We're almost done with the first arc people! Just one more chapter to go. Enjoy, and please review.

"'...And now I can finally chase my dream, supporting you, Ba-dump, Ba-dump'." Izuku finished up the page, Ameri loving every second of it. She finally figured it out.

"A dream is someone's ambition, right?" She asked the boy, who looked in thought. "So now she'll beat up anyone on her way to achieve it?" It truly was a treat to finally get context for the images she spent hours studying...for purely educational purposes of course. It didn't hurt that Izuku did the voices as she requested. It was kinda cute...and very informative! Yes, that's why she had him do it.

"That's one violent way to put it, yeah." He said nervously. "Though it's more of a slice of life genre, chances are there won't be any physical confrontations. The series is mostly about the emotional struggle.." From what she gathered from his adorable..ah, she means informative ramble, humans often took everything they did very seriously no matter what subject it was, sometimes to an overly exaggerated level. It really was some fascinating insight. Who knew human relationships could get so complicated?

"Speaking of beating up, I had a question." She tilted her head, was someone fighting him recently? Given his reputation it was certainly possible. "Last time we used the excuse of me helping your power for Asmodeus and Clara, and it got me thinking, what IS your bloodline ability?"

Oh right, he did seem very curious, and he likely had a few ideas for her. From how he explained his ideas to Clara Valac, it couldn't hurt to indulge him a little, however.. "I can explain it, but I'd rather you see it for yourself at the right time. If you mutter something wrong it could affect my combat skill and ambitions." Izuku seemed confused but he would understand soon. Romanticist required one to have a strong and powerful image of themselves, if she believed otherwise then she could crumble instantly. It's why she and her papa worked up ways to improve themselves daily on a high pedestal where anything could happen. Some say she may be a bit overly imaginative, but it worked for her.

"Oh, that's fine." He spoke with a very curious look on her face. "Although now that you mention it, what IS your ambition?" He asked her, causing a smile to grow on Ameri's face. She enjoyed talking about her ambitions with her papa, it was a bit of a passing time of theirs.

"To bring order and peace to Babyls, before moving onto my father's agency of border patrol." She began. "He's strong and powerful, I wish to grow up to be like him. Protecting everyone." She saw something sparkle in Izuku's eyes, a sort of wonder and longing. It made her flush a little. "Or I could run a bakery, I always thought of making sweets." Ameri gave a nervous laugh. "What about you?"

"Oh, I never made sweets myself, I tend to just help cook dinner with my mom." He explained, suddenly finding the wall interesting. "It must be nice having more than one option for yourself." He said it as if he didn't have a say in the matter for himself.

"No, I mean what are your ambitions, or dreams?" She asked him. Izuku seemed to lock up at that, looking a little confused, but that spark in his eye seemed to have dimmed.

"I … live my life right now, make sure it doesn't get ruined." He explained, a frown covering her face. Was that really all this guy wanted? Where was the master plan she knew he had? He was smart, and clearly crafty enough to survive among demons for this long. She had to push deeper.

"No, that's an ideal, what's your dream and ambition? What do you seek to chase out of life?" She asked more pressing as he started shaking. Was she really making him feel in danger? Did he think this was some kind of foreplay!? A blush went on her face as he began to speak, staring down on the floor.

"Well … I had one once." Izuku spoke quietly. "There was this person, a hero I saw." A beat of silence. "He was so amazing, he saved everyone, hundreds of people with a smile. It was incredible, you know? And he just kept it up, saving people no matter what happened and I wanted to be like that, save people with a smile and make them safe and happy." Another beat of silence, before a dripping sound occurred, looking she could see water in front of the boy. Was he crying?

"But I don't have a Qui-" He cut himself off "I-I don't have magic, and if so i'd just be relying on someone else's power with this stupid ring." He fell onto his knees. "I'm just an average nobody who should have been abandoned, just should have given up and die in a ditch like I was supposed to and-and…." He stopped talking, taking deep breaths.

She gathered her thoughts based on what she could gather from his rambling. He was a human, humans had no magic, so the magicless was just a metaphor, barring his recent ring. He mentioned 'qui' before cutting himself off. She knew her father explained that recently humans underwent an overhaul of genetic mutation of sorts that went through many names. 'Mutations, Super Powers, Meta-Ability', and the most recent of all, 'quirks'. After all these years it looked like someone finally got the short end of the stick. A quirkless human, one that was weaker than anyone else on earth. She could feel a twinge of sympathy, but not empathy. She could feel bad for him, but knew she would never truly understand his plight.

