A/N: Had a few chapters ready to go for a while now lmao, sorry for the wait. We'll see how long til chapters are made again- But for now, this and a few others will be coming out. Enjoy!

Chapter Thirtynine - The Successor's Will

As the villains made important moves, the Heroes were as well.

A certain boy from the third year Hero course of U.A High School was training rigorously to try and perfect the gift he had been given, but it was proving to be more difficult than he could've ever imagined.

"Togata!"

The tall and well-built blonde with a soft face turned to see none-other than the #1 Hero, All Might, approaching him. The Hero was in his skinny form, something that only a handful of people knew about, but Mirio smiled happily at him all the same.

"Training hard I see," All Might said with a nod as he came close. "How is it going?"

Mirio chuckled. "Well, you see… It's almost like I've started all over again with my Quirk training!"

"...So that bad, huh?"

"Yep! It took a long time to be able to use my Quirk as well as I can," Mirio explained, "So throwing One For All into it, it's… Well, I'm excited to be able to prove myself again!"

All Might chuckled and looked around. The training room that Mirio was using had many craters all around, but they seemed to all be around the same size- Implying that they were very deliberate and controlled attacks.

"But you are able to control its power fairly well, right? That body of yours seemed to already be a perfect vessel," All Might commented.

"I believe so," Mirio said excitedly, "I don't know if it's as strong as your punches, but I'm easily tossing out ten times my normal power!"

"And it should only grow as you use it more," All Might stated.

"Still, alternating Quirks is quite tough, huh…" Mirio looked down at his hands, flexing them. "I've tried going through objects with my Permeation, and then throwing a One For All punch- But it's going to need some work to be perfected."

"Nighteye recommended you personally, so I have no doubt in your abilities," All Might told him.

Mirio smiled at this. "Does this mean you'll visit Sir soon?"

All Might looked away and rubbed his neck awkwardly, shrugging his boney shoulders.

"That's… difficult," All Might admitted.

Sir Nighteye, All Might's old sidekick, had personally recommended Mirio Togata to be his successor. For a while, the #1 Hero ignored this and tried to search on his own, but during the Sports Festival he saw for himself how suited Mirio was for the task.

A strong body. shining personality, and unrivaled spirit.

During the festival, All Might had made his decision— And once the Hero's mind was made up, it was hard to change it, as was his stubborn nature.

All Might had returned in time to give Izuku his pep talk and watch him compete— During the fight against Todoroki, All Might was amazed by Izuku's capabilities without having a Quirk, capable of pushing Todoroki to make a fatal misstep. Then not long after, Izuku fought well against Bakugo who All Might knew was a ferocious opponent and likely the strongest that Class A had to offer. In the end, of course, Bakugo overpowered Izuku without taking too much damage, but it was apparent that the green-haired boy had learned a lot since All Might met him for the first time a year prior.

In such a short time, going from a wide-eyed, scared kid… To someone who went out there and said, "I am here!"... It's amazing, All Might had thought.

However, the first person whom All Might had been impressed with was the one he had chosen to go for. It was true that Izuku had no Quirk, but at the same time, who was he to invalidate Izuku's progress by handing him an answer to his problems?

Of course, All Might didn't think that deep into it. It ended up coming down to a preference and the suggestion from his old friend.

"Well anyways, Sir and you have both entrusted me with such greatness— Thank you again for giving me the opportunity!" Mirio bowed so low that he nearly headbutt the floor, nearly dropping his gym uniform that was hiding his willy.

"No need to thank me every time you see me you know," All Might insisted. "Thank me by continuing to show progress… And holding onto your clothes."

"Right! Thanks for being patient with me!"

"There you go again…"

The future was looking bright to the #1 Hero, between his new successor and the first year students showing incredible promise…

Yet, All Might felt like a shadow was hanging over society. Something was wrong, and they needed to be ready to fight at any moment for when the darkness closed in around them.

Izuku had no idea he had barely missed out on the chance of a lifetime to receive All Might's Quirk, but, then again, he was striving to become a great hero all unto his own— And doing quite well.

