The First Pillar

by Soleneus

Useless. That's what they call him. Izuku and his Useless Quirk. Anyone can throw pebbles, how is that Heroic? But all it takes to shake the world is the right pebble in the right place at the right time. Crossposted on AO3. Fem. Bakugou.

10. Monument?

What is the difference between a Monument and a Pillar? A Monument stands before the sun, casting a wide shadow behind it. It says kindly, 'Come, rest behind me. Enjoy the shade and the breeze, and be at ease.' But it cannot be touched, lest the facade be marred forever.

…

"1.21 kilometers," Aizawa repeated dryly, eyes sweeping over the gathered students, pausing on the one who'd made the throw. "Do you think, rationally, that any of you could make that throw…without your Quirk?" He shook his head. "No. Instead of wasting time with orientation, I will instead use this morning to run you through the standard eight physical tests: 50 Meter Dash, Grip Strength, Standing Long Jump, Repeated Side Steps, Ball Throw, Sit-Ups, Seated Toe Touch and an Endurance Run. You will all be using your Quirks to find your maximum."

"We get to use our Quirks as much as we want?!" Denki shouted happily, turning to Mina and throwing up a hand. "This is gonna be awesome!"

She high-fived it with a grin. "Hell yeah, this'll be fun!"

Izuku winced at the thunderous look that crossed Aizawa's face. "'Awesome?'" he growled, black hair nearly standing on end, "'Fun?' You think you're here, at Yuuei, for fun? How irrational…" He sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose before leveling an ice-cold glare at the students. "Very well, how's this for fun: The student who comes in last place overall will be judged as having zero potential as a Hero…and will thus be expelled immediately."

"Wa-wait a minute!" Toru called shrilly, visibly trembling as she waved her arms, "You c-can't just do that!"

"Can't I?" The thin man asked softly, black eyes boring into where Toru's might be. "Yuuei is well-known for allowing its teachers to teach how they want. If I judge this entire class to be worthless as Heroes…then I'll expel all of you. And it won't bother me at all. Why would it?" His eyes flashed dangerously. "I've done it before. So. Prove to me that you deserve to be here."

Bakugou's fists clenched, teeth grit. I haven't come this far just to let some power-tripping asshole fuckin' kick me out before I…! Her eyes darted over to Izuku, who had drawn himself up, determination burning in his eyes. …Before I do what I need to.

Izuku felt a hand grasp his and glanced down to find that Toru had latched onto him, and he could feel her trembling resonate up his arm. He gave her a comforting squeeze, rubbing his thumb over her knuckles. "You'll be fine, Toru-chan," he murmured, "Don't worry. You deserve to be here."

He felt her nod and draw a bracing breath.

Aizawa nonchalantly snapped his fingers and a robot with a camera for a head hopped up and scuttled down a length of the track "We will begin with the 50 Meter Dash, in pairs and in order. Aoyama and Ashido, to the line."

Mina stood at the line, shaking her legs out with a determined glare, while Yuga adjusted the belt around his stomach and flipped his hair.

"Ready, set…" The robot announced in a rather high-pitched voice. Then the sound of a pistol shot issued from it.

Mina dashed forward, hands whipping out to spray viscous but non-corrosive acid that she jumped atop, skating above the ground. Yuga turned around, hopped and fired a massive blue laser beam from his stomach, propelling him towards the line. Despite the impressiveness of such a move, he faltered halfway through and hit the ground rolling, jumping back up and firing his laser again. The pink-skinned girl crossed the line first, obviously. "4.63 seconds," the robot announced, then again as Yuga followed. "5.51 seconds."

"Asui, Iida."

Iida rolled up his pant legs, clearing the exhaust pipes on his calves before adjusting his glasses. Tsuyu glanced down at his legs and shook her head, crouching.

"Ready, set…"

There was a muffled roar and a plume of smoke erupted from Iida's engines, bolting down the track so fast he was a blur. Tsuyu leaped like a frog, powerful thighs coiling and uncoiling as she bounded down the track. She was fast, but not as fast as Iida. "3.04 seconds," the robot announced. A few seconds later… "5.58 seconds."

Izuku held out a hand as the two returned and Ochako and Ojiro were called up. "Looks like you're the time to beat, Iida-kun," he congratulated, patting the speedster on the shoulder.

"Thank you, Midoriya-kun. I only wish that I'd had the chance to go past third gear." Iida nodded, smoothing his hair back into place, "Alas, I am not quick enough yet."

"You'll get there," the green-haired teen assured, watching as Ochako ran her heart out and Ojiro launched himself forward with his tail. "Be warned, though, I am gonna want to discuss your Quirk in-depth, Iida-kun."

"I shall endeavor to inform you of the Iida family's grand history, Midoriya-kun," the speedster noted with a proud smile.

"5.49 seconds," the robot announced as Ojiro crossed the line. "7.15 seconds," came a few seconds later as Ochako slowed to a stop, breathing hard.

Izuku pulled the black notebook Himiko had given him and clicked a pen, opening to a blank page, quickly writing down the names and Quirks of his classmates, the ones he knew, anyhow. There was no better way to get data than by observing, after all.

The next few dashes weren't the most impressive, mostly displays of athleticism. Neither Denki nor Eiri's Quirk was particularly suited for speed, and it became clear that the red-haired, muscular girl had paid attention to more than just her weights. Koda and Sato were much the same. Shouji and Kyouka was at least visually interesting, given the disparity in size between the two. The girl with the ear jacks was smaller and lighter, but the multi-armed boy built momentum quickly and overtook her at the end. Sero and Tokoyami was also not much to watch.

Through it all, Izuku made notes and carefully observed every student. "Tsuyu-chan," he muttered to the frog girl, who looked up at him with her wide, dark eyes. "You mentioned your Quirk gave you frog-like capabilities, yes? Does that include a lengthy tongue?" Some frogs had tongues twice the length of their bodies, after all.

She slowly arched an eyebrow. "Rather suspect wording, there."

Iida adjusted his glasses. "Midoriya-kun, now is not the time to proposition our classmates," he warned with an arm chop.

Without looking, Izuku reached over and lightly flicked Iida's ear. "I'm asking about your Quirk," he clarified as the speedster recoiled, rubbing the side of his head.

"I can extend it about twenty meters, ribbit," she explained, letting her tongue hang from her mouth and curling it into shapes. "It has the tensile strength like steel cable, and I've been able to pick up people with it."

He nodded and made a note in his book. "Is it strong enough to pick yourself up?" He asked, peering at her thoughtfully.

Tsuyu put a finger to her chin in thought. "What, you mean like reeling myself in, ribbit? Like a…" She looked at her tongue, eyes narrowed. "Like a grappling hook?"

"Exactly," Izuku turned to the track as Shimo and Toru were called up, "Fifty Meters. You said your tongue extends twenty, so imagine firing…your…tongue," he shrugged. What a weird sentence. "Twenty meters, then reeled in at speed, you would have more momentum compared to your dash. And if you were quick enough, doing it twice in short succession would cover forty meters, leaving only ten to run."

She hummed thoughtfully. "I would have to practice, but yes, I think that would be faster, ribbit." Tsuyu's gaze bored into his eyes. "You think about Quirks a lot, don't you?"

"Always have," he nodded, looking up as the next dash started.

Shimo put her foot down and ice erupted from the contact, rapidly spreading across the track before she stepped forward and pushed off, bent over and gracefully but speedily skating down the track.

"Woah…what a Quirk," Eiri muttered loud enough for the class to hear.

Izuku glanced over at Mina, having guessed that the acid-spewing girl would have something to say based on the similarities between her idea and Shimo's, and he was right. She'd bitten her lip, torn between looking impressed and annoyed. "…That bitch stole my whole flow!" She complained, half-jokingly.

"4.52 seconds," the robot announced as Shimo slid to a stop. Then, "7.23 seconds." Was Toru's time.

Aizawa's gaze flashed over the class. "Bakugou, Midoriya."

Closing his notebook and storing it in his jacket, Izuku stepped away from the other students with the ash-blonde girl in step. "Hope your new fuckin' pals are ready to see you eat dust, Deku," Katsuki muttered under her breath, shooting him a glare from the side of her eye. "How slow are you gonna clomp around in that bulky armor of yours, huh bitch?"

Gazing at her, Izuku was tempted to just ignore her as he'd done for the past eight years. But at Yuuei, with friends and fellow students watching, and the added pressure to succeed in these series of tests…he felt the fires of competition burn in his chest. Lips curling in a challenging smirk, he pulled on the rock in his field, veins of sand racing down and around his body into the form of his upgraded Second Layer. "Let me show you," he murmured, her head whipping around at the sound of his voice, which was akin to a landslide speaking.

As they approached the starting line, Aizawa narrowed his eyes on the armor-clad teen. And again, that's not the armor from the Entrance Exam. It was a rather intimidating design, actually, resembling exposed musculature clinging to bone, but obviously sleek and with the sand-brown coloring and simple helmet, not as graphic as it could be. That's enough. Aizawa tilted his head down and his eyes glowed red.

They had just knelt down when suddenly Izuku hit the ground with a loud crack, lying face down. Katsuki looked over, confused as he lethargically rolled over with a loud grinding noise, a muffled cry coming from inside. Then she heard footsteps and there Aizawa was, black hair floating up, eyes a burning red. "Being so irrational…it really vexes me, Midoriya," he intoned with a slow, crawling drawl. "Do you think, perhaps, that by holding back you're doing everyone else a favor? That by sparing their delicate feelings, you're doing them a kindness? That kind of sacrificial mentality…it angers me."

Katsuki looked down at the struggling figure, mind racing. Deku, holding back? Would he…? She took in the rock armor he was covered with. He's been holding this back for years.

"Do you have nothing to say?" Aizawa asked, eyes narrowing.

The muffled noise had petered out but Izuku had started clawing at his face, stone scraping against stone weakly before his fingers dug in and rock cracked. The front of his helmet gave and it broke apart as he hurled it away, face blue underneath. He sucked in deep breaths, the color coming back to his skin, eyes fluttering closed as he stilled. His breathing evened out, and his eyes snapped open. "Eraser Head," he muttered, face filled with recognition.

Then it twisted into fury.

"What the fuck was that?!" He shouted, throwing himself to his feet with a grinding of rock, teeth bared in a snarl, eyes nearly alight with anger. "You erased my Quirk while I was using it?! I almost suffocated!"

"You were-"

"What the fuck is wrong with you?!" Izuku thundered, most of the gathered students gawping at the display; even Katsuki took a step back. Aizawa glared. It did not intimidate Izuku. He was too angry. "What is your goddamn problem, Eraser Head?!" Izuku spat the name like it was an invective, "If you have an issue with me, say it like a rational fucking adult!"

By the way his brows furrowed, Aizawa did not appreciate being shouted at. "You are holding back, Midoriya," he stated, eyes burning. "That armor is not the same as the one you used to destroy the Zero Pointer. Do not disrespect me, the other students and yourself by keeping yourself from using your full power. It is the height of irrationality."

Izuku stared at him, with such an incredulous and furious look that in any other situation, it might've been funny. At the mention of his armor, he looked down at his body then squinted at the underground Pro Hero. "What?!" He cried, throwing up his hands, "Holding myself- my armor-you-!" He reached up and tore the rest of his rock helmet away with a shout of anger. "Of course this armor is different! The one I used before was designed to maximize strength and durability…at the cost of speed! This armor-!" He pounded his chest with a crack of rock, "Is designed for maximum speed! Which you would've seen if you hadn't Erased IT!"

As his scream echoed and faded, the raw anger nearly bleeding into the sky, the two stared each other down. Izuku's face had gone red, sweat dripping down his forehead as his emerald eyes nearly glowed. Aizawa, for his part, seemed unruffled if not for the scowl and floating hair. Then he blinked, the redness fading from his eyes. "I see," was all he said.

Izuku huffed, his armor rippling and distorting disturbingly. "So, if you're done thinking you know my own Quirk better than me, would you kindly fuck. Off?" With that said, he turned on his heel towards the starting line, done with the conversation.

"Very well, continue your test," Aizawa muttered and strode off, though not without a sharp glare. "We'll speak later."

As they took their positions again, Bakugou gave the armor-clad teen a strange look. There was this strange feeling, somewhere in her chest that was pleasantly warm. Thinking about it made her feel weird and her palms sweaty, which was a good thing. She glanced at him again, noting the shivering and rippling of his stone armor; given the faux-muscular look, it was more than a little creepy. And were those flickers of green?

"Ready, set…" The shot rang out. She threw her hands back, explosions ripping from her palms, rocketing her forward. Her feet hit the ground and she skipped, firing again. And then, on her left, a figure sped by, arms and legs a blur. It may have been the high speeds or the air-rattling detonations, but she could've sworn that every footfall warped the ground.

Izuku's anger had barely cooled as he started down the track. He could feel One For All's energy racing through his veins, burning inside of his heart. Remember, speed, he thought, his fingers twitching. Armor skin shifted to lessen air resistance. Field at the bottom of my feet is tuned to reduce friction. He heard the robot fire off its starting pistol and pushed off as energy roared through his muscles, the track ahead seeming to narrow as he shot off. He could hear Katsuki's explosions ring out beside him, but he paid no attention to them, only leaning forward as his feet hit the ground.

And then it was over.

"3.23 seconds," the robot announced as he skidded to a stop, feeling unsatisfied. The energy pulsing through his veins hadn't been fully expended, and it left him agitated. "4.13 seconds," he heard as Katsuki crossed the line, anger plain on her face.

"Mineta, Yaoyorozu," Aizawa called flatly, dark eyes watching Izuku and Katsuki step off of the track.

