2 Years Ago…

"Do not fail me again." The man with the terrifying voice speaks, before footsteps echo through the hall. The metal door leading to Izuku's chamber opens, and in steps the very man Izuku fears.

He never shows his face, instead it's hidden behind a mask with the carving of a skull, tubes poking out from its bottom as they connect to his neck. He has no elaborate costume, or thuggish clothes, no he dresses in a suit always, presenting himself as above the others. And when he walks, it's almost like he makes a point to be as loud as possible, you must be below him no matter what.

Izuku looks at the man from his spot on the wall, limbs chained to the surface as he's suspended in air. Like always, Izuku's own face has been covered by his helmet, something the professor always puts on him when the man with the terrifying voice is here.

"You were never meant to exist. My creations are far beyond any little brainwashing quirk or device. Yet, paranoia festers in my underlings, and has crawled into my own skin as well. So, here we are, with your insignificant view of life about to be changed, as the good professor tears open your skin and places machinery inside. I admit, these days I am ecstatic to have another pawn in my goal of ascension, but even so, failure is not a tolerable offense. How can I guarantee you will not fail me like any of the other attempts from the miserable artisans housed in this mockery of a laboratory?"

Izuku lifts his head, the orange eyes of his helmet glaring at the man.

"I… Won't… Die…" He gasps out weakly, his voice synthetic as it rasps away. The mask is already linked to his biology, it was the first of the 'upgrades' to have been, so it's uses have always been handy.

The man stands still, arms held behind his back. For a moment, he exudes an aura of menace, as the air seems to thin around him. Izuku merely keeps his gaze upon him, and the two enter a stare-off.

"I see." The man speaks, before turning around. "Perhaps Professor Raito's theoretical ramblings on the beneficial use of cybernetics in a quirkless body weren't the speak of a madman after all. You have a strength that is yet to be broken. Of course, we must find that breaking point eventually, lest you go rogue, but it just ensures I will have a strong soldier on my side. Rest easy, subject, for tomorrow your hell awaits." The man leaves, and once more Izuku is left in silence.

Slowly, lights turn off, as the night encroaches over the lab.

Izuku lowers his head, and stares at the floor.

"One day… We will escape this place… I will search for the ones responsible…" Izuku mutters, the words stronger than when he spoke earlier, as if they were said countless times before. A repeat, whether he had spoken them himself before, or heard them from someone else.

His head shoots up, as the orange eyes of his helmet begin to glow, focusing on the metal door.

"And bring them to justice…!"

Present Day

"Do I have to wear the tie?" Izuku asks, holding up the thin piece of red fabric.

"No, but you at least have to have it on your person. The scan chip inside ensures you'll be able to pass through the security gate." Shouta explains, grabbing his capture weapon from the coat rack. "Not like you're wearing any of the uniform, though." He comments, looking over at Izuku.

The boy is dressed rather casually, a grey jacket over a white shirt, green jeans with starting rips in the knee area, and his usual red pair of sneakers. The grey jacket has a small green patch on it, the UA School emblem embroidered over top of it.

"Well, it still fits the color scheme. Besides, school code dictates a free sense of dress style, the Uniform is required only for special events." Izuku pulls out a small handbook, waving it in the air. "If I remember right, this code has been in place all the way back from when the school first started. I think there was another popular high school that had a similar code back before Quirks. Amanogawa High, I think it was called?"

"Maybe. I never paid much attention to pre-quirk history." Shouta admits, heading over to the door. "Now, are you sure you have everything?"

Izuku pats away at his clothes. "Phone, keys, wallet, clothes… Yeah, this is everything." He says, putting his hands into his jacket pockets. "Classes don't start until tomorrow, and you are the only one who would fill out paperwork for me, so I'm all set."

Shouta opens his mouth to contend sass, but then realizes Izuku is being literal, so he promptly shuts. Instead, the man grabs his bag, and looks over at the boy. "Alright, let's head out then."

Izuku nods, and off they go.

The students of UA's Class 1-A expect many things when they go to school on the first day. Immense pressure, close proximity to heroes, their dreams within their grasp… You know, typical teenager stuff. What they don't expect to see is a student, not in uniform, sitting on the teacher's podium, drinking from a cup of coffee.

