I do not own My Hero Academia.

This story was written with the help of another writer who wishes to remain anonymous, but has done most of the work and wishes for it to be posted here on fanfiction.

There is a poll on my profile and over on A03 about whether Izuku/Izumi should be related to Miruko.

The teachers' lounge was a safe haven of sorts. With sofas, a TV and even a music player, it was rather enjoyable. Given the amount of stress one endured trying to teach hormonal teenagers to be functional human beings, it was to be expected for said teachers to have such a space available. For one Shota Aizawa, however, he enjoyed the lounge for one thing, and one thing alone: the coffee. A pity someone wanted to annoy him during his coffee break.

"That was quite underhanded of you, Aizawa."

The teacher in question didn't bother turning around. He kept staring dead ahead, a mug of hot coffee between his hands. A smirk formed on his face as he felt All Might's irritation at being ignored. After a few seconds, Aizawa decided to grace the Number One Hero with his attention.

"And what, exactly, was underhanded of me?" Asked Aizawa.

Standing with his arms crossed, a look of contempt written over his face, was the skeletal man that was the real All Might. The first time Aizawa saw it, he had been shocked, to say the least, and worried. He didn't allow to show it, of course, but Aizawa felt a tad annoyed that the Number One Hero, one of the pillars of their society (as much as the teacher hated to admit it) was at the brink of retirement. The deception would cost them dearly, to all of them.

"Using your quirk on young Midoriya, of course" All Might said. "You could very well have exposed young Midoriya's human form!"

Aizawa merely hummed.

"You had no way of ascertain whether the rabbit form would hold!" said All Might, only to frown. "Which is a mystery of its own…"

"The Principal had its suspicions, but I didn't expect it either" said Aizawa. "It is illogical for Midoriya not to reveal his human form."

"You don't have a right to decide that" huffed All Might. "It will only complicate young Midoriya's life if that happened! How do you expect his classmates to treat him?"

Aizawa raised a challenging eyebrow at All Might.

"Indeed, All Might, how do you think they will treat him when they eventually discover the truth?" Wondered Aizawa. "From what the Principal informed me, Midoriya might one day decide choose to also use the human form, once he controls it better."

"Yes, that's the plan, but it is up to young Midoriya to decide when and how to reveal his other form" All Might pointed out.

"It would be better for Midoriya to reveal the truth early on and avoid unnecessary complications. However…" Aizawa trailed off for a moment before taking a sip from his coffee. "I used my quirk for genuine concern for Midoriya. The last time I saw her quirk, she was rendered immobile. I did not know she had managed to increase his power limit so quickly, so I assumed she was being reckless by using her quirk on the first exercise of the test."

All Might had to admit that perhaps he should have informed Aizawa beforehand. However, he was not about to say it.

"Putting everything aside, this opens questions, doesn't it?" Stated Aizawa.

"Such as?" All Might asked.

"What manner of quirk is Midoriya's? An enhancer? A transformation? A variation of mutation?" Wondered Aizawa, staring at his coffee. "If I had to hazard a guess, it looks like Midoriya's quirk is a complete amalgamation of quirk types."

"Yes…" All Might slowly nodded.

Actually, All Might himself wasn't sure what to say. The discovery that young Midoriya's quirk behaved as a mutation type was new to him. Well, the whole rabbit thing was rather unexpected.

From what All Might had gathered with young Midoriya's mother, young Midoriya had no distant relative with anything closely resembling the rabbit form. Unless, of course, there had been infidelity down the line… but that was not something neither All Might nor Inko wanted to consider. In any case, Inko had made it her mission to get in contact with young Midoriya's relatives and try to pinpoint the origin of the rabbit form or at least understand if it had an origin.

Another thing neither All Might nor Inko could explain was the reason it took so long for young Midoriya's human-to-rabbit quirk to manifest. The fact it did when young Midoriya acquired One for All was even more confusing. Did that mean young Midoriya would never have discovered his original quirk without One for All? More importantly, why did Midoriya's human form had all the signs of a quirkless child when he was, allegedly, a quirked-child? Or had One for All provided the rabbit form? That, sadly, made even less sense.

