Issues of Quirk Compatibility

Chapter 8: First Day of U. A.

In her search for the power to surpass All Might, Endeavor turned to a Quirk research lab. Little did she know that this would usher in the age of the Heroine and dating by statistics. What's a quirkless hero to do in a world like this? Make your Vows Izuku; Massive Gender-bends, Deku/harem, Crack with Plot.

Izuku and his class are aged up by about four years, so they are 19-20. Need to get those hormones pumping at full.

Anyway, the gist of this story is that Izuku makes his hero's journey in a world where almost all pro heroes are women, and he's a prime steak slathered in fan-service. Either that, or it's a deep and thoughtful examination of the objectification and empowerment of female super-heroes by the reversal of traditional gender roles. You'll see as it goes. Beware of Crack and other absurdities. But for now, On to the Story!

-Classroom 1A-

Shota Aizawa hated almost everything about his day job. The pay was minimal since all of the teachers were required to be active heroes. The benefits were largely inane. His bonus for last year was a coupon for the faculty poker night. Even the usual benefits of being in a school were absent. The teacher's lounge had no coffee provided, and the principal was the only one with access to the tea. They even had to bring their own lunches to save a few dollars from the food budget.

His coworkers were even worse than his working conditions. The general female attention was bad enough without his coworkers refusing to take a hint. He had no interest in a relationship right now; his hero work took priority. Even if he did get into a relationship it certainly wouldn't with a heroine, much less a coworker. Those sorts of unnecessary relationships could get someone killed.

If he did start a relationship it would have to be with a reformed villainess who could defend herself, but wouldn't be a target for media or other villains. And it would definitely need to be one that his coworkers didn't know, or he would never hear the end of it.

Honestly, he didn't even like the company of his coworkers. He respected them as fellow heroes, but he could never stand their posturing. But at least he could minimize his contact with them to a few minutes at a time.

The worst part of it was definitely the hormonal children he was expected to teach, though. There was no avoiding them and he always seemed to get the worst of the lot. They were illogical, unimaginative, noisy, tactless, quirks stronger than their discipline, more concerned with relationships than training, dangerously prideful, and generally lacking in potential.

And the worst part was that he still couldn't help but care about them. It would be so much easier to expel them if he didn't care that he was crushing their dreams, but when the alternative was to let them float through life only to die from a villain latter...

So here he was, getting ready for another year of teaching the supposedly best and brightest.

Snippets of conversation floated into his sleeping bag. "Put your feet down! You're dishonoring all the students who came before you! Not to mention that you're wearing a skirt! And that isn't even your desk! Why are you wearing that blindfold anyway?" "Shut up, Stick in the Ass!" "He he he, there are so many hot chicks! I bet they don't watch the locker rooms closely at all…" "Eijiko! Do you wanna do a boxer check on the boys?" "We're in university now, Mina, stuff like that can get us in huge trouble. Besides, it's unmanly." "It's a smorgasbord!"

…Supposedly the best and the brightest…

"There are still two minutes before homeroom starts. I can put this off."

Izuku stared at the oversized door to class 1-A. He had no idea who would be in his class, but he had a few guesses. "Katsu, Ochako, and Shojo are probably in 1-A with me based on their response when I told them my class. Probably only three or four other guys in the class. All the teachers are active pro heroes so I have at least a chance to know them…" Some less than innocent interactions with pros flooded his mind and he shook them away. "No. They're in school, they'll be professional about it."

"Are you feeling alright? You've been standing in place and muttering for minutes."

Izuku almost jumped at the interruption. He twisted to see a young man with a muscled tail sticking out of his uniform. He was quietly relieved that it was a boy who caught him off guard. "Sorry, I'm just… We're at U.A.! This was All Might's classroom! So many heroes stood where we are! I just… I almost don't feel worthy…"

The other boy stood up a bit straighter. "We'll just have to work harder to live up to it, right? We're here to go Plus Ultra after all." Their eyes met. "Though you should know about that already."

The young idol took a second to absorb the thought as a smile bloomed on his face. He let out a short laugh. "You're right. I've been so focused on watching my hero that I forgot I'm not him." He held out his hand. "I'm Midoriya Izuku. It's nice to meet you."

"Mashiro Ojiro, at your service." The tailed boy had a firm grip as they shook hands. "You saved my life five years ago, and I was never able to thank you for it. I was a student at Master Oguro's dojo and one of my sparring partners lost control of her quirk. It almost looked like what happened in the entrance exam."

Gears turned in the idol's mind as he remembered that day. The living shadow still haunted his dreams from concept alone, not to mention the actual damage it did. Everything bone below the ribcage had been absolutely shattered, and the pool of blood certainly didn't help the situation. "I thought Recovery Girl said you wouldn't be able to become a hero after those injuries."

