Izuku considers himself fairly good at being a morning person. He's not the super bright and chipper kind of morning person, but he can usually get up and be functional fairly quickly. This was not a usual morning though.
His mind had tossed and turned after his talk with All Might. He never would have guessed that One for All had such a complicated history. Because really, the quirk was already unique enough with it being able to be passed down in a way other than through bloodlines; who would have guessed that it also came with a built in arch-nemesis? Certainly not Izuku.
All Might had made it very clear that the only reason he hadn't told Izuku this history before he passed on the quirk was because he truly believed that villain to be dead. Which, admittedly, was a relief for Izuku. The knowledge wouldn't have made Izuku regret taking the quirk, not ever, but it was good to know he hadn't been left in the dark about something that was believed to be immediately dangerous to him. Until that voice came over the TV, All Might had believed that everything to do with this All for One was history; All Might's personal, painful history to be precise.
All Might had spoken only once about the fate his own mentor, but it had been enough for Izuku to hear the depth of pain in his voice. It made him worried about what the upcoming episodes might do to the man, emotionally and physically, and what such a villain might do if he realized that One for All had already been passed on. Worries about his friends and family's safety played through his mind while the others slept, so he was less than thrilled that the sleep he did get was interrupted by Iida barging into the room.
Apparently the class president had taken it upon himself to wake everyone up. None of them had any phones or alarm clocks, so no one had been able to designate a group 'wake up' time. He's not even sure that would work if they had any sort of alarm because he wasn't sure time really existed here. And wasn't that a great thought to try and puzzle out after a sleepless 'night'?
"So why are you getting everyone up again?" Izuku asked, rubbing his eyes as he followed his friend out of the room. He was surprised when he found most of the class and teachers already up and eating.
"My internal clock is very precise, even in a place like this. Plus, I am the class president. Given these facts, it seemed only natural to take on the responsibility of making sure food was available and then waking everyone so the viewing could be resumed. I made sure to leave yourself and All Might for last through, since you both endured much stress during the previous episodes."
"Oh, thanks." Izuku said, now feeling a little guilty for some of his uncharitable thoughts upon first being woken up. "Did you include Aizawa too? He also went through a lot too."
Iida's hands, which normally were almost always moving, became still and dropped to his sides. "To be honest, I did not have the courage to wake Mr. Aizawa."
Izuku thought about how the man practically lived in his sleeping bag, and the look he gave students who interrupted his naps. "I don't blame you."
The two of them settled down alongside Uraraka and Tsuyu, who stopped chatting and munching to talk to them.
"Did you all sleep well?" Iida asked.
"Not as well as I would have liked." Uraraka admitted. Izuku grunted in agreement while she continued. "There was so much we learned yesterday, and today we're supposed to start seeing a future that hasn't even happened yet! It's a lot to take in you know?"
"It was hard to turn my brain off for a while." Tsuyu agreed.
Izuku never had really understood how some people could just do that, turn their minds off. His usually only turned off completely due to sheer exhaustion. Come to think of it, all the stuff his body went through yesterday might be the reason he got what little sleep he did.
"I agree that the prospect of seeing the future is a daunting one, but I believe we are capable of rising to the task and using the things we see for the greater good!" Iida declared.
"You're really a morning person, huh Iida?" Tsuyu noted.
Izuku dug into his food while Iida wondered "Why does everyone always say it like that?" under his breath.
"I kind of wonder how good seeing the future will be for us." Tsuyu continued. "Whenever time travel stuff happens on TV and movies, they always say its bad to know too much about your own future."
"I can see how it would be dangerous to try and make something happen with future knowledge that might not even be accurate once you actively start to change things." Izuku said, happy for something different to think about. "But I think if we are careful, then we can use this to our advantage. After all, it won't just be us that have to decide what to do. We have some of the teachers here too, including the principle. He's one of the smartest beings on the planet, according to everything I've read. So if anyone can figure out how to use knowledge of the future safely, it would be him."
"That's a good point. I'll try to remember to just watch and learn, and worry about all the afterwards stuff later. Or not at all, if the teachers are gonna decide how to handle it." Uraraka said, happily helping herself to more food.
"I have a question." Aizawa stated from his sleeping bag.
"HE LIVES!" Present Mic shouted. Aizawa ignored him and continued looking at the principle.
"Yes, Aizawa?" He asked, sipping his tea. Because of course he had tea here. He probably had a philosophical discussion with Truth while they were all sleeping and managed to get the weird sillouette being to give him a supply.
