Embers

by TheNexus97

From the purest love, the fiercest hatred can arise.

4. Chapter 3

EMBERS

CHAPTER #3:

FIRST MEETINGS

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Fire Force, My Hero Academia and Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice belong to their respective authors, creators and publishers.

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Early Morning

-Kotatsu House-

Inside the Kotatsu abode, a certain ravenette was happily sleeping within the comfort of her bed, buried under a pile of blankets and cute-looking pillows. Safely tucked in her comfy heaven, she was lightly snoring away, hoping nothing would disturb her beauty sleep.

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!RI-RIIING!

!RI-RIIING!

!RI-RIIING!

Alas, her alarm clock didn't think the same way...

"Nnngh..."

A light groan was heard, before a hand groggily came out of the blankets and started pawing at her bedside table, hoping to grab the damn electronic device before it deafened her.

!RI-RIIING!

!RI-RI-*click!*

"There you go, happy...? Now I'm awake..."

Tamaki grumbled, before kicking off her blankets and stretching in the bed, still trying to leech as much heat as possible from the sheets. Once finished, she sat up and pulled up the shutters of her room, flooding it with the morning lights.

She then opened the window, and leaned out slightly, feeling the cool morning air.

She breathed deeply, before sighing in content.

"So, today's the day, huh..."

A small smile formed on her lips.

*knock!* *knock!*

A light knocking came from the door of her room, followed by a voice shortly after.

"Tamaki, sweetie, are you awake?"

Stretching one last time, Tamaki approached the door and opened it, revealing Hana on the other side.

"Yup. Just got up, actually."

Her mother smiled, before putting her hands on Tamaki's shoulders.

"Then you better get ready. You don't want to be late today of all days, mhm?"

Returning Hana's smile, the girl nodded before gathering her stuff and disappearing into the bathroom to get her day started.

After taking a shower, drying herself off, and fixing her hair into her twintails, Tamaki retreated back to her room to get dressed for the day.

Neatly placed on the chair of the desktop, a very peculiar uniform almost seemed to call out to her. Feeling giddy just by looking at it, she picked it up and started putting it on.

Just as she was done with it, Hana walked into the room. Her eyes immediately went to her daughter.

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Who was now dressed in a pristine U.A. High uniform.

Hana couldn't control the huge smile that formed on her lips.

"Oh my...! Look at you! Just look at you, honey!"

The woman's hands went to her mouth as she felt the first tears gathering in her eyes. Noticing her mother's behavior, Tamaki approached her and engulefed the woman in a tight hug, burying her face in the crook of her neck.

"We did it, mom. We really did it."

"Yes. And I couldn't be prouder."

Tamaki felt her hair being gently stroked, and she tightened the hug.

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"I wish dad was here, too..."

Hearing her daughter mention her husband, Hana widened her eyes a bit, before assuming a longing expression.

"I do, too, Tamaki. I do, too..."

Parting from her embrace, Tamaki wiped her eyes to prevent unshed tears to spill.

"Ah, damn... I don't want Izu to look at me like this."

She said, before fixing her uniform once again. Hana giggled.

"Oh please, you have that boy wrapped around your finger! If he as much saw you in tears, he would teard down the entire neighborhood to find the culprit!"

A dusting of red graced Tamaki's cheeks, but luckily she was spared from Hana's fierce teasing by the ring of the doorbell.

"Oh, speak of the devil...!"

The Kotatsu matriarch chuckled, before addressing her daughter.

"Wrap things up quickly and then come downstairs. Me and my hopefully-soon-to-be son-in-law will wait for you for breakfast!"

"Mooom...!"

Tamaki groaned, now her blush returning with a vengeance. After calming down and smoothing out her appereance, she went downstairs.

Upon entering the living room, she spotted Izuku sitting on one of the sofas, with Nekomata on his la-wait.

"Where did you come from?!"

Tamaki snapped at her feline companion, who in the meantime was purring contently as Izuku petted and scratched her head.

{*puuurrr* I came out while you were in the shower, girl. You were taking forever, so I-oh yes! That's the spot, Izuku-booo...! *puuurrr*~}

The boy could only chuckle at the talking cat's antics.

"It's also my fault. You know I can't resist Nekomata's puppy eye-"

Izuku's words died in his mouth as he turned his head and stared at the uniform-clad Tamaki, who jumped slightly when she saw that she had the boy's attention.

Her embarassment was quickly replaced with cheekiness, as she stuck a grandiose pose by putting her hands on her hips and puffing her chest out with a wide grin.

"So, I take it you like the uniform, don't you Izu?"

She smirked, but her face still retained some of its previous red color. The aforementioned boy could only cough awkwardly into his hand, before standing up from his spot and approaching the girl.

It was then that Tamaki noticed that he was also sporting his own U.A. uniform.

"Yeah, you... *ahem*... you look great, Tamaki. It really suits you."

"Yes!"

Tamaki mentally congratulated herself, before returning the compliment. After that, the two joined Hana at a table in the kitchen for breakfast.

Once they were done eating, Izuku and Tamaki were now walking through the streets. They had decided, given the early time, to stop somewhere else before heading to U.A. .

After a few minutes, they reached their destination. Walking through a large gate, they passed an equally large stone slab with kanji characters engraved on it.

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[MUSUTAFU CEMETERY]

After taking the necessary items for their visit from the warden at the entrance, Izuku and Tamaki approached one of the numerous graves in the city cemetery. The girl smiled morosely upon reading the writing on a particular tombstone.

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Dogen Kotatsu

2XXX - 2XXX

"A kind husband and loving father who put family before all else."

Once in front of it, the two bowed and, after pouring water on it, joined their hands in prayer. Tamaki, just like her mother with the altar dedicated to Inko, began to tell the last events of her life in front of her father's grave. Izuku stood there in silence, serenely listening to her best friend.

When the girl finished, she took a deep breath and stood up. She and the boy exchanged a nod, gathered their things, and left the cemetery.

Unbeknownst to the two, however, Nekomata had sneaked out of her master's body, also approaching Dogen's grave. She gently placed one of her paws on the tombstone, and bowed her head with her eyes closed.

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{You can rest easy now. They are safe.}

And just like that, she vanished in a small burst of flames.

---

-U.A. Entrance Gates-

"Do you think Uraraka-san and Iida-kun have already arrived?"

"Yup. I texted them earlier while we were on our way to visit dad's grave. They should already be in what will be our class."

"That's good. Come on, let's not keep them waiting."

"Mhm!"

The duo had just entered the school's massive gates, and made their way towards their designated class, 1-A.

At the time of their respective exams, Izuku and Tamaki happily discovered that they had been placed in the same class as Ochaco and Tenya. After the impromptu dinner they shared following the practical, it didn't take long for the four to befriend each other. The evening ended with Izuku and Tamaki exchanging their contacts with those of their new friends, promising to stay in touch.

"Hey, hey! From one to ten, how pissed off do you think Bakugou is for ending up not first, not second, but third in the entrance exam?!"

Tamaki asked, a big grin on her face. Izuku just sighed.

"The number I'm thinking of would exceed the known infinity, but that aside, try not to provoke him. I don't want a scene to break out on our first day at U.A. ."

The girl raised an eyebrow.

"Me? You're joking, right? I don't need to be omniscient to know that he's been out for blood the moment he found out you placed first!"

"Huh... touché..."

After a few more exchanges, the two teens finally found the entrance of their classroom, which was enormous to say the least. They had to actually lean their head back all the way to see the top of it.

"Wow... that's one big door for a classroom..."

Tamaki gawked at it, while Izuku just shrugged.

"If I had to guess, it's for people with either size-altering Quirks or mutant ones with the same properties."

"Come on, let's go in before you start fanboying over the doors too!"

Chuckling, Izuku slid open the gargantuan door and found himself in front of what would be his classmates for the next three years. There were twenty or so students of widely differing appearances, but each unique and distinguishable in their own way.

For some, like the guy with rounded tape dispensers for elbows sitting closest to the door, that was due to an obvious mutation from their Quirk. But others, for example the muscular, crimson-haired guy he might've seen during the exam, seemed to stand out without needing any kind of ability. The boy with the head of a raven in the back of the class had a particularly striking appearance, and Izuku was already itching at the thought of puzzling out the workings behind the invisible girl in the front row. At least that's what he assumed was the explanation behind the floating uniform.

"Remove your feet from the desk at once!"

"Hah?!"

"That's disrespectful towards our upperclassmen, the school and the craftsmen who made that desk! Show some manners!"

"..."

"..."

Oh boy.

The green-haired teen turned to his ravenette companion, who just drew what was probably the longest sigh of her life so far.

{What was that about making a scene...?}

"Quiet you. At least for today can you behave?"

{Aye aye, ma'am!~}

Making their way out of the door's frame, the two approached Tenya and Katsuki to defuse the situation before it would escalate out of proportion.

"Are you actually serious? Did someone put a stick up your ass, or were you born that way?! From what middle school are you from, you extra?!"

The sandy blonde teen barked out, but Tenya only fixed his posture before replying.

"My name is Tenya Iida. I come from-"

"Soumei Junior High School. Good to see you, Iida-kun."

Izuku interrupted the bespectacled boy's introduction, but bowed his head at him with a smile, before turning to Katsuki with a scowl.

"Bakugou."

The explosive boy only growled at him, tightening his fists inside his pockets.

"Deku...!"

"Midoriya."

Once again, he corrected him. Then he sighed.

"Guys, can we please, please, not make a scene today, of all days?"

He eyed the two boys in front of him with a stern look on his face. Tenya was the first to speak.

"It's good to see you again too, Midoriya-kun!"

*chop!*

"Man, in a couple of years he'll end up with the elbows of a ninety-years-old if he doesn't stop with those chops..."

"I'm mortified you had to witness our argument! I was just trying to teach this uncultured delinquent-"

"The fuck did you just call me?!"

"-to show some respect towards the rules of the esteemed establishment we're currently in!"

Izuku chuckled.

"Teaching respect to Bakugou? Good luck with that... you'd have better luck teaching Tamaki to cook something edible..."

"I heard that!"

Tamaki pouted as she stomped towards the trio. Katsuki scoffed.

"So you brought your bitch with you, as usual..."

Izuku glared at him, but before he could rebuke the blonde, Tamaki stepped up.

"Sorry, what was that, third place-san? I couldn't hear you over the sound of the two us acing the practical and leaving you in our dust..."

She smirked as she saw Katsuki become red with rage and baring his teeth like a rabid dog.

Thankfully, yet another crisis was averted when a certain brunette jumped onto Tamaki's form, enveloping her in a hug.

"Tamaki-chan! You're here!"

Startled at first by Ochaco's sudden display of affection, the twint-tailed girl smiled gleefully before returning her hug.

"Ochaco-chan!"

The latter, just like the day they met, took Tamaki's hands in her own and started hopping in the place, full of energy. Then she noticed both Izuku and Tenya.

"Ah, Deku-kun! Iida-kun! You're both here! Awesome!"

The two smiled, with Izuku nodding his head and Tenya doing his... chop thingy…

Ochaco then redirected her attention to Tamaki once again, and began talking enthusiastically.

"I wonder if today we're attending the ceremony! Oh, or maybe they want us to meet the faculty, first? Maybe a counselor or something? Do you know what our homeroom teacher is like? I'm really excited about it!"

Tamaki snorted at Ochaco's attitude. She was like an hyperactive chipmunk under caffeine.

"If you're here to have fun, do me and everyone else a favor and leave already."

Ochako stopped talking and Tamaki paled as she looked at the floor behind her. She turned and her face twisted a little as she noticed a tired and somewhat creepy face poking out of a big yellow sleeping bag. The man inside it looked like a walking corpse who just crawled out of his grave.

"This is the Hero Course. Pull yourselves together."

His voice was low and drowsy.

"..."

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"..."