"You are out of line! How dare you desecrate the teacher's stand like this?! You're not even in the proper dress code!" A familiar looking blue haired boy speaks, while Izuku continues to sip away at his coffee. "What do you have to say for yourself?!"

Izuku lowers his cup, before pointing at the boy's tie. "As long as you have the tie on your person, you're not out of dress code, due to UA's policy of free form dress. Also, I got permission to sit here for now. You can ask the teacher when he gets back." Izuku smiles, before taking another.

Oh, he knew Shouta was just in the corner of the room, Izuku saw the man zip his sleeping bag up himself. Shouta just knew that even if he tried this trick, Izuku would just spoil the surprise by pointing him out right away, so he's just included in the fun. Honestly, it's the others fault if they get surprised by the man.

The blue haired boy takes a step back. "I-I suppose that is fair enough…" He says, before Izuku takes a closer look at him. "Is there something else?"

"Are you… The kid who interrupted the physical exam presentation?" Izuku asks, and the boy in question flinches.

"I… Had hoped people would have forgotten about my blunder by now." The boy admits, scratching at his cheek. "Apologies, if I had caused you any distress. I am Tenya Iida, I hope we can get along."

"Izuku Aizawa." The boy responds, giving a small raise of his cup. He can hear the sleeping bag in the corner lightly shuffle at the mention of his family name, and Izuku has to struggle to keep his laughter in.

The Aizawa name… Izuku had told Shouta that he had used his name back in the entrance exam. The man was surprised, of course, but he never told Izuku to stop using it. In fact, the man seemed a bit lighter for a few days after Izuku told him about it. The boy suspects that Shouta might actually like them sharing a name now, but that's neither here nor there.

When the class eventually puts together their names are similar, then will be the time to worry.

"Ah, you wouldn't have happened to find a seating chart, would you, Aizawa? I never received one with our letter." Iida asks, looking across the room.

"On the board." Izuku says, pointing behind him with a thumb. "If my memory is right, and it should be, you're in row one. In order, it's arranged, myself, Kyoka Jirou, Tsuyu Asui, Ochako Uraraka, then you. I hope that's okay."

"Of course! I know I am on the taller side, so seating me at the back is advantageous for others in order to learn." Iida nods, before looking at the board. "Though, I'm surprised you were able to remember your classmates' names so quickly. Hopefully I will be able to do the same."

Izuku shrugs. "I have a pretty good memory, so it shouldn't be too hard. Here, I'll tell you the other rows members too. Row two, should be Shoto Todoroki, Denki Kaminari, Eijirou Kirishima, Kouji Kouda, and Rikidou Satou. Row three is Yuuga Aoyama, Mina Ashido, Hanta Sero, Fumikage Tokoyami, and Mezou Shouji. Finally, in row four, we have Tooru Hagakure, Minoru Mineta, Momo Yaoyorozu, Mashirao Ojiro, and…" Izuku stops for a moment, his facial expression falling for the briefest of an instant, before he breathes in and finishes the list. "...And Katsuki Bakugou."

The sleeping bag ruffles again.

"Impressive work, Aizawa! I have a feeling you'll do well in our studies! Hopefully, we can get along as acquaintances as well!" Iida exclaims, Izuku nodding, thankfully the taller boy didn't recognize his falter. "In any case, shall we take our seats as we wait for our classmates to arrive?"

"Sure." Izuku says, slipping off of the stand and heading to his seat, only a couple meters away. Iida, however, has to go all the way to the back.

Honestly, it's a tiny bit funny.

Time passes, as it does, and soon the class is filled with person after person. Faces put time names as Izuku watches them pass. It's only when Jirou comes in does he feel a bit of joy once more instead of the boredom that accompanied the earlier silence.

"Glad you got in Greenie, means I won't have a miserable time in class." She comments, looking back at the board, and cracking a grin. "Well, ain't that lucky?" She says, sitting down behind the boy. "So, any word from Uraraka? Been a while since we last spoke."

Izuku was going to protest, but no, a couple weeks is a while between speaking. "Uh, no. We know she's in our class, but I haven't seen her yet."

"Fair enough." Kyoka responds, leaning back in her seat.

