Kotetsu found the empty spot left by Izuku Midoriya unsightly, yet he could not look away from it. After the events that transpired Friday, he had hoped that perhaps Izuku would have thrown himself into his training. Though it was beginning to seem as though his fear that it would drive Izuku away and crush his spirit before it could become tempered into something stronger.

It was more frustration than a shame. Perhaps it was because of how much Izuku reminded him of his brother, but that young Midoriya had become his second favorite student - right after his own daughter of course. He was frustrated at the abandonment of potential, but the greatest shame was that he could not be able to see what kind of man he could forge Izuku into.

He shook his head, nearly laughing to himself, though perhaps he was giving himself to much credit as a Sensei. It had only been two days, and perhaps Izuku was simply resting, nearly dying was a trying ordeal - one that Izuku seemed far too familiar with for a boy his age - it only made sense that he would seek to take a day or two off.

Itsuka looked at him, caught mid-stretch - he'd remind her that her pose was off later - and offered him a shrug. No doubt she was wracking herself with guilt about not helping him more.

"Alright," he clapped his hands, drawing the attention of his students towards him. "You all have performed excellently today." With a fist in his hand, he gave them a bow, one that they eagerly returned. Respect certainly was a wonderful thing. "Class is dismissed, I will see you all Tuesday."

The students all began their usual shuffling, some stretching to relax their posture, a few forced their joints to pop obnoxiously, a few went right for the door, most went towards the locker room. Perhaps he'd have a nice cup of tea. Tea sounded wonderful right about now. Maybe he could even get his daughter to serve him tea?

"Itsuka, could I trouble you for-" He began with a smile, extending a hand out to his daughter, every day she was looking more and more like her mother, though that might just be his lonely heart talking and the orange of her hair. Personality wise the two couldn't be more different. Aside from the headstrong part.

Her daughter rolled her green eyes, one hand going to her hip. "If you're going to ask for tea, save it, I have homework tonight, and Sundays are your night to cook."

"Tea does not take so long," he folded his arms and looked towards the lone clock, hoping to coax her eyes into following. "Besides, I ended class early today. And it would make your-"

Izuku stood in the entrance way breaking the flow like a rock in the river. He was dressed in shorts and a shirt that was self-aware enough to have 't-shirt' written on it. There was a tiredness about him, not from lack of sleep, it was the kind of glow that followed a hards day work full of purpose. Guarded in his hands like it was sacred texts was a stack of papers.

And then there was a fire in his eyes. Friday's events had changed Izuku, but he had been a fool to worry.

"If not for me, perhaps you'd be so kind as to make some for our tardy disciple?" He ruffled her hair in the way that annoyed her the most and walked towards the conflicted young man. Only looking back for a moment. "Though, I'm sure he'd think it awkward to be the only one to receive tea. He might get the wrong idea."

His headstrong daughter simply rolled her eyes and headed towards the kitchen. "Fine, just don't scare him off or anything, you tend to make things worse."

When had he ever done that?

Clapping his hands he felt his cheeks pull into a tight smile. "Ahh, Izuku, I'm afraid you've already missed class for the day."

Izuku jumped, feet, legs, and shoulders squirming while his hands remained perfectly still less they so much as crinkle those sacred texts. Still nervous and unsure of himself as ever it seemed. "I umm, was waiting for class to be over." He bit his lip and calmed himself, if only for a moment. "I, umm, kind of wanted, well, not that I want to, it's just that I have to, because, I don't think that I'll be able to, that is, I umm..."

A single hand on his shoulder calmed Izuku for half a second before the jittering started up again. "Come now Izuku, whatever you need to say can be said simply. Just state your intent."

His finger clenched, wrinkling those papers, and his eyes were drawn towards the ground. "I won't be able to come to class anymore."

"I see." This was unacceptable. Both, the way it was spoken, and the act itself. "If that is what your heart desires I will not stop you," he motioned towards the meeting room where he had first spoken the boy. "But, come, I think an explanation will do us both some good."

"Okay," Izuku muttered his head still down.

He took his usual seat on the bench, once more regretting the decision to not cushion the damn thing for the sake of aesthetics and authenticity. Just because they trained their bodies to ignore pain did not mean that did not relish comfort. "Now then, you said that you won't be able to come to my class anymore, why is that?"

"I know it is not fear or lack of desire that drove you to say that." He leaned forward, resting his elbows on the table and covering his face so Izuku could not see his smile. The difference was subtle in Izuku, or perhaps he was just reading what wasn't there. Then again, he hadn't been wrong before. "I can see it in your eyes Izuku, you have a purpose now, a motivation to match that discipline of yours and I won't be letting that slip through my fingers without proper reason."