"We're gonna be seeing things that haven't happened yet. And some of that is undoubtedly going to involve the students doing some stupid stuff. Don't look at me like that Hizashi, you know what kind of choices teenagers make. So my question is, should we dole out any school punishments for things that their future selves do?"
"Hmmm, that is an interesting question. Their future selves doing such a thing would imply that it is something they would do had life gone on as normal, but given that we are all here then it could change them enough not to make the same mistakes when the time comes."
"Surely, the consequences they face in the future will be enough to set them straight of any mistakes they do make." All Might suggested. Aizawa felt slight vindicated that there was a teacher here that looked more tired than he did. "Especially if those consequences involve any sort of physical pain."
Aizawa felt a twinge of sympathy when All Might hand settled over his old injury. It wasn't enough to stop him from saying more though. "Bakugo didn't face any real consequences for his past as a bully until he came here, and won't face the brunt of it until we get back."
"Both good points." Nedzu acknowleged. "I suppose we'll have to go on a case by case basis. If seeing or feeling the natural consequences of any mistakes seems to teach the children what they need to know, then further intervention may not be necessary. But if not, we will do whatever is appropriate to drive the lesson home, as it were."
Recovery Girl huffed. "I'm sure we'll have to do something at some point. There's always a few students who don't seem to learn their lesson until you make the injury heal on its own.
The atmosphere of the room continued to be a strange mix as people got ready for the next viewing. Eagerness and curiosity mixed with hesitation and anxiety, and many of the students found it felt similar to when they got their acceptance letters from UA. They wanted to open the letter and see what was inside, but were also scared of what they might find.
Finally, after some arguments about food and bathroom use, all were sitting in front of the screen. For better or for worse, they were about to open the envelope.
The next segment started out with an older Izuku talking about how quirks first came to be once again.
"Curious, I wonder why we are being shown this again." Iida wondered aloud. "It isn't like Truth to pointlessly repeat things."
There was a pause as people waited for the strange being to respond in some way, but there was nothing.
"Future me must be leading up to something, at least I would hope so." Izuku mumbled a bit at the end, and the show continued.
Older Izuku explained about his dreams and his quirklessness.
"YES! We get to see tiny cutie pie baby Izuku again!" Ashido cheered. She and Hagakure continued to gush about how cute he was, along with a few others. Uraraka admitted that she had run around her room with her old All Might toy like that more than once, and got several nods of agreement, including one from Present Mic. Izuku blushed like crazy of course, but he managed to keep from sliding down to the floor in embarrassment.
They let themselves focus on that much more than Izuku's visit to the doctor or his talk with his mom. They'd already seen that after all, and it was so much nicer to think of fun childhood memories.
The scene suddenly changed to Izuku standing atop a cliff, while a great number of menacing figures approached him.
The lighthearted focus immediately vanished as people stared at the screen in confusion, or fear.
"What the fuck?" Bakugo deadpanned.
"Wh-who are all those guys?! Dont tell me we're gonna get attacked by the League again so soon!" Mineta wailed. "Or worse, what if it's some of those elite guys they talked about?!" A worried murmur started to pervade the room.
"Now now, settle down everyone." Nedzu ordered, and the noise ceased. "I don't believe that the Izuku we see right now is in real danger. Given what has been talked about so far, I believe this short segment is being used more as a reminder than anything else. This is the first episode that will foray into our supposed futures after all, so it would make sense to ensure all are familiar with how things stand."
"I feel like I should be insulted then." Jirou commented. "I mean, we just spent a whole day getting reminded of what happened to get us here. We shouldn't need another reminder, should we?"
"I believe the key phrase there Miss Jirou is 'a whole day'. Many of us learned things yesterday that we were in no way prepared to learn."
"I can see how that kind of information dump could leave some feeling confused today. This could just be a way of making sure everyone is reminded of the most important parts without singling anyone out." Yagi mused.
"It could also serve as a reminder of why we all chose to be here." Aizawa ventured further. "Midoriya talking about his past, while we're shown something he could face in the future? That any of us might face? It serves a double purpose. Killing two birds with one stone or whatever."
A grim silence followed. Everyone knew that further incidents were a possibility after the USJ, and that that was why so many of them had agreed to come, but no one liked thinking about it.
Uraraka and Iida looked at Izuku standing alone atop the cliff. He didn't look scared, but that didn't make the idea of him being alone against so many villains any easier for them to swallow. They caught each others eyes, and nodded. A silent promise that, no matter what happened, they wouldn't let their friend end up alone.
Izuku faced the oncoming villains, and thought about how he'd kept going despite the obstacles, and about all the people that had supported him.
