So many of the gang members were ready to break the citizen into a million pieces. His mind was racing to find a solution to save the civilian in need of his help. In his injured state; Eraser Head forgot about the fact that he had some brain trauma and had forgotten that this man had rendered three of the gang intent on doing him harm limp and useless in a matter of seconds. This group of villains approached the man while Aizawa tried to crawl the fight to save the civilian.

The gang leader saw the fruitless attempt and saw it necessary to put his foot down on the hero's broken leg and pin Eraser Head by his injury and watch the helpless hero wail in pain at the agitated internal wound. It really made his day to see such a well balanced act of the universe happen at his hands.

"It'll be over soon enough; so don't-"

The sounds of cracking bones and violent impacts were occurring too quickly in the leader's peripheral hearing. He was an experienced veteran of fighting; so to hear such an even pattern of blows happen in real time was a bit disconcerting to the leader of the gang trying to establish his authority in ending the life of a publicly well known hero. Looking back up to the carnage down the alley only presented the sight of his own men being beaten and broken at the hands of the stranger that he thought was nothing more than an annoyance up until now.

One after another; another body was added to the pile of immobilized men now lying motionless on the filthy street. The man struck at the men so physically imposing that they dwarfed him by a significant amount. Some were still apparently human; while others were mutated and possessed some sort of primal DNA to enhance their own human physicality. It made no difference as he rapidly took down the men until all there was left in his way were the limp bodies of those trying to apprehend him.

His left hand that had the second pair of beer bottles cracked open by his thumb and downed in an instant, just like the first pair before them. A relieved sigh of satisfaction from the stranger was the last thing he said before he fucked of the rest of the group enough into attacking him in a blind rage.

"Is this all you faggot's got?! You all aren't worth shit! Fucking kill yourselves for the sake of your deadbeat fathers and whore mothers! Fucking waste of lives, you all are…"

All of this was slightly slurred with the man yelling to the rest of the group. Nobody liked to be yelled at; less so by a drunk idiot. It caused the rest of the group to act on instinct and take on the taunting this man was incessantly throwing in their direction. Some of the first few to fall to the stranger could be justified as an unfortunate accident. What made it increasingly difficult to justify was the sight of the nine meter tall pile of bodies blocking the alley with the stranger sitting at the top of it.

In one last act of desperation; the leader of the group lashed out against the stranger. He failed to notice that he was the last man standing out of all his men. That mattered little as his head was now pounded into a stain of gore and bone shards against the street by the stranger's hands. More specifically; his right fist pounding into the street with the leader's head between his fist and the ground. The still conscious hero could only look on in awe as the stranger rose up unharmed to then approach the hero nonchalantly while fishing a phone from one of the villain's pockets. He called an emergency ambulance for Aizawa and made an attempt to leave without the hero asking him too many questions.

"Well, seeya-"

Aizawa saw something tonight that he knew he would regret not asking for if he were to let this opportunity slip by now. An instinct told him to say one thing and scream it at this stranger before he were to disappear forever.

"TEACH ME!"

That wasn't what the man was expecting from a hero he saved from certain death to yell at him as he retreated back into ambiguity. The delirious Aizawa kept elaborating what he wanted from this stranger he could barely make out through his blurry vision.

"Teach me! I can't… I can't be like this!... You're… You're…"

His consciousness was fading again with the pain setting back in. The instinctive function of the body to send the consciousness into darkness was making it harder to engage this man in any sort of dialogue. The stranger was just about to take off once more before Aizawa fought off the blissful numbness from pain to get what he wanted across to this man who saved him.

"FUCKING TEACH ME!"

It was all of his strength put into one moment for him to scream that at the stranger. The man looked back at Aizawa and could see the sheer spirit of somebody who didn't want to fail at saving somebody. Tonight, he failed to save his own life; what good was his life if he wasn't able to prevent the same mistake twice? It was with this man that he saw his potential to surpass himself as he was now.

"... Sure."

It took far less effort than Aizawa had first anticipated. This was a good thing as his attempt to stay conscious made him endure the brunt of the pain from his broken bones. He blacked out almost immediately after he received his answer from the stranger. It was an emotional rollercoaster as he kept fighting to stay conscious and prevent the one opportunity to advance as a hero from slipping through his fingers.

Blissful unconsciousness took him as the one who saved him wrote down something onto a receipt for the purchase of beer he made just before this whole escapade. It wasn't a total loss for him; he still had eight beers left and the night was still young. The stranger tucked the piece of paper into the bundle of nanoscopic fiber cloth he had as a scarf and gave the man one chance to honor the one opportunity he begged from the stranger. Only time would tell if this hero was serious about his intent of learning from him.

Three Days from Then

A lone man with white hair and a beard sat by his lonesome at a park under a tree in some random part of the city that he had remained in for the past week. On the smartphone he was watching was another random video he was watching out of boredom as he waited for the man whom he was waiting for.

