Chapter 30 is rearing to go. Was really excited to write this especially the interview scene, it really hammers home ONE's feelings on certain things and allows the people to get a insight on who ONE is as a person. I hope you all pay close attention to that scenece because it was by farm my favorite part of this chapter, with plenty of references if you can spot them, PM me if you do. Enjoy because this is one of the fastest chapter's I've got out and I liked writing this. Let's go!

Chapter 30 The Symbol Of Hope

Gym Gamma

The students were hard at work on their ultimate moves, the whole gym was live with activity as many of them had gotten a grasp on what they wanted to do. They only had one more day of training before the exam and everyone was giving it their all. Bakugo was making the most progress with at least two new moves made and he was working to perfect them. Almost everyone else was able to come up with at least one, and they were all confident that they were ready for the exam, but that didn't mean the hard work stopped. ONE stood in front of Tokoyami who wanted to unveil a new move, "Come to me, Dark Shadow." With this order, Dark Shadow wrapped around Tokoyami like armor, "By covering myself with Dark Shadow, my strength is increased. I call it, "Abyssal Black Body"."

ONE smiled, "Impressive. You focused on overcoming your close combat weakness." ONE raised a hand, "Hit my hand as hard as you can. Let's test this increase in strength."

"Very well. Here I come, ONE!" He rushed at the hero and punched his hand with all his and Dark Shadow's strength.

ONE caught the punch, genuinely impressed at this increase, "Good job Tokoyami. That's definitely one weakness down. Now, let's see how it works in an actual fight." They were in a corner of the gym and he jumped back while getting into his stance, "Let's go!" Tokoyami rushed at him and the two began trading blows, the most glaring weakness to this was that Tokoyami's hand to hand skills needed to improve to make this move more effective.

Eraserhead look out at his students, hearing someone at the door he turned to see Small Might entering, "All Might?"

He leaned against the door, "Yeah I Am Here." He said dryly. He went into his muscle form, "Because I've got the day off and have nothing better to do!" He said much more upbeat before he deflated. He walked towards his fellow teacher, "So how are things going in here?"

"They all have a good handle on what they want to do for their ultimate moves, as you can see some are booming with creativity. "He said, turning to Bakugo.

The blond stood on a cement structure, with a wall of rock in front of him. He faced out his right hand while making a circle with his left and putting it in front of it, "Concentrate a blast through a single point." He fired an explosion that came out as a focused beam that pierced the wall of cement in front of him, "AP Shot!" He called out. When the attack finished he was proud of the hole he put in the wall in front of him, "Yes! I did it!" He exclaimed confidently.

All Might looked up at the blonde, proud of his progress. "I see that young Bakugo's doing well. No surprise there." He turned and watched the rest of the class train. He spotted ONE trading blows with Tokoyami, while it looked like a one sided beating he could tell he was forcing him to get better at hand to hand combat given his new move. He was proud of all his students, seeing the determination in all of them to improve was a true joy as a rock Bakugo just blasted began to break, and a large chunk of it flew towards the unsuspecting All Might.

Bakugo saw this, "Hey, look out!" He warned.

It all went in slow motion, the chunk flew towards All Might who never saw it coming. ONE deflected a swipe from Tokoyami and caught a glimpse of what was happening, he was about to leap into action when a flash of red caught his eye.

Momo threw a spin kick that completely shattered the chunk of cement, all eyes that were watching fell on her as she landed. She had a confident smile as she turned to the skinny, blonde, former hero. All Might gave her a look of intense pride, "Thanks for the save, young Yaoyorozu."

"It was no trouble at all, All Might."

ONE had stopped sparring with Tokoyami, "And here I wanted a chance to show off."

"Well next time be faster, ONE." She said slyly.

ONE had no words for that statement, All Might looked up at Bakugo who had a rare look of concern, "Sorry for the scare, young Bakugo."

The blonde's eyes shifted back to his usual angry one, he fired a blast, "You watch yourself All Might!"

The skinny man couldn't help but hold onto that statement, looking at his hand, "Watch yourself huh? I guess it only makes sense. To everyone else I'm a weakling now, someone who needs to be protected." He thought.

Hey~. I see you've gotten faster Yaoyorozu. And you've got more power behind your strikes."

"I remembered my training with Mirko during my internship. I still don't have an original attack that could be considered an ultimate move, but I do feel I'm ready for the exam."

"I agree with that." Said the voice of All Might who approached the two. "I'd say from that kick, you're definitely ready for this exam.

ONE sensed several people by the entrance he turned to see Vlad King walking in with Kendo and Monoma, "Hey Vlad."

The hero only gave a nod in response, "It's class B's turn to use the gym. Eraser, get your kids out of our way."

Eraser turned to his colleague, slightly annoyed, "You're not trying to kick us out when we have five whole minutes left are you?"

Monoma stepped up, "Hey, didn't you hear, the provisional exam has a fifty percent pass rate. That means your whole class might fail." He mocked them smugly.

Kaminari walked up behind ONE as Kendo walked up to speak to ONE, "Wait, is that Monoma's hero costume?" Kaminari asked Kendo.

"Well since his quirk is copy he said he didn't need anything too eccentric, just that."

Kaminari sweat dropped at the other blonde's antics, "This is him toned down?"

"I tried to talk to him but he wouldn't hear me. Like someone else I know." ONE said, entering the conversation. "Still, I find you all being pitted against each other in the same exam, a conflict of interest. You can either aid or sabotage each other."

Tokoyami called back Dark Shadow, "Unfortunately his words are correct. If we're in the same facility, we'll crush each other. That's the hand fate has dealt us.

Vlad King turned to him, "That's exactly why we organize it for class A and B to take the exam in separate locations. They're taken twice a year, one in July, the other in September."

Monoma let out a sigh of relief at hearing this, "Oh what a shame we won't be facing each other directly."

"Wow, this guy's nuts." Kirishima stated.

ONE shook his head, since he's been helping the first years it didn't take long for him to realize that Monoma's inferiority complex runs extremely deep. This all comes from an attempt to protect himself because he feels inferior to everyone around him because of his quirk's lack of offense. "You're not fooling anyone Monoma, I can sense you're actually relieved about this."

The blonde put up a fake smile so as to not show that ONE's seen right through him.

"Well since our training day is over, I think I'll head over to the support studio." Iida said.

"I'll go with you." ONE said as Vlad looked at him, "Don't worry I'll be back."

Minetta chuckled a little, "You're just hoping for another face full of Hatsume's boobs."

ONE looked at him unamused, Momo also noted the shift in the hero, "What is he talking about, ONE? You didn't do anything disgraceful did you?" She asked with a serious, no nonsense look.

ONE smiled sheepishly, "It's nothing. Hatsume blew up the design studio and I happened to be in the right place at the wrong time to end up in a compromising position with her."

"How compromising?" Kendo asked slyly.

Minetta smiled slyly, "Her on top and smothering him with her 10/10 boobs."

"Minetta, have some decorum. Iida, you ready?"

Yes, let's go." He walked towards the exit with ONE following him.

Kendo watched the two leave. She turned to Yaoyorozu, "Hey Yaoyorozu, do you like ONE?"

Momo wasn't expecting this question and couldn't help but blush, "I think he's an amazing person. What about you Kendo?"

"He's an amazing guy. I saw his video, I can't believe he's quirkless. But I guess I'd call him my hero crush."

Momo looked at her, completely unsurprised by that statement, "I see. I think we should have a sleepover with all the girls."

"I'm all for that. I'll ask my class and see what they say."

Support course design studio

ONE and Iida walked towards the support department. A lot's happened in the past few days. He's gone back and forth with several students, interested in the upgrades they want to make to their costumes. "So Hatsumei's done with your upgrades?" ONE asked the engine teen.

Iida chopped, "That's right. I wanted a way to improve the cooling process in my legs. Though she tried to give me a useless item that almost blasted me through the ceiling, she finally got it right."

"That girl's actually pretty amazing. I get what Power Loader said, you should definitely treasure your relationship with her. I've never met a support course student as talented or passionate as her."

"Her passion for what she does is truly inspiring." Iida said with a smile.