"Don't you put me in your shitty visuals Deku, I'm not a part of your posse!"
"I didn't make the show Kaachan!"
Power flowed over Izuku's body, and he gave the villains a determined smile.
There were a lot of reactions to seeing that expression on Izuku. Some people gasped while others just dropped their jaws and others smiled excitedly. Because people knew that sort of smile, it was like All Might's.
"You have truly captured his essence." Aoyama said with a sparkling grin.
"The resemblance is pretty spot on." Shoji said. Tokoyami grunted in agreement.
"It's uncanny really."
"Oh man Midoriya, you look so manly!"
"This does give the impression that you will soon start to truly come into One for All's power. That is a good sign my boy."
Izuku wrung his hands, blushing again. "I haven't done anything yet."
"Still, this bodes well for your future success." Iida assured him.
Izuku smiled at his friend, but it slid off his face as he looked at the boy on the screen. It looked like him, certainly, and he wanted to believe that it was him. But right now he had a hard time believing that he could face down a horde of villains so calmly and confidently.
'But isn't learning to do that exactly why you are here?' A voice in his head asked.
Before Izuku and the villains met, the scene changed back to the city. It was the day after the USJ incident, and the news was reporting on it.
"So you let the reporter's know that the group's true target was All Might?" Momo asked in surprise. "I thought you might try to keep that under wraps to avoid panic."
"Believe it or not, people are more at ease with the idea of All Might being threatened than a bunch of high school kids." Aizawa said wryly. Yagi rubbed the back of his neck while Present Mic nodded.
"Yeah, most people are confident enough in him not to get too freaked out, and if we just mentioned them attacking you guys people might start to freak out about other school groups getting attacked too."
"Hmmm, I hadn't thought about how that information alone might worry other parents. Thank you for the clarification."
Present Mic grinned at her easily. "No problem. You guys would usually get classes on how to deal with the media in second or third year; I just hope we don't have to bump that up. The longer you can avoid dealing with reporters the better."
Aizawa grunted his agreement.
The scene switched to a run down building, where All Might's voice read a letter to someone. The letter explained how he'd found someone to become his successor, and was proud of the boy, but that he might need the help of his old teacher soon. It was shown that an old man in a hero outfit was the one it was addressed to.
"You're telling someone else about One for All? Or, did they already know?" Izuku asked, looking from the old man to All Might in confusion. The wording had made it a little unclear, and for some reason his mentor looked very uncomfortable.
"Ah, well, you see...ahem, that is Gran Torino. He taught me for a while in my youth, when I was learning to use One for All myself. Given how, uh, my teaching methods haven't been working for you, despite my best efforts, I thought it might be best to have someone with other methods give it a shot. I started drafting that letter before the USJ, and it seems I must have gotten around to sending it."
Students chattered excitedly for a minute about the prospect of seeing someone who knew All Might when he was first starting out. Izuku, however, was nervous. He'd never known All Might to ramble like that, and wondered why All Might had never mentioned the man until now.
Over with the teachers, Aizawa was giving All Might a deadpan stare.
"All this time he's been breaking his bones, and you had another person who knew about this quirk that could have helped him? And you're only contacting this person now?"
All Might's brow was gaining a light sheen of sweat. "I certainly didn't expect the boy to become a target so soon, I thought we'd have more time for Midoriya and I to try and figure it out. I know I should have contacted him sooner, and I was planning to do so even before the attack, it just..." All Might wasn't sure what to say honestly. His history with Gran Torino was a complicated one, and he'd hoped that contacting him about teaching wouldn't be necessary at all, but he was big enough to admit when he needed help. Eventually anyway...sometimes. He was willing to do it to help Midoriya in any case. He just hoped the boy took to Gran's teaching style better than he himself did.
"I'm glad to see you are willing to look past your own history to help your student." Recovery Girl said sincerely, which put the matter to rest for now. She may scold him for his recklessness, but she knew him enough at this point to know how hard something like that must have been for him.
A meeting at UA was being held to discuss the League. Detective Tsukauchi was telling them that they hadn't found anything in their attempts to identify the attack's leaders. All Might and Nedzu discussed how immature Shigaraki had acted, despite being the designated leader, with All Might calling him a man child.
"Like teacher like student, huh Deku?" Uraraka smiled and gave Izuku a teasing nudge.
"Huh? What do you mean?"
"I believe it was you who got us all discussing Shigaraki's contradictory behavior yesterday, and here All Might was the first to bring that point up." Iida pointed out.
"Yeah, that is kinda fitting isn't it? Guess the apple doesn't fall far from the tree." Kaminari teased.