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have broken down like that." Izuku muttered quietly. "I've been told all my life how useless I am, so it's hard to believe anything else. I'm finally happy for the first time in a long while, and I'm afraid of losing that. I-I truly don't know what I can do from here, all I do know is that I want to keep smiling without constantly having to avoid dying." He sighed, looking at the clock. "I need to really get going, class will start soon."

He got up, whipping his face off as he made his way to the door. It seemed like she needed to step in, as the student council president who looked after their fellow students, and a reading partner who supported each other's hobbies. There were sparks of true ambition in him, but they'd been dosed before they could truly burn brightly, and she would see to it that it lit the sky.

"You know." Ameri started, causing Izuku to freeze in place. "I heard you don't understand much demon culture due to being from a school enclosed from the rest of the netherworld." That was a lie, they both knew it, but neither would call out the other on it. "Demons are very peculiar about ranks, but as you know, those with higher authority have more freedom to do as they please." He turned to her, looking with curious eyes. He may be human, but as long as he was here, he had a rank. Who's to say he couldn't rank up?

"If a Tet(9), Khet(8), or heck even a Zayin(7), let's just say … decided they wished to be a hero? No one would bat an eye." He continued to stare, a neutral expression on his face, but something sparked under those eyes of his, something that made her feel … warm. "That's simply how our kind works, prove yourself with achievements and rank up, then do whatever ambitions you wish to achieve with them." And with that, she waited. To see if her actions would finally ignite that tiny and worn down spark of ambition.

Izuku was quiet, looking at her with something she couldn't quite put her finger on. He then let out a bright and shining smile that almost blinded her, tears in the corners of his eyes. "Thank you, Ameri-san!" He shouted with absolute joy as he ran out of the room. She could feel her heart beating fifteen times in a second and could hear steam coming out of her ears. Was he sure it wasn't magic, because she kept getting this feeling around him!

"Azz-Azz, play with me!" Valac shouted, jumping up and down in her seat like sugar crazed as usual.

"I told you, I'm doing work between classes so I can be free to train when I get home. I refuse to indulge your silly fantasies." He retorted. "Here's a thought, why don't you play with Midoriya?" He didn't feel sorry, the boy seemed to enjoy the insanity the girl brought forth, the psycho he is.

"He's busy talking with Lady Red Hair." She pouted. Ah yes, the fabled meetings. He was still suspicious of them, but there didn't seem like a reason to actively investigate. Also there was no shame in admitting it's dangerous to antagonize Ameri Azazel. What truly infuriated him at the moment was the idea of Izuku making the student council president his friend. What was with this madman and gathering powerful allies and not making them servants?

"Then why don't you climb 'Mountain Sabnock'?" The one good thing about the delinquite is that he drew away the girl's attention with his size.

"I'm not allowed to climb to the peak of Mountain Sabro during handstands and pull ups." That caused him to blink, sure enough the demon was doing pull ups, writing on his paper every time he got up. There was a strange admiration for someone who could multitask like that. Of course he'd stab someone before admitting it out loud.

"You could also do your work-what am I saying, you never do your work." He muttered.

"How rude, I already have it completed." Valac complained, showing off her paper to him. After a quick scan it was revealed most of the answers were wrong.

"Of course, complete, an excellent example of hard work." Asmodeus muttered sarcastically. He was interrupted by the sound of fast footsteps running towards their direction, students turning in confusion. It was usually Valac running to the class, but she was already in here.

Apparently it was Midoriya, who nearly broke open the classroom door from how hard he slammed it open, panting. "Asmodeus." He got out, still breathing heavily but had an odd determined look in his eyes. "How do I rank up?" He asked, everyone blinking in confusion, and for good reason. Where did that of all things come from? He never showed an interest before, why now all of a sudden?

"My humble self thought you were fine where you stood as an Aleph(1)?" Garp asked. "Was it just a delayed reaction or some other form of emotion?" The hairy student had a point. While Izuku expressed light frustration at being Aleph(1), he's never heard him say anything about moving up even once. In fact, his notes suggested he was more focused on helping others rank up. Once again, another piece to this never ending puzzle.

