A/N: Hi everyone! This is my first fanfic that I've posted and I'm exciting for where this story is going to go. Hope you enjoy the start!

Disclaimer: I don't own anything from the MHA franchise.

Chapter 1

"SIR, NO!"

Izuku Midoriya bolted up in a cold sweat, reaching up for his mentor. Half-awake, he yelled for Sir to run, get out of the way, anything so he could avoid seeing the subconscious images flashing through his mind. All-Might's former sidekick,partner, his friend dead, full of holes from the spikes Overhaul had created in his attempt to kill the protégé's and Eri. A sacrifice in vain to give the boys time to escape with the girl. But it wasn't enough.

Izuku, gathering his surroundings, focused on the slow tick of his All-Might alarm clock. Centering himself on something minute, he had learned from experience, helped the nightmares ebb away faster. Unfortunately, it did nothing to stop the trembling. Clenching his scarred fist to stop shaking, he knew he wasn't going to get any more sleep tonight. Hell, he couldn't remember the last time he'd gotten a full night of rest.

'Maybe I should go for a run. Something to calm my nerves.' He paused, wondering who was on guard duty that night for the teachers. If it was Vlad or All-Might, they might let him through to train around the campus. Aizawa Sensei though? He'd be sent right back to bed, perhaps put on house arrest again if he was caught outside Class 1-A's dorm. And after all, hadn't he already caused enough trouble for his classmates?

'I mean, I nearly got us all expelled for the Bakugo Rescue Mission. If it wasn't for All-Might retiring, we could've all lost out dreams, just because I couldn't let it go. I couldn't save him. Or Nighteye. Or even Eri the first time. What kind of hero am I if I can't even save one little girl on my own? How can I even keep All-Might safe? He could die anytime, and I can't protect him. Why do I have to be so USELESS?' –

Shaking his head, he tried to clear out the thoughts that had wracked his brain for a week now following his battle with the Yakuza. Putting on his tracksuit and training shoes, he quietly opened and shut his door to avoid waking any of the other boys. After all, if he woke Mineta he'd probably be accused of sneaking off to a girl's room or something, and he couldn't think of another excuse to why he was leaving.

Getting off the elevator and moving into the common area, it was clear no one was awake. It was after 2:00 am after all, and they had class in the morning. He couldn't see any of the teachers through the front doors or on the campus grounds yet. If he could only catch a glimpse, he could tell if it was a good idea to leave before –

"Midoriya-"

Izuku was mid-yell in fright when a scarf strand wrapped around his mouth, silencing him. Turning around with his eyes to the floor, he slowly looking up to meet the gaze of his homeroom teacher, Shota Aizawa, known to the hero world as Eraserhead.

"What are you doing up? If you think I won't expect you ready and awake in homeroom tomorrow, you're denser than I thought. You can't leave the dorm after 10 without a teacher's permission," he lectured, quickly releasing the scarf.

"I-I know, M-Mr. Aizawa. I was looking to see who was on duty so I could ask, since I know you draw guard duty randomly to make it less predictable. It totally makes sense with all the villains seeming to know our plans at every turn so they wouldn't know what to expect if they invaded, and of course if there is a mole it would keep them out of the loop as well unless they were a faculty member themselves. NOT THAT I'M SAYING I THINK THAT THOUGH, no way anyone on our faculty would do that! I-"

"Hm, I see All-Might is, as usual, telling you too much for your own good. But you didn't answer my question."

"Oh…right. I was just going to see if I could go for a run."

"At this hour?"

"I…I, uh, couldn't sleep," he stuttered. After all, it wasn't technically a lie, he wondered to himself. He couldn't tell Aizawa Sensei about the nightmares. What kind of hero can't shake off a few bad dreams?

"Mm, seems to be a lot of that going around these days," Aizawa muttered, glancing at the boy. He'd been watching him for a few days now, and something was definitely off. The dark circles under his eyes practically screamed a lack of sleep, looking more like the bruises from their last mission that still lined the boy's arms in places. Recovery Girl was doing a good job for him and the other three, but just observing his student's wandering glance and slight tremble told him there was a lot more damage than just a smattering of darkened purple skin. He'd already had All-Might come up to him concerned about 'young Midoriya', but the look in the boy's eyes showed he couldn't get back to sleep even if he wanted to.

The pro-hero sighed to himself. "Fine, you've got one hour on the grounds. But if you're not back, I'll put you back on cleaning duty for the rest of the semester."

"R-really? Oh, well, uh, thank you sir, no problem! I'll definitely be back by then!" he stammered as he turned to open the door and use the time he had.

"Midoriya-"

"Huh?"

"Please know that…I….we…hm, nevermind, just go off on your run. And don't make noise when you get back, some people are trying to sleep."

"Y-yes sensei!"

Watching the boy jog slowly away across the quad, Aizawa couldn't help but think back to that first day with the ball throw. The kid, he had to admit, had grown so much since then. Controlling that power was no easy task, and he'd clearly had a special knack for strategy since the first days of training. He was still as stubborn as always; he'd never outgrow that obnoxious persistence. But…despite the improvement, he'd been through so much mentally. More than any student should have to by this point.

'It's a miracle I still have a job at this point, with everything that boy has done to get himself killed at this rate.' Aizawa sighed to himself, moving to continue his rounds as he dreaded the conversations he'd have to begin tomorrow morning.

He bent over, staring at the crisp, fall grass as he struggled to catch his breath. Izuku wasn't sure how many laps he'd done at this point, but he did have ten more minutes before he had to be back. Even if it was late, it still felt strange to find it so quiet after everything that had happened.

'How can it be so peaceful?' Izuku muttered while flopping onto this back on the grass, staring up at the cloudy sky. The slight breeze rustling the trees, the faint glow of students' rooms as they finished assignments due in the morning. How were things appearing back to normal? They'd encountered so much loss in such a short time, dealt with situations that even Pro's would be lucky to escape unharmed. He couldn't just put that aside. And even if he could, wouldn't that be like forgetting the people that had died for him? Ugh, how selfish could he be?!

'Sir was right. You're no successor. You're a curse. He brought you in, and you managed to ruin both him and the man he idolized.' Izuku felt the dark voice fill his thoughts. It always knew the words that would hurt the most. He punched the ground in frustration, the tears stinging as his eyes began to droop. Realizing he'd probably overdone it on his run, he realized just how tired he was.

"Better get up and head back. I'm lucky Sensei let me out as long as he did." Taking a step, something caught his eye. With a start, he realized there was a large hole at least 6 -feet across and several feet deep where he'd angrily brought his fist down a moment ago.

'Oh, SHOOT! Gah, I don't have to time to fill this in before the hour's up! Ah, um, well… *sigh* it's no good. I suppose it'll give Hound Dog somewhere else to bury things…' Hoping the canine-tempered teacher would just appreciate the discovery and not ask too many questions, Izuku scurried back to the dorms, wishing that for once he might finally get some peaceful rest.

END CHAPTER ONE

Author Notes:

Short and sweet for the beginning but will get longer as time goes on. Love any thoughts/advice you have, I'll try to respond as best I can. Just be kind as always.