Ojiro gave a smile that was half proud and half embarrassed. "I won't be getting a hero's harem, but I can still fight. Master Oguro helped me develop a style that used my tail to compensate for my legs, and with the addition of some braces I'm cleared for hero work." His smile shifted to a more joking one. "Plus, in comparison to you, I'm downright ordinary. What's a hero with leg braces when your classmate is the first quirkless hero?"

Izuku grinned, remembering the handful of times they sparred before the accident. "I'd hardly call you crippled, especially with a tail like that. Maybe now you'll let someone else win for once." Their matching grins showed that the joke was being picked up.

"And here I thought you'd appreciate having someone watching your back instead of ogling your butt." Both boys shared a sensible chuckle before moving to the door.

Caught in the nostalgia, Izuku accidentally tempted fate. "I wonder what happened to the girl though. Didn't she get sent to quirk counseling with that teacher from Ketsubuso? I wonder if we'll ever see her again…"

The other boy tensed and instinctively slid into a fighting stance when the girl was mentioned. It took a moment for him, to intentionally relax and play off the reaction. "I'd rather not. I'm still uneasy with girls after the incident, and I don't know what I'd do if I met her again."

Izuku shrugged and opened the door for his new friend...

…Then promptly bumped into his back when the tailed boy froze in the doorway. It only took a moment for Izuku to realize the reason. That girl was brooding in a corner with her eyes shut. Her bird-like head was unmistakable, and the haunting shadow was draped over her body. A shudder ran down his spine as the shadowy spirit lifted her head and stared into his eyes.

He stepped in front of Ojiro, acting braver than he felt. Then the shadow being did something that very slowly destroyed his perception of that event those years ago.

It whispered into the girl's ear.

Quirks are part of a person's body. They are not independent. The closest example would be using a quirk to create something that is independent. So unless this one quirk goes against everything he knew about quirks from years of study, it wasn't actually a quirk. And if it wasn't a quirk-

"Welcome to U.A.'s Hero course."

The voice cut through his thoughts. He had been berated by it more times than he would have liked.

The yellow sleeping bag rose up to reveal the scruffy face of their teacher. "It's time to get to work. Here are your gym uniforms. Change and meet me outside." His announcement was greeted by a general confusion. One girl opened her mouth to protest, but was cut off with a harsh glare. "This is U.A. Our heroes are famous for a reason, and the teachers are given the freedom to do whatever they feel is necessary to shape heroes like that. So get your butts in gear."

Izuku was the first one out the door. The girls raced after him. The other boys raced after them.

-Athletic Complex-

"Quirks are quickly becoming the backbone of our society, but standard schools have no way of dealing with them. You're past that now. You are not equal. And we're going to figure out who can stand above the rest." He held up a softball. "Who thinks they can make it?"

A boy with tape dispenser elbows stepped forward before anyone else. "Hanta Sero, highschool record-" the boy puffed out his chest. "I got forty-eight meters."

The number would have been slightly above average a generation ago, but it probably put him in the top five of his high school considering the number of 2X girls and the laziness of most boys.

But that alone isn't good enough for U.A. "Alright then. If you're so eager to prove yourself, you get to go first. Use your quirk however you want, just don't leave the circle."

The thin boy stepped into the circle without his usual smile. His first attempt tried to grab the ball with his tape after he threw it. He missed. Forty meters. His second attempt did catch the ball, but the tape had to slow it down to wrap around it, and tape is not rigid enough to push. Twenty-five meters. For the third and final attempt he tried to wrap the ball in tape, then launch it from a tape sling. Unfortunately, sticky material does not make a great sling. The ball stayed trapped in the tape, and the entire sling slammed into the ground in front of him. 0.1 meters.

The boy trudged off to a chorus of snickers. Aizawa tossed a softball to Ochako. "Uraraka, what was your high school record?"

"Umm- something like twenty-five meters? No one really cared about the results, so I'm not sure."

Aizawa gave a nod. It was an average score for a girl who had 2X: The treatment boosted quirks, but tended to inhibit muscle growth. When the expectation is for a hero to excel in one area, it's hardly a surprise that most girls focused on quirks and ignored strength training. Still, with her quirk, he had a feeling that she wouldn't disappoint.

He waved her forward and Ochako proudly stepped up to the plate. She canceled the ball's gravity and threw it. The class watched in surprised silence as the ball lazily floated off into infinity.

