Midoriya Izuku: Dragon Rider

by tireddiver

Midoriya Izuku was just a quirkless five year old when he finds a mysterious egg in the woods. Now with a new friend, a disembodied master, and new powers Izuku's life is forever changed. He and his dragon are going to be the greatest heroes to ever live.

2. Chapter 2

Dragon Rider

Chapter 2

Momo counted the students in the room a second time. There was no doubt about it, they were only at nineteen.

"We're missing someone," Momo announced to the group.

"What no way!" Ashido, an excitable girl with pink skin, shouted. It had been her idea to do the meet and greet and she had roped Momo into helping her. "I went to all the rooms!"

"Maybe they haven't moved in yet," Kaminari, a boy who had blond hair with a black streak in it, commented.

"Today was the only day available for move in," Iida reminded them. Thank god there was at least one familiar face in the group. "If they have not moved in already then they are late and that is unacceptable for future heroes such as ourselves."

"Relax man," Kirishima, a boy with spikey red hair, laughed with a shark toothed grin. "I'm sure it's fine."

Momo went over to the room directory that had been provided. She went floor by floor, looking for anyone who she hadn't met yet. She made it all the way to the end of the list before she found them. Midoriya Izuku, boy's side, sixth floor.

"Wait, sixth floor?" Ashido's voice rang out beside her. "But there are only five floors?"

"Well that can't be right," Momo shook her h ead.

"Why don't we go check it out!" Hagakure called. Momo was still getting used to trying to find where the invincible girl was.

"Yeah!" several students shouted in agreement.

There was a rush towards the stairs, every member of 1-A tripping over themselves as they ran up. Everyone wanted to be the first one to find the mysterious sixth floor. Momo just sighed and followed behind them. There were stairs leading up from the fifth floor, but Momo could already see the sunlight coming through the door at the top. Still the other students were rushing through, so she followed.

Stepping out the door, Momo saw something she didn't expect. Set up on the roof was a little bungalow. It was quite a wide little building, even if it was only a single story. It had plain walls, the same color as the rest of the dorms, no windows on this side, and two doors. The first door was what you'd expect, a plain wooden piece with a peephole and a knocker. The other door was more like a giant hole in the wall. It was a perfect circular hole, the diameter the same as the height of the building, and its only barrier was a heavy black cloth.

Several students were already arguing in front of the building.

"We can't just barge in!" Iida insisted.

"Why not man?" Sero, the boy with tape dispenser elbows, laughed. "I mean it's not like it's locked or anything."

"Yeah, but it someone's dorm, kerro," Asui, the girl with the frog mutation, said…croaked?

"Who the hell'd get an entire house as a dorm room?" Bakugo, the angry ash blond, snapped. "If anyone deserves special privileges it's me! Not some two-bit extra!"

Momo just shook her head. She walked up to the door, the wooden one, and knocked. The sound got all of the other students to stop arguing and turn to the door. They waited only a moment before the door opened.

Standing in the now open doorway was an elf out of one of Momo's novels. His long pointy ears and angular features were captivating. They almost clashed with his kind green eyes and long dark green hair, but they didn't. The boy was tall too, a good ten centimeters taller than her, which meant he was one of the tallest in the class. Unlike the other tall boys though he wasn't bulky, his form was agile and slim.

"Hello," the boy greeted as his eyes went from Momo to the crowd of students behind her. Momo realized she'd been staring and quickly blinked away the awkwardness. The boy bowed. "My name is-"

Two shouts cut the boy off at once.

"It's you!" Uraraka cried, but if anyone but Momo heard she'd be surprised because at the same time explosions ripped across the roof.

"DEKU!" Bakugo screamed as he launched himself towards the boy. He slammed into other students, knocking them out of the way. The green haired boy stepped between Momo and Bakugo before he reached them. Bakugo slammed into the boy, grabbing his plain white shirt with smoking fists. "What the fuck are you doing here?"

"I'm a student here," the boy answered calmly, his voice was so smooth and gentle.

"Yeah right," Bakugo scoffed. "Like you or that little iguana of yours has what it takes to make it into UA."

A sound like an angry chainsaw washed over the students at Bakugo's words. Momo turned in time to see the black curtains split around a massive form. It was easily the size of an SUV. And then, once the curtains fell away and revealed the massive head, the rest of the creature emerged. Several students screamed in shock and fear.

The creature's light green scales and black spikes glimmered in the sunlight as it towered over the students. It stomped towards where Bakugo and the boy were still standing, the students rushing out of its way. As it reached them, its long neck curved downward, its head stopping just before the two boys. It opened its mouth and a wave of heat rolled through the air. Momo stumbled backwards into the wall of the bungalow. Bakugo, to his credit, just sneered at the creature.

"You think I'm scared of some lizard," Bakugo sneered as he turned back towards the green haired boy.

I'm glad you haven't changed Bakugo, a voice rumbled in Momo's head. It was telepathy she realized. The voice was deep and menacing. It will make stomping you into the earth all the more satisfying.

Bakugo looked at the creature with clear shock on his face. It quickly morphed back into anger.

"The fuck you just say to me you moldy ass lizard?" Bakugo barked.

The creature took a deep breath and roared in Bakugo's face. The sound was louder than anything Momo had ever heard. It was a deep horrible sound, like something out of her nightmares. It shook Momo to her very core.

Bakugo took an involuntary step backwards as spittle and hot air flew into his face.

"Jade," the green haired boy called, cutting the dragon off instantly with his words. The silence that followed seemed thick as the boy took a handful of steps. He ignored the stunned Bakugo and knelt beside Jiro. Momo hadn't seen her collapse. She was on her knees clutching at her ears in pain, blood leaking out from between her fingers.

"Heill älfrinns eyreya," the boy commanded as he placed his hands over Jiro's. Momo didn't know what it meant, but the words seemed to almost hum with power.

The pain melted from Jiro's features. She looked up at the boy with an awed wonder that was reflected on several other student's faces. The boy pulled his hands away and Jiro did the same after a moment, staring at the blood smeared across them.

"I'm sorry," the boy apologized. It was as though he were speaking only to her and he were unaware of the crowd around them. "Normally I would have warned you before healing you, but you were in too much pain to reach."

"I-it's cool," Jiro stuttered.

I am sorry as well little hero, the voice rumbled again as the creature turned to face Jiro. Its large green eyes focusing in on her where she was kneeling. The voice was clearly the same, but it couldn't have sounded more different. Now it sounded soft and almost warm. It was not my intention to harm you.

"N-no worries," she told the creature, paling a little as she looked up at the enormous head.

The boy stood straight once again, the motion was so smooth and graceful. Momo didn't know standing could be beautiful. He moved like flowing water. The boy's eyes scanned the crowd of students.

"Let me try that again," the boy huffed. "Hello, my name is Midoriya Izuku. It's a pleasure to meet you all."

The boy gave a small bow. No one said anything as they all stared at the mysterious addition to their ranks. The boy just waited, holding his bow as the class all tried to break out of their confusion.

"That was manly as hell!" Kirishima exclaimed.

While not the most refined response, it served the purpose of breaking everyone out of their stupors. A number of other cheers and compliments rained down on Midoriya.

He straightened up with a small smile on his face. "Thank you," he nodded. He looked around again. His eyebrows knit together ever so slightly before he continued. "I'm afraid I don't know most of your names."

"Oh yeah!" Ashido yelled. "That's why we were coming up here! We were going to do a meet and greet downstairs."

"Will the dragon fit?" Asui asked.

No, the creature laughed, the sound of his laughter rumbling through air and shaking the floor. Do not worry. Izuku will tell me about you all.

"Right," Ashido nodded. She grabbed Midoriya by the hand and began dragging him away. "We'll have right back to you Mr. Scary Dragon Dude!"

The creature, dragon Momo supposed was a good term for it, bared its massive razor-sharp teeth at that. It took Momo a moment to realize it was a smile.

The dragon's massive eye's flickered over to Momo, they seemed to glint with mischief.

Yes? The dragon asked, his tone almost sounded teasing.

Momo looked around and squeaked when she realized she was the last one on the roof, distracted in her observation of the dragon.

"Sorry," she screamed as she slammed down into a bow. She ran off the roof as quick as she could, her face burning with embarrassment.

"Why don't we go around and introduce ourselves," the girl with pink skin offered. "We can give our names and our quirks."

Izuku fought hard not to roll his eyes at that.

You knew they'd ask eventually, Jade reminded him.

I just don't understand why everyone is so obsessed about quirks, Izuku sighed to the dragon. It doesn't tell us anything about someone just to know their quirk.

Then listen to what else they say, Jade yawned. I'm going to take a nap.

"I'll start," the pink girl continued. "My name is Ashido Mina. You guys can call me Mina though. My quirk is Acid. I can produce acid from anywhere on my body. I can also control the potency and viscosity. I hope we can all be friends!"

She sat back down in her seat on the couch and motioned to the girl sitting next to her. It was the girl who had knocked on his door earlier. She was just as breath taking now. Her face was almost regal in its beauty.

"Hello," she greeted. "My name is Yaoyorozu Momo. My quirk is Creation. I can create anything I know the atomic make up of by using my body's lipid stores."

She sat back down. Short and to the point, but not rude. The way she phrased her explanation of her quirk made Izuku curious. It would require an insane level of study to produce anything beyond basic elements, but she sounded like she'd put in the work.

The next person to stand was a boy. Izuku recognized him as the serious boy who had tried to call out his clothing at the entrance exam.

"Greetings," he declared. "My name is Iida Tenya. My quirk is Engine. I have engines in my calves that run off of citric acid." With that he sat back down.

The boy had spoken as if he was giving a nervous book report. He was clearly very serious. Maybe with a little time he could relax though.

This pattern continued, each student introducing themselves and their quirk as they went around the circle. Some students' self-descriptions were quite informative. Kirishima told them his favorite hero was Crimson Riot, which Izuku thought said a lot about him and definitely explained his exclamations about things being manly. Others' introductions were vaguer. Even among those though Izuku could tell Tsuyu was very blunt and Todoroki thought the group introductions were a waste of time. The only one who's introduction truly left him with nothing was Shoji's short greeting.

He was quite pleased to see Uraraka had made it in. So too had the boy with gravity defying purple hair. The boy's name was Shinso and he had a brainwashing quirk. The way he had told them his quirk was as though he was scared of it himself. That wasn't good.

The only quirk that really interested him though was Tokoyami's. He had an actual companion quirk. Izuku had never met anyone with one, and after being told that that was what he had for so long he was curious to see what they were like. Tokoyami's companion, Dark Shadow, seemed to have some sentience too. He very much wanted to get to talk to both of them.

Finally, it was his turn. He stood up and gave a small wave.

"Hello again," Izuku chuckled. "My name is Midoriya Izuku. You all met Jade already. He was the dragon on the roof."

"But what's your quirk?" Sero called out.

"Yeah man!" Kirishima agreed. "You've got a sick ass dragon, but you healed Jiro up there too. How'd you do that?"

"Through my bond with Jade I have access to a lot of abilities," Izuku explained. "One of them allows me to heal others as you saw."

Izuku heard Bakugo scoff and several other students murmur to those around them. Yaoyorozu raised her hand. Izuku just quirked an eyebrow at her. He wasn't about to call on her like this was a classroom.

"Well," Yaoyorozu hummed. She bit at her bottom lip, something that made Izuku's mouth feel dry all of a sudden. "I wanted to ask what language you were speaking. I didn't recognize it."

"Oh," Izuku chuckled. He scratched at the back of his head a little nervously. "It's an older dead language. A little like Latin. That's probably why it was hard to recognize."

"I see," Yaoyorozu nodded.

"Alright guys enough with the third degree," Mina laughed. "I think it's about time we bust out some party games!"

"Yeah!" Kaminari cheered. "I brought some video games, let me go grab one of my systems and we can set it up on the TV!"

"Do you have the latest smash heroes?" Tsuyu asked.

"For sure!" Kaminari yelled as he disappeared up the stairs.

Izuku decided that it was probably better to sit back and watch. He didn't really have much experience with video games. He watched as everybody partnered up into teams and began talking about preferred heroes.

Yaoyorozu was the only other one who wasn't going to be playing. She made her way over to where Izuku was sitting and took the spot next to him on the couch.

"Do you not want to play?" Yaoyorozu asked him.

"I've never played before," he confessed. "I'm fine with watching for tonight."

"I've not played either," Yaoyorozu said with a laugh. It was a nice sound. "May I watch with you?"

"Of course," Izuku nodded.

Together they watched as Tsuyu and Uraraka crushed everyone who dared to go against them. They didn't really talk much, but Izuku had a good time. The game was a little boring to watch, but seeing his classmates get into it was nice. Someone ordered a bunch of pizzas for everyone. Izuku was happy to grab a slice of cheese and relax.

As the night wore on, more and more people said their goodbyes and turned in. Eventually Izuku decided it was late enough for bed too.

"I'm going to head up," Izuku sighed as he stood. "I'll see you in the morning for class."

"Yes," Yaoyorozu nodded. "Probably best for me to get some sleep as well."

Izuku smiled at her and the two parted way. Izuku got back up to his and Jade's dorm. He still couldn't believe Nedzu had arranged something like this for them. It was one massive room with a bed for both Izuku and Jade. The bed for Jade was a massive cushion placed in a half dome dip in the floor. There was a desk and a private bath, it was honestly a little decadent.

Did you have fun? Jade asked as Izuku prepared for bed.

"Yeah," Izuku nodded. "It was nice. They seem like good people."

That's good, Jade yawned. Are you ready for tomorrow?

"It's the first day," Izuku shrugged as he got into the bed next to Jade. Jade draped his wing over Izuku. "How bad can it be?"

Momo sat at breakfast and tried her best not to worry about the oncoming day of classes. It was only the first day. With the president's welcome speech and them needing to cover the syllabus they wouldn't have time for much anyways. So, she did her best to put aside her worries and enjoy the pancakes Sato had made for everyone.

"Has everyone gotten pancakes?" Sato called from the kitchen.

"I don't think Midoriya has come down yet," Kirishima called back.

"Can someone go get him?" Sato asked. "I'll throw on a couple for him."

"I'll go," Momo offered as she finished off her own breakfast.

Momo headed up the stairs of the boy's side and back to the rooftop bungalow that was Midoriya's dorm. She opened up the door and blinked hard to try and let her eyes adjust to the bright morning sun. What she saw when she could finally see again made her blush.

Midoriya was standing in the open air. His shirt was off and there was a sword in his hand. Momo couldn't help but notice the powerful muscles that clung to his slender frame. He moved with elegance as he swung the sword through the air. He lunged at an invisible enemy before rolling across the roof in a dodge. He popped back up, spinning to face towards Momo as he rose.

As his eyes landed on her, he straightened out of his ready stance and lowered the sword. Momo tried her best not to stare at his bare chest or the way he almost glowed in the morning light.

"Good morning Yaoyorozu," he greeted her. His green eyes sparkled in the morning light.

"G-good morning," Momo stammered.