All Might smiled fondly, lost in his thoughts, at the first time he had seen the rabbit form. He had been shocked, of course, not to mention flabbergasted when young Midoriya revealed the form itself. However, All Might had had every intention to lift young Midoriya's spirits that day, so when he discovered that young Midoriya hadn't just quitted but actually adapted to his new quirk and even performed a heroic display of One for All rescuing a fellow examinee, All Might was genuinely proud and impressed.

All Might had made it a point to tell young Midoriya that the teenager had done exceptionally. Sadly, that didn't really change anything. Compliments had fallen flat on the poor boy who had just discovered he wouldn't be transforming into a ragged handsome muscular man like All Might himself each time he used One for All. A tragedy, no doubt, but young Midoriya saw it as an error he had somehow committed and insisted on returning One for All to All Might.

That is the sort of person young Midoriya is, All Might mused.

"Would you look at that, the Number One hero daydreaming" mused Aizawa.

All Might squawked indignantly and rose to his feet. An amused Aizawa smirked at him.

"Well, I'll be going then!" All Might harrumphed.

"Don't let me stop you" grunted Aizawa.

All Might walked out of the lounge and into the corridors of UA. He started walking towards the freshmen girl's dorms, intent on getting a chance to speak with young Midoriya. He wanted to make sure the young man-turned-rabbit was doing fine. As All Might picked his phone, ready to message the young rabbit girl, he paused.

Down below, All Might could see through a window a familiar rabbit form. Next to young Midoriya, there was a petite brunette (young Uraraka, if All Might recalled correctly). The young woman was entertaining the rabbit girl with a story or something, for she was flailing her arms and chatting, all while young Midoriya chuckled. The smile, the relaxed posture… All Might didn't recall ever seeing young Midoriya so at peace and happy.

A fond smile spread across All Might's face before he turned around.

"He's doing much better than I thought" he mused. "But what should I do now?"

All Might grimaced. He already had an answer.

"Right, I need prepare for tomorrow's class…"

-‐-‐-‐-

When Izuku Midoriya woke up that Tuesday morning, he did so with a wide smile. In fact, he was grinning. How could he not? He had actually made a friend! An actual friend, someone who he had managed to hang out! And without being called a nerd, a creep… or Deku. It felt nice. No, it was perfect. If only his good mood could last.

No sooner had Izuku gotten out of bed and started his morning quota of push-ups and sit-ups, his mind reminded him of the problems at hand and his smile fell into a grimace. First and foremost, he had yet to train with his human form. True, the previous day he had spent it with a cute girl, but Izuku couldn't help but worry that he might get distracted like that again. Then there was the second problem:

Bakugo.

I am going to slip up, Izuku realized.

It wasn't a matter of "if" but rather a matter of "when". Izuku was sure he would do something to draw more of Bakugo's suspicions. The most likely was the way he would address the explosive blond. Izuku was bound to accidentally call him "kacchan".

I need to come up with a backstory, something to explain that… but what? Izuku wondered.

Truth to be told, neither All Might nor Nezu cared if Izuku told any of his classmates about his real identity. In fact, both of them kind of expected Izuku's "secret" to come up at some point, either when Izuku finally managed to use his human form (if that ever happened) or after some mishap (which was the likeliest scenario). Three years living with others were bound to be hard to keep the secret. It was Izuku, however, who didn't want anyone to know, and for good reason.

What is everyone going to say? How are the girls going to react? What about Ochaco? Izuku wondered with a grimace.

It was the latter that made his heart clench painfully. Just imagining the look of betrayal on his new friend, his only friend, was unbearable. He was a bit surprised that he didn't really care about Bakugo's reaction that much (don't get him wrong, he was terrified about it). Of course, in the back of Izuku's mind, he could easily hear the voices of his former classmates, from Alderra, calling him a creep and all sorts of names. Izuku did not want to return to such a life, and he would make sure it wouldn't happen.

That morning, to distract himself and gain a sense of normalcy, Izuku checked on the latest Pro-Hero news. Aside from the usual All Might fan events (boy, there sure were a lot recently), Izuku enjoyed seeing what local and national heroes were up to.

"Kamui Woods still rising on the popularity polls… Mount Lady too… Death Arms is struggling to keep his position in the hero rankings…" Izuku hummed, immersed in his cell phone.

That was when Izuku's eyes landed on a certain name. He paused. Seated in front of his desk, he re-read the news over and over again.

"Miruko facing… a controversy?" Izuku wondered.