While Izuku had no inherent love for martial arts there was an eagerness in there that gave him hope that one day this young man could become quite exceptional. But, again, that could just be because this was something that was still new and exciting for the young boy.

"Well, Friday, I met someone." He refused to look him in the eyes and bit his lip. That lone crinkle in those papers was all that marred them. "And I, well, he was my, err, well he's someone that I looked up to a great deal."

It was All Might. That much was obvious. With the events, the way the boy spoke, and his unwillingness to so much as giving a name, that was the only conclusion.

Izuku bit his lip and finally made eye contact. There it was, there was that roaring fire, it was fueled by mind, heart, and soul, with only the body unable to join in its intensity. Such a fire might consume the boy if his body couldn't keep up. But that was where he came in. "He said that if I worked hard enough that my dreams would come true. And that he would help me along the way. But that I needed to do a lot of it on my own. So, I'm going to give that a shot."

What ideas was that weirdo Toshinori feeding this boy?

"I see, well, I'm happy you have found a direction for your heart to take." He held out his hand gesturing towards the papers. "And this is the path this man has set out for you?"

"Yes," Izuku nodded his back pressed against the wall.

"May I see them?"

It took a moment, like coaxing a cat out of a bush with nothing more than sweet words, but eventually, the papers were in his hands.

'ALL AMERICAN DREAM PLAN!' was written at the top. Yep, it was All Might.

The plan itself was sound, including both dietary, and a scaling work out plan for the next ten months that was targeting the whole body. It was designed with Izuku's body, potential growth rates, and current state in mind, to ensure that he would work out to the maximum each and every day assuming that Izuku would follow through with it.

There was just one problem.

The plan didn't account for Izuku's drive.

"I see, and are you committed to this path?" There wasn't much of a point to ask that question. "More specifically, do you plan to follow this plan to the letter, even when you feel as though you can do more? Should do more. Are you going to give it your all and -" what did All Might say? " - go even further beyond? Are you going to give it your Ultra plus?"

"Plus Ultra dad," His lovely daughter corrected him, placing a warm cup of tea in front of Izuku first, before placing one in front of him. It smelled lovely, like a good fresh Oolong. "It's good to see you Izuku, are you feeling better?"

The boy tensed up like he had just drank an entire pot of the most caffeinated coffee on the market. Black, with no sugar. He sucked his lips that his usual shyness he had around his daughter - or indeed any girl - was back again. He grabbed the cup taking a small sip of it, before staring into it to avoid eye contact. "I'm fine, thanks."

"That's good." Itsuka sat down next to him, across from Izuku, and looked between them a curious look in her eyes. "You're not going to quit are you?"

"Well, I mean, it's not like I want to or anything," Izuku began, holding the cup with both hands, his body trying to become as small as possible so that he might fit down into it.

Ahh to let his disciple suffer or to come to his aid? Hmm, best to strike while the iron was embarrassed. "Actually, we were just modifying Izuku's schedule." Both sets of green eyes locked onto him. He shuffled the stack of papers, fanning them gently. "Izuku has been offered a chance for something great, but he still desires to train here with us. As such, he will be making it to class when he can, and he will even show up during his free time for intensive physical training."

"No!" Itsuka shoved a finger into his side. "You're not going to scare him away with your hellish training!"

"He can take it."

"You want to keep training me?" Izuku asked, his eyes were wide but he was smiling now. "Why?"

"Because you are my student. And it is my duty to see your training through." He placed a hand down onto the wooden table between them. Standing up and looking down at his disciple. "I am a selfish man Izuku. When you say the word Sensei no matter who you say it to. I want your heart to know that title is mine above all others. Now then, will you allow me to -"

He paused feeling the cursed blessed words on his lips once more. Memories of his own time undergoing the training flashed before his eyes. Cruel was an understatement. It had taken all of his own willpower to merely survive that harsh physical conditioning. More than a few had left that school before the first day had ended. There was no great secret to the training, just an application of pushing the body beyond its own limit so the spirit would carry it further. With the right motivation, Izuku might be able to take it.

"Harden your body with the ancient techniques of a thousand schools bound together by the teachings of Ryozanpaku?" He tossed the papers to the side and held out a hand to Izuku. "Will you trust me?"

Izuku grabbed his hand faster than he had thought. Only time would tell if that eagerness would be able to weather the torment he was about to inflict upon Izuku.

"Will I still be able to follow that plan?" Izuku asked, looking down at the scattered papers.

"You won't need to, my training will give you those results two-fold." Maybe one and a third if he pushed it. But still better results. "But, I do have one requirement. For this, one small request."