"Still can't believe she gets away with blowing up the studio as much as she does." ONE said as they arrived at the support department. He sensed a blast coming, "Look out!" He quickly warned Iida as the door blew open from an inward explosion. ONE sensed a familiar presence on the other side of the door before it exploded, and when it did, they went flying outside. He was able to catch them as smoke filled the hall, "Okay it's official, this is perfectly normal. You okay Melissa?" He asked the blonde he was holding up by her waist.

The American girl shook off the ringing in her ears and the fresh sting of the explosion, she opened her eyes upon registering the voice, "ONE?"

"Hello~, having a good day?" ONE asked with a warm smile.

Melissa registered his words, she then noted the hero was holding her up by her waist, pretty close to him. She started to blush, finding her words, "Yeah, pretty fine." She managed to say through her fluster.

ONE put her down, "That's great. Good to see you adjusting to life and UA."

She smiled at him, "It's been a fast adjustment. But I wasn't expecting this to be my new norm." She turned back to the room as the smoke cleared, "Speaking of which, Hatsume what the heck!" She exclaimed, more annoyed than angry as she went back inside to confront the pinkette.

"Sorry Shield, my baby still needs some work." She said, completely disregarding the blast just now.

"While I admire your passion, that's the second time this week your creative process could have killed me." She turned to the independent hero, "Thank you, ONE."

Hatsumei perked up excitedly, a huge smile on her face as she registered the Independent hero who walked in with Iida. In a flash she was in his face, "You're back!"

"Hello Hatsume." ONE said cordially.

The pinkette had been all over him since he first came to the support department, insisting that she make him an item despite his polite insistence that he didn't need anything. "So what baby can I whip up for you today ONE?"

"I told you I'm fine for the time being. I love your passion but if I took gear from someone else my sidekick might get upset." He said with a playful smile.

Hatsume's eyes and smile widened at these words, "Your sidekick made this suit?!" She quickly shifted and started feeling on ONE. "I can't tell if it's just your muscles or the suit, but you're pretty tough aren't you?"

"It's a little bit of both, my sidekick did a good job on making this suit the most efficient it could be."

"I can tell! Who is your sidekick anyway?"

ONE smiled innocently at her, "C'mon Hatsume you know I can't tell you that."

She quickly turned around, "Worth a shot! I have to get back to making new babies so BYE~!"

ONE raised a finger, "We're actually here for Iida's upgrades."

She turned back to him, "Oh yeah, that."

In an undisclosed location

Takae Tachibana sat in a darkly lit room by herself, this was her meditation room. Strengthening and maintaining her mental fortitude was one of the most important lessons she's ever learned and she would need it to be at its peak for what was coming. Her team was small, but strong, and each of them possessed the strength and abandon to reach their individual goals. Which all happen to coincide at the moment. It's been a long couple of days, she wasn't so heartless to throw the injured LOV out, but that didn't mean she wanted them around either. It didn't take long to heal them, but they were starting to become too comfortable. On top of that Tomura has been in a mood since AFO was locked up, and ONE's recent accolades had him oozing with malice. Her team tolerated them more than she did, but they were quickly wearing out their welcome. She sat crisscrossed on the floor, she had quitted the storm of her mind when she felt a presence outside the door. Opening her eyes, "Come in Kurogiri."

The black mist slid the door open and came in, he was wearing dress clothes befitting a bartender. "Hello Tachibana." He said to the back of the woman who was still sitting.

"I assume your presence here is that you've found a place for you all to go?"

"Yes, I have found a new place for us to hide out, we'll be out of your hair shortly."

"Good." Her eyes drifted to the right, sensing the black mist wanted to ask him something. "Is there anything else you want to tell me?"

"Stain wanted me to tell you he needed to speak with you."

"I'll be right there."

"Alright. I'm going to check on Tomura Shigaraki."

Takae bit her tongue, annoyed with the fact he always addresses him by his full name. "You do that. Remind him again that if I find out he's used his quirk on a single thing in the place he won't have hands to use it again." She said while releasing a wave of Power Aura that froze Kurogiri with fear, hammering home her words.

Kurogiri couldn't stop his trembling. He wouldn't put it past Tachibana to kill Shigaraki if he stepped out of line, which was all the more reason he needed to find them a new place and get out of here. "I-I will. Excuse me."

Takae stood up and stretched, "Okay, let's go see what Stain wants. Not like I don't already know." She left the room and headed to where the hero killer was.

Stain was in the training hall, a new guardless sword in hand as he faced a practice dummy. In a flash of speed he struck it, causing it to burst into splinters. Stain looked at his sword, a satisfied smile on his face, "Finally. I'm ready to continue my work." He turned towards the entrance to the cast room and saw Spinner, Dabi and Toga watching him. Spinner was a little nervous, Dabi looked nonchalant, while Toga was clearly excited, "What do you three want?"

Dabi was the first to answer, "Sorry for spying on you, we're big fans."

Toga pumped her fists, "You're my hero Stain!"

"It's an honor to meet you." Spinner said, excitedly.

Stain looked at the three, eying them up, "You three are a part of the LOV. Why would you join a fool like Shigaraki?"

Again, Dabi spoke first, "Because I think you're right. I want to make your dream a reality."

"My dream? And what do you know of my ambition?"

Spinner stepped up, "We know your words rang true. This country is full of fake heroes who care more for money and fame than anything else. That's what your convictions taught us. Once someone takes payment, they're not a REAL hero anymore. If you want to change things you have to take action."

Stain listened to every word coming off their lips, and everything they said was angering him as it sounded so fake and nothing like him. "Shut your mouth."

All three of them were thrown off by this, "What?" Spinner asked, shocked and confused.

Stain started walking towards them, stopping when he was close enough. "You don't understand me, you don't even understand yourselves. You're just a bunch of sad children mad at the world and ended up here. Not one of you can even control where you're going, nor do you want to… Everything I do is to create a stronger society, but that doesn't mean villains can't become my targets. So instead of being fanatic fools, I suggest you be weary… Of me." His words were threatening and very much serious.

Stain's final words carried with them a wave of killing intent that terrified all three of them, "Well damn. You're more intense than I thought." Dabi said, suppressing his fear. Dabi made a blue flame burn from his right hand, "You're not the only one who has a goal to fulfill. How about we go a round?"

Spinner and Toga watched the situation unfold, neither one wanting to make a move. Stains words about killing villains was a very real threat. The tension was mounting between Dabi and Stain and it wouldn't take long for a fight to break out. Deep down Toga and Spinner were disappointed with the one who inspired them. Both were never understood by society and thought he of all people would understand them, but he essentially called them fake and sad children. Spinner was about to comment to try and diffuse the tension when a wave of pressure passed over them, he felt as if death itself was standing behind him as he also forgot to breathe.

"What is going on here?" They all registered the casual tone of Tachibana, too fearful to turn around and look at her. Dabi deactivated his quirk as she walked past them, noting the look Stain was giving them. "You three should pack any shit you have here. Kurogiri's found you a new place to hide out."

"You're kicking us out!" Toga exclaimed.

"I was always going to kick you out, this isn't a hotel. Plus I don't particularly like a single one of you." She paused for a moment, "I take that back. Twice is just enough to casually amuse me, but that's not enough to let you stay.

"Ouch, my feelings are hurt. So why did you help us in the first place?" Dabi asked.

"I'm not so heartless to throw injured people out in the cold. That being said, this was the final thing I ever intended on doing for Shigaraki. AFO's in jail, meaning the funds I was getting for babysitting him have dried up. Therefore I no longer have any reason to give a damn what happens to him and by extension, you all, from now on."

"Dang, you're brutal Takae." Toga commented.

"What did I say about calling me by my given name?" She cocked her head, gesturing to them to leave. "Scram, Stain and I need to talk."

None of them had the stones to argue and left the room, Stain watched them as they all left, "Fools, every one of them. Not a single one of them has vision, only sight. I'd have killed all three of them if you hadn't walked in just now."

"I know. Feel free to end them at your leisure if you like, but Kurogiri said you wanted to talk to me?"

Stain raised his sword, "Yes, I wanted to tell you I'm ready to get back to work."