Aizawa stepped forward. "Your quirks will be the foundation of your hero work, and we need to know what you can do." He snatched Izuku from out of the crowd. "Just because you passed some arbitrary exam doesn't mean you're really U. A. material. If you can't keep up with a powerless playboy, then you will never make it as a hero."

Everyone got the same message. Surpass Izuku or get expelled.

Aizawa only released his grip on the boy after the rest of the students scattered to prepare for the first test. The two males stared each other down.

"You're using me as bait."

The observation was simple, and of course true. "You're going to be a target your entire career. Get used to it."

Izuku had fire in his eyes. "I hope you're ready to expel the rest of the class, because I'm not going to hold back."

Aizawa idly noted that their eyes were level for the first time. "That's good. U.A. doesn't have room for a powerless fanboy to play at being a hero. If you can't beat everyone who's coming after you-"

"I'm not powerless. I'll beat them."

The teacher merely grinned. "We'll just see if that's true, Mr. Small Might."

The sound of swearing and explosions broke the moment.

"Izuku. Get those blindfolds off your girlfriends before they kill someone."

"[Pant] [Pant] HOW [Pant] THE HELL [Pant] WERE WE [Pant] SUPPOSED TO KEEP UP WITH HIM! [Pant, Pant] He won [pant] the fucking Olympics [pant] and then he pulls out this Inner Gate shit [pant] and he isn't even out of breath!" Hanta Sero was sprawled out on the ground, another casualty of trying to keep up with the idol. It didn't take long for the class to recognize that Izuku somehow had them all outdone in almost every way. Sero was in the process of going from denial to anger, but most of the class had progressed past acceptance into awe.

"Fire and wind… he has become the crucible to re-forge himself into the perfect steel…"

"He's got Buns of steel…"

"He'd better not stop until I'm unable to walk…"

"Mina, you're leaking."

Izuku pretended he couldn't hear their whispers or feel their stares. This was his first and best chance to show his classmates that he was more than a piece of meat, even if just as a piece of meat that can kick their asses.

It was an opportunity for himself as well; This was the first time he could compare himself to his quirked peers. The Olympics had become a joke: Only the quirkless were allowed to compete, the highest level athletes were too busy with their year-round sports to compete, the difficulty of international travel meant there were few foreign competitors, the events were trimmed down to only the most popular, and the uniforms were embroidered speedos. Wrestling was the most popular, and everyone knew that wrestling was fake. The entire production was half PR stunts, and half softcore porn.

But this test was serious, and he wasn't afraid to press every advantage he could. One for All flooded his body at a solid twenty percent, with boosted stamina from his pact with Sylph, and liberal boosts from his pact with Efreet. And speaking of which…

"Deku!" The first thing he noticed were the waves of heat coming from her flaming demonic adornments as she stomped up to him. Katsu was furious, and he was starting to find her added features sexy. That was probably a bad sign. "The hell do you think you're doing Deku! You think you can just beat me and stand there like nothing happened?! Don't ignore me!" She groped her hand against his chest in what she meant as an attempt to push him over. "Stupid Deku, with his stupid muscles, and stupid gates…"

Experience had taught him a few strategies for dealing with his childhood friend. The most immediate was to respond was with equal aggression, but of a different kind. He grabbed her outstretched arm and pulled her close. Instead of fighting, she leaned into his grip. Her breathing grew heavier and the flames surged even hotter. The intoxicating flames raced through his body, filling him with power and aggressive desire. His other arm wrapped around her waist as he leaned into his temporarily docile mate.

It didn't take long for Izuku to realize that Efreet's flames carried emotions with them. Since Katsu was terrible at processing her emotions, it had become his responsibility as boyfriend to remind her that there were more emotions than happy and angry.

"Katsu." He felt her shiver as he whispered in her ear. "I don't think you're really very angry. I think you're jealous because of the other girls, and disappointed in yourself…" He ran a finger up her spine and felt the wave of flames transform her clothes into Efreet's indecent outfit. "But most of all, you're horny..." He kissed her neck and felt himself swell even more in response to her moans. "You need something to release all that stress. I'll take care of it for you. All you have to do is ask nicely…"

"Yes please!"

Izuku pulled away at the reminder that they were in public, silently cursing his loss of control. Katsu was dazed for a moment, before all her lust, embarrassment, and frustration morphed into anger. She turned to punish the one who interrupted her, but couldn't see anyone until she looked down. The crotch-height interloper was Minori Mineta; short-stack, number twenty-nine on the entrance exam, middling strategist, Twintail Pop-off user, and a shameless, incurable pervert who was currently taking advantage of Izuku's shock to pull down his pants.

