To Be A Hero

by Pikaboo73

Izuku's only wish was to become a hero, and with the help of his idol, All Might, he's coming closer to that dream. But someone else is joining him on that adventure, someone by the name of Enso Ureshi. He's not joining Izuku to become a hero, instead, he wishes to help Izuku become strong enough to face a threat coming to his world. (Romance,Harem, better than the summary sounds.)

60. The Beauty of Progression

~{Author's Pre-Notes}~
This one took a lot longer for me to write and I'm currently having trouble with the next chapter. There's so much to change and add that I keep doing and I'm never even sure if it's good enough. I hope at least it's enough for you guys to enjoy!

Answered Comments (Oldest to Most Recent):

Madko Ota Sanchez V2: Ikarian fuel, interesting name. I haven't thought of an official name for it since I didn't think it was important enough, perhaps I should have one.

blue grimmoire, PasiveNox, Guest: Thanks you all for reading!

Exia Zero: Thanks for your reviews and speculations! Btw, never watched Naruto or plan to.

5AT05H1L1NK: Sorry, no cameo, just moving along! And thank you for pointing out that mistake, I fixed it much earlier when you pointed it out.

Vidkid: Yeah, I decided to just move more to the wholesome side for their interactions together, glad you think so.

Atomic11: Thanks man for sticking with me for so long!

TQ679: Who doesn't love a good old misunderstanding in anime, am I right?

Nick4Speed: I have no idea what the problem with it is then, I added more for Izuku to raised Jiro's confidence and just got rid of the lewder implications from the original, I really think it should be better.

Extra: Technically he can, but I feel like that be a fic or few chapters in itself.

---

~{Enso's Residence- A Day Before Exams}~

"Onryō's Fury!"

Izuku's eyes and aura flared up in black as he got into a fighting stance. In the dojo across from him was Enso, his own yellow stance from his Snipe Style shining.

Todoroki, Shinso, Iida, and Stain watched the two from the indoor balcony above, staring down at them to take notes on their battle. It was only a day before the students' final exams, both written and practical. The group already felt confident about the written portions because they studied, so here they are, honing their skills one last time before the inevitable test tomorrow.

"Let's get funky, partner!" Ikari stated in a pumped-up tone.

Izuku blinked in confusion.

"Get... funky?"

Ikari processed what he just said.

"Huh... I don't know where that came from."

"Pay attention." Enso's voice cut in.

Izuku's eyes widened as a yellow blur came right at him, to which he leaned back and let his body fall, narrowly avoiding the heel coming at his face.

"I can't let my guard down for even a second!" He thought as Ikari formed a tendril from behind and pushed him back up to his feet.

"LEFT!"

Izuku turned to the mentioned direction and rose his arms in an X shape, to which a pure black shield formed in front of him. He kept his stance firmly as he received a dropkick from Enso, to which he felt his feet slide back a few inches from the force.

"Wrap him up, Ikari!"

Black tendrils shot up from the black shield in an attempt to restrain Enso, but the male had already bent his knees and pushed himself off, flying out of reach.

Enso performed a backflip in the air before landing in a crouch several yards away, then taking a deep breath as his yellow aura flared up more.

"Snipe Style..."

He vanished from his spot and started springing all over the room.

"Ricocheting Bullet!"

He bounced from the walls, floor, and ceiling, getting faster and faster with each change of direction.

Izuku's eyes followed his mentor's movement, barely able to catch up with his location.

"Okay, Izuku, this is just like sparring with Gran Torino! You've been through this many times! And since the room is large, it'll take Enso split seconds longer to reach one end to the other! You can keep up with him!"

Izuku sidestepped out of the way as Enso came flying by, drafts of wind rushing with him.

He then did the splits as Enso came at him again, ducking under a flying dropkick.

"Wait, you can just do that now? Did hurting your balls actually help with that?" Ikari asked, impressed with Izuku's flexibility.

"Shut it, Ikari!"

Izuku used his hands to push himself off the ground, just high enough to land on feet. He did this just in time to tilt his body sideways and narrowly avoid yet another flying kick.

"We gotta get him off us!"

"On it! Just turn into a ballerina and spin!"

Izuku didn't question it and rapidly spun like a top in place. Several black tendrils emerged and stretched from his arms, swinging all over the place due to his spinning.

Enso was flying towards Izuku once again as this occurred, to which he narrowed his eyes. As a response to these rapidly spinning tendrils, he spun himself in the air too, using his rapid spinning to parry right off a tentacle that slammed him away, getting launching back without too much damage.

He landed a good distance away, immediately getting to his feet.

Izuku dragged his feet on the ground and stopped spinning, ending the cyclone and also getting into a defensive stance once more.

"Hm... It appears fighting Gran Torino has been a valuable experience for you... It's actually harder to hit you now. Good job." Enso remarked stoically.

"Thank you!" Izuku called to him happily, still remaining in his defensive stance.

Enso shifted his feet and brought his right arm back, narrowing his eyes.

"Let's try this then."

He brought his fist back as the yellow aura of his arm grew denser, the air around him suddenly vibrating intensely.

Izuku's smile was wiped when he saw this demonstration of growing power, holding his arms up in a boxing-like stance.

"What's he gonna do?"

Enso took a deep breath as he kept his eyes completely focused on his target.

"Snipe Style..."

His eyes flashed in a completely filled-in yellow.

"Explosive Round."

Enso pushed his fist forward and jabbed the air in front of him, to which an ear-piercing shockwave echoed. A nearly invisible but concentrated blast of force exploded across the room in not even half a second, already arriving at its target.

"What the- ACK!?"

Izuku took the blast right in his stomach, his eyes widening as he felt like his insides would come out. He hadn't even seen the attack. He had only just blinked before taking a deadly hit out of nowhere.

"Wha... What?"

A visible impact seemed to distort his stomach, the boy losing any and all air his body contained.

"*URK!*" Ikari sounded as if he was gonna hurl.

Upon receiving the blast, Izuku was sent flying all the way to the wall, eyes rolling to the back of his head as he bounced off the surface.

"What happened!?" Iida cried out in shock.

"Midoriya got hit by nothing!?" Todoroki mumbled.

Stain just narrowed his eyes. He saw the exact moment Enso had unleashed his attack, the distortion of the air visible as it had flown right into Izuku.

"He delivered a punch of pure speed and force... A large amount of kinetic energy into an attack..."

Izuku was on the ground as he struggled to breathe, holding his stomach while hunched over. His black aura and the red in his eyes faded as Ikari retreated back within him, trying to recover from the sudden attack.

"What... *gargle* the FUCK was... that...?"

"I... I don't even..." Izuku couldn't even think with how sick he felt.

"Seems you weren't expecting that." Enso pointed out, the yellow of his Snipe Style fading away.

"You act like he should've! What the hell was that!?" Shinso shouted from above.

"That was what I consider to be my fastest attack. An attack of pure speed to deliver a devastating impact of damage, hence why I call it 'Explosive Round.'"

"Like a gun?" Stain questioned.

"All the moves of my Snipe Style refers to different actions of a firearm." Enso explained as he walked across the room, then crouching by the struggling Izuku.

"Nngh! *hah* *huff*" Izuku weakly rose his head and revealed the water forming in his eyes, managing to slowly breathe, although with some difficulty.

"For a normal person, that attack could do much more internal damage. But your body has been toughened up, so the injury shouldn't be too bad."

"I think my whole stomach is bruised..." Izuku thought as he used an arm to start trying to push himself up.

"The only problem with that attack is that there's some setup to it. It's not like I could just unleash punches like that anytime." Enso sighed as he stood back up, seeing that Izuku was slowly catching his breath.

"You know what...? Fuck that move..." Ikari growled.

Stain grinned, "So it's not that reliable to constantly use, but still strong. It can take down a person immediately, especially with the serious internal injuries that can be done. Sounds fun."

"Speaking of which, IS MIDORIYA ALRIGHT!?" Iida shouted.

"He'll be fine. His body is dense, so besides the loss of air, the worst he'll suffer is a bruise that'll need some ice." Enso responded.

He then turned and looked up at the group watching from above.

"Our final exams are tomorrow. How are the rest of you faring in training yourselves?"

"I believe I'm fine. Besides the combat we've received from you and Stain, I've been trying to use my left and right sides at the same time." Todoroki answered.

"How's that going?" Shinso turned to him.

"...It's difficult. What about you? Didn't Enso assign you to practice with those hover boots?" Todoroki asked back.

"Oh, it's been an absolute pain in the ass, but I've been getting help with it from Eraserhead and learned a few other things from him." Shinso said, seeming proud of himself.

Todoroki narrowed his eyes at Shinso with a knowing look.

"I knew it."

Shinso blinked in confusion for a moment before immediately understanding what he hinted at.

"HOLD UP! I know what you're thinking! We're NOT related, god damn it!" Shinso snapped.

"I've connected the two dots."

"YOU DIDN'T CONNECT SHIT!"

"I've connected them."

Iida turned to them rather baffled, "What!? Shinso, you're related to Aizawa-sensei!?"

"DON'T YOU START TOO!"

Stain facepalmed with a sigh.

"I'm surrounded by idiots..."

"Ugh... E-*gasp* Enso." Izuku managed to gurgle out as he managed to sit up.

"Yes?" The mentor asked, looking downward at him.

"H-How... *hah* many moves do... *huff* you even have!?"

"About four for each style. You've seen a majority of them already, but always be sure to expect something new." Enso immediately responded.

"That's like sixteen or something moves!?" Ikari exclaimed in surprise.

"Even when knowing him for over a year, he still has things I haven't seen from him yet..." Izuku groaned.

"And what about you, Izuku? How have you been progressing in developing techniques with Ikari?" Enso proceeded to ask.

Izuku took deep breaths before starting to speak, albeit with a raspy voice.

"W-Well... We haven't been able to... *Cough* practice too much with any special attacks since we could destroy the area... So Ikari and I haven't really been practicing with anything extreme."

"I just make things like tentacles, weapons, and other small things." Ikari said, emerging as a black blob on Izuku's shoulder.

"I see..." Enso crouched down and got close to Izuku's ear, being sure to whisper. "Were you able to successfully utilize One For All and Ikari at the same time?"

To this question, Izuku looked down with a frown.

"It's... surprisingly harder than I thought it would be. To focus on coursing both One For All within me and Ikari around me. I've been able to hold both up, even had the colors of my body change like how they did at the festival."