"You've been doing great in your training since I brought you here. You've definitely gotten stronger. But I'm gonna need you for my plans moving forward."

Stain seemed to know what she was getting at, "So, you're finally doing "That"."

"She's been falsely imprisoned for too long. It's time to go get her."

Stain noted the conviction in her words, as well as the determination in her eyes. "FIne, I'll be there when you need me. When do you plan on doing this?"

"Two days from now, be ready."

"FIne." Stain sheathed his sword and walked past her.

Takae turned her head, not fully looking at the hero killer, "Don't do anything stupid, Stain."

"My work is anything but… And besides, I already have my next target."

As Stain left, Takae's eyes went to the corner of the room, "It's rude to spy on people, Gale."

The man in question landed from the ceiling without making a sound. His invisible body becoming visible, a breeze of air coming with him, a sly smile on his face as he addressed his leader, "How long have you known I was there?"

"From the moment I entered this room. Why were you hiding in here anyway?"

I was curious about Stain's training. He never would habe let me observe him without hiding and you know how moody he can be. Plus it reminded me of my shinobi training days." He smiled with his arms crossed.

"The same training you sucked at."

Gale gave her a murderous glare, "Watch your mouth." Tachibana merely gave him a nonchalant smirk, "Anyway, we're finally enacting the first step of your grand plan?"

"That's right. As I told Stain, it's time to go get Tsutsumi, and she'll be a pivotal piece to my plan moving forward. Speaking of which, how are things going on your end?"

The black haired man smiled casually, "It shouldn't be much longer. I need to check with some allies of mine to see if the final preparations are set."

Takae gave him a stern, analytical look, "Fine, keep me posted." She crossed her arms.

"Now what?" Gale asked.

"Nothing." She made her way to leave the training hall when Gale continued to speak, "You know, the wrench in our plans was even bigger than we ever imagined."

She turned to him, "You mean, ONE? A wrench in your plans maybe, not mine."

"We're talking about a hero with godly power who happens to be quirkless. How is this not a bad thing for all of us?" He asked her before thinking for a moment, "Wait, you already knew! You know who ONE is don't you?!"

"And what if I do? It's not like that could change anything. Just keep looking for your god or whatever, and stay on standby. We're making a move soon."

Gale crossed his arms as he watched her leave, "Noted." He thought, many questions still on his mind.

Tachibana made her way back upstairs, she could sense several LOV members on this floor and was heading to one room in particular. "Tachibana?"

She turned around to see her most loyal subordinate Satsuki Mimori. She was a petite woman, shorter than average with shoulder length black hair with a white headband in it, dark pink eyes with a white eye patch over her left. She wore a black gothic lolita dress and her body language exuded respect, "What is it, Satsuki?"

The woman bowed her head, "I want to let you know I found the hacker we've been looking for. Ironically she was difficult to track online, but once I linked her to the fool she shadows, finding her was easy. I haven't confronted them yet, I figured I'd leave that honor to you."

"Thank you, good job Satsuki." The woman merely gave a satisfied "Hpmh" in response with a grateful smile as she watched Tachibana walk away. While she was initially annoyed with having to be the one to heal the LOV she swallowed her reservations as it was a request from Tachibana. Nothing would ever stop her from being faithful to her, she was going to go against the world with the ash haired woman no matter how things turned out. Even if it meant she'd be replaced. She knew it was only a matter of time before Tachibana would free her from her shackles in Tartarus, and her plan would shake the entire country. She just hoped she'd always be beside her when it all went down.

"Your praise warms my heart." She said with a blush and a bright smile as she bowed her head.

Takae saw the woman's mood brighten considerably. She gave her a charming smile, "We'll be free of the idiots soon. Meet me in my room in half an hour."

Satsuki smiled excitedly, it was almost too much to take. She happily bowed her head, "Yes Ma'am!"

Tomura Shigaraki sat in his room, he had recovered physically, but his itching wouldn't stop and his desire to kill ONE was insatiable. Since AFO was beaten and locked away he's thought of little else. He couldn't even celebrate All Might's retirement; his bloodlust was so palpable. He needed a release for his frustrations, he needed a way to move forward, but nothing came to mind. He remembered the faith and expectations his master had for him, how everything was for him, but now that he's gone he can't even make a move because of ONE. Now that All Might's gone he's basically been replaced with someone not just stronger, but the same sickening symbol type. He turned around as he heard his door open and in walked Kurogiri, the black mist saw him vehemently scratching his neck, "We'll be leaving soon, Tomura Shigaraki." The red eyed man kept a creepy, angry expression, not even answering him. "How are you feeling?" The guardian asked, genuinely concerned.

There was a pause as the black mist's words filled the room, "It won't stop… I want to destroy. I want to destroy everything… Starting with ONE." The venom in his words created a scene of pure seriousness.

The serious energy of the room was interrupted by laughter. It was getting closer, just behind Kurogiri, Shigaraki could see Tachibana approaching the room, laughing as she entered. Noting the two men looking at her she composed herself, "oh, sorry, forgive me." She let out another chuckle, "I was laughing at you." Her words were aimed right at Shigaraki, who gave her a death glare. "Watch yourself Tomura, It's not wise to anger someone who's not only capable of, but willing to take your life." She returned a glare of her own, scaring the man-child, "So drop the look."

Shigaraki lowered his head, not attempting to call her threat. Kurogirl turned to the woman, "please forgive him, Tachibana. He's still adjusting to the master's absence."

"I've noticed." She looked around the room and noticed there wasn't a hint of decay anywhere, at least for now. "I just came to tell you It's time for you and your group to get lost. My team and I have actual important thighs we need to do and you all being here has been enough of a distraction."

"Like what?!" Shigaraki exclaimed, almost demanding an answer.

"Changing the world and making it stronger. That's all you need to know. I don't care where you all go, but you gotta get out of here and talk to each other about how pathetic all your lives are or whatever the fuck you talk about."

"So you don't care that the master's gone?" Tomura asked.

"Of course I care. He was my highest paying client. Now that he's gone it'll put a little dent in my pockets but nothing I can't handle because unlike you I'm always going to eat. AFO needed me, not the other way around. And that's the difference between me and any other idiot connected to him. You're his pawns, while he was my client. Whatever the job was, he knew if the money didn't match the headache that would come from it, not to call me."

"So the money is all you ever cared about? I'm not his pawn!" Shigaraki's eyes flashed with anger at that assumption.

"It's cute that you think that. You're free to do whatever you want, Tomura. Just know if you and your group of misfits get in the way of what we've got planned I won't hesitate to kill you all myself." He looked at her angrily, a sly smile spread across her lips, "I'm actually glad ONE took care of AFO, he'd have taken advantage of my plan in the worst way. This is perfect timing, All Might's retirement was just a bonus, and society's moving in the direction that will make this so damn easy." She thought, excited for her plan to set in motion.

"Tachibana, what is your end goal?" Kurogiri asked her, genuinely curious.

The ash-haired woman merely smiled, "Let's just say the word "Hero" is going to mean something when this is all over."

Both men took in her words, both unable to fully understand what she meant. While Kurogiri kept a clear mind, Shigaraki was fuming. "Hero" Just that word sent into a rage. Is she trying to help them in some way? He couldn't comprehend it after everything she's done, the master had told him a thing or two about her and warned him not to fight her under any circumstances. Noting that she doesn't see herself as a villain and that her retainer fee was the most likely the only thing keeping her from killing someone like him. It was time for the league to leave this place, he had no idea what to do next but Kurogiri finding them a place made things a little easier. His itching was driving him crazy as thoughts of ONE wouldn't leave his mind, whenever they met again he'd make it stop, permanently.

Gym Gamma

"AAAHHH!" Kendo roared out as she threw a punch at a wall of cement, breaking through it. She grit her teeth, disappointed as she messed up again, "Dang it, I still can't get it."

