Disclaimer: I don't own My Hero Academia

Izuku woke up early that morning. It was seven and he started doing his usual morning exercises, which included press-ups, squats, stretching, push-ups etc. Feeling refreshed from his workout he got changed into his uniform (provided by the school).

He then took a long hard look at himself in the mirror.

He was about to re-enter school. He still couldn't believe this was happening.

"Uh," Izuku moaned. "I really don't want to do this."

Unfortunately, he didn't have a choice. He had to do this.

Wanting to avoid his new classmates he headed down to the kitchen where he prepared tea and toast for himself. He consumed the toast quickly enough but was slow on the tea. It wasn't until he heard voices that he finished it quickly moved out of the building as quickly as he could.

He walked slowly towards the school. He wasn't in a particular rush, as most of the students wouldn't be there for a while.

The students in question were up and buzzing with excitement for what the day entailed. None of them had noticed Izuku's absence, well Mina and Tenya did but they just assumed he wasn't up yet.

Izuku walked through Heights Alliance, marvelling at the sight. He couldn't deny he was impressed with the teachers for getting all of this done in such a short amount of time. That was UA for you.

Izuku arrived at the main school building where he stared at the large domain before him.

'It's kind of ironic. A year ago, I would've done anything to get in here. And now, here I am as a student, unwilling, and the opposite of what I wanted. The world works in mysterious ways,' he thought.

Not wasting any more time he headed down to the entrance where there were lockers in front of him. He took out a piece of paper that showed him where he was. He quickly changed into his school shoes (another courtesy of the school).

Given the signs placed around the school, he managed to find his classroom. Strangely enough, he hadn't encountered any teachers, though it was probably because they were either in the staff room or their respective classes.

He stared at the large door for a minute before entering. The class was empty, spacious and had the desks in rows of four horizontally and five vertically.

"Well you're here early," came a familiar voice.

Izuku looked around for Aizawa until he saw he was lying behind his desk in a sleeping bag. Izuku was completely baffled by what he saw.

"Two questions," he said. "One, why are you like that? Two, how did you know it was me?"

Aizawa thought about that for a moment before answering in that order. "One, I was tired, and this is a habit of mine. Two, you don't want to connect with Class 1A, so you would come here early to avoid them. Tell me if I'm somewhere wrong along those lines."

Izuku's silence was enough of an answer for him. The latter of which silently praised the man's intelligence.

"Where am I supposed to be sitting?" Izuku asked.

"Middle desk against the wall," his teacher replied. "I should warn you beforehand, you'll be behind Bakugo because none of the other students will want to swap seats. I'm sorry but that's just the way things are."

Upon hearing that Izuku scowled. Sit behind Katsuki! He would rather be decayed slowly by Tomura!

Was this man serious? Of course, he was, why else would he say it. Doubting he would have any say in this he just stated what would happen.

"Just so we're clear. When he attacks me, that's when, not if, I will defend myself," Izuku stated firmly.

"Fair enough," Aizawa acknowledged. "However, while I'm in the room I'll make sure he doesn't."

Nothing more was said between the two as he sat down at his desk.

A few minutes later, students started pouring in. When they saw Izuku there before them they froze for a moment. They were still uneasy about having to attend classes alongside a villain, despite what Mina and Ochaco said about him. They moved to their desks while keeping their eyes on him in case he tried anything.

The obvious exceptions were Mina and Tenya. Tsuyu, who hadn't seen Izuku before, eyed him with a little curiosity. He didn't look that dangerous to her, although, looks could be deceiving.

Izuku ignored them completely, he just wished this class would start already.

Students continued to arrive silently. The silence, however, was suddenly shattered by the arrival of a certain blonde who, upon seeing Izuku, flew into full rage mode.

"DEKU YOU BASTARD," Katsuki roared as he ran towards Izuku. "YOUR DEAD."

Before he could even reach the boy, he found himself ensnared by Aizawa's capture weapon, and his quirk erased. Aizawa glared at his student.