"Is something wrong?" Midoriya asked with a tilt of his head.

"No!" Momo nearly shouted. She could feel the blush still burning across her cheeks. "Sato was making pancakes. He asked if I could come let you know."

"Ah," Midoriya smiled. "Thank you for letting me know. I'll be down in a just a moment."

"Right," Momo nodded.

She quickly turned away and rushed back downstairs. She didn't slow down until she was back in the common room. She earned a few odd looks as she ran in. The almost knowing smile Mina gave her almost had her blush coming back.

"You good Yaomomo?" she teased.

Momo stood up straight and fixed her rumpled uniform. "Yes," she nodded. "He'll be down in a moment."

Izuku was one of the last ones to leave the dorms. After his morning training he had showered before heading downstairs to grab some breakfast. Sato's pancakes were quite good, though a bit too sweet for his tastes. Jade was walking beside him, having flown down once Izuku was out of the building, and together they made their way to the classroom building.

You know you still won't fit in the building, Izuku reminded him.

No, Jade chuckled. But it would not do for them to think only of you.

Izuku just rolled his eyes. His mind began to wander as they walked. Saphira had been asleep for a few weeks now. She had told him that he was ready to go to UA and that they would continue their training later, but neither he nor Jade really knew how long that meant. She had never slept for this long before.

Do not worry for her little warrior, Jade comforted him. She deserves the chance to rest.

I know, Izuku sighed. I just wish she could have been with us. We've been training as Dragon and Rider for so long. Now we get to train as heroes! I wish she could see it is all.

She will Izuku, Jade assured him. His confidence spread across their link and helped Izuku feel a little better. As they made it to the backdoor, even smaller than the doors on the front of the building, Jade shook his head and laughed. Go on little warrior, I shall wait here.

Izuku placed a hand on Jade's side. I'm sorry, he thought. It isn't fair that you are left behind like this.

Jade rumbled a chuckle. It is only a class Izuku, he reminded him. I will still be with you through our minds.

I know, Izuku nodded.

Good, Jade said. Then it is time for you to get going. You will be late otherwise.

Jade lowered his head and gave Izuku a gentle shove towards the building. Izuku stumbled through the door and headed up to the 1-A classroom. He could already hear the arguments within from the stairs. Izuku just sighed and headed in.

He ignored Bakugo and Iida fighting over what basically amounted to their clashing personalities and made his way to his seat. Izuku closed his eyes and tried to relax a little before the start of class. He kept his presence extended, gently touching the mind of each classmate the way Saphira had taught him. He felt someone approaching, but he didn't think much of it. They were probably just gonna try and break up the fight between Iida and Bakugo.

"Hey Midoriya," they called, going against all of Izuku's reasonings.

Izuku opened his eyes and found Uraraka waiting patiently beside his desk with a smile. He smiled back at her. "Good morning Uraraka," he greeted.

"I didn't get the chance to talk to you yesterday," she explained. "I just wanted to say congratulations on making it in!"

"To you as well," Izuku nodded. "It is nice to have at least one familiar face in class."

Finding a girlfriend already? Jade teased.

Shush you, Izuku laughed.

Or perhaps you have another girl in mind, Jade continued.

An image of Yaoyorozu flashed through his mind, but Izuku honestly couldn't tell if it was from him or Jade. He tried not to blush as Jade shook with laughter down below.

"I know right," Uraraka cheered, unaware of the other conversation she had sparked. "I was so nervous I'd get here and not know anybody."

"If you're here to make friends you can leave," a voice called from the open doorway and commanded silence from the room.

For a moment there was no one there. Then a strange yellow mass rose from the floor and revealed the disheveled face of the man who spoke. He held a pouch to his lips and quickly downed its contents.

"My name is Aizawa Shouta," he told them as he slipped out of his yellow cocoon and slouched to the front of the classroom. "I am your homeroom teacher."

There were several doubtful murmurs around the room at the man's claim.

Aizawa held up a stack of blue. "Put these on," he said as he dropped the stack on his desk. "Meet me at the sports field in ten minutes. Don't be late."

With that he left. The students of 1-A sat stunned for half a moment before making a mad dash to the desk. Izuku waited for the rush to die down before he made his way up. On the desk were a handful of blue UA PE uniforms, each with a name taped onto it. Izuku grabbed his and followed the crowd to the changing rooms.

Even with his delayed start he was one of the first to the sports field. Before long though the rest of the students arrived.

"You took too long," Aizawa sighed. "Learn to change faster or risk being left behind. Today we're going to be doing a quirk apprehension test."

"What about the president's speech?" Yaoyorozu asked.

"The president says welcome," Aizawa told her. "Nothing else of consequence will be said that we can't go over later. Instead, you will be showing me what you can do."

Izuku could hear the soft conversations that broke out around him. The other students were getting excited.

"Midoriya," Aizawa called.

"Yes sir," Izuku stepped forward. Aizawa flicked a softball at Izuku, which he caught.

"How far could you throw a softball in middle school?" he asked.

"The field could only measure to 100 meters sir," Izuku told him.

Aizawa raised an eyebrow at him, but he didn't push it. "Try it with that," Aizawa told him. "You can do whatever you want, just don't leave the circle."

Izuku stepped into the chalk circle Aizawa had pointed to and tossed the softball in his hand. He got an idea of the things weight. It was light. He could probably have thrown it quite far. But that wasn't really in the spirit of things.

"Rise," Izuku commanded, the white-hot bubble of his magic filling him. The softball rose from his palm and hovered about six inches in the air. The students around him began to murmur in surprise. "Go."

The ball streaked through the air with a resounding crack. It flew up and away and before long it was nothing but a speck that even Izuku could not follow. With the light weight of the ball, the drain on his reserves was miniscule. He held the spell for a minute, waiting in the circle as he did, before finally releasing it and allowing the ball to fall where it may.

Izuku turned to Aizawa and waited for his results. Aizawa turned the tablet in his hand first to Izuku and then to the rest of the students. Shock ran through the crowd of students.

"3 kilometers!" Kirishima shouted as Izuku headed back to join them. "Dude that's so manly!"

"Knowing your limits is the first step of being a hero," Aizawa droned on in a bored tone. "We'll be doing the standard fitness tests today. You'll be using your quirks."

Several excited exclamations came from the gathered students.

"This is gonna be so much fun!" Mina cheered.

"Maybe, but that's not really the point," Izuku commented. "Not knowing what your limits are is how you make mistakes. Mistakes get people killed."

Izuku hadn't realized all of the students were listening to him, but the silence that followed his words was heavy. Izuku looked around and saw the students looking at him with conviction on their faces. That was good.

The swift breeze that swept through the gathered students was all the warning most of them got before Jade slammed into the earth behind them. There were several screams and some students fell to their knees or on their butts from the shaking of the earth.

I will be participating, Jade informed the gathered students and teacher.

"Obviously," Aizawa huffed. "Now let's get started."

The first event was not the softball throw, but the fifty-meter sprint. Aizawa had the students go up in pairs and race. When Izuku's turn came he was pleased with his score of 2 seconds. But after all the students went Aizawa tried to move onto the next event.

I have not gone yet, Jade growled. I thought I made it clear that I would be participating.

Aizawa turned to the dragon with a bored tilt of his head. "Midoriya has already gone," he told Jade.

And I have not, he said again. Izuku and I are a team, but we do not have the same limits.

Aizawa shrugged. "Fine," he sighed. "Go ahead."

Jade walked over to the starting line and crouched down in a ready position. He was large enough that he took up almost the entire track, not just the two lanes the students had been using. When the starting beep sounded, Jade leapt the entire fifty meters in a single bound.

"1.7 seconds," the timer beeped.

"Moving on," Aizawa called.

The next several events went smoothly. For grip strength Izuku credited his score in the low thousands to his daily practice with a sword. Jade crushed his tester beneath his massive weight. Both Jade and Izuku cleared the pit for the standing long jump. Seated toe touch was interesting. Izuku did well, bending so his chest was flat against his knees, but no one could hope to match Jade who simply laid down and allowed his massive length to give him first place. Izuku's stamina earned him first in the sit ups, an event that Jade had to accept an automatic zero for as he couldn't preform them.

The entire time Izuku kept his mind extended. He could feel the conviction of his classmates as they fought to get the best scores. It was invigorating in a way. But the growing rage he felt rolling off of Bakugo's mind was dampening the mood.

When they got back to the ball throw though he could tell the blond was ready to explode. As he marched into the circle for the ball throw Izuku could already see the sweat pouring down his arms. His jaw was clenched and the scowl on his face was one that screamed murder.

As Bakugo pulled back his arm Izuku decided to spare his classmates, especially Jiro, from any pain Bakugo was going to cause.

"Silence," he commanded as he raised his palm towards Bakugo.

Whatever the blond screamed was never heard. The explosion was silent. There was instead an eerie calm as the students watched the silent seen. Izuku could actually hear the sighs of relief around him.

Bakugo was instantly in an outrage. He spun on his heel and faced the students screaming words that they couldn't hear. A couple of students actually laughed at the strange scene, which only made Bakugo's anger worse. He threw himself towards them, palms exploding behind him.

He never reached them though. Aizawa caught him in the strange scarf that he wore, eyes glowing red and his hair rising around him.

Bakugo writhed against the capture weapon but he was firmly trapped. His explosions refused to come.

Aizawa's eye flicked to Izuku, but he just stood there and watched as Bakugo silently struggled.

He's like an animal, Jade commented.

Izuku didn't respond but he couldn't stop the smirk that spread across his face.

"Enough," Aizawa called. "Bakugo stop making me use my quirk. It gives me dry eye. You are not to go attacking other students. If I even hear of another incident like this, then you will be expelled and removed from campus. Do I make myself clear?"

Bakugo stopped struggling and gave a single angry nod. Aizawa released him from the capture tape and pulled out a thing of eyedrops. After he had put a few in he turned to Izuku.

"Release your quirk Midoriya," Aizawa told him.

Izuku shrugged and let the spell end.

The last few students went for the ball throw and then it was Jade's turn. After a funny moment where Aizawa decided that it was Jade's head that could not leave the circle, Jade picked up the softball with his teeth. He took a deep inhale, similar to what he does before he breathes fire, and spit the ball as far as he could.

"110 meters,' Aizawa announced.

They moved onto the final event, the endurance run. Izuku crouched at the starting line with an excited grin. He loved running. It wasn't as good as flying, but it was still exhilarating with his speed. As Aizawa called for them to start he took off like an arrow from a bow.

Rocketing around the track, Izuku took notice of those who were keeping up. Jade was flying above him. The dragon was clearly holding back, but Izuku didn't mind. The objective of the event wasn't speed but endurance. Behind them he could hear the roar of engines. He turned and saw Iida running at a full sprint. He seemed to be growing faster the longer he ran. He was slightly surprised to see Yaoyorozu keeping pace on an electric bike as well. It made sense though. She'd proven to Izuku that she'd definitely put in the work to use her quirk to its full potential. She'd been in the top three of almost every single event.

Laughing that he was so easily matched Izuku picked up the speed a little more. It wasn't his top speed, but speed wasn't the purpose of the exercise. He just wanted to push the others and see what they could do.

When he lapped Iida for the first time, he could see the clear frustration on his face. But he also saw the determination. Iida doubled down and pushed himself harder. For a moment, the two of them were perfectly in pace with each other. But then the other boy flagged. Iida stumbled a single step and suddenly his cadence was broken. He never quite managed to get back up to the same speed.

Eventually the others wore out. The last three on the track were Izuku, Jade, and Yaoyorozu. Izuku was still going strong and he knew Jade could fly on for a while still. So, when he was passing by Yaoyorozu again he slowed down to keep pace with her.

"Do you know how long your bike can last?" Izuku asked her.

She jumped slightly and looked to see him running along beside her.

"With the battery I created it should be able to run for another couple hours," she told him.

"I'll let Aizawa know then," he sighed. He didn't really want to be running around the track for the rest of the day. He extended his mind across the field and brushed against Aizawa. He was filled with curiosity about something and a deep exhaustion.

Aizawa, Izuku called. He could feel Aizawa's shock and anger. Though he didn't understand what the anger was about.

"I swear to god if this is the problem child," Aizawa muttered. "Midoriya is that you?"

Yes sir, Izuku confirmed. I just wanted to let you know that it will be several hours before Yaoyorozu's bike runs out of batteries.

"And what about you, problem child?" Aizawa asked with a sigh.

Oh, I could run like this all day, Izuku laughed. He let the truth of his sentence ring in his very words so that Aizawa would know he wasn't bluffing.

"And the dragon?" Aizawa groaned.

Jade could fly across Japan if he really tried, Izuku answered.

"Fine," Aizawa spat. "You all tie for first."

Thank you Aizawa, Izuku smiled.

"We can stop at the end of this lap Yaoyorozu," Izuku said aloud.

She raised an eyebrow at him.

"I talked to Aizawa," he shrugged. "He agreed the three of us would tie for first."

"Seems reasonable," she nodded. "Thank you for that."

The three of them came to a stop as they came back around to where the other students had gathered. They were greeted with halfhearted cheers and claps from the exhausted group.

"Alright I'm going to share your results," Aizawa announced. "Your placement is nothing more than a starting point. If you are dissatisfied with your results than put in the effort to improve."

He held the tablet out flat and a holographic display with their results popped up. Izuku was in first, Jade behind him in second. Yaoyorozu had earned third place. Izuku gave her a smile when he saw.

"All right you're dismissed," Aizawa told them. "There's a copy of the heroics syllabus in your emails. Read it by tomorrow. Midoriya come with me."

With that Aizawa turned and began walking away. All eyes turned and watched Izuku. He just shrugged and walked after their teacher, Jade following behind.

The three of them walked back to the classroom building. Once they made it close to the door Aizawa simply stopped and waited. Izuku stood before him. He could have asked what they were doing, but Aizawa would tell him when he needed to know.

After a few minutes of waiting, the door to the classroom building opened and President Nedzu walked out.

"Hello Mr. Midoriya," President Nedzu greeted him with a smile.

"Mr. President," Izuku nodded.

Nedzu turned to Aizawa. "So, what can I do for the two of you today?" Nedzu asked cheerily.

Aizawa instantly turned to face Izuku. "I'd like to know about your quirk," Aizawa explained.

"What would you like to know?" Izuku asked with a tilt of his head.

Aizawa scowled at the question. "Everything," he grunted. "Your quirk registration has you down as having a simple small sized companion quirk with animalistic intelligence. It's clearly out of date. You should have had it updated years ago. I would like an explanation of your inaction as well as the proper details concerning your quirk."

Izuku sighed. "Quirk, quirk, quirk," he shook his head. "I feel like I'm back in that doctor's office when I was five. I could explain things, but like him you would hear only what you chose to."

"Try me," Aizawa growled.

Nedzu just watched the interaction silently. Izuku's eyes flickered to the president and found him wearing a gleeful smile. He turned back to Aizawa and rolled his eyes at his dire expression.

"I was five when I met Jade," Izuku told them. "I found his egg in the woods behind the park I liked to play in."