ONE stood behind her, arms crossed as he watched her train, "Don't become disheartened Kendo, you ARE making progress. I told you learning this technique wasn't going to be easy to learn. We've been at this for four days and you're almost there." He picked up a cement rock, "Trust me, once you've got the motion down, training becomes second nature. Remember, at its core this technique is a two pronged attack, the first blow uses your PIP joints, then quickly folding your hand to bring your knuckles down for the second punch. While this may seem like one punch it's actually a double layered hit that maximizes power into the blow." He ended this lesson by performing the technique correctly and the rock in his hands burst into dust from the impact. "It took me a week to learn this and even then I could only do it with my right hand. There's one full day of training left and I'm confident you can grasp the basics, keep up the hard work."

Kendo pumped her fists with new determination. The technique ONE was teaching her was called the Futae No Kiwami. According to ONE it was a technique invented by one of his masters and if she could master it it would give her a boost in power. "I will!"

"That's what I like to hear." He turned to his two o'clock and spotted Monoma, "Monoma looks a little lost over there, I'm gonna go help him out, wish me luck." He disappeared in a flash of speed.

"Yeah, good luck. You'll definitely need it with that weirdo." Kendo thought before she turned back to her training.

Monoma turned around when he heard the sound of someone appearing next to him, he wasn't surprised to see it was ONE. The hero waved, "Hello Monoma, making any progress?"

The blonde put up a fake smile, "I'm doing just fine, I've come up with a few strategies that will help us pass the exam. I can hold more quirks than before and for longer, this exam will be a breeze allowing us to easily crush class A."

ONE rolled his eyes behind his cowl, "You do realize this rivalry and or animosity towards class A is very one sided right?"

"Says you. Those egomaniacs love to hog the limelight. Proclaiming they're some much better than everyone else when they've caused every problem we've had this year." He shot back defensively.

"Or maybe, heroes don't get to pick and choose when they fight, So instead of running, whenever a crisis happens they act like heroes and take care of it. Allowing themselves to learn from each experience." The blonde had no response, "Monoma, why do you care so much about what people think of you? You clearly feel inferior to everyone around you because of your quirk but I sense it runs deeper than that."

Monoma turned to him, "I've heard it my whole life, "You can't be a superhero with that power"." He looked at his hand, "Sometimes being a hero means you have to embrace your worst qualities."

ONE crossed his arms, "Why I don't entirely agree with that, that's not what you do Monoma. All you do is try to make others feel bad to build yourself up. Creating a situation where you've lost out on a potential ally who would let you use their quirk." ONE sighed, "Monoma, I can't tell you what to do. But as someone who was also told they couldn;t be a hero because of their shortcomings , don't focus so much on others, just prove what you need to to yourself." He said before leaving to speak with Vlad King. Monama had a stoic expression, taking in ONE's words and unable to even throw a defensive remark.

The training day came and went with class B, each and every student benefited from his advice and was able to come up with suitable super moves to prepare them for the upcoming exam. ONE stood beside Vlad King as they faced the class after the training day, "You all have improved considerably. There's one more day of training, don't let me down!" Vlad exclaimed to the class with everyone giving the affirmations.

Training ended and the class began to disperse, some were going to the support department while others were just talking. It would be time for dinner soon and most of them would head back to the dorms. Kendo and Tokage walked up to ONE, "Another day of training in the books. How do you two feel?" ONE asked the girls.

"Sore." Tokage rescinded. , "But I'm feeling really confident about the provisional exam." She flexed her arm while gripping her bicep.

ONE smiled, "I love your energy, Tokage. But don't forget the best heroes are the ones who care the most. Being strong enough to beat the bad guys is just the most noticeable thing, but I guarantee you the person under the mask matters more than what they can do."

The lizard girl gave him a sharp tooth smile, "I got you."

Kendo built up the courage to ask him a question she's been wanting to ask since she saw him, "ONE?"

"What's up Kendo?"

The redheaded girl blushed, "Do you want to come to our dorm for dinner tonight?"

ONE's body language was calm, "I'm sorry, but class A already invited me to eat with them." Kendo was saddened by these words, "But dinner isn't for a while, I'd be happy to hang out until then."

"Of course, you play favorites with that degenerate class A." Monoma slyly commented.

"That's not how it is Monoma and you know it." ONE shot at the blonde.

ONE got between the girls and wrapped an arm around both their waists, "Let's go, shall we." Both girls brightened up at this as they left the gym followed by several of their classmates.

ONE spent the afternoon hanging out with class B up until it was time to eat dinner with class A. He had gotten a lot of work done today and it was nice to just link up and have fun with the students. Since the first day he came to help them train everyone was adamant at showing him their dorm rooms, by now he had seen all of class A and B. He also noted about the design of the dorms, neither dorm looked exactly the same with both having slightly different interiors. He enjoyed his time with the students as he knew that he would have to meet up with Fujioka for his interview later that same night. Almost all of the girls from class B and most of the boys were good company, it was fun getting a feel for each and every person's personalities. After waving goodbye to class B, promising to eat with them another time, he went and enjoyed a delicious dinner with class A, with both Hagakure and Ashido trying to feed him, much to Momo's masked annoyance. She wanted to spend time with her boyfriend but she had to pretend he wasn't her that, and knowing other girls actively wanted him was slightly annoying since she couldn't express her feelings without revealing Izuku. Once they were all fed, ONE took his leave, looking forward to seeing what they did tomorrow.

Later that night in the news studio

ONE was sitting in a chair across from Miko Fujioka, the beautiful fox reporter had a look of excitement as the staff set up his mic. She had waited for this moment for a long time, ONE has never done an interview and when he finally decided to do one after releasing his video she was the first one he called. She was actually surprised to get his call even though she urged him to do so on live TV, and after some talking she knew they had to set this up. This was going better than she could have hoped, Katakuri had left for the day so there was no chance of him bursting in and ruining this. The crew finished with ONE, "We all set?" ONE asked as he straightened out his shirt.

The golden haired fox smiled beautifully at him, "We're good to go." The crew left the set, leaving the two sitting across from each other as everyone prepared to start shooting. "Again, I'm very happy you called me to do this interview."

ONE smiled at her, "Well this has been a long time coming. Not to mention I much prefer you to Katakuri, maybe one day I'll find out what his beef is with me."

"Well lucky for you that day won't be today, he's already gone for the day." She smiled slyly as she brought a finger to her lips, "And I was able to keep this interview on the DL so there shouldn't be any antagonism."

"I am eternally grateful." ONE gently with a small bow.

"You bet. On an unrelated note, I'm a big fan actually. You're pretty amazing."

"I do my best. I'm not the only one, you're pretty impressive yourself. Beautiful, still in your twenties, and you've accomplished so much in the media world. I'm impressed."

Fujioka's expression was surprised yet sensual, "Well, aren't you a smooth talker." ONE gave her a charming smile as the crew alerted them that it was time to start, the two centered themselves as the camera began recording. Fujioka got the signal from the camera man, "I'm here with Musutafu's own vigilante turned Japan's first Independent Hero, ONE." She gestured to the scene, "Our favorite green clad hero decided to show up to the studio, thank you for being here." She turned to him with a beautiful smile.

"Not a problem at all Fujioka, thank you for having me. The city's been relatively quiet today and that's a good thing for everyone." ONE responded with a charming smile, first to her, then the camera.

"ONE, who was your favorite hero growing up and how were you inspired to become a hero?"

"Like a lot of people growing up my favorite hero was All Might. What inspired me the most was the desire to save people no matter how bad things were. But a weak, quirkless kid doesn't fit the bill. So I trained to gain the strength to be a hero who could do the same thing, no matter how hard it was because I believed even in hard times HE wouldn't have given up."

"Your video has made a lot of noise in recent days. I myself am still having a hard time believing you're actually quirkless. I'm sure I'm one of many people who would have never guessed."

"I honestly can't be surprised by that. Is it THAT hard to believe you can be strong just from training?" He shook his head with a sly smile.

"Your level of strength? Yes. Yes it is hard to believe." She responded, her golden eyes looking at him analytically.

"Maybe not to MY specific level, but I can guarantee that with a little hard work and determination, you can be super, and all the way human." ONE shrugged, "I'm just a normal guy who didn't give up on his dream. That's what it really all boils down to, and it's why I'm here today."

Fujioka took in his words, "ONE, your quirkless, would you consent to a test right now?"