It was about three minutes before the expiration time he gave to the hero he saved expired. It was a very small window of time, but he was a man of his word. He was aloof and open to whatever happened, but the window of time kept closing tighter and tighter with every passing second. The remaining time then became one minute; from there fifty seconds, then forty, then thirty five, then-

"I'M HERE!"

An Eraser Head still in his medical gown at five in the morning looking worse for wear appeared and screamed it's presence at the man waiting for the hero waiting for the hero. Just thirty two seconds left and it wouldn't have mattered for shit if he begged for his life in exchange for the training he asked of this stranger. The man was kind enough to catch the man as he passed out from pain once more and gave him a number to contact him to train him in the ways that allowed him to save Aizawa.

Present Time

"I suppose I should thank you for enduring everything I put you through to save those kids. It really-"

"Stop."

Aizawa couldn't hear another word of the superficial thankfulness that Haru was trying to convey as the UA teacher downed his fifth beer. The chef that was treating the Hero that was also once his teacher was still generous enough to provide another beer on his tab.

"I saved them through your technique; not because of them… So yeah…"

The teacher enjoyed a night of free drinking on Haru's tab. The only price he paid was the hangover that was easily handled with some clam miso, pain killers, and a shit-ton of water.

The Next Day

Midoriya arrived at a gym through public transportation. It was a gym that he wasn't familiar with that Haru requested he appear at to help the teen prepare for his time in the sport's festival that would serve to dictate a significant amount of the boy's future. Izuku's mom offered to provide him a ride to the gym; but at her son's insistence, she allowed him to take the train to the gym. It took more time, but Izuku managed well enough on his own.

The gym staff took one look at Izuku and just let the teen pass through without a question or worry. He was certain that he would have been subjected to some questions or inquiry before he was let into the gym. His eyes wandered around and it was clear that this gym was a facility that was well cared for with how clean and sharp everything looked at first glance. There was some elation on his part as he searched for the glass paneled room that Haru instructed him to find at the back of the gym.

It wasn't difficult to find the hallway that eventually led into the racquetball courts that sat at the back of the gym. Haru and Bakugou were shooting the shit with one another already by the time Izuku arrived. The blonde always found a way to arrive before Izuku when both of them happened to be needed at a specific location. It was with such consistency that the young Midoriya was certain that Katsuki was doing it on purpose to one up the green haired boy. Entering the court space caught Haru's attention enough to give the newest arrival a warm greeting.

"Hey, you're early! You can stretch with us if you want; we're still waiting on one more before we start."

He was curious as to the identity of the last arrival as he began to warm up for the mystery training that was hinted at during his secretive meeting with Haru as well as All Might. Bakugou responded to Izuku's greeting with a barely audible grunt that Midoriya considered progress by significant amounts. He didn't push his luck as he left Katsuki to his devices as they both warmed up to prepare for the training that Haru had yet to reveal to either of them. It was almost time to start when another familiar face came barging into the reserved space some few minutes before they were starting.

"Wait! I'm here! I'm here! I was held up; but I-"

The familiar pink girl saw her better half staring at her in surprise as she returned the initially startled stare before lunging at him and embracing him before trying to understand why it was they were both there.

"Oh my goodness! Why are you here, Izuku?"

"Uh, I guess because Haru-san asked me to…"

It irritated Katsuki slightly to have to share his time with his instructor before such an important event such as the UA Sports Festival. His disdain of such minor gripes were withheld as he was certain that Haru would be just as displeased by the young Bakugou's behavior had he done just that. He said nothing as the two lovebirds got reacquainted. Rather than the expected Bakugou; Haru was the one to break up the two by alerting them that their lesson was about to start then and there.

While Mina was stretching and preparing for the lesson; Haru had Katsuki and Izuku begin warming up their bodies so as to not overstretch their joints and cause further injuries. High knees, burpees, other similar exercises to get everybody on the same page. Once everyone was properly ready, Haru informed everybody of the exercise at hand.

"Alright, now that we're all here and ready for anything; anybody here wanna take a shot in the dark and guess what we're here to do?"

Haru wasn't idle as he asked the rather open ended question. He picked up something that the teens recognized as something similar to a tennis racquet that was very small. The other hand picked up a ball that Haru then began to bounce off the floor while he awaited the response to his question.

"... Um, training?"

"Good! Honestly, I wasn't expecting a straight answer since I told none of you as to what sort of training this was gonna be."

A trick question that wasn't really a question to begin with. Mina took a shot in the dark and it was an answer that they should have expected with how cryptic Haru was about the training to begin with. The ball he was dribbling began to be more and more visible for everybody else in the room.

"Half an hour without quirks and then fifteen minutes for a break before another half hour and repeat."

"... Uh, can I ask what this time is for?"