"Give it a rest Bakugo. I already told you, Midoriya is your classmate. I get that you don't have a good past with each other but try to deal with it," Aizawa reprimanded.

Katsuki couldn't believe what he had just heard. His teacher was defending Deku, who was both a villain and quirkless.

Izuku was also surprised. Even though Eraser said it he didn't think he'd actually do it. In his previous school, his teachers never once defended him. Hell, they encouraged the bullying and even joined in.

"Why the hell are you defending him?" Bakugo demanded. "He's a villain."

Aizawa sighed. "Villain or not he is a student here and he will be treated as such."

"I can't believe this," Katsuki scowled while glaring at Izuku. "No matter what you say I still won't accept him."

At this point, Izuku had enough. He stood up, cleared his throat and addressed the annoying presence close to him.

"Look Katsuki, I'm not any happier about this than you are. To be perfectly honest, I'd much rather be rotting away in some prison than having to attend classes alongside you as I did for years. Unfortunately, that's not an option. So as much as I want to, I can't leave," Izuku explained. "And trust me, listening to your obnoxious voice isn't making it any more bearable."

Katsuki felt a vein stand on his forehead. How dare this quirkless piece of shit talk to him like that! He really wanted to fight him now.

The other students were surprised at what Izuku just said. These two, they knew each other. Not just from the USJ, they knew each other personally.

"That's enough," Aizawa ordered. "There's to be no fighting between you two. I mean it. So, sit down and prepare yourself. Class is about to begin."

Katsuki grudgingly relented and sat in front of Izuku.

The students weren't the least bit surprised at his outburst. They could still remember his declaration to kill the guy.

"Now then, I was going to discuss provisional licenses with you but due to recent events, the exam for that has been postponed so I will not discuss them today," Aizawa explained. "Today we'll mainly be testing you on your physical abilities through two events. I'll let him explain that to you though."

At that moment, the door swung open and a loud voice boomed throughout the class.

"I AM HERE, COMING THROUGH THE DOOR LIKE A HERO!" All Might announced.

The entire class calmed down instantly and looked at their favourite teacher. He was in his usual hero costume. He was strutting towards the desk in a slow, dramatic fashion. He faced the class with a large smile on his face.

"First of all, it's good to see you all back safe and sound," he said. "And as you've noticed you have a new addition to your class."

All Might glanced at Izuku who looked completely uninterested in what was going on. He knew the boy was still angry at him, and now, probably even more so. Naomasa had told him how Izuku reacted to AFO's death, and how he reacted to being sent here.

Both of which weren't good. He was likely to hold him in contempt for both events since he was the one who captured them. Still, he at least wanted to try and help him.

"I hope you will all get along with each other," he continued.

Some of the students exchanged looks of uncertainty while Katsuki scowled.

Izuku glared at All Might. Seriously, just what did he want with him?

"Now then, on to today's activities. What we'll be doing today is pitting you against each other in team battles. The first will be a race in teams of four. The second will be two on two combat battles," All Might explained.

Katsuki's face formed a huge smile. Fighting was what brought out the best in him. It was one of the few times when he could really let loose.

The other students seemed excited about this.

"We would've done this at the start of the year only we didn't have an even number of people," All Might said. "The teams will be allocated randomly. The order that appears will be the order you take turns."

He pressed a button on the computer and suddenly it started to randomly generate names. Four teams appeared.

Team A: Bakugo, Hakagure, Kirishima, Aoyama.

Team B: Sero, Iida, Jiro, Sato.

Team C: Ojiro, Koda, Asui, Kaminari.

Team D: Yaoyorozu, Tokoyami, Uraraka, Midoriya.

Team E: Ashido, Mineta, Shoji, Todoroki.

The students grinned at who they were partnered with. The ones from team D were surprised that they were paired with Izuku.

Ochaco was slightly nervous since she hadn't gotten the chance to actually talk with him yet.