The two fall to idle chit chat from here, speaking about the sunny day outside, Izuku's lack of uniform, and just general nonsense. It was really nice, if Izuku were honest.

Then he walked in.

The door moved with a loud slam, the class quieting up for a moment as all eyes turned to the entrance. In walked a blonde teenager, with burning red eyes, and a wrinkly uniform. Small explosions popped from his hands, as he looked at the board. He let out a small click of his tongue, before making his way to the back.

Katsuki Bakugou… Kacchan…

Izuku let one of his hands wander to his throat, just barely grazing it with his fingers. All of the confidence he'd built up, the anonymity from back at the entrance exam… It's gone in an instant. Suddenly, he's back in the forest park, ten years old, and left behind…

A hand on his shoulder snaps him back to reality, Izuku flinching.

"You okay there man? You started to, uh, smoke." Jirou speaks, looking at his eyes pretty seriously. Izuku blinks, and brings a finger to one of his eyelids. It was hot, burning hot.

"Y-yeah. Sorry about that. I just got lost in thought." Izuku responds, turning back around. Damn it! He shouldn't be nervous like this! He's not the weak little kid he used to be! He's not alone anymore! He's not… He's not…!

He's not that godforsaken insult anymore!

The door opens softer this time, Izuku watching it as Uraraka steps in, smiling over at him and Kyoka. "Ah, you two! It's great to see you!" She cheers, giving them an even bigger smile.

"Sup, Floaty. Glad you could finally join us." Jirou speaks, greeting the girl with a salute.

Greenie… Floaty… Does she just like making nicknames for everyone?

"Yes, now we can start classes." A stern voice echoes across the room, as a zipper slowly moves down. Stepping from his sleeping bag in the corner, Shouta finally makes his presence known to the class. "Sheesh, eight seconds to quiet down. Not to mention only one of you knew about me this entire time. I'll need to make sure you all work on your voice levels and awareness of surroundings." The man speaks, most of the class looking at him in an odd shock. "I'm your homeroom teacher, Shouta Aizawa. Everyone go to the locker rooms, change into your gym uniforms, and meet me on the field. You have five minutes." He states, before walking out.

The class looks back and forth at each other, save for Izuku who is already moving towards the door. He looks back at Jirou and Uraraka. "You know he's being serious, right?" He says, before moving onwards.

The rest of the class clamors out of their seats, following after him.

Jirou, Uraraka, and Iida wonder if there is a connection between their teacher and their classmate. Various other students wonder if this kid has information from upperclassmen. And, Katsuki Bakugou, wonders if he's seen this extra somewhere before.

"When I said five minutes, I meant five minutes. Not six, not seven, and certainly not twelve." Shouta speaks sternly, looking at his class for the next year. "Only one of you managed to stick to the time rule!"

Izuku puts his hands in his pockets.

"We'll just have to work on your speed as well. Now, I'll move onto what we're doing today." Shouta pulls a tablet out from his capture weapon. "I'm sure you all remember your physical assessments from middle school, right? Well, due to quirk regulation laws, you weren't allowed to use any of your unique abilities during them, a fact I quite detest. So, today, we'll be changing that." A softball is thrown at Izuku, which he catches aptly.

"But, what about the entrance ceremony?" Uraraka asks, Shouta looking at her tiredly.

"UA is lax about how the teacher's handle course work, letting them choose their own curriculum for students. If you really expect to get anything from the entrance ceremony, then maybe you aren't worth the effort of being in the hero course." Shouta explains, getting the girl to close her mouth tight. "That said, this is also a way to measure your current abilities, so that we know what we should focus on when training you."

The class nods, finally following the man's orders. "That said…" He looks at Izuku once more, getting the boy's attention.

"Aizawa, you got the highest score in the physical exam. Step up to this circle, and get that ball as far away from yourself as you can get it." Shouta explains, pointing a finger at a small mound of dirt next to him. "And don't be lax about it either. I want your all."

Izuku looks at him in concern, and Shouta simply nods. The greenette sighs, and walks forward, stepping into the circle.

Bakugou scowls. This wimpy looking nerd got a higher score than him? Bullshit. Extra probably couldn't kill a fly, let alone any of the exam bots. Must have been luck. But his name… Aizawa… The teacher's name? Even worse, the kid is probably just here to fill a legacy role.