Izuku asked the most poignant question on everyone's mind. A sharp glint in the man's eye as he stared down the boy in question made Izuku feel a bit intimidated as he responded to the question.

"You'll be dodging racquet balls I bounce across this room for half an hour without your quirks. After a fifteen minute break you'll be using your quirks for an hour to dodge."

It seemed to be far more innocent of an exercise as the three youngsters assumed it was another sort of training that the adult had planned to guide these teens through within a well planned parameter of guidance and ease before ramping up the difficulty at a reasonable rate. Even Bakugou hadn't expected much at the start as Haru squared up to launch the first shot of the training. A rude awakening for everybody tasked to dodge the projectile seeking them out came as the first serve from Haru ricocheted against three walls before aiming itself at Mina's face. Every time it bounced it was like the sound of a starting pistol rapidly firing inside the compact space.

Izuku barely got her out of the way with his quirk active before taking the shot in her place with his back brunting the shot. The pain that shot through his back was shockingly intense; even with One for All active and protecting Izuku from basic forms of damage. Mina helped Izuku up as Haru went to collect the ball now lazily rolling across the floor.

Bakugou immediately understood what Haru had in store for the teenagers. Katsuki squared up like he would for enhanced mobility with his quirk out of habit as he needed to move and remain agile as he did so. Izuku managed to stand on his own with Mina's help and stare at his mentor in shock as to how intense the exercise was from the very start.

"You have two weeks and none of you are even close to where I was when I was your age…"

Bending down and picking up the ball, only to start bouncing it once more sent a chill down all of their spines.

"Don't think I'll be treating any of you as I did before now. You guys signed up for the best of the best in heroic training; It would only make sense to make sure you're all up to snuff…"

At least Haru allowed the two teens on the floor to collect themselves and stand before he continued. This was new territory for them, and it wasn't due to the sort of training they were about to undertake. Haru had always been one to avoid hurting them in any sort of physical way. It was like the man bumped his head and became somebody else.

"Remember, half an hour. Any of you use your powers; I add another ball to the exercise."

It was a promise he made to keep them all aware of the stakes. A moment of dead silence and tension before Haru tossed the ball back up into the air and spiked the ball straight at Katsuki. He almost slipped on himself as he barely grazed the ball that was aimed right at his stomach. Moving his whole body out of the way took all of his focus and reaction speed to just move out the way. It didn't end there as now Mina was just able to sidestep the ricochet from the glass wall. No time was given to the teens for them to plan out their strategy of staying ahead of Haru as the man swung at the ball again.

Izuku was the one to bite the big one as Haru angled the racket and sent the ball spinning before it hit the floor. Rather than going through his legs as expected; it shot straight up at his chin and sent Midoriya to the floor. He painfully slammed into the floorboards and skidded to a stop. Mina immediately helped him up and checked to see he was alright. A bruised chin, but still able to continue on with the training.

"We still have another twenty seven minutes left…"

The blonde tossed the other two a reminder of how long this was meant to be. It was going to be hell for all of them if they didn't improve themselves over the next two weeks.

Twenty Six Minutes Later

Since the room was just barely the size of half a tennis court; it made it difficult to find the right distance to maintain from the walls and Haru himself. They got too close to the walls? Ball straight at them from the outside. Close the distance? A straight shot from the racket. All three of them were heaving and sweating like it was two hundred degrees in the Amazon. Izuku, who went through almost a year of hell, was standing on shaky knees as he zeroed in on dodging the next few shots.

For Mina and Bakugou; this was far from any sort of exercise or training they've ever received from the past. A high intensity training where the penalty for failure was nothing but pain and agony. Katsuki was sporting a few welts on his exposed arms as he wasn't able to dodge everything that came his way. Mina had a few red marks spawning on her thighs and calves from where the ball came and bruised her mercilessly.

Meanwhile, Haru was just staring down the three teenagers and waiting for the next opportune moment to strike. It was bad enough that the three of them were being used as target practice by their instructor. Seeing him bone dry and just as calm as before made this all feel downright futile. Just as the next round of shots were about to go off; Haru's watch started to beep incessantly. He peeked down and hit the snooze on the alarm.

"Alright, time's up! Take fifteen and we'll meet back here for the next part of training."

Collectively they all collapsed and felt sheer relief that it was finally over. Haru left the room for a moment and returned with a cooler hanging off his shoulder. He plopped a gel ice pack next to each teen along with a bottle of frigid water. They didn't hesitate in taking up Haru's generosity with each one of them nursing their bruises and aches. Izuku helped out Mina by pressing his own pack into Mina's sore back, which she insisted wasn't necessary but relented after noticing how nice it felt on those hard to reach bruises.

"Goddamnit, why the hell are we doing this?! It's not like we're going to be dodging rubber balls all day at the sports festival!"

"You're doing this because you've never experienced something like this."