"No, at least not that way. Earlier I was talking with Ameri-san-"

"You scum!" Shouted Kaumi, and it wasn't weird that everyone ignored that. What was actually weird was Valac shook her head in agreement. Wasn't she all for expanding that 'friendship' circle or something?

"-And I realized there's something I can do if I get a high enough rank." He turned back to Asmodeus. "So please, tell me how to rank up." The boy asked with pleading eyes.

He was curious what this something was, but it could wait until after the explanation he guessed. "Well the only way to rank up are promotion exams. They happen periodically within the school year." Asmodeus explained.

Allocer stepped up from there. "There are five events in all for the freshman. They're Execution Cannonball, the Division Party, the First Term Final Exams, the Harvest Festival, and the Music Festival." He spoke of experience, and Midoriya nodded in understanding.

"Alright, now I just need to prepare." Midoriya then blinked in confusion. "What's Execution Cannonball?" He asked, causing everyone to flinch.

"Dude I know you were sheltered, but you never heard of Execution Cannonball?" Andro asked with concern.

"Oh, we have a court under the room, why don't we take him down and play a practice round for fun?" Shaxx spoke out.

"Oh, fun fun fun!" The Valac girl prattled on, dragging Midoriya and himself against their wills (well his will, Midoriya just went along with it like always). They went beyond the trash dump that was near their classroom, a truly disgusting feature, as they went deeper and deeper underground.

As they walked down the rocky steps he noticed something. "What happened to your excitement? You're not shaking at all." Asmodeus spoke at Midoriya's general area. He's actually been shaking less and less as the days went on. Maybe there was some inkling of sanity reeling him back?

"Oh, I've kinda been here long enough to notice that names don't exactly mean what they entail. I'm honestly just expecting something casual at this point." Ah, he expected a lack of danger. So sanity still didn't find the green haired boy, joy. They made their way to a wide open area, two squares connected by a line.

"Now then, originally, Execution Cannonball was created as a means for demons to assert dominance over their territories." Asmodeus started to explain, now gathering a small crowd around him.

"Right, always comes back to dominance." Midoriya muttered, looking with rapt attention, Clara bouncing up and down for what was to come.

"Even the Demon King himself used to play, back before the rules were overhauled." Sabnock spoke up as they turned to him instead. "Originally, the game was played with living weapons called Caimans, they are giant steel orbs that bite down into whatever they hit until they rip off thine flesh, and the winner was declared once thou attacked every enemy unconscious in thee castle."

Midoriya was back to shaking with his usual excitement, and it looked like the history lesson sparked that little adrenaline rush inside of him. "But, but the rules have changed right? So it's n-not as horrifying or bloody?" He stuttered, the annoying habit he unwillingly caught.

"Yes, now instead of Caimans we use this ball." Asmodeus held out the green striped ball with the purple mark of Babyls on it. "And instead of castles we use that field over there. Once you're hit with the ball you move outside, but once you hit a player you can come back in. It lasts until only one side remains."

"That seems super fun!" Clara shouts happily. "Come on Izuku-kins, move to one side so we can … Izuku-kins?" Asmodeus followed her line of sight and saw him looking at the field with a blank expression and a completely still body.

"Trust me when I say this." Midoriya started. "I am filled with immense curiosity and disappointment, and not for the reasons you think." And with that, he let out a sigh and began to walk to one of the sides. What was that about? He took his own side, with Goemon staying out as the rule keeper.

"Ready, Settle, Begin!" He shouted. Sabnock took the initiative, throwing the ball with enough force to wiz past Midoriya's head and form a large crater in the wall ahead, after breaking through three pillars. Midoriya began shaking, which intensified as he began taking a look behind him. Smiling in the face of danger once again, that truly seemed to be the only consistency with this kid.

"You want me to train you?" Sullivan was prepared for many things that day, mainly Izuku asking for exclusive coverage of that sports festival when it finally happened in the human world, but his grandson coming home to ask him for help playing Execution Cannonball was not one of them. Then again, even with a millenia under his belt he should have expected something unexpected to hit him at some point.

"I learned that if I get a good enough rank, regardless of being magical or not, human or not, quirkless or not, I get to be a hero." Izuku spoke with determination. "But I'm so far behind everyone in terms of power and skill, I need to better myself. Please, train me Grandpa!" He shouted, lowering into a bow.