"Found?" Aizawa repeated as his scowl deepened.

"Our master once called it fate," Izuku shrugged. He held up his hand and showed off the silvery mark on his palm. "That day Jade chose me as his rider."

"So then what exactly is your quirk?" Aizawa asked.

"Weren't you listening Aizawa?" Nedzu laughed. Both Izuku and Aizawa turned to see the joyful expression on the president's face. "He doesn't have one!"

"Ridiculous," Aizawa scoffed. "Even if the dragon is a remnant of someone else's quirk, Midoriya has displayed increase strength, agility, and stamina. Not to mention the clear emitter type quirk he displayed in both the exam and the ball throw."

"Can you cancel it?" Nedzu asked, genuine curiosity dripping in his voice.

"Not once it's in place," Aizawa told him.

"Have you tried before he activates it?" Nedzu pushed.

"No," Aizawa growled.

"Mr. Midoriya, if you would," Nedzu prompted him excitedly.

Izuku turned to Aizawa who's eyes were already glowing red, his hair and capture weapon rising off of his shoulders.

Izuku looked Aizawa square in the eyes and held his hand aloft. He let the bubble of magic spread through him, taking great joy in the heat as it burned through his veins. "Fire," Izuku summoned. The bright white flames danced on his palm. They bathed the small group in heat.

"Wonderful!" Nedzu cheered. "Thank you for the demonstration Mr. Midoriya."

Izuku let the spell go and dropped his hand back down.

"So what do you think now Aizawa?" Nedzu chirped.

"Fine," he spat. "I still want an explanation."

"That seems reasonable," Nedzu laughed. He turned back to Izuku. "It is in the best interest of UA to have a full understanding of your abilities to best prepare you to be a hero."

"Yes sir," Izuku nodded. "Let's see I have increased strength, speed, agility, reaction time, senses, and endurance. I have trained to use a sword and a bow. I am skilled in leather work, metal work, and farming. I can access the minds of others to communicate and read their thoughts and emotions. If I delve deeper, I can access a persons' memories as well. I also have access to magic."

Aizawa scoffed. "And how does this magic work?" Nedzu asked.

"Through the use of the ancient language of the grey folk I am able to exert my will upon the world," Izuku explained. "As long as I have the energy required to do it myself, I am limited only by my vocabulary and my imagination."

"Fascinating," Nedzu cheered. "Any other abilities?"

"I don't think so," Izuku shook his head. "Jade?"

Our bond makes you ageless, Jade said.

"Then you would be five," Aizawa pointed out.

Izuku shrugged. "I guess that's one we'll just have to wait and see about then," he chuckled.

"Wonderful," Nedzu clapped his hands together. "I would like a more detailed explanation of Jade's origin and this master you have spoken of. But that can wait for another day."

"Yes sir," Izuku nodded.

"I'll have you both over for tea sometime," Nedzu laughed. "Though I might have to buy Mr. Jade a special cup."

With that he sent Izuku and Jade off to rejoin their classmates in the dorms. The last Izuku saw he was walking into the classroom building with Aizawa close on his heels.

Izuku was relaxing in the common room with Jade. It had taken a little while to figure out how to let Jade hang out with everyone. In the end they had opened the window next to the couch and moved the ottoman so Jade could rest his head on it. Now Izuku was sitting next to the enormous head of the dragon in an otherwise empty common room as he scratched at Jade's scales.

"Midoriya," Uraraka called when she spotted him from the girl's side. She excitedly ran over to where he was sitting. "You got Jade in!"

"In a way," he chuckled.

"I didn't get the chance to talk to you two at all today after Aizawa started class," Uraraka complained.

Izuku could feel the curiosity filling Jade, but he ignored it.

"Oh?" Izuku asked. "Was there something you wished to discuss?"

Uraraka huffed. "Don't be like that," she rolled her eyes. "We're friends, aren't we?"

Jade's laughter rumbled through the room. Oh, I like this one, he said, allowing Uraraka to hear him as well.

"What do you mean?" Uraraka questioned as she tilted her head and put a hand on her hip.

Izuku was never one for friends, Jade told her. Izuku wanted to defend himself, but Jade kinda had a point. He'd never really made an effort with any of the kids at school. You will do him good.

"Thank you!" Uraraka smiled. She plopped herself down beside Izuku and looked to Jade. "What else can you tell me about him?"

I won't spoil all of his secrets, Jade teased her. The sparkle of mischief danced in his eyes. You'll have to get to know him yourself.

"I do not need you making friends for me Jade," Izuku sighed.

Someone needed to, Jade shot back.

"Aw you guys are so cute," Uraraka cooed. "It must be nice having a best friend as a quirk."

Izuku and Jade both flinched internally at her phrasing. Hearing the words made a pit form in Izuku's stomach that made him feel sick. Though maybe they weren't as subtle as they thought since her brow furrowed in confusion.

"I said something wrong," she observed. "I'm sorry."

It is okay little hero, Jade assured her. I should be accustomed to such phrasings.

"No," Izuku shook his head. He was staring at his fists where he had them clenched in his lap. "No, you shouldn't."

Izuku it's not your fault, Jade told him.

"Yes, it is," Izuku insisted. He could feel the tears in his eyes already. "It took a single conversation to explain it to Nedzu and Aizawa."

Nedzu was willing to listen, Jade pointed out.

"I'll listen," Uraraka interjected. Izuku felt her put a hand on his shoulder. "I don't know what's going on, but I'll listen to anything you need to say Midoriya. We're friends. That's what friends do."

"You won't believe me," Izuku chuckled darkly.

You won't know that until you try, Jade argued. He could feel the concern and the love through their bond. Jade had never been mad at Izuku for the way the world saw him. Hell, he'd never even cared. He was a dragon, and dragons didn't care about the opinions of others. Jade had only ever cared that Izuku let it bother him.

"Okay," Izuku nodded.

He took a deep steadying breath as he closed his eyes. He allowed Jade's confidence and pride to fill him and smooth out his own feelings. He opened his eyes and looked at Uraraka who sat concerned beside him.

"Jade is not the result of a quirk," he told her. He tried not to flinch at the way her eyebrows knit together in confusion. "He's a real dragon."

"So, then your quirk is just the weird command thing?" Uraraka asked.

Izuku shook his head. "No," he chuckled. "I think I'm quirkless actually."

"I think I'm quirkless actually," he told her.

Ochako stared at the boy before her. The boy with the face of an elf and the strength to rival all but the strongest heroes. A boy she had seen do impossible things while speaking in words that literally hummed with power. Someone who could speak directly into her mind. Not to mention he had a literal dragon. And he was telling her that he was quirkless.

She had to bite back her laugh at the shock. He had trusted her with this. Hell, she and Jade had practically dragged it out of him. She couldn't do that to him.

"How?" she asked instead. The word was almost breathless.

Midoriya looked at Jade with a kind of pride in his eyes and a soft smile on his lips. "I found him," he told her. His words were nostalgic. "Or I guess I found his egg rather. It was in the woods."

"He was waiting for someone," Midoriya continued. "Someone who he would choose to be his rider."

"His rider?" she asked. She had shifted so that she was fully facing him at this point.

"It's a bond," he explained. He was staring at the palm of his right hand. There was a mark there she hadn't noticed before. A shiny silver scar that spiraled out from the center and glimmered in the light. "One that lasts a lifetime."

And I chose you, Jade reminded him gently. Ochako could hear the words, but she knew instantly they weren't meant for her. Jade was staring at Midoriya with the kind of fondness she had only ever seen in her parents' eyes before. I would choose you in a thousand lifetimes.

"I know," Midoriya nodded. He placed a single hand against Jade's cheek. It was such a small action, but it somehow seemed heavy with emotion.

Jade rumbled happily.

"Thank you," was the only thing Ochako could even think to say.

Midoriya looked at her with a raised eyebrow. The tears had already dried from his eyes. Seeing someone so normally tranquil brought to tears had been hard on her heart in a way that Ochako had been unprepared for.

"Thank you for trusting me enough to tell me," she tried again. "I don't understand it all, but I don't need to. I'm glad I understand it better."

I told you I liked this one, Jade laughed. The way it vibrated through the room and shook the walls was terrifying to her, but it was still nice to hear. From the small smile Midoriya gave, he must have thought so too.

The next day was a lot more normal than the one before it. Izuku sat through Present Mic's English 1, Intro to Heroic Art History with Midnight, and Cementoss' Literature 101 with the same astute attentiveness he gave to all his studies. Saphira was firm in her belief that a rider was a scholar as much as a warrior. It was after a brief lunch break that the course the students were excited for was being held.

"I am coming through the door like a regular person!" Toshi screamed as he stomped into the room. Izuku shook his head fondly. Toshi was wearing his silver age costume, the red and white looking old fashioned these days.

Toshi always was one for dramatics, Jade chuckled.

"Ladies and Gentlemen welcome to Hero Informatics," Toshi called with a laugh. "You may think of this class as heroics 101. And we'll be hopping right into the thick of things with this!"

Toshi whipped out a thick card with the word 'Battle!' written across it. The students around Izuku began excitedly chattering.

"That's right!" Toshi boomed. "But before we get started there's something you all need!"

He pressed a button and twenty slots opened on the wall behind him.

"These were made to your exact specifications," Toshi told them. "Put them on as fast as you can and meet me at Battle Ground Beta!"

With that he flew from the room. The students were left scrambling after him in their dash towards the cases. Izuku didn't bother, his cubby was empty. Instead, he headed to the window.

"Midoriya?" Uraraka asked as he opened it up. "What are you doing?"

"Oh, mine's in my room," he explained.

"So why are you going to the window?" she laughed.

"It's faster," Izuku shrugged as he climbed up onto the windowsill. Several other students noticed and started shouting at him to get down. He laughed as he leapt out into the open air. Jade was already flying up beneath him and grabbed him out of the air.

They flew straight to the dorm and when Jade dropped Izuku, he hit the ground running. He dashed into the bungalow and went straight to the wooden chest he had all the pieces of their armor stored in. He began pulling out the metal plates with a smile.

Momo had made her peace with the fact that she needed to show a lot of skin in her hero costume. It was practical. It made perfect sense. It was still a little strange.

She wasn't the only girl in a revealing outfit. Mina, Uraraka, and Tsuyu were all in skintight body suits. They were just as revealing. Except Momo's costume had a giant cut down the middle. Well too late to do anything about it now.

She headed out of the changing room and made her way to Ground Beta. She chatted with Jiro as they walked. The two of them had very different tastes in music, but she excited to give the bands Jiro was recommending a try.

As they got closer, they heard the now familiar sound of enormous wings flapping through the air. The green dragon swept over their heads and towards the battle ground. The glint of steel flashed in the sunlight and as the dragon landed, Momo got a good look at it.

The dragon was covered in steel armor. The interlocking plates left only its wings and the bottom of its jaw uncovered. It must have been several hundred pounds of armor. It all felt redundant, but it was a little terrifying to see.

Momo and Jiro joined the growing group of students and Momo took the chance to look at the other costumes. Shinso was there in a black jumpsuit with a strange collar around his neck. Kaminari's costume looked so similar to Jiro's that Momo had to do a double take between them. She almost didn't recognize Iida in the metal armor he was wearing. Its mechanical theme and his iconic hand chopping were what clued her in.

She looked to the dragon and admired the armor that decorated him. It was rather beautifully crafted. Each piece had been shaped individually and then attached to the others by leather straps so that they could slide over each other. It would be incredibly easy to repair and should allow almost full range of motion. It must have cost a fortune.

"I thought there was a price limit on our costumes?" Momo voiced her concerns.

"I crafted Jade's armor myself," Midoriya told her with a gentle chuckle.

Momo jumped. She hadn't realized he had been so close. She turned to face him and tried not to blush at her comment being overheard.

Midoriya was wearing a steel breast plate over a chainmail shirt. He had a sword strapped to his hip and a quiver across his back that was filled with arrows and a dark wood bow. He had his green hair tied up with a thin strip of leather. He looked like a knight from one of her novels.

"It is quite beautiful," Momo complimented after she'd regained some of her composure.

"Thank you," he bowed. He was always so polite. It was honestly refreshing after dealing with the carefree attitudes of the students like Mina or the angry outbursts of Bakugo.

"They say that the clothes make the pros," All Might laughed. "You all certainly look the part. Remember that when you put on these costumes that you are official heroes in training!"

Momo felt herself swell with pride. This was really it.

"Now let's get started with the exercise!" All Might boomed. His over-the-top presence kept everyone's attention. "We'll be doing a two-on-two indoor battle training today. I know many of you have seen villain fights that took place on the streets, but a great deal of hero work takes place indoors. From trafficking rings to drug rings, you'll find truly dastardly villains hiding inside."

Iida raised his hand and tried interrupting, but All Might held up a hand.

"Please hold off on your questions until I've finished explaining," he told them. Iida lowered his hand, and All Might continued. "Now we'll be deciding teams by drawing lots. I know that may seem strange, but it is to simulate real life. You do not always get to choose your partner in the field, nor will you always get the chance in this class! The exercise is simple. Each team will be assigned to be villains or heroes. The villains will be given a bomb that they are to protect and five minutes of prep time in the building. The heroes are going to infiltrate the building once time is up. The heroes win either by touching the bomb or capturing the villains. The villains win by capturing the heroes or stalling until time runs out."

The students all began to discuss the exercise excitedly after All Might finished the explanation. Momo had a clear advantage if she was on the villain team. Honestly, it seemed the villains just had an advantage.

"Now I know you are all excited but remember the goal is to subdue your opponents, not to harm them," All Might warned. "You have all proven you have powerful quirks. Today is your chance to prove you know the meaning of reasonable force. If you knowingly cause excessive harm or disobey any direct order from me there will be consequences."

That got the excitement to die down quite a bit. It was an instant reminder as to why they were there. It wasn't to play games. It was to be heroes.

"Let's get started shall we!" All Might exclaimed excitedly as he busted out a box. "Everyone come up and draw a ball to see what team you'll be on."

Each student went up and drew. Momo was on team C. She looked around and found her teammate was Ojiro. She walked over to the tailed boy and gave him a smile, which he returned with a thumbs up.

"Ready to win this?" he asked happily.

"Yes," she nodded back.

"And our first match up!" All Might yelled as he pulled balls out of two more boxes Momo hadn't seen him get. "Team A will be the heroes and team C will be the villains! Team C if you will follow me, I will lead you to the building so you can begin your prep time."

Momo scanned around for team A. She found Uraraka excitedly dragging Midoriya towards the door. Her heart started pounding when she realized they were who she was looking for.

She quickly turned to follow after All Might. He dropped them off at the entrance of the building with two communicators, two lengths of capture tape, and a giant paper mâché bomb.

"So, do you have a plan?" Ojiro asked as she picked up the surprisingly light bomb and began making her way further into the building.

"I think that we should probably put the bomb somewhere towards the middle of the building," Momo told him. "If it were near any windows then Midoriya or Uraraka could find it by getting into the air and scanning the building."