The Final Exams were coming up next week, and Izuku already had a lot on his plate— Still, as things tended to go, he received more things to think about one day when lunch had come.

"Ah man, I swear my brains gonna explode," Denki Kaminari had said, looking depressed as he walked out of the classroom.

"Do you have any brains left?" The retort came from Jiro, making Kaminari scowl.

"Let me use your notes Iida—"

"This is the third day in a row! Should I teach you how to take notes, Mineta?"

"N-No way! I—!"

Many of the students made their leave, and Izuku finished some notes before getting up. Behind him, Todoroki was standing and thinking about what to say before he approached.

The boy with dual-colored hair believed he needed to talk to Izuku after what happened at the Sports Festival. The Quirkless kid had somehow managed to give him a better grasp of what he should do with his power, and he felt like he needed to thank him properly.

However, this was squandered as their teacher, Aizawa, approached Izuku.

"Midoriya, it's time to talk about your training," Aizawa said.

"My… training?"

"Yeah, it's been unfortunately handed over to me to see that you undergo special combat training," Aizawa stated, scratching his prickly chin. "Don't know why All Might didn't just handle it…"

Seeing the two were going to start conversing, Todoroki left the classroom and headed out. Izuku looked back just in time to see him leaving, wondering why he had hesitated before going.

"At least seem a little interested," Aizawa said bitterly.

"A-ah, sorry Sensei…!" Izuku bowed a bunch to Aizawa. "When will we start this training?"

"Starting every lunch period and during afternoon classes," Aizawa explained. "Til the practical portion of the exam begins."

"I see… A-And we don't know what the practical is yet?"

Aizawa smirked a bit. "Nah… it's a secret for now. It'll stay that way." Izuku gulped, feeling like things were only getting more complicated. "You should prepare yourself to get beat up more than ever."

I couldn't use my injuries from fighting the Hero Killer as an excuse for too long I guess…

"Next time you do something reckless, I'll make sure you don't end up like you are now," his sensei said, looking at the bandages on him.

"R-Right…"

The Next Day…

During Lunch, Izuku went with Aizawa to one of the many training rooms that the school had. This room was composed of smooth stone tiling and has various raised platforms around. Izuku had brought a bento lunch with him, prepared by his Mother since he knew he'd need to eat quickly for their training.

Setting it down, Izuku removed the jacket of his uniform and tie of his uniform and placed them with his boxed lunch, before facing his teacher.

"During lunch, I'm gonna have you try something out," Aizawa explained. "The afternoon portion will be me fixing and explaining what you did wrong. Got it?"

"O-Okay… What are we doing during lunch then?"

Aizawa thumbed to himself. "Hit me. Or try to, at least… I won't attack back. If you can get me, then you're done with the training, even if that means ending it today…" He shrugged.

Izuku gulped. He had figured that he would need to do something like this, but he was surprised by how straight-forward the teacher was about it.

Jumping right into it, so I can experience the gap between us head on… Got it!

Taking a second, Izuku stretched his legs, pretending to take a few moments of preparation, when he was really trying to plan his attack. From what he had heard, their teacher was very agile, and capable of taking on several villains at once. Because of his Quirk being vision-based, Aizawa had great awareness and reaction speeds.

Here goes nothing…!

Izuku kicked off and ran at the teacher. He raised his right fist back, but as he grew near, he swiped his left leg upwards to try and strike him that way. Aizawa leaned back and took a step backwards, dodging with ease.

This sort of feint was something Izuku liked to do, so he didn't quite expect it to work, but he was going to use everything he had figured out about fighting over the past few months to try and succeed.

Putting his leg down again, he came at Aizawa with a left punch, then a right one, both being easily dodged by the Hero. Izuku then got down low and swept his legs around, something he had seen during his studies of the old martial arts movies, which had inspired his Drift device during the Festival. Aizawa jumped to avoid this, but Izuku was ready to follow it up, pushing up off the ground to try and attack while his teacher was in the air.

"Too slow," Aizawa muttered. Before Izuku could even ready to attack in the air, Aizawa grabbed his face and pushed him down to the ground hard, using him to hop away and land gracefully nearby. He looked back at Izuku, who slowly scrambled back up. "Come on then."