"So the orange hue of One For All turned blood red, the green electricity around him turned black, and his glowing red veins turned into an even darker red..." Enso recalled.

"But I can't hold it for long, and my body gets tense from needing to focus too hard. So I can't really use both effectively..." Izuku sighed.

Enso put a finger on his own chin in thought. "Hm... It may have to do with your anger."

Izuku looked up at him with a confused look. "Eh?"

"When you used both quirks simultaneously, that was when your aggression hit its peak, remember? Your anger is probably the biggest influence in using both One For All and Ikari together. It may take you a while to willingly and effectively use both your quirks at the same time, but I'm sure you can master both."

Oi! What are you two whispering about!? When is it our turn to get a shot!? We got exams too, you know?" Shinso snapped from above.

Enso stood back up with his head raised upward.

"Okay, Shinso, Stain's your opponent."

The tired-looking teen turned his head to the former villain and flinched upon seeing his evil grin.

"Ah, shit."

"You'll be continuing to practice your hoverboot control against him." Enso finished.

He then looked back down at his first student.

"As for you, Izuku. Come with me to our workshop."

"Eh?" Izuku uttered, coughing into his hand before looking up at Enso. "What for?"

"I need more of Ikari's energy."

"You already finished with the bottle I gave you?" The entity asked him.

Enso narrowed his eyes, recalling the experiment he induced with Todoroki's blood.

"Yes... And I think you'll want to know just how unique your power is."

---

~{U.A Academy- Practical Exam}~

To say that Class A was nervous was completely inaccurate.

If anything, nearly all the class looked either excited or confident about taking the exam to test just how far they've come as heroes. The written portions had nearly fried their brains by how hard they had to think. Kaminari even ended up with a short-circuited head without even using his quirk.

But everyone successfully finished their written portions of their finals. And now, the time for the practical exam kick-started everyone's adrenaline by how much they looked forward to it.

Class A stood just outside two small buildings in the center of the Training Areas U.A had. It contained the monitoring areas for the exams and would be where the students would go after finishing.

Everyone was in their hero costumes besides, Shinso and Enso, as one was in his usual suit while the other had on U.A gym clothes due to not having made a costume yet.

But... Todoroki stared rather intensely at Shinso, noticing new gear on the boy.

For one, there was a binding-cloth weapon loosely wrapped around Shinso's neck and on his shoulders, and the second piece of gear was a detachable mask-like device over his mouth.

A few others noticed the new look from Shinso and turned from him to Aizawa, comparing the same tired-looking expression, the same cloth-like binding weapons, and how both even had their hands shoved into their pockets.

"..."

Todoroki raised a finger while opening his mouth.

"Don't say it." Shinso warned.

Todoroki closed it, but he'd ask later.

In front of all the students were the teachers who had instructed them all throughout the year. Each of them stared expectantly at the group, wishing to see their students pass.

But Midnight rested her whip on her shoulder as she stared at a particular moody student with a predator-like grin.

Enso simply narrowed his eyes while cautiously stepping back. Ever since the lecherous teacher made the bold claim that she'd have him 'fall' for her, he had been severely cautious whenever he caught sight of her.

Surprisingly, Midnight never did try anything with him since that day. Enso speculated that whatever professionalism the teacher had left was what kept her leaving him alone, seeing as the final exams were here.

But after the exams were over... he had to be on guard.

Midnight winked at him, to which a chill went through his spine.

"Thanks... I hate it."

"Is it just me, or is it weird that a lot of the teachers are here?" Sero asked Ojiro.

"I don't know..." The martial arts hero responded.

Aizawa stepped up and cleared his throat.

"Now, we'll be starting your practical exam. If you fail this exam, then you'll have to take supplementary lessons while everyone else laughs and looks down at you from camp."

"So cold!" Everyone thought.

"Now, I've heard rumors that you and Class B gathered information about this exam, correct?" Aizawa asked.

"Hell yeah! We're back to fighting robots like the entrance exam, right!?" Kaminari shouted with his hands up.

"Fireworks! Curry! And tests of courage so I can scare the pants off Midori!" Mina added with a fist pumped into the air.

"Eh?" Izuku deadpanned at the implication.

"That's... an interesting objective." Ikari remarked.

"Oho? So that's what you're all expecting? A cakewalk?" A muffled came from the bundle of cloth Aizawa had wrapped around him.

A familiar mouse popped out with his small arms up in a cheer, with Aizawa not even caring that he was there.

"Too bad! All that information you received is now completely useless! The exams are different this time!"

"ACK!" Mina and Kaminari both turned comedically black and white in horror while everyone else was shocked.

"Principle Nezu!?" Nearly all the students simultaneously shouted.

"Oh, Aizawa, a rodent found its way in your clothes." Enso bluntly pointed.

"Enso, that's rude!" Iida shouted with a hand-chopping motion.

Aizawa uncaringly turned his head to the principal on his shoulder.

"Oh, you're right."

"He went along with him!?"

"Enso-Kun, it's good to see you again! You didn't once come visit me since coming back from your internships. I was quite lonely, you know?" Nezu waved.

"Good, be forever alone." Enso didn't even hesitate.

"How cruel! I love it!" The mentally questionable mouse crazily laughed.

"Excuse me, following what was previously asserted, what did you infer when you said the exams would be different?" Momo asked with a small raise of her hand.

Nezu gazed at her. "Exactly by what I said, I'm changing the process for exams! So from now on, U.A will focus on person-to-person combat as the proper experience for students!" Nezu said with a clap of his paws. "So this new format for exams will be assigning you all into teams of two to fight against a teacher!"

"WHAT!? Why the change!?" Kaminari and Mina shouted.

"I simply decided to follow Enso-kun's advice!" Nezu grinned.

"ENSO!?" Everyone turned to him with mixed looks of shock, confusion, and betrayal.

"I have not once talked to Nezu about the exams." Enso frowned, not even turning to the group and keeping his gaze on the rodent.

"But then-?" Ochako started before Nezu piped up.

"But you were clearly opposed to fighting robots, as it was pointless and inefficient to test students, just like the entrance exams, right?" Nezu chuckled. "I simply decided to go along with your ideas and change the exams so they'd be more to your liking. Nyeheheheh!"

"Enso! You bastard!" Mina, Kaminari, and Mineta shouted simultaneously.

"I refuse to accept this as my fault."

"Oh? So you like things to be much harder, don't you?" Midnight cooed with a lick of her lips, staring right at Enso while tightly gripping her whip.

"May I kick her?" Enso pointed.

"As amusing as that may be, no. Now moving on-!" Nezu continued before they could get off track. "I know that a lot of you are thinking about who to pair up with, but too bad! The pairs and the teachers they'll face have already been decided! These match-ups were chosen by various factors, such as fighting styles, grades, relationships, and more! If you haven't interacted with particular students of your class before, you might find some new friendships blossoming!"

Class A looked around at one another curiously, examining their potential partners.

Izuku nervously fiddled with his fingers. He never really did talk with a lot of the guys in his class. But he really did admire them like everyone else, always noticing their strengths and weaknesses. That's how amazing he found them. He was even impressed with those like Mineta, who Izuku discovered was surprisingly hard to catch.

As for the girls, all of them instinctively stole a glance at the fluffy-haired boy, some blushing while the rest just smiled.

"Now, here are the pair-ups!" Nezu called, getting everyone's attention again.

He was about to speak but paused as he decided to name the final group first.

"I think it's best we get this over with now." Nezu said with his smile gone, to which most of the teacher's own smiles faded.

Momo noticed their sudden shift in composure and felt uneasy.

"Midoriya." Nezu addressed him.

"Eh?" Izuku blinked.

"You're with Bakugo."

Everything just... stopped.

Izuku saw the world turn into black and white in a violent static. He didn't hear any of the instant responses of those around him. His mind just... shut down.

He turned pale.

His eyes became lifeless.

And any ounce of happiness he had left was gone, leaving behind a frail boy who remembered day after day of abuse.

Bakugo reacted simultaneously to Izuku, shock evident all over his face before turning a hateful glare to his childhood acquaintance.

"WHAT!?" All the girls and several others in the class had shouted in full throttle the moment they heard Nezu's declaration.

There was shock, horror, and straight-up rage.

"Are you INSANE!?" Momo's voice was louder than anyone else, losing the normal composure she usually held. She was disgusted, unable to believe that the professionals of U.A would even think about pairing Izuku with him.

"Don't you remember what he did!?" Todoroki shouted.

"That's BULLSHIT!" Even Dark Shadow shouted.

Nezu wasn't going to waste time dealing with the objections right now, so he just turned to Aizawa, who scowled in opposition to him but still followed what the principal wanted.

"The next person to speak of the matter will be expelled." The moody teacher stated.

That immediately shut everyone up with expressions of fear, the group backing down while turning pale.

Nezu continued. "So Bakugo and Midoriya are in a group, and their opponent will be..."

The sun eclipsed for a moment and quieted him. A figure soared throughout the sky and caught everyone's attention, to which the students looked up just as the silhouette landed with a powerful impact.

All Might had arrived. He stood up fully, but despite the usual smile plastered on his face, there was something clearly off about his features. As if... he knew something was wrong.

"I... will be the one to face them." He said, voice not bellowing like he usually did.

The students looked mortified. This had to be a joke, some sort of sick prank. To have two polar opposite students pair together against the world's strongest hero, it was asking for a disaster.

"Against All Might? No way..." Iida stammered, unbelieving of what was happening.

There was so much anger formed on so many faces, people glaring and gritting their teeth, their hands balled into fists as it took every ounce of restraint to keep them from bursting out.

"Why...? Why!? WHY!?" Momo internally screamed, turning her head to the unfortunate boy right next to her.

That was when her anger faded into worry.

She saw Izuku produce a lifeless gaze right at the ground, the boy clear of any emotions whatsoever with heavy breathing.

Momo reached her hand and grabbed his, squeezing it as tight as she could. To see him like this... she hated it, she hated this. This whole situation was unfair for him, and it seemed Izuku was already panicking from the possibilities.

Luckily, her contact snapped Izuku out of his trance, the boy blinking several times as his breathing slowed.

He turned his head and looked up at Momo, fear in his eyes now.

Poor boy... he was already shaking.

"You'll be fine." She whispered to him. "You don't have to be afraid of him."

That wasn't what Izuku wanted to hear, not at all.

He wasn't afraid of Bakugo, not anymore. He knew that he could fight him; he knew he was strong enough. It was something else that had him worried. It wasn't what Bakugo could do...