While the class gently ribbed Izuku for his connection with All Might, Todoroki looked between Izuku and All Might with a thoughtful expression.
The group talked about why Shigaraki might be like that, but the Detective pointed out that the main problem was how Shigaraki had attracted so many followers, even if they were just small time villains. He pointed out that the world they lived in could make Shigaraki's simple minded ideals appealing to certain people.
"I didn't think about it like that before." Hagakure admitted. "When you put it that way, I guess it does make sense that those guys would listen to him."
Ashido shook her head. "I guess so...I still don't really get it myself though."
"Perhaps it is something we should pay more attention to. Knowing how a villain thinks could be a great advantage." Iida mused, which made Izuku look thoughtful.
"I can see how it would be easier to let someone else be in control sometimes, but an attack like the USJ still feels like a big leap to take for someone like Shigaraki." Ojiro said.
The detective commented that the work of heroes let the police focus on investigation, and that they would continue to do that.
"You know, I never thought about it much, but the police do still play an important part don't they? How much would heroes really know about villain groups and stuff if the police didn't do research like that? I mean, do heroes do that too?" Sato asked. Aizawa was the one to answer.
"Underground heroes do, we tend to work more with the police and help track down villainous activity that's harder to see. Regular Pros are more about doing patrols and catching everyday crime. Of course they get called in once there is enough information to do a raid or whatever is needed, but most of the time their job is to be visible."
"That's part of the reason pro heroes tend to wear such bright colors or have a signature design you know. The point is to let people know you are a hero, so that civilians are comforted and villains focus on your rather than them." All Might explained.
"Because nothing says 'Hey look over here!' like an eye catching outfit!" Present Mic declared.
"So that's why you always look like that." Aizawa muttered.
"Hey! What's that supposed to mean!?"
Nedzu pondered Shigaragi being a 'man child' pointing out that he was similar to the students in the fact that both still had room to grow, and how dangerous that potential would be if there was someone capable backing him.
"Which was totally confirmed yesterday. There is absolutely someone backing him." Hagakure groaned.
"Well, we know that there is someone backing him, but we don't know how capable they are yet." Kirishima pointed out.
"I think the Noumu existing means they are pretty capable." Tsuyu countered.
"Yeah, but we were able to beat it back. Now they'll have to make another one, or come up with something new, and we'll do our best to take them down as soon as we can."
Kirishima's optimism lightened the mood a bit, so not many noticed just how pensive All Might looked, both on screen and in real life. Midoriya was one of the ones who did notice, because he was feeling the same way. Knowing more about who was backing Shigaraki up, he couldn't shrug off his worries as easily as his classmates. How long would it be before they knew the story too? How would they feel then?
Izuku voice over described how the students had been given the day after the USJ incident off, but it was still hard to relax. Izuku found himself thinking about how he still couldn't picture himself being like All Might, and how he and the other students hindered the heroes. He would have to really make this power his own if he hoped to both survive and protect others.
"Speak for yourself Deku! I fucking nailed that shitty warp bastard! He only got free because of that fucking Noumu thing."
Aizawa sighed. "As much as I wish you all hadn't gotten involved at all, I would also be lying if I said your presence was entirely problematic. If Shigaraki hadn't been distracted by you three in the water, he might have just decided to kill me before he and Kurogiri ran off." Present Mic nodded along.
"And if those at the entrance hadn't all worked together then Iida wouldn't have gotten out in time to bring back up, if he even got out at all."
"Not to mention how the intervention of young Bakugo, Kirishima, and Todoroki kept me from being killed by Kurogiri." All Might added. "And as I said before young Midoriya, you saved my life, and my secret, by buying me those few extra seconds from Shigaraki. Working on your control of One for All is certainly a goal you must continue to work towards, and I'm glad you are trying to take inspiration from your experience, but I don't want you or any other student downplaying how well you did with such terrible circumstances. Understand?"
Izuku was tearing up by the time All Might was finished talking, and the others mentioned by the teachers were either grinning or blushing with pride.
"Yes sir! I'll do my best!"
Inko came in and called Izuku to dinner.
"Oh man, your mom's food looks so good! I wish we had something that good here!" Kirishima groaned.
"We did discover a kitchen yesterday. I could try baking something during one of our break times." Sato offered. This was met by enthusiastic agreement and offers to help.
Izuku smiled sadly at his mother on the screen. She was always trying her best for him. He worried too though, she looked so relieved when he talked to her normally. Just how much had he isolated himself after the USJ? Or was it just lingering fear of the USJ attack? He was beginning to think he had underestimated how weird and frustrating it would be to get information about the future in this format, seeing so much yet missing so many 'in between' moments.