Apparently Haru had decided to drop back in on everybody early to see how they were doing. Bakugou clicked his tongue at the fact he was caught complaining about the training they were all doing to help them through the festival coming up in less than two weeks.

"Had you been able to dodge my serves rather than catching them with your body; I probably would have been more sympathetic, Bakugou."

He wanted to throw in his thoughts on the matter, but the aching was too much trouble to deal with. A defeated Katsuki took the loss and just grumbled underneath his breath. Some few more minutes later the teens were back at it and now were given a leg up since now they were allowed to use their quirks. The only stipend was that they don't try to destroy the ball itself and work in avoiding it at all times.

The first shot went right at Katsuki. This time around, the blonde had the ability to dodge much more proficiently with a quick launch towards the air. His newfound confidence was cut short with something colliding with his lower back. Plummeting back down and rolling around clutching his back in pain it was revealed that Haru had served two balls with one swing. The other ball went off and bounced around until it caught Bakugou midair and sent him right back down to ground level. Haru took his time retrieving the two balls while Katsuki picked himself back up off the floor after rejecting Izuku's help.

"Y… Y-you… You cheated!"

Jabbing an accusatory finger at Haru, Bakugou was clearly not happy with the cheap tactic that Haru employed in order to take the blonde down a few notches. Haru got up and just responded flatly to the accusation being thrown at him.

"No, you simply weren't paying attention. You thought being able to use your powers would automatically make things easier. If you three get a bonus; it's only fair that I ramp things up as well."

Without looking; Haru was juggling the two balls in one hand while Katsuki could only manage to just stand there and struggle to formulate a response to that. Off on the sidelines; Mina and Izuku were just glad that it wasn't one of them that Haru decided to make the sacrificial lamb in demonstrating the reality of this training.

"Villains aren't exactly known for following the honor system; so why would the training in preparation of becoming heroes not follow that same principle?"

It finally clicked for Izuku why this training was so harsh to begin with. He wasn't just preparing them for the UA Sports Festival; he was preparing them for their future as heroes. The time restriction was simply a coincidence that Haru took advantage of so that he could keep them engaged and enduring during their training. If Haru could have his way, he would have liked to have avoided such a spartan form of training. No such luck, unfortunately. Plus, these kids were desperate for training that would help them in their sports events.

He really did follow through in delivering a consistently difficult training as now with two balls there was no way for any of them to keep their eyes on both balls all at once. Mina and Izuku found that helping each other did no good since they didn't even have a split second to react and warn the other person before they took a hit. For the whole hour, it was just nonstop dodging and hairline reactions for the trio.

One Hour Later

An irritating digital alarm went off and marked the end of the hour that Haru had set for the kids. He hit the snooze on the wristwatch and let the others know that their time was over.

"Alright, we're done here. Not bad for a first day, but you lot really need to improve before the festival. I can't say for certain that it'll stick, but we can try."

All around Haru was a room covered in soot, slime, and scuff marks while the ones who vandalized almost every surface in the court were all about to vomit and collapse with how exhausted they were. Mina was unable to stand as she could barely sit upright. Bakugou was way too prideful to admit he was all burnt out and had both hands on his knees to keep himself standing. Izuku was almost unconscious as he was lying flat on the floor while looking at the marred ceiling. Almost everybody in the room was heaving and sweating up a storm.

"Remember, same time tomorrow!"

Only Haru somehow managed to walk away almost unscathed. He was sweating a bit, but looked as though he could keep going without any issues. He stepped over Izuku as he made his way out of the reserved court space to pack up his things. Before leaving, he left a few bottles of water and some ice packs for when the teens finally manage to catch their breath and leave on their own accord.

It took almost ten minutes before they dragged themselves off the court and towards the care package that Haru had left them. Each downed two whole bottles of water before they all sat on the bench in silence while pressing ice packs onto their aching bruises. The fact that Mina and Katsuki were sitting next to one another in silence spoke volumes at how drained everybody was after such a nightmarish hour and forty five minutes. The first to say anything was Mina; and it was a question that was beginning to really bother her the more she thought about it.

"So, is anybody sure Haru-san doesn't have some sort of hidden power he's not telling us?"

"He's registered as quirkless. It's on his fucking drivers license; theres no way he could lie about that shit…"

Katsuki would have usually gotten an earful from Mina for being so callous with how he talked to her. She didn't even want to turn her head, let alone lecture Bakugou in the ways of etiquette. The packs of ice she had in each of her hands were being held against her neck and side simultaneously. Izuku had his pair of ice packs on both his thigh and head. Lastly, Katsuki was only using one ice pack and was holding it on his lower back from when he got caught off guard. They were all tired, sore, and over everything this day had to offer them.