There were many things that Katsu didn't like: feeling weak, warm yogurt, arrogant guys, girls with higher synergy than her, and her own unimpressive cup size, just to name a few. There were, however, only three things that she hated: People directly insulting or ignoring her, being interrupted, and most of all, the thought of Izuku getting hurt or worse, raped. Minori had just unknowingly hit every mark to send Katsu ballistic.

Silence fell on the group surrounding the scene as they felt the waves of malice start rolling off of Katsu. Izuku knew that he had only seconds until the explosion.

He tacked Katsu to the ground and made eye contact with Shojo and Ochako. "Ice wall! Clear the area! Go!"

The two girls leapt into action. Ochako barely pulled Minori back to the rest of the group when Shojo's ice covered Katsu and Izuku. The flames trapped inside of the ice formed a beautiful display, for the brief moment that it lasted. The top of the dome burst off in a cloud of steam that was quickly consumed in a pillar of fire. Ochako raced to push everyone back. Without a clear target for her anger, Efreet's flames lashed out in all directions, quickly pushing back the ice that was supposed to contain it.

Shojo could feel her sweat begin to freeze as she pushed her quirk. It was a sign of oncoming frostbite, but she couldn't slow down. The colder her body became, the colder and larger her ice became. Unfortunately, she could only match Katsu's flames when she was in the danger zone. Fortunately, Shojo didn't have to beat the flames, only hold them off for long enough.

-Inside the Pillar of Flame-

"GET OFF ME! I NEED TO KILL HER! SHE WON'T GET AWAY WITH TRYING TO SHAME YOU LIKE THAT!"

Izuku never thought that pinning his girlfriend to the ground could be so un-sexy. This had less in common with sex, and was more akin to capturing a wild hellhound. Really, the only similarity was that he had to dominate a bitch. "Katsu! Calm down! It's nothing that hasn't happened before. In fact, I'm pretty sure most of our classmates have seen me naked from the videos of your quirk evolution."

"I NEVER DID ANYTHING LIKE THAT ON PURPOSE… AT LEAST ON PURPOSE IN FRONT OF A CROWD… IN FRONT OF ANYONE THAT MATTERED!"

Izuku growled. He was roughly one stupid response away from calling her on the blatant hypocrisy. "I can take care of myself. She's not doing anything that you or any of my fangirls haven't done."

"YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND! SHE'S NOT EVEN WILLING TO FIGHT FOR YOU! SHE'S NOT INTERESTED IN YOU. SHE'S A PERVERT THAT WANTS YOU LIKE A PIECE OF MEAT!"

"And you're better?" The cold fury in his voice made her freeze. "Instead of a piece of meat, I'm your favorite toy that you don't want to share."

Katsu didn't say anything, but the heat of her flames subsided considerably.

He stood up and pulled her with him. He stared her down as she barely kept contact with his eyes. "You consider only your own side of the story. You never stop to remember that I have my own thoughts, my own dreams, my own desires, and my own power" He unleashed some of the stored power in a wave that stunned Katsu and blew out the flames around her body. "I don't need you."

Katsu raised her flames once again. "I ONLY WANTED TO PROTECT YOU!"

He tasted the fear and desperation underneath her anger. "That excuse doesn't work anymore. Why shouldn't I treat you like you treat every other girl?"

She balled her fists in frustration as the words started pouring out. "You're too much of a hero for your own good! You're too nice to everyone, everyone would just take advantage of you if I wasn't helping you! I didn't want to see you get hurt because you tried to help someone without a quirk. I had to, if I was going to be a hero! A real hero has to protect the handsome prince from evil witches and black widows. A real hero would be able to get the boy, but I guess you're too much of a DAMN SEXY HERO to realize that I love you. I love you for being so nice even when I get mad. I love how you never give up. I love how you work at being a hero without a quirk. Everything that makes me love you, makes me scared for you. And I hate it…."

Frustrated tears streamed down the girl's face. A part of Izuku's mind scolded him for making her cry, but mostly he was shocked that she was crying at all. In a daze, he gently wiped the tear away. "Kacchan, you're beautiful, and I've always admired your fiery passion. But I can't love you and let you destroy yourself like this. You'll push away everyone, destroy what you loved, end up bitter and angry..." He took a step back and held out his hand. "I want to love you, but I won't be your pet. We can be partners and maybe lovers, or we can be rivals. It's your choice."

Katsu took a moment to restore her proud façade before eagerly grabbing his hand. "Partners. Lovers whenever you're ready. I can be patient for you…"

He pulled her into a hug. "You realize that this means you have to try to get along with the other girls."

She snuggled deeper into the hug with a scheming grin. "I guess you'll have to train me how to get along with them."

He laid a kiss on the top of her head. "Keep acting like a scheming vixen. and I might be tempted to turn the tables and make you my pet."