It's what he could.

Ever since making it to U.A, every moment between him and his childhood tormentor had been... tense. The first time they officially battled, Bakugo almost killed him, and Izuku returned the favor. Since that day, the two hadn't interacted much, so things seemed fine. However, when they had met in the halls at the sports festival, Izuku blanked out. Only later, when he was able to speak with Ikari, he was told that Bakugo got a little too close to him, and Ikari had considered just ending the boy right there.

And during the semi-finals of the sports festival, when he fought against Enso, all his memories with Bakugo added fuel to the fire that was Ikari, resulting in him going completely berserk.

Then ever since learning exactly what his bully thought of him, things had become tenser than ever with Ikari. Random violent thoughts, the hostilities his quirk had to the explosive user himself, it was better for him to stay away from Bakugo.

So being this close to his tormentor, the burning tensions that could arise from the two just being beside each other...

Izuku didn't know what could happen.

Enso had been glaring at Nezu the entire time since the rodent declared Izuku and Bakugo as partners. He already had an idea as to why Nezu would pair the two up, but at the same time, it was still insane, stupid, and would just end up as a complete disaster, not that he could even voice these opinions after Aizawa's threat of expulsion. But Enso could tell that even the usually stoic quirk-erasing teacher was opposed to this too; the look in his eyes said it all.

It just... didn't make sense.

Kirishima nervously turned to his 'bro' beside him, worried just how Bakugo felt about this and just what he'd do either now or during the exam.

But surprisingly... the boy looked rather calm. Well, calmer than anyone would expect.

He was obviously pissed at the news and had sent Izuku a glare, but aside from that, he just turned away with 'Tsk!,' and that was it. Now he was just crossing his arms with narrowed eyes.

"Let's move on. We still have the rest of the pairings." Nezu said in all seriousness.

From there, all the other groups were called in quick progression.

Sato was with Kirishima, the two giving small smiles to each other but clearly uncomfortable after hearing about Izuku's pairing.

Tsu was with Tokoyami, but the two and Dark Shadow only stared at the green-haired boy with sympathetic expressions.

Iida and Ojiro were together, but underneath his helmet, the engine-quirk user gritted his teeth with his hands clenched. Izuku didn't deserve this.

Momo would be with Todoroki, with the former turning to the latter as she recalled that he was there with Izuku in Hosu. She then turned back to face the boy on her mind, still tightly holding his hand and desperately hoping that she could comfort him.

Ochako was with Aoyama, the girl not even looking at the posing male nearby, too busy worried about her closest friend.

Mina and Kaminari were together, with the pink hero staring down at the ground while refusing to believe Izuku was paired with him. The electric use next to her could only pat her back in an attempt to reassure her.

Kyoka looked like she was gonna stab someone, teeth pressed together in pure hate as she glared at Nezu. Her declared partner, Koda, shivered in fear by the hostile aura the girl gave off.

Shoji's eye was narrowed at Izuku, wondering if the boy would be alright. As for Toru, she was glad no one could see her face. Otherwise, everyone would see just how red she was by how pissed she was.

"You think Midoriya would cheer up with a porn mag later?" Mineta asked as he glanced up at Sero, his partner.

Sero thought about kicking him right there, but he was surprised to see the look of genuine concern from the small hero. Good to know he cared too.

He was still disappointed, though.

"No, man... You need some tact." He sighed.

"And last, but not least, Shinso and Enso-kun." Nezu finished.

Enso narrowed his eyes, noticing something that his declared partner did too.

"Wait, but there's only ten teachers here if we include you. Who's fighting us?" Shinso piped up.

"For you two, we've asked for the cooperation of some outside help." Nezu declared, forming a grin.

"Outside..." Shinso started.

"Help?" Enso finished.

"That would be me." An ironically cold voice spoke.

The teachers stepped aside and let a new person through, revealing the face that all of Japan knew.

The student's eyes widened in shock at the familiar flames, the bulky appearance, and those cold, ambitious eyes.

"Old man!?" Todoroki's eyes widened.

"Endeavor!?" Many others exclaimed in shock.

The number two hero stared stoically at the bunch, his flames gently blowing in the wind. His eyes focused completely on Enso, who narrowed his own eyes back.

"You... why are you here?" Enso asked.

"Isn't it obvious? To fight you."

"You'd waste your time fighting a student rather than finding people to save? Get your priorities straight." Enso retorted.

"Hmph... 'Student,' you say?" Endeavor returned with an evil grin.

"..." Enso was really annoyed by what the hero inferred. He clearly knew that there was a lot more to him, and it annoyed him how sharp he was.

Nezu cut the hostility between them.

"Each of you has thirty minutes to complete your exam! Your objective is to either have one of you escape from your exam areas, or..."

Nezu mysterious pulled out some special handcuffs, finally jumping off Aizawa's shoulder and onto the ground.

"Put these handcuffs on a teacher, declaring them as a 'captured' villain!" He finished.

"But for Enso-kun's case..." Nezu once again addressed him directly. "He and Shinso have to either capture Endeavor, or both escape together to pass!"

"Hold up, are you serious!?" Shinso snapped.

"Don't worry! We know that you're facing off against pros, so you believe that you'll be overwhelmed, correct? We'll we've got the thing!" Nezu reassured.

"That's not the problem! Why's there another hoop for me to jump through!?" Shinso snapped.

Meizu just ignored him and turned to All Might, signaling him to show the solution.

"We had the support course make us something for the occasion." The number one hero declared, pulling out a large metal bracelet of the sort.

"Ultra-compressed weights!"

The teachers pulled out the same items and immediately started placing them on.

"We'll only be at 'half' our capacity! This will make it so students can actually consider taking on their teachers!"

All Might paused as he clicked the compressed weight to his arm, noticing Izuku holding Momo's hand with his head down, visibly shaking.

"Is... this really okay?" The top hero wondered, turning his head to Nezu, who was the one who decided this.

Endeavor scowled as he placed on the weights, clearly disappointed that he'd have to put them on.

"Don't underestimate us." Bakugo suddenly spoke, glaring at All Might while everyone's attention was on him. "I'll kick your ass with or without those."

"THAT'S his partner..." Mina growled, hands balling into fists.

"Each team will take the exam in a certain order. I'd rather not have everyone go at the same time and risk sending a heap of bodies to Recovery Girl at once..." Aizawa declared. "Sato and Kirishima, you're first, so get ready."

"Yes, sir!" Both responded.

"Those waiting for their turn can watch other examinees in the monitoring room or think of strategies while they wait. Do what you want, but be smart about the very small amount of time you have before your own exam." Aizawa finished, all the teachers heading inside to take different transportation to their different exam areas.

"Good luck, Enso~ Maybe we can celebrate after this?" Midnight grinned as she started walking away, winking at him.

Enso just coldly raised one particular finger up at her.

"Now, now, Enso-kun. Be more civilized." Nezu remarked before proceeding to walk away as well.

Enso raised the other up at him.

As the teachers left, nearly everyone focused their attention on Izuku, who still hadn't looked up from the ground ever since hearing who his teammate would be.

Bakugo wasn't part of the group that glanced at him. He just turned around and immediately marched away. He didn't look angry; he didn't even look like he cared.

While everyone took pity on the nerd, while they all sucked up to him, he would get ready for what he was meant to do. To finally take down the strongest of them all.

But if there was one thing that he was pissed about, it was being on the same team as that pathetic nerd.

He was supposed to show him, show everyone that they were just extras. That he was the one who'd come out on top, but now he was stuck with him?

"Hm... So by being helped by someone you considered to be weaker than you in every way... it insulted you."

Bakugo froze as those words seemingly came out of nowhere. Hearing them when he lashed out at Best Jeanist.

"But... Midoriya isn't weak anymore, is he?"

Bakugo grit his teeth and shook his head, marching even faster and ignoring the hero's lingering voice.

"Bakugo... Didn't you grow up with Midoriya? I'm sure you know him better than anyone else, do you truly believe he would look down at you?"

He didn't even know where he was going. He was just trying to get these pointless thoughts out of his head.

"You always look at everything through your eyes, don't you? But if you know Midoriya, shouldn't you be able to clearly picture how 'he' sees everything?"

"Shut up..." He grumbled, fists shaking as they started to smoke.

"You must understand that Midoriya doesn't intend to insult you, nor look down at you."

He rose his head, red eyes flaring as the world turned red through his eyes, completely angry now.

"Fucking Deku..."

He remembered the creek once again, closing off all other thoughts.

"I'll show him..."

He saw the hand that reached out to him.

"I don't need his pathetic help!"

---

~{Teacher's Bus}~

Nezu and Aizawa were seated beside each other in the bus transporting them. The vehicle took them and the other teachers to their respected training grounds where the exams would take place.

The two of them, with All Might across, were at the back of the bus while the others were near the front, under Nezu's request to speak more privately.

Despite requesting this, the three hadn't spoken a word yet, the bus nearing the first area already.

It wasn't until the bus stopped to drop off a teacher that Aizawa spoke.

"Everyone disagreed with this."

"I know." Nezu immediately responded, paws on his lap with a serious expression on his face.

"They're going to fight." Aizawa added.

"Perhaps."

"You know their issues as much as everyone else, so... why?"

Nezu turned to Aizawa and formed a small smile.

"Because... I believe."

"Believe?" All Might repeated, already getting a horrible feeling from it.

Nezu turned and looked up at him.

"Midoriya and Bakugo... I believe they won't become friends again, at least not for a while. However, that doesn't mean we can't believe that they'd at least be able to work together."

"Even so, you know what actions Bakugo took against Midoriya. The abuse, the bullying, it's still too much to force them both together." Aizawa glared.

"Yes, I suppose it is. And normally, I wouldn't have indulged in this choice, but I've heard some... interesting things." Nezu said.

"What?" All Might tilted his head.

Nezu folded his paws together.

"Best Jeanist updated me on Bakugo's behavior during his internship. I had him tell me everything that occurred."

Aizawa raised an eyebrow.

"He actually managed to get some sort of progress, even if it wasn't the amount he wanted. Despite Bakugo's refusal to communicate at first, Jeanist used the boy's own aggression against him to 'open' him up. Even if his lectures didn't necessarily get through to Bakugo, they still managed to at least stick to his skin."

"How are you sure?" All might asked.