"Sure." ONE took off his right boot and sock as several crew members brought out a white board and a miniature X-Ray, ONE put his foot on the board and after a moment the scans were done. "Y'know normally you'd put a cover over me to protect me from radiation."

"It's a momentary thing, plus I thought you were immune." Fujioka shot back.

"Still though."

After a while they got all the pictures they needed and left the set, "ONE, I watched your video, it must have been difficult to strive for so long just for no one giving you a chance. How did that make you feel?"

ONE crossed his arms, "It hurt. It really hurt. All I ever wanted was to be a hero, but time and time again my dream was constantly stomped in the dirt. My peers, my teachers, even heroes told me to give it up and find a "Realistic" dream. I put my faith in the hands of the same people I had to trust to give me an opportunity and they wouldn't even do that. They unilaterally decided I would fail." His emotions began to rise, "I've accepted it, but I'll never forget it."

"From their perspective you don't think they may have been trying to look out for you?"

"Ms Fujioka, just because you believe in something doesn't mean I have to. You can't call me a failure if you never gave me a chance, and that's essentially what everyone has done. Just because I tried when they themselves wouldn't have."

She registered his words, "People seem to be looking to you to take up All Might's mantle and become the new symbol of peace now that he's retired. What are your thoughts on that?"

"Let me say it here and live first, Miss Fujioka, I have no intention or desire to replace All Might or become the new symbol of peace."

"Why not?"

"Honesty, it's just a way of maintaining the status quo." Fujioka was shocked by this statement, along with everyone in the room. "One man cannot shoulder the problems of an entire country. No matter how strong you are, having power doesn't mean you can do everything by yourself. Even if it works for a while you'll eventually lose yourself because you can't be everything for everyone. Don't misunderstand me, All Might did a great job as the symbol of peace. He made the entire country feel safe and protected, allowing most people to live happy lives without worry. But, he made a lot of mistakes in regards to the people who don't fall into the… Normality.. Of society. I also fall into the category, so I'm able to see things most just don't pay attention to, and get a good read of people."

"It seems like you feel very deeply for what would be considered "Outcasts"."

ONE shrugged, "Honestly most villains I come across are just people who don't know what to do with their quirks, so they use them for stupid things. I have to stop them, but most criminals I face aren't necessarily evil, just hurt people. I've seen it too many times to count."

"So, you think we should overlook criminals who break the law just because of circumstances?"

"No. All I'm saying is that we, as a society, should have enough empathy, understanding and respect for people so as to not create villains like that in the first place." He looked the fox woman right in her eyes, "Seriously, I have so much empathy for people in that position because I fully realize that could have been me."

You're saying you may have become a villain?"

"No, I had a phenomenal support system. But without that, and if my spirit had been broken there's a very real chance I'd have gone down a different path. Most people just want to be understood, and that's not so hard if you put in the smallest amount of effort."

"ONE." What does that mean? One of the things I've always been curious about is who's the person underneath that mask." She gestured to all of him, "What I mean by that is. I've seen the way you carry yourself and how much that resonates with people. You have this immense care for people in general, and it doesn't always have to be someone you physically fought to save. What do you want ONE to mean to people? As a hero, when people hear that name what should come to mind?"

ONE took a breath as he registered the question for a moment, "A friend. And that's what I think people need most. Being strong enough to handle the bad things is fine, but people don't need a one man powerhouse to solve every problem, you need a friend. Since superpowers became the norm we've essentially been stabilizing an era where people are afraid of contact with each other, paying more attention to the differences between us and putting too much weight into that. People don't even know their neighbors, something may happen to them, life can be overwhelming, evolving technology is a headache, the pressure to succeed is stressful and the sense of conformity is very difficult for many." ONE smiled smally, " And y'know, we run around, stressed, emotional and with our own problems. And in the old days, neighbors treated each other like family, giving each other whatever they needed, so much so you didn't need to lock your door when you went out. Communities came together and helped and supported each other however they could because they understood they were in it together. There are history books about this, Japan was the rare exception of a peaceful nation. Our culture, temperament and way of life was the envy of every western country who knew of us."

"And I don't claim to be perfect, but I try to be virtuous and live with integrity… I care. And that's what I want people to know the most. When I show up, be it to save someone from someone else, prevent an accident, overturn a natural disaster or just be someone you can talk to, you should always know… I'm your friend." ONE spoke properly in his hero voice, perfectly articulating his words.

Fujioka got chills from the passion in his words, she fought the urge to tell the crew to turn the heat up. "What motivates you to help people? In terms of what's normally expected of heroes, you tend to go far beyond the job description."

ONE scratched his right cheek, "Well first off it's not a job to me Ms Fujioka. It never has been. I see it as just being a hero. Saving and helping every person I can reach in any way I can is all I aim to do every time I put on the suit. Some may see that as me doing too much or trying too hard, but it's really me just being the best hero I can be. I'm living my dream, I'm the hero I always wanted to be and I'm only here to help." He smiled brightly as he answered.

"You say that a lot. "You're just here to help". One of the things said most about you is that you don't care about the fame and fortune aspect of heroism. Is that true?"

"Don't misunderstand, I love my fans and am grateful to those who support me." He clasped his fingers, "But the fame and notoriety mean very little to me. I care about helping people and saving lives, that's it. A crime or situation happens, I take care of it, I move on to the next one. Since day one even as a vigilante that was always my thing. Honestly I think that may be where a lot of animosity from pros come from."

"Many thought you were some illegal hero trying to take their thunder." Fujioka stated.

"That was never what it was. I could literally count the number of times I actually tried to escape pro heroes, which wasn't even a dozen times. I was just already gone to the next thing by the time they showed up to the scene."

Fujioka chuckled a little, laughing into her hand, "We interviewed several heroes during that time. It was not a lot of positive words for you."

ONE chuckled, "I can imagine. During my vigilante days the only pro in this city who would actually talk to me was Air Jet, Rest In Peace." He closed his eyes and bowed his head at those last words. "But there was never any animosity towards them on my end." He gripped his chin, "Now that I think about it, they could have taken the credit for all that and no one ever did."

"It's a sign of integrity." The fox lady said, eying him with a sly, sexy smile

"It's a truly admirable quality because it really wouldn't have mattered to me."

"So even if no one knew who you were you'd still have dawned the suit and fought crime?"

"Yes. I'm a hero, Ms Fujioka. I'm not here for praise or reward, I'm just here doing what I do because I'm a hero."

Once again Fujioka was surprised by his words, she could tell this was his honest feelings. She was truly loving this interview, she was getting an honest insight on ONE. Who he is, what he thinks, and how he feels about certain things. "Going back to your vigilante days, you pretty much came on the scene performing like a seasoned pro. Did you have any formal training? Were you just that good from the start or did you learn on the fly?"

"My only goal was to be a hero. So throughout the years I picked up various skills, not just those that pertain to fighting. When the time came all I did was put it into practice. Experience trumps everything, you can train all day but if you don't put it to use, it's a waste of time. The longer and more times you do something the better you become at it, that's just natural."

Fujioka gave a cute "Hmph" as she nodded, her golden eyes locked onto him, "You're Japan's first ever Independent Hero. How did getting licensed make you feel and did that change how you operated as a hero at all?"

"When I was first given the license I was shocked, because I had no idea that was even an option. Those who have looked into it know more about it now, but at its core, independence was initially a joke. An ultimatum that wasn't meant to be taken seriously. I mean, you can't use your quirk, you can't get paid for your work, and you don't get benefits, but you're legally a hero. I can see why most people wouldn't take that, but it's perfect for someone like me!" He exclaimed, smiling while pointing to himself. "I don't have a quirk first and foremost, I don't care about getting paid and I'd be legal! Yes, thank you I'll take it." He paused for a moment, "You know what they say, when the system fails you you create your own system. And Intech and I have created a great system, so literally the only thing that changed was that I'm legal in doing what I've always been doing. And that was very invigorating for me."

"I wanna talk about that day in Hosu a while back." She smiled slyly at him, "Y'know what I mean?"

ONE rubbed his chin as he let out a small chuckle, "Yeah, you're talking about Stain."