He frowned as he went over the news in complete disbelief. However, the more he read the story, the more he wanted to sigh with exasperation.

Apparently, Miruko, the fiery battle-lusting rabbit hero, had kind of lost her temper during a fight and might have used a few strong words on a civilian. However, Izuku could understand. She was in middle of combat and this civilian was trying to catch her attention, all too confident Miruko would take the villain down.

This wasn't the first time it had happened, as far as Izuku remembered. There were all sorts of creepy fans out there (Izuku did not consider himself amongst them). This was, however, first time Miruko had directed mean words to a quirkless boy.

Izuku wasn't sure how to feel about that. On the one hand, he understood Miruko's position, on the other he also understood what being a desperate quirkless boy was like.

The real problem, however, was that all the Pro-Heroes that lusted after Miruko's top spot in the Hero-Rankings had decided to band together and decry Miruko's blatant "quirkism". With the drop in percentage of quirkless people in the last generation, it had become more popular to advocate for the quirkless… not that anyone had bothered to help Izuku or anyone quirkless.

In the end, Izuku put his cell phone away and changed to his rabbit form. He had a long day ahead, after all. Unfortunately, without hero-news to distract him, the previous dreary thoughts poured back into his mind, unbidden. How long could he keep his true identity secret? Should he come out early or try to keep the act going? Could he even keep the act going?

When Izuku, or rather Izumi, walked out of his room ready to hit the showers, he did so with a heavy heart. He knew that the truth would come out and that his new friendship would be tested, if not lost, unless…

"I need to tell Ochaco" Izuku mumbled, nodding to himself.

"Tell me what?"

Izuku's reaction was immediate: she screamed and jumped straight to the ceiling before returned to the ground, feet away from one amused-looking Ochaco.

"D-don't startle me like that!" Spluttered Izuku.

"S-s-sorry" replied the brunette, having a hard time speaking whilst laughing. "I didn't mean to!"

"It's fine" mumbled Izuku.

"So… what was that that you wanted to tell me?" Ochaco wondered.

"W-well… y-you see… it… it's…" said Izuku with increasing nervousness.

Should he do it? Should he risk it? Couldn't he try to keep it a secret at least until they spent more time together? They barely knew each other, after all.

No, it's the right thing to do, despondently thought Izuku.

"It's about my identity" he managed to say.

"Oh, there's no need to tell me, y'know! Whatever it is, you should keep it a secret and I'll respect that" said Ochaco.

That, unfortunately, only made Izuku want to tell her even more. She didn't deserve falsehoods.

"I want to tell you," Izuku said.

"Please, Izumi, it's fine!" Ochaco chuckled. "Come on, let's go! I'm starving!"

Before Izuku could say anything though, Ochaco grabbed Izuku's and pulled her down the corridor and into the elevator.

"B-but-!" Protested the boy-turned-rabbit girl.

"It doesn't matter, Izumi" Ochaco said with a genuine smile. "So, what do you want to do today after school?"

The previous day the two had decided to walk around the school and check out the various facilities available. There were places where one could practice with their quirks, a couple of gyms and then a few specialized areas like a swimming pool and a climbing wall. All in all, there had been way too much to see for one evening and instead decided to pick something to do the following the day.

"Maybe the gym?" shyly proposed Izuku.

"Really?" Ochaco replied, tilting her head. "I suppose we could do with some body strength…" she grimaced. "I was pretty pathetic on the push-ups."

"If you were pathetic I was abysmal" chuckled Izuku. "I could barely do any! And you could do way more than most of the boys back in middle school. You are way stronger than you let on."

"Well… I did train to get into UA" mumbled a blushing Ochaco.

"I need to improve my arm strength" said Izuku.

What was left unsaid was that he wanted to be able to eventually use his human form. He also wanted to see how improving his arm muscles in the rabbit form would translate in the human form.

"We could try swimming too" Ochaco hummed.

Izuku choked, imagining Ochaco in a swim suit. His body, however, run cold at imagining himself in a female swim suit. That was one situation he rather not be in. And yet, his imagination played worse scenarios. For instance, boys being present.

"No!" Squeaked Izuku.

"Huh?" Ochaco asked.

"I-I mean, I-I rather not get all my fur wet" spluttered Izuku.

"Gym it is, then" laughed Ochaco.