Izuku, Tenya and the two girls were speechless at what they were witnessing. The unknown man crawled out of his sleeping bag and walked to stand in front of the rest of the class.

"It took you about eight seconds to quiet down. Not good. You kids aren't rational enough. Oh, I'm your homeroom teacher, by the way... Shota Aizawa's the name. It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance."

"For real...? This guy is our homeroom teacher...?"

Izuku stared at the man in disbelief.

"That means he's Pro-Hero, but... I've never seen him before..."

The boy squinted his eyes in thought. Aizawa, meanwhile, reached into his sleeping bag and pulled out a bunch of blue and white track uniforms.

"As sudden as it is, I need you to put these on and go to the P.E. Grounds. Do not waste time."

---

Later

-U.A. High P.E. Grounds-

When Aizawa uttered the words "P.E. Grounds", Izuku expected to see an ordinary school track field. However, the large clearing they had found following the school's signs directions, was probably as far from ordinary as it could get. Even from the nondescript gated entrance, the sheer size of the space was imposing enough, but after they'd trailed in through the gate one by one, the true scale of U.A. was here before their very eyes. The sprawling fields seemed to extend for miles, far beyond what the normal human eye could see.

When all the students gathered in the designated area, Aizawa approached them.

"Just to make things crystal clear, If you're here to socialize or goof around, then get out..."

The man drawled, eyes driving into several students around him before coming to rest on Izuku.

"But if you're here to be Heroes, we've got to get a better idea of what you're capable of."

"But what about the entrance ceremony? Or the mandatory guidance sessions?"

Ochaco asked, clearly confused, but Aizawa only paused in consideration before replying.

"Not important."

Izuku sighed. He couldn't tell whether this guy was a very dedicated teacher or just too lazy to do his job. Maybe both...?

"Thankfully, U.A. has a bit of a 'freestyle' education system."

Aizawa continued.

"As long as the decision can be logically explained as for the betterment of future Heroes, we're given free reign over our lessons and teaching methods."

"Merveilleux!"

Chimed in the blonde boy that Izuku vaguely remembered from his own exam.

"What was it with this guy and French...?"

"Right..."

Aizawa said, looking vaguely uncomfortable.

"You've all taken our country's standardized fitness tests, yes?"

All the students nodded.

"Well, unfortunately, in those physical tests you weren't allowed to use your Quirks. It's illogical."

He pulled out what seemed to be a tablet and tapped on it a couple of times.

"Anyway, let's just get this over with... Midoriya, how far could you throw in middle school?"

Surprised at being called out, Izuku thought about it, trying to remember.

"Ninety seven meters and three, sir."

"Give it another go."

Aizawa told him, casually tossing a softball at the boy and pointing at a circle on the ground used for pitching.

"Use your Quirk this time. As long as you don't leave the circle, it doesn't matter what you do. Don't hold back."

Nodding at his teacher's instruction, the teen stretched his arms and back for a moment as he walked into the circle.

As he was preparing to throw the ball, he glanced towards his trio of friends. Ochaco was shaking her fists up and down in excitement, Tenya was watching him carefully with crossed arms and nodded his head when they met each other's gaze and Tamaki was smiling calmly to him.

Inhaling deeply, Izuku began powering up.

A high-pitched whine filled the air, and a girl two rows down clamped her hands over her ears, distress painted plainly over her features. Tamaki, noticing her reaction, made the connection a moment later when she noticed what looked like auxiliary cables dangling from her ears.

A moment later, however, the same girl pulled out from her pockets a pair of ear plugs.

"Huh. Smart."

Tamaki's thoughts were interrupted when a roaring emerald flame originated from Izuku's fist, igniting into existence while the whine intensified. He gracefully stretched his arm back, engaging the muscles in his core and back to compensate for the kickback Tamaki knew was coming.

And then, it happened.

*BOOOOOOM!*

A blinding flash of light was immediately followed by a deafening roar as a large cloud of dust was lifted up from Izuku's position. The others tried their best to cover their faces from the dirt, some doing a better job than others.

Aizawa himself had to wrap himself with the scarf (or at least, what looked like a scarf) he was carrying around his neck to withstand Izuku's shockwave from being so close to him.

"W-What's with that power?!"

"T-That's impressive! As expected from Midoriya-kun!"

"Pfft. Show off."

Just then the cloud of dust started to settle. After a minute or two, the air was clear once again, allowing the others to open their eyes. Izuku was still clouded by smoke and dirt in what apperead to be a small crater from where he was standing. Tamaki peered into the sky trying to see any trace of the ball, but the only thing that she could see was the light trail of smoke that marred the clear blue.

Aizawa, having unwrapped himself, turned the display of tablet towards the class with a bored look, and Tamaki felt a grin tug at her lips.

2,231 km

"Establish your limits first, so you can overcome them on the way to the top."

The teacher said. Tamaki whistled appreciatively, breaking the silence and leading the class to follow up. Well, the class sans Bakugou of course, who was still staring at Izuku's display with eyes so wide that they were about to burst out their pockets. Aizawa took it from there.

"Seated toe touch, upper-body training, side to side stepping, grip strength, sprints, long distance and so on and so forth..."

The man drawled.

"Hopefully this might offer a wider variety of simulations similar to the ones you went through the entrance exam. This is to demonstrate your abilities. Unfortunately, some of you…"

He leveled a gaze to some of the students.

"... will be at a disadvantage."

Tamaki could imagine why. Rescue points aside, the fact that some of these aspiring Heroes were able to score passing numbers in such a biased exam was incredible. He doubted any of them had undergone the same intense training that she and Izuku did, which made the fact even more impressive. How the hell did the invisible girl take out so many robots? He didn't know her name to match to any of the top ten names for sure, but still...

"Uh, sensei... I knew the Hero course was tough, but doesn't this seem a bit unfair?"

A blonde-haired boy with a black lightning-shaped streak laughed awkwardly.

"Unfair?"

Aizawa's tone suddenly became sharp.

"Natural disasters, highway pileups, rampaging Villains… I'd argue the world is full of unfairness. But overcoming those impossible odds is what makes us Heroes. If you can't figure out a way to improvise, adapt and overcome right here, right now, then how will our citizens ever be able to put their lives and trust in your hands?"

The man's gaze shifted to a full blown glare.

"In fact, you know what? The bottom ten scores will be expelled. Immediately."

He bit back towards his students, who were flabbergasted to say the least.

"Huh... this is exactly why U.A. is the best."

Tamaki thought amusedly. Aizawa then shifted his attention towards the crater.

"Midoriya, if you're done, get out of there already. We've wasted enough time as it is."

"Yes, sensei. Sorry, it's just that... I... uh... kinda ran into a problem..."

From the still smoking crater, the figure of Izuku Midoriya finally emerged.

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Completely shirtless.

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"..."

"..."

Izuku looked at himself, noticing that his body was still smoking lightly, then at his teacher, then at his classmates and finally at himself again.

"Huh... I should have asked if this stuff was flame resistant..."

He chuckled nervously as he scratched his head.

---

After Izuku's throw, the apprehension test truly began for the rest of Class 1-A.

Tamaki actually did pretty good in most of the ordinary events like the sitting toe touch, and even in the continuous side step event she only lost to the short boy with what looked like to be grapes for hair.

But at last they came to the only event anyone actually cared about: the softball throw.

Being the last one to do the test, she had ample opportunity to observe the frontrunners of their class. And she was glad for it, since some of them showed some impressive level of skill. None that came close to Izuku's level of course, but still, they sure made an impression on her.

Tamaki was baffled when Ochaco scored "infinity" in her throw. For that, she made a mental note of buying her mochi later on.

After the gravity girl was done, it was another girl who she knew very well, although purely by reputation. Momo Yaoyorozu.

"Mhm... Yaoyorozu, huh..."

Of course, the family name of the aforementioned girl is not something new or easily forgettable, given its notoriety and importance in the country.

Coupled with the fact that Akatani Enterprises and the Yaoyorozu Conglomerate are known to work and share some projects together from time to time, well...

Tamaki was itching to see what this girl was capable of. Momo nearly topped every event with her ability to pull seemingly anything out of her body.

A very prosperous body by the way...

{No worries, girl! Your body has nothing to envy compared to hers!~}

"Nekomata, please...!"

Mentally begging her feline companion to shut up, Tamaki watched the test unfold, and wasn't even that surprised when Momo pulled a freaking cannon out of her jacket, shooting the ball high into the sky, managing to come dangerously close to Izuku's score.

Speaking of Izuku, the boy was next to her watching their classmates. After the accidental eye-candy he gave when he walked out of the crater, Aizawa was kind enough to provide a sleeveless undershirt to cover his bare torso.

Too bad that said piece of clothing did little to hide her best friend's shredded musculature.

Thinking about it, Tamaki could feel the hear rising in her cheeks. Again.

"Down, girl... take it easy..."

{Hehe... that's what he said!~}

"Urgh..."

Alas, Nekomata wasn't the only one who triggered Tamaki regarding Izuku's appearence.

"Did you see what kind of scars Midoriya has? And those arms..."

"Right?! He really gives off those 'bad boy' vibes... God, the things I would let him do to me..."

Swiftly turning towards the source of the voices, Tamaki narrowed her eyes as she spotted the invisible girl and a pink-skinned girl, whose names she learned earlier to be Toru and Mina, respectively. The two were giggling as they kept on making appreciative comments about Izuku's body.

"Grrrrrr..."

A subtle growl made its way out of her clenched teeth as her white pupils constricted into slits.

*pat!*

"H-Huh?"

Feeling a sudden weight on her head, Tamaki snapped out of her rage-induced trance, and tilted her head upwards. She noticed Izuku smiling down at her.

"You should get ready. It's your turn."

He nodded towards Aizawa, who had just finished inserting Momo's score in his tablet.

"O-Oh, right!"

She quickly made her way towards the designated circle, picking the ball from Aizawa.

Once inside, she examined the ball, trying to figure out the best course of action. After a few more seconds, she came up with a good plan.

She took a deep breath.

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"Nekomata."

{On it!~}

*fwooosh!*

A single fiery tail emerged from Tamaki's lower back, and she firmly grasped the softball with it. Then, with one hand, she grabbed the tail at its half, and she began to swing it with a twisting motion.

Steadily increasing speed, Tamaki tightened her stance, anchoring her feet at the ground. Her classmate were watching with rapt attention the girl's display.

Izuku, on the other hand, was grinning.

"So, she going to do that, huh..."

As Tamaki's spinning tail kept surging its speed, some dirt was being lifted up. Her eyes narrowed for a moment, glowing bright.

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"Now!"

*SFWOOOSH!*

With her improvised slingshot, Tamaki launched the ball at breaknecking speed, soaring into the sky and the clouds above.

"Holy crap, what he heck was that?! So manly!"

The spiky redhead exclaimed with a raised fist. Her eyes twitched a bit at the last remark, but she swallowed her irritation. She stepped out from the circle and walked right in front of Izuku.

"So, how was that?"

She asked with an impish grin. He chuckled.

"I thought I was supposed to be the show off?"

Izuku teased, before patting her head in approval. Tamaki let out a subtle purr. In the background, Ochaco was squealing at the cute display with a couple of other girls.

"We're done. Finally..."

Aizawa sighed.

"Here are the rankings."

He said dismissively. Tapping on the screen of the tablet, a holographic display appeared with all the names of the students names and their average rankings.

1. Izuku Midoriya. 12. Ochaco Uraraka.

2. Momo Yaoyorozu. 13. Koji Koda.

3. Tamaki Kotatsu. 14. Rikido Sato.

4. Katsuki Bakugou. 15. Tsuyu Asui.

5. Shoto Todoroki. 16. Yuga Aoyama.

6. Tenya Iida. 17. Hanta Sero.

7. Fumikage Tokoyami. 18. Denki Kaminari.

8. Mezo Shoji. 19. Kyoka Jiro.

9. Mashirao Ojiro. 20. Toru Hagakure.

10. Eijiro Kirishima. 21. Minoru Mineta.

11. Mina Ashido.

Izuku immediately picked out his own name at the top of the list, with Tamaki at number three and, surprise surprise, Katsuki at number four.