Sullivan raised his hands in mock surrender. "Now, now, no need to pull my coat tails. If you really want help training, I'll do my best to ensure you become strong enough to get a great rank." He assured the boy.

"Thank you, Grandpa!" Izuku shouted with a bright smile and sparkling eyes. He stared at the face for a solid three seconds. "Um, Grandpa, are you okay?"

"Yes, I'm just saving your precious face into my memory folder." Sullivan assured, causing the boy to blink in bafflement. "Now then, take …" He reached into his coat, looking for the object in question. Pocket Dimensions were a great and handy thing, but he rarely cleaned them, causing everything to clutter-ah there we go. He pulled out a ball. "Now then, hold this and throw it at the rock over there."

"Got it." Izuku gripped the ball tight, moving his body into a position that didn't give any opponents much surface area, yet at the same time didn't restrict movement or power. Intriguingly, for someone who asked for training he seemed to be very good at it, almost as if he's played it.

"Oh, don't forget, before you throw it, you should say 'Libera' as you let go of the ball." Izuku looked confused, but nodded.

"Understood." He reeled his arm back, threw it forward, and shouted. "Libera!" The ring sparked it's glorious rainbow as he could feel a minor tingle, such a cute thing trying to steal his abilities. The energy exploded into a rainbow colored dragon, gripping down onto the ball as it flew through the boulder, flying into the forest and causing tree after tree to rip from the ground, eventually flying off into the sky as it vanished.

"Marvelous work!" He shouted, unnoticing Izuku's pale expression. "With that you'll be sure to dominate the competition."

"Grandpa." Huh, that wasn't the overly grateful tone he was expecting. "I, really, thank you for helping me with magic, but, I, I don't think I should be using it during the exams."

Cute, that humbleness could be so adorable. He wonders why no other human he's encountered was like this. "Pish Posh, everyone's going to be using magic during the exam, and they aren't exactly going to be holding back. With this, you're just going to be on the same playing field."

"I mean the main reason is because I'm pretty sure someone would lose a limb, and that would just end up horrible." Come now, back in his days meteors only gave demons minor concussions, has the quality of demon kind downgraded so seriously? "Also … I might use it later." The boy muttered, looking down at his hand. "But for the first event, something where everyone is the closest to human they'll ever be? If I just use a ring it'll be a crutch. I'll be relying on something that isn't mine … if I wanna become a hero … if I wanna prove myself worthy of living among everyone else, I want to do it by my own merit, by my own strength."

Sullivan was truly stunned for many reasons. Once again, it seems there was always a level of humility that Izuku could reach, levels further than he ever expected, but that paled in comparison for the sadness he felt for his grandson at what he said.

The perks of also adopting his mother were quite beneficial. He now always had someone to talk to whenever he wanted to take a day off from being Chair Demon, which was half the time whether or not there was someone to talk to, and in doing so, Sullivan had been able to learn so many stories about Izuku's childhood, many of which he would bring up with his friends later, but also stories of, not so pleasant times. Stories that made him quite, murderous, shall we say.

"Fine then, but let me do this at least." He gently grasped Izuku's hands, bathing them in a warm light. "I've strengthened your hands just a bit, enough that you'll be able to catch the ball without them being too damaged, but it'll hurt if there's too much force. It's both my way of supporting your desire to give it your all, and to prevent your mother's desire to murder both of us if you came back severely injured."

"... Does she know about-"

"Trust me when I say me and Opera are doing our best to make sure she never actually learns of any daily dangers you face, besides the ones you tell her about." He assured the boy, who nodded. "Now, since magic is off the table for you, the only thing we can really do about it is learn the game itself."

"It's pretty similar to dodgeball back in the human world." He gave out. "Except it was made purely for fun and not deadly reasons." His body fell into a slump. "The only problem is that I still suck at it no matter which version we play. I've never learned how to dodge anything. Mostly because they thought the quirkless kid would make great target practice."

Ah right, the bullying. As soon as that school's term ended, and no one was in the building, kabloom. He already had permission from a certain contact in the world anyway. But if it was physical training he needed … "Opera is the perfect candidate then, he mainly uses reinforcement magic, so he knows how to do things on a basic level."

