Another interview went by on Tuesday, and though this one had gone far better than the last, Izuku wasn't holding out hope for a response. Of course, he'd still go through the motions, as he always did. He'd still follow up in about a week, and perhaps he'd likely get a responding email thanking him but turning him down. None of it was new for Izuku.

By this point he had lost count of how many jobs he had applied for – and he didn't want to think of how many interviews he'd had to sit through. But even after all of his little failures, his struggle still continued. His days were now constructed of repetitive motions and endless chasings of jobs he had no chance of scoring. Every day he felt more thankful for Mr. Krelborn, who was the only employer who hadn't turned him down. He cringed to think of where he would be otherwise; still living with his mom and still struggling to find work. Still struggling to find some place other than the flower shop. After all of the jobs he had applied to, after every time he put forth all his effort, there was still one he hadn't tried his luck with.

As he swept the dried leaves and dirt off the flower shop's floor, his mind wandered to a head of pink dreadlocks. He still hadn't sent anything to Hatsume Industries. Even after Deku had gotten him back into writing in his notebooks.

He wondered why he hadn't sent anything in. Maybe he had gotten so used to the usual resume format that sending anything even remotely different seemed so daunting. Or maybe he had not believed her cry of "We'll consider everyone!" on that wall of TV's. or maybe, Izuku was afraid. Hatsume Industries was a Hero support gear company. As in, they worked directly with Heroes. Izuku had spent so long in a world that told him his Quirklessness made him worthless, he wanted to believe that Heroes would be different. He wanted to believe that Heroes would still look at him and know he had something more to offer. But what if he was wrong? What if he dragged himself all the way to Hosu just to find out that there was no place for him even among society's finest?

Then, Izuku had an exciting thought – and he blamed Deku for planting it in his mind. What if he dragged himself all the way to Hosu and he finally found a place among the colleagues of Heroes? And really, he wouldn't have to actually drag himself all the way to Hosu unless they considered him worth their time. But then, even if, theoretically, he did get a job at Hatsume Industries, would he even be able to follow through? Did he even have enough money for a place in Hosu?

He ran the mental math in his mind. If he assumed an apartment in Hosu was four times as much as he was paying at the moment, he would need… at least another two months worth of salary. And that was assuming he cut back heavily on food and other expenses. Of course, if he had another job, that would be easier, but that didn't seem to be happening anytime soon. But even with two months of accumulated income, that would only tide him over for so long in Hosu. He still wasn't sure what kind of position he would get at Hatsume Industries, let alone what kind of pay grade it would have. If he were lucky, he'd be able to just barely get by. If he were unlucky, he would be out begging on the street within a month. But all of that wasn't even considering how much that would impact Deku. He had practically memorized Mustafu's layout over the last few months. Moving would mean he would be starting completely over in a new city. And a city as big as Hosu–

"My boy!" Mr. Krelborn voiced right next to him, startling him. "Quit your mumbling! You're scaring away my customers!"

Izuku looked around to see a few people around the store. A few were giving him glances out of the corner of their eyes. "Oh! I'm sorry Mr. Krelborn! I'm usually so much better at catching myself…"

Mr. Krelborn hummed and went back to his seat at the register. Berating himself silently, Izuku went back to sweeping. As he cleaned the floor and wiped down the shelves, customers poured in and out of the store. Some passerby from the street came in for only a moment, drawn in by the display in the windowsill, only to file out soon after. When the busy hours came to a close, soon there was a moment where there were no customers in the store. Mr. Krelborn flipped the sign in the doorway to closed. "Izuku," he called him over.

"Y-yes, Mr. Krelborn?"

"Are you feeling alright, Izuku?"

"Yes, thank you for your concern Mr. Krelborn, but it's nothing, really."

"Are you sure, my boy? You're right that you usually have your muttering under control. Has something been on your mind?"

"N-not really, Mr. Krelborn. Just… some personal stuff,"

"You often do well in keeping that stutter in order."

"Yeah, I g-guess…"

Mr. Krelborn reached up to the side of Izuku's face out of Izuku's field of view. When he brought his hand back, he held a small petal in his fingers. "And you're usually quite good at keeping the petunia petals out of your hair."

Izuku ruffled his hair with his hands. A cluster of violet petals fluttered to the floor. "Ah! Sorry, Mr. Krelborn, I'll get that-!" He reached back for the broom.

The old man grabbed his arm lightly. "My boy. You try so hard not to trouble me, but please understand, I can't have an assistant living in his head all day. Otherwise, he wouldn't be a very assisting assistant, would he?"

"N-no, sir. I'm sorry, sir–"

"Now, that's enough of that. You haven't done me wrong yet. You have a lot on your mind, my boy, I can tell that much. Would it help at all to talk about it?"

Izuku answered without much thought, "I guess…"

"Alright, then." he brought two stools around to the front of the counter and took a seat, motioning for Izuku to do the same.

"But Mr. Krelborn– What about the customers? And I still have tasks to do, and–"

"Oh? And would you rather I let you off for today? You'd just come back on Friday with even more nonsense bouncing around that noggin!" He tapped his cane against Izuku's forehead to emphasize his point.