The scene changed to the next day in 1A's classroom. Hagakure complained about how she hadn't stood out on the news compared to everyone else.
"Maybe you should talk to the support department about making you a suit that could work with your quirk better. I've heard of other heroes with powers of invisibility that had suits that could become visible or invisible along with the quirk." Midoriya suggested.
"But I'm always invisible!" Hagakure whined.
"It still wouldn't be a bad idea. The costume ideas were based off of how we wanted them to go, but someone with more experience in the field might have a better idea of how to make a material that would offer more flexibility." Momo pointed out. Hagakure hummed thoughtfully, then perked up.
"How about a deal? I'll go talk to the support department if you come with me and do the same."
"Oh! I suppose it would be easier with company wouldn't it? Of course, I'll come with whenever you have time." Momo easily agreed.
Across the room, Aizawa breathed a sigh of relief. He'd been meaning to talk to Yoayorozu about doing just that, but he was terrible at starting those kind of conversations, and he didn't want to do it just before the sports festival either. He should really talk to Hagakure about the possibility of becoming an underground hero too. Stealth was her strength after all, and they really could use more underground pros.
Everyone in class was talking about the USJ incident, from the media's response to how impressive their teachers were. Then Iida was shown aggressively walking forward and ordering everyone to take their seats.
Iida's eye twitched. "Do I...do I really look like that each morning?"
"Uh, um, I wouldn't say every morning, just on some mornings." Izuku stuttered, and Uraraka nodded along.
"Yeah, even with the day off the day before, things still felt pretty weird when we got back you know? So it's probably just exaggerating because of that. Plus, you know, we were already sitting, so it seemed more over the top than usual."
"I'm usually over the top?" Iida asked in surprise.
"A bit." Izuku admitted.
"But we love you for it." Uraraka beamed at him, which made him smile in return.
The kids wondered who would teach the class, since Aizawa was still supposed to be in the hospital.
Recovery Girl narrowed her eyes at the screen, then looked over at Aizawa, who was purposefully not looking at her. Present Mic put his head in his hands.
"Shouta, please tell me you aren't about to walk into that classroom."
"This is the future, I can't say what will happen."
The door opened to reveal Aizawa, who was doing a good impression of a mummy.
"I KNEW IT!" Present Mic yelled, then paused. "Wait, are you okay? I mean the you here and now? You don't look like you're in pain..." When he looked closer though, he could see that Aizawa didn't look entirely focused either.
"There is some pain...but it's dulled, distant. Future me probably has a lot of pain killers."
"Which is another reason that you shouldn't be teaching in your state." Recovery Girl chided. She shook her head in exasperation. "For claiming to dislike All Might so much, you certainly share some of his bad habits."
Aizawa wanted to glare at her, but the throbbing pain around and behind his eyes told him it wouldn't be very effective. "It's not like I'm out doing a patrol, I'm just talking to my class. I'll be fine."
Recovery Girl just shook her head again.
The class started freaking out upon seeing him, telling him he was back too soon and wondering if he was really alright.
Which was basically what the students had started doing in real life once they saw their future teacher had come to class after only one day of rest.
"I agree with future me. Is it possible to be too pro? Because this feels too pro." Kaminari rambled.
"That level of dedication is quite staggering. Let us hope that it does not cause him to stagger right into the ground." Tokoyami commented.
"Are you really okay sir? You look like you could use more rest, kero."
"You already risked so much for us, you don't have to push yourself even more, especially not for something like this." Shoji dithered.
Aizawa sighed. "You don't have to worry about me. My future self clearly got quality medical care, so I can do something as simple as sitting in a chair and talking to a bunch of students."
The reassurance managed to quiet the class, but many still looked concerned.
Aizawa told the class that his well being didn't matter.
"I'm quoting you the next time you call Midoriya or All Might too self sacrificing." Present Mic informed him. Aizawa huffed.
Aizawa told them their fight wasn't over, which worried the kids until he announced that the UA sports festival was coming up.
The students shouted with joy and relief. After all their worry about what the future episodes might show them, it eased a lot of tension to have something as normal as the sports festival to focus on.
"The sports festival has got to be one of the most protected events in all of Japan right? No way the villains would try to attack that!" Sero declared.
"Well now that you've said it like that you've gone an jinxed us." Jirou's voice was flat, but she was smiling slightly to show she was joking. Mostly anyway.
