IZUKU POV

"Alright, you all survived the first semester of the Hero Course, if you're thinking it will only get easier from here you're wrong."

The second semester of our first year had just started. Pops was doing his welcome back speech. Normally this would hold a higher weight, but we never really left the school so it didn't feel like a welcome back.

"During the Principal's welcome speech I'm sure you all had questions about what he meant by work studies. For those of you who got your Provisional License this will affect you. To keep it simple they're paid internships."

"Wait, we'll have jobs?" Mineta was the first to speak up.

"Essentially, that's if you choose to partake. Work studies aren't mandatory."

Iida was the next to speak up. "Sir, why wouldn't this be a requirement? Don't you think this would be essential for a future hero?"

"Well for starters there's no guarantee that everyone will be able to partake. A lot of factors play into work studies. The criteria is completely different. To even be considered for a work study you have to have your Provisional License, as you already know not everyone here has one. The next step is finding a hero agency that is willing to take you on."

Uraraka raised her hand. "Why wouldn't they want to take us on?"

"Some agencies can't pay an extra person's wages. Some agencies don't want to put a student in danger like that. The biggest reason is because if YOU make a mistake it doesn't only just reflect badly on the school, but also that will be a permanent mark on your career and theirs. Having a student brings huge risk in life or death situations." Pops words weren't intended to be disheartening, but a lot of people were less excited for the chance to work with pros again.

"Once you find a hero willing to take you on, the school reviews the application and has the right to deny it if needed."

"Why would they reject our application?" Mina asked, shocked.

"Because we want to make sure it's worth your time. You'd be surprised by how many agencies just want the UA name. It has happened in the past where a student does a work study with a smaller agency, graduates, and then the agency they work studied with tries to gain off of the name of the student they took in. The pro scene is cut throat and we want to keep your best interests in mind."

"So besides more experience and some extra cash, there's nothing for us to gain." Kaminari leaned back in his chair while staring at the roof.

"You're forgetting that since this is considered an extracurricular you'll also be prone to falling behind in class."

Kaminari let out a sigh. "These classes are tough enough already, is a little extra experience even worth that?"

Pops narrowed his eyes. "It is, any hero that is worth their salt knows that any extra experience in the field can make a difference that saves someone's life."

Throughout the class many of us started whispering to each other about if it was worth it or not. The chatter slowly started to rise before Pops activated his quirk to settle us all down.

He sighed while deactivating his quirk. "I know you all are still unsure about this, so we're having a few guest speakers today that are currently in work studies."

I groaned to myself internally as I put my head on the desk. "And so it begins."

The door to the class opened up as three students walked in. "The Big Three of UA is going to tell you more about what happens in a work study and what they've learned. I highly recommend you pay attention."

Everyone in the class except Kyoka,Yaomomo, and myself gasped and started to talk about how cool they were. Honestly it's not that they weren't cool per se… they just were really odd as well.

"Oh hey Little Buddy, long time no see."

All the eyes in the class turned to me as Mirio waved at me. I groaned as I raised my head to look at him. "I see you haven't changed much, Mirio."

He started to laugh. "It's only been a little over a month, that's not much time to change anything major."

The majority of the class was looking between us confused. "Alright, is everyone else confused or is it just me?" Kirishima scratched the back of his head.

"Ooo I can explain." Hado raised her hand while jumping excitedly. "Let me explain please."

"Go ahead." Mirio gave her a thumbs up.

"Yes!" A huge smile spread across her face as she walked up to me. "Midoriya did his internship at the place where Togata does his work study. It's not that shocking, but it is pretty cool." She started to poke my head. "I guess he didn't tell you guys, that's weird. Why didn't you tell them about that Midoriya?"

I looked up at her slightly annoyed. "Sorry Hado, I didn't think that was something they needed to know."

"Wait, you know her as well Midoriya?" Sero asked, shocked.

Hado turned back to me and puffed out her cheeks before walking over to Kyoka and resting her head on her shoulder. "He didn't even tell them about us. Jirou, he's so mean, why didn't he tell them about us? You wouldn't do that, right?"

Kyoka awkwardly patted her head. "Of course I wouldn't… but I'm sure he didn't mean anything by it, he's just a little socially awkward."