Izuku scowled and ran in again, jumping and swiping with a horizontal kick towards Aizawa. The Hero ducked, a bored expression on his face.

"Pretty disappointing," Aizawa muttered.

Before Izuku could recover from his kick, the teacher shot up in an instant and slammed his palm under his chin, sending him flying up into the air, before falling to the ground hard. Izuku gasped as the attack left him a bit jarred, breathing heavily.

"That's fine for today," Aizawa told him. "Think about this for later."

Izuku slowly sat up, rubbing his sore chin as he watched his teacher start to walk away nonchalantly.

"T-That's it—?"

Aizawa didnt respond, so Izuku tried to stand, but realized he was wobbly from the hit. He sighed and thought about the quick interaction.

There was no chance… I've never fought anyone before attending U.A, Izuku thought. Studying it helped a bit but… Just like with Kacchan, I'm mostly helpless…

The next couple of hours, Izuku felt a bit down. He was feeling unsure of his abilities and how he might be able to match someone like Aizawa, who seemed to do just fine without using his Quirk.

The class was set to do some exercise drills with the Hound Hero: Hound Dog, the Lifestyle Guidance counselor of U.A, so this was when Aizawa stole Izuku away for his lesson.

"You're too predictable," Aizawa explained as they walked the halls.

"I-I am…?"

"Most villains and thugs out there just attack mindlessly," the Hero continued. "It's easy to read them and take them down. My Quirk isn't necessary in most fights."

Izuku thought about that for a second. "So… I should try to be more unpredictable?"

"No, you have to learn how to react."

They arrived at a door that Izuku realized was familiar. As Aizawa opened it, something inside exploded and a piece of metal shot right past his head, but he didn't flinch at all.

"Ahh— Hot hot hot!"

The familiar voice made Izuku peer inside curiously. Sure enough, Mei was there, now trying to put out a small fire from something she was working on. It was one of the small workshops that were around the school. Izuku had never used this one in particular, but he recalled it was mainly used for chemistry experiments.

"Hatsume, what the hell was that—"

Izuku looked over to see a blonde boy whose hair was pulled back into a neat bun approaching her, gasping at the mess that she had apparently created.

That's…?

"Looks like this compound totally wasn't ready to be heated! Who would've known," Mei exclaimed.

The boy sighed. He then noticed the open door and Aizawa and Izuku standing there.

"Oh, if it isn't Midoriya!" He smirked. "Good to see you again."

"Saikami… Right?" Izuku entered and gave the boy a slightly unsure smile.

Saikami was the class rep for Class 1-F, another one of the Support Classes at UA. From Izuku's previous encounter with him on the bus to the Sports Festival stadium, he knew that his kind demeanor could potentially be a facade hiding a more devious intention.

"I'm glad you remember me! I figured you'd be stuck up or something after making it into—"

"Izuku!"

Mei interrupted Saikami, rushing past him and trying to hug Izuku. However, Aizawa's scarf suddenly grabbed Izuku and slid him back a bit, making Mei miss him. Izuku froze up in surprise, feeling the malice of the teacher behind him.

"Not now," Aizawa grumbled as he approached. "I was told that you had it ready?"

Mei stumbled after missing the hug and stood up straight, giving a cheeky salute to the teacher as she grinned.

"Yep! We were finishing up some last minute tests on some extra systems but, it's done for now," Mei responded.

Izuku was very confused. "W-What are you—"

"Tadah!"

Mei moved aside and waved her hands towards a Hero suit that was on the wall. In fact, it was very familiar— With its green fabric and metal pieces along the arms and legs and around the neck area. However, there was more to it than before— There was much more metal along the arms and legs, and the whole design looked a bit more narrow and agile.

"My Hero suit…?" Izuku got close, gasping as he peered at it.

Mei snickered. "Surprised? There's a costume competition coming soon, so I enlisted some help from Saikami because of his Quirk," she explained.

"I-I thought they banned you after what happened," Izuku said, turning to a whisper as the Stain information was all a secret.

"They did, but I figured out a loophole," Mei said with a big grin. "I just have to have someone else do the work on the suit and be my hands! Then I'm not technically working on it!"