Izuku then let out another brilliant smile. "Thank you, Grandpa!" He shouted happily. "I promise I won't let you down!" Ah, another picture to add to the mental vault.

Clara watched as Izuku-kins screamed for his life. Operko was a super good Cannonball player. They threw balls with enough strength to whistle and destroy rocks. "Come on Izuku-kins, you can do it!" She cheered him on. "You can catch them!"

"Uh, Clara, the point here was for me to learn how to avoid them." Izuku fell to the ground as the balls were pelted on his back. She's been having so much fun playing with him for the past few days, especially since it gave Izuku-kins no time to be with Lady Red Hair!

"You heard your friend, Izuku-san, please start avoiding these faster, I'm about to speed up the process soon." The butler spoke in their deadpan tone as they lazily threw balls faster than the eye could see at Izuku-kins.

"This can go faster?" The boy muttered in his excited voice, wobbly and shaky, why couldn't she get a turn in? No fair!

"So this is the power of Sullivan's butler." Azz-Azz muttered from his spot, watching the two go at it. "All that power, and he still ended up as Midoriya's familiar. He really can't help but surround himself among the strongest. Maybe that's the purpose of having friends? If that's the case, why not just call them really strong allies?"

"Hehehe, you're starting to talk funny like Izuku-kins, Azz-Azz!" She spoke up. "You really want to be his friend, don't you?!"

"Damn it, I already caught his stuttering, I do NOT need another habit." He spoke with a glare. "And no, I do not wish to be a friend. There's no point in being one, it's just an ally with extra steps. Why would someone need to form a bond that's so deep?"

"Izuku-kins is always there for me, and I never have to ask him. I do the same for him. He helps me with my bloodline and I get stronger, so now I'm helping him so he gets stronger!" She cheered. "And we make each other happy, and we can always have fun when we want to, and since we're so alike, that's all the time! We're always giving something, so there's no need to get something!" Azz-Azz looked in thought, about to say something but interrupted.

"Oh, hello there." The two demons turn to see a very large woman with long dark green hair in the shape of a ponytail. "You must be Izuku's friends." She saw Azz-Azz twitch, but said nothing.

"Hello there, whale lady." Clara spoke without thinking with a wave. In return one of the balls was thrown at her with enough force that she began to bleed. Wow, she finally got a turn! But they forgot to warn her, how was she supposed to catch a ball if they never said anything?

"Oh, I'm sorry about that, Miss Valac. My arms must've slipped." Operko did that weird in-betweeny voice they did, though they seemed mad at something. Huh, guess they were getting tired from all that throwing. "I'll continue, but there might be a few more accidents."

"Opera, you can't just hit people because of comments!" The whale lady shouted at the cannonball player. "Apologize."

"Yes, Mrs. Midoriya." Operko spoke, causing the other two to have their eyes widen before turning to the women in question. She wasn't a whale lady, she was Izuku-kin's Mommy! She had to thank this woman for doing that raptor-bug thing her mommy told her about for Izuku-kins.

"Oooh, you're Mamadoriya! Hello! I'm Clara! I'm Izuku-kins best friend in the whole world! We just love playing together for hours and hours and going 'KABLAAM' all the time while we're racing, it's just so much fun! Thank you for making him! I'm glad I'm never alone anymore!"

Mamadoriya stood there, looking at the two with wide eyes before her tears started to flood. Wow, another waterfall, that was fun! "I'm so glad my little Izuku made such great friends! Thank you for being there for him!" She shouted.

"Well, at least we can confirm genetics, the crying is definitely part of it." Azz-Azz spoke while holding up an umbrella. Ever since Izuku kept crying and Sabro Mountain used a bucket on him, he just carried it around. It was weird how often it came in handy. "I'm not certain if I can call myself his friend, but being around your son has been an..enlightening experience."

"Oh, you must be that Asmodeus boy Izuku is always talking about. He's mentioned quite a few things about you." Mamadoriya got really close to him, her face slightly getting less smiley. "..Including how you attacked him on the first day.." Huh, did cute people usually get this scary?

"Uh, I, uh, ma'am, I.." Azz-Azz started to do his best Izuku-kins impression. Pretty spot on. "I can assure you that we've cleared everything on that day, so there's no need…"

"..and how you've called him out in front of everyone over a simple speech of all things.." Her face started to frown. That felt wrong. She made Izuku-kins face! Izuku-kins face shouldn't be frowning. "..and how Izuku had to stop you from nearly hospitalizing an innocent girl."