Izuku stood apart from the group, just barely refraining from pacing, fists clenching and unclenching. Closing his eyes, he took a deep breath and tried to center himself, trying to tamp down on the potent mix of fear and anger boiling inside of him. The darkness behind his eyelids didn't help, though, as all it did was bring to mind the sudden shutdown of his Quirk, the weight surrounding him, the light and air disappearing.

"Deki?"

He glanced over and found Ochako standing next to him, her face downcast and worried. A step behind her was Iida, looking like he was barely holding himself back from either having a seizure or shouting at someone. And further behind them, half of the class seemed torn between looking at them or watching the race.

Not that it was much of one. Momo was a fairly tall, athletic girl who kicked off her shoes and Created a pair of skates. Mineta was less than four feet tall.

"Yeah?" Izuku asked shortly, sighing.

"A-are you okay? That was kinda…out of character, for you," she pointed out gently, before shrugging, "I mean, it was kinda cool seeing you shout at the teacher after he told us he'd expel one of us, but, uh…you sounded kinda rough."

"Do you know who Eraser Head is?" he asked in reply, nodding towards the teacher. "An Underground Pro Hero, known for his Quirk, which erases other Quirks. He erased my Quirk while I was in my armor…my Second Layer, designed to maximize speed. It weighs over three hundred pounds."

Ochako winced and grabbed his hand. "That must've hurt." The pads on her fingers were textured differently from the rest of her skin. They felt nice rubbing his knuckles.

"Physically?" he shrugged almost carelessly, then looked up at the sky, his eyes losing some of their sparkle. "…Imagine you have a favorite blanket. You've had it since you can remember. You know every part of that blanket; how it smells, how it seems to wrap around you like a hug from your parents. Even with the mere thought of it, you can feel its softness on your fingers. Then, one night, just as you're about to fall asleep, it comes to life and tries to strangle you. You fight and struggle and nearly black out before tearing it away, only to find out someone else had been using it to hurt you. Even if you know it wasn't the blanket that tried to murder you…you just can't quite trust it anymore."

"The 50 Meter Dash has been completed," Aizawa announced, "Grip Strength is next. Into the gym."

The class followed after him, a tense silence hanging over them like a storm cloud. It was especially hard on Mineta and Toru, who'd gotten the worst times.

"Midoriya-kun, are you going to be alright?" Iida asked softly, "If you wish to lodge a complaint against Aizawa-sensei, I don't think many would blame you."

"No," Izuku shook his head, bringing up his hand, sand swirling in his palm. "I'm tempted, but no. Fear is only fuel, and the fear of death is the most potent. I'll use it to shove his words back in his face."

Ochako shrugged, still holding his hand. "I think you mighta done that with your time in the Dash. Only Iida-kun was faster than you."

He nodded, eyes taking in the rather plain gym and a table covered in devices. "It's a start. Though…" Izuku shook his head and sighed. "I just know I'm going to have nightmares about it…"

With that, the devices were handed out to the class. Simple in form if not in function, there was a screen and a bar that would fit a very large hand; they were to grip it as hard as they could with their Quirks.

There were only a few of the grip-measuring devices, though, so the students gathered into little groups, watching each other measure their strength before passing it around. To be honest, most of their scores weren't all that impressive. Shouji set the high mark by duplicating his hand twice, though Sero wrapping his tape around the handle and pulling was pretty smart, as was Momo Creating a vice. Sato and Koda, being muscular lads, also scored rather well.

"Damn," Ochako muttered, grimacing at her score before passing the device on to Eiri. "Here, Eiri-chan, your turn. Maybe I should find one of those grip things and find some time to uh, heh, squeeze in some workouts." She stuck her tongue at Mina as she booed.

"I find doing homework is a good time to do so," Izuku commented, idly stretching his fingers as he watched and waited for his turn. "Studying and working out combined are a good way to save time and to sharpen your focus."

Eiri's hand and arm Hardened, her teeth grit as she squeezed the grip, her knuckles cracking from the effort. The device beeped and the screen read '121.07 kg.' "Alright, look at my score! Manly!" It was, in fact, the third highest score. Nowhere near Shouji's 540 kg, or Momo's vice-powered 478 kg, but higher than everyone else.

"Whoa! Nice one, Eirishima!" Mina cheered and gave her friend a high five as some of the other students clapped and threw their own comments in. "Alright, my turn!" She grabbed the device and started squeezing, tongue poking out of her mouth, eyes narrowed in concentration. It beeped. 45.03 kg. "…Ah crap," she muttered, rubbing her neck. It was only one point above Ochako's score. "How the hell am I supposed to use acid to make my grip strength better?"

"How am I supposed to use Zero Gravity to grip harder?" Ochako shrugged as the pink-skinned girl passed the device to Izuku. "Some of these tests really don't need us to use our Quirks…"

Mina shook her head, fluffy pink hair rustling as she grinned. "Ah well, you know most guys prefer girls with softer grips, you know?" She chuckled as the gravity girl and Eiri blushed. "But girls like guys with some finger strength, if you get what I'm…sayin'..." She squinted. "Uh, Midori? What's up with your hands?"

Izuku glanced at her then at his hands. His calloused, scarred, white-nailed hand. "What about them?"

Ochako had noticed his hand had felt rough when she grabbed it earlier, but she'd thought it was because of his armor. "Deki…how'd you get 'em like that?" She looked at her own hands; while not manicured, the nails were trimmed and the cuticles neat.

"I punch trees." He shrugged, before pausing. "No, wait. I used to punch trees. They kept breaking, though, so I started using rock pillars."

The girls traded looks, silently communicating with their faces.

Izuku gripped the device, rock armor forming around his limb before he squeezed, the number climbing up. Good to know, he thought, before using the rock around the grip to create a cylinder. Then, with a slight furrowing of his brow, he closed the cylinder.

The sudden shrieking of metal drew the eye of everyone in the room, every head turning to the source of the noise. They saw him focusing on the device, then the numbers blurring as they shot up and up until they were maxed out, the last decimal flickering between '999.99 kg' and '999.98 kg.' Izuku noticed them staring and held it out so they could see the screen clearly. His eyes flickered over to Aizawa, who blinked.

Katsuki, who had been watching, had a vein bulging in her forehead as unconsciously squeezed the crap out of the device in her hands; so hard she sparked her Quirk. A muffled boom later and it was on the floor in pieces.

"That's a zero," the teacher called blandly.

"FUCK!"

The worst part was that, since her score was a zero, it put her directly below Mineta and Toru, who'd both had a poor showing once again.

"Next, the Standing Long Jump."

The next test was pretty unimpressive. The Highlights: Yuga using his navel laser to propel himself clear over the sandbox, without falling halfway that time. Mina nearly cleared it with pure athleticism alone. Tsuyu did it with ease. Tenya did well, but lamented the lack of a run-up. Ochako used her Quirk on herself at the moment of her jump, floating through the air rather gracefully, even though she was completely green and dizzy by the time she reached the other side. Ojiro launched himself with his tail and cleared it with no problem. Denki got a little more than halfway. Eiri did, in fact, clear the sandbox with athleticism alone. Koda made it more than halfway, as did Sato. Shouji duplicated his arms and used them to throw himself over the pit. Kyouka made it less than halfway. Sero made it more than halfway, getting a bit more distance by shooting tape from his elbows at the height of his jump, pulling himself farther along. Tokoyami; more than halfway, but barely.

Shimo definitely had the most interesting method; she sent ice spreading across the ground, over to the other side of the sandbox that formed into a ramp. Then, a miniature glacier burst into existence beneath her feet, sending her flying into the air; only for her to land on the ramp and slide safely down. Toru made it halfway. Bakugou launched herself into the air with explosions from her hands, then used another to easily clear the sandbox. Izuku formed his Second Layer and jumped, the ground cracking underneath his feet as he landed on the other side. Unfortunately for Mineta, he was still less than four feet tall. Momo, for her part, opened her shirt and Created a springboard that she bounced off, hitting the other side of the sandbox in a roll.

Things were not looking good for Mineta.

But they definitely got better when the next test was Repeated Side Steps; he placed two clumps of his head balls on either side of the lines they were stepping over, easily racking up nearly a hundred back and forth in the time limit. His only real competition in that sector was Bakugou, who repeatedly blasted herself back and forth; Mina, who made a slippery trail of acid and slid on it; Iida, who was just that fast; Ojiro, springing off of his tail; Shouji, who was just that tall; Kyouka anchored herself with her jacks on either side, pulling herself back and forth, though she was rubbing her ears afterwards; Sero, who copied her idea with his tape; and Shimo, who once again stole Mina's whole flow with ice; and Izuku, who used his field to reduce the friction under his feet.

Things were now looking very bad for Toru, and they did not get better with the next test, the Ball Throw.

"Watch me sparkle!" Yuga announced as he wound up then let the ball fly. As it started to arc down, he thrust his hips and fired his laser, the beam glancing off of the ball and sending it back up. He hit it once more, adding more range, but he missed a third time. "Honhon, see?! Such a strong, beautiful Quirk!"

"328 meters," Aizawa announced.

Tsuyu came next, and had her own way of throwing the ball. She clutched the ball with the end of her tongue, then swung it around her head and released it with a snap.

"253 meters."

Iida stepped up with the ball in hand, brows furrowed in consternation. He lifted a foot and made to step back.

"Stay in the circle or get zero." Aizawa's voice warned, the man himself not even looking up from his tablet.

The speedster grunted, eyes tracing out the circle he stood in. It definitely wasn't large enough for him to run around in. "Hmm…I should try spinning, that's a good trick," he muttered loud enough for his voice to carry. Contorting his legs, his engines spit smoke before he started to spin in a tight circle, moving so fast with his arm out it seemed like he might lift off. Then he threw the ball.

"567 meters."

"Excellent," Iida muttered, chopping a hand into his palm triumphantly, lifting a foot before instantly falling onto his back with a groan. "I don't feel so good…"

Izuku shook his head and jogged up the downed speedster, grabbing him by the arm and hauling him up. "Come on, Iida-kun this is no time to be laying around," he chided jokingly, guiding him back to the sidelines.

"Ah, Midoriya-kun, I appreciate your assistance, but it is unneeded." He blinked hard then squinted at the other students. "…Ah. Our class seems to have forty students in it. I see your point."

With the speedster out of the way, it was Ochako's turn. Her solution was as simple as it was elegant. All she did was use her Quirk to remove the gravity from the ball, then lightly toss it up. It then proceeded to float upwards until it was a speck and then, completely gone.

They looked at Aizawa. "Infinity," he shrugged.

Ochako let out a cheer before skipping back to the class, trading high-fives with Eiri, Mina and Izuku while Iida merely saluted respectfully.

Like most of the test, Ojiro used his tail, tossing the ball up before slapping it down the range.

"404 meters."

Denki's Quirk was not at all suited to throwing balls.

"32 meters."

Eiri Hardened her entire body as she drew her arm back, her fingers digging into the metal surface of the ball before she hurled it with a roar.

"69 meters."

"Nice!" Mina cheered, making the muscular girl slap a hand to her face.

"Nice!" Denki echoed, clapping.

"Nice!" Sero called with a grin.

"Nice!" Sato laughed.

"Nice!" Toru giggled.

Mineta also giggled.

"Enough!" Aizawa glared, eyes flaring, hair spiking. "Koda."

As Eiri returned to the sidelines, standing next to Izuku with embarrassment on her face, he leaned over and whispered, "Nice," grinning as she face palmed then punched him on the arm.

"46 meters."

They'd been so busy teasing her they'd missed Koda's throw.

Sato stepped up and threw.

"502 meters."

Next was Shouji.

"568 meters."

Kyouka stepped up, lips already set in a frown, and didn't use her Quirk at all.

"30 meters."

Sero was next, attaching the ball to the end of the tape coming from his elbow and slinging it down.

"100 meters."

When Tokoyami stepped up to the circle, ball in hand, he proceeded to drop it onto his shadow, which writhed and billowed outward in the shape of a bird made of pure darkness with glowing yellow eyes. "Dark Shadow, throw it," he stated simply. With a barked "Aiyo!" the big shadow bird wound up and threw it.

"257 meters."

Then it was Shimo's turn and Izuku was not afraid to admit that he was interested to see how the dual-colored girl would use her Quirk for that test. She didn't disappoint, tossing the ball up and stomping her foot, a massive pillar of ice erupting forth to carry it into the air.

"602 meters."

"She's very creative with her usage of her Quirk," Izuku muttered, taking notes in his notebook.

"Indeed," Iida nodded, adjusting his glasses. "Her ability with ice is most impressive."

It was then Toru's turn. The ball shook in her invisible hand as she cocked her arm back and threw it with a desperate shout.

"50 meters."

Toru slumped in relief and stumbled out of the circle, stopping next to Izuku and leaning her head against his shoulder. A little surprised, he rubbed her back comfortingly.

Katsuki stepped up with a furrowed brow, tucking the ball under her arm as she rubbed her hands together. She cupped her palms with the ball between them and pulled her arms back to her side like an ancient anime character. And much like said character, her hands began to glow and crackle. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Izuku's eyebrows perk in surprise. That's right, fuckin' Deku, you aren't the only one with some secrets! WITNESS ME! "DIIIIIIIEEEEEEEEEE!" She roared at the top of lungs, the air darkening as explosive power burst to life in her hands.

A cloud of smoke covered her, the smoking sphere of the ball sailing into the distance. "1 kilometer," Aizawa announced.

Bakugou, with her head thrown back proudly, strode back over to the group of students. "Yo man, that was manly!" Eiri threw her hand up. "High five!"