"...Does that actually make it okay?"

Mei shrugged. "Power Loader-sensei said just to not blow anything up!"

Izuku looked past her at the smoke that Saikami was trying to put out from whatever Mei had done before they walked in. He chuckled.

"R-Right, you're doing good."

Mei packed up the suit and handed it to Izuku, who smiled at her, feeling excited to have it once again in his possession. The first time he ever got to wear it could've been his last, so he would never take it for granted.

"Thank you Mei… And you too, Saikami!" Izuku gave a polite bow, and could feel the pressure of Aizawa's gaze, so he quickly turned and followed him out.

"Tch… That guy wants to be a Hero huh," Saikami muttered. He rubbed his chin and smiled deviously. "What if I were to steal his pretty girlfriend here, then would he be so high and migh—"

Click!

Saikami accidentally set his hand down on one of the devices Mei had been working on while distracted. It began a high-pitched squeal, then suddenly exploded, sending smoke all through the room.

"Aahhh! My baby," Mei exclaimed in agony.

"W-What the— Why is everything you create so goddamn dangerous?!"

As the chaos ensued, Izuku smiled a bit, hearing it all through the halls as they headed for the training room.

Once suited up, Izuku took the feeling of it in, admiring Mei's new handywork. It wasn't a whole suit of armor like Iida's, instead it was about two-thirds metal, with the rest left to the breathable cloth, giving him a nice range of movement. Like before it was still pretty lightweight, thanks to the Support class' skillful metalwork. The Flow unit on the back was also thinner and sharper in design, reminding Izuku of something you'd see in a dystopian future movie.

"Do you feel more confident with your Hero suit?"

Izuku looked up at his teacher and nodded. "Yeah… I-It's a totally different feeling than fighting without it."

"Then show me that confidence," Aizawa said, his hands in his pockets. "Just like before, just one hit."

Taking a breath, Izuku readied himself, flexing his hands to take in the feeling of the gloves. He then dashed to his right, planning on moving towards Aizawa in a curved line, just so he could get the feel for the suit.

This is…!

Izuku was surprised at his agility now. The suit, like the previous rendition, was sending out passive air bursts to increase his speed, but he could also feel it spread out more across the metal parts of the legs, giving him a more even burst of speed that felt natural almost instantly.

Mei, I swear I'll have to pay you back for this!

He grew close to Aizawa in a matter of seconds, bringing his right leg up to try and kick at his head. Much like before, Aizawa ducked the attack, but Izuku could follow up easier with his suit. He made air blast from his right leg to allow himself to spin around, coming in for yet another kick, this one much faster and stronger from the momentum.

But, in that single second that Izuku spun and wasn't watching Aizawa, the teacher jumped over his oncoming attack.

He's so fast—

Aizawa's scarf snagged Izuku's grounded leg, and the teacher pulled hard, making Izuku fall forward and face-plant into the floor.

"Just gonna lay there huh," Aizawa commented as Izuku was slow to get up.

"I'm not done…" Izuku scowled a bit as he got up, turning and running at him again.

They were near one of the back walls of the training room now, so Izuku used that to his advantage. As he grew close, he shot off towards the wall, then used it to kick off at his teacher from the side. He threw a punch, which Aizawa deflected by hitting his wrist. Izuku then followed it up by spinning to do a roundhouse kick, blasting air to make his leg spin around in an instant. The power was a bit more than he was used to, so he found himself lost in the momentum, not realizing that Aizawa had dodged it before it was too late.

Aizawa's scarf close-lined Izuku, making him slam down to the ground hard. He gasped, and Aizawa set a knee on his chest to keep him down, gazing at him sternly.

"If you lose focus that quickly, you'll be taken down easily just like that," the teacher grumbled.

I hesitated only for a second because the power from the suit was too much… Izuku thought, mentally kicking himself. Using new equipment without proper tests will get me killed!

Aizawa let him up and turned away. "Let's try again. We've got a long ways to go."

"Yes sir…!"

Time passed by quickly.

Izuku's training proved to be very rigorous. He found himself very groggy during the next week from how much training he was going through, not just with Aizawa, but on his own time.