"So, suit up," All Might ordered as several objects with numbers emerged from the wall. "Young Midoriya, yours is in case eighteen as that's your seat number."

There were murmurs among the students who hadn't expected him to have a hero costume. Izuku ignored them.

His thoughts focused on his costume. He hoped it hadn't been meddled with in any way. He made that outfit (apart from the helmet) himself.

After his battle with Nomu, he made some key adjustments to it. Now it had a higher defence, elemental resistance, and resistance to substances like acid and poison.

In other words, it was extremely important to him and he didn't want anyone screwing around with it.

"We shall all meet at Ground Gamma," All Might declared.

Ground Gamma 30 minutes later

Everyone met up at Ground Gamma after changing quickly. Much to Izuku's relief, his outfit hadn't been altered, well not much. The police had it analysed to make sure there was nothing funny about it.

Then they sent it off to a support company who improved the durability of the outfit, included a respirator that activated his helmet with the touch of a button, and added some white stripes on the sides for decoration (they thought it would look cooler).

The support company itself was impressed with the design and capabilities of the outfit while praising its creator. His belt was there but it only had the grappling hook as the other objects were deemed too dangerous.

Gamma Ground, from Izuku's perspective, looked like an industrial site composed of multiple pipelines that made it look like a labyrinth. He looked at the area and decided it was something he could get through easily. With the training he received from Stain, he would be able to handle it no problem.

He met up with his teammates before the race began. There was some uneasiness between them, but he didn't care.

"Should we come up with a strategy?" Izuku asked them.

The others exchanged glances. Momo was the first to speak.

"Considering the layout of the terrain, Uraraka and Tokoyami will able to move the fastest. You and I will be the slowest since my quirk isn't suited for this kind of thing, and you don't have one," she said.

Personally, Momo didn't know about Izuku, but she was definitely useless in this situation. She had been useless in most situations before.

At the Sports Festival, she was defeated rather easily by Tokoyami. And during the final exams, the only useful thing she did was run and pass the escape line while Bakugo and Todoroki held Aizawa off.

The only useful thing she had managed to do was get a tracker on one of the villains during the training camp.

Unfortunately for her, Izuku saw right through her. He knew the look she wore. It was the look of someone insecure and unsure of themselves. How did he know? He wore that expression for most of his life, it was incredibly hard not to recognise it. Feeling a little sympathy for her he decided to help her out.

"Your quirk isn't suited for this kind of thing you say. How so?" he asked. "It looks as though it would work perfectly in this situation."

Momo stared at him surprised. "What do you mean? It's not-"

Izuku cut her off by moving in close to her until their eyes were locked on each other. The way he looked at her, Momo could've sworn he was staring into her soul.

"Your quirk is Creation, isn't it? It allows you to create any non-living material from your body. However, depending on the size it can take some time, and I'm guessing you must have a basic understanding of the material you're making to bring it into existence," he told her.

Her shocked reaction was enough of an answer for him.

"In that case, make something that will allow you to move quickly throughout the labyrinth-like a grappling hook. Because let me tell you now Yaoyorozu, your quirk is far from useless," Izuku continued. "How will you know unless you try first?"

Momo was speechless.

Fumikage and Ochaco were the same.

None of them had expected this kind of attitude from the villain.

"Observe, adapt, because your quirk is suited for this situation, and many others. Do I make myself clear?" Izuku finished.

Momo suddenly felt as though a large weight had been lifted off her chest. Everything became so clear to her. She stared back at Izuku with determined eyes.

"Yes, you have," she declared. "I don't know if it's possible, but I'll try my best."

Izuku nodded and backed off. Momo still had something she needed to ask.

"How did you know what my quirk was? Or rather, how did you know its full capabilities?" she asked curiously.

"The Sports Festival," Izuku replied honestly. "Quirk analysis was one of my main jobs, I was there on a mission to analyse the quirks of all the participants. I watched each student perform and took notes on their quirks including yours and Class 1A. I might not look it but I'm very observant."