He didn't have to turn his head to see Tamaki's devilish smile. Or Katsuki's snarling face, for that matter.

He spared a glace for Minoru, who sat crying on the ground with large, almost comedic tears gushing from his eyes. Looking around, he noticed that it wasn't the only negative reaction to the results.

Well, Aizawa did say that the bottom half would've been expelled. He was feeling sorry for the-

"NOOOOOO! I can't be expelled! I just got here! I haven't had a chance to hit on the hot girls in the class yet!"

"..."

Okay, scratch that. He was feeling sorry for the others, except Minoru. Aizawa called his students to attention.

"As you well know, the bottom ten scorers are going to be expelled."

He reminded them.

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"Too bad that was a lie."

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What.

"WHAAAAAAT?!"

The entire class, except Momo, Izuku and Katsuki, erupted in a massive wail in reaction to their teacher's words.

"Indeed. It was a logical ruse to bring out the best out of you."

He calmly stated, before continuing.

"When you're done picking your jaws from the ground, pack up and go back to class, your syllabus for the semester will be on your desks."

And with that, Class 1-A homeroom teacher strolled away.

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"What the hell just happened...?"

"I mean, of course it was a lie. It was pretty obvious to me."

Momo said, but Izuku rebutted her.

"No, he was serious."

"I beg your pardon?"

"He was telling the truth. At least, considering the average size of the previous graduating classes compared to the first years..."

He trailed off, letting the girl make the connection herself.

"Something tells me that Aizawa-sensei will have no reserve in lying to us to bring out the best in us."

"T-That's... a scary perspective..."

Izuku shook his head with a smile.

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"U.A. High really is the best."

He then joined Tamaki and their classmates as they trekked back into the changing rooms.

---

The rest of the day passed in a blur for Izuku and Tamaki. After having given a thorough reading of the syllabus and having met the rest of the teachers who will take care of Class 1-A, the two teens were outside the building in the company of Ochaco and Tenya.

"I have to say, Aizawa-sensei really surprised me! I never would have expected a teacher to encourage someone with deception!"

The other three nodded silently. Shota Aizawa was certainly an eccentric individual...

"I was really worried back there! But I'm glad that none of us was kicked out on the very first day!"

Ochaco happily exclaimed while munching on the mochi that Tamaki bought her. The latter added her own two cents.

"Well, at least it showed that U.A. doesn't hold its students by the hand. No surprise there, considering all the high profile Heroes that graduated from the school."

"Well, I would have been disappointed otherwise."

Izuku chuckled. Then Tenya turned towards him.

"Midoriya-kun, a question if I may."

The boy in question looked at his bespectacled friend with an inquisitve look, before nodding at his request.

"I couldn't help but notice Bakugou-kun's excessive hostility towards you!"

Tamaki snickered.

"No offense, but I'm pretty sure the whole class noticed it..."

Ochaco hummed, her mouth still stuffed with mochi. Izuku just sighed.

"Yeah, let's just say that me, Tamaki and Bakugou... we, uh... we go way back."

At this, Tenya raised both eyebrows.

"Have you known each other since you were children?"

"Exactly."

Izuku nodded.

"Our mothers have known each other for a lifetime. We all three grew up together, we were even very close friends once, but..."

Another sigh escaped from the green-haired boy's mouth.

"... we kinda had a falling out due to... some stuff that happened on my part..."

A grim look crossed Izuku's face. Ochaco and Tenya looked troubled for a moment, before directing their attention to Tamaki, who just shook her head silently at the two.

That was telling enough.

"Ah, I see. Sorry for prying into your personal bussiness! Curiosity got the better of me!"

*chop!*

Izuku waved his hand dismissively.

"Ah, it's fine, Iida-kun. No harm done."

After a few more banters, the group eventually split itself at the train station. After saying their goodbyes for the day, the four friends went their separate ways.

---

The Day After

The second day came around with a much more easygoing feel, considering that Aizawa wasn't trying to con them with another logical ruse or the threat of expulsion. As a result, homeroom wasn't nearly as stressing for the class.

Still wrapped up in his yellow sleeping bag, Aizawa stepped down from his podium.

"You should've done it yesterday, but a day is as good as another, isn't it?"

He addressed his students.

"Since you'll be working with one another for the next three years, you need to get to know each other. Come up and state your name, Quirk, and if you'd like, something about yourself. I don't care what it is, just be quick about it."

"Sensei!"

Tenya shot his hand up.

"How should we proceed with the introductions' order?"

"It doesn't matter to me."

Aizawa replied.

"I'm going to sleep. Handle it yourselves."

So while their teacher took a power nap, Tenya more or less organized the class introductions by himself.

The first student was Toru.

"Hehe, this is kinda embarrassing with everyone looking at me, but whatever! I'm Toru Hagakure! My Quirk is called Invisibility, and it's kinda obvious what it does, right? I can also manipulate light to some degree with it, but it's nothing fancy! Something else about me, huh...? Mhm... Oh! I like plushies and cute stuff in general!"

Next was a tall, muscular young man with pale gray hair swept forwards, covering most of his face, and bent downwards at almost a right angle over his eyes. He had six arms, all attached to each other by a web of skin. He also had a blue mask covering his face.

"I'm Mezo Shoji. My Quirk is Dupli-Arms. I can create replicas of my body parts on my tentacles, like my mouth, ears, and eyes. I don't like anything in particular, so I guess that's it."

"Hi everyone, I'm Mashirao Ojiro."

Said the next student, a boy with an athletic build and short blond hair, swept to the front of his head. He had thin eyes with no lower eyelashes. Certainly, his most distinguishing feature was the large, powerful-looking tail that sprouted from his lower back.

"As you've probably guessed, my Quirk is just my tail. It's more or less a third arm, but it helps me maintain my balance. Something about me... I practice martial arts and I like basically everything related to them."

The next introduction was from the laser guy from Izuku's exam.

"Je m'appelle Yuga Aoyama!"

He announced with an overly dramatic pose.

"My Quirk is the fabulous Naval Laser! I can shoot a laser from my belly button! But if I overdo it, I get a stomach ache. Another stylish fact about me, as you've all heard, is that I speak French!"

Katsuki was up next, scowling after Yuga with an annoyed look.

"Katsuki Bakugo's the name. My Quirk is Explosion. The only thing you need to know is that I'll blow you up if you get in my way. I'm gonna be the next Number One Hero, so stay out of my way, you extras!"

Izuku rolled his eyes at the irritated responses from the rest of the class after Katsuki's introduction. Tamaki didn't pay him any attention.

"Good job at ruining the mood..."

Deadpanned the girl with auxiliary cables hanging from the lobes that Tamaki noticed the day before. She had triangular, calm-looking onyx eyes with notably long lower eyelashes and rather small eyebrows. Her hair was short, only around chin length, and was dark purple in color with an asymmetrical fringe.

Katsuki just scoffed, leaving space for the girl.

"I'm Kyoka Jiro. My Quirk is called Earphone Jack. I can insert them into objects and send the sound of my heartbeat through them. I can also hear pretty damn good, even through really thick walls. I can play music with a few different instruments, but I mainly prefer the bass."

After her, the blonde guy who questioned Aizawa's seriousness shortly before the test began came forth. He grinned confidently before speaking.

"'sup! I'm Denki Kaminari and my Quirk is Electrification! I can let loose a bunch of electricity from my body and shock people by touching them! I kinda short-circuit if I go over my wattage limit, though. I like reading manga and comics!"

"My turn!"

Exclaimed Mina, bouncing in front of the class.

"I'm Mina Ashido and my Quirk is Acid! It lets me secrete corrosive acid from my skin, which is why it is like this! I can control its solubility and viscosity, but I like using it to surf on whatever I want! If I use it for too long, I start losing my own resistance to it. I love break dancing and I dislike bullies!"

She shot a pout towards Katsuki, who in exchange threw her glare.

After that, it was Izuku's turn. He walked to the front and bowed to his classmate.

"Hi, my name is Izuku Midoriya. It's a pleasure to meet you. My Quirk is called Ember, and it's a kind of pyrokinetic Quirk, letting me generate and manipulate flames."

He raised from his bow.

"I am a kenjutsu and martial arts practitioner. When not training, I like to study and analyze Quirks and meditate."

After his introduction, Ojiro called his attention.

"What kind of martial arts, if I may ask?"

He questioned while slightly wagging his tail.

"Holy crap, that's cute...!"

Tamaki thought with a smile, before Izuku replied.

"It's a wing chun and aikido mixed style. Looking for a sparring partner, Ojiro-kun?"

He asked with a wide grin, which Ojiro returned in full force.

"You bet!"

Izuku returned to his seat, shooting a thumbs up to the tailed boy. Tamaki followed after him.

Fixing her twintails, she looked over her classmates.

"Heya, I'm Tamaki Kotatsu. My Quirk is Nekomata. It's also a pyrokinetic Quirk, which gives me a cat-like appereance when I use it. That aside, my hobbies are making origami, climbing high places and making sure that our esteemed Midoriya-san doesn't get in trouble."

She shot a teasing smile to the aforementioned boy, who playfully rolled his eyes.

"Jeez, thanks, mom..."

"If you want me to take that role, I must tell you to sit composed!"

Chuckles crossed the room at the silly exchange between the two, but before Tamaki coul return to her seat...

*poof!*

{Did you seriously forget to introduce me?! That's so mean, girl!}

... Nekomata popped out of nowhere as usual.

Tamaki's moan of exasperation echoed through the classroom, before the latter erupted at the sudden appereance of the fiery cat.

"Holy shit! What's that thing!"

"It looks like a... cat?"

"Is it on fire?!"

"Why is it wearing a kimono...?"

"Awww! Look at how cute it is!"

"I wanna pet it!"

"Tamaki-chan! How could you not tell me you had such an adorable kitty?!"

Before the noise could wake Aizawa from his beauty sleep, Tamaki took control of the situation.

"Okay, settle down, everyone! I forgot to mention a peculiar trait of my Quirk. Which is this feline monstrosity."

She whacked Nekomata in the head, who hissed in protest, before looking up at Tamaki with big and teary eyes.

Then she launched herself right into Izuku's chest.

{WHAAAAAA! Izuku-boooooo! Tamaki is being meeeaaan!}

Nekomata cried her eyes out into Izuku's chest, who laughed at the absurdity of the scene that just played out. He started consoling the talking by petting her head. Tamaki continued.

"Anyway, jutst like my Quirk, her name's Nekomata. And as you just witnessed, she's the bane of my existence. Expect it to appear at less inopportune moments to bring world of teasing..."

She sighed before finally returning to her seat. As she walked past Izuku, she grabbed Nekomata by her scruff, making her hiss again.

After that, it was another guy's turn, the one with tape dispensers for elbows. This one was a tall and lean, with chin-length black hair, spiked downwards, with jagged bangs coming about halfway down his forehead. He had almond-shaped eyes, stretched quite wide and rather large with small pupils.

"Hey everyone, I'm Hanta Sero! My Quirk is Tape. I can shoot this tape-like material from my elbows. It's a lot stronger than regular tape, though. It can support my body weight pretty easily. If I use it too much, my skin dries out. My hobbies are parkour and videogames!"

"I'm Eijiro Kirishima!"

Enthusiastically declared the next student, the boy with spikey red hair that got Tamaki on her nerves with his... poor choices of words. He flexed one of his arms and the skin on his hand to became much tougher-looking.

"My Quirk is called Hardening! My skin just hardens, but I can punch through some really tough stuff, such as concrete! I'm a huge fan of the Pro Hero Crimson Riot!"

"I'm next."