He was determined to fine tune his suit, so he worked with Mei when he could, knowing it would also affect her grade as well.

The written portion of the exams were fairly easy. Izuku already had the fifth highest grade in the class, something that he could've improved had it not been for the physical training he was undergoing. He was glad to see that Bakugo, Iida, and Uraraka had also done very well, though his childhood friend practically exploded at the fact that he wasn't #1.

The day before the Practicals were set to go underway, Todoroki finally caught Izuku before he ran off for the day.

"Midoriya… Do you have a moment?"

Izuku looked back to see the boy's icey-cool gaze staring him down. He gulped, knowing that this day would've come sooner or later— Their fight had been hanging in the air without being mentioned at all since he joined Class A.

"S-Sure, what is it?" Izuku finished putting his things away and slipped his backpack on.

"Walk with me," Todoroki spoke, motioning with his head. Izuku followed him out of the class. A few students from other classes were walking briskly past them, excited to be out for the day, as they took their time. "About the festival…"

Izuku tensed up a little bit. "S-Sorry…."

Todoroki looked over at the green-haired boy, a bit confused.

"Why would you apologize? It was a competition," Todoroki said calmly.

"Well, you know… I-I kinda made it personal—"

"We both had a lot to prove," Todoroki interrupted to stop him. "You won, I lost. We both learned some things, right?"

Todoroki glanced over at Izuku, whose pace was slowing behind him. The boy nodded nervously and looked down at the floor, finding it difficult to look at Todoroki.

"I wanted to… th… ask you…" Todoroki struggled to say what he wanted, continuing on slowly and deliberately. "If you could help with something."

As they came to the front of the school, Todoroki paused and turned to Izuku, which surprised him a bit as he almost bumped into him, jumping back a bit.

"H-Help with what?"

Todoroki looked down at his hands. "I know how I want to use my Quirks, but I need something to help regulate my temperatures," he spoke.

"Oh like, a Support device?"

"Yes, but, I don't want to have it was a crutch," Todoroki stated firmly, "I want it to help me learn faster."

Izuku slowly nodded in understanding, holding a hand to his mouth for a moment as he thought, containing his slight mutters as he contemplated such a device.

"W-Well, I'm actually not allowed to make anything for now," Izuku replied finally. "I'm supposed to focus on myself for a while… But I know the best people for that sort of thing!"

Todoroki nodded in understanding.

"Thanks…" He sort of dragged the word out a bit, as if it was difficult to say. "Just let me know, if you would."

"I-I will," Izuku said with a slight smile. As Todoroki turned to head off, Izuku let out a breath of relief, feeling the awkward tension dissipating.

It's hard getting close to my new classmates with all this training going on, he thought. I'll have to put more effort after!

Meanwhile...

Tomura Shigaraki was picking at some skin on his face as he gazed at the screen ahead. Beside him was Kurogiri, and behind them stood several new additions to the League of Villains.

Almost all of these newcomers had arrived in order to fulfill Stain's ideals— They believed in a just society without the 'fake' Heroes that were running ir.

"These two… These are the ones we want…"

On the screen was pictures of various students from Class 1-A at U.A, the pictures taken from the Sports Festival's airing. Two in particular sat in the middle of the rest, and everyone took a good look at them.

"That kid? That's pretty disappointing," spoke one of the new members, one with many deep-purple scars along his body, eyeing one of the targets with disdain.

Shigaraki bit into his thumb in anticipation, feeling like his skin was crawling, ready for their plan to set into motion— But their target date was still a couple of weeks away.

"We'll start scouting everything out for now," Kurogiri explained to everybody. "Surprise is going to be our ally."

Everyone stayed silent. There was a tense air around, as everyone knew they shared similar ideals, but were currently unsure of whether this was the place to be for them.

Only Shigaraki and Kurogiri knew that someone else was listening in on them, from another nearby computer. The man who rivaled All Might in the fight of Good vs. Evil…

All For One.

The man grinned as he listened in to the new constituents from his secret location.

Show me what you can do… My successor.

To Be Continued

Next Chapter: The Final Exams I