"From what Best Jeanist told me, there were several instances during his bouts with Bakugo where he noticed the boy's expression change. As if he was actually considering how his mindset of Midoriya is flawed. Not just that, but Bakugo's aggression overall has been surprisingly calm since coming back. Fewer outbursts, fewer insults, and less hostility overall."

"And that's enough of a reason to pair them together?" Aizawa scoffed, not at all convinced.

"Well... There was another thought I had."

"What...?"

"If there's one thing Midoriya hasn't done, it's to tell Bakugo exactly what he thinks about him. To simply let all his emotions out and reveal his inner thoughts for him, good and bad. I'm hoping, no,I'm counting on it to happen."

"Wait, isn't that what we don't want to occur!? That may cause Young Midoriya and his quirk to go haywire!" All Might stated.

"And won't they just end up on even worse terms than before? After everything Midoriya's been through, he'll have a lot to say to Bakugo. This is just gonna spark another fire." Aizawa added.

"True, there's a lot of animosity between the two, but..." Nezu smiled. "It's Midoriya we're talking about; he has such a way with words. Hopefully, the two can finally come to some sort of mutual understanding. Bakugo already made it clear what he thinks about Midoriya, so..."

He leaned back on his seat.

"It's Midoriya's turn to return the favor."

"That's stupid and dangerous." Aizawa sternly believed.

"Just trust me. Whatever happens, I'll take responsibility." Nezu declared, even giving a polite bow.

"I still don't believe it's that simple..." All Might thought.

"What makes you think those two won't just tear each other apart?" Aizawa pointed out.

"One, if Bakugo and Midoriya do end up fighting, I'm sure they'll stop immediately once All Might arrives. And two, I'm sure Bakugo will think twice about attacking Midoriya. He's wary about getting expelled, after all."

Aizawa crossed his arms and leaned back on his seat, putting one leg on top of the other.

"No matter what, I'm not going to agree with this..."

"You don't have to, just trust me." Nezu reassured.

All Might slightly shifted in his seat. "Er, speaking of expulsion, I never did ask... Nezu? Why did you give Midoriya the right to expel Bakugo on the spot? Isn't that too much power to give to a student?"

Nezu laughed at that question.

"Because I know he'd never do it! That's why I didn't even bother asking him if he wanted to press charges on Bakugo after the festival fiasco! Because we know he wouldn't want to!"

"That's not something to laugh about! We know why he wouldn't!" Aizawa snapped.

"Why? There was an official reason?" All Might asked them.

Aizawa sighed. "His Stockholm Syndrome."

"Stockholm Syndrome..." All Might looked up in thought, hearing this term several times throughout his hero career. "A psychological response for abuse or hostage victims where they end up 'bonding' with their abusers... viewing them as friends despite everything they've done..."

He thought about Izuku revealing to Bakugo that his quirk was given to him, then looking back down at Nezu.

"I already had an idea about it... But it must be the reason why Young Midoriya always viewed Young Bakugo in such a bright light..."

"And that's why I've been trying to push Nezu to get the kid a damn therapist." Aizawa snarled. "And we let Bakugo off easy for what we've learned. Should've expelled him like I was going and get Midoriya the treatment he needs..."

"I told you, Eraserhead. He doesn't need it. He has a powerful social circle that supports him. Not to mention he already has someone fulfilling the role of main support." Nezu confidently stated.

"Ureshi is not a therapist. I wouldn't trust him with delicate psychological problems." Aizawa facepalmed.

"Even so... just his relationship with Midoriya has been doing about as much as a therapist would. Now the boy has built up confidence, strength, and above all, friends." Nezu chuckled, crossing his arms rather satisfied. "And even if Midoriya didn't have Stockholm Syndrome, he still wouldn't want to inflict any suffering upon Bakugo. He's too kind for that. Not to mention, he still has a lot he wishes to prove to Bakugo himself, so if anything, having him here helps Midoriya push himself. I wonder if it'll be the same for their exam?"

"..." Aizawa sighed and looked up at the roof. "You're insane..."

"And I wonder whose species' fault was that?"

"..." All Might turned from Nezu to Aizawa, still feeling off about the decision but deciding it's the end of it.

"Alright... What about Young Shinso and Ureshi? Wasn't the additional objective you put on their exam unfair?"

"For both Ureshi and Shinso to escape or capture Endeavor, the number two hero... it's rather extreme." Aizawa added.

"I do not want to hear that from you of all people. You expelled an entire class on the first day." Nezu calmly retaliated.

"I have my reasons for doing so; I'm just wondering yours." Aizawa said.

The bus then made its fifth stop, to which Midnight called to the back.

"Eraser! This is your station!"

Aizawa was visibly annoyed, having just asked a question he wanted to be answered, but he stood up and started walking.

"I expect a response later."

And so Aizawa left, leaving Nezu and All Might in the back.

"Eraserhead seemed genuinely curious as to your reasoning for making young Ureshi's exam more difficult. That's... unlike him."

Nezu smirked, "Well, his non-blood-related son is in Enso-kun's hands, after all."

"Eh!? His son!?" All Might paused to repeat Nezu's exact words, a realization forming. "Did you mean Young Shinso?"

"Of course! He may not admit it, but Eraserhead sees himself in Shinso! They're too alike not to be compared. It's amusing!" Nezu laughed.

"Okay...? But why make their exam more complicated?"

Nezu rubbed his paws. "Simple, All Might. Because you and I both know that out of everyone in Class A, Enso-kun has the most experience. You know this, don't you?"

"Of course, I don't believe he's mentioned his other journeys too much, but he's stated that since waking up from his apparent stasis, he's traveled worlds for years..."

"Yes. With all of that experience and the multitude of abilities he's presented, I'd say his strength rivals that of professional heroes. He's even successfully fought and eliminated the Nomu at USJ. And at the sports festival, he presented his abilities to be above everyone else's. Ignoring his battle against Bakugo, of course, because he wasn't really taking him too seriously there. At the time, he was just trying to extend the battle to talk some sense into him, but we know how that worked out."

Nezu crossed his arms.

"So, of course when you throw an already grown goose with a flock of chicks, the goose will always appear to be the most powerful."

"But... you're the one that threw him in the class. Actually, it's more like you're the one who allowed it."

"To be fair, it was Enso-kun's idea for him to attend U.A and watch over Midoriya. And I believed it was beneficial for him, for different reasons. I believed that Enso-kun can have a changed life. With friends, new experiences, and a new sense of morals. Attending U.A seemed to be the best for him. To understand the responsibility of saving someone, to understand how valuable having friends and relationships are, and to understand how this world works."

Nezu looked up.

"Kamui has informed me of Enso-kun during his internship, and it seems he's slowly beginning to dive into the meat of the hero world."

"..."

"It has me... rather proud, nyeheh." Nezu smiled happily.

"It seems young Ureshi is slowly changing, isn't he?"

"Naturally. Especially when spending time around such a soul such as Midoriya." Nezu smugly smiled.

"But... You still haven't answered as to why you made Ureshi's exam more difficult."

"Because he's much stronger than the rest of the class, of course, we have to make his exam much more difficult than for him to just 'Snipe Style' his way to the exit."

"You could've just said that!"

"But there was much more to talk about!" Nezu laughed.

---

~{U.A Main Training Center Building- Monitoring Room}~

Izuku stood beside the seated Recovery Girl as the two stared up at the screen, projecting the current exams.

He felt... numb, staring emotionlessly like losing the will to be happy. After the teachers had dispersed, several of his classmates had attempted to reassure him of his situation or find some way to cheer him up.

He didn't hear half their words, remembering just sighing before releasing Momo's hand and walking off.

And now here he was, wondering how he was gonna deal with both his childhood bully and All Might.

At least he didn't feel scared. Hopeless, maybe, but not scared.

"I was against it... Nearly all the teachers were." Recovery Girl sighed in disappointment. "But that Nezu... I really wonder if he has some screws knocked from that brain of his... How are you holding up, sonny?"

"I'm... fine." Izuku muttered.

"Like hell we are. To be paired up with that piece of shit! We should just break his kneecaps at the start!" Ikari growled. "We can do it, you know? Stop him from EVER choosing to bother us."

The problem was already starting. Although Izuku felt completely fine, Ikari was already growing hostile. However, the being himself becoming angry didn't seem to affect Izuku, since it's usually the opposite where Izuku's anger would affect Ikari. Still, his quirk would no doubt urge his host to do something serious. Like at the festival, he encouraged Izuku to harm Bakugo after discovering what his childhood acquaintance thought of him.

Izuku's own anger would cause Ikari to grow even more dangerous, so he knew that if he let his aggression go uncontrolled for even a moment, this hostile Ikari would take the chance to influence his mind, no doubt making the two lose control again.

Izuku knew that he had to keep both Ikari and himself calm, so even if one got angry, the other could hopefully calm the former down.

One has to keep the other in check so they both wouldn't lose it.

"Ikari... Calm down. I know you don't like Kacchan, but harming him won't help... If anything, it'd increase our chances of failing. Don't you want to go to the training camp with everyone?"

He heard a dangerous growling as if from a stalking lion.

"Calm, down." Izuku commanded once again.

"Hmph..."

Hopefully, Ikari would be fine by the time their exam starts.

The doors for the room opened behind him, and Ochako walked inside with a worried expression.

"So you are here, Deku?"

Izuku turned glanced back at her, some emotion finally on his face in the form of a sad smile.

"Yeah... I don't really have anywhere to go that'd help me prepare. And I don't know where Kacchan went, so even if I wanted to at least try to talk about strategy..." His voice trailed off.

"I... see." Ochako replied, feeling terrible for him. "Well, for me, I couldn't even talk to Aoyama productively. He's in his own world..."

"Heh... Yeah. I tried talking to him before in class... He'd start rambling about how I'm some 'vivacious prince' with several 'roses' in my 'bouquet.' Then warning me to be careful as to not to let them 'prick' me." Izuku chuckled, looking at least amused to remember.

"Er... What?" Ochako blinked in confusion.

"I know, right?" Izuku finally let out a small laugh, "Lunch Rush said something similar before, but I didn't quite get it either."

"Huh... weird." Ochako chuckled, a sweet smile forming to see Izuku brighten up a little. "So I guess we're both here to watch the others' fights?"

Izuku nodded. "Yeah, I guess so..."

The doors to the room opened once more, to which Enso and Shinso both walked in together.

"That rodent has truly gone crazy this time." Enso remarked.

"Enso? You and Shinso aren't gonna strategize?" Izuku asked him.