Bakugou was the first to pack up his bag and leave. There was a slight limp that he tried to play off as nothing, but it was still noticeable for anybody watching. Left on their own, Izuku felt something wet and hairy touch his shoulder as Mina tilted ever so slightly to rest her head on his shoulder. For weeks they were unable to spend any sort of meaningful amount of time with one another and it was clear that it was affecting Mina. He took her hand in his own and just let the seconds go by as they just sat next to each other, just staring at the completely vandalized racquetball court that even had stains on the glass.

"... Ikki?"

"Hm? What's up?"

She had used their pet name and it was usually when she had something to say. Keeping an ear open was the least he could do for his better half.

"Is everything okay? I know we haven't had time to talk, but I can't help but feel worried about you."

"... Yeah. I'm sorry Mimi. I want to tell you so much. I want to clue you in with everything going on, but…"

He interlocked their hands and gave it a gentle squeeze to communicate how much it hurt to do this to her.

"Now's not the time. It's not just for you; I promised somebody that I would keep things under wraps for now. Trusting you has nothing to do with it, I just can't break that promise."

There was usually a divide in what sort of reaction one would get after admitting they were keeping secrets from their significant other. For girls at Mina's age; it usually would lead to either indignation or outright heartbreak. Neither of these were what she went for. She returned the gentle grip and gave Izuku a few words of consolation to help put him at ease.

"Don't worry about how I feel about it. It's clearly important to you and you wouldn't be doing this had it not been. So whenever you're ready; I'll be here for whatever you need from me."

It eased his heart to know that she would be understanding and patient with him as he had to keep his mentorship under All Might a secret. So much of this was indeed making Izuku feel heavier than he had ever been in the past. Giving this moment his attention was helping him forget about all of this insanity. Nobody was around them, so he took the chance and tilted Mina's chin to look at him face to face. They kissed for a few seconds and took the time to taste each other through their kiss.

After breaking off the kiss, they just stared into each other's eyes and felt that everything was going to be alright. They eventually got around to picking up their things and leaving the gym hand in hand. Leaving the room absolutely scuffed was a momentary concern as they passed the front desk. The attendant there waved it off and said that it was already covered with Haru and that it was no issue for them. It still was a mystery to them as to how he makes all these friends in strange places to do all the weird things he does for them.

Now that they were going home, Mina decided to spend the night at Izuku's since she lived a bit farther away and didn't want to travel by herself while being uncomfortably sticky with sweat. Izuku was a bit of a pushover at times, but this was familiar territory between them and without flinching he called her parents and let them know she was spending the night at his place. The mother joked about getting grandkids, which made the father panic in the background. They gave their consent and with that they both headed for the Midoriya residence.

Midoriya Residence

"Mom! Mom, I'm home!"

Mina was taking off her shoes with Izuku lending her his hand to steady her while she stood one legged. A pair of house slippers could be heard shuffling their way towards the front door. Inko had turned into the hall to see both Mina and Izuku finally enter the home. She smiled brightly to see Mina visit their family home after such a long period of being away.

"Mina! Oh my goodness, look at how much you've grown! You look so different since last I saw you."

Inko approached the girl for a hug, which was stopped after Mina warned her how sweaty she was from the gym. This caused a different concern to arise as she pushed the girl towards the bathroom.

"You must be absolutely freezing! Here, get out of those soaking wet clothes while I run a bath for you to warm up with."

There was no arguing for Inko as Mina was spirited away further into the house. Although Izuku had been very close to Mina, the most he's ever seen from Mina were through a few risque photos she sent to him randomly. Quite a few of them were quite close to just being nudes, but it never crossed that line by the thinnest of margins. He scooped up his bag along with Mina's and retreated to his bedroom to get more comfortable before he had his turn in the bath.

Meanwhile, Mina had shucked off the last article of sweaty clothing into the washing machine and donned a terry cloth towel. Inside the bath; Inko was running the bath and made sure to give Mina a selection of feminine hygiene products before returning to the teen with a proud smile on her face.

"I'll grab you a spare set of clothes while you get yourself cleaned up. I left everything you might need inside, but don't hesitate to call for me if you need anything; got it?"

"Of course! Thank you so much, Inko-san. I can't thank you enough for this."

The mother brushed it off and told her that it was nothing for somebody she considered her daughter. A light bit of ribbing from the mother about her becoming her daughter dusted Mina's cheek as she didn't deny that the prospect felt like it was bound to happen rather than if it were to happen. She was finally alone and was allowed to scrub herself clean before hopping into the now filled tub and enjoyed the scent of the citrus bath salts. Her skin was in excellent condition due to her genetics being solid and her quirk making it almost impossible to suffer from any sort of dryness.

Izuku had managed to shuck off the wet gym clothes and gingerly place them on the back of his desk chair to then change into another set of clothes until it was his turn for the bath. His mom took the wet articles of clothing to add to the wash and let her son have his privacy while he went over his remaining homework for the evening. He finished about half of it before training with Haru, but it still remained to be completed. Chair pushed in and pencil at the ready, he was about to finish the remaining worksheets when his phone came to life. The caller id let him know it was from Yaoyorozu Momo asking for a video call. Granting the app permission to his camera let the two close friends see one another face to screen to face.