All eyes were still on him, his daughter rolling her finger to tell him to get on with it. "Well?"

He sighed, sitting back down and restacking the papers. The wind was gone from his sail now. "Despite having been a Dojo for eight years now I haven't had a reliable team for competitions, and as such, I have no trophies, those that come to my school with the desire to compete quickly go to the other larger dojo's or join their school teams. However, I would like to change that."

"In about seven months there will be a tournament for middle schoolers, I would like both of you to compete in it." He shrugged. "I was going to ask you closer to the actual date, as I felt like it would be good practice for you both.

And he really wanted a trophy.

"By then Izuku would only be practicing for like nine months." Itsuka pulled at her ponytail and ran a hand through those long orange locks she got from her mother. "I mean I'll go, but are you sure Izuku will be ready?"

"I know that you wish to go to U.A." He placed a hand on her head, messing up her hair in the way that annoyed her the most. "And unless I mis-overheard, so does Izuku, the entrance exam to U.A. will be much harsher than some middle school tournament and its three months after that. Besides, I believe I can get Izuku ready in seven months."

At least good enough not to lose in the first few rounds. Too badly.

"I'll do it." Izuku nodded, his timidness fighting a losing battle against his resolve.

"Excellent." He clapped his hands. "We'll start right now!" He used his quirk, hearing his knee pop loudly as he stepped over his daughters head with his elongated legs and then once they were normal length (and a few more pops) began to walk towards the yard. "Come Izuku, there's still daylight!"

"Hey! You're supposed to cook dinner tonight!"

XXXX

After an hour or two there were many things Itsuka had expected when she came down to check on them, Izuku passed out from exhaustion, a team of paramedics, her father throwing her a shovel claiming that Izuku wasn't feeling very well while he shouldered a body shaped bag of trash. Naturally, the reality of the situation was both better - in that Izuku was alive - and worse in that her father was actually doing something that was borderline barbaric.

Izuku was strapped to a pull-up bar around the knees, securing him in place in a way so that he could do a hanging sit-up. Coming from a boy that could barely do a push up two months ago it was impressive. Though the fact that he was still lighter than her probably helped matters.

But it wasn't so much what Izuku was doing - struggling - as much as it was what her father was doing.

He had a small fire bit going directly below Izuku.

And this was why he never got any serious students.

"Dad? What the hell are you doing?" She stepped over to him. Did he think this was some anime or something?

"Pain is a powerful motivator." Her father turned to her, showing his teeth, and that cold glint in his blue eyes was present. Yep, he had to enjoy the pain of others to some degree. He stood dusting off his knees and stretched. "But hunger is not, what's for dinner."

She snorted, rolled her eyes, and stomped over to put out the fire. "I made me instant noodles, you're on your own."

Izuku let out a groan his body relaxing fully once the fire was out. "Thank you."

"You're crazy." She pulled at the straps holding him up and helped him to the ground. "Look, if you're going to do this training, don't let my dad do anything that involves fire. It really doesn't help. Or sharp things."

"Got it," Izuku nodded, dusting his legs off and letting out a groan. A hand went to his stomach as he tried to stand. "I don't think my stomach has ever hurt this much."

"Are you in your rebellious phase?" Her father asked, all but pouting that he'd have to make his own dinner or eat ramen noodles. "I thought we agreed that you'd tell me if you were entering your rebellious phase."

There was only so far she could roll her eyes. "You'll be fine Izuku, just don't do a sit up for a while and you should be fine, also sleep on your back. Do you think you can make it home okay?"

"I'll be fine," His laughter died into a groan. "I made it here after this morning I should be able to make it home."

"What did you do in the morning?" Her face scrunched up, it was Sunday. Their day off, even she slept in on Sundays, and she normally woke up when her dad did.

Izuku stood straight, wincing at the sudden motion. "Oh, uh, just helping someone out with some appliances is all. But, you're right, I should probably head home, I'm sure my mom is worried about me."

A secret huh?

"Alright, text me when you get home so I don't have to worry about you collapsing at the train station." And this was why people called her bossy. Still part of her was curious to see if Izuku could stick with the training, and what would happen if he did. She waved him off, "See ya."

He waved back, nearly stumbling on the first step back inside. "Bye."

Her father stood behind her, smiling ear to ear. Clearly he was overjoyed that he was able to walk his inner sadist for a bit. "Now, about my dinner."

She rolled her eyes and groaned. Maybe she should start her rebellious phase.

AN: So, Kotetsu P.o.V. yay or nay?

Also, holy crap this fic feels like its going at a snails pace and I'm used to rushing things . forgive me if I mess up!