She was once again ignored as Katsuki glared at Izuku, the message clear in her eyes. I'll catch up to you real quick, Deku.

"Not as manly as Izuku, though," Mina pointed out, relishing in the ruby-eyed glare she was sent. "And definitely not as manly as Urara-chan!" Ochako blushed as the horned-girl threw an arm around her shoulders.

Since Izuku had been the one to start it off, it was then Mineta's turn. He was very aware he wasn't suited for the task at hand.

"25 meters."

And then, finally, it was Momo's turn. She stood in the circle, eyeing the ball critically before unzipping her jacket and pulling her shirt up to reveal her stomach. In a flash of blue and pink, a large iron cannon was sitting next to her, which she adjusted to aim higher before loading the ball inside. She covered her ears and fired the ball in a plume of smoke.

"2.89 kilometers," Aizawa announced, though if he was as impressed as the rest of the class, he didn't show it. "Next test: Sit Ups. Back to the gym."

"Man, Yaomomo, you got the second highest distance!" Mina cheered, Eiri chiming in with an enthusiastic 'Manly!' "But I'm gonna be honest, I'm not gonna count it 'cause your Quirk is B.S."

Momo frowned slightly, tilting her head. "Oh, my apologies," she murmured, tapping her chin in thought.

"Oh I don't mean it like that Yaomomo," the horned girl commented, nudging her playfully, "There really isn't anything you can't do with your Quirk, is there?"

"There are plenty of things I cannot Create, Mina-san," Momo shook her head humbly, "Though I endeavor to cover my weakness, there are many I simply couldn't handle."

Behind them, Izuku ducked and stuck his arm into the barrel of the cannon, feeling around. Nodding to himself, he scribbled something into his notebook and followed after the class.

The setup for the Sit-Up test was simple. The class was split in half and paired off. Half would lie down while the other half would hold their feet so they could do their sit-ups while they counted how many they could do in a minute. Then they would switch.

And, well…they did sit-ups. And there was only one person in the entire class who had a Quirk that would allow them to do sit-ups easier; Izuku.

Who didn't need help.

Smoothly and quickly sitting up and laying down, Izuku wore an incredibly bored expression as Ochako, who was holding his legs, stared at him, open-mouthed and pink-cheeked.

"Number?" Aizawa asked boredly.

The gravity girl blinked and looked up at the teacher, thinking. "Oh, uh…one hundred and twenty?" Denki and Eiri, to their left, had their eyebrows nearly lifting off from their foreheads. Yuga and Iida, to their right, wore similar expressions.

"Are you asking or reporting?" Eraser Head questioned.

"One hundred and twenty," Ochako repeated firmly.

"Switch."

Izuku had the audacity to sigh loudly as he switched places, muttering to himself, "Not even a light workout…" He held Ochako's feet and gave her an encouraging smile. "Come on, Ochako-chan, reach deep and focus on your breathing."

By the end, his score was the highest, the second being Bakugou with ninety-nine sit-ups and Eiri with ninety-eight.

"Seated Toe-Touch."

Another test where Quirks didn't matter.

"You think this might be a bit unfair for the boys?" Mina asked, casually pushing the measuring stick out beyond her feet, looking over to the side where Shimo was much the same. Eiri though, was having a bit of trouble, straining to get her fingers beyond her toes. "And Eirishima, to. Being manly has its drawbacks, don't it?"

"I'll say," Izuku agreed, "You should see how flexible Himiko is. I think if she didn't want to be a Hero, she could easily be an acrobat or a ballerina."

The horned-girl couldn't help but be surprised at the sight of him with his chest touching the ground, the boy nearly folded in half.

He caught her eye and shrugged. "Flexibility is important to a Hero," he said simply, tapping his fingers on the floor. "Himiko and I do yoga."

Mina blinked, images rushing through her mind. Himi-chan in yoga pants…Midori in yoga pants…all sweaty and contorted…She licked her lips subtly. "You know, I've always wanted to get into that kinda stuff, and Eiri needs it, so…next time you guys are doing it, can we come with?"

Izuku gave her a bright smile. "Sure! We'd love to have a couple more people workout with us. We could even do some of the partner poses!"

"Promises, promises," she murmured, face hot.

"Finally," Aizawa announced after they were allowed to get a drink, leading them back out onto the track. "The Endurance Run. Run around this track for however long you can last using your Quirks and your physical capabilities. Begin."

The sound of so many footfalls could've been mistaken for weak rolling thunder as the group of twenty trundled around the track. They traded light conversation as they went, but before too long the beating sun, the heat rolling off of the concrete buffeted only by the occasional breeze, and the physical toll began to show. Kyouka was the first to drop off, nearly tripping over her feet before shuffling off of the track, panting. Denki was next, his spiky blonde hair sticking to his skull.

Mineta was the next to fall, but to his credit he crawled on his hands and knees before having to be carried away. Then Toru tripped and fell, nearly taking out Ojiro if he hadn't hopped over her. A bit later, Sero called it quits.

The sun crawled high into the sky, and more dropped out. First Koda fell out, then Tokoyami, swiftly followed by Yuga and then, minutes later, Ochako. Then, Sato and eventually Shouji. Some time later, Ojiro stumbled off, panting hard and tail limp.

Those who were left had their methods of getting around: Tsuyu would drop to all fours and hop. Shimo had created a track of ice that she skated on top of; ironically enough, Mina had jumped on behind her to steal her flow back. Iida was a speedster from a family of speedsters. Momo had once again opened her jacket, this time to create a solar-powered scooter that she'd been riding on the whole run.

Katsuki had lung capacity, as well as a very demanding runner of a mother.

And then there was Izuku. He ran alongside Momo's scooter with a peaceful smile and despite a few beads of sweat, looked fresh as a daisy. "Excuse me, Momo-san, I hope it isn't too presumptive of me to offer some criticism of your Quirk usage," he said casually.

"Of course not, Izuku-san, I would welcome any advice," she nodded, still retaining her poise and posture even while riding a scooter. "And if you would not mind, I would like to ask you some questions as well."

"A discourse, of course," he agreed with a smile, and they shared a chuckle as he retrieved his notebook. "So, I noticed that the cannon you Created for the Ball Throw was a smoothbore, Momo-san. Though your, well, throw had the second longest distance, if the barrel of the cannon had been rifled it would've increased the distance by a magnitude. And even more so if said cannon was magnetically rail-accelerated."

Momo tapped her chin, eyes narrowing. "Ah, yes, the spin would've increased the velocity. My thanks, Izuku-san, for bringing that to my attention. Now, a question from me."

"Go ahead." Behind them, Tsuyu finally gave in and slowed to a stop, doubled over and panting.

She looked him over, noticing both the seeming lack of effort and the absence of any armor upon his person. "Why aren't you using your Quirk? Or, are you using it in a subtle way?"

Izuku blinked at her, confusion writ plain on his features. "My Quirk? What do you…" His eyes widened in realization. "Oh. Oh, right, I forgot. I just started running and fell into my usual routine." Shaking his head, tendrils of liquid rock snaked from under his gym uniform and wrapped around his limbs, cushioning the joints and supporting his spine, but nothing more.

Momo noted the absence of weight upon his person and the way he almost seemed to bounce with every step. "Again, Izuku-san, may I ask what you mean by your 'usual routine?' Would I be correct to assume that you mean your training regimen?"

Iida, hair plastered to his forehead with sweat and glasses slightly askew, jogged up beside them. "I, too, would like to know, Midoriya-kun," he wiped his forehead, arms and legs pumping steadily. "I cannot help but feel that the pride of the Iida family may be threatened."

Izuku's smile had grown to blinding proportions and without a word he suddenly took off in a sprint, metaphorically leaving them in the dust as he raced around the track, waving brightly to Mina and Shimo as he passed them and playfully sticking his tongue out at Bakugou, who had resorted to skipping and firing miniature explosions from her hands. He caught back up with Iida and Momo before they'd done half a lap.

"Sorry to ignore you like that," he commented, besides a bit more sweat and breathing a little harder, he looked about as casual as he had before. "You asked me about my training regimen, right? The very beginning would be the weights I wear, all day everyday except for Sunday, as those are rest days." Izuku unzipped his jacket and pulled the tank top he wore underneath up, showing them the bands of opaque glass wrapped around his abdomen. "I'm up to 75 kilograms, now."

"...Excuse me if I'm missing something, Midoriya-kun," Iida started, his face beginning to turn red from exertion. "But isn't your Quirk controlling rocks?"

"It's called Rock Field. I have absolute control of all rocks and minerals within a two-inch telekinetic field around my body," he explained, holding out an arm to show them the rock armor wrapped around the limb, pieces separating, floating around in his field and spinning at high speeds before melding seamlessly back together. Then, with his hand out, sand spun on his palm before forming into a two-inch round orb that, with a flex of his field, compacted into a marble. "I compact rock, or, usually, glass, into weight bands that I secure on my body before withdrawing my field, so I feel the full weight."

"That is…" Momo looked away from his abdomen with pink cheeks, "Admirable dedication, Izuku-san."

"Indeed, perhaps I should investigate using weights myself," Iida added, looking thoughtful.

Izuku arched an eyebrow at them. "That's just the weight I wear, not my routine. Every weekday I do a light workout, consisting of a six mile run, then two hours of calisthenics, studying and then martial arts practice, sparring, then yoga followed by a six mile run back." He thought back. "I would do a few hours of strength and weight training after school, though I'll have to use a gym since the beach is clean."

"If you are amenable to the idea, I would like to join you in your morning runs while we are at Yuuei," the speedster offered, licking his lips as he eyed the sitting students on the side of the track, relaxing with bottles of water. "That is similar to my own regimen, and I would quite enjoy the company."

The green-haired teen nodded with a grin. "I would like that very much, Iida-kun. Himiko and I would appreciate more company when we exercise. Anyhow, on Fridays I meet up with Yu-senpai for grapple practice, and Saturdays are high-intensity workout days. That includes a thirteen-mile run, then six hours of sparring, martial studies and kni-more sparring, conditioning, underwater training, balance training, focus training, Quirk training, meditation and then another thirteen-mile run." He narrowed his eyes in thought. "Perhaps I should add another mile, I have acclimated to the increased weight already…"

Momo withheld a yelp as she lost her grip on the handlebars of her scooter, snatching at them and righting herself before she fell. Iida did, in fact, trip over his feet but rolled into the fall and sprang back up. "A-and you do all of this while wearing seventy-five kilograms of weight?" The creating girl asked faintly, her eyes flickering.

"Yup," Izuku nodded, adding a second later, "Himiko usually gets tired halfway through the running, though, so I typically carry her on my back for a while. She wears weights, too."

Iida looked at Momo, who seemed just as nonplussed at the geo-kinetic's nonchalance as he was. "…And how long have you been doing this?" He was hesitant to ask.

"Nearly eight years, though I had to wait for puberty before I could really get serious about my training," the green-haired teen relayed with a bob of his head.

Mina slipped on the ice trail and crashed to the ground, rolling. With a groan, she pushed herself up then yelped as Momo circled around her right while Iida went left, and Izuku hopped over her with a bright, "Excuse me!"

"Apologies for the implication, Midoriya-kun, but…" Iida paused, unsure of how to word his thoughts as Katsuki fell on her face and skidded to a stop, cursing but not at her normal volume. "Are you…perhaps, short of a marble?"

Izuku glanced at him, swiftly forming a marble of sand on his arm that he made hover above his skin and dance. "Nope," he replied, before turning to face them fully. "It's like Yuuei and All Might say:" The shadows darkened over his eyes and he grinned broadly at them. "If you're going to be a Hero, you must go beyond the edges of sanity! Plus Ultra!" At that moment, he resembled nothing more than a green-haired, freckled young All Might.

Momo and Iida stared. …Is he All Might's kid? Was their shared thought. There's no way…

Ignorant to their thoughts, Izuku was peering intently at the marble levitating, then his eyes narrowed. Levitating rock over my skin…can I do the reverse? He looked around at the students off to the side, noting the furious glare of a certain volatile ash-blonde. Katsuki's already out, so if I flub this then I already beat her. Experimenting with the process, he started pushing the field from his feet against the ground, the sudden loss of friction nearly taking his legs out from under him. Okay, maybe a wider area…and maybe like a mag-lev train…

Taking a chance, Izuku covered the back of his lower body in rock before taking a dive, rolling onto his butt before pushing against the ground. Though it was shaky and rather slow, he was, in fact, levitating off of the ground. Crossing his legs and focusing on his field, he imagined it like a tank tread, constantly circling around an invisible wheel and soon enough, he was moving at his previous pace.

Looking at the two surprised students, he smiled sheepishly. "I thought of something," he said weakly, now traveling at speed with barely any physical effort.

"How are you doing that?" Momo asked, peering at the two or so inches of empty space beneath his lower body. "Is it, perhaps, similar to the mag-lev trains we use?"

"Exactly so, Momo-san," Izuku nodded with an impressed smile. "I've told you of my training, so perhaps you would like to share yours?"

"Mm," she gave an agreeable hum before flicking her wrist, a round wooden doll popping into existence in her palm. "Ever since I became aware of my Quirk, the very first thing I ever learned to Create was my favorite Mastrokya Dolls. They seem simple on the surface, simply wood and paint, but underneath they're layered with complexity as they become smaller and smaller. Eventually, after much, much practice, I learned to Create them flawlessly."

Shimo skidded to a stop, bent double and panting, though oddly enough also shivering with frost creeping her legs.