Izuku took a deep breath, as his skin began to glow with circuitry, his eyes turning orange.

Bakugou's expression changed. That guy from the entrance exam?! He was in so many layers, it was hard to recognize, but this was him for sure! Damn it! He'll have to pay the guy back for embarrassing him earlier! But still, there's something else about him that seems familiar, but what?!

Izuku drew his arm back, lifting a leg into the air, before slamming it down, launching the ball with all of his might. The wind whipped up, blowing against everyone present, before a loud crack filled the air, the ball rocketing higher and higher into the air, until nobody could see it.

Shouta turned the tablet around, showing it to the class. It had a small diagram on it, showing the ball leaving… The country. Soon, two words appeared on screen, blinking slowly.

In Europe.

Izuku reeled himself back in, his arm letting off a small amount of steam, as he began to roll his shoulder. A little bit of heat was worth it, if it meant he didn't need to transform in front of Kacchan.

"Hopefully, that didn't break any windows." Aizawa says, flipping the tablet back around. "Maybe this was a good example, or maybe this was a terrible one, that all depends on how you all perform. I'm going to measure all of the years of effort you have put into this dream of yours, and see if you have really earned it."

The class falls into clamors, looking at Izuku and back to themselves. They start getting excited, and finally the scale breaks when one Mina Ashido says, "This is going to be so much fun!"

"Fun?" Shouta repeats, and Izuku knows that tone. Oh goodness does he know that tone. Shouta's 'I'm going to fuck with these guys' tone. "Hero work is not meant to be fun. When you graduate, you will be in charge of people's lives. Any slip up you make could potentially kill someone." He says, his tone becoming serious. "So, if you want to have fun, how about this? Whoever ends up last in the exams… Will be expelled!"

"What?!" The class cries as one, save one Izuku.

"C-can he really do that?!" Uraraka cries, shaking at Izuku and Jirou's arms.

"He's our teacher, and if UA is lacking in curriculum, they're probably lax on this as well." Izuku responds, adding onto Shouta's prank. Okay, yeah, the man calls them 'Logical Ruses', but Izuku knows that they're just pranks.

"Indeed. So, you all better work hard to stay in. After all, this is UA. You've gotta go Plus Ultra, right?"

"Hey, extra! You better not get in my way, got it?!" Bakugou yells, Izuku being forced to listen to the brunt of it as the two boys stand next to each other in preparation for the fifty yard dash.

Izuku simply sets himself into a starting position as he charges the circuitry in his legs. Bakugou glances at him for a moment and Izuku does his best to ignore it.

The buzzer sounds out, and the two run. Well, Izuku runs. Bakugou launches himself forward, explosions rocketing him from the palms of his hands. But they're not of worry, Izuku zips past them with ease. It's inhuman how fast he appears at the other end, his legs smoking as an intense burning overtakes his nerves.

What was his time? It doesn't matter. Izuku is just happy that this is over.

Shouta looks at him with a glare.

The next test is a grip strength checker.

Izuku lets his circuitry run through his body once more, and he grabs the machine. He squeezes with all his might, and the machine lets out a beep. He lets go and walks off, uninterested in his score. Someone tries to say something to him, but he ignores it.

His body is blistering hot, more steam and smoke rising off of him, and his mind is in a daze. It's only April, it shouldn't be this hot…

Shouta keeps his eyes on the boy.

Next, is a pole vault jump.

Izuku is feeling hazy, his mind is blurring the world around him, and it's hot, hot, so hot. But he's gotta keep himself together. Just jump over the poles, and go sit for a bit.

He preps himself at the start… And is stopped when Shouta's capture weapon wraps around him. "Okay, no. What the hell are you doing?"

"I'm… Doing the thing…?" Izuku asks back, and Shouta shakes his head.

"No, you're tearing yourself apart. Have you even transformed for a second?"

Izuku shakes his head. "Don't… Don't wanna be recognized…"

Shouta looks at the boy, and then back at Bakugou. He lets out a sigh, returning focus to his ward. "It's going to happen eventually anyways. We can't hide from our demons, Izuku. We must confront them, and let them know they won't control us."