"Momo! What's up?"

"Good evening. I hope I didn't interrupt anything important."

"No no, just finishing some homework. How about you? Things are going well for you?"

Momo just nodded and smiled to let Izuku know that it was indeed all well on the homefront. She was in her room wearing a maroon cotton shirt that was certainly doing it's best at containing the girl's assets. Izuku took a mental note of the sight and kept the conversation going between them.

"So, I guess you're nervous about the festival too, huh? Can't help but feel a bit cagey myself. So much of this; just riding on something that only happens once a year."

"Mhm. I just needed to talk to somebody for a bit since I'm a little restless myself. Kyoka has her hands full getting ready for the festival and I'm stuck indoors trying to get all this information committed to memory."

Momo rarely spoke so formally whenever it was just the group and nobody else. It never failed to put Izuku at ease to see someone who was perceived to be prim and proper by other people let their hair down. Quite literally; her hair was down from it's ponytail and draped itself past her shoulders as she sat in her room with only the desk lamp providing just enough light to make her visible for the call.

"Is she okay? She hasn't been in the chatroom for some time and I wasn't sure why."

A shake of her head that also shook some hair over her right ear let Izuku know that such concerns weren't necessary. The hair was swept back up behind her ear; the small feminine gesture served to remind Izuku that Momo was only going to be far more stunning the more time passes. He almost didn't hear what she said next.

"You know how she is. Give her enough time and it'll work itself out. She'll be back before we know it…"

"Hm, I guess…"

Izuku set the phone down upright on his desk like Momo was doing for her own phone to give his arm a break. His arm was very much visible through the cam feed and made Momo gasp at the rather angry looking bruises spotting the forearm and bicep. It made Izuku wonder what had happened that made Momo react in such a way, causing him to scan the room behind him until Momo mentioned his visible injuries.

"Izuku, your arms!"

"Hm? Oh, that. Yeah, Haru-san put me and Mina along with Ka-chan for some rather brutal training. He's doing what he can to get us ready before the festival."

The usual sheepish act didn't dissuade the girl in letting the issue rest at that. Her brows furrowed with her crossing her arms underneath her impressive chest, giving her rather distracting assets a fuller look. His gawking was ignored in favor of sharing her disbelief.

"That's not an excuse for him to be doing this to you! I'm more startled that somebody like Nakamura was even capable of doing something so heinous. What was he thinking?"

"Momo, it's okay. Me and Mina will pay the nurse a visit tomorrow and we'll be right as rain before you know it. Plus; this training made me realize something."

It was Momo who offered her ear to listen to Izuku's thoughts on the situation at hand.

"I guess… Well, It's more like… Honestly, I feel like I'm in over my head. Don't get me wrong; there's no way I'm giving up now or ever. I knew it was gonna be hard. Not a single moment has passed that made me want to give up. But… I dunno. Seeing somebody like Haru-san trying so hard to make sure that not just me, but that everybody he wants to succeed makes it…"

Many times she and Izuku got caught up in all sorts of conversations that would go on for hours at times. One thing that Izuku wasn't during these conversations was inarticulate. His habit of thinking things through in his head made it easy for him to always pick the things in his head out before he said anything. Seeing him stumble and hesitate to find the right words over how he felt was a sight she wasn't expecting when she called him out of the blue that night.

"He wants us to be ready. Everything he went through shaped him to who he is now. His past almost tried to kill him and it shows how tenacious he was to just survive. He's not even a licensed hero, for god's sake!"

It was faint, but Momo was starting to understand what Izuku was trying to say. She was patient and allowed Izuku to sort himself out as he kept explaining.

"I've never even been in a fight. Ever. All because I thought I was weak I just kept my head low and out of everyone's business. I let that shape me into who I am now, and I feel like I'm too far behind where I need to be. Right now, I wonder if it's even me that's doing any meaningful work to succeed…"

Being raised to be mindful of her decorum and etiquette; Momo wanted a few moments and spoke when she felt that an appropriate amount of time had passed.

"Izuku?"

A bruised body wasn't the only thing he was nursing at the moment. It was plain as day on his face that he was weighed down over what was plaguing him.

"Yeah?"

She took a moment to sit straight in her chair before she said what she wanted Izuku to understand.

"You have come a long way from where you started. Look at everything you've gone through and achieved! I can promise you that most people in your position would have given up far earlier than where you are now. So hold your chin up."

In the past, Momo had always been mindful about the way she spoke and interacted with others. It took significantly more time than it should have to get her to loosen up enough to speak casually around him and the others. Hearing her be so frank with him really made it sink in over how much she believed in what she was saying to him.