"The Hero Killer left a lot of tragedy in his wake. 23 victims, 17 deceased and most of the other 6 unlikely to recover. He was able to escape capture and hasn't been seen since, are you in any way close to finding him?"

"At the current time, no. But I haven't forgotten about him. Given the state he was in after our fight I expected him to be out of commission for a while." He elected not to say anything about Tachibana for the time being, "For the time being all I can do is wait until he slips up."

Her expression became angry, "You don't find that lazy or disrespectful to the victims?"

"Of course not. But I literally have nothing to go on, his trail is beyond cold at this point." He raised his hands defensively. "I know Stains M.O well enough that I can hypothesize who he may go after once he recovers but that could be at least fifty heroes spread across multiple cities. I'm a detective, not a psychic. If someone happens to see him skulking in the shadows, say something and I'll be on it."

The fox centered herself, "What led to your confrontation in Hosu?"

"Stain had already been on my radar prior to that. Intech and I did an investigation and we deduced he was probably going to be in Hosu. We knew how he liked to strike, how he moved around and a good idea of his quirk. We just didn't know who he was going to attack, and when he went after Ingenium's sidekick I was on him, and in Hosu that next morning."

"Did you suspect he was after Ingenuim?"

"I was pretty certain of it, that's why I wanted to get to Stain first. Admittedly I didn't know Hosu very well, plus I wasn't familiar with Ingenium's patrol routes. So because of that I had to stick to looking for Stain in the places he liked to stalk from. I spread my senses, feeling any and everything in my vicinity, if I felt a drop of malice or bloodlust I would have been on him." He took a breath, "Then I got a call from Intech, a plane is acting strange in Tokyo, I should probably look into it."

Fujioka was surprised, "Wait, you were looking for the Hero Killer when you learned about the hijacking?"

"I didn't know it was a hijacking at the time. I theorized it but didn't know what it was until I got there. And I wouldn't have even known about it if it weren't for Intech. Again, my whole reason for being in that part of Tokyo was to find Stain. I wasn't expecting that to happen but I was glad I was there and able to prevent a tragedy."

Yes, thank heaven." Fujioka said with genuine relief.

"Moving on from that, I go back to the exact spot I was in when I got that call from Intech. I flew back and before I could even land I caught the scent of blood and sensed a wave of malice, homing in on it I found Stain had already got to Ingenium… From there, everything that happened, happened."

Fujioka smiled, giving him a look of intrigue and ready to continue, "And an awful lot happened."

"That whole interaction couldn't have lasted more than five minutes but in the moment it felt so much longer."

"A street camera recorded the entire encounter. What was said in that ally caused quite the controversy."

"I wouldn't describe that as a controversy necessarily, I think it just created discourse and allowed us to talk about and question things we've never truly spoken about, just accepted."

The fox smiled slyly at him, pointing a supple finger, "And you and Stain had that discourse. You actually agreed with him to an extent."

"What Stain tries to "Teach" isn't entirely all bad, nor is it wrong. Stain's whole deal is wanting to bring back the days of true heroism, essentially saying that modern heroism is full of fake heroes that care more about money and fame than saving people for no other reason than it's the right thing to do. Which IS true to an extent. But I'm optimistic, and I think most pros have that heart of a hero. Stain's only real mistake was harming those he deemed a false hero, personally I feel he took the easier of two paths. It's easy to eliminate or cut out those who aren't good enough, the harder thing is to lead by example and hopefully they pick it up."

"He called you a true hero. Is that what you strive to be and hope people learn from your example?"

"I don't try, explicitly. But I hope I can set a good enough example that those who see and look up to me focus on what's important. And if that is subliminally passed on from one person to the next, especially children then something can really grow from that."

"What's your take on heroes being paid, as a concept?"

ONE took a breath to process an answer, "Personally, I don't feel one way about it or the other. "Hero" as a term, has become a job. There are a lot of perks and dangers that come with the job, so from that perspective it makes sense you should be paid and it makes it easy to just look at it as a job… Now, speaking for myself. Even when I was a vigilante it made no difference if I made a single yen or not, I was still gonna suit up and go out there. Because it's my dream and that comes with responsibilities that I consciously couldn't ignore. So any money made was truly irrelevant, because I wanted to go into this world, and did what I needed to."

"I bet your merchandise sales must be nice." She said, slyly.

"Again, I'm eternally grateful for my fans' support. Keep in mind as an independent hero the government's not paying me, so anything monetary I get is purely business related." He chuckled, I honestly didn't know about the merch until after the fact. I get a call on my app talking about an opportunity, I usually ignore these but this time I'm like why not?" He made a phone gesture with his hand, "It went like this, "Ring Ring", hello ONE, just letting you know we've got a bunch of merch with your face on it, wanna make some money together? Sure. We'll be in touch. "Click"." Fujioka brought a hand to her mouth to hide her laughing, "The business side of heroism is cool, but complicated and very funny." He joked.

"That's how it goes." She said playfully, "You said you always did what you needed to. How deep does your sense of responsibility go?" She asked warmly.

ONE's tone became serious he waved a finger, "Let me put it to you like this. You have a girl that you're madly in love with, she invites you to hang out, but if you go spend time with her a village full of people on the other side of the country will die a terrible death. Could you make that choice?" He took a breath, "Or you want to celebrate with someone close to you on a special day for them, but you've connected a string of kidnappings and have to move fast because you believe the perps have the means to move the victims overseas with a finite time to stop them.. Again, what would you do?" He asked, still upset at having not spent time with his mom on her last birthday because of that specific case.

"It sounds tough."

"It all goes back to that responsibility I mentioned. And being a hero is not for the faint hearted."

The fox woman nodded. For the next half hour ONE answered all of her questions as articulately as he could. They talked about the Kamino incident, as much of the alien fight as he was allowed to say, his motivations, his interests and goals. They talked about some of his most notable cases and his thoughts on the current state of hero society. "Few more and then we're done. This one's for the lady fans, are you seeing anyone right now?"

ONE couldn't help but chuckle, "Yes. I have a girlfriend, and she's the most beautiful, smartest, caring, special person I've ever met."

Fujioka gave him a charming smile, "Sounds like an amazing and lucky girl."

ONE smiled, "No, I'm the lucky one."

"I can tell. You look like a boy in love~."

"Is it that obvious? You really should have set up a couch, Fujioka, that way I could have jumped on it and pronounced my love to the world!" He exclaimed, gesturing to the room.

"Do I look like daytime TV to you?"

"Not yet but you could be."

She closed her eyes and shook her head, her beautiful face looking him in the eyes, "We'll cross that bridge when we get to it." She looked at her tablet, noting how most of her questions were answered. She only had a few left, "One of the last things I want to ask you about is your style of combat. For the longest time people thought you were combining multiple quirks with martial arts prowess. But your fighting style is purely martial arts, take me through what you know and how that contributed to your arsenal of super moves?"

"It's funny how you mention super moves. I'm actually helping the UA first years train theirs. But to answer your question, I'm a master of five martial arts but I know six. I spent years mastering my disciplines and myself, no matter how difficult the training was I learned my lessons, and that's what martial arts training is all about. Several of my super moves were actually taught to me by my masters, but most of them come from my own creativity, and pushing the bounds. I wanted my moves to not only be strong and diverse, but versatile. By being imaginative I was able to come up with moves that compliment my physical abilities."

"What is your favorite super move?"

ONE stroked his chin as if he had a beard, "Ahhh~ that's a tough one because I've got so many." He raised a finger, smiling, "I know, my Roaring Tiger Smash."

"I'm not familiar with that one?"

"There's a reason for that. It has a very wide blast radius, making it not the safest to use in cities or largely populated areas so I don't use it too often. Case in point, I used it in the Kamino fight."

Her golden eyes widened, "That's what that was? That blast of air that covered a large radius of the city."

"That's the one. It's my favorite move largely because of the process that went into creating it. Making it my favorite original technique."

"The newest hero billboards are coming up soon and there's been speculation that you'll be pretty high on it. What are your thoughts on that?"

"That's actually the first time I'm hearing about it. Um… Honestly, and this is an unpopular opinion, I feel the hero rankings should be overhauled."

Fujioka looked at him confused, "In what way?"