Izuku looks at Shouta, and then his hands. He clenches them, and then relaxes them. Shouta releases his hold, and Izuku looks at the poles to jump over. He eases his breathing, and lets his belt form over his waist. Wind stirs around the field, circling around Izuku, his circuitry glowing as the cool metallic armor forms over him.

Bakugou stares in shock as that armored asshole from a year before forms in front of him, finally showing his face after so long.

Izuku is finally given a small form of relief as the wind begins to cool him down. The systems that run his armor bring him back to a sense of normalcy. His circuitry stops smoking, and his vision slowly returns. He's looking up, past the poles, into the blue sky above.

"I know pushing yourself to your limits is how you get stronger, but you also need to know when you should take a breather. You're not invincible, Izuku. No one is." Shouta speaks, and then steps back, letting Izuku catch his bearings.

The boy takes a deep breath, the wind around him providing him with a sense of relaxation. The breeze rustles through the trees nearby, makes the grass sway, blows through the hair of the people around, and provides a sense of calmness when you pay attention to it in the right way.

Izuku begins to walk, and then he begins to run. He runs, before letting his body lean forward, falling over, before catching himself in a cartwheel, spinning for a moment, before rising back again. A second time he leans, but he instead jumps into it, doing a small front flip, before he lands at the base of the poles.

He crouches down on landing, and once more, breathes, letting the wind connect to him again. It's all encompassing, ever moving, letting itself go wherever it wants. The wind is free… The wind is strong… Izuku is one with it.

In an instant, he launches up skyward, rising far above the pole, far above anyone else, going higher and higher into the sky, before he reaches the apex of his leap.

The moment of weightlessness is all Izuku needs to remember. The long years trapped in the lab, the year he spent with Shouta learning to be himself again, making friends at the entrance exam. Those might have a small piece to do with his past, and the people part of it, but they were still his experiences. He can't hide from those people anymore.

He has a vow to uphold after all.

Once more, his scarf tails flapped out, becoming solid, as his descent began. Safely, he glided back down to earth, landing with a large thud in the sandbox.

"Pass." Shouta said, dry to everyone else, but Izuku knew the small hint of pride behind it.

The class fell into clamors, everyone looking at the now armored Izuku. That was the guy who took down the zero pointer at the exam, right? He was actually in their class? Why didn't he do this earlier?

But that was not what Bakugou was worried about. No, that was far from his mind. No, he was only worried about how this piece of shit extra thought he could swoop in and steal his victory that year ago!

"You bastard!" The blonde yells, exploding forwards, a hand outstretched at Izuku.

Shouta threw out his capture weapon, wrapping around one arm, but the other hand was still extended. The sparks began to fly, and as Izuku was about to be hit, the armored boy spun around, kicking away the hand with the heel of his foot. The explosion hit to the side, and Bakugou had no time to think before he was pinned to the ground, metal boots holding him down. "Damnit… Get off of me!" He went to explode again, but found himself unable. "What the hell?!"

"You brats should know better than to get your teacher upset." Shouta speaks, his eyes glowing as he looks down at Bakugou. "I've got dry eyes, dammit. I don't want to have to do this again."

"Where the hell is my Quirk?!" Bakugou shouts again, and the pressure from the boot increases.

"Underground Hero, Eraserhead. Quirk, Erasure. As long as eyesight is maintained, he can take away one's ability to use their quirk." Izuku explains, before stepping off of the boy. "You really haven't changed from the asshole you were back then." He says, as he walks off.

Shouta steps up and pulls the boy off the ground, capture weapon still wrapped around his arm.

"Don't talk like you know me! We only met once, a year ago!" The blonde spits back, and Izuku tenses. He really hasn't figured it out yet? Of course not… It's not like the blonde would ever think of a pebble.

Izuku keeps walking, heading back to the class, armor staying on. "Are you okay, man?" Jirou asks, and Izuku nods, his arms crossing.

"I will be."

"Alright, here are your results." Shouta speaks, tapping on the tablet, as a holographic screen pops up.

Last place: Minoru Mineta. First place: Izuku Aizawa.

"Noooooo! I haven't even gotten the chance to grab a boob yet!" The small grape headed boy speaks, and Izuku turns his helmeted head towards him in disgust.