"We already have a plan." Enso responded.

"Wait, we do?" Shinso turned to him with an eyebrow raised.

Enso turned to him. "Run."

"That's not a plan!" Shinso snapped as he pointed at him.

"I beg to differ. It's been a successful plan for several generations, a family technique that's always worked as a last resort. And it's not like we can fight close productively with those flames away." Enso rolled his eyes. "We just have to avoid being burnt to a crisp and wait until Endeavor burns himself out. Or avoid him until we get to the exit."

"That sounds like a much better plan." Shinso nodded.

The sound of a horn suddenly shouted through the screen.

"Team Kirishima and Sato. Exam, commence!"

The group looked up to see Kirishima and Sato running down the street straight to their opponent, Cementoss.

"They're dead." Enso immediately declared.

"What!? Have more faith in them!" Ochako snapped.

"No, no, he's got a point." Izuku nodded with a blank expression.

"Eh!? You too, Deku!?"

"They're rushing straight in and are planning to rely on their quirks to smash their way to Cementoss." Izuku explained.

"Wait, don't they have limits to how long they stay powered up?" Shinso asked.

"Indeed. But as for Cementoss..." Enso continued as the group watched the Cement Hero look bored as he sent wave after wave of cement from all around him.

"Not so much."

Sure enough, after only a few minutes of repeatable punching and smashing through cement walls, both Sato and Kirishima were overwhelmed, getting cement smashed over them.

"Team Kirishima and Sato retires due to both members losing consciousness."

Ochako was stunned.

"A-Already?"

"So much for that..." Shinso scoffed. "I guess that's more space for us at the forest hot springs."

Recovery Girl sighed as she hopped out of her chair.

"Only the first match and I've already got some knuckleheads to fix up..." She muttered as she walked out of the room.

"Idiots..." Enso muttered, remarking on the two boys that just failed.

"You could be a little nicer..." Izuku sighed.

"Nope."

"Of course not..."

"Oh, look! Tsu and Tokoyami are next!" Ochako pointed up.

Upon their mention, Ikari emerged behind Izuku and looked up at the screen, all the previously anger gone from the entity.

"Dark Shadow! You can do it!"

Izuku was surprised by the sudden cheer, but he was glad that Ikari had calmed down.

Hopefully, he'll stay this way during their own exam.

"He's excited." Ochako giggled.

"They're starting!" Ikari exclaimed as he saw Tokoyami and Tsu run side by side. Their opponent, Ectoplasm, started making clones that began to appear and run at the two.

Throughout their exam, Tokoyami and Tsu had to constantly defeat Ectoplasm's clones and run away whenever too many would overwhelm them, which was efficient since Tokoyami's range with Dark Shadow allowed him to fight the clones in a far distance, while Tsu used her tongue and frog-like abilities to keep away.

However, at one point, Ectoplasm created a giant clone that trapped Tsu and Tokoyami, causing some worry from the students in the monitoring room.

"Fight-on! Fight-on!" Ikari shouted as he saw Dark Shadow stretch from the captured Tokoyami and fight against the original Ectoplasm.

"They can't get free from the giant clone." Enso pointed out.

"Look, Tsu is doing something!" Ochako pointed out.

The students all stared at the stuck Tsu as she physically tensed up and seemed to be struggling to do something.

Their eyes then became blank when they saw the girl throw up the handcuffs from her stomach.

"EEEEEEEEEEEEEEW!" Ikari shouted, making gagging sounds and turning away.

"Wh... When and why did she have them in her stomach?" Shinso deadpanned.

"I-I guess she was just planning in case the two got caught?" Izuku stuttered, both shocked yet intrigued by that aspect of Tsu's quirk.

They then saw Dark Shadow receive the cuffs before rushing into Ectoplasm, faking a punch and managing to attach the cuffs onto the teacher's prosthetic leg.

"Team Tokoyami and Tsuyu have passed the exam." A robotic voice announced.

"They did it!" Izuku grinned.

"Yippie!" Ikari shouted in joy, forgetting about the disgusting sight he witnessed a moment ago.

"These are going faster than I thought." Enso remarked.

Iida and Ojiro were shown to be next as Tsu and Tokoyami had left their areas to get healed up, although neither had any notable injuries, so it'd be more of a check-up.

Sure enough, since Recovery Girl was healing students in the same building, it didn't take long for both Tsu and Tokoyami to enter the monitoring room.

Although, rather than walk inside, Dark Shadow seemed to literally drag his host forward, visible excitement on him to see Ikari just ahead.

"Darkness buddy!"

"Buddy of Darkness!" Ikari responded.

"Dark Shadow! Stop pulling me!" Tokoyami uttered as he skidded to a stop and pulled his quirk.

"You and frog girl managed to beat clone-dude! Even when you got kicked so many times by those peg legs!" Ikari cheered, punching the air in front of him.

"Those really hurt! It was like getting whacked in the head with a cane!" Dark Shadow complained.

As the two entities spoke, Tsu walked over to Izuku with a... blush?

Izuku blinked as he realized that Tsu was actually embarrassed. Despite the usual calm and composed expression she had, her cheeks were visibly red.

"Did... Did you see, kero?"

"Eh?" Izuku uttered, confused as to what she inferred.

"Did you watch my entire exam?" Tsu clarified.

"Er... Yes?"

Tsu looked down as her cheeks reddened even more.

"Sorry, you had to see something... vulgar."

Izuku instantly connected the dots to the moment Tsu managed to 'supply' the handcuffs.

"Y-Y-You shouldn't be sorry about that! I-I actually thought it was cool! For a part of your quirk to be able to hide and store items and be able to produce them later, it's an amazing skill for a hero to have!" Izuku answered reassuredly.

Tsu looked up as she blinked in some surprise by the sudden praise, staring up Izuku with her usual blank expression.

"U-Um... Y-You shouldn't be ashamed of a part of your quirk, Tsu. Be proud of it. I-It's what helped you and Tokoyami pass, after all." Izuku finished.

The corners of Tsu's mouth went up as she gave Izuku a close-eyed smile.

"Thank you, Midoriya-chan. You always know what to say, kero."

"Cute." Izuku stared as an aura of flowers formed around him by the precious sight.

"Yeah, Tsu! Like Deku said! You really saved the day!" Ochako beamed with a proud fist up in the air.

"Hey! What about me!? I did a lot!" Dark Shadow whined.

"Be humble, Dark Shadow." Tokoyami told him.

"Ah! Don't worry, Dark Shadow! You and Tokoyami were amazing too!" Ochako praised.

"Hell yeah, you were!" Ikari agreed, giving him a thumbs up.

"Geez, I didn't realize just how 'buddy-buddy' this class gets..." Shinso thought with a thin line across his mouth, staring blankly at the group.

"Iida and Ojiro have already started." Enso stated, staring up at the screen.

Everyone turned their gazes back to the screen, and sure enough, Iida and Ojrio were on an empty field of dirt; far across from them was Power Loader by the exit.

Izuku's eyes widened as he realized the situation his two classmates were in. He knew all about Power Loader's quirk; his iron claws and equipment allowed him to bury quickly through the ground. And because of the burrowing the teacher had done by the exit, if Iida or Ojiro attempted to run through, they'd end up falling into the hidden holes.

Izuku curiously wondered how they'd get past it.

---

Iida had the same question.

How the hell was he supposed to get across this minefield that'd bury him the moment he stepped on it?

"How are we gonna get through?!" Ojiro groaned, keeping a fighting stance and ready to jump.

Iida grit his teeth as the earth trembled all around him, keeping his eyes on where he could feel Power Loader moving.

Throughout his training with Enso, he pushed his body to the limit in several exercises, making it so that he could receive much more punishment. And with his new combat experience from Enso and Stain, he was sure that whatever opponent he fought, he could remain on their level, especially since they had weights on them.

However, Power Loader was different. He was one of the worst match-ups the engine user will ever have to face in his entire career. To risk fallen into hidden holes in his path while facing an opponent that can avoid combat and just trap an opponent, it was Iida's biggest disadvantage. His training with Enso wouldn't help too much with this.

There was no way that he or Ojiro could fight Power Loader in such terrain, so they had no choice but to get at least one of them to escape.

"Ojiro! I need your assistance! Only one of us has to make it out, and I guarantee that you can!"

"Really!?" The tail-fighter asked in surprise, turning his head to the engine user.

"Yes! But I need you to get on my back!"

"Eh?" Ojiro deadpanned, already looking unsure.

"Trust me!"

Another sudden tremble of the Earth snapped Ojiro to act.

"Y-Yes!"

He hopped onto his classmate's back, getting held into a piggyback position.

"Fusion!" Iida proudly shouted.

"Don't call it that! That's embarrassing!" Ojiro shouted.

---

"Yeah! That's not how you do that! You gotta go fu-sion- HA!" Ikari remarked with the other spectators, mimicking some very precise actions that involved turning sideways and pointing his fingers.

"Eh?" The others in the monitoring room stared at him with confused looks.

---

Iida focused on his path with Ojiro on his back, bending his knees as his eyes narrowed behind his helmet.

He noticed how different parts of the ground have shifted while already parts remained the same, clearly seeing his path.

"Recipro..."

Iida's engines blasted blue flames.

"-BURST!"

He exploded into a straight line across the field, the ground underneath caving in just behind him with each step.

Ojiro hung on as fast as he could, feeling the corners of his mouth threatening to tear off by how fast he was going.

"The ground is too slow! We're flying by before it could even collapse!"

"Oho? You think it'll be that easy!?" Power Loader's laughed echoed in a muffled voice under the ground.

Yards ahead of Iida's path, the ground intensely shook before violently erupting.

"As if!" Power Loader came out from the ground with chunks of rubble flying all over the air, the terrain in front of him crumbling down.

Iida didn't even hesitate.

"Ojiro! Use your tail to bounce us from the ground!"

"Huh!? Alright!" He complied and raised his large tail, then slamming it onto the ground and sending the two into the air, flying across the collapsing region.

"And now wrap your tail around my leg!"

---

The spectators watched as Ojiro wrapped his tail around his classmate's leg, then rapidly swung in the air to add momentum before Iida flung him even farther ahead.

It was close, but with one last parry, Ojiro flew right through the exit, a loud horn marking the end of their exam.

"That was fast... None of my teachings for Iida even mattered in that situation..." Enso thought as he stared at the screen.

"Ayyy! Vroom-Vroom passed!" Ikari cheered.