Realizing he was now in third, and aware of just how much less effort the other two were using, Iida decided to bow out. "E-excuse me," he panted, slowing to a jog, "I'm a-afraid I must stop soon. Excellent…" He exhaled heavily, "Excellent use of your Quirks…I wish to speak of them further…when I can breathe…"

Izuku and Momo waved, then returned to their conversation. "So what made you decide to become a Hero, Momo-san?" He asked interestedly, "I mean no offense when I say that a woman with your Quirk and your looks could become anything, so why join the most dangerous career in the world?"

She bit her lip with uncertainty. "None taken, Izuku-san, it's just, well…" She brushed her loose hair away from her face and adjusted her posture, "I come from a family of Heroes as well as means. Before my Quirk even manifested, it was sort of destined, you might say, that I'd become involved in the Hero society. When I learned how to Create, though, all roads led to it. I suppose I somewhat resented it; I could Create anything, sure, but following in family footsteps just because it was expected didn't sit right. But then…" Her eyes gazed into the distance, glazing slightly.

After a minute, Izuku reached over and lightly twisted the handlebars, keeping her on the track. "Momo-san?"

Momo blinked and lightly shook her head, cheeks slightly pink. "Ah, sorry, it's just…such a small, simple thing. I was walking through the park after school, thinking over what assignment I was going to do first…when I heard someone crying."

Izuku couldn't help but flashback to that day, when he'd found Himiko huddled under their tree.

"It was a little boy, with a broken toy. He'd been running around with his friend, tripped and snapped it in half when he fell. His friend was trying to comfort him over this broken toy, an All Might action figure, just like the o-one-'' she cleared her throat quickly, eyes darting away, "-I'd, ahem, seen all over. Then his friend, this cute little girl, saw me and ran up, holding the toy and asking if 'onee-san' could fix it. Her big eyes, watering and pleading and I just…knew I had to help. But…I couldn't fix it. I could Create a new one, but there was a crying child and another child about to cry, and I may have…panicked, slightly."

He nodded in understanding. He easily remembered how he and Katsuki had been like as children. Troublesome would've been an understatement.

"I needed something to distract them, and the first thing that sprung to mind…" She held up the mastrokya doll, smiling gently at it. "They were so impressed by the light…I gave them the dolls and tried to remember how that kind of plastic is arranged. When I Created a new action figure and showed them, the looks on their faces…it was like a spark lit inside of me…" She rested her hand on her chest. "That spark blossomed into the fires of realization: I am powerful…and I can help."

Izuku looked upon the girl on the scooter with new respect. To find the call to heroism in helping small children…well, that was just adorable.

Momo noticed his look and flushed, glancing. "I-I know it may seem silly-"

"Not at all, Momo-san," he interjected quickly, "It's not silly at all. I think it might be one of the most wholesome things I've ever heard."

She smiled and brushed her hair back. "I appreciate that, Izuku-san."

Aizawa checked the time on the tablet and noticed that over an hour had passed since the Endurance Run had begun, to the point that the rest of the students were all sitting around, looking very bored as they chatted. "Alright, I'm calling this a tie," he announced. With Yaoyorozu's solar-powered scooter and Izuku's floating bullshit, the only way to see who could truly last longer was to either nix the Quirk usage or wait for sunset. "The Tests have been completed. I hope you haven't forgotten the consequences of being the lowest score," he drawled, expression dark.

The relaxed, bored atmosphere vanished like smoke in the wind. Momo dismounted her scooter as Izuku climbed to his feet, the two joining the rest of the class as Aizawa tallied up the results on his tablet. I really hope the whole 'expelling the lowest score' was some kind of ruse or something to make us use our fullest abilities. He thought, eyes narrowing on the teacher.

"The results are as follows:" Aizawa's dark eyes flickered over the class, taking them in. "In first place…Midoriya. And, narrowly, in second place is Yaoyorozu. Third, Todoroki. Fourth, Iida. Fifth, Bakugou." He easily ignored the volatile blonde's fuming and muttered curses. "Sixth, Tokoyami. Seventh, Shouji. Eighth, Ojiro. Nineth, Kirishima. Tenth, Ashido. Eleventh, Uraraka. Twelfth, Koda. Thirteenth, Sato, Fourteenth, Asui. Fifteenth, Aoyama. Sixteenth, Sero. Seventeenth, Kaminari. Eighteenth, Jiro. Nineteenth…"

The students tried to resist the urge to look at the two who'd been at the bottom for the whole day; only a few managed.

"Hagakure."

The invisible girl exhaled loudly, nearly slumping to the ground in relief if Ochako hadn't been right next to her. And then every eye turned to the shortest of the group, each individual purple ball jiggling as he trembled, one clutched between his hands as he anxiously gnawed on it.

"Twentieth…Mineta." Aizawa's dark eyes fixed on the short boy, his face unreadable. The silence hung like a guillotine, blade freshly sharpened and gleaming. It was, perhaps, cruel to let such a moment settle its weight on their shoulders, but he saw the shaking, he'd seen the results with his own eyes. He was not ready. And there was the transfer to think about. And so… "Go pack your things. You're expelled from the Hero Course."

Mineta fell to his knees, tears streaming down his face. He looked desperately to the others for some sort of help, but there was nothing they could do. His sobs echoed over the silent track.

"Aizawa-sensei!" Izuku stepped forward, face a picture of determination. "I volunteer-!"

"'-to take Mineta's place?'" Aizawa cut in sardonically, "Or perhaps to forfeit?" His face fell into a scowl, eyes nearly glowing, hair spiking but Quirk not quite activating. "Perhaps you didn't hear me before, Midoriya…that sort of self-sacrificing mentality is the height of irrationality. It vexes me. Greatly." He blinked. "In any case, your 'volunteering' is denied. Mineta, go pack up your room…and report to the Gen. Ed Dorms."

The short boy paused in his crying, breath hitching. "W-what?" He asked with a painful sort of hope. "Y-you mean…"

"I said the lowest score would be expelled," the Underground Pro Hero said, the barest hint of smirk tugging at his lips. "I don't recall ever saying it would be from Yuuei itself."

Mineta breathed a sigh of relief, and though still sad, the rest of the class felt it as well.

Except for one. "Yes, a logical ruse to push us to do our best," Momo nodded as if she'd known all along. At the surprised looks she was receiving, she blinked. "Ah, why is that surprising? Perhaps I should've mentioned it earlier…"

"Yaomomo's a smart one, no doubt!" Mina cheered, freely smiling now that the pressure was gone. "I don't know about you guys, but I could use a shower!" She nudged Izuku in the side, waggling her eyebrows. "You know?"

Aizawa opened his mouth to dismiss them when a voice called out. "Is this 1-A?"

The class, now down a student, turned to find a girl in the standard uniform standing near the track, looking confused. And she, swiftly, was not the only one who became confused.

Because it was Himiko.

"This is, yes," the teacher said, arching an eyebrow. "Do you need something?"

Himiko held up a piece of paper and pointed at it. "It says I'm supposed to be in this class, even though the letter I got with the dorm information said I was in 1-B. Apparently it was some sort of mix-up but we only realized when we were sitting down that there weren't enough seats for everyone, so I met with the principal and he told me to go to this class, but when I got there it was empty and I've been searching around the whole day." She shrugged. "I kinda came this way randomly and saw some people and thought I'd ask directions."

Aizawa blinked, then shrugged. "Okay. Class is dismissed for the day."

"What?!" Mineta shouted, eyes wild, "You aren't gonna make her run around and jump and squeeze the thing or throw a ball or a-all those tests?!"

"No." The short boy's jaw fell open. "It would be irrational to keep everyone here just for one person. Now go change and head for the dorm." His hand shot out, finger descending like the spear of judgement on Izuku. "Midoriya, stay behind."

Shrugging, Himiko followed after the other girls as they headed towards the locker room, but not before giving him a curious look. He mouthed 'later.' She nudged Mina in the side. "Mina-chan, why's Izuku staying?" She asked, throwing an arm around the horned-girls' shoulder.

"Prolly 'cause he cursed the teacher out at the top of his lungs," Mina replied casually.

"…He did what?!"

Izuku scratched his cheek sheepishly before it faded and he locked eyes with Aizawa, the two standing apart as the rest of the class shuffled off until it was only the two of them alone on the track. The wind whistled, tugging at the teacher's scarf and at the hem of his sleeves, over the cracked and pitted concrete and Momo's forgotten cannon.

The silence built and billowed, suffocating and stifling until…

"Midoriya," Aizawa said, not quite as toneless or flat as other times. "I apologize."

Izuku blinked. "…What?"

Eraser Head scratched his chin. "I said I apologize, Midoriya. It's only rational for one to make apologies after wronging another. Erasing your Quirk as I did was out of line and based on assumption, and I certainly didn't mean to cause you such intense distress. It was wrong of me."

The geo-kinetic teen ran a hand through his hair, thinking. Alright, not what I expected. "I…accept your apology?" He hadn't meant for it to come out as a question.

"Good." Then the teacher's eyes sharpened. "That being said, your reaction, while understandable, cannot happen again. I am your sensei, Midoriya, and while you may not respect me, nor will I demand it, you cannot be disrespecting my authority in front of the class. Do you understand me?"

Izuku nodded, then bowed stiffly. "I apologize as well, Aizawa-sensei. I should not have shouted or sworn at you as I did, and I am sorry for my actions." He sighed, scratching the back of his neck. "It's just…I-I was-" It was all too vivid; the sudden weight, the crushing darkness, the straining of his lungs.

"Afraid, I know," Aizawa agreed, tucking his hands in his pockets. "I've all-too often looked into the eyes of the desperate to know when fury is born from fear, Midoriya, that is why I will allow it, just this once."

The geo-kinetic sighed, glad that source of tension had been eased. He chuckled lightly. "You were right, actually," he admitted, trotting over to Momo's cannon, patting the barrel.

Eraser Head squinted at him, eyes flickering. "You were holding back?"

"Not by choice," Izuku replied, before shoving his arm down the barrel of the cannon and lifting it up, the black iron melting into silver streams that raced over his body, the wooden stabilizers clattering to the ground as the metal meshed with the rock and coalesced into the armor he'd worn in the Entrance Exam. "Unless Yuuei wouldn't mind me ripping a pipe out of the ground, I had to use what was in my environment."

Aizawa looked at the remnants of Momo's cannon, the question glaringly obvious.

The armor melted away from Izuku's head as he shrugged. "I couldn't just ask Momo-san to Create some metal for me; what if doing so had impacted her scores?"

The teacher grunted, his hand flicking out his pocket. "Show me," he ordered.

Izuku caught the ball that had been thrown at him, arching an eyebrow. Acquiescing with a nod, his armor reformed and he drew his arm back.

In the locker rooms, the students paused as they heard a sonic boom tear through the air, and felt the ground shiver. They traded looks, and wondered what had happened.

As Izuku walked off, pulling the rock and metal under his clothes, Aizawa checked the tablet and felt something approaching a smile tug at his lips.

5.34 Kilometers.

…

Watching Mineta carry his box of stuff out of the 1-A dorm was an odd, sad and yet hopeful affair. On one hand, he hadn't made the best impression on the rest of the class and at the same time, he had earned his way into Yuuei and had tried to stay to the best of his abilities. At the least he would still be in school, just in the Gen. Ed. class.

Himiko, on the other hand, arrived with a couple of girls from 1-B, extracting promises to stay in contact…it wasn't like they lived about a block away from each other or were one class down or went to the same school or anything.

Dinner that night had been decided to be fried rice, and Sato had declared that after the day they'd had, everyone deserved a treat, so he was making cupcakes. The kitchen was busy with batter being stirred and meat and vegetables being chopped and cooked, a few of the students leaning on the counter to chat while others gathered around the TV.

"So you guys missed orientation for a test?" Himiko asked, looking up at Ochako and Momo as she nimbly diced carrots. "Talk about high pressure…and I thought Rishi Prep was bad."

"It is the best Hero School in Japan," the gravity girl shrugged, blanching. "Will you please stop looking away when you cut stuff?"

"Oh don't worry about it," Himiko waved her off, dumping the vegetables into the skillet Izuku was cooking in. "Mm, smells good already! By the way, Izuku," she bounced lightly in place, the front of her apron bobbing with the motion, "I need more weight, I don't even feel what I got on." Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Ochako and Momo blush, and she smirked.

"One sec," he replied, stirring dinner to make sure everything was even before turning to his blood-drinking lover, sand swirling in his hand. "How much?"

Himiko unashamedly lifted her shirt, showing her toned, muscular stomach. "Five more," she requested, resisting the urge to giggle as his hands circled her torso, adding another ring below the other weights.

The other two girls couldn't help but notice the state of her belly. Wow, this girl's cut, Ochako thought.

"Still doing the exercises?" Izuku asked, turning back to the stove like he hadn't just had his hands on Himiko.

"All day!" She nodded, patting her stomach. "I'm really lookin' forward to a hot shower and a massage."

"A bath would be nice," he nodded, adding sauce and stirring the rice. "I wonder if there's an onsen on campus? That'd be neat."

"Ah, Izuku-san," Momo raised a hand, "There's a bath in the dorm. It's a door further down from the elevator that leads downstairs into the basement."

"Is it unisex?" Himiko asked, smiling as, hidden behind the counter, she reached out and grabbed Izuku's thigh. He didn't react beyond a slight tightening of his eyes.

Ochako and Momo both blushed and looked away. "N-no, Himi-chan, they're separate," the gravity girl replied, her eyes flicking up at Izuku and then back away.

"Shame." By the squeeze she gave his leg, Izuku deduced that she'd taken that as a challenge.