"A-alright," he sat down next to the man, "I'm really not sure where to start, though…"

"Hm… I caught something about Hosu. What's in Hosu for you?"

"There's this job… Well, really just a company that's hiring. I haven't applied yet, but I'm thinking about it. If I do, though, and I get the job, I would have to move to Hosu… and that's just, it would be such a big change."

"How so?"

"I'd have to move away, for one, to an apartment that probably costs way more than I have. I'd need to leave my mom behind. She almost drowned the apartment below us when I moved across town; I can already imagine the tears from when I moved to another city. I'd be leaving the flower shop behind, too. And, like, I know it's sappy, but I really have grown attached to this place. And in a completely new city Deku would have to relearn–"

"Deku?" Mr. Krelborn asked, confused.

Izuku panicked. "Oh! Deku's, uh… he's… a friend!"

"I see," Mr. Krelborn seemed to buy it, "and what would this Deku have to relearn?"

"He… is proud of the fact that he's memorized all the, uh, the sandwich shops around. So, when he visits me in Hosu, he'd have to relearn all of the places… of the sandwich shops," Izuku explained lamely.

"Ah. He must be quite a good friend, for you to consider him in such a big decision," Mr. Krelborn mused.

"Yeah, he's… he's the best friend I have. He's the one that suggested I try for that job, actually!"

"Then he must be a terrible friend! To think he caused you such a stressful predicament!"

Izuku sputtered, before realizing the old man was joking. They shared a hearty laugh. "So then," said Mr. Krelborn when he caught his breath, "moving away would mean a lot of change for you… do you think all of it is bad?"

"What? No, no! I just, it's– I'm not really sure how to put it…"

"It's terrifying, isn't it?" Mr. Krelborn asked quietly.

Izuku nodded. "And all that is if I get the job. Which I'm still not sure about. Sure, it doesn't cost me anything to apply, except for maybe time which I have plenty of, and if they don't accept me, then I haven't lost anything either, but… if they do accept me…" he laid his head in his palms, running his fingers through his hair, "it feels like such a gamble."

Mr. Krelborn hummed quietly to himself. "So, either you put in a bit of effort and nothing comes of it, or you put in the same amount of effort and your whole life turns down a completely different path – one you still don't know you want to walk."

"Yeah," Izuku laughed dryly, "that just about sums it all up."

Mr. Krelborn gathered his thoughts for a moment before speaking: "My boy, I can't say I have the perfect piece of advice for you. But take it from an old geezer who's seen a thing or two. If you stay where you've always been, doing the same thing you've always done, you may find yourself living a life that never goes anywhere. Now, if you're like me, and you're already where you want to be, then by all means! Stay there! I've been running this store for the better part of a century and a half now, and I don't regret a moment of it!"

Izuku laughed, but Mr. Krelborn did not laugh with him. "Wait, what?"

The old man gave a wry smile. "Yep! Got myself one of those rare life-extension Quirks! Doesn't help with much of anything, save for stopping to smell the flowers a little bit longer." His smile softened, "my point is, if there's somewhere else you need to be, or something you need to do, you'll never get it done by keeping your feet planted where they are. If you're happy where you are, great. If you're not, pull yourself up by your bootstraps and start moving. Does that help?"

Izuku thought for a moment. It really didn't, but he felt like he understood his situation a bit better. At least enough to give it more thought later. He nodded.

Mr. Krelborn smiled. "Good. Now get those petunia petals off your apron and get back to work! Those plants won't water themselves!" He cackled as a red-faced Izuku hurried to pat down his apron, which he hadn't realized was riddled with small violet spots. "And flip the sign when you're done!" he called as he disappeared through the back door.

"Yes, sir!"

Izuku cleaned himself up and made sure he looked presentable before making his way over to the door. He could feel Deku snoozing in the back of his mind, still deep in one of his power naps. He flipped the sign to open, and pushed a genuine smile onto his face.

-=0O0=-

"Morning… is here! Morning… is here!"

Izuku awoke to the blaring sound of his All Might alarm clock. He reached over and turned it off without looking. Rising from the covers, he blinked the sleep from his eyes. He threw his legs over the side and stretched his back, bringing out a satisfying string of pops. He touched his feet down to the floor…

…only to slip on something and nearly topple over. He managed to catch himself on the bedside stand, but only just barely. He looked down to see the culprit. A long metal rod stuck out from under the bed.

Now fully awake, he pulled it out and inspected it. It was slightly bent, dirty, and full of scrapes. And each end looked like it had been snapped off.

He realized that maybe Deku had brought it home with him. "Deku? Are you awake?" No response. He bent over and pulled the suitcase from under the bed. He took out the notebook and flipped to the second page. There, he saw a crude sketch of what he could only guess was the metal rod in question, along with the words: 'Fists hit hard. Pole hits harder.' Izuku chuckled. He had suggested several times that he bring some kind of weapon along on his patrols, but the suggestion was always turned down. And when Deku finally did find a weapon he was willing to use…

Izuku looked back at the pole in all of its rough, scruffy, and slightly-bent glory. He supposed it was a very Deku-like weapon.