Stated a somewhat monotone voice. It belonged a short girl of a relatively slender build with notably large hands. She had a very wide mouth, which dipped down a little in the middle just like that of a common frog, and oval-shaped eyes with large, black irises, with their lower eyelashes visibly pronounced. Her hair was a dark sea-green color and was very long, reaching all the way to her waist with the ends tied together at the bottom in a large bow of hair. She had two shoulder-length clumps framing her face and shorter bangs between her eyes, some of them partially swept to each side.

"I'm Tsuyu Asui. My Quirk is called Frog. It grants me a lot of frog-like abilities. I can jump really far, climb walls, swim fast, my tongue can extend up to twenty meters and I can secrete a mild toxin. Because of my Quirk, I'm pretty sensitive to cold. If my body temperature drops too low, I get sluggish and sleepy. The thing you should know about me is that I'm very blunt and I tend to say what's on my mind."

Following Tsuyu was Minoru.

"I'm Minoru Mineta! My Quirk is called Pop-Off! I can pluck the balls off my head and make them stick to things. They don't stick to me, though. Depending on how I'm feeling, they can stick to something for an entire day. If I take too many off, my scalp starts to bleed a little. Something about me..."

A lecherous grin made its way across his face.

"I love girls! Heroines specifically!"

Needless to say, his classmates, with the girls in particular, were not impressed...

Up next was the boy with the head of a raven.

"Greetings, I'm Fumikage Tokoyami. My Quirk is Dark Shadow. It's a sentient Quirk, meaning that there's a shadow-like entity living in my body that I can materialize from wherever I want. Sadly, I don't have much to say about myself."

The next student was a boy who looked very shy and agitated for being at the center of the class' attention. His behavior was a bit odd, considering he had a wide, muscular build with peach-colored skin. His head had the appereance of a rock, which was unevenly shaped and pointed at the top of his head, and his jaw was square-shaped.

From his bag he took out a slate writing board, and started to frantically write on it with a chalk. When he was done, he turned it to the others, who read its contents.

"Hello everyone. I'm Koji Koda. My Quirk is Anivoice. I can talk to animals and influence them with my voice, such as giving them commands and whatnot. I like animals of every kind.

P.S. I'm very shy about speaking in public, so I hope you can be patient with me."

After reading, Izuku gave a gentle smile to Koji the nervous boy's direction.

"Hey, it's okay, Koda-kun. Take your time with it, no pressure."

With reddened cheeks, Koji smiled a little, before making his way towards his seat. He suddenly stopped when he was about to walk past Tamaki. The girl, who in the meantime was keeping Nekomata in her own lap, noticed him and tilted her head in confusion.

"Koda-kun? Do you need something?"

The timid boy averted his eyes and squirmed a little in place, before pointing a shaking finger towards the cat in the girl's lap. After a couple of seconds, Tamaki understood and with a wide smile lifted Nekomata from her lap to put her on top of the desk.

"Go for it."

Returning the girl's smile, Koji approached the talking cat to scratch her head and ears, eliciting strong purrs from her. All the girls, plus a few boys, cooed at the scene. Toru even took a pic with her smartphone.

{Meeeooowww! Careful, Izuku-bo! This one's a natural! You might've earned yourself a rival!~}

Then came Tenya's turn.

"Hello, fellow students!"

*chop!* *chop!* *chop!* *chop!*

"I am Tenya Iida! My Quirk is Engine! My legs have powerful engines in them! They allow me to shift up several gears to increase my speed, very similarly to real engines! My older brother is the Turbo Hero: Ingenium! He inspired me to attend this school and my reason for wanting to be a Hero!"

Izuku's eyes widened in surprise and recognition. He had wondered why Tenya looked so familiar. Truly, the only difference between him and Ingenium was the placement of the engines, with the latter having them in his arms rather than his legs.

Izuku smiled at his friend. If Tenya was anything like his older brother, he was already on the road to becoming a great Hero.

"Hello."

Said Momo with a gentle voice.

"My name is Momo Yaoyorozu. My Quirk is called Creation. I can produce objects from any exposed part of my body by transforming the molecular structure of my fat cells. I can create virtually anything, living things aside, of course. All I need is to understand the object's atomic configuration and a little time. I enjoy reading and drinking tea in my spare time."

When she was done with her introduction, she sent a small smile towards Izuku's direction.

"Also, it's a pleasure to finally meet you, Midoriya-san."

Izuku widened his eyes slightly.

"Uh... sorry, do we know each other...?"

He asked sheepishly. Momo just shook her head while keeping her smile.

"Not in person, no. But I met your uncle at one of my parents' numerous receptions, and since then I have had a few chats when we met. He's a very affable person. He speaks a lot about you."

Izuku snickered.

"Only about the good things I hope."

As the two shared a laugh, Tamaki was glaring daggers at Mom with narrowed eyes and a pout.

{Hoho! I sense some conflict!~}

The next introduction was from a boy with long hair, parted twice as to not obscure his vision. It was evenly split between two colors: white on his right side and crimson red on his left. Meanwhile, his left eye's iris was turquoise, while his right was a brownish dark gray. His eyes, in shape, were quite thin and reserved. Additionally, he had a large burn scar on the left side of his face, which reached from his hairline to halfway down his cheek.

"I'm Shoto Todoroki. My Quirk is Half Cold Half Hot. I can generate ice from my right side and fire from my left, but I won't use my left side in battle. I like soba."

Just like that, he returned to his seat. The penultimate student to introduce himself was another tall, very muscular boy with a wide build. His brown hair was short, and spiked upwards away from his head. He had rather small, square-shaped eyes with small black pupils and had a pair of bushy eyebrows just above. He had very large and thick lips which were slightly darker in color than the rest of his skin, and a notably large, round nose.

"My name is Rikido Sato. My Quirk is called Sugar Rush! If I ingest ten grams of sugar, my strength gets multiplied five-fold for three minutes! For every ten grams of sugar after that, my strength doesn't rise, but the time I stay strong extends an extra three minutes. The drawback is that if I abuse it too much, my cognitive functions gradually drop, making me very sleepy afterward! Something interesting about me is that I enjoy baking, especially cakes!"

And last but certainly not least was Ochaco herself.

"Hi! I'm Ochako Uraraka! My Quirk is Zero Gravity! If I touch an object, it loses its gravitational pull and starts to float! For now, I can lift objects up to three tons! If I overdo it, I start to get kinda nauseous. If I had to pick something to say about myself, I'd say it's that the little pads on my fingertips that I use for my Quirk are like a cat's paws!"

Both Tamaki and Nekomata giggled at that.

"That they do, Ochaco-chan. Here, have some mochi."

Stars apperead in the gravity girl's eyes. Izuku sweat-dropped.

"When did she... eh, nevermind..."

Once Ochaco was done, Tenya stood up and walked over to Aizawa.

"Sensei! We've completed all the introductions!"

The man yawned loudly.

"About time... just behave yourselves and don't be late for your next class."

Sweat dropping at their teacher's attitude, Class 1-A resumed their business.

---

Once homeroom ended, the first half of the day consisted of general subjects that all students were required to take. English, Math, Science, Japanese Literature, History and the like. Pretty boring stuff, but hey, U.A. was an high school, so...

What the students were looking forward to, however, was the final class of the day.

Foundational Hero Studies.

Especially because of the teacher in charge of that class.

"I AM ...!"

Izuku and the rest of Class 1-A whipped their heads towards the door, which flew open to reveal the imposive figure of the Number One Hero himself.

"... COMING THROUGH THE DOOR LIKE A NORMAL PERSON!"

.

.

.

.

.

The class erupted.

"It's actually him! We're actually getting taught by All Might!"

"That's his Silver Age costume!"

"The design is so retro! I love it!"

There was nothing normal about All Might's entrance, but no one could really hold that against him. The man seemed to radiate heroic energy everywhere he walked, and Izuku doubted he could just switch it off any easier than Hagakure could turn off her invisibility.

The Symbol Of Peace took his place at the front of the class.

"This is Foundational Hero Studies! In this class, as the name suggests, we'll be building up your foundations as Heroes through countless trials and hardships! For your first test, we'll start with this!"

From the belt of his costume, he fished out a stack of papers, showing them to his pupils.

"Combat training!"

At this, Katsuki grinned, almost salivating.

"Fuck yes!"

"And for your first battles..."

All Might pulled out a remote and pointed it at the far wall before pressing a button, causing several sections, similars to large drawers, to slide out. Inside were cases with each of the students' seat numbers imprinted on them.

"We've got the gear from your costume requests that you submitted to the school! Get changed and gather up at Ground Beta!"

---

-Girls' Changing Room-

*rustle*

"There."

Tamaki sighed as she slipped on a black tank top.

Right now, along all of the other girls of Class 1-A, she was in the middle of changing into her Hero costume.

Just one more piece, and then she would be ready to go.

{Impressive, Momo-tan! I didn't know you were so daring!~}

Nekomata purred in a sultry tone as she floated around Momo, gazing at the latter's body.

"P-Please, don't tease me, Nekomata-san! It wasn't even on purpose! I just specified that I needed to show some skin to use my Quirk, but it didn't have to be so... obscene!"

{Awww, you're so cute when you're all flustered like that! Come on now, be honest with me! Who's the lucky guy whom attention you're trying to catch?~}

Grumbling, Tamaki turned around to shut Nekomata up, only for the words to die in her mouth. She froze at the sight of the other girls' costumes.

"W-Wha-!"

Momo wasn't exaggerating. In fact, "obscene" may have been an understatement.

"I've seen swimwear cover more skin than that leotard!"

The others weren't faring much better either. Tamaki's eyes darted from girl to girl... Aside from Kyoka's, every single costume hugged the girls' forms with impunity.

"Is Toru freakin' naked...?!"

She mentally screamed as she noticed a pair of floating gloves. Even Ochaco, as adorable as she was, had a costume that highlighted her curvaceous figure.

"..."

.

.

.

.

.

Did Tamaki miss the sexy costume memo or what?

{Easy, girl! Izuku-bo will have eyes only for you once he sees you all geared up!~}

Hoping that Nekomata was right, Tamaki turned around to pick the last piece of clothing she needed to complete her costume.

It was a fairly large and somewhat baggy jacket. Putting it on, she walked towards the mirror present on the inner part of her locker's door.

Tamaki was completely clad in black. Her costume consisted of a black tank top, loose trousers, a steel neck protector, dark boots and protective gloves. The bottom parts of the trousers and the sleeves of her jacket were adorned with blue-colored reflective stripes.

Taking in her appearance, she nodded in approval.

"Wow, Tamaki-chan!"

Ochaco trotted over, glancing at her costume.

"Your costume looks really cool! I wish I made the request for mine more specific, hehe..."

Scratching her head sheepishly, Ochaco averted her eyes with a blush.

"That's a rad costume, Kotatsu."

Jiro added, while fixing the choker on her neck. Tamaki smiled.

"Thank you, you two. Oh, and 'Tamaki' is fine, Jiro-san."

The latter smiled with a "gotcha", before taking in her appearance once more.

"Huh, you look like a firefighter... is there a reason for that or it's just aesthetics?"

At this, Tamaki smiled wide.

"Well, I decided to make it look like that because of my dad. He was a firefighter."

Tsuyu, who was also done with her costume, joined the trio.

"'Was'? He stopped being one?"

"No..."

Tamaki's smile turned sad.

"... he, uh... he passed away."

Silence crossed the room as the girls' eyes widened at the revelation.

"Kero... I'm sorry..."

Tamaki waved her hand.

"Don't worry, Tsu-chan. It's been a long time now. Besides..."

She proudly patted her jacket.

"... dad is the reason why I'm here. He inspired me to become a Hero."

{That's my girl for ya!~}

Nekomata purred against her master's head, who in return scratched her chin affectiosly.

Sighing, Tamaki fixed her costume one last time. Then, with the rest of the girls, she walked out of the room.

---

Later

-Ground Beta-

"Oh, finally... I was starting to feel naked without it...!"