"Ma'am, if..if there's anything I can do.." Azz-Azz's body suddenly got super stiff, his body was slightly lifted off the ground. Huh, Mamadoriya was really strong.

"..it's nice to know you two have become so close over the past few weeks!" She didn't like this. Mommies should never be this scary. "..and that you'll never, EVER, have a fight or argument like this again, right?"

Azz-Azz just nodded really fast, looking desperate to run away. Mamadoriya was terrifying, and when someone she cared about was angry, she would make sure Izuku-kins never got hurt. She idly wondered if Izuku-kins got some of that protective anger … nah, he was harmless.

"Now then, I made snacks!" Mamadoriya brought a whole tray of yummy food, letting a gasping Azz Azz go with a thud. "I would've made Izuku's favorite for lunch, but when I heard that the wonderful Clara was coming over, I had to give myself some time." She grabbed her hands, showing no signs of that scary phase. Did she just go through an evil cycle and vent it all on Azz Azz? "Thank you for being there for him. He's the happiest I've ever seen him in a long time. Would..would it be too much for me to ask for you to keep being there for him?"

"Of course not, Mamadoriya! I promise I'll be there for Izuku-kins whenever, and we can play games and have fun!" She shouted with glee.

"Now then, let's go for twenty percent of my full speed." She heard Operko speak up, along with more wheezing of balls. Izuku's screams went along wonderfully with her kraken takoyaki.

"Midoriya-sama, uh.." Azz-Azz walked up, hiding behind her. Hah, Azz Azz thought that would hide him from Mamadoriya! Mommies always find out where you are. "Uh, if it isn't too much trouble, would, would you be able to answer why Midor-Izuku..." Yeah, calling people by the same name was confusing, it's why they just stick to first names, to avoid that situation. "-is always training? He avoids flying and just walks to school, he reads and reads even though he probably knows enough. And the sheer endurance training his scars showed off needed to treat burns as if they were nothing."

That last one caused Azz-Azz to flinch, likely in fear of what Mamadoriya would do, but her eyes just went very wide. "What … What type of scars?" She asked slowly, almost scared of an answer. Izuku-kins had scars? She never saw them.

"They appeared to be combustion based, almost as if he was constantly involved in explosions. A failed experiment of some kind he kept trying to get right?"

"Bakugo.." Mamadoriya's eyes looked empty for a minute, then tearful, then full of hate as she gripped the ground, before turning away. "..I shouldn't be the one who tells you the story. Just know there's a reason why we live with Papa now, and why Clara is my baby's first friend."

Azz-Azz looked very curious, but didn't say anything else. There was something weird, he wasn't scared. He looked like she did whenever one of her toys hurt Izuku-kins badly. This needed a cheer up. She should sing them a song!

Izuku was an idiot! There were no quirks here, no matter if you couldn't pull off incredible feats on the daily with superpowers. There was magic, learnable magic. And a ranking system that was based on sheer achievements in terms of ability and academics! He could get something high enough for his dream, his ambition!

He just needed to dodge! It was easier to predict, Opera didn't have many tells, but there were the ears on their head that showed off emotion, and their index finger itches whenever they were about to throw a curveball. But he couldn't just rely on tells, each opponent would have a different one. He needed to see how they threw, how the ball moved in the air. To avoid getting hit in the head, the hand was fine, he could catch it with his hand.

Left, right, up, left, down, right, right. Every move needed to be faster than the last. But dodging wasn't enough. The last ball thrown, he needed to catch that one specifically, when Opera wouldn't be able to counterattack. Eighteen balls.

'Come on! You're known as a danger-junkie for a reason! You've been tanking attacks even before grade school.' Whenever someone attacked him, he's never had anything in the way of defense, so the only thing he could do was take it. He's written many notes about these kinds of situations; heck in fact, in the right circumstances, he could even counter one (and really, only one, which was impressive for him in any case) of Kachaan's attacks.

'Kachaan isn't here though, it's you, against a scary cat demon that's also your butler and familiar. Man, my life has really jumped the shark.' Opera was throwing a ball that would definitely hit him, which meant there was only one option.