The elevator reached the ground floor. Ochaco waved Izumi as she went to the kitchen, where delicious scents were pouring out from, while Izuku went to the bathroom. Halfway there, Izuku paused as he felt his cell phone vibrating. When he checked his cell phone, his eyes widened.

Ten minutes later, a fully dressed Izuku in school uniform was hopping around the campus, particularly the open grass square near the dorms. He looked around, yet found no one.

"All Might? Hey, All Might are you there?" Called the rabbit girl.

"Shhhh, young Midoriya!"

Izuku snapped his head around, only to find All Might's face popping out of a bush. He was in his muscular form and in a suit, something Izuku still had a hard time getting used to.

"What are you doing like that?" Izuku asked.

"What does it look like? Hiding!" Laughed All Might as he walked out of his hiding spot. "The last thing is put you into the spotlight by having everyone see me going somewhere near the dorms!"

Izuku was thankful of that.

"But why not change to…?" Izuku said, only for All Might to start coughing violently and revert to his skeletal form.

"All Might!" Exclaimed a worried rabbit girl.

"It-it's fine" coughed the man. "And remember, it's Mr. Yagi in this form."

Izuku sheepishly smiled at the man. No matter how many times he was reminded about that, he still failed to remember. He quickly found himself grimacing, reminded of the issue at hand. How in the world was he supposed to keep his own secret identity hidden if he couldn't even bring himself to keep All Might's identity safe?

"But never mind me, kid" said All Might. Instead of his boisterous self, he was subdued and calm, even somewhat tired.

The first time Izuku had seen All Might's true form he had kind off panicked. After that, it took him months to reconcile that, yes, the true form of his idol, the Symbol of Peace, was a dying decrepit man.

"How are you?"

Izuku blinked, taken by surprise. If anyone had to ask anyone about the other's else, it definitely was not the moribund man before Izuku.

"Me? I thought you had something important you wanted to discuss," mumbled Izuku, unsure how to feel about his idol.

"You are important, young Midoriya" said All Might. "I actually wanted to talk to you about yesterday evening. After your magnificent display in Aizawa's test, I wanted to see if you were doing alright."

"Wait, you were there?"

"Why, of course! I wouldn't miss my successor's first steps!" laughed All Might, patting Izuku's head, right between his long ears. For some strange reason, the touch felt pleasant. "Actually, I was concerned that Aizawa would try to pull a fast one on you. He doesn't have a very pleasant track record."

"I guessed he expelled students before, but is he really that bad?" Izuku gasped.

"Well…" All Might trailed off, "last year none made it past their first day."

Izuku's amethyst eyes bulged, promising to pop out of their sockets.

"So yes, I was worried" All Might admitted. "But you proved me wrong. Actually, you were absolutely badass out there. You sure made me proud, kid."

He gave a thumbs up, making Izuku's chest swell with pride.

"I also noticed that you managed to surpass your limit" All Might added, his smile widening. "Already getting used to your quirk? Damn, kid."

Izuku beamed at the memory.

"You are right. I still don't know how I did it, though" Izuku hummed, thoughtful.

"What did you feel at that moment?" All Might inquired.

"Feel? Well…" Izuku blinked before staring at the blue morning sky above them. "I was… thrilled? I mean, with All for – eh – I mean, with my quirk it feels kind of amazing when it is coursing all over and…"

"And?" All Might leaned forward, expectant.

Izuku looked down at his paw, clenching it into a small fluffy fist.

"I wanted to win" Izuku said, barely above a whisper. He looked straight at All Might's glowing blue eyes. "I wanted to surpass them all to…"

To prove wrong the voices of my former classmates in my head, he finished in his mind.

"Ha! Amazing first day, young Mid- Izumi, young Izumi" All Might said, hastily correcting himself. "I've also noticed you have made a new friend."

Had Izuku's face lacked fur, he knew he would be glowing red of embarrassment.

"That is perfect, kid" All Might softly said, placing a hand on Izuku's shoulder. "I am glad you are enjoying your time in UA. Friendships that start here might well extend after you graduate, so cherish them."

An image of a smiling Ochaco flashed through Izuku's mind, and he found himself grinning.

"Don't worry, All Might, I will" promised Izuku.

"Now then… are you sure you are fine as it is? No second thoughts on, you know… your new identity?" All Might guessed. "Given your progress with your current form yesterday, I don't quite think you'll get rid of it any day soon."