"Ahem," the elegant girl cleared her throat, "To continue the previous conversation, before we began talking about the test, we were speaking of Quirks. If you don't mind me asking, Himiko-san, what is your Quirk?"

Himiko grinned, her large canines glinting in the light. "When I drink other people's blood, I can turn into them," her form shifted into that of a thin, willowy girl with pink, pupiless eyes and sakura flowers for hair. "And I can use their Quirks, too." The flowers rippled and changed into plum blossoms, their sweet heady scent filling the kitchen.

"…That's amazing Himi-chan!" Ochako clapped her hands, warm brown eyes shining with enthusiasm. "So that's why Deki-kun gave you his blood this morning! Although…" She narrowed her eyes in thought, tapping her chin. "You didn't have to take the test, so…"

The blood-drinker shrugged. "It tastes good and it's filling," she replied nonchalantly, "Like the best coffee and food all in one."

Momo rested her chin on her hand, idly playing with her hair. "Your Quirk is quite versatile, Himiko-san, though I do hope it's safe for you to drink blood. There are quite a few blood-borne diseases, after all."

"She's immune to those kinds of things, we had it tested," Izuku cut it, tasting the fried rice and nodding. "It's a secondary effect of her Quirk, like Bakugou's body."

"What do you mean by that?" Ochako asked, twisting in her seat to look at the volatile blonde slumped on the couch, a coverless book in her hand.

"You saw the explosions she can create," he pointed out, "If she didn't have a way to deal with the heat, pressure and recoil, she wouldn't have arms. Or be alive." He tilted his head back and called, "Dinner's ready!"

"Oh, before we eat," Himiko pulled the Blood-Draw Bracer from a pocket and held it out, "Can I get some of your blood, please? I promise I won't use it for anything other than training."

Momo took the bracer with a nod and a pleased smile, clasping it on her arm and Creating a vial from the back of her hand. The gravity girl watched the glass tube fill with blood, biting her lip anxiously. "It doesn't hurt, does it?" She asked, tapping her fingers together.

"I don't feel anything," the elegant girl answered, blinking as the bracer dinged and the slot in the side opened, dispensing a shell-shaped cookie. "A madeline, hm…"

Himiko was grabbing bowls that Izuku filled with rice as the other students got up and made their way to the tables. Eiri was in lockstep with Katsuki, still trying to get the volatile blonde to acknowledge her as more than just an 'Extra' and somewhat succeeding. Bakugou hadn't told her to fuck off more than twice. "The fuck are you doing?" Katsuki asked, eyeing the blood-filled vials.

That led to another explanation of Himiko's Quirk and all the other stuff, with the conversation moving to the tables. Ochako had gotten a chocolate chip cookie from the bracer and passed it on to Eiri, the red-haired enthusiastic about another girl using her Quirk; 'wrestling and sparring' had been muttered about excitedly.

"That reminds me," Izuku spoke up, sliding down a bottle of hot sauce to Katsuki, "Mina, Eiri and Iida said they'd like to join us for some morning training."

The red-haired girl looked up as she passed the bracer down to Toru, chewing on the chocolate chunk with extra walnut cookie that had been dispensed. "Hm?" She jumped as Mina elbowed her in the side. "Oh yeah, right. Sounds manly!"

Himiko set the vial of blood next to the others, a happy smile on her face. "That's awesome!" She enthused, nudging Izuku playfully. "Not that I mind the two of us getting all sweaty together, but the more the merrier, right?"

Several people in earshot choked on their food. "Toga-kun, that is very inappropriate!" Iida called.

"But also factually correct," she retorted with a grin. "Any other interpretation is entirely imagined…all you people with your dirty minds."

"I wanna train, too!" Toru announced, waving an arm with a meringue in her mouth.

Kyouka, with the bracer on her arm, glanced up at them with a flat gaze. "I don't," she muttered, before sighing. "But I should. Got uncomfortably close to last on the test."

Denki, on her other side, slumped in his chair. "Me too…"

"Excellent!" Izuku said with a grin, clapping his hands. "So, what time do you want to start? Four? Or four thirty?"

Mina's eyes bulged, chopsticks falling from her fingers. "F-four?" She asked shakily.

Kyouka and Denki traded looks. "…You know what, maybe it can wait," he said quickly, "Maybe get a bit more settled in before that…"

"Don't wait too long," the geo-kinetic said sternly, pointing a chopstick in his direction, "Procrastination will only limit your improvement as a Hero."

"Plus, you're kinda noodly," Himiko added, rolling up her sleeve and flexing her bicep. "I bet I could beat you in an arm-wrestle."

As she was flexing, Izuku reached back and pulled the chair out from under her. "Chair check."

The blood-drinker remained in a sitting position despite the lack of furniture, giving him a knowing look. "I told you I've been doing the exercises all day."

"Had to check," he shrugged and put it back, turning to the other side of the table with a smile. "So, four o'clock, then?"

Mina glanced over at the others and noted the looks on their faces; Iida was surprised but defiant; Toru was invisible; Eiri bore a mixture of surprise, admiration and dread; the acid-spewing girl knew her face was the same. In for a penny, I guess… "Four thirty?" She said with a weak smile. This gonna suck…

But the bright smile on Himiko and Izuku's faces almost made it worth it. Almost.

…

The Next Morning…

"…Uuuuuggggghhhh…"

A low, pained moan was the first thing to greet Kyouka's ears as she stepped out of the elevator around seven in the morning. Striding into the entertainment room, her eyes beheld quite a sight: Mina lay sprawled on a couch, clutching her stomach and groaning. Eiri sat on the ground near the couch, her head leaning back onto Mina's thigh; she was also asleep. Ochako had tunneled into a beanbag and passed out, while a pair of filled gym clothes lay flat on the floor as Toru also slept. Iida was the only one still active, massaging his legs as he sat on a couch but even his usually ramrod-straight posture had a slump to it.

"Soooo…" Kyouka drawled, curling one of her jacks around her finger, "Did you have fun?"

"Shut up," the horned girl grunted, flopping an arm in her direction. "Too tired to…something snarky…ugh…"

"It was very educational," Iida answered, adjusting his glasses in a tired manner, "And also very…exhausting. I find myself admiring their dedication and envious of their energy…" He suddenly leapt to his feet, arm chopping the air fast enough that it cracked. "And also INSPIRED! I shall increase my own training! Excuse me, I must go find some weights…and bathe."

Toru shot up with a snort before recoiling and dropping back down with a groan. "Uuuhhh…my arms…legs…face…everything's sore…" She shifted onto her side. "What time is it?"

"7:12," Kyouka reported, looking at her phone.

"Ah hell," Mina sighed, sitting up and lightly slapping the snoozing Eiri on the forehead, "C'mon girls, let's hit up the bath downstairs and stretch, hopefully we don't have anything too stressful to do today." She shot a rather sour look over her shoulder at the kitchen. "Wish I could bounce back like them…"

The purple-haired girl followed her gaze and found Izuku standing at the stove while Himiko cut things, the two chatting with bright smiles. In stark contrast to the others, they looked completely fresh and awake. "Maybe ask them how they do it," she shrugged, walking over to the kitchen, drawn by savory smells of something cooking. "What's up?"

"Hey, Kyouka-chan!" Himiko greeted her with a grin, looking up from her cutting even as the knife flashed rapidly near her fingers. "We're making omelettes, you want one?"

"Sure," she shrugged, sitting on a stool. "You know, if we have another surprise test like yesterday, they're kinda screwed, right?" Reaching over, she poured herself a cup of coffee as the other two teens shared a deep, meaningful look, conversing solely with their eyes and minimal expressions. It made her feel kinda like a third wheel.

"It was mostly the running that tired them out," Izuku declared, nodding slightly and meeting her eyes. "I'm sure a good soak or a shower with some food will get them feeling right as rain. Or, at least, not quite as sore. Don't want to imagine how worse it'd be if they were wearing weights, though."

"Yeah, that sucked," the blood-drinker grumbled, rolling a phantom pain out of her shoulders. "Like running through water until you get used to it…but the backrubs made up for it." She nudged him in the side, flashing him a wink. "Something to think about~!"

Something occurred to Kyouka. "If they were so tired they could barely move, how'd they get back here? Did you carry them?"

Izuku blushed and rubbed his neck. "Well, that was the idea, except-"

"Shh," Himiko shushed him, her eyes sparkling, "Let's just say they got taken for a ride and leave it at that."

The punk rock girl shrugged and dug into the omelette passed her way. "So, another question," she waved her fork at the two wearing aprons, "Why are you guys cooking? Not that mind, this is pretty good, but it's kinda weird."

The two traded deep looks again. "I guess the pragmatic answer is that we wake up early, so why not?" Izuku replied, sprinkling cheese inside another omelette. "My mom usually cooked at our home, and it was always nice to see her expressions when she ate our food, so…" He shrugged. "Plus, what better way to start a school day than a hot meal instead of cereal, right?"

"Everybody likes gettin' hot meat in their mouth first thing in the morning," Himiko agreed with a grin. "I know I do!"

Kyouka, who had just bitten into a mouthful of sausage, paused. Her eyes darted between the two, before her jacks shrugged and she continued eating. Nope, not going there.

With that innuendo, silence fell for a short while before the rest of the students began to wake up, filling the ground floor with chatter and the clinking of cutlery. Similar to the day before, once everyone had been fed, the cooks headed upstairs to get ready for the day.

Stepping out of his room with his hair still damp, Izuku fiddled with his jacket buttons before pulling the article off entirely. "Problems?" Himiko asked, her own jacket conspicuously absent.

"This thing makes me uncomfortable," he grumbled. "Too tight around the shoulders."

"You look better without it," she nodded, observing him in the blazer and trousers. "Here, lemme have it."

Izuku arched an eyebrow but did so, watching her toss it around her shoulders before securing it around the neck with a single button. With the size of it contrasted to her own, it somewhat resembled a cape. Then she popped the collar of the jacket and gave him a grin. "You look like a delinquent," he noted, "Who's trying very hard to look sort of like a vampire."

Himiko cocked her hips, hands on said curves. "You sayin' my look sucks?" Her lips parted in a grin, her enlarged canines displayed prominently.

"You can make anything look good and you know it," he rebutted, swiftly glancing around before cupping her cheeks and leaning in, pressing his lips to hers, calloused thumb gently scratching the heated flesh of her cheeks. "It's fitting, is my point."

"Mm," she hummed, nuzzling against his palm. "C'mon, 'Zuku, let's get going. Much as I wanna stay like this, we got class."

"I know," he replied, settling an arm around her shoulders and taking them to the elevator. He'd hit the button and the doors had almost closed when a pink hand was thrust through the middle.

Mina strode in, followed by Eiri and Toru, all of them looking damp with the exception of the last one for obvious reasons. The collar of her uniform looked damp at least. The horned girl gave them an annoyed look. "…Should make you carry me," she grumbled, crossing her arms.

"Aw, you wanna ride the Zuku Train again already?" Himiko teased, grinning as the other girls blushed and looked away. "My my, so forward."

"Can we not mention that, please?" Eiri pleaded, running her fingers through her hair, "I mean, it was manly and all but…embarrassing."

"It was your first time, there's no need to be embarrassed," Izuku said gently, "It takes some time to get used to the exertion, and it's my fault for pushing you into it."

"Yeah, I was so sore after my first time," the blood-drinker added, rubbing her stomach, "But it's worth it. Yeah, you're all tense the first night, but then you relax and start to feel good."

"It's not that it hurts," Mina interjected with a frown, "You think I got a body like this by being a dead fish? No, it's just…Iidaten was the only one who could really keep up with your pace. The two of you…made us look like chumps."

Izuku and Himiko traded looks. He sighed. "…Sorry, girls. I guess we kinda forgot what starting out was like," he leveled an apologetic look at them. "Listen, if you still want to train with us…we can teach you a way to…stay energized. It's hard to learn, but very handy to know."

And it was dangerous; but both Himiko and himself had gone through it. With the two of them working together, they were certain they could mitigate the risks.

"I wanna know!" Eiri perked up with a sharp-toothed grin. "Challenges are manly!"

"Me too!" Toru chipped in, bouncing excitedly.

Mina bit her lip, idly rubbing her arm. "Sure, I'm in," she finally said as the elevator doors opened.

"In for what?" Ochako asked from the couch, fully dressed in her uniform and while looking tired, seemed to be handling it with aplomb.

"Let's head to class, we'll talk on the way," Himiko replied, and the group set off from the dorm.

Passing by the 1-B dorm, they saw a storm of activity behind the windows. An orange-haired girl was shouting something while Setsuna was using a disembodied hand to hold a box of cereal out of the reach of someone who appeared to have a two-dimensional head.

"Alright, I'm up for learning this…whatever this thing is," the gravity girl agreed as they entered the 1-A classroom. A seating chart had been helpfully pinned to the board, though something about it seemed off. "There's an empty space by Deki-kun, but Himi-chan is seated behind Tokoyami-san. So, what's the extra seat for?"

Her question received shrugs in return. "So, for the first step, we need to find a place that's somewhat private, but open to the sky and near water," Izuku explained, looking up as the door opened and Iida stepped inside. "Ah, Iida-kun, right on time…"

After going over their idea once more, they settled into their desks and resolved to speak of it later as other students began to trickle in. Then the room was filled with chatter as the students waited for the bell to ring.

The door opened and when Aizawa came through, he wasn't inching along inside his sleeping bag, but it was slung over his shoulder. The instant his eyes swept the room, the class fell silent, dreading the thought of another test. "Five seconds, not bad," he noted, standing at the lectern with his hands in his pockets. "Before I begin, there is something that must be done."

More than one student gulped in fear.