"Makes sense," Ojiro nodded.

"I think the third floor is probably best for much the same reason," Momo continued.

"Sure, if someone were to start from the roof then we'd be at an immediate disadvantage if we were at the top floor," Ojiro reasoned.

"Exactly," Momo agreed. "So, we put the bomb in the middle of the third floor and then I can produce some defenses."

"Defenses?" Ojiro asked.

"My quirk is creation," Momo explained. She made it to a good enough room. It only had the one door in and a long hallway that ran outside the door in either direction. "I learned how to make trip wires, non-lethal mines, and lots of other boobytraps. I can make it so that even once they find the bomb, they can never reach it."

"Sounds good," Ojiro said. "But I'm not sure if having us both trapped in here is a smart idea."

"What do you mean?" Momo asked.

"Well, it just leaves them to their own devices so they can find a way around your traps," he told her. "So, I can stay on the outside and keep them busy while you defend the bomb."

"That's a good plan," Momo relented. She'd been so focused on herself she'd forgotten to consider her partner. That was stupid of her she groaned to herself. "I'll get started on the traps then. Let me know when you've found them."

"Will do," Ojiro nodded. He headed out of the room and off down the hall.

Momo instantly went to work. She started on the far ends of the hallway and worked her way back towards the door. Once she finished one half she moved to the other and did the same thing. As she was placing the last row of spikes on the floor the communicator crackled to life.

"Heroes may enter the building!" All Might called.

As soon as his words died out the sound of an impossibly loud roar shook the building. Momo quickly ducked back into the room with the bomb and began setting up more defenses. She started by putting several braces against the door that would make it impossible to open. She couldn't think of anything else that wouldn't put her at a disadvantage too though.

She had to think. What did she know about the two of them? She knew their quirks. With Uraraka's zero gravity quirk producing objects in the room would give her ammunition. Midoriya wouldn't be able to bring the dragon into the building, at least not without carving his way through several feet of concrete. He wasn't going to do that, right?

If he did then Momo wouldn't be able to do much. Best not to think about it. Instead, she thought about the weapons she had seen on Midoriya's person. He had a bow and he had sword. She could counter those things.

First, she made herself a classic shield. It was large and strong enough to protect her from either arrows or his sword. Then she made herself a sword. It was relatively simple. She had made the blade from steel and the grip was pleather. She couldn't make real leather unfortunately. They both felt good in her hands. She had practiced with this combination more than almost any other and it helped fill her with confidence.

"I found them Yaoyorozu," Ojiro's voice called through her earpiece. "They had the dragon fly them to the roof."

So, they were making their way down. It was a good plan.

"Try to avoid capture and stall as long as you can," Momo reminded him.

"Will do- Fuck!" Ojiro screamed. Momo heard glass shatter through their comms and the sound of the dragon's roar.

"Ojiro has been eliminated," All Might called out.

Momo felt a pit in her stomach. That hadn't even taken ten seconds. She had never seen Ojiro fight, but from his confidence and his gi she had assumed that he was fairly experienced. Now she was left on her own. She could only pray that her traps and her skills could buy them the time they needed.

Momo waited in tense silence. Several of the traps outside of her door were meant more as noise makers to warn her of any approach. She just had to wait and listen. As the minutes wore on though Momo only felt the tension growing.

Suddenly the door handle shook. But that was impossible. She hadn't heard a thing! As something heavy slammed into the door and shook it though, she couldn't deny that someone was here. A leather boot slammed through the door beside the handle.

As it slowly pulled back out Momo could see the glint of steel on the other side. Midoriya. He must have slipped through her traps. She readied her sword and held her shield up in front or her. There was a flash of movement and suddenly a diamond shape wedge was shoved out of the door.

Midoriya flew into the room like a demon. Momo didn't have time to react as his sword batted her shield aside with so much force it nearly tore her shoulder from its socket. She slashed her sword at him, but he quickly matched her sword with his own. There was a resounding crack as the two blades met and Momo's sword was ripped from her grasp. It flew across the room and imbedded itself in the wall.

Midoriya drove his elbow into Momo's stomach in one last fluid motion. Momo wretched over his arm as she fell down to her knees. All the wind was gone from her lungs and all she could do was clutch at her midsection and desperately try to refill them with air.

"Hero team has captured the bomb!" All Might called.

Momo was still gasping for breath. Gentle hands settled on her shoulders and she looked up to see Midoriya kneeling with her. He had a remorseful smile on his face.

"Apologies Yaoyorozu," he said. "Are you well enough to stand?"

Momo took another couple heavy breaths as she stared at him before she gave him a nod. He offered his hand and helped her to her feet. The motion caused her core to ache as she added pressure to the abused muscles.

Midoriya scowled when he saw her discomfort. His eyes went instantly to the large red mark on her stomach.

"I can heal that," he offered. His voice dripped with concern.

"No," Momo shook her head. "I'll be fine."

As tempting as it sounded Midoriya wouldn't always be there to heal her. She needed to be able to handle a little bruising.

"If you change your mind come find me," he told her. "Or find Jade if you cannot find me."

"Thank you Midoriya," Momo nodded, though she resolved to stay strong and not go seeking him.

"Midori!" Uraraka shouted as she rocketed out of nowhere and slammed into Midoriya. Momo felt her stomach angrily jump. "We did it!"

"Yes," Midoriya chuckled. "Good work getting to the bomb so quickly."

Uraraka made a pfft sound and waved him off. "I feel like I hardly did a thing," she laughed.

The comm crackled to life in Momo's ear. "Will both teams make their way back to the observation deck and we'll review the exercise!" All Might instructed.

As Momo left the room she expected to see a mess of the traps she had made, instead she found them all perfectly in place.

"What?" she gasped with a shake of her head. She inspected both sides, but she couldn't find a single trap out of place.

"Oh man you should have seen it," Uraraka laughed. "Midori was like a ninja or something."

"She might get to," Midoriya sighed. He raised a single eyebrow at Momo. "I don't suppose you can deactivate all this?"

"No," Momo told him. "I could disassemble it, but it would take a little while."

"It's fine," Midoriya shook his head.

"Dibs on your back!" Uraraka cried out suddenly as she threw herself onto his back.

"Uraraka!" Momo called out aghast. "You can't just throw yourself at a classmate like that!"

"Relax Yaomomo," the girl laughed. Why did all the girls insist on caller her that? It wasn't that she minded, she quite liked having a nickname. "Midori's fine with it. Besides, you get the arms."

"The arms?" Momo wondered.

Uraraka gestured over Midoriya's shoulders at his arms. Momo felt her face burning at just the thought of what she was insinuating.

"I could never," Momo cried.

"It's okay Yaoyorozu," Midoriya assured her. "It's the easiest way across."

Looking at Midoriya, seeing his kind eyes totally focused on her own, she couldn't put up any fight.

"Very well," Momo sighed. Midoriya put one arm under her knees and the other across her back. He picked her up gently, as though she weighed nothing at all. She could feel the heat in her face grow hotter. "I don't see how you plan to get across with two of us."

"Just watch Yaomomo," Uraraka assured her.

Midoriya began walking forward as though nothing were wrong. His steps were sure and smooth as though there weren't a half dozen mines and trip wires spaced every few feet. He would duck and weave every now and then, avoiding the razor-sharp wires that threatened to cut at them. In no time at all they were on the other side and none the worse for wear.

Midoriya put her back down on her feet. Momo did her best not to stumble. She felt like she was in a daze as they walked out of the building. Ojiro and the dragon were waiting for them just outside. Together the five of them walked back to the observation room. Uraraka and Ojiro were happily chatting about something, but Momo wasn't really listening.

"Well done all of you!" All Might cheered as they walked back in. There was some polite applause from the rest of the students behind him. "Now we need to discuss what happened."

"Midoriya kicked ass!" Kaminari interrupted loudly.

"An astute observation," All Might chuckled. "But let's start at the beginning. The villains were able to prepare for the situation. How did they do?"

"Well, they did alright," Sero shrugged. "I mean laying traps like that and splitting up was a pretty good plan."

"Exactly," All Might nodded. "Their plan was indeed strong. But no plan survives contact with the enemy. Now let's move onto the heroes' infiltration."

"Midoriya and Uraraka took a less traditional route and had Jade fly them to the roof," Iida shouted as he threw his arm into the air. "This subversion of expectations is an excellent move when fighting in enemy territory."

"Indeed," All Might agreed. "Though they made quite a bit of noise doing so."

"That's how Ojiro knew to meet them on the fifth floor," Tsuyu noted.

"And thus, the foes met for the first battle," All Might continued.

"Wouldn't call it much of a battle," Ojiro grumbled.

"Quite," All Might laughed sheepishly. "In the future Young Midoriya please refrain from throwing your classmates out of fifth floor windows, even if you do have a plan in place to catch them."

At first Momo thought it was a joke. The quiet "Yes sir," from Midoriya told her otherwise. She paled at the thought and suddenly thought much better of Ojiro's choice to curse.

"Then they went straight for the bomb," Kirishima said.

"Yeah," Kaminari nodded. "It was like they knew where it was."

"I did," Midoriya confirmed. "Or at least roughly."

He didn't explain how. Honestly Midoriya's quirk was making less and less sense the more she learned. It wasn't like anything she'd ever even heard of before.

"And then he just carried Uraraka through all those traps in his arms," Mina called teasingly. "Must have been nice."

"And after successfully infiltrating the room Midoriya engaged the final enemy while Uraraka secured the weapon," Iida finished, completely ignoring or unaware of Mina's provocative comment.

"Wonderfully summarized," All Might laughed. "Now can anyone tell me who the MVP of the match would be?"

"Midoriya," Iida proclaimed as he threw his hand pointlessly into the air again. "It was his quirk that allowed the hero team to infiltrate abnormally and his superior combat abilities that dealt with both villains."

"Very good Iida," All Might nodded. "While I agree it does not lessen the contributions of any of the other participants. You all did well. Yaoyorozu, Ojiro, I recommend you reflect on what you could have done better, but do not let this defeat get you down. The road to being a hero is one of learning and you are only on day one. Instead let this loss invigorate you and push harder than ever. Plus Ultra!"

All Might having finished his evaluation on their exercise moved on and pulled out the next teams. Bakugo and Shoji as the heroes against Kirishima and Todoroki as the villains. As Kirishima and Todoroki made their way inside she noticed Midoriya had pulled back out his sword and was eyeing it critically.

"Is something wrong?" she asked softly as she stepped closer to him.

"Yes," he sighed. He sounded almost defeated. "Take a look."

He handed her the weapon. The first thing Momo noticed was that it was incredibly light. It felt nearly weightless in her hand. It was also painstakingly beautiful. The gentle curve of the blade and soft shine of the silvery steel were so fine that she knew instantly the blade would be worth a fortune. Would be, if not for the fine crack that split the blade at the middle.

"Oh no," Momo gasped. He must have broken it on her shield. "I can reimburse you for this."

"No," Midoriya shook his head. "It is not an issue of money. I have other swords."

"Then what is it?" Momo asked curiously.

"It means I need to speak to my master," he told her. "No other sword was as strong as this one. I doubt I can make a stronger one without her guidance."

"She must be very skilled," Momo remarked.

"She knows more than anyone I've ever met," Midoriya sighed.

Momo wanted to ask more, but she couldn't as All Might shouted into his microphone.

"Bakugo I forbid you to use such a weapon," he cried. "You could kill someone!"

Momo looked up to see Bakugo in an ice-covered room standing opposite Todoroki. Bakugo had one of his oversized grenade gauntlets pointed directly at Todoroki's chest.

"He won't die if he blocks it!" Bakugo shouted back half crazed.

Bakugo pulled the pin from the gauntlet and a flash of light overtook the screen. The room around them shook as what must have been a truly massive explosion went off.

"Midoriya go!" All Might shouted.

Momo turned but Midoriya was already gone, the door closing behind him.

"Iida go get Recovery Girl," All Might instructed as he too ran out of the room.

All of the students besides Iida followed. As they made it out of the room and into Ground Beta, they were greeted to a sight like a warzone. There was so much dust in the air it looked like it was snowing. The two buildings closest to the observation room had collapsed and there was water being flung in the air by busted pipes. A few small fires were burning in the rubble.

Right at the edge of the destruction, standing on the now exposed second floor, was a very stunned looking Bakugo. He was staring at the gauntlet like it had just done something amazing, not caused the life ending destruction that was before them.

Midoriya was already knee deep in rubble. Wading through the concrete and steel as he hunted down Todoroki. All Might was marching straight towards Bakugo. When Bakugo saw the approaching hero his face split into an enormous grin.

"Not bad huh?" Bakugo shouted with pride.

"Not bad?" All Might growled, his voice clear despite the destruction around them. He leapt up to the second floor. He grabbed Bakugo's gauntlet and lifted him into the air so that they were face to face. "Young man you very well might have just killed your classmates. I cannot begin to describe how much trouble you are in."

Bakugo's face turned into a furious scowl. "What the fuck?" he screamed. "How can you say that? All I did was prove I'm the strongest!"

"All you did was prove that you don't understand what it means to be a hero," All Might scoffed. He leapt back down and away from the destruction. He set Bakugo back down. "Stay here."

Momo watched the stunned Bakugo drop onto his backside as he stared after the hero. All Might was making his way towards Midoriya as the green haired boy hefted a larger chunk of a building out of the way. Midoriya pointed to the side and sent All Might off as he pulled Todoroki out of the rubble.

Momo gasped when she saw him. A few of the other students noticed and gasped or screamed. Even with all the distance between them they could call tell it wasn't good. Todoroki was covered in blackened burn tissue and blood. Momo fell to her knees. He couldn't possibly survive. She didn't want to watch, but she couldn't look away.

Midoriya knelt beside Todoroki. His back was to the rest of them, but he looked shaken. Momo was prepared for a lot of things to happen next, Midoriya singing wasn't one of them.

It was such a slow and pained song that it could only be a song of mourning. It was heart wrenching to hear. Momo couldn't understand the words Midoriya sang, but she could feel the power that they were filled with. Whatever Midoriya was doing, Momo prayed it worked. If it didn't, she didn't even want to think of it.

The sound of enormous wings flapping through the air mixed with Midoriya's pained refrain. Midoriya's dragon landed heavily beside the students. Momo looked up in time to see the armored form of Iida sliding out of the saddle and then reach up to catch Recovery Girl as she too hopped off.

Recovery Girl scanned the damage and her eyes instantly focused in on Midoriya where he was singing over Todoroki. She began making her way through the rubble towards the two of them without any hesitation. Momo could tell the heroine was struggling with her small frame though. She instantly rushed forward and picked her up.

"Thank you," Recovery Girl nodded tersely as Momo carried her over the rubble and to the two boys.

Up close it was so much worse. Todoroki was unconscious, but even still there was pain on his features. The acrid smell of charred flesh was overwhelming. Most of Todoroki's hair was gone, only a small tuft of white remaining on the side of his head. He had more blackened skin than not and his shirt had been obliterated by the blast.

"Put me down dear," Recovery Girl instructed.