Hado looked about at Kyoka with a smile before hugging her. "Aww, I knew I could count on you."

"Hado, can you stop that, we came here for a reason." Amajiki sent a 'glare' at her that changed the mood of the class.

She eventually let go of Kyoka and stood back up. "Sorry Amajiki." Hado made her way back to the front and looked at us all. "Alright questions?"

A few people around the class raised their hands. This caused a bright smile to spread across Hados face.

She pointed to Mineta first. "Are those things on your head your hair or are you bald?"

The class went silent. Apparently they didn't realize that when Hado asked for questions she meant who could she ask questions about their quirk or being.

She quickly jumped to Mina. "Would your horns regrow if they broke off?"

Then to Tsu. "What kind of frog are you supposed to be?"

Then to Yaomomo. "If your quirk uses fat cells then why do you have-"

"Togata I think you better start explaining work studies." Pops shot an icy glare at the three of them.

Mirio gave Pops a smile. "Don't worry, I got this."

Everyone turned their attention towards Mirio. The room was quiet as we waited for his explanation.

A small smirk spread across his face. "I want to fight all of you now."

Everyone stared at him with a blank expression before turning to Pops who just shrugged. "Fine, go ahead."

Mirio and my eyes met and his smirk grew. I wasn't ready to take this lying down. "Mr. Aizawa, if we're doing this then I suggest Mirio wears his hero costume."

Pops looked at me before walking to the door. "That's probably for the best."

"Oh thank God." A wave of relief rushed over me as I rested my head on the desk.

I could hear Mirio laughing from the front of the room. "Aww come on little buddy no need to be shy."

I sent him a glare. "This isn't about me, I'm just thinking of how others might feel."

Ten minutes later everyone minus Amajiki and Hado had changed into their gym clothes. We were standing in training ground Gamma. Mirio was standing across from everyone in his hero costume stretching. Having already experienced what was about to happen first hand, I decided to head to the wall to sit this one out. Pops, Hado, and Amajiki all looked at me surprised.

Mirio's smile faded for a moment as I walked to the side. "What's wrong little buddy? Not feeling up to it today?"

I shook my head. "I've seen this show before and I'd rather not ruin the fun, besides I'm sure this won't be the last chance we have."

His smile returned as he turned back to the rest of my class. "Alright, suit yourself."

Pops looked at me surprised before addressing the class. "Don't get full of yourselves just because you outnumber him nineteen to one. He didn't become the top student in UA's hero course by chance. Take this seriously and try to learn from it."

A resounding 'yes sir' echoed through the gym. While everyone was finishing their stretches Pops spoke in a low voice to me. "I know you've fought him before, but you need to pay attention to him too."

I nodded as I kept my eyes locked on Mirio. "I was planning on it."

A siren rang through the gym signaling for them to start. The instant it started to ring Mirio disappeared into the ground leaving everyone stunned and trying to figure out where he went.

"You know he's not just the top student in the hero course." I looked over at Pops confused as Mirio reappeared behind everyone. "He has potential to even become the number one hero in Japan in the very near future."

My eyes widened as I turned back to the fight. "That's unbelievable."

Mirio quickly took out Tsu, Kaminari, and Shoji with a single punch each. Everyone quickly surrounded him waiting for his next move. Again he sunk into the floor putting everyone on high alert.

"Psst. Little buddy, down here." Mirio's head appeared below me.

Pops, Hado, and myself all looked down confused. "What do you want, Mirio?"

"Just wanted to make sure you were ok with me hitting your girlfriend. I mean it is training but I wanted to make sure first."

He completely caught me off guard. "Uh yeah, it is training. Just not the face please."

He gave me a smile before slowly sinking back into the ground. "You got it."

I sighed as he disappeared. I really wasn't expecting him to ask for permission on that. He really was a good guy through and through. When I looked back up at my class I saw Kyoka sending a glare my way. "Shit, I guess she heard me."

Mirio's head suddenly popped up underneath me again. "Oh, is there anything I should know about your class? I wanted to have a little fun with them."