While it certainly explained his reason, something else he just said caught their attention.

"All the students? All the students in the Hero course?" Uraraka asked.

"No. All the students that participated in the tournament. From start to finish," Izuku replied.

There was silence from the three students in front of him. Their next reaction was expected.

"WHAT!" they yelled while their jaws dropped wide open.

Izuku chuckled at their reaction. "Funny, Ashido reacted the same way when she found out."

They disregarded that last statement and focused on the more important one.

"You recorded each student quirk at the Sports Festival," Momo exclaimed.

"How's that even possible?" Tokoyami questioned.

"I had the monitors to help me," Izuku justified. "I'm not that fast."

They were still shocked by what they had heard. They were beginning to see why he was important to the League. Their reactions caught the attention of the other students who were curious as to what was going on.

Katsuki was still angry at Deku. He wished he was against him now during the race, so he could beat him. Still, he would be able to let off some steam in the battle trial.

All Might and Aizawa appeared and ordered the students to get ready as the race was about to start.

All the students got ready in the order they were supposed to go. Momo prepared herself.

"Midoriya's right, I should try before deciding I've been beaten. That's why even if I can't do much here, I'll do what I can," she declared.

And with that, the race began.

This field was suited for Sero so he immediately took the lead. His tape quirk allowed him to move around the area quickly.

Katsuki wasn't far behind as he blasted his way towards the finish line.

Ojiro his tail to swing himself around from area to area while Mina acid skated on the pipelines.

'Midoriya recommended I use a grappling hook, so that's exactly what I'll do,' she thought.

She focused on what she needed in her mind, considered the materials, and slowly, it came into existence. It was quite like Midoriya's, though probably not made of the same materials. She created two for good measure.

She first used them to propel herself onto a building where she quickly examined her surroundings. There were multiple things she could use to attach her grappling hooks to, she also had a way to release them when she needed it. She attached them to two pipelines and propelled herself into the air. She released them and shot them at other targets to pull herself forward and manoeuvre through the sky without touching the ground.

She moved in a similar manner to Sero and eventually caught up to him and Bakugo. Both were surprised that she'd managed to catch up with them but didn't let it distract them. The three of them were nearing the building where the finishing line is. Each was determined to win.

Momo still had one trick up her sleeve.

'I saw her use this in the obstacle course during the Sports Festival,' she thought. 'An invention from Iida's opponent, Mei Hatsume.'

Suddenly, a metallic device with grappling hooks at the side appeared around her waist. This was known as a wire arrow.

Momo threw the grappling hooks in her hands in front of her opponents while firing the wire arrow at the building. Her opponents were momentarily distracted, and that was all she needed.

She reeled the wire arrow in at max speed, cutting past Sero and Bakugo.

She released it before colliding with the railing, instead of managing to fly over it onto the ceiling. Her landing wasn't great (she landed on her stomach), but it was better than nothing.

Bakugo arrived after her (enraged that he had not come first), and Sero quickly followed.

Ojiro arrived next with Mina finishing last.

An announcement went declaring Momo the winner.

"I-I did it," Momo murmured in disbelief. "I won."

She didn't think she would come first, but she did. And it was all thanks to Midoriya. If he hadn't said those things he'd said to her, she doubted she would've built up the confidence she needed.

Ochaco cheered for her.

Fumikage acknowledged she did well.

Izuku said nothing but silently agreed with them. Momo had done well for herself.

UA Staff Room

"Aizawa and All Might are performing physical tests with the students?" Ectoplasm asked.

"Yes, they want to see how much the students have improved," Midnight replied. "Though I can't help but wonder if they also want to test their new arrival to see what he's capable of."

Currently in the staff room was Midnight, Cementoss and Ectoplasm. They didn't have any classes right now, so they were having tea.

"I wonder how that's going," Cementoss said.

"Hard to say really. They all have improved since the Sports Festival, though Izuku Midoriya is a mystery," Midnight replied.