"Attacking such a large event would require a lot of coordination and planning." Momo mused. "Given what we last saw of them, the League didn't seem particularly prepared for such an attack."
"Yeah, it sounded like they were gonna focus on some other stuff for a while." Izuku agreed. Though that certainly didn't bode well for them when the League did decide to make another move. "This still seems like a risk though..."
Izuku's sentiment was echoed by Kaminari of all people, as he and a few others questioned whether it was a good idea to hold the event right after an attack. Aizawa said it was the school's way of showing they had things under control still.
"Many people complain about heroics being too superficial, and they have valid points, but that does not change the fact that public perception has a great affect on heroes and heroic institutions." Nedzu explained, cutting off any further words of worry. "It is important that people continue to view us as capable and trustworthy if we hope to continue the work we've been doing."
Aizawa and a few students explained how important the sports festival was for scouting purposes and getting hired after graduation. Jirou commented that Kaminari would get stuck as a sidekick.
Kaminari made the same face as his on screen self.
"Rude." Sero said, elongating the vowel sound..
"I stand by the comments of future me." Jirou said. Kaminari looked even more downtrodden.
Aizawa gave a rousing speech about how they only had one chance a year to get noticed by a popular agency, so they couldn't afford to procrastinate. Then dismissed them.
"Ah, I get it now." Present Mic smirked, leaning onto him. "You came in to teach because you wanted to make sure they knew how important the festival was despite what had happened. You big softy!"
"Get off me."
Todoroki, as always, scowled when his father was briefly shown.
"I just thought of something." Izuku said. "If our class gets a preview of what the sports festival is going to be like, won't that give us an unfair advantage when we have to go through the real one?"
"That is a good point. I would hate to win anything just because I had information that others did not." Iida said.
"But if we end up winning in this future vision anyway, would that still count as unfair? Or would we just be..." Shoji struggled for the words, so Tokoyami finished.
"At that point, we might just be following fate, fulfilling destiny."
"It still doesn't sit right with me." Iida frowned. Uraraka patted him on the back.
"I wouldn't worry about it too much right now. I mean, we're watching this to learn about the future in case we want to try and change it, right? We don't even know if the sports festival is one of the things that we'll want to change yet."
Izuku nodded slowly. "That's a good point, Uraraka. It's like what we were talking about earlier; we should really be viewing this as pure information gathering. Once that's done we can think about how best to move forward." he smiled at her. "Thanks for the reminder."
"No problem!" She said, smiling back.
After Aizawa left the room the kids started talking about how excited they were to be taking their first big step toward becoming pros. Hagakure talked to Ojiro about how much she needed to stand out.
Ashido grinned and playfully nudged Hagakure. "Something you wanna tell me?"
"I don't know what you could possibly mean..." Hagakure shifted in her seat, and Ashido wished she could tell if the girl was blushing.
Aoyama went on one of his signature self assured spiels, demanding Koda agree with him at the end.
"Aoyama! Stop freaking out Koda, you know being put on the spot makes him uncomfortable." Sato scolded.
"Ah, my apologies Koda, that was most inconsiderate of me." Aoyama gave Koda a deep bow, causing the boy to frantically wave his hands in an effort to say that it was fine.
Kaminari complimented Shoji on how easy it would be for the other boy to stand out, which lead to Jirou taking another jab at Kaminari.
"You seem to really have it out for him today." Momo noted, then looked contemplative. "Or, I suppose you will have it out for him?"
"Either way works, I find it hard to pass up an opportunity to take a shot at him. He just makes it so easy."
"Hey!"
"You know it's true." Jirou told him, smirking at how affronted Kaminari looked.
"Yeesh, are we sure it's just the physical pain that translates from the screen? Because I swear I felt that!"
Izuku and Iida talked about how fired up they felt, and how how excited everyone else was, only to be interrupted by Uraraka, wearing an expression so intense that the determination was coming off in visible waves.
Students giggled at Iida's version of 'fired up' before cutting off when they saw Uraraka's expression.
"Oh my gosh that expression is so intense! So manly!"
"Yeah! You go girl! Be filled with determination!" Ashido cheered.
"You don't look so happy about it up there." Uraraka noted. Ashido brushed it off.
"I'm sure future me just got too hung up on her surprise, but current me is here for the surprise intensity!"
"Um, thank you, both." Uraraka said bashfully. She had a pretty good idea why she was getting so 'f'ired up' and felt a little uneasy about how much focus it was getting. She didn't particularly want to be more in the limelight than she already was...but if Izuku and All Might could deal with having a bunch of their secrets being put on display she was sure she could survive a few of her own being known.