"You've achieved so much already. We wouldn't be so supportive if we thought you were in any way incapable of making it. Be good to yourself; for your sake and ours. I would hate to see you give up when I see so much more in you."

Looking at Momo through the phone screen did no justice to illustrate how great she looked to Izuku that very moment. Kind eyes, a gentle and nurturing smile, not to mention a figure that could knock the boots off of-

"Like what?"

"Hm?"

A little game that Izuku felt compelled to start with the girl that gave her heartfelt support to him just now.

"What do you see in somebody that you think is so capable and so on?"

Now it was clicking in her head what Izuku was trying to do. His casual smile disguised the slight tension he was starting to build in the conversation. He leaned in slightly towards the camera to let his arms sit on the wooden surface of his desk. The muscles in his forearms were very much developed from months of heavy lifting and a strict regimen of exercise he followed to the letter. It was a little distracting for Momo as she took the time to find the right words.

"... I see you. I see someone who I admire and feel thankful for meeting. I see someone…"

A pause as Momo shyly uttered a rather layered response to his question that was made mostly to help cut the tension. A new tension was now on the rise.

"... Someone who I couldn't imagine being without. That's what I see…"

They were just sitting in silence in each other's presence for some time. A comfortable silence came over them that neither person wanted to break just yet. Izuku decided it best that he come out as the villain in the conversation and let things end here for now. There was clearly something they needed to address and they were lacking a few people to continue the conversation then and there.

"It's getting late. Mina's probably almost done and I still gotta take a bath."

She was a bit disappointed that their time was cut short, but understood that Izuku had things to do before the end of tonight.

"Yeah. Goodnight Izuku. One more thing, though…"

He gave the girl his attention and patiently waited for her last minute inquiry. It looked like she was a bit hesitant before asking the young Midoriya one last question for the evening.

"Do you remember what you said to me, back when we went to that aquarium and we changed before we went to see the sharks?"

A good memory for both of them. The first time they met and became good friends since.

"Yeah, I do."

A lock of hair was being wrapped around her index finger as she looked off to the side with a lovely shade of rose brightening her cheeks.

"... What about now?"

It wouldn't make much sense to anybody else; for them, he had just one thing he could say that would convey what he wanted her to know.

"You're always beautiful to me."

They said their goodbyes and hung up at the same time. Izuku stretched his arms over his head and just let his arms hang while he leaned back on his chair and just stared into the empty space above him. What was said wasn't anything said out of a moment of impulse or short sighted judgment. An eventuality that finally saw the light of day rather than being ignored like it had been for years.

"It's things like those that make me realize why I love you."

He almost went straight back in his desk chair when he heard somebody behind him while thinking he was still alone. On the foot of his bed was Mina in her sleepwear with a laptop on her crossed legs, still grinning like a cheshire and giving Izuku one of her signature laughs. He relaxed and tried to settle his racing heart as he approached Mina with the intent of sitting next to her.

What he wasn't expecting was her fending him away with an extended leg and pointed foot. It wasn't anything serious, but it was clear that he forgot where he had been just a few hours ago.

"Bath, Ikki! You're still all sticky and sweaty. No thank you, mister."

Her antics never failed to make him smile in amusement. Legs like hers were to die for, and right now the shorts did nothing to block his view of the mile long stretch of skin only he as a man was privy to. He caught her right leg by the ankle and lifted it up to his face. There was only one way for her to go with her leg going up like that. She just managed to move the computer off her lap and let it rest next to her on the sheets.

Their eyes kept locked onto one another as he lifted her leg to his face and suggestively kissed her just above the ankle. A cute squeak that was certainly mixed with a moan gave her an excuse to use her other leg to shove Izuku off her and towards the door. She was scarlet red while trying to catch her breath from the sneak attack he just succeeded in.

"Pervert! Go shower and come back when you're done!"

A wave of his hand over his shoulder as he left was his response to her demand. She couldn't hide the smile and giggle at the fact he was such a sneaky little imp underneath all that social insecurity and nervousness. With that out of the way, she returned to her online schoolwork while she awaited the return of her better half from the bath.

Meanwhile

There weren't too many things that Haru didn't communicate with Inko since they began seeing each other. The training was a first for her to see her son and Mina littered with injuries from this supposed 'training' he was putting them through. Out of her frustration she called Haru from out on the balcony of the apartment unit. A short greeting later she gave Haru an earful over taking such an extreme measure for the children. He wasn't exactly enthralled with what he was doing either; and once he managed to get a word in edgewise, Haru began to explain the situation.

"Inko; these kids aren't going into business or law when they graduate. There are serious consequences if they aren't prepared for what's ahead."

"Even still! Such things seem so calloused and blunt for them. What good is training them when they keep walking away with injuries day after day?"

He had to pick his words very carefully. Right now he wasn't dealing with his romantic partner; this was a concerned mother demanding an explanation to justify what he put her son through.