"Basically popularity plays too much of a role in the rankings. The public's approval is fine but does that hero's strength, cases solved and effectiveness make them worthy of a high spot along with how much you like them? What does the concept of a ranking have to do with saving and helping people? Needing to be acknowledged for what you've done means very little, just as much as hearing how great you are. The action and knowing the ones you helped are okay should be more than enough.

I wish I could spend more time talking to you but I'm out of question and you need to go." Fujioka squealed.

"Hey, if you take nothing else away from this interview just know.. I'm just a hero, Ms Fujioka."

She put a hand to her cheek, "You really are aren't you? This was good, thanks for coming in."

"The pleasure was all mine."

Fujioka put a finger to her lip, "You know what, I have one more question."

"Shoot."

"Say you gave up and never became a hero, what career path would you have taken? No, let me rephrase. Given what's happened, all the business proposals you've been given, how do you intend on expanding your brand?"

"Well one thing I was always going to do was pursue a career in real estate, still plan to. If the business ventures stay as lucrative as it's been, I plan on starting charities and nonprofits to help people across the country and give opportunities to those who not only deserve, but need it."

"That's a very broad mindset."

"What's worse, never obtaining your dream? Or getting it, and losing it? Dreams save us, they lift us up and transform us into something better. And until my dream of a world where dignity, honor and justice are the reality we all share, I'll never stop fighting. Whatever knowledge you've gained or pain you've dealt with, you should share it with someone else in a positive way. Understand and share that pain with them so they won't have to go through that pain."

Fujiooka was once again amazed by the passion in the hero's words. He truly just wants to help everyone, and create a world that is truly peaceful and accepting of everyone. She's had her fair share of prejudice, while she's gotten a pass because of her looks, she's still a mutant. She's seen the plight and discrimination of that demographic through her own father, who was thankful that she came out looking like a human with fox features. "Y'know for someone who doesn't want to be the symbol of peace, you're becoming a symbol of hope."

"All I want is for everyone to live happily and be accepted for who they are, there's nothing wrong with being different. But as I said before people put too much emphasis on our differences, which leads to division. My road wouldn't have been so bad if more people tried to understand me, but it's in the past. It's their fault, I blame them for all of it, especially everything that's great in my life. Most people like to mope and focus on the negatives, let me tell you, if you want to blame people for everything bad in your life you have to blame them for everything that's great… Every person who has discriminated against me, belittled and stomped my dreams in the dirt is the reason for all of this." He gestured to the room, referencing everything he'd done. "I blame them for my desire to help others, I blame them for my capacity to feel and empathy, I blame them for the insatiable hunger to end suffering for any human I can. Because I suffered. It took me a long time to learn that life happens for us, not to us, and once you realize that… All the pain goes away and becomes something bright, something brilliant, something positive." Fujioka was numb by his words, the passion behind them was truly heartwarming.

They got the sign that the camera stopped recording. He clapped his hands and bowed his head, "I beg of you, please don't take what I said in this interview out of context?"

"That shouldn't be a problem. But I'm sure Katakuri will be in his feelings when this airs tomorrow." She said, bringing a hand to her mouth to hide her giggle.

"Hm, maybe I should sit down with him next." ONE joked.

"Let's just say that man is very… Old fashion."

"I noticed." ONE stood up, preparing to leave.

"So, are you planning to patrol after this?" She asked casually.

"That is the plan. Why, is there something else you want to ask me?"

She gave him a welcoming smile, "Are you hungry by any chance?"

"I could eat. Aww~ is this your way of asking me out?" He joked with a charming smile.

Her eyes became sensual, "Don't get cocky, besides I've sworn off heroes. I was just wondering if we could get something to eat and get to know each other. It never hurts to have friends in the media after all."

ONE pondered her words for a moment before agreeing. After she was ready they left the building, they met up at the top chinese restaurant in the city with them both receiving surprised looks from everyone who saw them together. Fujika caught the eye of every man in the building while ONE kindly took pictures and gave autographs to those who approached them, mostly kids. After ordering the two talked as they waited for the food, Fujioka spoke how this was her favorite restaurant and ONE talked about how he's been here several times with his masters, friends and girlfriend. Fujioka told him about her life, why she got into journalism and where she was trying to go in her career. ONE offered his support in any way he could and looked forward to building a friendly relationship with her, much to her joy. ONE opened up a bit and told her a few personal details about his life, experiences he's had and the ups and downs within them. They exchanged numbers with the two even sharing a few laughs together, the scene very much looked like a date. When the food came they both ate and said their goodbyes after, both pleased with this new found relationship.

Tokaba National Stadium

It was the day of the Provisional Licensing Exam and Students from all over were converging on the arena, all sharing the same goal of receiving their provisional licenses. Class 1A steps off their bus and looks around at the competition, each of them taking in their surroundings, several of them obviously nervous. "Oh man. I'm getting nervous." A worried Jiro stated.

Minetta looked around, feeling very much small compared to everyone else. "I wonder what they'll make us do." He lowered his head, his jitters getting to him, "If I don't get my provisional license."

Eraserhead came down to his level, "Minetta, don't think that you won't. Say you will."

His spirit was lifted slightly, "Yes sir."

"Yo, class A!" A voice called out to them.

The entire class turned to see Izuku approaching them, Momo was especially surprised as she wasn't expecting to see him. "Izuku?"

"Hello gorgeous, you ready to be a Semi Pro?" He asked with a charming smile.

"What are you doing here? I thought you said you'd be busy."

Izuku's expression was confused, "Really? Because there's no place I'd rather be than here to see you get your provisional license."

Momo blushed as her heart fluted, noting he lied to her so he could surprise her. She smiled warmly, truly in love with him right now, "Thank you for being here."

"She's so lucky!" Most of the girls in her class thought at seeing this.

Izuku smiled, giving her a confident nod. He raised a hand, "Hey, why are some of you looking so stressed? Perk up! You've got this!" He turned to Aizawa, "Hey, Mr Aizawa, is it cool if I hang out and watch the exam?"

The teacher had his hands in his pockets while giving him a casual dry stare, "It's fine. This is a public forum, just behave yourself."

"I'll be on my best behavior sir!" He looked at the class, "Seriously, why is the mood here so solemn? I heard ONE helped you guys train. You're aiming to become Semi Pros, look more confident!"

Eraser faced his students, "He's right. Attitude may determine your altitude today. If you pass this test and get our provisional licenses then you novice eggs will become fledgling chicks. You'll be Semi Pros." His eyes became serious, "Do your best."

The words of their teacher and Izuku seemed to light a fire in most of them, "Alright, I'll become a chick!" Kaminari stated confidently.

"That's all good. Just don't fry, Kaminari." Izuku joked.

Kirishima pumped his fists, "Alright everyone let's call out the usual! Ready, set, Plus..."

A tall boy wearing a dark, captain sailor hat with a golden S design entered the group. "ULTRA!" He called out with passion and a fist pumped in the air.

He startled Kirishima and Kaminari as the whole group turned to him. Other students wearing the same uniform passed by them, "It's not polite to barge in on other peoples huddles, Inasa." Said a purple haired boy.

Inasa noted he was rude just now, his fiery smile still on display, he brought his arms to his sides. "I AM SO EXTREMELY SORRY!" He yelled out with hot blooded sincerity while bowing so low he slammed his head to the ground, cracking the pavement a little.

Everyone was surprised by this strange yet intense act, Kaminari pointed, "Who is this guy I don't trust his enthusiasm?"

"It's him." Aizawa thought, looking at the tall boy.

Izuku scanned the students behind Inasa, noting the logo in each of their hats. "Figures they'd be here." Momo, jiro, Tokoyami and Iida looked at him, "Check out their uniforms, namely the symbol on their hats."

"There from that famous school on the other side of Japan." Sero commented.

"UA in the east, Shiketsu in the west." Bakugo stated.

"Of all the hero courses out there, this is the one that actually rivals UA." Momo thought as she took a quick glance at Izuku who was sizing up the Shiketsu students. "I know that look, you're wondering what might have been aren't you?" She noted Izuku had the same look the first time he came to UA, he noticed she was looking at him and gave her an assuring smile that he was fine. Momo noted Inasa when he first walked up, she could help but think he looked familiar.