"From the reports we've received, he's quite intelligent and skilled in hand-to-hand combat. We don't know anything about who trained him but according to detective Tsukauchi it was a woman," Ectoplasm said. "There was also the Hero-Killer Stain, but that was only for a week."

They were all quite surprised when they'd learned he was trained by Stain, it made them raise their guard around him. Despite this, they were willing to give him a chance due to the hardship he endured throughout his life.

They did not, however, think it was a good idea to place him in the same class as Katsuki Bakugo, given their past relationship. But 1A had an open spot so there was nothing they could do about it.

"Still, it should be interesting to see where things go from here," Midnight said.

Her colleagues agreed with her.

"Speaking of which, did Nezu tell you? Several pro heroes will be stopping by later to do a check-up on the place. A safety precaution by the police," Cementoss said.

"Really, who?" Ectoplasm asked.

"Three. Gang Orca, Edgeshot and Endeavour," Cementoss informed them.

The two teachers raised their eyebrows. They were all in the top ten.

In addition, Endeavour was Todoroki's father. It was likely he would want to check up on his son.

His attitude towards other people made him a dislikeable person, however.

"Well, this should be interesting," Midnight said with a seductive grin.

Ground Gamma

The race was in its final stage. Ochaco and Tokoyami came second in their respective races, and now it was Izuku's turn. He wasn't nervous. He was confident he could win. No, he would win. It was time to show these students exactly what he was capable of.

His opponents were Sato, Aoyama, Kaminari and Todoroki. Todoroki, he knew he would have difficulty with but the others, they wouldn't be that much of a threat.

Each student stood ready. Those who were watching felt that Todoroki was going to win. Ones such as Tenya, Mina and Momo believed that Izuku had a chance of winning.

At the sound of All Might's voice, the race began.

Shoto quickly took the lead using his ice quirk.

Aoyama following not far behind him, though he did have to stop after using his quirk.

Sato and Kaminari tried to follow them as best they could.

'Stain's training prepared me for this sort of thing. Because of that my balance and athletic abilities are even better than they were before,' Izuku thought.

The students, and teachers, were surprised when they saw Izuku moving throughout the labyrinth-like he owned it. He ran, slid, and leapt from pipe to pipe and ceiling to ceiling at an incredibly fast pace and in a graceful manner.

As he raced through that labyrinth, he used everything he saw to his advantage. It wasn't long before he caught up with Shoto who was also surprised. That didn't stop him though. Shoto moved even faster than before.

It didn't help much unfortunately as Izuku caught up to him, leading to them both being neck to neck with each other.

'He's fast. No wonder he beat Bakugo,' Shoto thought. 'Even though he's quirkless, he shouldn't be underestimated.'

They continued racing against each other to the finish line. Both were so focused on winning that they didn't notice how close they were. As they came near to the finish line, they were side by side and accidentally touched one another's arms, causing them both to turn their heads in the other's direction. Upon noticing each other, they reacted defensively.

Izuku brought up his right arm to push Shoto away but Shoto, in a moment of pure instinct, activated his fire quirk.

'I thought he hated using that,' Izuku thought surprised.

He moved slightly to the side to avoid the flames and continued forward.

Shoto, who'd realised what had happened, put out his flames in disgust. This left him momentarily distracted, something Izuku took advantage of.

He wasted no time in moving towards the finish line at his fastest pace. Shoto followed quickly after regaining his composure but it was pointless. Izuku was just at the finish line. He crossed it and was declared the winner. Shoto came second with the others following not too long after them.

The entire class (with some exceptions) was surprised that Midoriya had won, and against Todoroki of all people.

The teachers were impressed with Midoriya's athletic ability.

Katsuki was speechless at what he just witnessed. Deku beat Todoroki. Even worse, he moved through that labyrinth better than anyone here. It wasn't normal, that was for sure.

