Iida knows. He knows why he can't sleep. He knows. He knows why the night is constant with tossing and turning, why his performance has gone down. He knows. Does he do anything about it? Not really. He powers through it. He is a hero. Well, he is training to be a hero. But is he deserving to be a hero? That question. The question that has haunted him since Hosu. The question that was born after an accident in that very city—the same accident which brought sleepless nights and constant glances being sent towards his friends, towards his classmates.

His classmates. He feels sick to his stomach. Oh, gosh. How will they react to the truth? If they are to find out just how bad of a person he is, how will they react? To know, that he was the reason for their friends almost dying, that he was the one who chased the Hero Killer and was going to be killed alongside them. I'm not a great role model. If they're to find out—they'll see me as no better than a villain. Iida knows—he hates that he knows that the reason for sleepless nights, the constant taunting of the demons that haunt his dreams. No. He knows that it is his fault. Tenya was the sole reason for that night. He was the reason for his friends almost dying. He believes that he deserves the nightmares.

The night is the same as all the nights after the training camp incident. Tenya had slept well a few weeks after the Hosu Incident, no more seeing Midoriya's body unmoving in the ground, no more what ifs of Todoroki being stabbed, no more constant reminders of how he had failed. Then, the Training Camp incident happened, then, Kamino Ward. It was consistently taunting him. The two incidents where he didn't do anything to help his friend and classmate. That one incident that could have been avoided if he had tried harder, insisted more. Midoriya was—is—stubborn, a trait that can get him killed—that has gotten him killed.

The faces of his classmates. The sight of them has started to plague his dreams as well. His brother, laying in his own puddle of blood, motionless. It changes constantly. Sometimes, when the nights are bad, he can see them. They all sit up, blood running down their faces, skin peeled, some with their eyes missing, others with stitched smiles. Sometimes, gosh, sometimes their bodies are mutilated to the point of them being unrecognizable. They gang up on him. "It's your fault, Iida! It's all your fault that we're dead! Look at us! Don't look away! Look at what you have done to us!" A few of them would claw at his legs, ripping the skin, bring him to his knees and forcing him to watch the way all of them died, over and over and over again. Never once, does he get the chance to breathe, all because of guilt. He hates it. Stop! Stop! Intestines are splattered here and there, brain matter coating the grounds and the walls, puddles of red and piles of white. It is a horror fest. He doesn't understand where all of these images come from.

Iida shakes his head, clearing the thoughts and images away. He wants nothing to do with that anymore. The teenager gets out of his bed. He needs water. He needs to walk around and keep his mind off of the horrors that plague his mind. He can't help but wonder how Midoriya is used to it. He wonders how he dealt with all of it at first, maybe he can get some tips to cope with the terrifying pictures.

Heading to the kitchen to get a drink of water, he almost runs into Todoroki. The dual-haired teen kept his face controlled, but he can see the surprise and the exhaustion in the other's eyes. Tenya opens his mouth then closes it again, unsure what he should say. "Hey, Iida," says Todoroki, breaking the silence.

"Hello, Todoroki," he responds stiffly, attempting to hold his gaze but the guilt crashes back into him at his friend's face. It crushes his heart, weighing heavily in his chest. "You should get to sleep. We need to rest as much as we can before the exam."

A dark eyebrow is raised in question at his words. Unconvinced, suspicious. He can see through him. Who else can see through him? "You should too." He takes a step forward and Tenya takes one step back. The action brings him to a pause. He settles where he is, leaning against the wall. "So why are you up so late? I mean, you look somewhat scared. Nightmares?"

Tenya hesitates but the look in his eyes, it shows an understanding. That is the same reason why Todoroki is up and about as well. He nods with a sigh as an answer to the question, pushing his glasses away from his eyes as he rubs them. The thought of it weighs him down. His movements are sluggish, almost taking too much effort, or maybe it's the exhaustion from the lack of sleep finally getting to him. "Hosu."

Understanding displays on his face, the dual-haired teen motions to a seat for him to sit down. He does so and they talk for a bit about the nightmares that plague both of their minds and keep them up at night. The night in Hosu, the day at the USJ, the training camp. Every single event that had them fighting for their lives, where they had been forced to watch those they care for get hurt. Every single one of these situations has played roles in their deprivation of sleep. They talk for a few minutes, recalling the nightmares before both agreeing to resume the conversation the next morning.

For the first time after a while, once in his bed, Tenya finally sleeps peacefully that night. No nightmares, not even a small dream.

The skies roll with white clouds, the bright sun shining down on them. A flock of birds flies past overhead. The provisional license exams are upon them. The students of U.A. mingle near the bus, speaking softly to each other as they wait for their teacher's instructions. It's been two days since the confrontation of their nightmares. Shouto casts a few glances to Iida, trying to read his mood but keeps having trouble. The other boy is not looking at him, his back towards him as he scolds their classmates. He's acting like he usually does.

Kirishima, being the ever optimistic one of their class, clenches his fists and pumps them into the air with a smile as he attempts to reassure his classmates. "Come on, guys! Let's hit out of the park today!"

"Plus . . ."

". . . ULTRA!"

One voice does not belong to the class.

Todoroki blinks in surprise at the sight of the newcomer. He looks familiar for some reason, trying to place where he has seen him before. Meanwhile, their teacher is groaning slightly at the reminder of who this guy is.

"Inasa, don't go into other people's circles without an invite."

Inasa? Despite been given a name, he still can't think of where they've met. He watches the overdramatic bow in apology. He's really enthusiastic, isn't he? he can't help but think, turning away from it all. He glances at his two classmates, the immortal ones to see what they think, ignoring the explanation of Shiketsu and U.A.'s rivalry. Shinsou is indifferent while he can see Midoriya frowning as he glances around.