Inasa got back up, "I wanted to say it just once, "Plus Ultra!". You see, I really love UA High School! I am extremely excited to compete against such extraordinary students! I'M SO LOOKING FORWARD TO IT!" He exclaimed happily as blood slid down his forehead.

Izuku smirked, "Love the enthusiasm. But some of that excitement is sliding down your forehead. Try to keep it contained."

Inasa kept his fiery smile, looking him in the eyes as he flexed his body, "I will!"

A cute brown haired girl stepped up, "Hey UA! Don't worry about our boy, this is totes the norm for him."

"Let's go." The purple haired boy ordered. The brown haired girl gave one final cute smile and a wave as she and Inasa joined their group.

"Inasa Yoarashi." Aizawa said aloud.

"That's his name? Sounds hard to write." Izuku joked.

Do you know him, Mr Aizawa?"

"Indeed. He's strong. He received top scores among the students admitted through recommendation. But for some unknown reason he decided not to attend UA."

These words surprised the whole class, "What? The guy says he loves our school but declined the offer when it was given." Sero said, clearly surprised.

"I thought I'd seen him somewhere. He really stood out during the recommendation exam." Momo said, getting the attention of everyone.

"If he's first year like you all and got top marks in the recommendation exam, that means he's just as good as you and Todoroki." Izuku said, glancing at the dual haired boy who had a blank yet serious expression. He turned to his girlfriend, "Do you remember what his quirk was, Momo?"

"He could manipulate wind as I recall. I'm not too sure of the mechanics of it, but it was strong then and I bet even stronger now."

"That makes sense." Izuku looked at the back of the Shiketsu students, namely Yoarashi. "Inasa Yoarashi, from Shiketsu High." "Hmmm."

"You should keep an eye on him. Anyway, It's almost time for the exam. You lot should go and get changed and-" Aizawa began when he heard a voice call him, a voice that sent chills down his spine.

"Is that you Eraser? I recognize that scowl anywhere." came a femenine voice, everyone turned to see a woman with seafoam green hair wearing an orange bandana wearing a hero costume. "I saw you on TV and at the sports festival, but it's been a while since we were this close in person." She had a happy smile as she approached the group. She stood in front of Eraserhead, "Let's get married!"

"No." He answered bluntly.

"Good one!" She laughed harder while holding her stomach.

"You're as impossible to talk to as ever, Joke."

She flashed him a happy smile while giving him a thumbs up, "C'mon! If I was your wife you'd have a life full of constant laughter!"

"That sounds like a genuine nightmare." He replied dryly.

Izuku chuckled, "Talk about opposites attract." He thought as he silently enjoyed the situation Eraserhead was in. He sensed the shift in the man the moment he heard her voice and the show was becoming more and more entertaining.

Ashido squealed, her love senses going off. Izuku had a cool smile on his face, he liked Ms Joke, despite the headache her cousin caused him he's always loved watching her fights. He learned how to be more playful in the field from watching her. Asui put a finger to her cheek, "You two seem very close."

Joke swooned like a girl in love, "As young heroes looking to make a difference in the world, a mutual love bloomed!"

"No it didn't."

"There's the quick retort! You're my favorite person to tease, future husband."

Eraser sighed, "If you're here, it means you brought your students."

"That's right." She looked over her left shoulder, "Over here everyone! This is UA!" She gestured to the group of students to come over.

Izuku eyed the students, several of which caught his eye, most notably a boy with black hair and dark brown eyes with hair just as curly as his own. "Woah, it really is class A."

"They're amazing! I've seen them on TV before." A girl with spiky blonde pigtails squealed.

"Second years from Ketsubutsu academy. This is class 2, they're my students." Ms Joke explained.

The black haired boy approached the group, heading straight for Momo. He took both her hands into his, looking into her eyes with a charming smile, "You're Yaoyorozu right? I'm Shindo. Seems UA's had it pretty rough this year. It must have been hard for you?" His words were charismatic, but Momo could sense the deceit, so could Izuku who narrowed his eyes at the boy.

It's been troublesome at times but nothing we couldn't handle."

"Beautiful in body and spirit, amazing." He moved onto Kaminari and Jiro giving them the same spiel.

Momo turned to Izuku who was watching Shindo, "I have made the comparison Momo." He said, noting the similarities in their appearance.

"In spite of everything you strive to become pro heroes despite those hardships. It's wonderful." He flexed his hand while shining a charming smile, "Hearts full of fortitude! That's what I believe that's what every hero in the world should have." Shindo's charisma and charm was so strong it was practically mesmerizing.

"This guy's trying way too hard… But it's smart, I'll give him that." Izuku thought, seeing right through his better looking doppelganger.

"This charming pretty boy's gonna steal our girls." Kaminari inwardly mopped.

"Shindo's eyes landed on Bakugo, "Bakugo, it must have been hard for you with that kidnapping incident. Thank goodness ONE was on it." He extended a hand, "You've got a strong will don't you? Today I'm gonna do my best to learn from you, I really hope you don't mind."

Bakugo swats his hand away, "Stop pretending. What you say doesn't match the look in your eye."

He kept a smile but the kind and friendly look in Shindo's eyes shifted for a moment, something Izuku noticed. "He actually caught that? I guess assholes know how to spot other assholes, and Bakugo is the furthest thing from fake nice."

"Hey man, don't be so rude!" Kirishima exclaimed, calling out Bakugo. He rubbed his head sheepishly, "Sorry about him, that's just how he is how he is."

Shindo gave the redhead a friendly look, "It's fine. It proves how tough his heart is."

A girl with blond hair in spiky pigtails, blue eyes and sharp teeth happily approached Izuku Todoroki and Momo, "Todoroki, you were amazing in the sports festival, can I have your autograph?" She turned to Momo, "Yaoyorozu, you gotta tell me how you train!"

A boy from Ketsubutsu with long black hair looked at her, almost disappointed, "Seriously? Stop fan-girling."

"Hey, get your costumes and head to orientation. There's no time to waste." Aizawa told the class as he walked towards the arena.

Everyone headed for the arena to get changed, Jiro couldn't help but feel a little weird about their fame, "It's weird, I always forget we're famous to other schools."

Kaminai had a cheeky smile, "Yeah~, we're basically celebrities when it comes to hero course students. No pictures please." He joked, throwing up peace signs.

Hearing this Ms Joke was surprised, "Wait, you didn't tell your kids, Eraser?" He didn't answer her and just kept walking.

Izuku heard that as he kept walking with Momo. He had a good idea what that was about. He decided not to say anything about the fact that everyone here most likely knows their quirks and may have trained to be able to specifically take them out. Some of them were nervous as it was. Be that as it may, he's helped all of them the best he can, and all he can do is support them.

Matsue

In the shadows of the city, the hero killer was on the prowl. He had arrived in Shimane yesterday and knew exactly where he was heading. His target this time was unlikely to patrol, they were too busy looking good for the camera for that. As he hid within the shadows, making his way towards the agency he really wanted to make a statement. He wanted society to know he was still alive and more of a threat than he was before. He had seen the interview ONE had done and knew that after this this wouldn't take long for them to meet again. Come what may, he needed to do his work, each false hero he cut down paved the way for a true hero to take their place. He would reclaim the word "Hero" no matter what it took. All Might was gone, the only person he deemed worthy of killing him. Of all those he's come across ONE is the only true hero in this society and if he was going to die, as it stands it stands he'd be the only one allowed to do it.

And that wraps up chapter 30. We're halfway through the story. When I first started this I wanted it to be 50-60 chapters at the most. I could always be shorter than that but only time will tell. I initially wanted to do the provisional exam in this chapter but that would have been basically two chapters in one and I didn't feel like doing it again. ONE will definitely make an appearance at the provisional exam and for the most par things will go smoothly with some slight changes. Leave a review on the chapter because the next one is going to be crazy as a lot of things were hinted at in this one. Next time, Class A does their provisional exam, Stain kills another hero, Tachibana's group makes a move, ONE looks for them, and the LOV tries to make an ally.