Mineta wondered aloud about the source of Uraraka's mood change, which earned him another tongue slap.
"Ow!"
"That was definitely inappropriate." Hagakure noted. Uraraka held up her hand to Tsuyu, and they gave each other a soft high five.
Mineta looked like he was about to argue, then glanced over at All Might, and shut his mouth. 'Remember what All Might said, the actual words of the girls are more truthful than stereotypes.' With that thought in mind, he got up to get a notebook from the table in the back of the room.
"What's that for?" Sero asked.
"I figure if I'm gonna get slapped this often I should keep an official list of what gets me slapped so I remember not to say it again." he replied. Sero nodded sagely.
"Probably a good idea."
Uraraka did her own version of trying to fire up the rest of the class with her, with mixed results. Later at lunch, Izuku asked why Uraraka wanted to be a hero, and was surprised that the answer was 'for the money'.
One of Aizawa's eyebrows went up. Not an uncommon reason, but he hadn't pegged Uraraka as the type for that. Other, more obvious, signs and exclamations of surprise went up around the room, making Uraraka's cheeks burn.
"It's not what it sounds like! I just-" She cut off when Izuku put a hand on her arm.
"I'm sure the other 'you' is about to explain anyway, so you don't have to now. Besides, whatever the explanation is, I don't think any less of you." He assured her.
"Indeed, even if you are about to give one anyway, you don't owe anyone a justification for such motivations. And I'm sure no one here will judge you." The look Iida sent everyone around him promised that if they did judge her, he would have very 'class presidential' discussion with them.
Uraraka took a deep breath, relaxing with the knowledge that, despite their surprise, her friends had her back. "Thanks guys."
Uraraka apologized for having such a comparatively ignoble goal, but Iida assured her there was nothing wrong with aiming to provide for herself. Uraraka went on to explain that her family owned a construction company that wasn't doing well, so they had very little money. Izuku made the connection that Uraraka could use her quirk to help the company if she had a license. Uraraka said she had thought of that as well, which lead to a flashback of a very young Uraraka telling her parents she wanted to help them.
Ashido squealed when young Uraraka appeared on the screen. "OH MY GOSH YOU WERE SO CUTE!"
"So cute! I mean, you still are now of course, but back then you had the special baby levels of cute on top of it!"
"What Hagakure said!"
Uraraka's face was tomato red at this point, and she slid down in her seat. She stopped when Izuku solemnly said:
"At last, someone else in the class understands my pain."
That startled a laugh out of her.
In the flashback, Uraraka's father said he wanted her to make herself happy, and not focus on them. The flashback ended, and Uraraka said she would make money as a hero to make sure her parents could live without worry.
Aizawa nodded to himself. That sounded much more in character for the girl he knew. He restrained himself from rolling his eyes over how Mic was blubbering over what a beautiful story that was.
Todoroki had feelings that welled up in him at the sight of Uraraka's father telling her to put her own dreams first. He didn't have the experience or presence of mind to properly articulate them, but if he did, he probably would have thought something along the lines of 'God I wish that were me'.
"Aw, that's so sweet!" Hagakure gushed.
"Indeed, I would consider that as worthy a goal as any of the others we've heard." Momo agreed.
Iida was so impressed with her reasons he started applauding for her in the middle of the hallway, and Izuku's thoughts showed he was impressed too.
Uraraka was starting to tear up a little bit. "That's...thank you guys!" 'Maybe I've been spending too much time around Deku.' she thought to herself. Though if that was the case she couldn't bring herself to regret it.
All Might suddenly interrupted the tender moment, yelling about how he'd found Midoriya. He then asked the boy if he'd have lunch with him, holding up a small wrapped box. Uraraka commented that he looked like a 'maiden'.
It started with one person snorting. Then another person snickered, then suddenly the whole room was giggling and laughing.
"Oh my gosh that timing!" Kaminari wheezed.
"Uraraka is so right!" Ashido gasped.
"It was a very accurate analogy." Tsuyu said with a small grin.
All Might was also laughing, very much able to appreciate how the must have looked to all others in the hallway.
Izuku agreed to join him. In the lunch room, Uraraka and Iida talked about why All Might might have wanted to talk with Izuku, and the conversation was shown to be noticed by Todoroki.
Iida frowned. "Were we bothering you Todoroki? We weren't being too loud were we."
"I don't think that was it."
"Then what was it about?" Uraraka asked.
"...I'm not sure. It's in the future, so it's hard to say."