I looked at my class again and saw Kyoka shaking her head at me. A smirk spread across my face. "A few things do come to mind. The one with the purple hair ball things is a huge perv so I'd keep him away from the girls. Kyoka hates scary things so have fun with that, and the girl with long black hair… She has a thing for Kyoka. Use that in whatever way you see fit."

He gave me a thumbs up before disappearing again. I couldn't help but laugh to myself as he disappeared. Pops shook his head at me before looking back at the class. "You're either brave or an idiot."

"I'd probably go with both."

In the center of the gym Kyoka was still glaring at me. I knew I was in trouble with her, but this was going to be worth it. I gave her a little wave and she gave me the bird. Before she could further threaten me a small purple boy was punted across the room and into the wall.

Everyone's attention was drawn to Mirio who was standing where Mineta was. He gave them a wave before sinking back into the ground. The next place he appeared was behind Aoyama. Another swift punch to the guy knocked him out and cracked the belt he used for his quirk.

Sero shot out some tape to try and restrain him and to my surprise they connected to him. Kirishima rushed him with a flurry of punches, but each one passed right through him. Once again Mirio sunk into the ground leaving behind a pile of Seros tape and a very confused Kirishima. The gym was quiet again as everyone looked around trying to predict where he would come from next.

A shriek rang through the gym. Kyoka was jumping because Mirio had grabbed onto her ankles, scaring her. While everyone was distracted by Kyoka's screams Mirio took out Mina, Koda, Sato, and Hagakure. Nearly half the class was taken out in near minutes leaving everyone completely stunned.

Bakugo finally launched himself at Mirio with his usual scream accompanying him the entire way. When he reached him an explosion engulfed the area where he stood. A smirk spread across Bakugo's face before he was kicked in the back. This time it was Mirio who was surprised when Bakugo instantly attempted to counter with another explosion. To no one's surprise the attack missed and Bakugo was rewarded with an axe kick to the guy rendering him unable to move.

Mirio once again went underground. He appeared behind Ojiro and grabbed him by his tail, throwing him into Iida. It was funny watching the two of them fly through the air, even Pops snickered to himself. The last seven members of our class stared at Mirio who just continued to smile at them. It would have been annoying if it wasn't so intimidating.

Todoroki sent a wave of ice at Mirio, but this time he didn't phase through it. He brought back his arm and punched through the wave of ice shattering it. The sheer strength he possesses was mind boggling. If we didn't already know it, he just proved again how far ahead of us he was.

Mirio's smile turned into a smirk as he charged the remaining members of our class. As Seros tape flew through the air partially sunk into the ground before propelling into the air to sound a punch straight to the gut. The next to go down was Uraraka who tried to make him float. Unfortunately she also phased through him and also received a kick to the back.

The remaining five took a step back and readied themselves for the next attack. Mirio slowly sunk into the ground as he pointed at Yaomomo. Everyone's eyes were drawn towards her hoping to find an opening to counter. It never showed itself. Mirio instead appeared behind Kyoka and kicked her into Yaomomo. The two of them stumbled before catching themselves, but before they could fully recover he grabbed a hold of Kyoka's jacks and used them to tie the two of them together.

I felt a mixture of emotions about this. I was honestly a little upset that he had tied my girlfriend up, but at the same time I was grateful that he didn't hurt her. Also he gave me some helpful information. Kyoka can't untie a knot in her jacks by manipulating her jacks. It had to be done by hand. I made a mental note to remember that for later.

He lightly pushed the two of them so they fell over. Due to the height difference Kyoka's face was buried in a precarious spot that caused Yaomomo to be a blushing mess. As she tried to squirm free, but they weren't going anywhere… expect second base.

The final three members of our class stood across from him and decided the best course of action would be a suicide charge. Sadly that worked just as well as every other attempt. In a matter of minutes Mirio had taken out the entirety of our class single-handedly. It was a sight to behold.

Pops pushed himself off the wall. "Did you learn anything from that?"

"It went so quick, I didn't have time to process what happened."

Pops looked at me before walking towards the center or the gym. "Think about everything that he did and get back to me by the end of the week. There was plenty to learn."

Once everyone had recovered Pops called us to gather around. Even if they were all standing, most of them were still nursing wherever Mirio had hit them. "I hope you all learned something valuable from that."