Then came a knock at the door. "Come in," he said, and in stepped a girl in the Yuuei uniform.

She was tall and lithe, with lavender hair tied up into two tails that lay behind her shoulders and what appeared to be cat ears on the top of her head, but were in fact excess hair spun and pinned up to look like such. Her face was round and skin pale, with large purple eyes that bore a serious, no-nonsense edge. And on the left side of her head was a large, ornate and curved hairpin with a flower on it. She bowed sharply.

"Introduce yourself," Aizawa ordered, and the girl turned to the blackboard, quickly writing a name out in kanji.

"I am Keqing," she greeted them with a bit of an accent, "I am from China, and I am here to learn more about Japan and to become a Hero. Take care of me, please."

"As she said, she was a recommendation from China, however her file was received too late," Aizawa explained, looking very bored. "With a free space in the class, it was only rational to fill it with another recommended student. Tell them about your Quirk, please."

Keqing nodded, holding out her hand. A quiet buzz filled the air and in a subtle flash of purple she was holding a large needle. "I call it Electro Stiletto," she began, "I can create five needles from electricity and use them for throwing or melee. And also-" She flicked her wrist and the needle zipped through the air.

Izuku's hand snapped out, catching it mid-flight. His eyes examined the needle and he realized that his first thought of it being merely large was mistaken. It was seven inches long and about as thick as a pencil, with subtle characters carved into it. Just holding it made his fingers tingle with static electricity.

There was whoosh and a rush of air; in a flash of purple that left the taste of ozone in the air, Keqing was there, deftly plucking the needle from his fingers. "-I Bolt towards my needles at high speed," she finished, her eyes flicking down to meet his.

Closer as she was to him, he could see that the color of her eyes was more pink mixed with purple, like amethyst, and the pupils were not only diamond-shaped but a solid pink. And despite her serious visage, he noted that she was quite cute, too. But that was almost expected.

"Your seat is behind Midoriya," Aizawa pointed out before turning his eyes to the lectern. "Roll call. Aoyama."

She sat down with a nod towards Momo, then folded her hands and gave the front of the room a laser focus. And though he wasn't entirely sure, Izuku thought he felt someone staring at the back of his head every so often.

…

After roll, classes commenced. And besides being taught by Pro Heroes, the classes were simply the same as in any other school. English, taught by Present Mic, whose high-energy made learning how to speak a language as odd, difficult and downright strange as English rather fun. Art History was taught by Midnight, with about every sentence filled with innuendo, although informative.

She also took a disproportionate amount of joy in meeting Izuku's eyes then winking or licking her lips. He did his best to not react, and failed rather badly, but at least he wasn't only one blushing.

Modern Literature was taught by Cementoss, or Ishiyama Ken, a man who resembled a humanoid block of cement but with a surprisingly mellow and pleasant voice.

And finally, the last class was mathematics, taught by the rather intimidating Pro Hero Ectoplasm.

Afterwards, it was time to break for lunch. "Isn't it kinda weird that we got these Pro Heroes teaching us normal stuff?" Himiko asked as they headed for the cafeteria, "I mean, it's cool and all, but couldn't they be doing some, y'know, Hero stuff?"

"Toga-kun, it is said that teaching is a Heroic act on its own," Iida commented, adjusting his glasses primly, "So by your definition, they are indeed 'doing Hero stuff.'"

The blood-drinker gave him a flat look. "Lame," she said shortly, stretching her arms then turning her gaze to the newest girl in the class. Keqing was following them silently, face blank but eyes darting. "So, Keqing, right? You're from China. What's it like over there?"

Amethyst eyes glanced over and met honey yellow. "Chaotic," she said shortly, "Though there are places of peace. Japan is quite different from my home."

The conversation was dropped as they entered the cafeteria. Many tables had been filled and more were filling up, with students selecting from a large variety of meals that had been prepared by the Pro Hero Lunch Rush. His face was entirely hidden by his large chef hat and mask, with gloves to go with the rest of his chef attire, but his skill in the kitchen could not be doubted.

Seeing as it was technically the first day of classes, Izuku decided to treat himself to tonkatsu pork, his favorite, with Himiko following his example. They sat with the rest of their class and dug into their meals and while it was delicious, it just couldn't compare to Inko's.

Halfway through lunch, conversations had picked up as time went on. "Excuse me, Keqing," Izuku began, the lavender-haired girl looking up from her tempura, "I don't mean to interrupt, but I can't help but wonder what made you decide to come to Yuuei."

Keqing finished chewing her bite and dabbed her lips with a napkin, her poise nearly matching Momo's. "My home, Liyue, does not possess a Hero School, and the rest of the ones in China cannot be trusted," she said shortly, clasping her hands together. "Yuuei is highly-regarded, and most alumni are counted among the top Pro Heroes. I am here to learn and perhaps record my experiences so that when I return home, I will have information on how such a school is run."

"So you wish to open a Hero School in…Liyue, was it?" The geo-kinetic asked, sounding impressed. "That's an admirable goal."

"Simply one of many, Midoriya," she nodded, returning to her food. After a bite was chewed and swallowed, she spoke again. "It is polite to refer to others by their surname in Japanese, yes?"

Izuku shrugged. "Generally, yes, but I personally prefer my name."

She bobbed her head. "Noted." She cast her eyes down the table. "Please let me know what name you prefer to be referred to by."

As the other students called out, Izuku felt a nudge against his side. Himiko met his gaze, her honey eyes narrowing. You feel it too, right? She 'said' with her face, There's something different about this chick, and not her nationality.

She has the bearing of someone important, he noted, and I can't help but feel that there's more to her story.

Well duh, we haven't heard her entire story yet, Himiko relayed, let's keep a close eye on her…not that it'll be a problem, she's cute.

Izuku rolled his eyes and returned to his lunch, but out of the corner of his vision he could perceive the Chinese girl examining him and his lover subtly. We aren't the only ones keeping an eye out, he thought, polishing off his tonkatsu pork, but am I being paranoid, or is there something more? Time will tell.

…

1-A had returned to their classroom and had been seated for awhile, but no teacher had shown up just yet. "So is someone supposed to come get us or are we done?" Mina asked, leaning back on her desk.

"Such a gap between classes," Iida muttered, adjusting his glasses with a frown, "It dishonors this very institution!"

Izuku felt his phone buzz and quickly retrieved it, subtly checking the screen. PRETEND LIKE WE'VE NEVER MET, the message read. He squinted at his phone. What? Who sent this…Yagi-sensei?

"I AM…" The door was suddenly thrown open, a massive, comforting presence filling the room even before the famous bulk and even more-famous smile showed themselves, "COMING THROUGH THE DOOR LIKE A NORMAL PERSON!"

"ALL MIGHT!" Even the more restrained students couldn't help themselves, jumping to their feet and cheering as the Number One Hero entered the classroom, cape flowing majestically behind him.

"That outfit…it's All Might's Silver Age costume!" Ochako gasped, hands in front of her mouth, eyes sparkling. "So retro!"

"STUDENTS!" All Might lifted a hand and the room instantly quieted down, "I AM HERE…TO TEACH YOU HOW TO BE HEROES! WELCOME TO FOUNDATIONAL HERO STUDIES!"

"All Might's gonna be our teacher?!" Was the prevalent muttering, "I thought that was just a rumor!"

"Some rumors can be based on facts, you know!" chuckled the Number 1 Hero, "But that sort of thing is for a later lesson! Today, we will be starting with something a bit more basic." With a flourish, he whipped out a card with a word emblazoned in red on it, showing it to the class. "COMBAT TRAINING!"

A ripple of both trepidation and excitement ran through the class at his words. Of course, Bakugou grinned savagely, and even Izuku found himself leaning forward in anticipation as Himiko looked back at him with a sharp smile. Further back, Keqing's eyes gleamed with interest.

"Before we get to that, however…" Turning towards the wall, All Might held up a remote and pressed a button. A series of lockers slid out of it, bearing a series of numbered suitcases. "Before you fight like a Hero, you must first dress like a Hero! These are the costumes whose designs you submitted before the start of the year. Get changed into them and meet me at Ground Beta!"

The students rushed to the lockers, eagerly anticipating the class to come. Sitting back to avoid being crowded, Izuku met All Might's shadowed eyes and gave the Number One a smile and a thumbs up. All Might's broad grin softened just a tad and he gave his successor a nod.

1-A was quite a sight as they rushed to the locker rooms with suitcases in hand, the rooms themselves becoming hives of activity as the students rushed to pull their costumes on.

"Midoriya-kun!" Iida called, voice slightly muffled by his mask, knocking firmly on a bathroom stall. "Are you in need of assistance?"

"I'm fine, Iida-kun!" Izuku replied, "My costume just has a few more features than I thought!"

That sounded somewhat like an excuse. "Midoriya-kun, do not worry about how it may highlight certain features! We are mature teenagers and you can always wear your gym uniform if needs must! But hurry, it will be starting soon!"

"It's not that, Iida-kun! I'll be out in a moment!"

"Very well!"

A moment later, Izuku emerged from the stall, attaching his upgraded mask to his face and stretching slightly, making sure the suit he wore would bend and twist with his body. Nodding to himself, he headed for the door and emerged into the area where the rest of the students were waiting to jump on a bus and head for Ground Beta.

"Yo Midori, it's about…" Mina called as she heard his footsteps, spinning around from her conversation with Eiri. As her eyes fell on him, though, she lost her train of thought. "…time…"

He wore a suit colored primarily green on the chest with black panels on the side, separated by white piping, a dark green utility belt clasped around his waist that led to a similarly-colored bottom half that ended with his red tabi shoes. It had no sleeves, leaving his muscular arms bare except for his hands, covered in fingerless, metal-backed gloves and a hi-tech bracer on his left forearm. Finishing the look was his mask, a metal device that covered his nose and mouth, wrapping around his jaw and the base of his skull, small cups extending up to cover his ears. His head was tilted down, hair casting his glinting emerald eyes in shadow, and he carried himself with smooth, almost predatory grace.

His outfit was also almost entirely skin tight, clinging tightly to every hard plane of muscle, the black panels and white piping outlining his chiseled abdomen perfectly.

"Hey guys!" Izuku greeted them cheerfully, disengaging his mask to let it hang around his neck and smiling. "Sorry I'm late, I couldn't find the button to tighten my suit…" He licked his suddenly dry lips as he beheld the vista in front of him.

Standing before him in their costumes were Himiko, Mina and Eiri. His eyes found Himiko first.

A dark red leotard covered her chest, ending at her shoulders and the top of her thighs, the sides darkening to black. Around her waist was a black, sectioned belt, each section with what looked like a silver star in the center, but were actually the hooks of her grapples. A black hard case was strapped to her left thigh, and she wore dark red boots that incorporated light armor around her feet, shins and knees. On her left land she wore a thick glove with four tubes of liquid lining her knuckles, and an armored line that ran up her arm to the back of her mask. Her mask itself was the same color as her leotard, with the exception of shiny white fangs bared in a vicious smile, and covered her nose downward, with flat black lenses rising up to hide her eyes. Her blonde hair was pulled into a simple bun, a few loose bangs clipped away from her face with a heart-shaped clip.

Although he'd seen her costume before and her wearing most of it, it was entirely different when it was all together. It was dark, intimidating, the oni-like grin promising pain…and it was also very sexy.

And standing next to Himiko was Mina.

The horned girl was clad in a skin-tight bodysuit colored in a camouflage pattern of teal and purple that hugged her athletic figure tightly and ended just above her breasts, displaying a square of pink cleavage and her slender neck. A short, cropped tan waistcoat with white fur on the collar was on her shoulders, leaving her arms entirely bare, and she wore a pair of dark purple and tan boots. Completing the outfit was a plain white domino mask that only further enhanced her dark eyes.

And to her side was Eiri.

Her red hair had been spiked up, resembling a forest of horns, with a black metal face guard that went just above her hairline then curved around to cover her jaw, chin and her neck, then up across the bridge of her nose and under her eyes; with small points above and below her lips it almost resembled a fanged mouth. The most standout feature of her costume was a pair of red, gear-shaped shoulder pads; otherwise her torso was almost entirely bare, except for black bandages wrapped around her bust, leaving her muscled arms and stomach plain to see. Around her waist was a red belt with a large 'R' on the buckle, a half-cape with a ragged edge hanging over baggy black pants, ending in thick red boots with rings around the calves.

Izuku suddenly remembered something: The girls in his class were downright beautiful. And most of them were wearing tight outfits. Thank you Mei for my cup, he thought distantly. "Your costumes are…quite something, ladies," he demurred, rubbing the back of his neck and trying not to stare.

"Same," Mina mumbled, licking her lips. "I like it."

"It's manly," Eiri added, crossing her arms.

"You already know my opinion," Himiko commented, the lenses of her mask sliding down and the mask itself collapsing into a gorget, her honey eyes shining. "Come on, Zuku, we're ready to go."

Nodding, he joined them as the students streamed onto the bus, taking a seat next to Himiko, Eiri and Mina, across from Iida, Toru, Denki and Keqing. As the bus drove off, his eyes scanned the costumed students in front of him.

Iida looked rather like a robot, covered in pale silver armor on his chest and arms, with a trio of metal pipes wrapping around his torso and extending behind him like wings. His legs were clad in bulky silver boots up to his knees, where they widened out into what looked like golden engines where his leg Engines were, and sharp knee pads. A helmet rested on his knee, an intimidating looking piece with yellow lenses, holes around the mouth and two above the eyes, with a pair of horns curving back and a spike.

"I see you resolved the issue with your suit, Midoriya-kun," Iida said with a smile.