"Who's next then?" Dark Shadow turned to him.

"It should be Yaoyorozu-chan and Todoroki-chan, kero." Tsu answered.

"Now THIS is where both Stain's teachings and mine will play into effect." Enso curiously stared, the screen now projecting the mentioned students.

"Good luck, Todoroki." Izuku thought with a serious stare.

---

~{Team Momo and Todoroki}~

Momo and Todoroki walked together through a neighborhood replica that was their exam area.

Todoroki led the way at a slow pace, sneaking through sides of houses or small alleyways. He and Momo both knew that they couldn't just recklessly run. If Aizawa found them before they catch sight of him first, the moment of vulnerability against a teacher like him would be their instant downfall. They had to figure out where he is first so they'd be able to use their quirks for at least a surprise attack.

Despite the situation they were in, Momo followed behind Todoroki with her thoughts lingering.

"Izuku..."

She had a hand on her heart, eyes hidden with the shadows of the narrow alleyway she followed her teammate through. Despite knowing that she should be focusing on her exam, being around Todoroki kept bringing up her worries about Hosu. Knowing that he, Iida, and... Izuku, with the speculation of Enso, got involved in something far worse than Stain worried her to no end.

And for the police to share nothing to the media of any additional events that day with the addition of Izuku refusing to tell her anything that happened, she hated it.

She knew the main reason he didn't tell her anything was because of Enso and her safety, but she also knew that there must be an immeasurable reason behind all the secrecy from several groups.

But she didn't know anything else, just a name.

Lynch.

She remembered just how... 'lifeless' Izuku became from just hearing that name. Just who was he? What was he to suddenly make the class's sunshine lose all of his brightness?

Just what did he do to him?

"I don't see him."

Momo blinked as she was snapped out of her thoughts.

"What?"

Todoroki was at the end of the narrow alleyway, peaking just outside for any sign of their teacher.

But hearing the small cry of surprise, he glanced back at Momo and could see the uncomfortable expression on her.

"Something wrong?"

"N-No..." Momo uttered as she looked down.

"Something definitely is. You never stutter." Todoroki blatantly pointed out.

"Urk!"

"Are you nervous about fighting Aizawa?" Todoroki theorized.

"No! I'm fine." Momo answered, raising her head with a more serious and composed expression.

"I... see." Todoroki wasn't convinced but focused back on the matter at hand, once again peaking outside. "Anyway, we have to move faster. If we keep on sneaking around, at this rate, we'll run out of time."

"Right." Momo nodded in agreement.

The two moved out of the alleyway and jogged down the empty neighborhood streets at a steady pace.

But as Momo ran, the bubbling worries and urges to say something kept building. She stared at Todoroki's backside, unable to stop thinking that Izuku went through something painful, that he was most likely suffering, and she didn't know why.

As for Todoroki's eyes, they went in all directions as the icy-hot boy ran, keeping vigilant for any sign of their opponent.

"Yaoyorozu, we can't afford to let Aizawa get the drop on us, so keep constantly creating small items from your body. If they suddenly stop, then that'll mean he's close."

"Right..." Momo muttered, then starting to make one of her favorite items.

"Russian dolls? Is that what they're called?" Todoroki wondered, peeking back to see the ground littered with these items.

But focusing away from the dolls, Todoroki glanced at Momo when he heard her disheartened agreement to his suggestion. He can hear an issue from her voice and could see not entirely focused at all on the matter at hand.

The two made it into the open streets underneath several telephone lines, to which Todoroki tried speaking again.

"Tell me what's wrong."

"Huh?"

The two just turned a corner when Todoroki slowed to a walk and looked back to Momo, the girl matching his pace.

"You clearly have something on your mind. And it's getting in your way. What is it?"

Momo clenched her hand against her chest. Being addressed directly once more finally drove her to speak. She couldn't help but form a frown, the dolls she was dropping stopping with her walking altogether.

"Todoroki... You know what happened to Izuku, don't you?"

Todoroki stopped in his tracks, fully turning to Momo with narrowing eyes.

"Why bring this up now?"

"Because... it's been on my mind for a while. Something... happened to Izuku during the Hosu incident, didn't it?"

Todoroki raised an eyebrow, "Obviously. We ran into the Hero Killer and-"

"Not that." Momo sternly cut him off, then lowering her head. "I... I know something else happened. You, Iida, Enso... you all know."

"..." Todoroki simply stared at her, expressing unwavering.

"Todoroki... do you..."

She looked up at him with a serious glare.

"Do you know who Lynch is?"

Todoroki's eyes widened in surprise.

"How do you-?"

"So you know, then?"

"..."

Todoroki's hands balled into fists, the boy looking down. What should he say here? To just shrug of the girl's question and have her continue to be conflicted? He knew he had to say something to at least reassure her... for now.

He sighed. "Yaoyorozu... Something did happen to Midoriya, but-"

"Disputing personal matters during an exam? How disappointing."

Both Momo and Todoroki's eyes widened in horror as they turned their heads up and left to see their teacher. Aizawa had his knees bent while balanced on a telephone pole beside the two students, hands pulling his long cloth and glaring down at the students.

"Shit! He's here!" Todoroki shouted.

Momo's eyes widened in horror as she jumped back and immediately tried to create a staff into her hand, only for it to fail due to Aizawa erasing her quirk.

"For both of you to get distracted..."

Aizawa jumped down and landed between the two, leaving a trail of cloth behind that lead up to the telephone lines.

"It's shameful!"

He immediately wrapped a part of his cloth around his wrist and dashed at Todoroki to close the space between them, intending to ensnare and hoist him up in the air.

However, Todoroki jumped to the side at the short brick wall surrounding one of the houses. He landed one foot before jumping back and turning around just above Aizawa, swinging his leg in the process.

"!?" Aizawa immediately leaped back and avoided this kick, surprised by the sudden and precious movements from Todoroki.

"Get to the gate! I'll keep him busy!" Todoroki shouted.

"Oh, will you? How confident." Aizawa remarked as he landed, holding different parts of his cloth in his hands.

Momo was hesitant to move, guilt and fear on her face as she realized that because of throwing a personal issue in the middle of their exam, Aizawa got the jump on them. But despite this, she just listened and ran away, a new feeling of guilt starting to build up and replace the worries she had for Izuku.

Aizawa glanced behind him to see Momo running, then sighing as he turned to face Todoroki, the disappointment of his eyes hidden behind his yellow goggles.

"So this is your plan? It just makes things easier for me."

Todoroki slightly put a leg behind the other, hands raised and open in front of him, focusing on Aizawa.

"So you think."

Aizawa narrowed his eyes. Todoroki wasn't the type he's ever seen make any fighting stance. He always fought from afar using his quirk, of course, but right here, he seemed... prepared. Prepared to fight head-on without his quirk.

Since when the hell did he do that?

With a precise movement of his arm, Aizawa flicked his cloth forward with a twirl, making spirals intended to wrap around a part of Todoroki.

Much to his surprise, Todoroki ran forward and managed to snatch the cloth from the air as it came at him.

Aizawa's eyes widened as he reacted by swinging his leg high, attempting to slam his foot into the side of Todoroki's head.

Todoroki ducked under this high kick and swept his own leg along the ground, attempting to swipe Aizawa off his feet. But the teacher jumped back the moment he had the chance, landing in a crouch.

"Those moves..."

Todoroki immediately closed the space, jumping forward and swinging his leg. Aizawa parried the kick with his left arm and pushed it off, then swinging his right arm and landing a blow in his student's side.

The punch visibly stung Todoroki, causing him to stumble back, to which Aizawa tossed his cloth straight forward in another attempt of capture.

Todoroki moved to the side and let the cloth go past him, taking a step forward to close the gap.

"You won't get me that easily!" Todoroki pushed his fist forward at Aizawa's chest, but the teacher moved his other hand in front and caught the punch.

"Naive!" With Todoroki near, Aizawa grabbed his shoulder and pulled his abdomen into his knee, the boy gritting his teeth to feel some of his insides churn.

Aizawa then pushed Todoroki off and brought a leg straight forward, striking the boy's chest and sending him flying back.

Todoroki fell on his back with a cough but sat up while clutching his stomach.

Aizawa pulled his cloth back around him, eyes still glowing red but starting to feel somewhat irritated.

"I haven't seen you move like that before." He remarked. "Just what have you been doing since coming back from internships?"

Todoroki got back to his feet, lightly rubbing his stomach before raising his fists in front of him.

Then flames developed on his left arm, making the novice hero more confident now that he knew Aizawa had blinked.

"I've been learning to be a stronger hero."

With that, he released a burst of flares.

---

"Is this okay!?"

Momo frantically ran down the empty streets, sounding more out of breath than she should be.

"It's because of me that this happened! If I hadn't brought up Izuku during such a crucial moment, then this wouldn't have occurred!"

Her eyes were filled with panic and guilt as her steps echoed over her rapidly beating heart. Bringing up Hosu and distracting Todoroki when both were supposed to be focused, she messed up. She knew she did.

"And now, because of my selfishness, because of my mistake, Todoroki is taking the fall to ensure that I escape!"

Sweat flew off her as she ran, whether from stress or the uncomfortable build-up of guilt overwhelming her.

"I knew Izuku was okay! I knew he didn't want anyone else to know what happened, yet I still wouldn't let it go!"

She nearly choked on air as she caught herself nearly stumbling over, her thoughts cloudy and her usual calm and rational self slipping.

"Is this really alright!? To let him take responsibility for my mistake!? Izuku wouldn't want this! He... He...!"

Momo's eyes widened as she suddenly stopped in her tracks, looking down as she panted heavily.

"What... What 'would' he do?"

Momo moved a hand over her heart, catching her breath as new thoughts emerged.

She recalled the first time she met Izuku. In the empty parking lot, when a man attempted to make a move on her, the boy hadn't hesitated to get involved and take care of her pursuer.

Then she remembered hearing how he saved Ochako at the entrance exam. By the girl's words herself, Izuku was the only one who took action to save her from the large robot, not caring about his own wellbeing as he leaped into the air and punched it.

Then at USJ, when the League of Villain's first attacked, Tsu would've gotten killed by Shigaraki if Izuku hadn't jumped in front of her and let his arm take the decay.

All these moments, Izuku hardly had to think in them. He only focused on one thing, ensuring the safety of others.

So what would he do if he was in Momo's shoes?

The answer was obvious.

Momo rose her head to reveal the newfound fury and determination in her eyes. It was clear what she had to do.