Uraraka frowned, because it felt like he had hesitated just a little too long with that explanation. But maybe she was overthinking things and he'd just taken a moment to guess and hadn't come up with anything. Though the fact that Momo was frowning at him a bit too made her think that maybe she wasn't overthinking.
In another room, All Might revealed to Midoriya that his time had been cut down even further, now to about an hour and half.
People around the room blanched, and some grimaced. All Might cursed internally. He had a feeling that his time would go down again, but he was hoping it wouldn't be by so much. On the outside, he gave his best smile.
"I know that is not ideal, but don't despair. Remember that this would have happened eventually no matter what, these events just made them happen a bit sooner is all."
"You aren't worried that will affect our ability to deal with the League in the future?" Tsuyu asked curiously.
"Like I said, it is not ideal. But, as my coworkers like to remind me, I am not the only capable hero out there. The attack at the USJ was ultimately brought to an end by the arrival of Iida and the other teachers after all, and I am confident that if we continue to work together then we can overcome any obstacle." All Might gave them a thumbs up.
"Yeah! Don't worry little listeners! We've got this!" Present Mic cheered. Aizawa held up his fist to show his agreement and support.
"Very stirring words, holding an important message." Nedzu said with a nod.
Izuku tried to apologize for the time shortening, but All Might wouldn't hear of it. He steered the conversation toward the Sports Festival instead. All Might questioned what he would do during it since he still had such control issues, which made Midoriya bring up the one punch he delivered that didn't break his arm at all. All Might questioned what was different.
Aizawa leaned forward a bit, knowing that any additional information he could get would help him train Midoriya better. He wasn't the only one, as several students, All Might, and even Midoriya himself looked on with rapt attention.
Midoriya thought back. He thought about 13's speech, and concluded that was the first punch he'd thrown at a real living person. All Might noted he must have held back on instinct.
Aizawa let out a breath. It wasn't quite the revelation he'd been hoping for, but it said a lot about that kid that even with so little experience he managed to keep himself from hurting anyone automatically like that. He agreed with All Might, that was progress to be happy about, gradual as it was.
All Might went on to talk about how his days as the number one pro were numbered, and how the attack showed that there were villains out there that realized it.
Despite having come to that conclusion already, the further confirmation reminded everyone of the problem, causing a grim air to settle briefly, but it was lifted as the show went on.
All Might asked Midoriya if he was still determined to be the number one hero, and of course the boy said yes. All Might said the sports festival would be the time to show everyone his determination, to announce himself to the world!
The intensity that All Might spoke with charged the room with energy. So much so that when the episode ended several students let out a cheer.
"Yeah Deku! You can do it!" Uraraka said, bouncing in her seat.
"I have no doubt you will shine marvelously!" Aoyama crooned.
"It's a lot of pressure, but I know you'll find a way to stand out." Ojiro said with confidence.
"I'm not so sure." Izuku said, fidgeting nervously. "Like he said, I still don't know how to use my quirk without majorly hurting myself. And I don't want to just rely on instinct to keep from hurting others or myself..."
"If I may be so bold Midoriya, you seem to thrive in situations that require you to make creative decisions. I have no doubt that you will succeed in this challenge too." Iida declared.
"And I would not have chosen you if I didn't believe you could make it, young Midoriya."
Todoroki watched as his classmates and All Might continued to encourage Midoriya. He thought about all he'd seen, and about what was to come. Even with all this new information, he wouldn't back down from his own goals. He was going to show his father what he could do with just his ice, and if that meant beating Midoriya, then so be it.
"You better think of something fucking amazing if you wanna have a snowballs chance in hell of getting any attention at all Deku! No one will glance at you twice after they see me!" Bakugo declared. Noting the mixed reactions this got him, Todoroki decided to wait a little longer before making his own declaration. Assuming they didn't see future him do it first.
While the others talked, Aoyama managed to get a quick word with Ashido.
"I noticed how you swooned over the sight of baby Uraraka." He started, a mischievous sparkle in his eye.
"Yeah."
"You had a similar reaction to seeing a younger Midoriya."
"Yeah?"
"So, I can't help but think, if both of them were so strikingly adorable as youngsters, then how might their children one day look?"
Ashido's eyes went wide. "They would be the most adorable babies in existence." She said with reverent awe.
And that's when the pair went from knowing looks to actual planning. Elsewhere in the room, Uraraka wondered why she suddenly had a sense of impending doom.
A.N.
Izuku also felt the impending doom, but figured it was just his anxiety acting up again.
A big Thank You to everyone for your patience and encouragement while I took my break. Having that made some of the things I was addressing easier to deal with. You guys are awesome! :D