The words were met with a moment of embarrassed silence as she buried her face into his shoulder.

"Kacchan?"

The girl looked up at him with lidded eyes and a heavy blush. "Would you prefer that? If I was your pet? Would that help make it up to you?"

Izuku blushed in response. "Please don't tempt me. You're too sexy and I don't want to be a hypocrite."

"So you are interested."

Izuku responded with a simple, romantic kiss. It wasn't forceful. it wasn't dominating. It was merely an expression of care and closeness. And it was more intimate than all of the aggressive make-out sessions that they had before.

The act of honest intimacy broke through her guard and shattered her anger. The flames that surrounded them blazed brighter than ever, before exploding into golden specs of dust.

It took a moment for the other students to recognize what they were seeing. Katsu was standing still, awestruck at something that they just missed. Izuku had his hands on her shoulders in a perfect position to pull her closer. The fearsome dragon had been felled by a simple kiss.

Having an idea of what happened didn't help them figure out how to react, though. Izuku was the one to finally break the awkward silence. "Katsu, I believe you have something to say."

The girl looked confused for a second. "Stay away from my De-" a nudge to her side reminded her that manners existed. "I mean, I'm sorry for trying to scare you all away from Izuku. I'll try to play nice with you extras- I mean, classmates."

The passive-aggressive apology didn't do much to ease the tension, but that wasn't Aizawa's concern. "Bakugo, Midoriya, Uraraka, Todoroki; go see the principal once you've finished testing. That is, if you're done throwing a fit." He gave a dismissive glance to the crowd of shocked students. "Unless someone else wants to waste time?"

Hanta Sero meekly stepped forward. "Actually, I'd like to withdraw. I know when I'm beat, and I don't need it rubbed in."

The teacher raised an eyebrow. "Oh? You're just going to quit?" the boy was about to say something, but Aizawa cut him off. "Does anyone else wish to give up now?"

A girl with a rock shaped head stepped forward, visibly shaking. Her fear of Katsu and the possibility of humiliation overpowered her fear of what Aizawa would do to her. A black-haired girl with a messy ponytail followed.

The rest of the class stood firm, if barely for a few. The man gave an indecipherable nod. "Alright then; Sero, Kota, Yaoyorozu." He pulled out three envelopes from the inside of his scarf. "These are your forms. Follow their instructions exactly. In the meantime; you're going to help me measure these tests."

As he prepared for the next test, Izuku wondered about his new homeroom teacher. Why did Ochako and Shojo have to go with him to the principal's office? Did the man suspect anything about Katsu? Did he try to erase her quirk and fail? How much did he know about All for One?

Meanwhile Eraserhead was focused on something entirely different. "Nezu had better not blame me if those three actually withdraw. I don't need another talk about potential and the responsibility of a teacher…"

-Boy's Locker Room, After Test-

"…I could see how everything would play out. I'd get to the sports festival, and end up facing one of those monsters in the first round. I'd get beaten in less than ten seconds, and then I'd be 'nice try' guy, or the kids would call me 'don't worry about it.'" Sero threw his hands up in a dramatic fashion. "I joined U.A. to impress girls! I don't want to be used as an extra to show how powerful someone is!"

Ojiro gave the other boy a comforting pat on the back. "Don't worry about it. You gave it a good try… Pick up a good training regiment and you'll get in the top half of average."

The tape boy looked even more depressed at the words. "I decided. I'm going to transfer over to the business class. My parents are managers for a shipping company, so I already know the basics. It has most of the same benefits. I'll just be standing behind you, rather than with you…"

Aoyama draped his arms over both boys. "That's enough of the depressing talk! We must take this chance to celebratetogether!"

Izuku had a bad feeling about that comment. "We're in a locker room. There isn't much we can do."

"Au contrare my friend! It is the perfect opportunity to compare and show that we are true men!"

-Girl's Locker Room-

"I don't know what to do. I don't like hurting people. I did worse today than in high school because I panicked. Maybe I should go back and attend a country college."

"Maybe Dad was right. Maybe I should focus on support. I never got within the top quarter in any of the events. I don't think I'll ever be close to Izuku, or even Uraraka, Bakugo, Tokoyami, or Todoroki."

"Aww. But you're so nice, and you have such cool quirks! We'll miss you if you leave!"

"Did you look at what he gave you? Maybe it's all a trick? Like when he said that anyone who couldn't beat Izuku would get expelled!"