"Actually, I think I am… starting to like it" confessed Izuku, studying his hands again. "I still have problems with the whole… ehm… girl thing."

"Right, yes, that" All Might awkwardly said, clearing his throat. "So… no changes then? Are you going to stick to the end? There is no shame in changing your mind, you know!"

"Don't worry, I think I can manage in this form for the time being" Izuku nodded with determination.

"That's great, kid!" All Might cheered. He offered an apologetic smile. "Sorry for pushing you to be a girl when, you know…"

"Yeah, not how I expected to join UA, but I can't really complain. I didn't really think it would be possible for me to actually make it so… I can't really complain, can I?" Izuku said, chuckling. "Besides, this form does have it's perks."

"It sure does! Better legs, more speed… you are also adorable, kid" All Might laughed.

Yeah, Izuku had already been told just how cute he looked. Repeatedly. In fact, girls seemed barely contain their desire to pet him. Izuku was not going to be openly admit it, but he didn't mind that sort of attention from the girls. He was, however, concerned whenever boys showed the same enthusiasm.

Still, Izuku was reminded of his current issues, something more important than girls trying to snuggle him like a pet.

"There is one thing, though" Izuku hummed. "All Might… how did you manage to keep your secret identity a secret for, well, so long?"

All Might blinked.

"That was actually surprisingly easy; I forwent my other form" All Might said.

Izuku stared at his mentor and idol, confused, until he finally understood.

"You were All Might all the time? You never turned back to being… Toshinori?"

"That's correct! When Nana passed down her - you know, the thing - I obtained this form and, well, I saw no reason to turn back into my original form," said All Might.

All Might's wide smile turned smaller yet still bright. However, Izuku could tell that All Might looked more nostalgic than anything.

"For too long I had been powerless… it was incredible all the new power I had. I could suddenly be the person I've always wanted to be: tall, proud, joyful… I could finally be boisterous and the center of everyone's attention. With this form, I knew I could easily achieve my dream of becoming the Symbol of Peace!" He boasted, only to chuckle, looking embarrassed.

"At times, I'll admit it got into my head, especially at first. All my new strength… trust me, it gave me one hell of a confidence boost," All Might admitted.

He twiddled his thumbs, much to Izuku's amusement.

"Luckily, Nana, with the help of her friend and also my mentor, managed to set me straight… for the most part" said All Might. "I am ashamed to admit that in involved a lot of punching and kicking, but in the end it was for the best."

Izuku chuckled at a mental image of a buffed All Might getting reprimanded.

"So, if you need any advice, kid, I'll tell you how I did it" All Might said, standing straight and proud. "For starters, start thinking of yourself as Izumi, not Izuku."

"What?" Izuku squawked. All Might couldn't possibly be serious.

"I mean it, kid" skeletal All Might sighed. "Trust me, the earlier you start separating your forms by their names, the easier it will be to avoid any slip-ups."

He did have a point.

"Secondly, when you are Izuku, forget all about yourself and think about the person you aspire to be" All Might said. "Think of Izumi as, well, your dream you?"

Izuku could only tilt his head in confusion at that. All Might sighed again, exasperated at his own poor explanation.

"You once told me your dream is to be like me, right? To be a brave beacon of hope, to save people with a reassuring smile, right?" All Might said. After Izuku nodded, he continued with a smile. "Well, make Izumi that person! Forget all about yourself and just, well, act!"

"Act?" Repeated a confused Izuku.

"Yes, act!" All Might exclaimed.

The man was clearly getting excited, for he puffed up into his muscular form.

"From this day onwards, puff up your chest with pride, ready to face every challenge life is ready to throw at you, and smile. Be that confident person you always wished to be, young Izumi!" He said with his booming voice.

Izuku merely raised an eyebrow. There was an anticlimactic poof and the skeletal All Might was back to sighing with mounting frustration.

"Look, kid, when I am like this, do you notice anything different?" All Might asked.

"You call me kid instead of young Midoriya" pointed out the rabbit girl.

"Aside from that" grunted the Hero.

Izuku frowned. It wasn't a hard question. In fact, Izuku had long figured out the differences.

"You are way more subtle, as in you act like a normal person" Izuku stated.