Momo obeyed, but she could barely think as she did. It was all so horrible.

Recovery Girl quickly got to work assessing Todoroki. She didn't touch him, for which Momo was grateful, but she inspected every inch of him. As she stood up straight once again Momo could tell she was concerned.

"I can't help him," Recovery Girl shook her head. "Not here."

Do not move him, the familiar voice of the dragon rumbled in Momo's head.

Recovery Girl looked around before her eyes narrowed in on the dragon watching them from across the rubble. "And why not?" she demanded angrily.

Izuku will heal him, the dragon explained. He is already doing so.

"He could very well die if we do nothing," Recovery Girl snapped.

He will die if you move him, the dragon responded calmly. Right now, Izuku is keeping him alive. He only needs time.

"Fine," Recovery Girl spat. "But I want a better explanation once the others are seen to."

Very well, Jade agreed.

"I need you to help me to the others," Recovery Girl told her.

"Others?" Momo asked weakly.

Recovery Girl gestured to where All Might was helping Kirishima and Shoji out of the rubble. They seemed banged up, but nowhere near as bad as Todoroki.

"R-right," Momo nodded. She picked Recovery Girl back up and carried the old heroine to the other pair of boys. As they drew near, they could hear Kirishima practically shouting at All Might.

"But that's not manly at all!" Kirishima yelled angrily. Momo could see blood matting his hair and making it dark.

"No, it isn't young Kirishima," All Might agreed darkly as he reached up and held a cloth against the wound on Kirishima's head.

"Let me see," Recovery Girl demanded as Momo put her down again.

All Might jumped when he heard her voice. He stepped aside and let the heroine approach, only removing his hand from the cloth when Recovery Girl put her own hand next to his. She pulled back the cloth and clicked her tongue. She gave Kirishima a quick kiss on the forehead and the cut on his head instantly closed up.

"You're lucky. You didn't have a concussion," Recovery Girl told him. Her tone was a lot softer than it had been earlier. She turned to Shoji. "How about you dear? Anything hurt? Anything at all?"

"No ma'am," one of Shoji's duple arms reported.

"All right," Recovery Girl nodded. "If that changes, I expect you to come see me. Any time. Understood?"

Shoji only nodded but Recovery Girl seemed to accept it as a good enough answer.

The heroine turned and looked towards Midoriya who was still kneeling beside Todoroki.

"It will likely take a few hours," All Might sighed.

"And you're sure he can handle this?" Recovery Girl asked sternly. It wasn't necessarily harsh, but it demanded an answer.

"Yes," All Might answered without any hesitation.

Momo stared at the hero in shock. He'd only known them for a day. How could he have such confidence in Midoriya? Had he known him before hand?

Recovery Girl clicked her tongue in frustration. "I won't be leaving until it's done," she informed them. "You should have the other students go back to the dorms."

"Very well," All Might nodded. "I'll let them know. I need to take young Bakugo to Nedzu."

"Have him send Hound Dog to the dorms when you see him," Recovery Girl added.

"Right," All Might nodded. He turned back to the three students. He put on his All MightTM smile, but it seemed more tense than it had earlier. "Let's go rejoin your classmates," he told them gently.

The four of them made their way back to the group as Recovery Girl began picking her way carefully back to Midoriya and Todoroki. Momo couldn't help but watch the heroine and worry about what was going to happen.

Since they'd been sent back to the dorms the students of 1-A were subdued. Even the more boisterous students hadn't made an attempt to lighten the mood. The only sound within the dorm for hours were the muffled sobs of Hagakure and Mina's soft attempts to comfort her. More often than not they all sat in uncomfortable silence.

Almost all of them had taken up silent vigil in the common room. They waited and they watched the door for any sign of their missing members. Any word that everything was going to be okay. The only three students not in the common room were the ones they were waiting for.

All Might had taken Bakugo straight to the President's office. His promise of consequences proven to be more than just words. No one had seen him since.

Midoriya and Todoroki had been left with Recovery Girl at Ground Beta. But that had been hours ago. The longer they waited, the tenser the students grew. It was getting to be too much.

Momo felt utterly useless. All she'd been able to do was act like a glorified taxi for Recovery Girl. Now one of her classmates was on death's door and the only thing keeping him alive was Midoriya.

The door opened suddenly and snapped her out of her self-pity. Walking through the doorway was a perfectly healed Todoroki and a very tired looking Midoriya. Todoroki was actually supporting Midoriya as they walked in.

There was a moment of perfect calm in the common room, it was just long enough for Momo to hear her heart pound once, and then the room exploded in noise. There were shouts and cries of joy as everyone made a mad dash to the pair.

"You guys are okay!" Uraraka shouted loudly as she nearly tackled Midoriya into a hug.

"Yes," he nodded as he hesitantly returned the hug.

"How are you feeling Todoroki?" Kirishima asked.

"I'm fine," Todoroki shrugged. "I don't remember what happened."

"What do you mean?" Kaminari pushed.

"One moment Bakugo was pointing his gauntlet at me, the next I was sitting in the rubble with Recovery Girl and Midoriya," he explained. He didn't seem overly bothered by it.

"Well, we're just glad you are alright!" Iida proclaimed.

"Why?" Todoroki asked. His voice and his tone really worried Momo. He seemed genuinely confused.

"Cause we're your friends Todoroki!" Mina cried out. She wasn't all that close to him, but he clearly was taken aback by her intensity. "So, don't you go getting hurt like that again. You hear me!"

"Okay?" Todoroki agreed uncertainly.

There was a quick moment of movement and Midoriya was suddenly facing the closed door again with his bow in hand and an arrow drawn back. Before anyone could ask what, he was doing Bakugo stomped angrily through the door. When he saw the crowd of students, and the arrow pointed square at his chest, his already sour expression turned into a look of pure rage.

"Get that thing out of my fucking face," Bakugo snapped.

"No," Midoriya refused.

"What the fuck did you just say?" Bakugo growled as small explosions crackled in his palm.

"Enough," another voice called from the doorway. Behind Bakugo was a very done looking Aizawa. "Bakugo go. Midoriya lower your weapon."

Bakugo began stomping through the room, the crowd of students parting before him. Midoriya tracked him with his bow until he made it to the stairs. Only then did he return the arrow to the quiver.

"Midoriya, President Nedzu has asked to speak with you," Aizawa sighed. "He said he would wait on the roof of the classroom building."

"Right," Midoriya nodded.

He slipped the bow back in the quiver on his back before removing both the quiver and his sword belt. He handed them to Uraraka who was still next to him. "Will you hold onto these for me?" Midoriya asked her.

"Sure?" she said uncertainly as she took them. "Why?"

"It's rude to go into a meeting armed," he chuckled tiredly. With that he walked out of the dorm.

Once he was gone Aizawa went over to the couch and plopped down, appearing to instantly fall asleep. Momo watched with some amazement at the strange scene.

"Holy crap," Kaminari grunted. Momo turned to see he had snuck Midoriya's bow out of the quiver and was currently trying to draw back the string. "You guys gotta try this."

Jade landed on the roof of the classroom building. The sight that greeted them there was so comical that if it had been any other day it probably would have earned a laugh. Even after all the stress of the day, seeing a children's inflatable pool filled with tea was enough to make him smile.

"Ah Mr. Midoriya, Mr. Jade, it's nice to see you," President Nedzu greeted them happily from a table beside the pool.

"It's nice to see you as well President Nedzu sir," Izuku bowed.

He walked forward and sat in one of the other seats at the table with Nedzu. Jade moved around and sat at the head of the table where he could easily reach the pool.

"Please help yourselves to some tea," Nedzu offered with a smile.

Thank you, President Nedzu, Jade laughed, the vibrations shaking the china cups on the table.

"You're very welcome," Nedzu laughed back. He suddenly turned and faced Izuku, his serious expression returning as he did. "Though I feel I really ought to be thanking you once again."

Izuku sighed.

"Not once in the thirty years that I have run this institution have I had students with injuries as serious as the ones you've seen," Nedzu went on. "It is no lie to say that you saved young Todoroki's life today."

"I only did my duty," Izuku explained.

"Your duty?" Nedzu inquired.

"Yes," Izuku nodded.

"I would very much like to hear more," Nedzu hummed. "But I feel this is a conversation others should be a part of as well. Is that acceptable?"

"Of course," Izuku agreed.

Nedzu sent off a text. While they waited Izuku and Jade sipped at their tea and the three of them talked. The tea was quite good, bitter and strong the way Izuku liked it. Jade thought it was quite enjoyable as well.

"Mr. Bakugo has been expelled," Nedzu told them.

"Is that wise?" Izuku wondered. "Surely you realize he might turn to villainy now that he has failed at being a hero."

"Perhaps," Nedzu agreed. "But today he showed that he did not care about the lives of others. While we might have been able to teach him the error of his ways, nobody can instill goodness in a person."

"But if he falls to villainy isn't that on UA now?" Izuku asked.

"No," Nedzu shook his head. "The world is not divided into heroes and villains. Mr. Bakugo has many paths ahead of him and he is free to choose any of them. If he falls to villainy than it only reinforces that he did not have the proper values of a hero and prove that we were right not to trust him with a heroics license."

"I couldn't agree more," Aizawa grunted as he slouched onto the rooftop. "He had already received a warning from me. Combine that with disobeying a direct order from another teacher regarding excessive force and it's clear he wasn't cut out for this."

"Hello Aizawa," Nedzu greeted the tired man. "Would you care for a cup of tea?"

"Do you have any coffee?" he grumbled.

"No," Nedzu chirped happily as he poured another cup and passed it to Aizawa.

"Thanks," Aizawa nodded with a sigh. He left the cup untouched in front of him.

"And that just leaves-"

"Me," Toshi laughed as he stormed onto the roof. Nedzu was already pouring the man a cup of tea as he took the last seat at the table.

"Well, if that is everyone then we can begin," Nedzu ginned. "Mr. Midoriya would you like to tell the others what you told me?"

"Sure," Izuku nodded. "When Nedzu thanked me for my actions in saving Todoroki's life I told him that I was simply doing my duty."

"Duty?" Aizawa asked parroting Nedzu's earlier question of the same.

"Yes," Izuku confirmed. He turned to Nedzu. "I assume you informed the other teachers of the truth regarding Jade and myself?"

"Indeed," Nedzu laughed. "Though many still have their doubts."

Izuku looked to Toshi. "And you Toshi?" he asked.

"I have always known that your abilities made little sense as a quirk," Toshi shrugged. "The explanation that the President gave does make more sense."

Izuku felt a wave of relief as a knot he hadn't even realize had been tightening in his stomach released. "I'm glad you know," he told Toshi.

"Does your mother?" Toshi asked him.

"No," Izuku shook his head. "Though I would tell her if she asked. I ask that you not tell her. She worries enough."

"Very well young Midoriya," Toshi agreed tensely. "Though I do not like the idea of lying to her, even if it is a lie of omission."

"I understand," Izuku sighed.

"So, this duty you've spoken of," Nedzu prompted him.

"It is my duty as a dragon rider to ensure peace and to protect others from harm," Izuku told them.

"And who gave you this duty?" Aizawa asked. Given his attitude at their last meeting he was being far more cordial this time.

"My master," Izuku told him. "As her masters gave it to her and so forth through the ages."

"And were they dragon riders too?" Nedzu inquired.

"Yes," Izuku started.

And no, Jade finished cheekily.

Izuku had to bite his cheek to stop himself from laughing at the way Aizawa and Toshi jumped as they suddenly remembered the presence of the several ton dragon beside them.

"A dragon and their rider are an interwoven pair," Izuku explained. "It is their duty as a pair and as individuals."

"Then how have we never heard of a dragon rider before," Aizawa asked.

"Simple," Izuku answered. "They have never existed in this world before."

"In what world did they exist?" Toshi wondered. He was clearly much more enthralled by the explanation than Aizawa was.

Izuku scowled slightly. "I do not know the name of the world," Izuku confessed. "My master was from a land known as Alagaësia, but that was but one part of her world. She was sent here alongside Jade's egg to ensure that the legacy of the riders would continue."

As Izuku finished his explanation there was a moment of silence. The three teachers were each giving him very different looks. Nedzu looked fascinated, Aizawa looked annoyed, and Toshi looked awestruck. Izuku honestly wasn't sure which look made him the most uncomfortable, but he sat there calmly and allowed them to process it all.

"I would like to meet her," Nedzu announced happily.

"I expected you would," Izuku nodded. "She is very old however. She has been resting and I dislike disrupting her."

"Even still," Nedzu pushed. "If you are willing then I would like to meet her as soon as possible. I will take responsibility for disturbing her sleep."

"Very well," Izuku agreed. He stood from the table and walked over to Jade. The dragon laid down to allow him to access the saddle bag with Saphira's heart in it. He pulled out the stone and brought it back to the table.

"What is this?" Aizawa asked. "Some sort of communication device?"

"No," Izuku almost laughed. "This is my master's heart of hearts. Now that her body has died this is where her spirit resides."

"How do we proceed?" Nedzu asked.

"I will reach out to her," Izuku explained. "She will either agree to speak with you or she won't."

"Whenever you're ready then Mr. Midoriya," Nedzu nodded.

Izuku took a deep breath. He wasn't exactly nervous about it, but he did feel bad. Saphira had worked diligently for years to ensure he was ready. He felt she deserved a break. Now here he was, waking her up only two days into the semester. He reached out with his mind and connected his with Saphira's heart.

In her sleep like state Saphira would dream. Izuku knew that, but he'd never intruded on her by watching before. He could see it now though, the way she dreamt of flying over the fields of her home. The familiar weight of her rider, of Eragon, nestled in her shoulders. And the deep melancholy that ran through the memory.

Master, Izuku prodded gently.

Saphira's mind snapped to awareness in an instant. She was not groggy the way Izuku had expected; the way she had been before. She was instantly alert.

Izuku? she asked. Who are these people? Why have you awoken me?

These are my teachers at UA, Izuku explained. They are aware of the truth and they wished to speak with you. I am sorry to have disturbed you.

No, Saphira dismissed his concern. This was likely inevitable. You have done well to bring me into the discussion. Saphira expanded her mental grasp and connected them to each of the gathered professors. Good afternoon.

"I see," Nedzu hummed. "So, you were also a dragon."

I am a dragon, Saphira corrected him. Do not mistake my situation for death. I am very much alive and very much as capable as I was when I still wielded my teeth and claws.

"Forgive me," Nedzu bowed. "I meant no disrespect." So, she's prideful.

Yes, Saphira agreed to the errant thought. I am Saphira Brightscales. Dragon of Eragon Shadeslayer. Together we watched over the lands of Alagaësia for well over a thousand years, defeated the false king, and trained an entire generation of riders.

"It seems I owe you another apology," Nedzu said.

No, Saphira rumbled. Your thoughts are your own.

Not currently, Aizawa thought.

Not currently, Saphira agreed. So, I will not hold such things against you.

"I would like to know more about what you expect of Mr. Midoriya," Nedzu chirped, putting the conversation back on track.