"You okay?"

That startles him. Shouto raises an eyebrow at the sudden action. He hasn't done that in a long time now and for him to start again kind of sends warning bells. "I'm fine. I'll be right back." And he's gone. He's near Aizawa-sensei, almost as if he's hiding from someone. That does not make any sense to him. Midoriya—he hasn't acted like this since the beginning of the year and now, well, Todoroki is confused.

"Who was that guy?"

"That was Inasa Yoarashi. He's powerful and energetic. He was one of the recommended students, he received the top score." Aizawa sticks his hands in his pants pockets, slouching slightly further into himself. "He declined the offer of joining U.A. and well, let's say that our luck—" a glance towards Midoriya who is staring at nothing "—is not great." He stares down at the green-haired boy beside him.

"Wait, so why did he not accept it?"

"He can be . . . awkward sometimes. Just be careful." No further explanation nor does it seem he will give them any more.

"Is that...? It is! Eraserhead! Hi!" They're approached by a woman with a big smile, green hair, and wearing a black crop top with striped shorts. She waves her gloved hands in greeting to the underground hero.

"It's the Smiling Hero: Miss Joke!" Ah, there is the Midoriya everyone knows and loves.

"Hey, kiddos!" Her smile never falters, turning to their teacher. With a smile and joy, she announces, "Ah, we should get married!"

"No."

She laughs, slapping her hand against his shoulder. She doesn't seem fazed by the uninterested rejection. Shouto assumes that she has done this multiple times and no matter how much she tries, her jokes don't work on Aizawa-sensei. It doesn't matter if he's not using his quirk or not, he can see that it just does not work on him.

Her students walk up to them, one stands out among the rest. A kind smile adorns his face, black curly hair swaying in the wind. The teenager walks over to them, grabbing some of the students' hands and shaking them in greeting. He's telling them how cool their determination is to continue, after all, that had happened to them. Shouto notices the tension between Midoriya and the other—Shindou. His pale green eyes are a light grey as the other talks animatedly with the unfocused Champion. He moves on, leaving the child of Death staring at the ground with wide eyes.

"Don't say shit to me when your words don't match the look in your eyes."

"Whoa, dude, don't be rude." Kirishima reprimands Bakugou but he doesn't see past the facade. He doesn't see that Shindou's words are nothing but mere faux appreciation for them. He wants to beat U.A. That is his goal. He is only acting in being friendly.

Shouto moves closer to say something to Midoriya but he can't. Due to the exam about to start, they had to go put their hero costumes on. Shouto cannot help but notice something about his classmates. Apparently, everyone's suits changed drastically throughout the course of the few days when they worked on their moves. Shinsou's suit, Todoroki notes, looks similar to Eraserhead's suit with, of course, slight differences. There's a speaker hanging on his neck which looks to be similar to Present Mic's and wrapped around his shoulders is the capture weapon that their teacher uses. His clothes resemble Post Apocalyptic Industrial fashion with noticeable purple threads sewed into the fabric. He wears black, leather fingerless gloves. It was his color scheme, he guesses. Black fabric to blend in the darkness of the night and not be seen but still be able to alert other heroes of his presence so that they don't accidentally attack him.

There is something—a metal wrapped in purple leather—wrapped around both wrists, an aura familiar to the one Midoriya's scythe has. The same scythe that is strapped to the latter's back. Both weapons hold a powerful feeling, the power of their Personas running through them. They're both getting looks from people. He can hear them whispering about not having seen them use those weapons before. The leather must be the whips Shinsou had told him about. The whips that will put anyone to sleep if the wielder wishes for it. It also hurts, described by Midoriya who had been the victim of it when they had been training together one night without anyone knowing. Todoroki had been fortunate enough to hear the story and swore that his soul left his body from laughing so hard at their misfortune.

Midoriya is still looking nervous—not like everyone else "oh my god, I hope I do okay in this exam" nervous but "shit, fuck, holy, what did I get myself into, I'm a nervous-wreck" nervous altogether. Shinsou is uninterested. Some people are mingling around, whispering to themselves and hoping to pass the exam. There are 1,450 students that mill the grounds of the exam all wait for the announcer.

A man who appears to be sleep-deprived comes onto the stage, announcing what all they need to know. A speech about what this exam means to them and that they need to take this all seriously. "Only 100 of you will participate in the actual Provisional License Exam, meaning this first round will be an elimination match." The man—Mera—continues, "Every examinee will take three targets and paste them somewhere on their bodies where others can see, except their feet and armpits. Each examinee will be given six balls and use them to hit the targets; the target will light up when it is hit by a ball and once the third target is lit up, that examinee is considered as lost and disqualified. Whoever lights up the third target will be considered as the person who took down the other person. The goal of the preliminary round is to take down two examinees using the six balls given and whoever takes down two people will pass the preliminary round and qualify for the Provisional Hero License Exam. You will be given them the targets and the balls a minute after the preliminary round has begun."

Shinsou grins, moving the speaker up to cover his mouth. Todoroki glances over at the other Champion, wondering just what plans the two had concocted because knowing the two of them, they both have plans. That is a scary thought. If both Champions have a plan, one is going to be thought through plan and the other is reckless and will only work just because of how stupid it'll be. Shouto knows who the thought out plan belongs to and it is not Midoriya's.

The place opens up to reveal their location. Shouto realizes that they are inside of Takoba National Stadium surrounded by a huge varied terrain. The exam has begun. It's now or never. They will earn their licenses!