Due to having the highest places, Team D won the race. All Might declared that it was lunchtime and allowed the students to leave the area for meals provided by the school. The combat training would be in one hour, which suited everyone.

As they were walking off Momo called out to Izuku.

"Midoriya," she said, catching his attention. "I just wanted to say thanks for helping me back there. If you hadn't said what you said to me I wouldn't have been able to win. So, thank you."

"Your welcome," he said. "You seemed like you could use a pep talk so I gave you one. I know when someone is feeling insecure about themselves just by looking at them. I used to be the same way."

That surprised Momo.

"Really! Why?" she asked.

"Being quirkless in this society isn't easy, trust me. I was insecure about myself for a long time until I joined the League. They helped me become more confident and stronger than I was a year ago," he explained.

Momo looked at him surprised. Villains helped him, that was strange. Or rather, it was unheard of. Clearly, there was more to being a villain than she thought.

Ochaco called them for a team lunch since they won, something Izuku didn't mind. As they walked along, Momo had certain thoughts about Izuku.

'Maybe he's not so bad after all,' she thought.

Unbeknownst to them, Shoto was glaring at Izuku for what he had done. It wasn't that he had won the race, he could care less about that. It was what he caused him to do during it.

'I swore I would never use it to attack, but as soon as I was overwhelmed, I broke my own promise. At this rate, he'll win, and I'll end up exactly who he wants me to be,' Shoto thought. His eyes focused on Midoriya. 'Izuku Midoriya huh, since he pushed me to this point, it might be worth speaking to him.'

All over UA

UA was currently being inspected by Gang Orca, Edgeshot and Endeavour alongside Cementoss.

They had swept the entire school to check it was secure and there were no potential break-ins. Everything was fine as far as they could see.

The number two pro hero had noticed something, however.

"Where is Class 1A?" he asked. "I didn't see them attending classes."

"According to Midnight they are performing physical activities with All Might and Eraserhead," Gang Orca informed him. "They recently finished a race and will shortly be conducting combat scenarios against one another. Why, are you concerned about your son?"

Endeavour grunted. "As if. My Shoto can handle anything thrown at him. I should know since I trained him."

The heroes and teacher didn't know whether to label that as a lack of concern or a sign of good faith in his son.

"Still though, I am curious to see how these fights go," Endeavour continued. "Cementoss, would there be any issue with us watching them?"

"I don't think so," the teacher replied. "I'll take you to where they'll be taking place."

"Good," was Endeavours only response.

"Well, this ought to be interesting," said Edgeshot.

Open hallway near Ground Beta

Izuku was currently standing in front of Shoto in a hallway. The reason. Shoto said he wanted to talk to him in private after he finished his lunch. However, rather than talking, Shoto was giving him the silent treatment while at the same time glaring at him coldly. Izuku waited patiently for Shoto to say something but when he got nothing he'd had enough.

"Okay I've been remarkably polite about this but, either you start talking or I'm leaving," he declared. "What do you want from me?"

Shoto raised an eyebrow.

"During the race, I was overwhelmed by you, and it made break the promise I made to myself a long time ago," he said.

Promise? Was it related to his fire quirk?

It had to be.

The look of disgust he made when he used it was the same as when he used it during the Sports Festival. Or maybe it was something to do with his father. Mina had told him that Shoto got angry whenever his father was mentioned.

"I'm guessing this has something to do with your father, who you inherited your fire quirk from," Izuku guessed.

Shoto continued to glare at him as a response.

"It isn't all that hard to figure out. You refuse to use your left side, and each time you use it you are angered and disgusted that you have. I also heard from Mina that you get angry when he's mentioned," he explained.

Shoto had to give Izuku credit for figuring it out. He was obviously quite intelligent.

"Look, you don't have to explain to me how much of an asshole he is, I already know," Izuku said. "I encountered him a couple of times while doing quirk analysis and he nearly scorched me without so much of an apology. Also, compared to other heroes, he's quite cruel, hot-tempered, and violent."