Izuku sighed in relief as he adjusted Kusabimaru's on his left hip.

Due to weapon's lethality, the school had strictly prohibited him from carrying Kusabimaru around, much to his chagrin. He could still have used it during the practical lessons of the Hero Course, tough.

At the moment, Izuku, along the rest of the other boys, were waiting for the girls to arrive in order to start the lessons. He was dressed in a tight black bodysuit with an armored vest on top of it. For the bottom, he wore combat cargo pants with heavy shoes. His forearms and shins were protected by guards, while his hands of were covered by fingerless gloves.

All in all, Izuku's costume was very army-like, reminiscing of combat fatigues.

He also took some time no take a look to his classmate's outfits, and he had to say, some were very... eye-catching.

.

.

.

.

.

No, seriously, he could almost feel his own eyesight deteriorate just by glancing towards Yuga's sparkling costume...

Sparkling boy aside, the others had a more practical appereance, such as Mashirao, who was wearing a karate gi, or Katsuki, who had large grenade-like gauntlets.

He looked surprised at the latter.

"Huh... so he did use it, after all..."

A feeling of nostalgia hit the green-haired teen, before feeling something warm poking his back.

{Izuku-bo! I'm back!~}

Nekomata exclaimed as she purred against him, before floating right next to his shoulder, eyeing the entrace to Ground Beta.

And then he saw them.

Izuku's raised both eyebrows as the girls filed out of the locker rooms, chatting as if they were life-long friends.

And their choice of clothing was... well...

Let's just say that Izuku knew Hero costumes could get a bit revealing, but the girls really hadn't held back with their designs, had they...?

Despite having these thoughts, Izuku found himself searching for that familiar raven hair, spotting her a moment later.

His eyes widened.

Tamaki had no business looking that good in what was essentially a firefighter outfit, but there was something about that aesthetic that really did it for him.

{Careful, Izuku-bo. You keep ogling her that much, I'll have to call the police...~}

Breaking out of his stupor, he noticed Tamaki approaching him.

"Hey, Izu."

She eyed his costume, before nodding with a smile.

"You look badass dressed in that. But I still think that much black makes you a tad edgy..."

Izuku snickered.

"It's not like you're one to talk, Kasha-san..."

At this, the girl pouted.

"Hey, it's not my fault that firemen's uniforms are black by default, y'know?! And don't make fun of my Hero name, last time I checked you helped me pick it!"

He chuckled, making her pout even harder.

"Just kidding, Tamaki. You look great."

He apologized.

"Especially the jacket. I bet your father would've been proud to see you now."

A gentle smile adorned Izuku's features, as his honest word caused a small blush to appear on Tamaki's cheeks. She returned his smile.

"The same thing goes for you and Auntie Inko, Izu."

Patting the girl's head, Izuku smiled even wider. Once they were done, the two reunited with their classmates, as All Might had just arrived in front of everyone.

"Sensei!"

Tenya, fully clad in a white-colored armor, raised his hand.

"Will we be using the same fake city from the Entrance Exam for this lesson?"

All Might nodded, his legendary smile always present.

"Yes and no, Young Iida. Today we'll be focusing on indoor battle training! Villain clashes and cleanups are seen mostly in the open, but statistically speaking, most of the fight to apprehend them happen inside the buildings. The smartest Villains tend to commit their crimes out of sight from prying eyes. Kidnappings, break-ins, assassinations, illegal trades… a lot of these stuff happen behind the scenes!"

He nodded again.

"For this lesson we'll have two team facing one another, each consisting of three students. One group will play the Heroes, while the other the Villains."

"How do we determine who wins or loses?"

Queried Momo.

"Can I just blow them away?"

Katsuki demanded.

"Will you threaten us with expulsion like Aizawa-sensei did?"

Ochako wondered nervously.

"How should we choose our teams?"

Tenya questioned.

"Isn't my cape truly magnifique?"

Yuga said.

All Might was momentarily overwhelmed by the questions, before recollecting himself.

"I will answer all of your questions!"

He pulled out a small sheet of paper which Izuku noted to be a cheat script. Tamaki giggled at the silly sight.

"Listen up, here's the scenario: a trio of Villains have a nuclear device hidden somewhere in the building! The Hero team must infiltrate it and stop their evil plans before it's too late! If the Heroes capture the Villains or secure the weapon, they win! If the Villains keep the Heroes away from the weapon until time is up or they capture the Heroes, they win instead!"

Placing the script back into his pocket, All Might redirected the students' attention towards a box of some kind.

"As for your teams, they'll be chosen by a lottery!"

"Lottery? Why is that?"

Tenya questioned, confused. Tamaki nodded in understanding.

"Heroes don't always have the luxury of choosing their partners for certain missions or operations. Sometimes they have to improvise with whoever is on the scene or available nearby."

"Mhm, I see!"

The bespectacled boy hummed in approval. Then All Might approached the box and put one of his hands into the small hole on top of it. Pulling out three slips of paper at a time, he announced the teams one after another.

"Team A: Ochako Uraraka, Izuku Midoriya and Mezo Shoji!"

"Team B: Shoto Todoroki, Momo Yaoyorozu and Minoru Mineta!"

"Team C: Katsuki Bakugou, Tenya Iida and Mina Ashido!"

"Team D: Yuga Aoyama, Koji Koda and Rikido Sato!"

"Team E: Kyoka Jiro, Denki Kaminari and Tsuyu Asui!"

"Team F: Fumikage Tokoyami, Toru Hagakure and Mashirao Ojiro!"

"Team G: Tamaki Kotatsu, Eijirou Kirishima and Hanta Sero!"

Ochako smiled widely upon seeing her team.

"What are the odds, Deku-kun! We'll make an awesome team!"

"Indeed. If we cooperate and cover each other's backs, we'll make an outstanding performance. You in, Shoji-kun?"

The gentle giant nodded at the two.

"Definitely. I'll be in your care."

All Might, meanwhile, began tiping on a tablet, similar to the one Aizawa used the day before.

"Team A will be the Heroes, while Team C the Villains!"

Then he crossed his arms.

"The Villains will start inside the building. You'll each have five minutes to come up with a strategy, then the Heroes will be able to enter the building as well, starting the exercise! The rest of the class and myself will observe through surveillance cameras! Since this is practice training, feel free to fight it out without fear of injury! Of courses, if things get too extreme, I'll cut the exercise short, but other than that, no worries! Give it your best shot, y'all!"

Done with the explanation, the teacher and the students not participating made their way towards the examination room, leaving only the two teams.

Izuku began to walk towards the building's location with Ochaco and Mezo, but not before noticing the malicious grin Katsuki was sending him. But he merely rolled his eyes and resumed his walk.

.

.

.

.

.

His hand was itching to unsheath Kusabimaru.

---

"So, how should we approach this?"

Mezo asked as he looked at the imposing building that they were about to infiltrate, with Ochaco beside him.

Izuku, meanwhile, was walking back and forth behind them, while also staring at the edifice with narrowed eyes, formulating a strategy in his head.

"I think we should carefully choose everyone's roles before agreeing on a plan."

He said. Ochaco hummed in approval.

"That sounds good enough! Have you already thought of something?"

Izuku stopped, and directed his attention to his two teammates.

"Indeed."

He looked towards Mezo.

"Shoji-kun, you will fill the support role. Your Quirk will give us an advantage in detecting our opponents. In particular, pay close attention to Iida-kun, as his speed could be an issue if he catches us off guard."

A small mouth appeared on the tip of one of the masked boy's tentacles.

"Got it. I won't disappoint you."

Smiling at his reply, Izuku then addressed Ochaco.

"Uraraka-san, your Quirk will be of paramount importance in winning the exercise. By relying on Shoji-kun's direction, try to sneak up to the bomb. I assume they will keep it on the top floor, where it will be more defensible. If not, try to locate the most isolated opponent. Most likely they will be the one guarding the bomb."

Pumping her fist in determined excitement, Ochaco nodded at Izuku instructions. Shortly thereafter, however, she put on a confused expression.

"What about you?"

At the girl's question, Mezo joined in.

"True, what will your role be, Midoriya?"

Izuku casted another glance at the building.

"I'll find the farthest room inside there, and wait for the inevitable."

Ochaco tilted her head.

"Inevitable...?"

The boy grinned.

"Bakugou will abandon his teammates to head towards me with the intent to fight. You've seen him, he's out for blood, and nothing will change his mind. After knocking him out, I'll try to rejoin you, Uraraka-san, as long as you don't find the bomb first and put an end to the exercise."

"BEGIN!"

Just then, All Might's powerful voice started the training.

The trio looked at each other with determined looks, and each of them got into position.

---

Earlier

*knock* *knock*

"Huh, it's made of paper mache..."

Tenya said as he inspected the "nuke" that he, along with Mina and Katsuki, were supposed to guard.

The pink girl approached him, a frown on her face.

"Yo, Iida, what's the plan?"

She asked a bit too stiffly, and the boy noticed it. Not too hard a task, considering her usualy cheery and peppy persona.

"We should wait for Bakugou-kun before we di-"

"Save it."

Mina huffed, earning a raised eyebrow from Tenya.

"I just tried to get him to come over so we could discuss together, y'know? As a team should."

She emphasized the last two words by saying them out loud, making sure the explosive blonde could hear her.

A loud "fuck you" was the answer she needed.

"Jeez, what's his deal? What does he have against Midoriya to make him act like a jerk...?"

"Midoriya...?"

Mina nodded.

"Ever since we entered the room he has done nothing but stand there alone, muttering and cursing Midoriya about having a Quirk, making a fool out of him for hiding it, thinking that he's better than him and bla bla bla..."

Mina rolled her eyes, while Tenya just sighed.

"That's... unfortunate. If Bakugou doesn't want to cooperate with us, we can't waste time trying to convince him. We'll have to fend for ourselves."

"Fine by me! So what's the big idea, boss?"

Tenya casted a glance to the still seething Katsuki.

"Well, I take it for granted that Bakugou will go off on his own to find Midoriya... In that case, You'll take care of guarding the bomb."

He looked around the large, empty room they were in.

"In this environment your Quirk can give its best, while mine is ideal for scouting the corridors of the building."

Mina hummed in understanding, before pumping her fist.

"You got it, boss!"

"BEGIN!"

And just like that, Katsuki burst out of the room, much to no one's surprise...

He kept on going, trying to find the green-haired teen he was itching to fight, and possibly maim, ever since whatever happened that day at Aldera.

"Just you wait, Deku! I'll fucking show you wh-"

"There you are."

"...!"

Stopping himself abruptly, Katsuki found himself in a large room, even bigger than the one where the nuke was held. The room was empty, save for four pillars in the center.

And Izuku Midoriya standing against one of the walls, his arms crossed.

"Predictable, as always..."

He sighed as he stared at Katsuki with a calm, yet focused expression. The latter, meanwhile, growled at him.

Izuku moved from his spot, walking a few steps forward. Then he cracked his neck and assumed what looked like a neutral Aikido stance. His eyes set on his opponent.

"Let's get this over with."

He said, his voice now having an edge that wasn't there before. Again, Katsuki could only bark in anger.

"Got a big head just because you got lucky with your Quirk on those shitty test, huh?! No matter..."

Little explosion sparked in his hands.

"... because I'll beat you into a fucking pulp!"

He grinned maliciously.

"Not so hard to make All Might stop the exercise, but close e-"

*POW!*

*crunch!*

Before Katsuki could finish his sentence, something impacted onto his face. Hard.

Hard enough to launch him onto the floor and make him skid a couple of meters. Fighting off the dizziness from such a sudden blow, and the fact that blood was now leaking from his now broken nose, the blonde moved his still trembling vision towards the boy he was yelling moments ago.

And there he was, standing on the spot in which Katsuki was before getting sucker punched by Izuku's fist.

The latter glared at him.

"Less talk. More fight."