"This isn't something I'm doing for fun. You know how I see the world; do you think I could let them be naive in believing that battles are these spectacles where they always come out on top?"

She knew of the story; a kid being quirkless being forced to survive and fight tooth and nail for his right to live. No help. No remorse. No one to even lend a sympathetic shoulder to cry on.

"I'm not going to try and make this too much for them, but I'm not gonna take it any less easy than what is necessary…"

A long pause between the both of them as Inko truly didn't know what to say to something like that. She knew he wasn't an idiot and would be good on his word to measure things back if they went too far. In all her years of living; Inko had no such experiences in being brutalized or being in danger like heroes were almost every day of the year. Being left speechless like this did hurt a bit as it was clearly something that she had little to no idea of what it was like to be a hero.

On the other end; Haru wasn't happy with being so short with Inko. Her character was one of nurturing and being careful. To do this to her and tell her to just accept it was making him sick to his stomach. He would have loved to be considerate and find a way to get these kids up to speed with the necessary skills through less barbaric means. To promise the woman he loved that he would keep her child out of harm's way, no matter what.

"... Inko?"

"..."

"Inko, I can't apologize enough; truly, I mean that. To be perfectly honest…"

There was a hint of what sounded like hesitation in his voice. Something that she never really knew he was capable of.

"... I'm scared. True to everything, I am so scared for them."

His vulnerability in all this was something Inko valued very much. She listened intently as Haru continued to wear his heart on his sleeve for her.

"They are going into something that I can see they aren't ready for. I can't stop them. I have no right to stop them from achieving their dreams; but it only takes one moment for things to go horribly wrong."

"... Haru-"

"Just wait, please… I can't stop them, but at least I can prepare them by training them to react appropriately. That's all I can do for them. I just… I…"

Haru took a deep and slightly shaky breath before finishing off his thoughts.

"I feel helpless. I keep thinking this is the only way, but another part of me wants this to stop. To think like they do… But that's irresponsible. I need to be there for them and if I could help it, I'll do whatever it takes to give them the opportunity to be the best they can be."

A long winded confession that only Inko was privy to know of. So much of him and her son were similar that it truly was like he was the boy's father. The man was always several steps ahead and was always cool headed whenever he was around others. In reality, he was just as nervous and scared of the unexpected like Izuku.

Some moments had passed before Inko asked for permission to speak once more. Haru gave her the floor and apologized for being so direct with her. She accepted his apology in stride as she gave the man her take on things.

"Do you remember when you took Izuku out for ice cream all those years ago?"

"Yeah, how could I forget?"

"That night, I never felt so lonely in my entire life. My husband was in another country and had left the responsibility for Izuku to me and me alone… I had nobody I could turn to. Nobody except for you."

That night was still very clear in both of their minds. He hugged her and kept her calm to the best of his ability as he promised to lend her his help in the matter. For Haru, it was a bittersweet memory of Inko and him; for her, it was the moment she could say that she fell in love with him.

"You picked me up and dusted me off while giving me the confidence to keep on going. It's a kindness that I want to return as of right now… So please; if you are scared or unsure, I'm here for you no matter what. I don't know what it is I can do for you, but I will never leave you by yourself, Haru."

All these years and it's now that Inko had the opportunity to reciprocate the kindness in some sort of way. It was a pleasant atmosphere for them, even if it was just through a phone call. A single thought suddenly made its way into her mind as she almost forgot something important.

"Oh no, dinner! I'm so sorry, but I have to make dinner for Izuku and Mina!"

Before she could hang up, he threw one last request to her. Since she offered to be there for him, he decided to take advantage of the invitation.

"Tonight… Do you want me to come over?"

She let the idea sink in and stew in her head before she gave her answer.

"... After the kids are asleep."

Inko hung up before Haru could say anything else. He smiled to himself and thought of what he should bring over to the Midoriya household as a gift for his very special lady.

His phone returned to his jacket pocket as he returned to his previous business he was in the middle of when Inko had called him. Through the sliding double doors was what looked to be an auditorium of sorts. Not quite as fanciful or decorative, but still served its function well enough. The seats filled with uniformed men and women all stood to attention when Haru returned from his phone call.

It was dead silent as Haru's footsteps were the only audible sound as he returned to his seat. He unbuttoned the jacket and sat with his legs crossed and the laptop he left behind went straight onto the raised thigh for him to continue his work while the rest of the room's occupants were finally given the okay to sit back down.

"Right. So to continue where we left off; the current package is this cooling unit. It is several hundred kilos and will require this unit here to serve as it's replacement. Now, from here…"

Haru was there to mostly just supervise the operation and make any sort of adjustments he wanted were being communicated. This would have his personal interaction with the operation and he wanted nothing other than perfect delivery. In just less than two weeks; one of the most delicate operations he had ever requested to date was well underway. One day within a few hours during the afternoon was all they had, and he was not going to allow failure.