"What is wrong with you?" He asks, before looking at Shouta.

"Well, originally, the plan was that you'd all have passed. You all put your max effort in at least. But, considering you've shown your true colors, maybe we should go have a talk with the principal, Mineta." Shouta speaks, his voice dripping with venom, as he wraps the small boy in his weapon. "The rest of you, class is dismissed. There's paperwork on my desk for your parents to fill out, so make sure you take that home with you." He says, before walking off.

The majority of the class lets out a collective sigh of relief, as some even fall to the grass below. Izuku starts walking to the door, but is stopped when Bakugou places his hand against it.

"What?" Izuku asks, tired of this game.

"I think you and I need to get something clear." Bakugou says, looking at the boy with anger. "Your little strength feats mean nothing to me. I might have lost to you before, but I refuse to let you humiliate me again. Any of you!" He shouts, everyone looking at him in confusion. "I'm gonna be the next number one hero, better than All Might, got it?! You all are just stepping stones to my success!"

Izuku looks at him in silence, before grabbing his wrist and removing his arm from the door. Slowly, he goes to walk inside, but stops, giving a side glance to the blonde.

"Think whatever you want…"

"Kacchan."

Izuku sits outside the entrance to the school, messing with a small piece of bread, as he snacks away at it. However, He's soon approached by three figures.

"That was quite the feat back there, greenie!" Jirou says, punching his shoulder. "You really showed that pomeranian his place."

"I would advise that we not provoke our classmates." Iida says, chopping his arms. "Though, since he was the perpetrator of the act, I suppose it would be fine to engage in self defense."

"Oh, don't be such a worry wart, Tenkun! Kyochan is right! Izukun, you were amazing!" Uraraka says, giving the boy a smile.

The other three look at her in confusion.

"Oh! Sorry, I just figured since Kyochan was giving everyone nicknames, I should as well." Uraraka explains, getting a small chortle from the mentioned girl.

"It's all good. But, hopefully it won't get confusing." Jirou says, getting nods from everyone else.

"Ah, by the way, your interactions with Bakugou seemed far more personal than I had originally thought. Is everything okay between you two?" Iida asks, and Izuku simply shrugs.

"He's just somebody that I used to know."

"Think whatever you want… Kacchan." The voice repeats inside of Katsuki's head, as he lays in his bed, staring at the ceiling.

That name was so familiar, but why?! Where the hell did it come from?!

"Katsuki, get your ass down here!" His old hag yells, and the blonde rolls his eyes, but he gets up nonetheless.

"What?!" He yells back, walking down the stairs. His mom is looking at him with the 'I'm not mad, I'm mad and disappointed' look, and now Katsuki is worried.

"You attacked a classmate on your first day?!" She asks back, and he flinches. He didn't think the school would tell her, they never did before. "You should be thankful his guardian decided not to press charges!"

"If someone can't handle a little explosion, then what does it matter?!" Katsuki retorts, but his mom gives him another glare. He shuts up.

"It matters, because I thought you would have learned your lesson about treating others with respect! After that incident with the forest…!" Mitsuki yells, trailing off, as her eyes become distant. She quickly regains steam, pointing at her son. "You are going to make a full apology to him, you hear?! I don't want you playing any of your games or reading any of your Manga, until you apologize to Izuku Aizawa, got it?!"

Katsuki freezes, as the gears begin to turn.

Aizawa's given name was Izuku… Izuku… When you read the Kanji differently it's…

Deku.

A fluff of green hair and a dumb smile, ten years old and ready to follow Katsuki anywhere.

A fluff of green hair and a glare that screams danger, fifteen years old and ready to beat Katsuki into the ground.

Aizawa was Deku… Back to haunt him.

"Katsuki, are you listening?!" Mitsuki yells, and Katsuki simply nods, before turning around and going upstairs. "What the hell got into him?"

Katsuki slams open one of his drawers, before sifting the papers, finding his source of dread quickly.

A picture of him when he was a kid, standing right next to Izuku, the two smiling.

Katsuki covers his mouth, as he feels himself getting sick. The extra who outclassed him… The asshole who saved him… The weakling he thought he had finally gotten rid of…!

Was all the same person.

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