"He gave both of us a training plan that we can follow, and I'd assume the same for Sero. I just don't know if I can keep up with what he's expecting…"

"I don't think it would even help me. I couldn't convince any animal to even get close to where we were testing. Even all the bugs ran away." Momo Yaoyorozu and Kojiko Kota were surrounded by the girls who would have been their classmates, all of them comforting and encouraging them. There were only a few notable exceptions.

Katsu was hanging back because she had neither the interest, nor the ability to be comforting.

Shojo was hanging back because she had no idea how to be comforting.

Minori was entirely absorbed in staring at the wall for some reason.

Tokoyami was the most interesting one, though. Rather than standing off by herself awkwardly, she was brooding and staring pointedly at Katsu.

"What's your problem Bird-face?"

The dark girl tilted her head without breaking eye contact. "What is it like to belong to Midoriya?"

Katsu was about to snap back when she realized she wasn't sure how that statement was supposed to be taken. Was it an insult? Teasing? A poor attempt at idle conversation? Was she genuinely curious? Eventually she decided to respond just as unhelpfully. "Wouldn't you like to know."

The dark girl tilter her head to the other side. She lifted up a necklace and revealed a ring similar to the one on Katsu's finger. "Yes, I would like to know. Dark shadow has been restless without a master. Ever since Chigiri died…"

That statement opened up a host of troubling questions. Who was Chigiri, why did he die, and what did that have to do with Izuku?

Those questions were put on hold when Minori started squealing in excitement. "They're going to compare! They're going to compare!"

Kyoka turned her attention away from consoling Kojiko to snap at the pervert. "What could they possibly be comparing that's more important than a classmate getting expelled?"

"He said they were going to compare what made them men! That can only mean one thing!"

"They're going to see how far they can pee standing up?" The girls gave Tsuyu strange looks. The frog girl just shrugged. "It's what my little brothers do."

Eijiko Kirishima cut into the conversation. "It would be awesome if they were comparing scars! That'd be the manliest thing ever!"

"Why would they compare scars? Wouldn't that just remind them of all the times they got hurt?" Tooru's voice sounded from a seemingly empty space.

"To a man, scars aren't just marks on their body, they're stories! They show all the battles that they survived and help prove that they are worthy of respect!"

Minori was bouncing up and down in excitement. "Their dicks! It's gotta be their dicks!"

Tenko Iida futilely tried to bring order. "This is improper! We should respect the privacy of our classmates!" She stepped forward to drag the girl away, but Mina tackled the uptight girl to the ground.

"It's their fault! They wouldn't be so sexy if they didn't want people to look at them!" None of the girls would voice their approval for the female pervert's words, but they were too curious to stop her.

Kyoka jabbed one of her jacks into the wall with a blush on her face. "You obviously aren't going to leave this alone, so let's just figure out what they're talking about, who has what, and go on our way." She shook her head. "I can't believe I'm going to listen in on my classmates compare their bodies like some kind of pervert."

But the conversation stopped when they heard a towel drop.

"Viola! Is it not magnificent?"

The statement was met with a moment of silence. Sero was the one to break the silence. "I can barely even tell its there. What's the point if it isn't thicker than a grain of rice?" another towel dropped. "Check this out."

The other guys chuckled. "It looks like a shot; short, thick, and slightly discolored."

"Well what do you have, Tail-man?"

A third towel dropped. "Merce! That damage! It is all gone! How are you still alive?"

"Amazing medical quirks meant that I survived… minus a few pieces. It was a vicious wound. It's honestly amazing how much of my legs they were able to save. I don't think I'll be able to get close to a girl again anyway, so there were worse things I could have lost. You should see Midoriya's though, he definitely came out on top."

The girls strained their ears for the sound of the final towel falling, but heard nothing except gasps from the other side. "Mon Dieu! That looks like it should split a person in half!"

"That's actually real? I always thought it was a prop or something to make you look better."

Izuku responded to the disbelief with just a touch of embarrassment. "I normally don't like people focusing on it…"

Anything the boys were about to say was drowned out by Mineta's overly excited cries of "I knew it! I told you he was hung!"

-Boy's Locker Room-

Izuku kept an embarrassed smile as Mashiro explained the full story behind the scar that covered his back. "These came from Tokoyami's quirk the same day I got my scars. It was five years ago, the day of Toxic Chainsaw's blackout." The other two boys nodded that they remembered that day. "Chigiri Tokoyami was one of the first hero deaths. He was Fumikage's adopted brother…"

Izuku took over telling the story. "It was just after school when the power went out. Tokoyami and Ojiro were both in Master Oguro's dojo, and I had a lesson with them. Between the lights going out, the adrenalin of the fight, grief at losing her brother, worry about the other heroes, and whatever else; She lost control of her quirk and it did that." He nodded towards Mashiro's mangled legs.