Kirishima rubbed the back of his head. "Yeah, he's way too strong. He broke through my hardening and Todoroki's ice as if they were nothing."

Everyone seemed to agree with Kirishima. Pops let out a sigh. They clearly didn't give an acceptable answer. "Why that is true, that's not exactly what I meant."

Yaomomo held her chin while pondering the question further. "His movements were fluid. He didn't do anything unnecessary that would leave him open."

"Thank you for that Yaoyorozu." Pops looked over at Mirio. "Care to explain how you got to that point."

"Oh that's easy." A few peoples eyes lit up hoping for a quick trick to become amazing. "I worked my butt off everyday."

A few groans escaped a few peoples lips. I shook my head while Mirio bursted into laughter.

"Wow, did you think it would be something easy? You're all funny. But seriously getting to what I do isn't easy. Doing a work study showed me the difference between the great and the average. No matter how small or mindless a task is when it comes to work, studies treat it as if it's the biggest deal. You never know when you'll pull that knowledge out when it matters. Of course that in itself won't make you amazing, but it's a starting block to use to propel yourself to greatness."

After Mirio's speech everyone seemed to have their excitement about work studies rejuvenated. Pops proceeded to call class to an end. As everyone started to head back to school to change back into their school uniform Mirio threw his arm around me.

"You gonna try and come back to Sir's place little buddy? I know you two didn't end on the best note, but I still think it's worth a shot. I mean the worst he could do is say no."

"He definitely was the first person that came to mind when I heard about all this."

"You should do it! Sir can be hard, but I swear he means well."

I shook my head as I looked up to him. "You know Bubble Girl said something similar when I was doing my internship.

He gave me a reassuring smile. "I'm sure Centipeder would say the same thing."

I laughed to myself at his reassurance. "Yeah, you're probably right."

He proceeded to slap me in the back. "I'm going this Friday after class, you should come with me! But you should probably call first to let them know why. You still have the office number right?"

"Yeah, I'll give them a call when I get back to the dorms."

"That's awesomeness. I'll see you then little buddy!"

With that the end of what was now known as Mirio's multi man massacre came to an end. Classes had ended for the day so we all made our way back to the dorms. Of course the hot topic of the day was work studies and how strong Mirio was. Choosing to opt out of the conversation I headed to my room.

Somehow it wasn't surprising at all to find Kyoka already laying in my bed looking at her phone.

"It's about time, what took you so long?"

Sighing I tossed my back on the ground. "Mirio wanted to talk."

She sent glare as she looked up from her phone. "You two sure talked about a lot today."

I nervously laughed before sitting next to her. "Sorry about that."

She shot a jack into my ribs. "You're an asshole. Why would you tell a person who can literally appear from nowhere that I can't handle scary things?"

"Because it was funny."

She sent a wave into my ribs. "He is probably going to torment me now since he knows I can't stand that stuff."

"I don't think he would torment you." I rubbed my sore ribs. "Tease maybe, but not torment."

Her glare intensified. "He better not do anything."

I laughed at her before laying down to rest my head on her back. "It wasn't all bad Kyoka."

"Says the one who didn't jump five feet in the air because someone grabbed their ankles from the ground."

"You're forgetting about the Yaomomo situation."

She narrowed her eyes on me. "And what part of that was good?"

"All of it. I'm sure Yaomomo was flustered the entire time and you got to live out almost every guy's dream."

She opened her mouth to give a quick retort but was unable too.

"Also I learned that if I tie a knot with your jacks you can't undo it by yourself."

She let out a sigh accepting everything. "Don't get any funny ideas."

"… Define funny."

Kyoka grumbled to herself before pushing my head off her back. "It still hurts from that kick so get off."

"Can I have a pillow at least?"

"No." She grabbed my pillows and tucked them all underneath her.

"Wow. Really mature."

She stuck her tongue out at me. "So what did Mirio want?"

"He wanted to know if I was going to go back to Sir's place?"

Kyoka turned so that she was lying on her side now. "Are you going to?"

"That's not completely my choice. It really depends on if he'll have me and the school approves it."

She looked at me concerned. "You're going to try aren't you? Even though he's trying to get you to quit?"