He simply said. And that was enough to make Katsuki jump to his feet.

.

.

.

.

.

Before launching himself at Izuku with a feral scream.

---

Meanwhile

-Observation Room-

"Ouch... that must've hurt..."

Kyoka winced after witnessing Izuku smashing Katsuki's face.

"Holy crap! Did you see that?! He was so fast I could barely follow his movements!"

Eijiro exclaimed, shaking his fists in excitement. Ojiro mirrored the red-haired boy impressed expression.

"That was a very solid and well-executed punch. Midoriya sure knows his stuff."

He then turned to Tamaki.

"Kotatsu-san, how long has he been practicing martial ar-"

The tailed boy stopped himself when he noticed the girl he was addressing with a smartphone on her hand, filming the fight broadcasted on the big screen. He raised an eyebrow.

"What are you doing...?"

Tamaki smirked at him.

"Documenting Bakugou's ass whooping. For posterity."

"Uh... okay...?"

"Guys! Look!"

Toru pointed a gloved hand towards the screen, who was now displaying Ochaco.

---

-Ground Beta-

"Someone's coming, and he's fast! Hide, quickly!"

Mezo urged Ochaco through her earpiece, prompting the latter to take cover behind a corner.

True enough, Tenya ran past Ochaco at breaknecking speed, speaking loudly while doing so.

"Bwahahahahaha! Surrender, Heroes! Our evil masterplan will succeed while you will fail miserably! MUAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

Ochaco had to refrain herself from bursting out laughing at Tenya's silly villainous speech.

"Coast's clear. Keep moving along the corridor, but stay close to the wall... detecting noises and sounds is getting harder with Bakugou's explosions running amok..."

Mezo instructed his teammate, although the last part worried Ochaco a bit.

"I hope Deku-kun is doing alright..."

---

*boom!*

"You-! STAND STILL DAMNIT!"

Katsuki roared as he tried for the umpteenth time to blast Izuku at point blank, but was once again stopped by the latter, who merely deflected the attack by either blocking or parrying the incoming assault.

Katsuki regained his bearings and tried to take his opponent by surprise...

*BOOM!*

*fwooosh!*

... by generating a smoke screen with a suppressed explosion. He grinned.

"Heh, no matter how good you are at evading! You can't deflect an attack you don't see comin-"

*THUD!*

"Gah!"

Katsuki cried as something smashed against his nose, again. The only thing he recorded before he was hit was what appeared to be a sheathed katana flying towards his face.

Indeed, as soon as Izuku's vision darkened, he wasted no time. Grabbing Kusabimaru with two hands, he threw it towards the smoke. When he was sure he had hit his target after hearing Katsuki's groan of pain, Izuku rushed towards the sound and, after approaching the blond, used both hands to violently slap his ears, dizzying him. Reflexively, Katsuki tried to strike with his right arm, but Izuku countered by grabbing his wrist and pulled it towards himself, hitting the boy in the throat with a well-aimed elbow strike. Finally, he roundhouse kicked the blonde's diaphragm, knocking him down once again.

Katsuki skidded far from the green-haired teen, gasping from the violent impact to the chest. Izuku merely readjusted Kusabimaru onto his hip, and pressed his earpiece.

"Uraraka-san, Shoji-kun, how's it going on your part?"

It took a couple of seconds for one of his teammates to copy.

"So far, so good, Midoriya. Uraraka has reached the bomb, but Ashido is guarding it. Do you need assistance?"

Glancing towards Katsuki, who was getting up on shaky legs, he answered.

"I'm fine for now, thanks. If you can, join Urara-"

*click!*

"...?"

Izuku couldn't finish, as an ominous clicking sound was heard behind him, so he turned.

He found himself staring at Katsuki, who was now standing on his two feet, looking all beaten up. His face was scratched because of the attrition against the rough floor, and his nose was bleeding once again. He was now glaring at Izuku while having one of his arms pointing at him with an open palm, while the other was holding the pin on the large gauntlet.

Katsuki himself was frothing with rage.

"Deku..."

He growled. Izuku turned to fully face him, his eyes narrowed.

"You and that bitch helped me with the preliminary design of my costume, remember? So you know what will happen when I remove this pin..."

Still silently glaring at Katsuki, Izuku firmly grabbed Kusabimaru.

"I never thought I'd be forced to use it against an extra like you..."

"This extra just kicked your ass, Kacchan."

Izuku retorted, slurring the last word. The blonde snarled back.

"Yeah, you did... you've turned out to be a decent fighter..."

At this, Izuku could only rise both eyebrows in surprise.

Did Katsuki Bakugou just compliment him...?

His thought were interrupted when a loud voice crackled into the earpieces of the two teens.

"Young Bakugou! Whatever you're about to do, stop immediately!"

All Might's warnings fell on deaf ears, as Katsuki, with an almost crazed look on his face, fully pulled the pin.

.

.

.

.

.

And then a loud and massive explosion shook the building.

---

Earlier

*splat!*

"Gyah!"

Ochaco exclaimed as she narrowly avoided a blob of acid that was thrown towards her, courtesy of Mina.

"Stay still!"

The pink alien-looking girl pouted-yelled, before chucking another volley of acid towards the brunette, who in the meantime was communicating with Mezo.

"Shoji-kun, I could really use some help here!"

*splosh!*

"I'm on my way, but I have to be careful, otherwise I might run into Iida. Please try to hold on for another couple of minut-"

*KA-BOOOM!*

What seemed to be a huge explosion interrupted the conversation between the two, as well as stopping everyone on their tracks.

"W-What the heck was that?!"

Mina exclaimed.

"An explosio-wait...!"

"Deku-kun!"

Concerned, Ochaco tried to contact Izuku, but the only thing that she heard from her earpiece were statics.

*FWOOOSH!*

Just then, Tenya came into the room, braking a few feet away from the gravity girl.

*CRASH!*

But the speedster couldn't say a word, as the floor exploded, with two emerging figures bursting out of the rubble and dust.

---

-Observation Room-

"What's going on in there?! Young Midoriya?! Can you hear me?!"

All Might shouted worriedly into a small microphone, trying to reach his students.

The others were watching the events unfold on the screen with varying levels of concerns.

.

.

.

.

.

Except Tamaki.

Weirdly enough, the ravenette was completely calm, although her eyes were narrowed in slight anger at the reckless stunt that Katsuki pulled onto her best friend.

"Kotatsu-san, are you alright?"

Momo addressed her once noticing the girl's lack of a reaction to what just happened.

"I'm fine, Yaoyorozu-san."

"Please, 'Momo' is fine."

She corrected her with a smile, before looking back at the large monitor.

"Aren't you worried about Midoriya?"

"Not at all. That was nothing. He already won after all."

Momo looked at her curiously.

"How can you tell...?"

Tamaki smiled.

"I just know. Trust me."

---

-Nuke's Room-

Mina, Ochaco and Tenya looked flabberstagged at what just happened.

First, the entire building shook from a massive explosion, then the ground of the floor they were in bursted out, filling the room with debris and dust, obscuring the vision of the teens. Once it settled, two figure could be seen in the middle of the mayhem.

Izuku was standing on his two feet, a sheathed Kusabimaru in his hand. The left part of his upper costume was severely scorched and still smoking, with the skin on the arm a pinkish color due to taking the heat of Katsuki's attack.

As for the latter, he was unconscious, being held by the collar of his costume by the greenette. The right side of his face was heavily bruised and slightly bleeding.

"..."

Silently, Izuku took in the room he found himself in, glancing at the ones present and then at the nuke, assessing the situation. Ochaco was the first to break out of her stupor.

"De-"

*fwooosh*

Wordlessly and not giving his teammate a chance to finish uttering his name, Izuku tossed Katsuki towards Tenya as if the blonde was a ragdoll. The bespectacled boy intercepted his flying companion and caught him by reflex, but that was enough to leave an opening for Izuku to exploit.

The former, with a flick of his fingers, generated a circle of emerald flames that surrounded Mina, trapping her in place.

"Wha-Hey!"

She protested as she recoiled from the sudden heat that enveloped her.

"Uraraka-san, make yourself weightless!"

Izuku ordered, and the brunette wasted no time. After using her own Quirk on herself, Izuku unsheathed Kusabimaru and raised the scabbard above his head.

"Catch!"

He yelled, before throwing the aforementioned object towards Ochaco, who widened her eyes in fear.

"W-Wai-!"

*thud!*

"Augh!"

Grasping the sheath with both arms, the gravity girl recoiled from the sudden impact. Adding the fact that she was now weightless, the inertia caused her to move backwards, towards the end of the room...

*thud!*

... right against the nuke.

A loud horn blared through the building.

"T-The weapon has been secured! The Hero Team wins!"

And just like that, All Might ended the exercise.

---

-Observation Room-

"See? I told you he was going to win."

Tamaki beamed while stroking Nekomata's head.

{That's our Izuku-bo for y'all! A terrifying mix of brain and brawn!~}

The talking cat purred. Then the ravenette huffed.

"I'm still going to kick him in the shin for treating Ochaco-chan so roughly, tough!"

While Tamaki and Nekomata were chatting, the rest of their classmates were still gawking at what just happened.

"Holy shit..."

Kyoka muttered. Momo agreed on the sentiment.

"Not the choice of words I'd have used, but yes."

All Might, instead, was musing at Izuku's display.

.

.

.

.

.

"Midoriya-san, you trained a beast!"

---

Later

*jiiiiii*

With the most dramatic pout she could muster, Ochaco was glaring with narrowed eyes at Izuku, looking like an angry chipmunk.

The boy, on his part, could only glance away awkwardly as he walked with his teammates back to the observation room. Once inside, they were immediately swarmed by their classmates, with Eijirou being the first to speak up.

"Holy crap, guys! That fight was sick! All of you were so cool! So manly!"

Tamaki rolled her eyes at that.

"How did you even survive Bakugou's attack?!"

Mineta cried, before looking around the room.

"Where is he, anyway?"

Mezo chimed in, with one of his mouths speaking out.

"Ashido and Iida helped the bots carrying Bakugou to the infirmary. Midoriya beat him up pretty badly."

"*cough* Sorry, not sorry. *cough*"

Izuku muttered under his breath. Tsuyu approached him.

"That was awesome, Midoriya-chan. You sure know your way around a fight. Ochaco and Mezo did great with their support roles, too."

The gravity girl smiled somewhat bashfully, while the masked teen bowed his head in gratitude. Meanwhile, Tamaki walked over to Izuku, and true to her previous words, delivered a mean kick to the boy's right shin.

*thud!*

"Ow! What was that for?!"

"For being a jerk to Ochaco-chan!"

She protested, before calling over her friend.

"Here you go, girl! Some mochi for the winner!"

As Ochaco happily indulged herself on the prize, Izuku huffed.

"To be fair, the original plan was suppoused to be... 'smoother', but then Bakugou blew it all up (no pun intended) and I had to improvise."

He turned to the mochi-eating monster with an apologetic look.

"Sorry for handling you like that, Uraraka-san. But I would have never done it if I hadn't been sure you would make it. Anyway, great job."

Then he addressed Mezo.

"The same goes for you, Shoji-kun. You are a phenomenal tracker."

The giant shook his head slightly.

"You're too kind, Midoriya. I wish I could've done more for what concerned the actual fight."

Momo interjected.

"That's nonsense, Shoji-kun. Certainly, Midoriya-san was the brain of the team, but it's only thanks to your direction if Ochaco-chan managed to locate the room with the bomb. Support roles are just as important, if not more so , than lead roles. Not all missions rely on fighting, yes?"

Mezo looked pensive for a moment.

"When you put it that way, I guess you're right. Thank you for the advice."

"Ahem!"

All Might cleared his throat, getting his students' attention of him. Immediately after, both Tenya and Mina entered the room, joining the others.

"'sup, guys? Sorry for the delay, but Bakugou's gauntlets weight more than you could imagine..."