Izuku shrugged. "It's my first time wearing it," he offered, patting his chest. "There's a button on here that makes it activate and tighten up, but I couldn't find it on my collar like I thought it was." He tapped his utility belt and accidentally hit the switch, his costume going slack and nearly falling off his shoulders before he hit it again and it returned to its previous skin-tight state. "Whoops. Anyway, it's on my belt. By the way, Iida-kun, I like your costume. Very sharp and protective looking, I like it."

"Ah," the speedster chopped an arm, "It's not very protective, Midoriya-kun, it's more designed to facilitate my Quirk and reduce air resistance." He rapped his chest plate, getting a hollow sound.

"That's cool, but what about me?!" Toru asked, waving her hands. "What about my costume?"

"What costume?" Izuku blurted.

The invisible girl wore (if it could be called that) a costume consisting of pale blue gloves with pink trim, and light grey shoes.

And that was it.

If he couldn't see the depression of her rear on the seat cushion, Izuku might've thought someone accidentally left gloves and shoes on the bus.

"Izuku~!" Toru whined, crossing her arms, "I'm invisible if you haven't noticed! And I can't turn anything else invisible, so how else would I get the most out of my Quirk? All I gotta do is gloves off, shoes off and bah! Invisible…" Her fingers wiggled dramatically, followed by a girlish giggle.

He bobbed his head in agreement. "Getting the most out of your Quirk makes sense, I suppose, but…aren't you cold?"

Her hands came up in a shrug. "I'm used to it."

Denki grinned and tugged on his collar. "What about me, dude? Whatcha think of my duds?" He gestured to the clothes he was wearing, which were…very basic. A plain white shirt with a black jacket that had white lightning bolts on the back, sides and arms, then black pants with white stripes and plain black shoes. Capping it off was a square earpiece over his right ear with an antenna sticking up. "Nice, right?"

Izuku blinked, then flashed the electric boy a thumb's up and a smile. "It's easy to remember, Denki-san," he offered, getting a pleased grin in return.

"Thanks, dude!" Denki replied, "You pull off the green and black good, my man, though I gotta ask…why skintight?"

Himiko's hand shot up and pointed at him like the barrel of a gun. "Don't you say anything against the tightness," she hissed, eyes narrowed. At her side, Mina nodded, crossing her arms.

As the blonde boy put his hands up in surrender, Izuku answered. "My telekinetic field is only two inches, Denki-san," he said, measuring it out with a finger, "A more bulky costume would cut into my field. That's not to say it's just spandex, or anything." Mei hadn't actually named the material yet, but it was another version of the same thing Himiko's costume was made of. "There are thin carbon fiber plates sewn inside of it above my vital organs, so those areas are protected against knives."

"Just like mine," Himiko chipped in, patting her stomach, "And even if we do get stabbed, the material is designed to compress so it'll hold the wound shut as a by-product of being skin-tight."

Looking at Denki and talking about their costumes reminded Izuku of something that had been in his suitcase. "Oh, by the way, this was with my suit," he handed her a long glove decorated by what looked like sharp magatama. "I guess Mei forgot to get it to you and slipped it to me."

"Oh sweet, I was wondering where these babies were!" The blood-drinker smiled and slipped the glove on, flicking her wrist. Three of the 'magatama' unfolded into shurikens between her knuckles, the center lighting up a sharp blue. "Nice. Don't worry, I'll slip something of my own to you later."

"Hey, what're those?" Mina asked, leaning forward to look at the shurikens as did the others.

Himiko grinned and let them collapse and reattach to her glove. "Maybe you'll find out when Combat Training starts," she taunted, leaning against Izuku.

"Unfair," Toru pouted, crossing her arms.

"Pragmatic," Keqing countered, leaning her elbows on her knees and tenting her fingers in front of her face. "Knowing the enemy is half the battle."

"But we aren't enemies!" The invisible girl protested.

"But we might be," the Chinese girl replied, her head twisting around as the bus came to a stop. "Seems like we're here." That being said, she donned the helmet she'd been carrying in her lap and stood up.

With her at her full height, Izuku was able to get a good look at her costume. His first thought was that it resembled motorcycle leathers, but a closer look revealed the more combat-focused aspects of its design.

She wore a bodysuit, a bit thicker than Mina's but equally skin-tight, colored in varying shades of purple from plum to lavender and near grey, the lightest shade around her chest and descending at angles down her torso and legs, piped with gold. The suit itself also covered her arms and legs, leading to armored boots and gloves respectively, both with small holes in them around the knuckles and toes. Around her waist was a utility belt, the buckle bearing a glowing purple gem in the center with a lightning bolt on it, and a short skirt that brushed the top of her thighs. Her helmet looked much like a motorcycle helmet with smooth curves, but seemed to be one solid piece and high-tech, with triangular protrusions from the top that resembled the cat-ear like buns she wore her hair in, and her hair itself tied into a single tail that poked out of the back and trailed down her spine.

Finishing the look was a purple silk bow around her neck, and the symbol of a lotus flower on her chest. Izuku tried not to look but couldn't help himself; despite appearing a bit more slender than Mina, Keqing had a bust that could rival Momo, and all of that while wearing a tight suit.

Speaking of Momo, Izuku got his first look at the elegant girl as he stepped off of the bus and followed her through the massive gates into the fake suburb that was Training Ground Beta.

Her main piece of clothing was a sleeveless, high-collared red leotard with white lines around her shoulders and following the dip of her pelvis and leading to a pair of thick gold-colored utility belts, on the back of which was a clasp securing a thick book. Said belts also gave her a bit of modesty, as her leotard was heavily cut down; not only did it not have sleeves, it also didn't have legs and the shadows of said belt covered her crotch. The other big thing, or two big things, rather, was that her neckline stretched from her throat to her bellybutton, only interrupted by a thinner utility belt that looped around the top of her chest and under her shoulders. The other piece was a pair of heeled red boots that almost reached her knees.

Not that Izuku was complaining; there were very few things in the world more entrancing to look at than a beautiful woman with a powerful Quirk. Puberty and a love of Heroes and Quirks had hammered that into his head as soon as he could quantify it.

But it prompted the same question as Toru's 'costume' had: wouldn't she get cold?

It took a nudge in his side for Izuku to look away from the slender curves of Momo's back and shoulders, meeting a grinning Himiko's eyes and taking in her furiously waggling eyebrows with a blush and a subtle cough. Embarrassed, he cast his gaze away and found Ochako walking at his other side, her usual blush a bit more prominent. "H-hey, Deki-kun," she greeted him shyly, "I like your costume…it's very…i-it's really cool! I guess you wanted something that wouldn't get in the way of your armor, huh?" She rubbed the back of her head. "I didn't really specify mine, so they made it pretty tight too…"

Indeed, the bubbly brunette wore a black and pale pink costume that clung tightly to her body, apart from a series of round, bubble-like braces around her wrists, along with a pair of puffy, rounded knee-high high heeled boots. A creamy helmet covered her head, with a sweeping pink translucent visor over her face.

"At least they got the parts that I asked for," she mumbled, "But, um…what do you think?"

To be entirely honest, Izuku thought her costume made her look like a very cute but definitely not an EVA-Rated astronaut. "Planning on going into space?" He joked, licking his lips as she glanced away, hoping he wouldn't flub his next sentence. "Because I think you l-look out of this world." Oh gods please tell me I don't say that too loudly.

There was a quiet snicker from his side as Mina and Himiko giggled at him, but the beaming smile and shining eyes from Ochako made the embarrassment worth it. "Thanks, Deki-kun," she murmured, stepping just a bit closer to him, "I kinda modeled it a little after my favorite heroine, 13, and these puffy bits are to squeeze pressure points that reduce nausea from my Quirk…"

All Might stood before them just beyond the gates, hands on hips, grin in place, cape billowing dramatically even though there was no breeze. "WELCOME TO GROUND BETA!" He announced spreading his arms out. "This instance of Combat Training will take place indoors as-" He paused for a second, digging into a pocket to retrieve a set of cards, "-statistically speaking, many of the worst Villainous Plots and Dastardly Plans take place indoors, so this training will prepare you for those situations during your own careers. The scenario is as follows: lots will be drawn to form teams of two, to mimic two Heroes teaming up on the spot, then two teams will be pitted against each other as Heroes and Villains-"

"All Might-sensei!" Iida called, thrusting a hand into the air, looking slightly nervous at interrupting the Number One. "M-my apologies for the interruption, but there are twenty-one students in this class!"

All Might did a quick headcount, the shadows of his majestic brow hiding the fact that his eyes were darting about in panic. "Ah, but that is another facet of this lesson!" He boomed, thrusting a finger into the air. "NOTHING IS CERTAIN! A team of two Heroes may face a team of three Villains or the other way around, or a singular Hero may face a team of two! The circumstances may not be in your favor, but you still must act! And, simply put…LIFE IS UNFAIR SOMETIMES." They're totally buying it, Toshinori thought with barely-hidden relief. Why can't I be chasing Villains down right now? Besides all the reasons that make me sad.

"I see, All Might-sensei! Thank you for explaining!" The speedster bowed sharply.

"Ahem. The Villains will be given this-" he pointed to a large black and red-striped warhead that they hadn't noticed until just then, "-and must choose from one of three buildings to hide it in! They will be given five minutes to prepare, before a team of Heroes will begin searching for them! The Villains win by either defeating the Heroes and capturing them, or by holding them off for fifteen minutes! The Heroes win by capturing the Villains, or by recovering the device! Even a single hand on the device will count as being recovered! BEWARE, ZYGOTES!"

What's a zygote and why is he calling us that? Was a prevalent thought.

"Villains and Heroes will be considered 'captured' if they are restrained in this capture tape," All Might held up a length of light yellow tape, "Unable to move, or unconscious. While I expect you to give Combat Training your all, I will be very disappointed if any of you need to be sent to Recovery Girl." His grin faded into a disapproving frown, and it felt like a cloud had covered the sun and a chill breeze swept through the students.

Izuku felt eyes on him, and turned to meet Katsuki's burning stare. He narrowed his eyes and she squinted, the same thought in their minds. If it's you I fight, I'm kicking your ass, All Might's disappointment be damned.

"While the Heroes and Villains are fighting, the rest of us will be in a nearby monitoring room, watching the battle taking place. Now, follow me!" It was easy to follow All Might's broad back and fluttering cape to said monitoring room, where a gigantic screen dominated the far wall. "And now, for the drawing! All pairs are final, no switching!"

The students watched as the screen blurred, unintelligible names pairing together before settling to reveal the teams. Izuku scanned the list and found his name at the very top.

(Team A: Midoriya Izuku & Bakugou Katsuki)

Once more, he felt eyes on him, but not just Bakugou. Everyone who'd seen the pairing was glancing between the two of them, trepidation visible on their faces. Izuku had been Number One in their Quirk test and Katsuki Fifth, and only then because she'd destroyed her grip test. Not to mention the obvious tension between them.

"The teams are as follows!" All Might bellowed.

Team A: Midoriya Izuku & Bakugou Katsuki

Team B: Jiro Kyouka & Hagakure Toru

Team C: Kirishima Eiri & Sato Rikido

Team D: Sero Hanta & Yaoyorozu Momo

Team E: Shouji Mezou & Tokoyami Fumikage

Team F: Toga Himiko & Uraraka Ochako

Team G: Ashido Mina & Iida Tenya

Team H: Ojiro Mashirao & Asui Tsuyu

Team I: Aoyama Yuuga & Todoroki Shimo

Team J: Koda Koji & Kaminari Denki

Team K: Keqing

Keqing, unfortunately, was on her own. She didn't seem to be bothered by it, though.

"And now, the first Villain team! Team B!" Toru and Kyouka traded looks and gave determined nods. "The Hero team! Team A!"

"Ooh," Denki murmured with a wince, "At least it'll be quick…"

The punk rock girl, though pale, shot him a withering look, taking Toru by the hand and stomping off into the training ground with her face a picture of determination.

"Villains, you have five minutes to prepare! Good luck, Zygotes!" All Might called, flashing them a thumbs up. "Heroes, time to strategize. Your radios are all linked to the monitoring station, so be aware of that."

Katsuki and Izuku nodded before the two of them trotted off, the class watching their backs as they turned a corner. Then all attention was focused on the screen, where half had been split to focus on the Villains as the two girls carried the bomb up a staircase, speedily trading ideas. The other half showed the Hero team tucked away in a small park, staring each other down. All Might reached over and turned the volume up as the volatile blonde opened her mouth.

"-fuckin' Deku, why'd we have to be on the same team?" She growled, gloved fingers working angrily, "I was looking forward to kicking the shit out of you…I'm tempted to say 'fuck it' and throw down right now."

"Don't threaten me with a good time, Bakugou," Izuku practically snarled, eyes nearly alight as his knuckles cracked beneath clenched fists, "Soon as I heard 'combat training' I was hoping I'd get to grind your face in the dirt."

The situation had evolved from a stare-down to a stand-off, small explosions popping in her hands while the ground beneath his feet quaked into sand. Ruby red bored into emerald green, her furious glare matched by his burning stare.

"…Later." She barked.

"Later," he nodded, and they dropped to a knee, the tension gone. "Neither Kyouka nor Toru strike me as the overdramatic type, so they'll have chosen an out of the way building with the darkest shadows. They'll be aware of our power."

Katsuki didn't blink. "Time?"

Izuku looked up at the sun. "12:30."

"Building A, back side," she deduced, and he concurred with a nod. "Third floor?"

"Fourth," he replied with a half-shrug, "Irony. Punk rock."