'Plant my feet and clench my buttcheeks!' He mentally commanded his body as the ball came closer and closer. 'Hold out my hands…!'

The next thing Izuku knew, he was laying on the ground, with Opera and Clara staring down at him. "Izuku-kins, you're awake! I don't need the wake up mallet now!" She held out an over-sized hammer he hoped was made out of rubber.

"I failed, didn't I?" He grumbled. "Figures the quirkless kid can't even do that much. I should've expected.." He was bopped on the head with the mallet. "What the.." He now saw Opera-san holding the mallet. It wasn't made out of rubber. Joy.

"If you'd used that analytical mind of yours on yourself for a few seconds, you'd truly be a force to be reckoned with." Opera-san pointed to his chest. "Look at what you have in your hands."

"My..hands.." His arms were tucked inwardly on his chest, almost as if he were.. "I..caught it?"

Opera nodded a little. They never changed their expression for anything, but he noticed a slight twitching in the horn/ears (he should probably ask them what they actually were). "I was afraid this would've taken longer, but it seems you've already had the most vital lesson down. When faced with a scary situation, turn that fear into excitement."

"I … caught it." Izuku said the words again, almost testing them to see if they sounded real. "I caught it." He let out a wide smile. "I caught the ball!" He shouted loudly.

"Go go, Izuku-kins!" Clara shouted loudly. "Now it's my turn! I'll get my super kicker ball launcher and you try to catch them all!" She brought out the equivalent of a Gatling gun for soccer balls out of her pockets. She was getting more imaginative with her magic, he had to admit. If only it wasn't actively contributing to his death.

"I-I think we've had enough training already for the moment." He calmed her down. All that racing he's done with her has actually helped in the dodging department, though he doubted he'd ever keep up with her. "What about you Asmodeus-san? Are you.." Asmodeus had been weirdly quiet for a while, almost like he avoided saying anything. "Asmodeus-san?"

"Midoriya, now that you're finally free, I have a question to ask." Asmodeus started, the curious look he's had ever since their first meeting seemed as strong as it was then. "What exactly is your ambition?"

Oh right, he hasn't told them. Well, it's not like they were gonna knock him down and say 'you can't do it', they're friends … he hoped. "I want to be a Hero."

"..That's it?" Asmodeus asked, looking even more confused, and maybe even a bit pissed off. "You've started a riot on the first day, befriended lunatics, and nearly got yourself killed on multiple occasions all for the sake of being a famous hero? You really are just an adrenaline high gloryhound."

Izuku blinked in confusion. The way that was worded … "I don't have to be famous or worry about myself, I just want to be a hero that saves people."

"That's even more confusing!" Asmodeus yelled, enraged by this point. "What's the point of all this altruism if you get nothing in return, no, what's the point of it all if you just end up hurting yourself?! It's clear that you try to avoid causing a ruckus, but every time something pops up, you throw yourself out there like it's nothing!"

"Because people keep getting in danger." Izuku frowned, now feeling something he hadn't felt in a long while, frustrated. "I'd never be able to live with myself if I knew I could have helped someone survive or get better with my help, and didn't."

"But why?! You could rule the school so easily with everything you achieved so far! Why waste your life for someone else?!"

"It's better my life than someone else's!" He yelled back, truly, truly angry with some for the first time since he's arrived in this world. Huh, it almost felt like he was yelling at Kachaan for a minute here. "Do you know what it's like for everyone around you to constantly keep telling you that your life has no meaning? That there's nothing you can do to make it matter? That you'll never be anything more than a powerless Deku that'll only get in the way of everyone else!? If I can help at least one, just one person, or even just put a simple smile on their face, then I'll know that I matter to someone, that I helped make someone else's life just a little bit better!"

Izuku panted heavily, finishing his rant, feeling years of stress released. His eyes were clearer now, seeing the shocked face of Asmodeus, and Clara's eyes looking watery. Shit, he let out too much. "I'm … I'm going to rest now." He needed to get out of here, he couldn't deal with the confrontation. He needed to leave.

"You matter to me." He heard Clara say. "You matter a lot, Izuku-kins." Izuku felt more tears well up inside of his body. He couldn't cry here though.

"Thank you Clara." And with that he left them, tomorrow was the day after all, he needed to be one hundred percent ready for the execution cannonball. Ranking up was the only path he had to become a hero … and he would run down it with all his might.