Izuku is a dragon rider, Saphira told them. He is a protector of peace and order.

"You mean will be," Aizawa corrected.

No, Saphira stated. Izuku is a dragon rider. He is not limited by your government.

"What?" Aizawa snarled.

"Now Aizawa," Nedzu chuckled as he patted the hero on the arm. "Mr. Midoriya is here at UA to be a hero. Clearly they understand the importance of a heroics license."

Yes, Saphira agreed. While Izuku is not bound by your government it is better for him to work with it. A single rider is not enough to keep the world safe.

"But he can be a symbol," Toshi murmured.

That is a nice way of putting it, Saphira laughed. A symbol and a standard. Someone to lead your heroes and ensure that they too are held accountable for their actions.

"That's a lot of power you want us to give him," Aizawa pointed out.

I expect you to give him nothing, Saphira told him. I expect him to earn the responsibility through his actions and his abilities. That is why he is here.

"Hmm," Nedzu hummed. "Well, I can't promise that he will be able to achieve all you expect of him, but we will help in making him a hero."

That is fine, Saphira agreed.

"Wonderful," Nedzu squeaked. "I think the three of us need to discuss this a little more. Thank you for your time Saphira Brightscales and thank you as well for your patience Mr. Midoriya, Mr. Jade."

Saphira pulled back from the mind of the professors. She stayed connected to Izuku and Jade though as they left the rooftop.

That went well, Saphira commented as they flew through the air.

Izuku just sighed as they began descending towards the dorm. Izuku expected to land on the roof, but Jade rumbled with laughter as he began circling towards the ground.

It seems your friends are having fun Izuku, Jade rumbled.

He landed lightly on the grass and Izuku looked around. He found all of his classmates were out in front of the dorm in the setting sun. They were looking towards Jade and Izuku with expressions that ranged from excited to shameful and even fearful.

"What's going on?" Izuku asked in confusion.

There was a quiet shuffling before Uraraka stepped forward. She had his bow in her hands.

"We were trying to see if anyone could draw your bow," she explained.

"Okay," he nodded. He hopped down from the saddle and into the grass. "Has anyone managed it?"

"Kirishima got close," Mina told him excitedly. "We were just about to let Sato try."

"What are you aiming at?" Izuku asked as he took a look around.

"Well, we aren't using the arrows," Mina explained.

"You should," Izuku told her. "I don't know if any of you would be able to safely release the tension and it isn't good for a bow to dry fire."

"Okay!" Mina shouted as she rushed over to Uraraka and ripped an arrow from the quiver. She took it over to Sato who already stood there with the bow. "Wait!" she shouted as she slammed back around to him. "Now we need a target."

"Yes," Izuku agreed. "I would recommend something thick as well."

"What do you use?" Yaoyorozu asked him.

"I use straw targets," Izuku told her.

She walked away from the group and lifted her shirt. Her skin lit up brightly and she pulled out a large white target with several colorful rings on the front. She put her shirt down and returned to the group.

"I can't make straw," she shrugged. "I hope this'll work though."

"Nice going Yaomomo!" Mina cheered. "Now we can get started! Sato! You're up!"

"Right!" Sato nodded.

Sato walked forward with Midoriya's bow and nocked the arrow. He raised the bow up to eye level and then began to try and pull against the string. The students crowded around began cheering for him, shouting out their encouragements. The string did flex back a little, but Sato failed to bend the wood of the bow.

He stopped pulling and sagged forward a little, panting at the effort.

"All right then," Sato grunted.

The tall boy pulled out a sugar packet and ripped it open with his teeth. He downed the entire thing in a single gulp. With a roar he lifted the bow and redoubled his efforts. This time he pulled the bow back about halfway before his grip gave out. The arrow flew through the air and slammed into the bottom of the target, lodging itself halfway in.

The cheers of class 1-A rang out at his success. An incoherent cacophony of praise and disbelief surrounded a blushing Sato. Izuku chuckled at it all.

Next to go was Shoji. The multi-armed boy had more trouble than Sato did, but by using his extra hands to grip the string he did manage to fire off another arrow. His aim was off, and the arrow ended up lodged in the dirt, but he earned himself another rambunctious round of applause from the students of 1-A.

Yaoyorozu went up next and took the bow gently from Shoji. She seemed hesitant, but the encouraging cheers from the students around her seemed to help. She had good form as she lifted the bow up before her. She placed three fingers on the string and tried to draw it back, but the draw weight was too much for her. The heavy demand threw her form out of balance.

Izuku was up and behind her before he fully thought about it.

"Here," he coached as he moved her elbow back down. He placed his hands over hers on the bow and the string. "You shouldn't bring your elbow up so high."

Izuku helped her draw back the string.

"Watch your bow arm," he reminded her. "A bow this strong leaves a nasty mark if it catches you."

"R-right," Yaoyorozu nodded.

"Now just take your time," Izuku said.

He looked at her to see how she was doing. She was totally focused on the target. Her black hair shined in the setting sun. She looked at him and he could feel her breath against his face. The warm air tickled against his nose. He didn't even notice he let go of the string until the cheers of 1-A smacked him back to reality.

He looked up and checked the target. There was a clear hole straight through the middle, the arrow nowhere in sight. Izuku took a step back.

"Well done," he complimented.

"Thank you," she nodded back.

Yaoyorozu was swept up in a crowd of students. They were all complimenting her and asking her questions. Izuku walked back over to Jade and sat down, resting against his foreleg.

Looks like you were having fun, Jade teased.

Shut it, Izuku responded tersely.

Ah boys and princesses, Saphira sighed wistfully. You really are all the same.

She's not a princess, Izuku defended himself hotly.

She's an heiress, Jade reminded him with another laugh.

"Oh my god Yaomomo that was amazing!" Mina cheered as she dragged the still stupefied girl away from Midori.

"T-thank you," Yaomomo stammered.

Yaomomo handed the bow off to Kaminari who was insisting he get another shot at it. Mina brought Yaomomo over to Uraraka and Jiro.

"So?" Mina asked excitedly once the others had started paying more attention to Kaminari's frustrated grunting.

"S-so?" Yaomomo repeated.

"Don't be like that," Mina groaned.

"Yeah Yaomomo," Uraraka insisted. "I mean did you see him rushing to help anybody else?"

"He was just correcting my form," Yaomomo shook her head.

"He didn't have to get so close to do that," Jiro pointed out. "I mean he probably should have asked regardless."

"Where's the romance in that?" Mina groaned.

"R-romance?!" Yaomomo asked half panicked.

"Consent is sexy Mina," Jiro told her. "I don't care who you are, you always ask."

Mina rolled her eyes at the purple haired girl before she excitedly turned back to Yaomomo. Jiro was right, but that wasn't any fun. "So how did it feel to be wrapped up in those strong arms?" Mina asked her.

"I wasn't-" Yaomomo tried to argue, but Uraraka had Mina's back.

"You kinda were," Uraraka laughed. "For the second time today no less."

"Second time?!" Mina cried excitedly. "When was the first time?"

"It was nothing," Yaomomo insisted. "He merely carried us through the traps in the hallway."

"No, he carried you," Uraraka reminded her. "I was just on his back.

"Sounds pretty nice," Mina sing songed.

Yaomomo was flagging, coming to the same realization they all already had. Mina could see it in her face. She was so close to realizing it, she just needed a little push.

"Didn't you feel anything Yaomomo?" Mina asked gently. If she did then Mina had a new OTP, if she didn't then Mina would drop it. Simple as that.

Yaomomo thought about it for a moment. A blush slowly crept its way onto her face. She buried her face in her hands and gave a frantic nod.

Mina and Uraraka squealed as they scooped Yaomomo up in a hug between them.

"Ah this is so exciting!" Mina exclaimed. "Don't worry Yaomomo. We'll help you score your man."

"Yeah," Uraraka nodded. She grabbed both girls by the hand and started dragging them along. "Come on, you can tell us all about it!"

Mina made sure to grab Jiro's hand too and held tight. All four of them heading into the dorms together.

You're tense, Jade pointed out.

Last class one of my classmates almost died, Izuku reminded the dragon.

It's not another heroics class, Jade sighed. Everything'll be fine.

In that moment Aizawa chose to storm into the room. The class fell silent as the hero made his way to the podium at the front.

"Today you will be selecting a class president," he told them.

There was an instant sense of relief that washed through the class. After yesterday something so normal was definitely sounding good. The calm only lasted a second before students started shouting for their candidacy.

"Um sir?" Yaoyorozu raised her hand, her voice cutting over the crowd.

"What?" Aizawa groaned.

"What exactly does the class president do?" she asked. "I mean we're not in high school anymore."

"At UA we've kept the hero course students in groups that function similar to high school classes," Aizawa explained. "But you're right. You're not in high school and things won't always work like a high school classroom. It's the president's job to correspond with teachers and ensure that the class is aware of any unusual situations. For instance, tomorrow you will have class on the other side of campus. There will be a bus to collect you outside of your dorms. It is the president's job to make sure you're all on it."

After his explanation, the students continued to vie for the position for a moment before Iida stood up.

"We should hold a vote," Iida told them.

"Won't everyone just vote for themselves though?" Tsuyu asked.

"Then whoever earns more will have truly deserved the position!" Iida proclaimed. "Professor Aizawa is this acceptable?"

"I don't care," Aizawa shrugged. "Just get it done by the end of class and don't wake me from my nap."

Iida passed out little slips of paper and collected them all once again. He created a running tally of each vote on the whiteboard. Izuku was a little proud once he saw the final results. He had won with a total of seven votes. Yaoyorozu had won second with three.

"Alright then," Aizawa sighed as he instantly stood out of his sleeping bag. "Midoriya you're the president and Yaoyorozu will be your vice president."

"Yes sir," Izuku nodded back.

The rest of their morning classes passed quickly. As they made their way to a table in the cafeteria, Uraraka happily going on about how good a class president Izuku would be, Izuku wondered who all had voted him.

Uraraka led him to a table that was already pretty full and took a seat. Izuku sat down next to her and looked around. Mina, Jiro, Todoroki, Tsuyu, Iida, Kirishima, and Yaoyorozu were all sitting around the table as well.

"Congratulations Mr. President!" Kirishima shouted, many of the other members of the table giving Izuku softer congratulations of their own.

"Thank you," Izuku said with a soft bow of his head.

"And don't forget Yaomomo too!" Mina cried out. "You two are going to be working together now after all."

"That's true," Izuku nodded. He gave his new vice president a smile. "I look forward to working with you."

"M-me as well," Yaoyorozu nodded, she had a dusting of red on her cheeks.

Oh? Jade questioned, reading Izuku's thoughts.

Izuku just sighed at Jade's insinuation.

"I think you two will do well, kerro," Tsuyu told them. "I'm glad I voted for Midoriya."

"You too, huh?" Kirishima laughed. "Why'd you vote for him?"

"He saved Todoroki," Tsuyu shrugged. "I don't even think he waited for All Might to send him in before he ran off to help. It was very heroic."

"Don't forget he saved Uraraka during the entrance exam as well," Iida told them.

"He what!?" Yaoyorozu, Kirishima, and Mina shouted all at once. The table turned to Uraraka.

"Y-yeah," she nodded in confirmation nervously. "From what Recovery Girl was telling me after the fact he probably saved my life. Then he had Jade kidnap All Might and flew off talking about finding whoever was in charge."

All eyes turned to Izuku as Uraraka finished her story. He just shrugged. "President Nedzu and I had a conversation about unnecessary risk is all."

"That's so manly," Kirishima proclaimed.

Before anything else could be said a loud blaring wail filled the cafeteria.

"Attention students," an electronic voice called over the alarm. "This is a level three alert. Please make your way to your dorms immediately."

With that the voice died but the alarm continued to ring. The students in the cafeteria whipped into an instant frenzy at the alarm.

"What's happening?" Izuku called out, both to Jade and those around him.

"It's the intruder alert," an older student responded as he shoved past their group. "Means someone broke into campus."

It appears to be the press, Jade informed him as the crowd began really pushing and shoving. Aizawa and Present Mic are already handling it.

If they're handling that someone else could sneak in, Izuku pointed out.

On it, Jade confirmed. I'll do a fly over.

Thank you, Izuku sighed. I'll try and deal with this mess.

Focusing once again on the screaming mess of a crowd Izuku could only sigh. Someone was going to get hurt. He allowed the bubble of white-hot energy within him to flow through his veins.

"Silence," he commanded. He could instantly feel the strain of stopping all the noise, but it wasn't debilitating. The pushing and shoving grew as people freaked out over the sudden silence. "The intruders are merely journalists looking for a story," Izuku called loudly. In the otherwise silent cafeteria, his voice filled the room. "You all need to calm down."

The panicking crowd stopped trampling over each other and started actually exiting the cafeteria in an orderly manner. Izuku stopped his spell.

"That was awesome Midori!" Uraraka shouted as she slammed into his arm, latching onto it like a lifeline. "Didn't you think so Yaomomo?"

"Indeed," the other girl nodded. "Your quirk is quite versatile Midoriya."

"Thanks," Izuku nodded. He tried to keep his face neutral as he did. Even after all these years he wasn't sure he succeeded.

I don't see anything Izuku, Jade called and cut off his unhappy thoughts.

Strange, Izuku bit at his lip. I doubt this was only the press.

Should we inform President Nedzu? Jade asked.

I'm sure he's already thinking the same, Izuku pointed out. We'll just have to wait and see.

"You should tell her," Uraraka said as she threw herself down on the couch next to Midoriya and Jade.

"Tell who what?" Izuku asked.

"You should tell Yaomomo the truth about you and Jade," Uraraka clarified. "It clearly bothers you when someone talks about your 'quirk'." She put air quotes around the word quirk.

"I do not know Yaoyorozu well enough for her to trust me," Izuku pointed out.

"That's not true," Uraraka insisted as she smacked his arm. "Plus, you and Yaomomo are gonna be working really close with each other. You shouldn't keep up a lie that clearly makes you uncomfortable."

She has a point, Jade rumbled to Izuku.

"Fine," Izuku sighed, both to Uraraka and to Jade. "I will think about telling Yaoyorozu."

"Yay!" Uraraka cheered. She slammed Izuku into a hug. "You won't regret it!"

"I haven't agreed yet," Izuku chuckled.

"But I'm sure you will," Uraraka told him as she pulled back from the hug. "You're smart enough to see my point."

Izuku and Yaoyorozu collected all of the students and gathered them in front of Heights Alliance the next morning, just as Aizawa had instructed. He had Yaoyorozu knock on the girls' doors while he himself had gone through the boys' side. Now they were just waiting for Aizawa and the bus, all of them dressed in their hero costumes. Izuku had left his sword in his dorm. Broken as it was it wouldn't be much help.

"Does anyone even know where we're going?" Kaminari yawned.

"I believe Aizawa said it was going to be rescue operations," Yaoyorozu answered.

"Ah hell yeah!" Kirishima shouted excitedly. He seemed to have his usual level of energy, unlike much of the class. "That's what being a hero is all about!"