"Mm." Katsuki narrowed her eyes. "Plan: Delta-EF…3."

"3?" Izuku asked in mild surprise, his eyes scanning her body.

She wore a black tank top and baggy black pants, with orange-trimmed combat boots and sharp knee pads, and a green belt from which hung grenades or grenade-shaped devices. An orange X crossed over her chest, subtly directing attention to her chest while not showing anything, with a thick metal collar or a brace with holes in it. An orange domino mask covered her eyes and darkened as it extended back behind her head into the shape of an explosion. With her red eyes, it made it seem like her face was exploding but in an intimidating way. Covering the entirety of her forearms were square, bulky metallic bracers, colored olive green with four barrels around her thickly-gloved hands.

"The fuck you lookin' at, Deku?" The volatile blonde asked with a smirk.

"Flash," he replied, arching an eyebrow. "You kept that page."

"Made it better," she shrugged, before grinning and rubbing her fingers together. "No flash needed. I figured it out."

"You did?" Izuku asked, unable to not look impressed. He fixed her with a deep look. "I can hardly wait to beat your face in."

"Imma blast that fuckin' armor offa you and make you cry," Katsuki promised with an equally ominous glare. "So, Delta-EF 3?"

"Cannonball modifier," he added.

"High angle," the blonde said, tapping an ear, "Weird Ear heard Grape Head giggling on the other side of the locker room through a wall."

He squinted at her. "…Just giggling?"

She crossed her arms. "Nope."

Izuku clicked his tongue. "It was supposed to be between me and him," he muttered, scratching his chin. "Toru will ambush, likely with traps."

"The five minutes are up!" All Might boomed over the PA.

She nodded and tapped her ear. "Synced?"

"Synced. Beats?"

"Beats."

He tapped the tacpad on his wrist and a familiar song began to build over their radio connection as he dropped to the ground, pulling the concrete around him into his true Full Armor form. Katsuki wordlessly jumped on his back and he slapped a hand to the side of the building, pulling himself and his passenger smoothly upwards.

"Anchoring," she noted as Izuku jumped onto the roof and took off towards Building A as the beat picked up. "You figured it out."

"Years ago," he replied, the back of Building A dominating his vision. "Ready?"

"Execute!"

…

"-They could just stomp in and knock us aside," Kyouka muttered, jacks dug into the wall as she planted a rough net trap above the door to the room they'd chosen as Toru built a snare made of capture tape next to the bomb they were protecting, covering it with the deep shadows of the room and the those cast by the bomb itself. "One's got armor and the other explodes, they'll be straightforward."

"That's if they even find us!" The invisible girl added cheerily, starting on another trap, "This place doesn't really look like a dastardly Villain Lair, y'know?"

"There's only three places to choose," the punk rocker shot back, stiffening as she heard that planning time was up. "Alright, get ready Toru." She dropped back behind a pillar and went down on a knee, her jacks impaling the floor and the wall.

"Are you sure you'll hear them coming?" Toru asked as she peeled off her gloves and shoes, stashing them near the bomb.

Kyouka sent a reassuring smile towards the other girl, or at least where she thought she was. "I'll definitely feel the vibrations, don't worry." She closed her eyes and focused, filtering out the subtle creaks and groans of the building.

Then an explosion went off on the other side of the room and less than a second later a massive grey ball burst through the far wall, unfolding into an armored form that hit the ground skidding, arms shooting out. "Pocket Sand!" Izuku barked, using his field and hands to fill the air with fine particulates.

The punk rocker shouted as the grit invaded her eyes, distantly hearing Toru cry out in dismay as she suffered the same fate. And as if that wasn't enough, there came another, lighter impact and voice shouting, "Flash Bang!" Before there was a very bright flash and a very loud bang.

Kyouka fell to her knees, hands over her ears, but she grit her teeth and blindly lashed out with her jacks. Something snatched them out of the air and twisted them together before her legs were swept out from under her. She hit her back hard, eyes shooting open to find a grey fist inches from her nose, going stiff at the sight.

Then her leg snapped up, chunky boot striking the back of Izuku's armored head. He barely reacted, but it put her jacks in just the right position to shoot out and sink into the slots just above the speakers specially emplaced for her Quirk. Her panic-sped heartbeat and a swift kick powered a vibrating wave straight into his chest.

Izuku simply shifted his armor, letting the Third Layer peel away from her strike before grabbing her foot, turning on his heel and hurling her through the air.

Toru had just scrubbed the sand from her eyes when Katsuki had hurtled into the room with smoking palms, slid on the floor before throwing her hands up and clapping them. "Flash Bang!" The invisible girl quickly covered her head, but the resulting clap of noise and flash of light sent her reeling. Heat and pressure flashed in front of her and her feet left the ground, bouncing off of the wall with a cry.

She rolled to her feet, ignoring the pain in her chest and went still, only for a pair of red eyes to lock on. "I can see you," Katsuki hissed with a wide, eerie smile on her lips.

The sand! Toru realized just as she dived away from an explosion, kicking up the granules that had settled on the floor. She yelped and jumped away from another strike, mind racing until a blast hit her in the side and stole the breath from her lungs, sending her rolling across the floor. Her fingers dug into the soft sand as she pushed herself up, coughing.

"Stay down, See Through," the volatile blonde demanded, hand raised, barrels pointing at the spot in the sand.

Toru blew a raspberry and tossed a handful of sand in Katsuki's face, planting her hands and cartwheeling away from the following blast, then landing and hurling herself into a drop kick that would've planted her feet in the blonde's face.

'Would have' if Katsuki hadn't ducked, fired from her hand and spun herself around with the recoil, neatly dodging the strike and ramming an elbow into the invisible girl's gut.

Toru landed near the bomb, something tugging at her skin. She found the lead for her capture tape snare stuck to her arm, her head snapping up to see the volatile blonde next to the bomb and ripped the lead back. The snare snapped up, wrapping around Katsuki's right leg and nearly pulling her off-balance, but only for a second before she blasted the tape off of her.

There was a sudden yelp and a body crashed into Toru's back, sending her tumbling in a tangle of limbs.

"The Hero Team wins!" All Might declared, the two girls untangling themselves to find Katsuki with a smoking hand on the bomb, a fierce scowl on her face that was directed at Izuku.

With the many, many hours of experience Izuku possessed, he ignored it entirely as he shed his armor and offered a hand to sitting Team B. "Good kick, Kyouka-san," he said with a smile, his mask hanging around his neck.

She gave him a grumpy look in return, but still took his hand and was hefted to her feet…only to then be pulled into a surprisingly warm embrace. "Wha-what're you doing?" She stammered, eyes wide, face pink.

"Deku, what the fuck?!"

"I did just cover this room in sand," Izuku pointed out, and Kyouka felt her skin, scalp and eyes tingle. It was kinda comforting and kinda gross at the same time. "It's coarse, rough and it gets everywhere, and I do mean everywhere. Except it doesn't in my field." He stepped back, a thin line of sand traveling up his hand to become a ball in his hand, which he held up to the punk rocker. "See?"

She blinked, hoping the heat in her cheeks was dying quickly. "Y-yeah, thanks, I guess…a warning next time…"

"Sure," he nodded, jumping as an invisible girl ran into his chest.

"Me too!" She declared cheerfully, the outline of her body barely visible under a thin layer of grey sand.

Izuku chuckled and hugged her, covering her body with his field and gently pulling the sand away from her skin. "There you go, Toru-chan."

"I feel tingly!" Toru declared, small puffs of sand shooting up as she skipped over to retrieve her costume.

"Teams, report back to the monitoring station for debriefing!" All Might ordered, "Bring the device, too!"

Katsuki huffed and grabbed the bomb, easily lifting it on her shoulder. "This thing made of paper-mache or something?" She grunted, leading the way out of the building.

Just before they reached the monitoring building, Izuku grabbed the volatile blonde by the shoulder after she dropped the bomb off, fixing her with a serious look. "…Victory Dance?" He asked solemnly.

She scoffed and crossed her arms. "Why're you even fuckin' asking, Deku? I ain't doing that kiddy shit."

He arched an eyebrow at her. "You're one who made me practice for like, six hours to get it right, Bakugou, just like we used to with all the plans we came up with. I never forgot," he pointed out, smirking as her eyebrow twitched. "You know you want to."

Katsuki scowled and looked away.

Izuku started moonwalking in front of her, feet smoothly sliding over the ground. "You know you want to," he repeated, spinning around and going the other way. "You know you want to." And then once more. "You know you want to."

Her glare could've ignited his brain, and he stopped. Then he began to glide around her in a circle.

"You know you want to," he said again, spinning in front of her. "You know you want to." She crossed her arms so tightly her body was starting to shake. "You know you want to." She bit her lip, eyes wide. "You know you want to."

"ARRRGH!" She shouted and jumped, their hands meeting in a high-five before they landed and danced in sync, arms waving as they slid back to face each other before punching forward, fists bumping together and 'exploding,' tilting their bodies back dramatically then shooting forward, grabbing hands and pulling each other into a chest bump before Izuku spun her around by the arm, with him ducking low and the two coming together, back-to-back, fists up in Action Poses™.

Katsuki dropped her pose, looking at her own hands in horror and betrayal. She glanced up at Izuku and found him smiling, freckled cheeks curling with warmth and nostalgia, eyes sparkling.

"YOU FUCK!" She roared at him, face red with, uh, 'rage,' yes, definitely. "I'M GONNA BLAST YOU TO PIECES!"

Izuku gave her a cheeky wink and strolled off. "Looking forward to it…Kacchan."

Grumbling angrily, she stomped after him.

In the monitoring room, everyone was staring at the screen that had shown possibly one of the most adorable things they'd ever seen. "She-Salty can be cute?" Himiko asked faintly, scratching her cheek. "Stop the goddamn presses."

At the console, All Might's fingers raced across the keyboard. Clip and save, he thought frantically, Clip and save!

…

A Pillar stands before the storm, weathering the driving rain, the rolling thunder and the lashing of lightning. 'Stay behind me,' it calls gruffly, 'and lean on me when the wind plucks at you, so that eventually, you will learn to withstand it beside me.'

…

…

…

…

A/N: So, quite a lot happened this chapter, as is pretty standard. The Quirk test, then the first battle of Combat Training. Honestly, this chapter was supposed to be shorter, but I realized pretty quick that the descriptions for the costumes would take up quite a bit of space and I'm not willing to Copy/Paste them from the wiki.

I'll be honest, some of the tests are just dumb. How are you gonna use a quirk to do sit-ups faster? Don't try to explain it to me, NSG already did. I tried to be 'in-character' for how I imagined each character would use their quirks, but I kept having to check myself because, well, I'd had them showing prowess and experience with their powers that they didn't have in canon because of the quirk laws and shit.

And of course, one of the big things being Aizawa Erasing Izuku's Quirk while he was in his armor, and Izuku nearly getting suffocated because of it. I think in this case, Izuku getting screaming mad was pretty well deserved. Some might ask why Izuku, being a big boi, had trouble with his armor, and the simple answer is that he was caught completely by surprise.

And hey, look at that! Afterwards they had a mature discussion as reasonable people, student to teacher and settled their differences instead of letting it build to stupid levels! Isn't conflict resolution grand?

And of course there'll be those who wanna bitch about Izuku being 'too stronk' or whatever, but seriously, this is a guy who trained like crazy six days a week, every week for eight years. If he didn't have something to show for it except for the affections of a cute blonde, then I'd call that complete bullshit or Krillin's character arc.

NS: *Dies laughing*

Also, Mineta. That poor short sumbitch. Again, I was trying to be fair and also show the consequences of a more serious, reasonable world. Plus, it was a rational deception to boot him to Gen. Ed.

And of course, Himiko is not actually in 1-B but 1-A all along (see, herak?) due to a system fuck-up…or is it?!

I also needed some free space so I could introduce one of my highest-rated waifus from Waifu Simulator (Genshin Impact), Keqing. And that's all she'll be named until I decide otherwise, because as far as I know, she doesn't actually have a last name.

Now, some might ask, with Sucrose from the same game and now Keqing, is this a crossover?

No ya idiot. If it had been, I wouldn't have had to make a pseudo-Japanese name for the fox-eared sweetie. No, just like Sukuro, she's a character born into the world of MHA with her own Quirk and backstory, no crossover here.

But her presence is going to lead into something much, much later. More will be revealed as time goes on, almost like I'm still writing the damn story or something.

And since this note is dragging on and I don't need anymore padding in my word count, lemme finish quick. The Combat Training usually pits Izuku and Bakugou against one another and I thought that was boring as hell and also wanted to keep building tension for the actual fight later while also dredging up some of the feels from when they'd been best friends since pretty much birth, while also balancing a fight so that Kyouka and Toru didn't get completely owned but still put up a good fight.

And of course, the major cuteness at the end.

Big thanks to NorthSouthGorem for helping out as usual, and even more so with lore and shit. Why not check him out? He's a good writer and he updates pretty frequently!

NS: Do not listen to that last part, it is a goddamn lie.

Thanks to everyone for reading, leave a review if you liked, follow for more chapters in the future and maybe even look at my other stuff that I swear I'm working more chapters for but this kinda dominated my life, please?

Stay Awesome.

~Soleneus

P.S.: Guess what bitches? This story now has a TvTropes page, motherfuckers! Only been writing ten years with stories with word counts in the hundreds and reviews in the thousands…No I'm not bitter, why would you ask?

Here's the link for ao3:The First Pillar

NS: You're welcome!

And otherwise you can just search for it. Any of you tropers out there wanna add anything, be my guest!

Stay Awesome Some More, and Happy Halloween.

~still Soleneus