She turned around and bolted back where she came from, her breathing steady and her focus completely regained.

"To leave someone in trouble... There's no way he'd stand for this!"

---

"He can only move half as fast, and he's still kicking my ass..."

Todoroki panted as pain spread through several parts of his body. His cheek was swollen, and there was blood from the corner of his lips. He could still feel his abdomen sting as he landed on his feet and sent a path of ice hurtling towards Aizawa.

His teacher somehow yanked himself upward with his cloth and landed on a brick fence just to the side.

Todoroki then raised his left arm in an attempt to send flames, but once again, Aizawa's eyes flashed red behind his goggles, putting out the just developing flares.

"Damn it!"

Aizawa then leaped into the air and flung two separate rolls of cloth down at him.

Todoroki jumped backward to avoid both, his teacher landing in front of him with his hands gripping two parts of the cloth by a foot apart.

Todoroki immediately tried to punch him, jumping forward with a swung of his fist. However, this sloppy opening was one Aizawa easily acted upon. He slightly tilted his body sideways and let Todoroki go past while bringing his cloth up to the boy's arm, then twisting his weapon to finally wrap around the boy's wrist.

Todoroki panicked and tried to turn while swinging his other fist at Aizawa, but the teacher ducked while tightly holding his capture cloth.

He swept Todoroki off his feet and wrapped more parts of his cloth around him at the same time.

"This is it!" Aizawa gripped another part of his fabric and pulled as hard as he could. The loose cloth around Todoroki suddenly tightened all around him, forcing his arms against his waist as he was also hoisted into the air.

"Damn it!"

"Not bad, but I can tell that you're not good offensively as you are defensive." Aizawa declared.

Todoroki couldn't help but grit his teeth in frustration.

"I was only able to distract him for a bit! Let's hope Yaoyorozu is nearing the gate-!"

"Todoroki!"

Both males were shocked to hear Momo's voice nearing, both turning their heads to see the girl running at them with-

Hold up, is that a shotgun?

Aizawa's eyes widened as he felt a genuine shiver to see the girl aim her weapon at him with an intense glare.

"SHIT!"

He let go of the cloth hanging Todoroki and leaped back just as Momo pulled the trigger.

Rather than an explosive scatter of bullets come out, a single beanbag round was sent flying.

Despite Aizawa's retreat, the round nailed him on his left arm, to which he let out a hiss and close his eyes in pain, clutching it.

At the same time, Todoroki had dropped from his suspension, the boy landing on the ground with a thud.

"Ouch..." He grumbled, getting up immediately and unraveling the cloth on him while turning to his companion. "Yaoyorozu! Why did you come back!?"

Momo cocked her shotgun after creating another round and reloading it, turning to Todoroki with a determined smile, no sign of any previously negative emotions.

"Because… Would a hero just leave someone in trouble?"

Todoroki's eyes widened, the familiarity of those words leaving him speechless. After all, another in the class always emphasized the same idea. Where no matter how hurt he'd get, he'd keep pushing to save everyone.

He looked down. "Thanks..."

"I didn't think you'd come back..." The scruffy voice of their teacher grumbled.

The two turned their heads with glares towards Aizawa, who had retreated on the brick fence and rubbed his left arm. His arm didn't appear to be out of commission, but he was visibly irritated by the stinging from taking the shot.

Momo tightly gripped her weapon, her and Todoroki focusing on their teacher. She tried forming another cartridge in her hand but found herself unable to do so.

"He's using his quirk again... I only have this single shot for the moment. However..."

She then formed a small smile, eyes stealing a glance at the Russian dolls she had slipped in the yellow utility belt around her waist. She then looked back at Todoroki, the boy ready to fight and waiting for any instructions from Momo.

"A moment of obscurity is all we need."

"You look like you've got a plan." Todoroki whispered.

"Yes... To start..."

Momo turned around and bolted down the road.

"Run!"

Todoroki didn't even question it, turning around and running after her.

"What!?" Aizawa flinched with comedic shock, not expecting that to be their sudden game plan.

Momo and Todoroki ran down the street as the former gave instructions, although keeping her voice low so Aizawa wouldn't hear from behind.

"Todoroki! When I tell you to, please close your eyes and jump to the side!"

"Alright." Todoroki nodded.

"Also, how good is your aim?"

"Huh? I'd say accurate."

"Then here!" Momo turned back and tossed Todoroki the shotgun while gathering information as to how close Aizawa was getting. "When I tell you to open your eyes, take the shot!"

Todoroki was surprised to catch the weapon as Momo saw Aizawa running along the phone lines to catch up to them, already ready to throw more lines of cloth.

"Alright... I'll be sure not to miss." Todoroki said, eyes growing determined.

Momo then purposely slowly her pace for a moment, running side by side to Todoroki's left as Aizawa caught up.

She then reached into her belt and pulled out a few of the dolls, keeping vigilant.

"He's most likely going to use his right arm to try to capture Todoroki, who's to my right. He's much more of a dangerous opponent with his quirk. So the moment he attempts to strike, we'll strike back."

Sure enough, Aizawa didn't take long to get close and leap at them while throwing his weaponized cloth.

"Now!" Momo shouted, stopping and tossing back several dolls right at him.

Todoroki listened and closed his eyes, diving to the side, moving out of the way of the cloth that had attempted to capture him.

The Russian Matryoshka dolls flew up to Aizawa, the teacher's eyes widening.

"What the hell?"

He immediately swiped at the dolls to send them away, seeing as some were heading to his face. However, by doing so, some of them split apart to reveal the surprise inside.

Aizawa didn't even see the small cartridge that came out from the dolls he hit, and he didn't hear the clicks of them due to having smacked them.

The grenades then went off, filling the area with a giant flash of light.

"Fuck!" Aizawa's eyes took the full blast and were completely blinded. He landed on the ground and rubbed them in irritation.

"Todoroki, take it!" Momo shouted.

Todoroki, who had waited with his eyes closed, opened them while turning around with a cold but completely focused look, already aiming the firearm Momo gave him.

"I'll force him to move where I want."

With Aizawa's eyes recovering from the flash, Todoroki used his quirk and sent ice from his right foot. The ice barrage spread along the ground and towards Aizawa, who could hear it coming and immediately jumped upward to avoid getting frozen.

And Todoroki was already aiming high where he knew the teacher would jump.

"Got you."

*BAM!*

The beanbag was sent flying right at the teacher, who only heard it for a split second but knew what was coming. He gambled and tried tilting his body in a last attempt to dodge.

But that was a mistake.

Aizawa felt the shot hit him, a pain like no other electrifying through him as he comedically froze in the air, turning black and white.

Todoroki and Momo also froze, both staring blankly as they saw where the shot ended up.

The small beanbag was right between Aizawa's legs, both he and the item completely still in the air. After about two seconds, he cartoonishly fell straight down, crashing into the ground with a loud thud.

"..."

Aizawa was hunched into a ball on the ground yet visibly tried to move up from it.

"Uh-" Momo was just going to say something before another wave of ice came from Todoroki and roared forward.

Their teacher glanced up in surprise but couldn't move fast enough as the ice overtook him, sending him freezing back attached to the wall.

"Todoroki!?" Momo turned to him, shocked by the sudden action.

He just looked at her in confusion.

"What?"

---

"Team Yaoyorozu and Todoroki have passed the exam."

"..."

Everyone in the monitoring room stared with blank expressions towards the large screen.

Seeing how that ended was rather... interesting.

"Well then..." Ikari muttered.

"Todoroki has some good aim." Enso remarked.

"We both know he wasn't aiming there!" Izuku snapped.

"Hey, don't be mad that you relate to him." Shinso smugly grinned.

"Don't remind me!" Izuku clutched his head and looked down, blushing in embarrassment as he remembered the several times his most delicate area was impacted.

"As expected from Todoroki and Yaoyorozu! They passed with flying colors!" Iida declared loudly.

"Iida!? When you'd get here!?" Izuku turned, surprised to see him.

"I arrived in the middle of their exam! You were muttering too much to even notice me!"

"Oh... What about Ojiro?

"Since we're allowed to leave after finishing our exams, Ojiro went out to catch a train to attend a session at his dojo!" Iida declared.

"I still have to ask him to spar sometime." Izuku thought, being reminded that Ojiro did indeed practice martial arts.

Tsu curiously put a finger to her chin. "Both Yaoyorozu-chan and Todoroki-chan passed, but what happened at the start, kero?"

"Oh, you mean when it looked like they were arguing?" Ochako asked, looking somewhat worried when she thought about it.

Enso narrowed his eyes.

"Yaoyorozu looked distracted from the very beginning... Something was clearly on her mind. And if I had to guess..."

He turned his head to Izuku, the boy currently staring down and muttering something about Ojiro and what types of martial arts he did.

---

Momo and Todoroki walked outside the replica neighborhood, with Aizawa having been carried away on a stretcher. Todoroki's look had become his usual cold stare, but Momo's expression had changed into one similar to when her exam started, an uncomfortable look of worry, but this time, with guilt mixed into it.

"I really didn't mean to hit him there." Todoroki conversed as the two made their way to get checked up in Recovery Girl's makeshift office. "I actually aimed for the head."

The two got onto a bus that was waiting to drive them back.

"That ended well. Thanks to your quick thinking, you improvised really well to exploit Aizawa's weaknesses." He finished.

Momo stopped walking and kept her head down, hands tightly balling into fists.

"No..."

Todoroki stopped before he could board the bus, turning back to notice Momo looked off.

"Something wrong?"

"I'm the one who allowed Aizawa-sensei to get close. Because of my worrying, we could've both gotten captured... We could've failed..."

"..."

"And... And then you acted over my mistake and allowed me to flee while you fought him alone. I did nothing but inconvenience you..."

Todorki just stared at her with a blank expression.

"Yaoyorozu, you were just worried about Midoriya. Yes, there was a better time to bring him up, but you pulled through for us in the end."

"But... I-"

"Midoriya would be proud." Todoroki cut her off. "Even though we had a rough start, you immediately set the matter aside and focused on being the hero he knew you can be. When I saw you come back... I saw that look in your eyes. The same as his."

Momo looked up at him in surprise. "What?"

"Whenever he goes to save someone, he always makes those eyes. He doesn't let anything cloud his thoughts and just focuses on getting through the matter at hand. You did the same, so don't believe you were only trouble."