The soft whine of an engine caught their attention and they turned to see a blue bus pull up. Aizawa poked his head out of the opening bus door.

"Get in," he instructed simply, then his head disappeared back into the bus.

Izuku did a head count as the students loaded up the bus. After the seventeen other students had loaded up Izuku and Yaoyorozu got on. Izuku took a seat next to Tsuyu and Yaoyorozu took one near the back of the bus. The second they were both seated the bus took off.

"Midoriya," Tsuyu said as she turned to him. "Where's Jade?"

"Oh, he's flying above us," Izuku chuckled.

"I see," Tsuyu nodded. "You know I'm a fairly blunt person."

"Okay," Izuku quirked his head curiously. He didn't really know where this was going.

"Your quirk is weird," she told him.

Izuku wasn't really sure what to say to that. Luckily, he didn't have to.

"Yo, Tsuyu, you can't just call a guy out like that," Kirishima laughed. "I mean quirks are weird in general. Most people can't exactly turn their skin to stone." To further accent his point, he smashed two hardened fists together.

"But I'm not even sure how to classify Midoriya's quirk, kerro," Tsuyu explained.

"He has a companion quirk," Sato commented. "They're rare, but I mean it's the same as Tokoyami's. Right?"

"Is it?" Tsuyu asked. "Midoriya is super strong and he can do that thing with those weird words. Tokoyami doesn't have anything like that."

"Your right Tsuyu," Izuku sighed. "I don't really have a companion quirk like Tokoyami, though that is how the doctor registered me."

"So, what do you have?" Tsuyu pushed.

Before Izuku could answer Aizawa stood up from the front of the bus. "We're here," he told them.

The bus stopped and the students quickly unloaded. They found themselves before a massive dome shaped building of ridiculous proportions. Even more amazing were the two heroes waiting for them. All Might and Thirteen were standing before the building, Jade sitting behind them. Toshi was wearing his golden age costume. He had his trademark smile on his face as Thirteen gave them a gentle wave.

"Hello students," Thirteen greeted them. They waved the students to follow after them and began to head up the stairs. Jade waited behind for Izuku and the two headed up at the back of the pack. "Welcome to the USJ, or the Unforeseen Simulation Joint."

"Over your years at UA you will become very familiar with this building," Toshi laughed.

"Indeed," Thirteen agreed. "I built this place to be the perfect training ground for all sorts of natural disasters."

They entered through the enormous double doors, Jade barely fitting through, and took in the incredible sight of all of the different areas housed in the dome.

"From fires to floods the USJ is the greatest controlled disaster facility in Japan," Thirteen told them proudly.

"Second in the world only to the hard-light facilities of I-Island," Toshi agreed.

"Now before we get started, I had a little something I wanted to say," Thirteen sighed as they turned back around to face the students. "I know many of you were shaken by the events that took place during All Might's battle trial."

An awkward silence instantly fell over the previously excited group of students.

"I know better than most how destructive quirks can be," Thirteen told them. "My quirk, blackhole, destroys anything and everything it touches."

"But you've used it to save hundreds of people as a rescue hero!" Uraraka shouted out, she sounded almost desperate.

"That's right," Thirteen agreed. "Because your powers are not solely for causing death and destruction. You have seen what a powerful quirk can do when left unchecked. Today I hope to show you the good that you can do even with the most destructive of abilities."

There was a round of applause from the students of 1-A as Thirteen finished their speech. There was a renewed sense of excitement for the training that was rather nice. It made the sudden drop in air pressure all the more foreboding.

Izuku's eyes instantly narrowed in on the growing purple portal that had appeared in the central plaza.

"Toshi," Izuku called out as he drew his bow and an arrow.

Toshi turned to see the now armed Izuku and followed his gaze towards the portal. A number of dangerous looking thugs began to file out of the portal. There must have been close to a hundred of them. The last one through was an enormous purple man with a beak and an exposed brain. Then the portal collapsed and in its place was a man made of mist that looked exactly like the portal.

"A warp quirk," Toshi muttered.

"Is this part of the training?" Kirishima asked.

"No," Aizawa snapped as he stepped forward with his capture tape in hand.

"Those are real villains," Toshi said, confirming Izuku's suspicions.

Izuku switched his hold so that he had the bow and arrow pinched in his left hand, raising his right in front of him. He grabbed hold of the magical energy. Izuku could feel Jade adding his own strength so that Izuku would have more than enough energy for what he was planning. He took a calming breath and began casting.

"Sle-"

"Stop," Aizawa commanded, cutting Izuku's spell off before it could begin.

Izuku turned to his teacher with a raised eyebrow.

"You're not authorized to act," Aizawa spat.

"They aren't going to care," Izuku countered as he gestured to the crowd of villains. The villain with blue hair was excitedly pointing and ranting about something. "They'll attack us without hesitation."

"We will handle the villains," Aizawa told him.

Izuku was ready to rebuttal. He wasn't going to sit back like a damsel in distress while others risked their lives for him.

"Aizawa is right young Midoriya," Toshi said before Izuku could say anything though. "Let us show you a hero is truly capable of!"

Toshi marched forward, Aizawa close beside him.

"Evacuate the students Thirteen," Aizawa commanded. "Once you're outside contact the school for backup. We'll take care of the rest."

"And young Midoriya," Toshi called back. Izuku looked to see him with his trademark smile still proudly displayed. He gave Izuku a thumbs up. "Good job responding so quickly!"

With that Toshi leapt into the fray, Aizawa right behind him. Where as Toshi made an enormous dust cloud when he landed, Aizawa simply landed gracefully. The two instantly went to work. Aizawa stayed back and canceled out quirks, but it almost didn't feel necessary. Toshi took out a score of villains in the blink of an eye.

It looked like Toshi was going to dispatch the entire crowd of villains, but he was stopped when the purple skinned goliath rushed forward. Toshi met his advance with a punch to the gut, but the creature took the blow like it was nothing.

"Midoriya," Thirteen called out to him. "Now isn't the time, we need to move!"

"Yes," Izuku nodded as he turned away from the fight down below.

The other students were still on the move. Izuku quickly caught up with the pack, but the spiraling purple vortex that had brought the villains into the plaza opened up before them. A pair of glowing yellow eyes appeared amongst the mist.

"Greetings children," a voice echoed from within the mist.

Izuku had no patience left though.

"Sleep," he commanded, the magic readily answering his call after his canceled spell moments before. The full might Izuku had prepared to deal with a hundred plus villains fit into the single spell resulted in the misty villain falling to the floor out cold instantly.

The thunderous sound of Toshi's smash filled the USJ. The students turned and watched as a purplish blur streaked up through the open air and collided with the dome. For a moment the metal dome held, and they could see the battered form of the purple skinned villain. But then the metal buckled, and the villain was sent flying from the building.

"Damn," Kirishima murmured breathlessly.

"Come on," Thirteen told them firmly. "We need to get you all outside."

The students followed as Thirteen led them all outside, Jade grumbling slightly to Izuku about not getting to fight. Once they made it outside and Thirteen had radioed their situation to campus Thirteen had Izuku do a head count.

All nineteen students were present and accounted for. No one had any injuries, and while a few were a little shaken, the general atmosphere was still relatively light.

"Man, who would have believed there'd be a villain attack on the third day," Kaminari laughed.

"Well, we are training to be heroes," Tsuyu supplied. "It makes a sick kind of sense to try and take us out before we got proper training."

"Yeah, but how dumb do you have to be to try and attack the school where the number one hero teaches," Sero pointed out.

"Pretty stupid," Kaminari agreed. "I mean did you see him send that purple dude flying?"

"Do you think he killed him?" Hagakure asked nervously.

"No way," Mina waved her off. "All Might wouldn't kill anyone."

"Of course he would," Izuku corrected, he felt his eyebrows knit into a frown. "Death is an inevitable part of battle."

"But a hero shouldn't kill, it isn't manly," Kirishima argued.

"And if you were left with the options of killing of a villain or letting civilians die?" Izuku questioned him. He kept his tone in the same one Saphira used in her teachings; firm but not unkind. He'd had this debate with her many times before he fully understood it. The first time he'd been five. He didn't see her point for several years.

"But then aren't we no better than the villains?" Yaoyorozu asked.

"No," Izuku shook his head. "Because we fight for different causes. We fight for peace and order. We fight to protect the innocent. A villain fights against those very ideals and endangers all those around them."

"He's right," Thirteen sighed. "It's not a pretty part of the job, but heroes are often forced to take the lives of villains."

Everyone turned to Thirteen. The hero seemed uncomfortable with the topic, but they were a rescue hero. This likely wasn't something they had to deal with overly much.

"That's not to say a hero should start with a killing blow or find satisfaction in taking a life," Thirteen clarified. "But at the end of the day there are times where a hero has no choice but to take a life or let innocent people die."

The students of class 1-A were much more subdued after that. They waited in silence. Eventually a band of heroes from the main campus arrived. They proceeded directly into the USJ once they got there. A few minutes later President Nedzu came back out.

"I am pleased to report that all the villains have been subdued and there were no injuries in their capture," he told them as he hopped up onto Thirteen's shoulder. "That being said I understand this event was unsettling. If any of you would like to make an appointment to see our school therapist, Dr. Hound Dog, then he will be available to you."

There were a few murmurs from the gathered students before Nedzu continued.

"The police will be arriving shortly," Nedzu explained. "Once they have collected statements from everybody the bus will return to Heights Alliance. Classes will be cancelled for the rest of the week as we reevaluate our security system and ensure your continued safety."

With that Nedzu hopped down and headed back into the USJ. A few minutes later a number of police vehicles arrived, all tearing down the road with lights flashing. A battalion of officers stormed out of a variety of vehicles and directly into the USJ. Only a handful of officers stayed outside to set up a barrier. A man not in the uniform of an officer, but in a beige trench coat, came up to them.

"Hello everyone," he greeted them. "My name is Detective Tsukauchi. I'll be taking your statements."

There was an awkward moment where everyone just stared at the detective.

"I don't have a class roster, so I'll take volunteers," the detective told them.

Izuku shrugged and stepped forward.

"Can you tell me your name and quirk?" Tsukauchi asked.

"Midoriya Izuku and that's my dragon Jade," Izuku told him as he gestured to where Jade was watching over everything.

Tsukauchi's eyebrows narrowed. "Can you clarify about your quirk please?" he pushed.

Izuku sighed. "I'm registered as having a companion quirk," Izuku answered. "Jade is that companion."

"You still haven't answered my question," Tsukauchi pointed out. "What is your quirk?"

"I don't know," Izuku relented. "I never got a satisfactory answer."

He could see the shock on Tsukauchi's face. Izuku could have lied, but he never liked saying Jade was just a quirk. It felt wrong to him.

As needlessly noble now as when you were five, Jade huffed.

"You don't know?" Tsukauchi echoed.

"No," Izuku confirmed. "I don't see what this has to do with the events of today."

Tsukauchi stared at him for a moment as though only just remembering where he was. His eyes flashed to the students staring at them and he paled a little. "Right," he nodded. "Let's go somewhere more private and you can give me your statement."

The two of them walked away from the other students, not that it really did much given that two of them had enhanced senses.

"May we be warded from listeners," Izuku commanded with a wave of his hand.

"What was that?" Tsukauchi asked suspiciously.

"I have made it so that no one can overhear our conversation," Izuku explained. "I assume that was the purpose of us moving away from my classmates."

"Fine," Tsukauchi nodded. "Now what can you tell me about the attack."

"Not much," Izuku told him. "We had arrived for rescue training with Aizawa, Toshi, and Thirteen."

"Toshi?" Tsukauchi repeated.

"All Might," Izuku corrected himself.

"You know Toshinori's name?" Tsukauchi asked in disbelief.

"I'm pretty sure he's dating my mom," Izuku shrugged.

"Oh," Tsukauchi remarked, he seemed far away as he said it though. He shook his head and returned to himself. "Okay then. Continue."

So Izuku told him everything that had unfolded from the time they loaded the bus to the arrival of the officers.

"One last question," Tsukauchi told him. "Did you know anything about the attack beforehand?"

"No," Izuku answered. "I had my suspicions something was amiss after yesterday's break in, but I had no knowledge of the attack."

"That should be everything," Tsukauchi sighed. "Go ahead and return to your classmates. And if you could have the next student come over that would helpful."

"Of course," Izuku nodded.

Izuku walked back over to everyone else. They were still pretty quiet.

"The detective is ready for whoever is comfortable going next," Izuku told them.

"I'll go," Uraraka offered quickly. She went over to where the detective was waiting without waiting for an answer.

Once she was gone Izuku noticed that everyone was still looking at him.

"Yes?" he asked.

"What did you mean when you said you didn't know what your quirk was?" Tsuyu spoke up. Izuku noticed several other members of the class nod along with her question.

"I meant just that," Izuku answered calmly. "I am uncertain what my quirk is or even if I have a quirk."

"Don't be ridiculous," Iida loudly declared as he chopped his hand through the air. "You clearly have a quirk. Your dragon companion did not just create himself."

"You're right," Izuku agreed. Izuku could feel Jade watching the conversation. The dragon's confidence and presence pushed him to continue. "I found Jade's egg in the woods when I was five years old. At the time I had yet to develop a quirk."

"You found his egg?" Yaoyorozu repeated.

"Yes," Izuku nodded. He held up his hand and showed them the mark on his palm. "And when he hatched for me, we were bound together."

"But wasn't that just your quirk manifesting?" Kaminari asked doubtfully.

"No," Izuku shook his head. "Jade's egg had been there since long before I was born."

"How do you know that?" Mina asked. She seemed rather curious about his story.

"Because he was not alone," Izuku answered honestly. "My master was there, guarding his egg and waiting for the one who would be his rider."

"So, he's a manifestation of this other person's quirk," Iida concluded.

"No," Izuku told him. Iida instantly seemed to deflate. "My master is also a dragon."

"Aha!" Iida re-inflated. "So, then they might both be manifestations of your quirk."

"And now you see why I have never received a satisfactory answer to what my quirk is," Izuku sighed. "Quirks were so outlandish and impossible, and yet now they have made everyone blind to the possibility of other strange things existing in this world."

"But you can't possibly expect us to believe you just found a real dragon egg?" Iida shouted.

"Believe what you will," Izuku shrugged. "I simply did not wish to lie to any of you."

There was silence after that. Izuku looked into the faces of his classmates and saw most of them looking at him with frowns. He couldn't blame them. It really was a lot to take in. It didn't do anything to stop the disappointment from clawing away at his chest.

"I believe you," Tsuyu said suddenly. Izuku, and most of their classmates, looked to Tsuyu in shock. The frog quirked girl had her usual blank expression though. "I don't necessarily understand it all, but I don't think you'd lie to us."

"I believe you too," Yaoyorozu added. She looked like she was still processing everything.

Most of the other students began nodding or throwing out their own support. Izuku couldn't help the small smile that pulled at his lips.