The pinkette groaned as she rubbed one of her aching shoulder. The speedster, enthusiastic as always despite his defeat, raised his hand.

"Sensei! Did we miss our review on the exercise or not?!"

"Easy now, Young Iida. We just looked over the Hero's Team performance for now, you're right on time for yours!"

Addressing the whole class, he posed the questions.

"What about the Villain Team? Any houghts? What could they have done differently to emerge victorious?"

Momo spoke up with a raised hand.

"Arguably, the most prominent error was that Bakugou shouldn't have ditched his companions to start a fight against Midoriya-san on his own. Reckless behaviour aside, the big blast he unleashed in order to hit his opponent was utterly foolish. If that was a real life situation on the field, he could've easily injured a civilian or another Pro Hero, not to mention the amount of collateral damage. Once he realized that he couldn't defeat Midoriya-san, he could've either retreat to plan a better strategy, or reunite with his teammates."

She gestured towards the latters.

"The only mistake Mina-chan and Iida-san are accountable for, is their late reactions under unexpected circumstances. Midoriya-san's sudden appereance into the room they were in caught them by surprise, and he used it to his advantage by trapping both the Villains and securing the weapon shortly after."

Momo put her hands on her hips and nodded.

"That concludes my analysis."

"Mhm, I see."

Tenya pondered. He then removed his helmet and held it under his arm.

"I was too slow to react and act accordingly. I could've set Bakugou down and used my Quirk to move the bomb away from Uraraka's reach. Thank you for the lesson and the advice! I shall not disgrace myself like this ever again!"

He bowed his head rigidly, prompting Izuku to chuckle.

"Don't worry about it, Iida-kun. We're here to learn, are we not? As long as you acknowledge your shortcomings, you can always improve and overcome them."

Tamaki giggled.

"How would Jin-san feel knowing that his nephew is quoting him?"

{Eh, his head woul become waaay bigger than it already is!~}

All Might laughed heartily.

"Well said, Young Midoriya! I couldn't have word it better myself!"

The Pro Hero then looked at his tablet.

"Well, that concludes the first team's battle! Who's next?"

---

Later

After the battle between Teams A and C, it was the turn of the remaining squads to clash against one another. Izuku, of course, took the opportunity to observe and analyze the Quirks of his classmates.

After a while, it was finally Tamaki's turn.

She and her companions, Eijiro and Hanta, were given the Villain designation, while their opponents, Shoto, Momo and Minoru, were the Heroes.

Stretching her legs, Tamaki began discussing the upcoming battle with her teammates.

"Well, guys, here we go. No need for me to remind you, but I might as well..."

She started hopping on the spot.

"We're about to face off against two recommended students. One is a powerhouse, while the other is crafty and super smart with an equally strong and unpredictable Quirk."

Eijiro raised a hand.

"What about Mineta?"

Hanta gave his own input.

"If I had to guess, he'll take on the support role. He Might try to trap us with his Quirk, maybe by taking us by surprise."

"Precisely."

Tamaki agreed with him.

"That's why you're going to take care of him, Sero-kun. You are both ranged fighters, so you would cancel each other out as far as your Quirks are concerned. It's up to you to try and get the better of him."

Then she glanced at Eijiro.

"Instead, you will be our pointman, Kirishima-kun. How much damage can you take with your Quirk?"

The red-haired teen grinned widely, before smashing his hardened fists together, sparks flying from the impact.

"Eh, a lot, trust me!"

"Good."

Tamaki stopped hopping, nudging her head towards the bomb.

"I'll stay here, guarding the bomb. Try to engage either Momo-chan or Todoroki-kun, but absolutely avoid attacking them both. You will be overwhelmed."

Eijiro nodded vigorously. Hanta gave her a thumb up.

"BEGIN!"

Everyone got into position.

---

Earlier

"... and that sums up the plan. Understood?"

Momo questioned her teammates, but she realized it was a futile effort to even try to discuss any strategy with them.

Why?

Well, with Minoru doing nothing but ogling her as if she was a piece of meat and drooling all over the place, and Shoto showing no interest whatsoever to the girl's words...

Momo sighed.

"Todoroki-san, talk to me. Your role is of fundamental importance for the success of the pla-"

"It doesn't matter."

"Excuse me...?"

"It'll all be over in an instant."

"What do yo-"

"BEGIN!"

*slam!*

A few seconds after the start of the exercise, Shoto brought his right foot onto the ground.

*FWOOOSH!*

And just like that, a wave of ice engulfed the building, freezing it all over from the outside. Two distinct male voices cried in what apperead to be surprise, and that was enough for the heterochromatic boy.

"You two stay here, otherwise you would end up being trapped by the ice. I'm going in."

Both Momo and Minoru were left gobsmacked at Shoto's display of power, with the grape-headed midget stopping leering at the girl, if it was of any indication.

Shoto strolled inside, walking past the utterly frozen rooms and corridors, trying to locate the objective. Eventually, he found himself in the largest room, which was the equivalent of the same space where Izuku and Katsuki faced off. Glancing around, he found the nuke, but then stopped.

"Huh...?"

The bomb was placed in the farthest part of the room, nearly against the wall. But unlike the rest of the building, it wasn't frozen solid. Instead, the object itself and a small area around it was completely free from the ice that Shoto unleashed shortly before.

"No matter. I just have to-"

"Jeez, that's a bit too much, don't you think?"

"...!"

Whipping his head upwards, towards the source of the voice that interrupted his thoughts about him, the dual-colored teen stared at Tamaki, who in return stared back at him.

She was sitting atop one of the pillars, whose tip was uncovered from the ice. She was on all four, and Nekomata was flaring from her body, with the fiery ears and tails on full display.

"But hey, I guess that's a recommended student for you."

Hopping down from her spot, she shrugged off her loose jacket, then assumed a Beom Seogi stance.

"Get ready."

That was all she said, before a wave of ice came her way.

---

-Observation Room-

"Wow, Todoroki is certainly not holding back..."

Denki whistled, impressed with the boy's sheer power, as was everyone else.

"I mean, he is the son of the Number Two Hero."

Rikido added, before frowning a little.

"Although, as powerful as he is, venturing inside alone with no support whatsoever is a little rash, don't you all think?"

"I agree wholeheartedly."

Izuku replied.

"Relying on your own strenght or Quirk can only get you so far. You can either end the battle in an instant, or you're screwed. Especially if you're opponent is a perfect counter for you."

He nudged his head towards the screen, where Tamaki had just assumed her stance. Ojiro widened his eyes.

"That's taekwondo!"

Smiling, Izuku nodded.

"Precisely, Ojiro-kun. Tamaki is a taekwondo and capoeira practitioner."

Mina tilted her head in confusion.

"Capowhat now?"

"'Capoeira'."

Ojiro corrected her.

"It's a Brazilian martial art that combines elements of dance, acrobatics and even music. It is known for its acrobatic and complex maneuvers, so it's very hard to master."

"No way!"

Mina's eyes sparkled.

"So Tamaki-chan knows how to dance, too?! I should invite her for some girls' night outs some time!"

Izuku chuckled.

"Trust me, you don't want to do that. Her kicks pack one hell of a punch..."

He winced, remembering some of the most intense sparring sessions they had, where he found himself on the receiving end of one his best friend's kicks.

"Hey, they're about to start!"

One of Mezo's mouth spoke up, and everyone redirected their focus onto the broadcasted battle.

---

-Ground Beta-

*FWOOOSH!*

Time seemed to stop for Tamaki as the incoming wave of ice moved inexorably towards her. Her golden eyes shined a bright yellow.

Wrapping one of her tails around her right leg, she prepared her counterattack. Balancing on the left leg, she raised the other one high, keeping it bent. Just when the ice was this close from hitting her...

*WHAM!*

... Tamaki delivered an outward crescent kick. The force of the blow, coupled with the heat of Nekomata's tail, generated a heatwave that completely dispersed her opponent's attack. Steam and water flew away, slightly obscuring the girl.

"Tch...!"

Annoyed at the sudden turn of events, Shoto generated another wave of ice, slightly bigger that the previous one. However, when the steam cleared, he noticed too late that Tamaki had moved from her previous position.

Just before he unleashed the second attack, she got into all four and, after gathering enough strenght in her legs, she launched herself towards one of the pillars. Once there, she did not lose her momentum and leapt off to her new target, Shoto.

The boy in question registered her movement too late in his peripheral vision, and when he turned to her-

*fwhip!*

-Tamaki landed, always crouching on all four, behind the boy. Immediately afterward she wrapped her tails around each of his legs. And finally-

*SLAM!*

-with a violent tug, Shoto ended unceremoniously on the floor, hitting his head. Hard.

"Urk...!"

The boy grunted in pain the moment his nape made contact with the hard concrete. But having no intention of giving his opponent the match, he immediately placed the palm of his right hand on the floor and-

"SHOTO TODOROKI HAS BEEN NEUTRALIZED!"

"What...?!"

Heterochromatic eyes widened in disbelief, stopping the motion with his hand completely. Trying to get up in a hurry, he noticed that his ankles were wrapped in what was the capture tape they had received at the beginning of the exercise.

"..."

Shoto merely stared at his trapped limbs, not noticing Tamaki leaving the room. She pressed her earpiece.

"Kirishima-kun! Sero-kun! I got rid of Todoroki, how are you guys doing?"

She hurried through the hallways. One of her teammates finally answered.

"Heh, you're about to find out...!"

"Sero-kun, wha-"

"MOMO YAOYOROZU AND MINORU MINETA HAVE BEEN NEUTRALIZED! THE VILLAIN TEAM WINS!"

Tamaki came to a stop abruptly, ending up bumping against the wall at the end of the corridor.

---

-Observation Room-

"Ooowww..."

Tamaki moaned in pain as Ochaco pressed a cold compress on her forehead, now bright red and slightly scratched from the harsh impact she suffered earlier.

"There, there, Tamaki-chan. You were amazing back there!"

"Yeah!"

Exclaimed and overly excited Toru.

"Way to take one home for the girls, Tamaki-chan!"

"Hey, we did great too, you know..."

Hanta mumbled while shaking off some of the ice that was still stucked to his costume. The invisible girl tilted her head (or at least, that's what she seemed to have done, judging by the pose of her body).

"By the way, how did you and Kirishima-kun get free...?"

The redhead in question grinned.

"Heh, when I got trapped I hadn't used my Quirk yet. I just had to activate and deactivate it a couple of times to weaken the ice enough to free myself. Then I freed Sero..."

"... and we headed outside, where we knocked out Yaoyorozu and Mineta."

Eijiro and Hanta fist-bumped each other. Tamaki groaned.

"A little notice would've been appreciated..."

She rubbed the sore spot on her forehead, where Ochaco placed a fresh plaster. The two boys chuckled, before the whole class' attention was called by their teacher.

"And with that we have concluded today's mock battles. Before leaving, however, the usual practice."

Crossing his arms, he eyed the teens.

"So, what is it that the two teams did right or wrong?"

A hand shot up among the group, and to everyone's surprise considering the outcome of the battle, it was Momo's.

"As much as I am ashamed to say it, our team's performance was rather lacking and poor-executed."

Sighing she gestured towards Shoto.

"I don't want to sound like the classic sore loser who puts the blame on the individual, but if Todoroki-san had followed the plan I had come up with, staying with me and Mineta and collaborating as a team should..."

She shot a bitter look towards the heterochromatic boy.

"... we would have had a better chance of success. We certainly wouldn't have lost so badly."

Shoto, still with his impassive gaze, argued back.

"My Quirk was enough to ensure victory."

"Being confident is not a mistake in itself, Young Todoroki."

All Might chimed in, before a full out argument could erupt.

"But unfortunately, it can become a double-edged sword. You mustn't let it lead to arrogance. True, your Quirk is a powerful and remarkable one, but as you have seen, it was easily countered by both Young Kotatsu and Young Kirishima."

He pointed to the aforementioned students.