Momo wasn't expecting Todoroki to compare her to Izuku, but... hearing so filled her with so much warmth. Everyone saw Class A's broccoli head in such a bright light; Todoroki was no different, seeing as Izuku helped him deal with personal matters that had been tormenting him. Being compared to such a person... made her feel proud.

"Thank you... Todoroki."

"Not much to thank me for." He answered, turning around and stepping onto the bus.

With a small smile, Momo followed suit, climbing onto the vehicle.

They sat beside each other, Momo gazing out the window with a warm smile as she thought about the green ball of fluff. Todoroki, on the other hand, hunched over and stared down with his fingers entwined on his lap, getting deep into thought.

He wondered how Momo knew that another event occurred in Hosu, wondered how long she knew something else happens, and... wondered how, and what, she knew about Lynch.

Based on what she asked, he guessed she didn't know too much if she had been interrogating him.

He couldn't inform her of anything; he knew he couldn't. But at the same time, he felt that he couldn't just leave her to keep worrying. She seemed to have put aside the matter for now, but no doubt it'd come up again.

He had to at least calm her nerves.

"Yaoyorozu..."

Momo turned to him with her smile faltering when she saw him staring down.

"You're right... Something more did happen in Hosu. Something terrible that Midoriya went through... The only reason I know was that I was there to see it."

Momo was patiently silent as she stared at Todoroki, looking serious as he continued.

"He went through something painful, something that'll stick with him for a long time. I'm sure you've seen him more shaken up than usual when we came back from our internships..."

Momo nodded before Todoroki turned to her.

"I know you're worried about him. I know you hate to be left in the dark, but there are things that can't be said right now. Enso and Midoriya are going through things they have to deal with, things they need to prepare for. Having others involved in it... It makes things more complicated for them, not to mention even more dangerous... Midoriya keeping things from you doesn't mean he doesn't trust you... And if anything, the problem at hand is more of Enso's than anyone else's, so Midoriya is keeping silent as part of his wishes..."

Momo looked down and couldn't help but feel... frustrated. She heard similar things from both Izuku and Enso already. She understood that there must be reasons for keeping things this way, but... she felt like she just had to do something for him. Let him suffer alone? What kind of person would she be to do that!? He needed people around him he needed-

"Yaoyorozu... He'll be fine." Todoroki said, snapping her out of her thoughts. "Enso is there, Midoriya has Ikari, and everyone's here to cheer him up."

Momo raised her head and blinked several times as she realized he was right. Izuku... already had people. Enso was always looking out for him, Iida and Todoroki spent a lot more time with him ever since returning from internships, and... he had so many friends, so many people to get comfort from.

And Ikari... ever since Izuku got a hold of him, the two have demonstrated so much new power together. There was still the possibility that the two could get influenced over aggression, but that was unlikely. Izuku was powerful, one of the strongest in the class; he didn't need her protection.

She put on a sad smile.

"That's right... He doesn't need me..."

"He does." Todoroki immediately cut through that statement, staring at her.

Momo was once again taken aback. "Huh?"

"Midoriya still needs you. More than ever, might I add. You may not think so, but he does. I've seen how he cheers up whenever he's around you. I've seen how inspired he gets each time you answer a question on the board. And don't get me started on how much he analyzes you during hero exercises; you can practically fill a ship with all his muttering."

Momo lightly blushed upon hearing that. She didn't think Izuku paid that much attention to her during class, nor did she think about the effect she had on him.

"Out of everyone, you've been the one who gets the most involved to understand what he's going through, the one who always asks what's going on, what's he doing, and what happened."

"That just makes it sound like I'm meddlesome..." Momo sweatdropped, realizing how much she pried into Izuku's matters.

"I think he's actually happy about that." Todoroki reassured her. "It reinforces the idea that you care about him. I'm sure you know this, but Izuku doesn't exactly have that high of self-esteem, even if it did get better the time he's been here. I'm sure there were times where he wondered if you truly saw him as a friend, thoughts like that lingering in the back of his mind because of his childhood. But seeing you always go out of your way to make sure he's alright, such as during our exam, is what has him no longer having those kinds of thoughts. Just being around you helps him."

Todoroki closed his eyes and leaned back on his seat.

"He needs you to just 'be' there. It makes him feel... safe, strong, and happy."

Momo was staring blankly as she processes what Todoroki said. If there one thing she felt after listening to that, it was...

Happiness.

To just know that Izuku sees her as that important, even more so than just any other friend. To know that he didn't think badly of her for something getting too involved in his matters.

She found the corners of her mouth forming one large smile as she felt all her worries melt away.

"Todoroki... Thank you. I needed that."

Todoroki, still resting in his seat, didn't even open his eyes.

"Just stating the facts."

Momo closed her own eyes and let out a breath of relief.

"Still... Thank you."

The two then remained silent as they relaxed, the stress built from their exam now fading away.

As the two got comfortable, they drove by one of the testing facilities, hearing the echo of a robotic voice.

"Team Uraraka and Aoyama. Exam, commence!"

Hearing this, Todoroki opened his eyes,

"Hm... So they're next? If I remember, isn't their opponent Thirteen?"

Momo's smile party fell as she turned to the facility shrinking in the distance.

"Will they be alright?"

Todoroki closed his eyes again.

"I'm sure they'll be okay."

---

~{Team Ochako and Aoyama}~

"WE'RE NOT OKAY!"

Ochako and Aoyama frantically held onto the railing within the USJ building, having been sent there for their exam. Behind them, a few yards away, Thirteen was standing with her finger popped open, a powerful black hole attempting to suck to two in.

"Damn it! We were just at the exit! Was she waiting for us here!?" Ochako complained while holding on for dear life. The suctioning from Thirteen's quirk had the girl raised off the ground.

"Hm, as I'm sure people would say, this sucks!" Aoyama remarked while sparkling beside her.

"Was that a joke!? That's not helping!" Ochako shouted, trying to grip harder onto the rail.

"You both nearly made it, but I was here waiting!" Thirteen remarked, simply without appearing to give effort. "All I had to do was get both of you into my range of suction, which proved simple since you both remained together!"

"Dang it, Aoyama! I told you we should've split up because of her quirk!"

"Merci me!" Aoyama simply winked back at her. "You know, my costume is built to transmit the laser from my naval, which means..."

The sparkling boy's kneepads then started glowing brightly, lasers firing behind him and towards Thirteen.

"We're completely fine!" He proudly declared.

"I'll suck up light too!" Thirteen said as the lasers went into his black hole. "I'll just break it down at a molecular level!"

Aoyama turned comedically blue in despair.

---

"I don't think... That's not-? How can-? Is that how that works?" Enso blinked, several red question marks appearing around him.

Shinso shrugged. "Hey man, I'm not a scholar."

Izuku frantically muttered as he wrote down this information, as this declaration wasn't one he heard from Thirteen before.

---

"It didn't work!" Ochako shouted with bulging eyes, having seen the lasers simply vanish into the black hole.

"We are in trouble!" Aoyama admitted.

Ochako looked down and grit her teeth in frustration as her thoughts went rampant.

"Neither of us can even move without getting caught! How do we even get out of this!? What do I do!? What would..."

Her face relaxed a bit but still had serious elements in it.

"What would Deku do?"

Aoyama saw the change in Ochako's expression.

"Hey, hey!" He called to her.

"Not now, Aoyama, I'm trying to think!" Ochako retorted.

Aoyama continued anyway.

"Are you thinking about what Midoriya would do?"

Ochako immediately turned her head to him with a mixture of shock and confusion.

"What are you-?"

"He helps everyone sparkle so brightly, doesn't he?" Aoyama stated.

Ochako couldn't get a read on the sparkling boy at all. The same plastered smile he always at all times was present here, so she couldn't tell if he was mocking her or not.

"I've been watching all of you. None of you sparkle as vividly as I do, but it's enough to become some of the brightest stars in the sky." The blonde continued.

"Eh?" Ochako blinked.

"I've seen monsieur Midoriya spending his life with all of you. He's the one that holds the bouquet of all of you roses together. Such love for him keeps you all blossoming." Aoyama chuckled, forgetting about the current situation they were in.

Ochako's expression changed into one of bewilderment, her face turning red all the way to the ear.

"Wha-Wha-Wha-!?"

"But..."

Surprisingly, Aoyama's face somehow appeared to darken to show his seriousness.

"Roses wilt as the days pass. If they remain in this bouquet without the care they need, then there will be a time when things will be too late, where he won't be able to care for such beauty. So..."

He stared directly into Ochako's eyes.

"Just which rose will he choose to water for forever?"

That had Ochako completely freeze, all functions of her body suddenly stopping for a moment. She knew this was already an issue. She knew that this matter would come up sooner or later, but having it suddenly brought up like this caught her off guard.

So much so that she didn't even notice that she had let go of the railing.

"Ah." Aoyama uttered, the darkness to his face fading upon seeing Ochako let go.

"Eh?" It only took a split second and a blink for Ochako to realize she had let go.

She looked back and saw herself sailing right at Thirteen.

"AHHHH!"

Thirteen's eyes widened from the unexpected action, and she closed her black hole quirk, planning to catch the girl.

Ochako seeing herself flying suddenly triggered something within her. Her pupils disappeared as she got into a scary battle mode side to her, lessons from Gunhead kicking in as she swung her leg.

"HI-YAH!"

Thirteen hadn't expected a swift kick, as she had been reaching her arms, and so Ochako's leg nailed her in the stomach.

"OOF!"

Both fell down onto the ground, with Ochako on top of her. The gravity girl didn't even hesitate to hold her right arm and pin her down.

"Y-You-!" Thirteen grunted as she raised her left arm in an attempt to get her off.

But-

"Wheeee!" Aoyama came flying in with his laser, landing right on top of Thirteen's left arm and wrapping it within his own arms. "Catch! Magnific!" He declared flamboyantly.

Ochako didn't hesitate to pull out the cuffs and snap them onto Thirteen's arm, signaling a blaring of a horn.

"Team Uraraka and Aoyama have passed the exam!"

---

"Nice judgment, Ochako! I never thought she would use her opponent's power to get close!" Izuku said to see them pass.

"Really, ribbit? To me, it looked like Ochako-chan just happened to let go." Tsu said with a finger on her chin.

Enso narrowed his eyes as he had noticed something about the event.

"She was blushing..."

He turned his head and stole a glance at Izuku, who was speaking to Iida about Ochako's performance with Aoyama.

"Things seem to be getting complicated..."