"He's my best chance at doing a work study so might as well try." I gave her a smile but it didn't seem to reassure her. "Speaking of which, I should go ahead and give them a call."

Kyoka laughed at me while shaking her head. "I guess I'll leave then."

Before she could get up I sat so she couldn't get up. "Nope."

She rolled her eyes at me. "Wow now who's being mature."

I stuck my tongue out at her while the phone rang. Knowing Sir the phone would be answered on the first ring. A wave of relief hit me when the second ring came. Knowing I wouldn't be talking to him right away definitely made this easier. When the phone was answered I was glad it was Bubble Girl who was on the line.

"Nighteye Agency, how can we help you?"

"Wow, answering on the fourth ring, does Sir know you're slacking on the job?"

Her voice turned excited. "Lover boy! How have you been!?"

"Oh you know, I'm busy with school. How's the tickle machine?"

"Amazing as always!"

"Wow you're not even denying it now are you?"

"You already knew the truth so why hide it. Besides, even if I did say I hate it you wouldn't have believed me."

"That's fair enough."

"Anyways, what's with the call? Did you miss us or did you want to talk about your girlfriend?"

I looked over at Kyoka who was just shaking her head at me. "Something like that, I'm actually with her at the moment."

"Ooo tell her I said hi!"

I held the phone over to Kyoka who laughed. "Hi."

A shriek came from the phone. "Aww, young love is so sweet. So did you call just to catch up?"

"Actually I was calling to let you know I'm coming on Friday with Mirio?"

"Ok, but why?"

"Didn't you tell me to come visit or were you just trying to sound nice?"

"No I meant it, but this is sort of out of the blue?"

A sigh escaped my lips. "Well I needed to talk to Sir about something important."

"Ok, well he's out right now, but that doesn't explain why you need to come in."

"It would just be easier and probably for the best."

"Does it have anything to do with what happened before you left?"

"I'd be lying if I said it didn't?"

"I see… well is it alright if I ask what you want to talk to him about?"

I laugh to myself softly. "Well I just got my provisional license so I was going to ask about doing a work study."

"Really?"

"Do you think it's a bad idea?"

"Of course not, using previous contacts to your advantage is practically hero101. It's just I'm surprised that you'd choose here after everything."

"Honestly, so am I, but the worst he can do is say no."

"Or he could convince you to give up again!"

"Maybe, but I'm confident he can't change my mind."

"If you say so… oh I have another call coming in. I'll see you Friday!"

My sigh of relief echoed through the room as the phone went quiet. The call lasted only a few minutes but it was surprisingly exhausting. I slid back down so my head was resting at Kyoka's stomach.

"Look at you being ahead of the game. The first first year to line up a potential work study." She ran her hand through my hair.

"You do realize if I get this we'll have less time to hang out and the little free time I do have I'll probably be exhausted.

She shrugged while playing with my hair. "That's fine, it's been awhile since Momo and I have had a girls night. We're long overdue for one."

I shook my head at her. "Could you at least pretend to be upset."

She gave me a smile while tracing the scar on my cheek. "Where's the fun in that?"

I feigned shock. "You're so mean to me Kyoka."

The two of us stared at each other in silence before breaking into laughter. As we calmed down my phone started to go off. It wasn't necessarily odd for this to happen, but it was odd that it was from an unknown number.

My confused face must have been pretty bad since Kyoka immediately changed her demeanor.

"Is everything alright?"

"Yeah, I just got a text from an unknown number."

?: "Hey Midoriya it's me Nejire Hado. I got your number from Togata, he said you wouldn't mind. Can I have Jirou's number? I wanted to talk to her about something. Thank you!"

"Hmmm."

Kyoka quickly snatched my phone. "Huh, I wonder what she could want?"

When Kyoka gave me back my phone a message including her number had been sent. It took mere moments before Kyoka's phone started ringing. The speed that women have when it comes to their phones continued to astound me. Even Kyoka was surprised at how fast the call came through.

"Hello… Not much, just hanging out with Izuku… No! Nothing like that!… What do you mean that's weird?… I mean yeah, that does happen but not all the time."

"Oh fuck Kyoka don't stop."

Kyoka sent an icy glare at me while I just snickered to myself. This earned me a quick jack to the throat and an accompanying vibration channeled through it.