"You've got to be the first person I've met that realised that about him," Shoto exclaimed surprised. "Most people are always saying what a great hero he is, without knowing him personally."

"I am not most people. Being a villain gives you a different perspective of the world around you," Izuku replied.

It was the truth. Being a villain did give you a different insight into how the world works.

"So, what exactly did he do to you?" Izuku asked. "Did he give you that scar?"

Shoto stared at the ground in silence. Izuku wasn't far off.

"He's responsible for it," Shoto admitted. "But he wasn't the one to do it."

Izuku wondered what he meant by that.

"To start you should know that my father is an incredibly ambitious man. He aims for the top. He used his power to make a name for himself. However, he was never able to best All Might, so the Symbol of Peace is living proof of his failure. He's still at it though, trying to take down All Might, one way or another," Shoto said.

Izuku was a little but not totally surprised. Given Endeavour's cold personality it did seem likely. However, he somehow guessed that taking down All Might didn't mean defeating him in battle.

"Have you ever heard of quirk marriages?" Shoto asked seriously.

That caught Izuku off guard.

Quirk marriages were arranged marriages where people with powerful quirks married to produce more powerful children. They were common back when quirks first emerged but nowadays were generally considered taboo.

Suddenly, Izuku realised where Shoto was going with this, and when he did, his eyes widened in horror.

"No. You're not serious," Izuku exclaimed.

Shoto stared at the ground sadly.

"I am. You see my father has a lot of money and influence because of his career. He bought my mother's family so he could get his hands on her quirk. And now he's using me to usurp All Might," Shoto told him.

Izuku held his breath.

Intelligent as he was, even he never thought Endeavour was capable of something like this.

Shoto wasn't done.

"It's infuriating. I refuse to be a tool for that scumbag," Shoto growled. "In every memory of my mother, I only see her crying. I remember she called my left side unbearable before she poured boiling water on my face. In every memory of my oldest brother, I only see him being burnt by my father, used as a punching bag for being quirkless. I remember him flinching away in fear and limping while moving around the house."

Izuku was flabbergasted.

Shoto's mother was abused so badly, that she broke down and assaulted her son.

And when he said the oldest brother, that meant he had other siblings, meaning he wasn't Endeavour's first attempt.

What his father did was pure criminal, yet he managed to escape justice because of his status. Endeavour was the embodiment of the society Stain hated the embodiment of false heroes.

"If you're wondering why I'm telling you this it's because you pushed me to use my left side," Shoto explained. "However, no matter what happens from now on. If I'm up against you I'll defeat you with my mother's power. It's my way of showing my father that I reject him."

"I understand how you feel," Izuku said suddenly.

"Huh," Shoto replied confused.

"I said I understand how you feel," Izuku stated.

Shoto didn't understand what Izuku meant.

"How could you" he started before Izuku cut him off.

"You were abused because you had a quirk, whereas I was abused because I didn't have one," Izuku explained.

That surprised Shoto. Izuku looked at him seriously now.

"You think it's easy growing up without a quirk. You don't half the things Katsuki and the others put me through every day for being quirkless. There was hardly a day when I didn't arrive home with bruises, scars and burns. My teachers never helped me and some even joined in. To make matters worse, when I decided I wanted to become a hero they all laughed at me saying it was pointless. They called me useless, weak and pathetic all because I didn't have what they did. It was horrible," Izuku said.

This time it was Shoto's turn to be surprised. That sounded a lot like him, only it was done by one person.

"My Mom made it all bearable though. She's a sweet woman who loved and cared about me for me, not about a quirk. Even when I had no one, I had her," Izuku continued.

That was definitely the same as him. They both had kind mothers who loved them unconditionally.

"However, that wasn't enough. One day I had enough. I couldn't take it anymore. So, at someone else's advice, I took a dive off a roof hoping I'd be reborn with a quirk in another life," he said.

Shoto froze upon hearing that. Izuku's life before sounded terrible, but hearing he tried to kill himself shocked Shoto to the core.