"You could've at least made sure that Young Sero and Young Kirishima were unable to free themselves by using your capture tape to eliminate them. Never assume that your opponent is out of the game. You must be absolutely scrupulous about it, understood? If this wasn't a simulation, but a real life situation, I can assure you that the collateral damage would have been terrible."

Those last words were enough to give shot Shoto pause. Looking down, he adopted a downtrotten expression for a moment. After that, he raised his head and looked at his teacher straight into his eyes.

"I undestand, All Might. I'll do better next time. I promise."

The Pro Hero nodded with a smile.

"That's all I can ask of you."

After tapping his tablet a couple more times, he called out his students one last time.

"For today, let's end it here. Despite being your first time with battle training, you all did great. Sure, some did better than the others, but don't let it discourage you! Just like Young Midoriya said earlier, as long as you acknowledge your shortcomings, you can always improve and overcome them! Go Beyond...!"

"... Plus Ultra!"

The class exclaimed cheerfully.

---

Later

-Girls' Locker Room-

*click!*

With an audible click, Tamaki safely placed her costume into its own suitcase, before putting it on the bench near her locker.

Now dressed in only her undergarments, she stretched her arms and back, sighing contently.

*boing!*

"Kyah!"

Alas, Tamaki's relaxation lasted for four seconds, before someone came from behind her and groped her breasts.

"Wha-Mina!"

The ravenette complained as the pink alien-looking girl grinned devilishly at her.

"Daaamn, Tamaki-chan! You're no Yaomomo, but you sure are stacked, am I right?"

She emphasized her word by squeezing Tamaki's chest, making her squirm.

"*ngh!* Mina, s-stop!"

Thankfully, Kyoka saved her by whipping one of her jacks at the pinkette, earning a pained yelp from the latter.

"Be nice."

The rocker girl chastised.

"Awww, come on! I was just teasing!"

Mina snickered, scooting closer to Tamaki.

"Ooor maybe you're saving yourself for Midoriya, am I right? Or am I right?!"

At this, Tamaki blushed atomic red, releasing some flames by accident.

"Wha-! Careful, Tamaki-chan!"

Ochaco fretted, using a towel to put out the fire. The ravenette's reaction was enough proof for Mina, who giggled at the display with all the others.

"I knew it! The childhood friends trope never fails!"

Toru squealed while swaying from side to side.

"Stooop...!"

Tamaki whined, covering her burning face with both hands. Tsuyu came to her rescue.

"That's enough teasing, girls. We don't want her to burn the whole school down, kero."

She tilted her head to the side.

"Although, I really have to tell you, Tamaki-chan. You and Midoriya-chan are really close to each other, you can't fault us for thinking that you two were a couple."

The ravenette, after regaining some of her composure, finished dressing in her uniform.

"Well... It's..."

She struggled to find the right words.

"Izu and I are not dating..."

She turned her head away.

"... yet."

She added the last part in a low voice, which earned a loud squeal from the most lively girls and some giggles from the mild-mannered ones.

"I have known Izu for a lifetime, and I know he nearly worked himself to death to get to where he is now, to fulfill his dream of becoming a Hero. Risking to sabotage all the hard work he put into that just to start a relationship... I don't think it's really the right time, you know...?"

Mina shot her a thumbs-up with a wide smile.

"No worries, Tamaki-chan! We got ya covered! If you ever need some love advice, all you have to do is ask!"

The twin-tailed girl smiled in response, and, when the others were done changing, they made their way towards the door.

*SHINK!*

.

.

.

.

.

Until the tip of what looked like a katana came out from the wall.

---

Earlier

-Boys' Locker Room-

"... there."

Izuku nodded after he was done cleaning Kusabimaru blade with a cloth. Having carefully sheathed his katana, he began to cover it with a new set of bandages.

"Wow, Midoriya, that's some mad care for a sword!"

Eijiro exclaimed, having been eyeing the green-haired teen's handiwork for a while while he was changing out of his costume. The latter chuckled.

"As my uncle always says, 'a Midoriya may forget to breathe, but he can never, ever afford to forget to take care of his blade'."

Izuku recited with a raised finger, earning a starry-eyed "manly!" from the red-head.

"Sword obsession aside, that was a really dope fight, man!"

Said an overly excited Denki.

"Thanks, Kaminari-kun. But I want to point out that it was a group effort. Shoji-kun and Uraraka-san did great, too."

"Yeah! Your teamwork was something else! The thing with Bakugou kinda took me by surprise... you ok, by the way?"

Denki pointed towards the arm that was slightly burned from the large explosion that Katsuki unleashed during the exercise. Izuku shrugged said limb.

"Eh, it's fine. Nothing that Recovery Girl and some rest won't be able to cu-"

*SLAM!*

Izuku couldn't finish the sentence, as a certain explosive blonde slammed his locker, making everyone in the room jump. Without waiting to witness the reaction of the others, Katsuki grabbed his stuff and stomped out of the room.

"What's his deal? I understand being a little annoyed for losing, but damn..."

Hanta frowned. Izuku merely sighed.

"I hope this defeat will help him get off the pedestal he's been putting himself on since he got his Quirk."

Finishing with wrapping Kusabimaru, Izuku gathered his belongings and turned towards the exit, until someone caught his eys.

"Mineta-kun, what are you doing...?"

He asked the midget, who was hugging the wall on the farthest side of the room.

"Hehehe... you noticed it too, Midoriya..."

Izuku raised an eyebrow, stepping closer to him. Mineta moved to the side, showing a poster that was about to break away from the wall it was fixed to, revealing a small hole.

"Is that...?"

"EXACTLY!"

Mineta yelled, a crazed look on his face.

"THE LEGACY OF OUR UPPERCLASSMEN! You all know what's behind this wall, don't you?!"

Realization struck the boys like one of Denki's lightnings. Obviously, the first to recover could only be Tenya.

"Mineta-kun! Stop this at once! Peeping is definitely a criminal act!"

However, his warning fell on deaf ears, as Minoru was inching closer towards the makeshift peephole.

"My little Mineta is already a criminal act!"

"Mineta-kun! STOP!"

Again, Minoru ignored the bespectacled boy, and was mere centimeters from his goal. Drool was leaking from his mouth.

"Hehehe... Hagakure's floating underwear... Ashido's slender waist... Yaoyorozu's ample yaoyoro-boobs... Uraraka's fine uraraka-body... Asui's unexpected boobies... Kotatsu's gorgeous curv-"

*SHINK!*

Silence fell upon the room as Minoru's perverted rant was put to a stop.

More precisely, from Izuku who threw Kusabimaru at him. The blade was now embedded onto the wall, right on the same spot where the hole was.

.

.

.

.

.

Mere millimiters from Minoru's head.

All the boys turned their heads to the one responsible for the throw, and noticed Izuku smiling with his eyes closed.

.

.

.

.

.

Did the room just got colder or...?

"I'm sorry Mineta-kun. I got distracted for a moment and Kusabimaru slipped out of my grasp. Forgive me so much for interrupting you, what were you saying?"

He started walking towards the katana to retrieve it, until he was towering over the grape-headed pervert. His creepy smile always present.

"So?"

Minoru was now shivering like a leaf, a small puddle of sweat forming at his feet.

*knock!* *knock!*

"Izuuu! Hurry up! I'm staaarving! You can kill the pervert on another daaay!"

Fortunately for him, the midget was saved by Tamaki's timely arrival. All Izuku did was shooting a last glare towards him while mouthing "first and last warning". He then recovered Kusabimaru and left the room.

.

.

.

.

.

"Oookay, just to be clear. Nobody here dare approach Kotatsu-san, 'kay?"

Denki questioned, and immediately after that, all of his classmates nodded vigorously.

---

Later

-Streets of Musutafu-

"Are you sure you don't want me to accompany you? I seriously don't mind."

Izuku asked his best friend, but Tamaki merely shook her head.

"Nah, it's fine. Mom just needs some spices that she forgot to get this morning."

He grinned.

"Tell me the truth, you're planning another one of your caustic concoctions, aren't you?"

"Mmmmuuu!"

Tamaki pouted with reddened cheeks.

"You better brace yourself, Midoriya-san! My next dish will be so good that you'll beg me for seconds!"

"Bold statement for someone who managed to burn water while cooking..."

"You...!"

In a cute display of indignation, the ravenette playfully kicked the boy's knee, making him chuckle.

"Kidding, kidding! If you're so serious about it, I'll look forward to it."

"Hmph! You better!"

Checking his smartphone, Izuku nodded.

"Okay then. Have a safe trip to the convenience store and back home, Tamaki. I'll see you tomorrow morning at the station, okay? Say hi to your mother for me."

He patted Tamaki's head, earning a soft purr from her.

"'kay! And don't you dare stay up late training!"

"Aye aye, ma'am."

He playfully saluted, before parting with the girl and heading home. Tamaki smiled after him and took the route that would lead her to the convenience store.

After about forty minutes, the girl was already walking towards her house, a plastic bag in her hand.

To kill the time, she fished out her phone to see if she got any new messages from the girls of Class 1-A. Tamaki was still a little bewildered by the ease with which she managed to bond with her female classmates.

It was a far cry from the open hostility the girls from her middle school showed her. Partly due to her closeness to Izuku, and partly... well...

Tamaki shook her head, trying to dispel painful memories and bad thoughts, redirecting her focus onto the group chat.

She was so caught up in texting that she didn't watch where she was going and felt a small force impact on the side of her left leg.

Startled, she looked to the side, and noticed a figure laying onto the ground, right in front of a dark alley...

.

.

.

.

.

... a small, white-haired girl.

---

Next Chapter:

A Unicorn, A Cat And A Wolf?!

---

MARTIAL ARTS TERMINOLOGY

Beom Seogi:

Also known as "Cat" or "Tiger Stance", is a stance used in taekwondo forms, where both knees placed close enough to touch each other. This is a stance to make both small and big motions easy toward the front or back. Both knees are placed close enough to touch each other with the heel of the front foot and the ball of the rear foot on a similar line. The heel of the front foot is off the ground while the center of gravity is almost on the rear foot.

---

EMBERS WORLD COMPENDIUM:

KUSABIMARU

An heirloom of the Hirata Clan.

Kusabimaru has the appearance of a standard katana. The handle, as well as the scabbard, are black. The tsuba (hand guard) has a mokko gata shape, with small floral motifs engraved on it. The blade has a bo-hi (the fuller, running almost the length of the blade) and lacks any visible hamon (wavy lines along the blade).

Izuku received it from Yuriko Hirata when he was only four-years-old.

---

A/N:

Third chapter for Embers! "Embers"... Hah! Kinda ironic when I was writing the chapter during a massive heat wave here in Italy... Have I ever told you how much I freakin' hate high temperatures...? No...? Oh well...

Onto the chapter, dang it!

Tamaki:

We delved a little into Tamaki's past and family! We know that her late father, Dogen Kotatsu, was a firefighter and her main inspiration for becoming a Hero. For all of you who are reading this story and played Sekiro, her father's name should ring a few bell... hehe... *wink* I also decided to change the original design of her uniform from Fire Force to make it more... chaste, for a lack of better word. We also got a peek at her abilities. Tamaki's character, as a whole, always striked me as a kick-based fighter, that's why I decided to use taekwondo and capoeira as her main fighting styles. What do you guys think?

Izuku:

The main changes here are his costume, which is more combat-ready and practical, and his fight against Katsuki. Here we see a fiercer Izuku, who's not afraid to hit hard when the right time comes. He also got a bit of revenge on Bakugou, but hey, karma's a bitch, right? However, deep down, we saw that things between Izuku, Katsuki and Tamaki are more complex that what apperead on the surface...

And with this, I'm officialy done with this chapter! Now onto An Asura Is Born!

I hope you enjoyed the read! Have a nice weekend, everyone, and stay healthy!

Here, have some ice-cream. It's scorching out there! 🍨