He was about to put everything away when he noticed something sticking out of one of the later pages. He flipped to it, and there, tucked in like a bookmark was a slip of paper. It read:

'Monday night. 133-1020, Hebino'

He turned it over, but that was all that was written. It was an address, and it certainly wasn't Deku's handwriting. Deciding that there was nothing he could derive from it now, he tucked it back into the notebook and resolved to ask Deku about it when he woke up.

Deku woke up while Izuku was eating breakfast. They both shared customary "good morning"'s and Deku helped him finish his plate. As he cleaned everything up, Izuku asked about the paper. Deku told him the full story.

This story was longer than most of his others. He went through nearly every action; from his boarding the train-top, to his aid in the villain's defeat, all the way up to his conversation with Eye-Bags. He recalled most of the conversation, including the Hero's joking nature and casual cadence. He ended the tale with the Hero giving him a written address, and how they both went their separate ways afterwards. "Do you think it might be a trap?" Deku asked afterwards.

"It sounds like it's either legit or the best trap he could have set. He knows you have a way of magnitating towards trouble. If it's a trap, he's clearly playing into that. If I were trying to catch you, I'd try to gain your trust first."

"Right, but he would also try to gain my trust if he really wanted to work with me."

"Yeah… did he seem genuine at the time?"

Deku thought back. "He was kinda… what's the word… aloof. But I think he's always like that."

Izuku hummed in thought. "Would you trust him?"

"He kind of sneaked up on me. And I've seen him use his scarf. He could have captured me right there if he wanted to."

"Do you think it's possible he didn't on purpose to get you to trust him?"

"Maybe… but, like, why? I don't have anything or know anything that he could want."

"So, the only reason he would have to gain your trust would be to capture you. And he already had a good opportunity to do that. And the way you explained it, he let you help them capture the villain. He didn't have to do that either."

"And he pulled me out of the way of the villain's attack."

"Right. So if he wanted you out of the picture entirely, he just wouldn't have bothered to save you."

"But saving me alone doesn't make him trustworthy. It just makes him a good Hero. The other girl there – the one from the flower shop – she's a good Hero too. And she wanted to arrest me."

"Okay…" Izuku took a moment to collect his thoughts, "so we know he's a good Hero, and if he wanted to arrest you, he would have done so already. Which means he doesn't want to arrest you–"

"Or he just doesn't want to do the paperwork."

"–He seems kind of aloof but not in an unfriendly way. Now we just need to decide: does all of that make him trustworthy?"

Deku thought about it for a very long time. For a moment, Izuku thought he wasn't going to respond. But he did speak, and said: "I think so."

Izuku thought about it too. "I… think so as well. Okay… now that we've established he's trustworthy, we need to decide: do we trust him?"

Deku didn't hesitate. "Well, yeah. He's trustworthy, isn't he?"

Izuku chuckled. "Guess I can't argue that logic. Just… be careful, alright?"

"Of course."

"And scope out the meeting place, too. And when you do show up, stay a block or so away. If it is a trap, he'll be waiting for you. So wait until he shows up to actually make yourself known. And when he–"

"Alright, Izuku! I get it, I'll be careful. Promise."

"Thank you. Now then," he got up and took his own notebooks. He gathered the newest one, as well as a few older ones that he knew had some good information in them. He grabbed a new, blank notebook and sat down at the dining table, trying to ignore how uncomfortable the seats were.

"Ooh… have you thought about applying? To Hatsume Industries?" Deku asked, excitement jumping from his voice.

"I have," Izuku replied vaguely.

"Well? C'mon! Are you gonna apply?"

"I think I am. After all, if you're out there taking risks, it's only fair I do the same. I mean, really, what's another rejection letter to the pile? And if they do accept me, and we still can't afford to move to Hosu, then…" he trailed off.

"Then…?"

"We'll cross that bridge when we come to it."

And so, the two began work on Izuku's revised notes. The plan was to make them all physically, then use the photocopier at the local library to make a digital copy to send in. And this way, Izuku would be able to keep the revised notes for himself; another reason to make them as nice as possible.

He did take Deku's idea of sending in some old, unrevised notes along with the revised ones. Deku reasoned that it would be good to see his 'raw' thought process next to something more refined. He decided to use his All Might notes for that. Partly because he could show how he went about condensing information, but mostly because he wanted to have a cleaner version of All Might's page for himself.

They also began a list of what he wanted to show off, as well as what they might want to see out of him. As much as he wanted to use his notes on Hound Dog, there really isn't much there beyond a list of his abilities. Pages like Edgeshot's or Hawk's were better since he had come up with a lot more unique ideas.

The two would continue to work on it together over the next few days. Izuku made his drawings on separate slips of paper and glued them on later. This way, he could afford to make mistakes and start over without rewriting everything around them. Deku still doodled in the margins, but left the rewritten notes untarnished per Izuku's request. For days, Izuku carefully and neatly wrote out everything he had. And for days, Deku made small suggestions to his format.

When they were done, for the first time in a very long while, Izuku had something he was truly proud of.