The tailed boy picked the story back up. "That's when Izuku stepped in. He got her attention, then and walked up slowly. Didn't so much as flinch when the thing wrecked his back. Eventually he got within arms reach and let her cry until she calmed down. Didn't make a single noise, no matter how many times he got hurt. It was the most low-key badass moment I ever saw. That's the entire reason I decided I had to be a hero, even after the injury."

Hanta and Yuga were looking at him in awe. "Was that what I looked like when I first saw All Might?" It took him back. Back to before Vows, Spirits, his Idol Career, before even his Synergy and Quirklessness. It took him when he thought that the only thing it would take to be a hero was a pure heart.

He put on his "All Might Face" and starting reciting the first speech that he ever committed to memory. "Some people say that a good quirk or a strong body is what makes a great hero. But it's not the power that makes someone a hero, it's being a hero that gives you power!" He slammed his fist over his heart. "The courage to protect the innocent! The will to hold against every evil! The determination that goes beyond for the sake of justice! What makes someone a hero… is that they have the Heart of a Hero!" He held out his open hand. "We've been given the fire of heroism. Even if it only starts as a small spark, it's our duty as heroes to build it into a bonfire brighter than those who came before." He tightened the hand into a fist that he held up. "All you need is that spark of someone believing in you, and the heart of a hero can burn in every single one of you! All you need is the courage, the will, and the determination to go PLUS ULTRA!"

Quiet settled over the room as the words sunk in. Sero slowly let out the breath he didn't know he was holding. "Well Damn. I can't quit after hearing that, now can I?"

-Girl's Locker Room-

The genuine smile on Katsu's face would have embarrassed her, if anyone was paying attention to her. "All Might's graduation speech. Fucking nerd…"

Yaoyarozu wiped away a tear. "I'll do it! I'll do Aizawa's training, and I'll be the hero Izuku believes I can be!"

Katsu snapped her head up. "No, he was just quoting-"

"Yeah! I'll do it too! Izuku believes in me!"

"He wasn't saying-"

"I believe in the Izuku that believes in me! Hey Katsu! You Boyfriend is hella Manly! Can I train with him?"

"No!"

"Are you sure? I just want to get to know him better. Please?"

No!"

"Please?

"She's just going to keep asking until I say yes, isn't she? I guess I am supposed to try being nice…Damnit…" "Fine. But I'm not going to let you be alone with him!"

"Awesome!"

-Evening, Dormitory-

Izuku staggered into his new room. Excluding the opening test, the day hadn't been particularly hard, just long. He was surrounded by hordes of fans asking for autographs, offering sponsorship deals and free support gear, guys offering to be his friend and take some of the run-off, girls throwing their panties at him, a couple of people accusing him of being a heartless tease, and one girl that thought he made Deep Dope sell out, and now he still had to unpack all his stuff.

He took a second to breathe and take in the suspiciously large dorm room. "Really, it takes up almost the whole half-basement! There're even multiple rooms! Was there a mistake? Did someone bribe the principal?" He put his conspiracy theories on hold when he saw a package from Midoriya Industries sitting out on the table. Hoping for an explanation, he popped open the box and was greeted with a variety of All Might posters, figurines, cards, and other merch, along with a letter.

"Son, I'm sorry I couldn't get back before you left for U.A. but I underestimated how much All Might's PR was doing. But we've finally finished with the red tape, and Midoriya Inc. is now going to be the sole distributor of All Might merchandise. The first printings are in the box for you, along with a few older pieces to help complete your collection.

"I just want to let you know how proud I am. You held onto your dream and found a way to become a hero, even though you were born without a quirk. Nothing can stop you if you put your mind to it. I still remember how nervous you were at your first concert. But you got over it and put on a great show anyway. I hope you find some way to use those skills as a hero too…

"I'm not much of a writer, just wanted to let you know that I cared. I'll be cheering you on for the sports festival, I know you can win!

Love -Hisashi Midoriya, Dad."

Izuku wiped a tear from his eye. "Thanks Dad…" His father wasn't always there, but he was always supportive. Most of his collection of All Might merchandise were gifts from him.

Then he noticed the small arrow pointing to the back of the letter.

"P.S. I always knew you and Katsu would get married, but aren't you rushing things a little? You just started at U.A. and you already have three girls ready for marriage. You're lucky one of your girls is Endeavor's daughter, or it would have been really hard to get your hero's harem license this early. But we managed to pull some strings between All Might, Endeavor, Master Oguro, and the Torinos, and managed to get you set up early. I have the first batch of wedding certificates ready for signing. Just let us know when you want the reception. Have fun, and give your mother plenty of grandchildren."