Momo was sure that Midoriya hadn't been lying when he told them he had found Jade's egg. But she couldn't shake that feeling that he did know what his quirk was. Afterall if he had a master, then he had someone to talk to about it all. So why didn't he tell them which part of his powers were his quirk?

It had to be the physical enhancements. Right? Or was it the emitter type ability he displayed with those commands? He had said that they were spoken in a long dead language, was it the language of dragons? Did that mean anyone could do it?

Momo held her hand above her. She had heard enough of his commands. She could try one. But which one? It wasn't exactly like she knew what they meant, only what they did. She'd seen him heal, but she was alone and no one was injured. She had seen him launch the softball during the ball throw, but that could damage her room. Maybe she could try the sleep command he had used on the mist man on herself and try and get some sleep rather than worry about this?

"Slytha," Momo commanded clearly. She assumed pronunciation was important.

Nothing happened. Momo was still lying on her bed, awake, and thinking about Midoriya. Why couldn't she get him out of her thoughts? Did she need answers so badly?

Momo got up from her bed and went to her wardrobe. It had barely fit in the room beside her bed, but they were things that reminded her of home. She was glad the movers had made it work. She changed out of her pajamas and into a pair of jeans and a light sweater, it wouldn't due to show up so late in her nightclothes. People might get the wrong idea.

Momo left her room and headed for the ground floor. The common room was empty, a little surprising for only ten o'clock, but she was grateful. She headed up the boy's side staircase and all the way up the rooftop. When she stepped out into the brisk April air, she was glad for the sweater.

Knocking on the door to the bungalow Momo was suddenly doubting her journey to Midoriya's room. What if he were asleep? She would be disturbing his rest. And after a day like today he must be exhausted. She certainly felt that way. But that's why she was here. She needed answers so that she could sleep.

Rather than the door opening, the overly large curtains to the side shifted. The enormous green head of Midoriya's dragon poked out and looked straight at her. Momo had to hold back a shudder at the creature's predatory gaze, but she was a hero in training. She held her head high and met his gaze with her own.

"Good evening," she bowed slightly. "I'm sorry to disturb you so late at night. I was looking for Midoriya."

The dragon watched Momo for a moment before answering. It made Momo want to fidget, but she had broken that habit long ago. She stood there calmly and waited.

The hour is of little issue, the dragon told her. Izuku is not here. He is working in the field below.

"The field?" Momo asked. "You mean the green?"

Perhaps, the dragon chuckled. The deep rumbling sound shook the rooftop. I think Izuku has called it such, but to me it is but another field.

"Thank you," Momo bowed again. "I will go find him there."

The dragon simply nodded and retracted its head back into the building. Momo found herself hesitant to leave the roof, but she had no idea why. Her feet were rooted in place as she stared at the black curtains that hid the dragon.

It was the distant sound of singing that broke Momo out of her stupor. She looked off towards the noise, but it was too distant to hear much besides the faint rise and fall. With a shake of her head Momo headed back down the stairs and to the common room.

"Yaomomo!" Uraraka shouted. She was just walking in through the front door as Momo was crossing the room. Uraraka excitedly ran up to her and grabbed her hand. "I was just coming to get you! You have to see this."

"See what?" Momo asked bewildered as Uraraka dragged her outside.

"You'll see," Uraraka laughed as she ran out into the green.

There was already a crowd gathered around. Momo could recognize the members of her class, but there were just as many students she didn't recognize. There was some sort of light on the other side of them that made it hard to make out any finer details.

"What's going on?" Momo asked.

"Just wait," Uraraka insisted as she began pushing her way through the crowd. She brought Momo to the front where Mina was waiting for them.

Once she could see what the crowd was staring at, she understood. Midoriya was there, he was working a set of billows that were blowing into some sort of clay furnace that definitely hadn't been there earlier. The bright light of the fire spilling out from the mouth of the furnace illuminated the entire scene.

There was a large wooden table set up to the side with a number of tools spread out across it. Momo didn't recognize any of them beyond their basic shape. There were hammers and files and tongs, but what they were for she had no idea. There was a large barrel filled with some dark liquid beside a large metal anvil as well.

Midoriya was singing. Well maybe it was more like chanting? It was a much harsher rhythm than the song she had heard from him before. It was clearly the same though. The words hummed with power that sent goosebumps over her arms. The foreign words themselves meant nothing to her, but Momo tried her best to hear them all the same.

Midoriya had his long green hair tied back like he did when he was in his armor. He wasn't wearing a shirt and the sweat poured down his face and chest, though whether the sweat was due to the heat or the exertion Momo wasn't sure. His arms flexed with every pump of the billows, the strong corded muscles bulging out. His eyes were totally focused on his work. He never looked to the crowd that was chattering only a few meters away.

"Wha-" Momo tried to ask, but her throat was too dry to get the words out.

"We don't know," Mina answered with a vigorous shake of her head. "He's been at it since the sun went down though apparently."

"That was nearly four hours ago," Uraraka provided happily. "We've only been out here for about thirty minutes."

"Has he been singing this entire time?" Momo murmured.

"Yep," Mina confirmed, popping the p as she did.

"Where did all of this even come from?" Momo asked a little louder.

"He already had most of it," someone grunted beside them. Momo looked to find Powerloader, the professor in charge of the support course, watching Midoriya work beside them. "Brought it all down from that rooftop of his."

"Most of it?" Momo repeated.

"He spent the first hour building that ore smelter," Powerloader answered.

"Do you know what he's doing?" Uraraka asked him excitedly.

"He's smithing a new sword," Powerloader growled. "Apparently didn't trust my students to make one for him."

"Doesn't UA have a forge?" Momo wondered.

"Pfft," Powerloader huffed. "He took one look at my smithy and went back to Nedzu complaining about how you can't rush the process. I swear he's worse than Mei."

"Hey!" a student from the crowd shouted defensively.

Midoriya reached back and grabbed the tongs off of the table. He used them to grab a glowing chunk of metal from the furnace and pulled it out. He looked at it for a moment before putting it back.

"What was that?" Mina asked.

"He's making sure the heat is distributed evenly," Powerloader explained. "If it ain't then it'll break when he's hammering it."

Midoriya went back to working the billows, the fire within the furnace growing brighter with every downward stroke. Momo watched in awe as Midoriya continued his work. Every now and then he would pull out a piece of the metal and inspect it, but otherwise he simply worked the billows and continued his song.

At one-point Midoriya pulled the metal from the fire and took it to the anvil. He used the hammer and beat the metal flat. The sound of the hammer ringing blended perfectly with the song he sang. He folded it over itself and beat it back into shape. He did that again, and again. Momo lost count of how many times he folded the metal in on itself. He did it so quickly and smoothly that it looked effortless.

"Powerloader, Powerloader, Powerloader!" A girl cried out as she flew through the crowd and latched onto Powerloader's arm.

"God dammit Mei, what?" Powerloader cursed.

"Look," she demanded as she pointed at Midoriya. "Doesn't that remind you of how they used to make katanas!"

"Yeah," Powerloader nodded. "Though it isn't very popular these days."

"Why not?" Momo inquired.

"Takes too long," Powerloader laughed. "He'll be at it for hours."

Sure enough, Powerloader's prediction came true. Midoriya worked the metal for hours. He would pound the metal flat and fold it over until the metal was no longer white hot. Then he'd put it back in the furnace and work the billows until he could continue. As the hours wore on, more and more people left. Momo barely even noticed though. She wondered if she should get some sleep herself, but she just couldn't find it in her to leave the mesmerizing display.

When Midoriya finally stopped working, the air seemed too quiet without the sound of his song or the ringing of his hammer. Momo sat up as Midoriya wiped the sweat from his brow. She looked around, but the only person left from the earlier crowd was the pink haired girl with dreadlocks, but she had fallen asleep in the grass. The earliest light of pre-dawn was just beginning to lighten the sky.

"Yaoyorozu?" Midoriya called as he turned around. The fire was out in the furnace and all of the metal had been put on the table and covered up. He'd put on a shirt at some point as well. "What are you doing out here?"

"Oh," Momo hesitated. "Well, you see, I wanted to speak to you about what you told us yesterday."

"You didn't wait out here all night, did you?" Midoriya asked with a small, worried frown.

"I did," Momo nodded. She could feel the blush creeping into her cheeks. "I didn't mean to. I simply found myself captivated watching you work."

"Well, I'm happy to speak with you," Midoriya told her. "Though we can put it off for a few hours if you'd like to get some sleep first."

"No," Momo shook her head. "I would rather not put it off any longer."

"Why don't we move into the common room then," Midoriya offered. "I can make us some tea."

"That sounds lovely," Momo sighed.

The two of them headed back into the dorms in silence. Momo felt incredibly tense, but Midoriya seemed as graceful and untroubled as always. As she sat down at the table, he went to work putting together two cups of tea. He was sitting down with the steaming cups in what felt like an instant.

"It's chamomile," he said as he took a sip. "I thought it better to avoid caffeine so that we could both get some sleep."

"Thank you," Momo replied.

They sat together and sipped at their tea. Momo's tension fell away as the soothing chamomile took effect. Midoriya was looking off to the side, watching the sun rise through the window. For having been working through the night Midoriya still looked perfect. His skin was still smooth and his eyes bright. She couldn't imagine the mess she must look like.

It didn't make it any easier to start. She wasn't even sure what to say. It wasn't like he owed her answers. Maybe she was being silly. But he was her friend, right? She could ask.

"Will you tell me more about it?" she asked.

"Where to start?" Midoriya chuckled. His voice was so light, it helped break the dark atmosphere that still clung to Momo's mind. "Jade is from another world. One where dragons and elves and magic are all real."

"Elves?" Momo gasped.

"Yeah," Midoriya nodded as he reached up and rubbed at his ear. "Elves."

Midoriya told her the story. He told her everything. He talked until the sun was high in the sky with Momo practically hanging on every word. The tale he told was ridiculous. It was impossible. She couldn't find it in herself to doubt him.

Momo returned that next night as Midoriya went back to work at his makeshift forge. The crowd was bigger than the night before. It was rowdier too. It didn't seem to bother Midoriya. He relit the fire and began working the billows as though he were alone, not even sparing a glance towards the crowd. It wasn't long before he began chanting as well.

Momo wasn't sure why she had returned. She just knew that she had wanted to see more. She hadn't really thought on it beyond that.

So Momo sat on the grass and watched. The gentle sound of his song was soothing. It reminded her of listening to old records of orchestras with her father. The rise and fall of the music as the drums kept the tempo.

Momo watched all through the night once again. She was not alone this time. The pink haired girl who had fallen asleep the night before stayed awake the whole time. She didn't speak to Momo and Momo made no attempt to speak to her either. The both of them simply watched.

When dawn came Midoriya invited Momo inside for tea once again. The two of them sat in the empty common room and spoke over another pot of chamomile. This time Midoriya spoke of his mother. He seemed to truly love her. The woman had sacrificed so much for her son it was hard to think he wouldn't.

Again and again the pattern repeated itself. Momo went and watched Midoriya work through the night, his progress was slow, but he was making progress. When he had worked until morning light, he and Momo would share tea and talk. It was never as heavy as that first night. He told her of the farm he grew up on and his childhood. She told him about her father and mother and all of the staff at her home. They had such different experiences, but it only made Momo more interested in hearing his stories.

Sunday morning came and classes would be resuming the next day. Midoriya had already worked the chunks of metal into the rough shape of a sword. The blackened steel was still rough, but there was no mistaking what it was.

"What now?" Momo asked as she inspected the sword where it sat on the common room table.

"I will shape and sharpen before removing the tarnish," Midoriya told her. "I'll have to fashion a hilt and a scabbard as well. These things can be done by the light of day however. The long nights are over."

"That's good," Momo nodded. "How long will it take?"

"A day," Midoriya shrugged. "Perhaps more. It depends on both the blade and myself."

"Will it be like the sword you had before?" Momo chuckled.

"No," Midoriya shook his head. "That blade was fashioned in the style of the elves. This will be a rider's blade in almost every sense."

"Almost?" Momo repeated curiously.

"Almost," Midoriya nodded sadly. "There are aspects that I cannot replicate in this world. A rider's blade was made from the rarest of minerals in the land of Alagaësia. I have created my own blend of steel in an attempt to replicate the strength, but it is impossible to know if it will take to the magic as naturally."

"That is unfortunate," Momo agreed.

"The other missing aspect is more attainable, but no less impossible at the moment," Midoriya sighed. "The hilt of a rider's sword was always adorned with a precious jewel."

Momo shook her head in shock. "What?" she asked in disbelief. "Forgive me Midoriya," she blushed as she realized she was being rude. "I didn't think you would care about something so superficial."

"It's okay," Midoriya chuckled. "Though it is not as superficial as it would seem. You see the energy with which I cast my spells can be stored, but only within the precious gems of the earth."

"But why would you need to store it?" Momo wondered aloud.

"I am strong, Jade is stronger still, but we are not gods," Midoriya shrugged. "There are countless things that are beyond us. Magic still requires energy. By creating a stockpile, the list of impossibilities shrinks ever so slightly."

Momo thought on his words. She could feel the frown form on her face as she considered it. It made sense. Midoriya hadn't told her because he wanted to take advantage of her money or her quirk. He had told her because she had asked. But she wanted to help. That's what friends did, right?

She could buy him one, but would he accept that? Momo didn't think so. From what he had told Momo he wasn't big on spending money. He had made almost everything he owned, buying only the basic materials when absolutely necessary.

But she could do that. She could make a jewel for him. She'd never made jewels before, but she'd studied them enough that she knew how to do it. She just wasn't sure. She'd always worried about abusing her quirk. The law was very strict against creation quirk users. But Midoriya didn't want to sell it. He didn't want to inflate his wealth. He needed it to be a better hero.

Momo cupped her hands together and thought through the chemical formulas. She could have made an emerald, the same rich deep green as his eyes, but not only was it overly extravagant, she wasn't sure if she could give him something so intimate. Instead, she created magnesium, iron, silicon, and oxygen. She linked the molecules tightly, spinning a complex chain of connections.

The light of creation burned between her fingers. She stared, completely focused on her task. It didn't take but a few moments, but even still she struggled, striving for complete perfection. When she uncoupled her hands, she revealed a beautiful peridot resting in her palm.

It was the size of a golf ball. It's round cut creating a cascade of light that sparkled inside. It was the same forest green color as Jade's scales. It was everything she had hoped it would be.

"Are you sure?" Midoriya asked, his voice cutting straight through her thoughts.

"Yes," Momo nodded confidently. She was proud of this. She looked away from it and at Midoriya who was watching her with patient eyes. "Take it, and may it keep you safe."

"Thank you," Midoriya bowed. "I will repay you for this act of kindness."

"There's no need Midoriya," Momo sighed happily. She was glad he was accepting it so easily.

"Izuku," he corrected her gently. "Please, call me Izuku."

Momo stared at his bowed head with her mouth falling slightly agape. She did her best to keep away the blush. "Then call me Momo," she said from a million miles away. She hid her smile in another sip of tea. Izuku straightened up, Momo put back her polite expression, and the two continued their talk long into the morning.