sloppy haymakers, which Sato would give me a good two-piece every time I did that. I was lucky not to be sporting any bruises from all the times he had to correct me. Sato really knew how to pull his punches.

I snorted as I sat on the bench, catching Sato's attention. "You sure you don't have a concussion bro?"

"I'm laughing at bad jokes I made in my head," I answered, "Really bad jokes. Like almost dad level."

"You didn't knock up your girl, did you?" Sato asked, making me sit up straight, "Could be a sign. With all the action you got last night, I wouldn't be surprised."

"W-we've h-haven't even gone that far!" I protested.

He had a big smug smile on his face that I didn't like. "Jiro isn't here to save you this time. I want to know how far you two gone!"

"I d-don't want to t-talk about it!" I said firmly, looking away.

I felt Sato's enormous hands ruffling my hair. "I'm not going to try to force it out of you. But keep that resolve, you know some of the other guys won't take no for answer."

I scrunched up my face up thinking of everyone's response to Himiko. Not good. "Who says they will?"

"Dude, you already got three people in the class to find out," Sato explained to me, "And two of us are didn't know you that well beforehand. And don't you know a secret only stays a secret if only two people know?"

I frowned. "What should I do then?"

"If you're so worried about everyone's opinion maybe you need to make a plan so your secret relationship will be more acceptable when it's revealed," Sato suggested.

"That, that sounds like a good idea Sato. Thank you," I said, standing up from the bench. I was only doing this if everything went wrong. Not when like he suggested.

(Hero Class)

Today was a simple sparring session. Sato gave me thumbs up, one I returned confidently. I had to fight against Kaminari, who gulped nervously. When All Might announced it was a no quirk battle, only melee, he gulped again.

We stood facing one another, only a few feet apart. A few other classmates were cheering us on.

"Defeat him! For the Bakusquad!" Sero yelled.

"You got this Deku-kun!"

"Try to put up a fight, Jamming Whey." Harsh Jiro.

"Don't let me down, Bro!" The pressure has increased.

Yagi announced the start of the fight, Kaminari cocked his arm all the way back. I grimaced, is that's what I used to look like? No wonder Sato wanted to train me.

I flinched when my jab hit my opponent right in the eye. I was able to hit him before he could swing, making him tumble over as he held his eye. Yagi told us the fight was over.

"It seems you picked up some real fighting ability. I'll pair you with someone close to your new skill level," he said, giving Kaminari to Aoyama.

My next opponent was Shoji. "You both have bases of your respective fighting styles down. Shoji, I know you have more experience, but not hold back. This is a learning experience for both of you."

We both nodded at my mentor's words. I stood across from my opponent, both of us sprang like a coil. Shoji darted forward first when the match began. He didn't get as close as Kaminari, his longer reach making up the distance.

I was barely able to block his punch. He was much quicker than my last opponent, which would be surprising for his size if I hadn't fought Sato earlier. And there was the fact he did a straight punch than a drawn-out haymaker.

As I blocked, I winced from the strength of the punch, retaliating with a jab. I could see Shoji step back barely out of range of my attack. The next thing I knew, his other fist landed squarely against my cheek.

Thank gods for all the fights with Kacchan, or I would have been like Kaminari earlier. I only stumbled back, instinctively bringing up my arms to cross one another in the form of an X. Which was perfect as Shoji rained down a flurry of blows on my arms.

One powerful punch pushed me back, giving my shaky arms a reprieve. I tried my hand at offense, only to be met by air. Every time I attempted to attack Shoji, he would stay barely out of distance and counter-attack. And my blocking was only effective half the time. The guy was dancing around me!

After minutes of getting only a few hits in and getting lightly smacked around, Yagi called the match. "I see you still have to learn footwork, but you have a good base to build on, Midoriya."

He congratulated Shoji before calling us into one large group. He then separated us into three groups based on our melee skills. The beginner group was comprised of Kaminari, Aoyama, Tokoyami, Koda, and Jiro. Yaoyorozu and Satow were to teach this group the basics.

The intermediate group, named by All Might, was made up of Ashido, Kirishima, Mineta, Sero, Shoji, Hagakure, and me. Ojiro was going to be teaching us to help and break any bad habits we had built up. The last group was anyone who wasn't called to the other two groups. They were going to be working with All Might. I pushed down the envy I felt, especially when Kacchan sent me a smirk my way. I didn't need distractions, it was time to learn.

(?)

I was back with the gang again. Most here were lazing about, probably just having finished a job. Or a side quest like Mr. Bossman liked to call them. Dabi was trying to brood, nursing a cold beer in his hand while being lectured on his fashion choices by Twice. The mad lad would say Dabi's fashion sucked one second and go to how the edginess brought out the anger in his eyes.

Kurogiri was reading a thick book, not cleaning for once. Shigaraki and Spinner were playing some fighting game. Spinner was losing, evident by the smile on Handman's face.

"Toga, you're back," Shigaraki said after he was announced the victor. Spiner was grumbling, something about tier whoring? I don't know. I don't play the game.

Bossman ignored Lizard Dude. It was a sign of Shigaraki calming down. After a few successful stunts, he didn't rage as much. And he seemed to be more focused. It was surprising and sometimes worrying how well he could lead at times.

"How is everything going?" he asked calmly. I could feel everyone's eyes on me. The job I was taking was bringing the most amount of dough, while everyone else's was keeping this group afloat. The job needed to be successful to expand the League's influence. A lot was riding on me.

It felt weird to be important to a group of people. Especially one I'm not connected to deeply. The only two people I talk to regularly are Twice and Magne. I barely held common interests with most of the group. Dabi and I shared Stain. Same with Spinner, but also blades. Kuri was nice, but he Handman's tool and nanny. And Compress was a somewhat cold old man with a mid-life crisis.

"Kind of slow, but they should be ready by Sunday. They got some explosives to open the vault to pick up tomorrow," I answered, "I've been keeping the woman alive, just in case I need more blood."

"Not extinguishing a gathering node, good idea," he murmured, "Did you need anything to help you?"

Offering help? The boss was in a really good mood then. I pressed my fingers against my chin, as if I was deep in thought. "Maybe a little cash for some extra stuff for the mission? I'm thinking of getting some new gear."

"You need some accessories to beef up your stats then," SHiggy nodded knowingly, "Kurogiri will give you your funds."

He then spoke to Spinner, saying he wasn't a tier whore, and the lizard man needed to know his frame something better. I took that as a sign of being dismissed, as Spinner was giving the signature crusty smile while lizard guy said he would win this time.

Kuri was quick to give me the stack of bills, probably didn't want me distracting him. He was still nose deep in his book. Wait a minute. He doesn't have a nose! Whatever, I need to get my love's disguise anyways. Dabi had just finished his beer and smashed the can into a heap of metal by slamming it into his forehead. He then threw it at Twice, hoping to shut him up. That only made our bipolar boy talk even more. They were a strange bunch of goons, but a fun group!