Izuku tore through the box until he found the small laminated card and sheaf of thick legal paper. There was one each for Katsu, Ochako, and Shojo, all of them with parental blessings appended. He set them down with a sigh. "Thanks Dad. Now I need to keep any of the girls from finding out about this."

"Hey Deku." Katsu's voice sounded from one of the side rooms in the now understandably large apartment. "Do you want dinner, a bath, or would you rather have me?"

Izuku had to take a second to reboot when he saw Katsu walk into the room wearing an apron and holding a bowl of katsudon. Sure, he had seen her naked plenty of times, but the domestic look caught him completely off guard and reminded him how beautiful she really was. He didn't even think to hide the marriage forms until it was too late.

"YOU HAVE YOUR HAREM LICENCE ALREADY?! AND THE FORMS TOO?!"

…Well, scratch the possibility of keeping them secret.

"Maybe this is for the best. I'm already bound to Katsu and Ochako. If I don't marry them now, it'll crush them, and leave me open for more attacks. And Shojo definitely needs the support of a loving marriage. They're all beautiful. Even if Katsu is crazy, Ochako and Shojo can help keep her in line. I just need to tell them everything about the vows and spirits…" Katsu's gasp drew his attention. "And I just said that out loud, didn't I?" All three girls nodded their heads. Izuku gave a nervous smile. "Well, there are no other girls I'd rather marry! You balance each other out: Ochako is dere-dere, open and happy; Shojo is kuudere, shy and cool; and Katsu is tsundere, fiery and fierce."

All three girls blushed, and settled down for the explanation as the two spirits made sure their hosts would have privacy.

-Night-

Katsu fiddled with the ring on her finger. There was too much new information to digest, and too much to worry about. She'd always had a vague idea that Izuku was involved with her "quirk evolution" the details still managed to shock her. She couldn't be mad at Izuku, he saved her life after all. What worried her was the idea that Efreet might be controlling her, and subtly ruining her relationship with Izuku.

The incident at the training field ran through her mind again, along with the condition that was laid on her. If she kept trying to control him, he would leave her. She had to get his input, consider his feelings, think about others; all the things that fire didn't do well.

"Hey Hot Wings, we need to talk." Efreet poked her head out of the boiler room which doubled as Katsu's closet. "What would you do if Izuku died?"

Efreet didn't even take a second to think. "Kill the bastards who did it, burn their house down with them inside, throw the ashes into lava, kill everyone who helped them kill Izuku, piss on the lava that I threw the killer's ashes into, completely fuse with you to become the immortal mistress of fire, take over the world so I can start a structured breeding plan to produce an exact duplicate of Izuku, dig out the ashes of the killers so I could burn them again, then marry Izuku 2, make him immortal, and live happily ever after. Isn't that what you would do?"

The explosive girl blinked and thought for a second. "Yeah… I could see myself doing that; minus the immortality and taking over the world parts."

"Not for lack of desire, only lack of ability." Katsu didn't answer. "Look, I'm still a part of you; I'm just a part that's been made into a gateway of incredible power. Even if I'm nudging you one way, you're still ultimately in control."

The girl flopped back onto her bed. "It's good news… but it doesn't help me. I can't blame anyone else if my attitude drives Izuku away. Even if we're bound together by the vow, that doesn't mean he'll still love me. And I don't think I could take it if I had to watch from the outside as others got to love him…"

"If you're worried, why don't we make a pact, just between the two of us?"

Katsu shot up. "That possible? I thought you needed a third person?"

The spirit lounged in the air like a jungle cat. "Not once the spirit is awakened." Her smile was alarmingly mischievous. "Though keep in mind, I can only affect you with this vow."

"There went the easiest solution. But this is better anyway." "I accept your offer."

-Chapter 8 Done!-

This… was not how I originally planned for the chapter to go. Still, I feel it's in character, and better than what I had originally planned.

On the topic of who was genderbent, and who remained male: I wanted Izuku to have one male friend who was gynophobic (afraid of women), and one male friend who was straight, but everyone assumed was gay. Aoyama was obvious for the second, but the first had a few more options. I narrowed it down to Ojiro, Sero, Iida, or Shoji. Of the four, Ojiro seemed like the most likely to have gynophobia, and the one that would make the least interesting girl. That just leaves Sero as the example of the unimpressive average guy, which is what he tends to be used as in the show anyway.

Also; my wholesome head-canon is that All Might is popular abroad as well, and most of Izuku's merchandise is from his dad trying to subtly encourage his kid without knowing how. All for One will not be Izuku's father… at least in this story…

In other news, I now have my master's degree.

Hope you enjoyed the read.

NoctisxSol, signing off.