'So, he reached that point as well,' Shoto realized.

"I didn't die obviously. The League saved me. They wanted to recruit me, and I accepted. They gave me a reason to live again," Izuku explained.

Hearing this made Shoto realise something else.

"That's why you were at the USJ. To get revenge on Bakugo," he exclaimed.

Izuku scowled. "He made my life hell. He got what he deserved."

Shoto couldn't argue against that. If things were as Izuku described, then Bakugo did deserve it.

"What about you? Does your dad abuse you much?" Izuku asked.

Surprisingly, Shoto had no problem answering that.

"He did when I lived with him. Training often resulted in me getting punched and kicked around. Other times involved me getting burned in different places. A lot of the time he'd shout at me and call me a failure."

He never let me do things most children would, like go to festivals, celebrate my birthday, make friends, or play. He said they weren't necessary for the world he was training me for. I wasn't even allowed to interact with my siblings, though they did try to see me.

"My father was furious after the Sports Festival for not using his power, and even more so when I didn't intern at his agency. He took his anger out on me in the worst way, just to let me know what my place was in his house."

Izuku winced at that description.

Shoto's life sounded so much worse than his but no less similar.

They both remained silent for a minute.

Neither of them could describe it but, talking to each other about their problems felt strangely good for some reason.

"As much as I'd like to continue this conversation we need to go," Izuku said. "The next part of the training will begin soon."

"True," Shoto agreed. "We can continue this conversation some other time."

The pair headed off to the training area.

Ground Beta

Ground Beta was a city area with several high-rise buildings. All the students gathered there along with their teachers.

They were surprised to see some of the top ten heroes there, though it was explained why.

Edgeshot recognised Izuku but kept quiet. He figured he must've been here for a reason.

Shoto flinched at seeing his father again. Just when he thought he'd gotten away from him.

Endeavour scowled at seeing his son. In his eyes, Shoto had proven to be nothing more than another disappointment. Still, these battle trials should be interesting.

"The scenario for this training is the bad guys have stolen a missile and are keeping it hidden in a building. The heroes must infiltrate and foil the villain's plan by either capturing the villains or the weapon. We'll pick teams by drawing lots," All Might explained.

They all quickly drew lots. Izuku was part of team A with Ochaco (much to her surprise).

The others were paired up in order as followed: Iida and Shoji, Momo and Mineta, Kastuki and Shoto, Mina and Aoyama, Sato and Koda, Jiro and Kaminari, Tokoyami and Asui, Ojiro and Hakagure, Kirishima and Sero.

Then to decide the first match, All Might drew randomly from two boxes labelled Heroes and Villains. Team A were the heroes. Team D were the villains. It would be Ochaco and Izuku against Katsuki and Shoto.

Everyone present was stunned at the match. It was the quirkless villain and Ochaco against the two strongest in their class. It seemed like an unfair fight.

Katsuki was thrilled. This was his chance to get back at Deku and remind him that he was better than him.

Shoto wanted to be anywhere but there right now with his father watching. Still, he would show him he didn't need his power to win.

Ochaco was nervous about the upcoming match and for good reason. She still couldn't believe her partner was Deku. She hadn't planned to talk with him this way.

Izuku on the other hand was looking forward to this. Especially since it was against Katsuki.

'I've been through a lot these past few weeks. And I need to vent my anger on someone. Katsuki get ready cause this is gonna hurt. Sorry Todoroki, but this includes you as well,' Izuku thought.

Hi there. Well, what did you think of that? There was a lot I wanted to get in for this chapter and wasn't sure whether I should include some parts or not. If you are curious about the conversation between Deku and Todoroki, I thought they would be well together since they are quite similar in certain regards. Now this happened at the start of the manga and anime, but I wanted to do it now, so I hope none of you mind. You'll see the fight next chapter but please remember, Izuku is much stronger than the last time he fought Bakugo so you'll see how much he's changed. Please review.