"Hado, I'm so sorry… I swear it's not what you think… No seriously nothing is happening… What do you mean you don't mind?… Wait seriously, the two of them?… Huh, now that you mention it I could totally see it… So why did you need my number?… Wait seriously?… Is it alright if I think about it?… Of course, I'll let them know. I'll talk to you later."

Kyoka stayed quiet after she hung up the phone. Something was clearly on her mind.

"Everything alright Kyoka?"

She looked at me with a gentle smile and soft eyes. "Izuku…"

"Yeah?"

"WHY THE HELL WOULD YOU DO THAT!? NOW SHE THINKS WE'RE EXHIBITIONISTS!"

"…. I'm sorry?"

"MY GOD DO YOU EVER THINK!? LIKE WHAT IF SHE HAPPENED TO BE WITH A GROUP OF PEOPLE?!"

"Then that would have been awkward."

"IT WAS ALREADY AWKWARD NOT TO MENTION EMBARRASSING!"

I looked away from her and scratched my neck. "I'm sorry."

She let out a sigh as she started to calm down. "Just don't do that again." Her face starts to turn red. "I'd rather not have people I don't know that well know about what we do."

I took her hand and gave it a squeeze. "So what did she want?"

"She wanted to talk more and become closer…"

"Oh well that's cool."

"She also wanted to introduce me, Tsu, and Uraraka to Ryukyu."

I looked up at her completely shocked. "Seriously!? That's awesome!"

"Yeah…"

I sat up and looked Kyoka in the eyes. "What's wrong?"

She sat up as well and hugged her knees. "Nothing really, I'm excited about this…"

"But…"

"But I wasn't planning on doing a work study right now."

She looked away discouraged. She looked really cute and I couldn't help but laugh. "Is that it?"

Kyoka turned back at me furiously. "It's not funny Izuku!"

I wiped a stray tear from my eye. "Actually it is. If you didn't want to do a work study then just tell her that. I'm sure Hado would understand."

"It's not her I'm worried about. Practically everyone is wanting to do one and I just get offered one on a silver platter just to turn it down. It doesn't feel fair to everyone else that would kill for the opportunity."

"So, fuck them. Who cares what they think?"

She raised an eye at me. "Seriously?"

"Alright, I care what they think, but I'm practically a walking time bomb of issues. The point is I don't want you to feel pressured into doing something you don't want to do."

"You're right… I'll think about it ok."

"Good." I leaned over and kissed her forehead. "So what exactly did Hado mean when sh didn't mind?"

Kyoka leaned in and kissed me on the lips. "Izuku I suggest you never bring that up again if you ever want to be able to have children with me."

A/N:

Alright sorry about the long break between chapters. In my defense… I have no defense. All I can say is that all my free time has been taken over reading light novels and playing League of Legends. Yeah not the best excuse, but oh well I've been enjoying it. If you want to blame a certain story then blame the Rascal Doesn't Dream series as well as Bottom-Tier Character Tomozaki. Yes I have been in a Rom Com mood. Sue me.

So the strawpoll for the next story ends next week if you haven't voted and want to make sure you get it in before then. I'll announce the winner in the next chapter along with the plot and ship. I hope you're all excited for that. I'll go ahead and include the link again just to be safe.

/7688woqqz

Also while I have your attention allow me to go on a small rant.

Ahem

Why do people who utterly shit on series and talk about how shit they are constantly post on update pages about how bad the latest chapters are or how they dropped it over a hundred chapters ago? Like seriously if it's so bad why are you still following it just to complain. Do they not realize even those "hate" comments are giving traction to stories or do they just have that much free time? Like I understand if they don't like it, but still if it's so bad just leave the people who are enjoying it alone. Is it so hard to be a decent human being? I know the MHA Fandom usually is extremely toxic about things like this but much to my surprise the MHA Fandom has been surprisingly civil lately from what I've seen.

Also this has absolutely nothing to do with toxic fandoms, but how are LED high beams even legal? I'm so tired of driving home at night and getting blinded by every other car. If I can't see out of my window or the car in fucking front of me your lights are to bright.

Sorry those are just a few things that have been on my mind the past few weeks. Hope you all are still enjoying the story.