That got Izuku a coughing fit of outrage from his mentor. Izuku couldn't help but snicker at that. However, he decided to respond with more seriousness.

"I know what you mean. When you are All Might you are… well… confident and strong and… radiant?" Said Izuku.

"Not the word I would have used but let's go with that" All Might nodded. "The fact is, I am like that because that's the person I believe myself to be when I am like that. It was hard at first, but once I got the ball rolling, the rest came easy."

Izuku slowly nodded.

"Don't overthink it, kid" All Might said with a knowing look. "Just… act. Do you feel like cracking a joke? Do it. Do you feel like hanging out with girls? Do it. Do you wish to stand up to a bully? All power to you."

He's right, I now have the power to actually stand up for myself. Even as a bunny, I have One for All, Izuku realized with dawning amazement.

He remembered all those fantasies of being a buffed up mini-version of All Might, before he got One for All. Hadn't he planned to try to change his life? To actually be more than the person that was bullied for years? Didn't he want to actually enjoy the sweeter things of life, like friendship and even romance? Hadn't he planned to be more confident once he had All Might's quirk?

Izuku clenched his fists and nodded with determination. In front of him, All Might grinned. The man could tell that his successor was letting his teachings sink in.

"So how about it, kid? What are you going to do?" All Might asked.

With a grin, Izumi looked straight at All Might.

"I, Izumi, am going to be the next Symbol of Peace" Izumi declared.

"That's the spirit" All Might said. "Any other questions?"

"Yeah" Izuku nodded. "How do you, well, dodge a question?"

"Dodge a question? Oh, I see. You mean how can you avoid being a nervous mess when someone makes a question close to home, right?" All Might correctly guessed.

Izuku nodded.

"Simple, first I suggest you don't lose your confidence. Worrying or panicking will give your secrets away louder than words. So, keep that smile on your face. Keep your wits about you. Next thing, mislead them. You don't need to lie, just… agree on certain parts of the truth and stray the conversation from the undesirable details" All Might said.

"What do you mean?" Wondered Izuku, confused. "All Might, I am a terrible lair, much less misleading."

"Indeed, I know, but like I said, lying won't be necessary. For example, if someone points out that your quirk looks a lot to mine, what do you say?" All Might replied.

"Eh…" Izuku blinked, confused.

"No, no, no, remember, stand up and stay confident. If you have nothing to say, chuckle. Like this" All Might said and proceeded to give one of his patented chuckles.

Izuku blinked again, suddenly clicking in his mind. His eyes widened as he recalled many of All Might's interviews, how when the interviewer would ask about All Might's quirk or his past he would always chuckle and counter with a joke or managed to change the topic.

"Now, let us try again!" said All Might, before leaning forward and starting acting. "My, young Izumi, your quirk sure looks a lot like All Might's. Why is that, I wonder?"

This time, Izuku smiled with sincere amusement as he tried one of All Might's old responses on one of his interviews. He puffed his chest and quickly pulled his most outgoing persona he could muster.

"Is my quirk a lot like All Might's? Why, yes, it is. Weird, right? Like what are the odds?" replied Izuku-turned-Izumi. "Pretty amazing quirk, huh?"

"Ha, good one! I remember that interview" laughed All Might. "You need some practice, though. You need to be a bit more convincing. Hopefully, no one will throw any hard balls any time soon, am I right?"

Izuku prayed that his mentor was right.

"Well, I think you should be heading to school now" All Might awkwardly said. "I think I've taken enough of your time. Remember, who are you now?"

"Izuk- Izumi, my name is Izumi" Izuku – no, Izumi (god-damn it!) – corrected.

"Alright, hurry now, kid" All Might urged.

"Thanks All Might" he said. "I'll try to keep your advice in my head."

When Izuku made it to his classroom, it was with barely any time to spare and with a toast clenched between his teeth. By that point, he had decided that thinking about himself as Izumi instead as Izuku was still way too weird and it would take time getting used to. A part of him really felt weird thinking of himself as a girl, even when he technically was. Then again, maybe it was too soon to constantly think of himself as Izumi.

"Izumi!" Exclaimed a worried Ochaco. "Did something happen?"

Izuku went to his desk, right next to Ochaco's, and ignored the looks from the rest of his classmates.

"S-sorry, something came up" chuckled Izuku, swallowing his toast in one breath.

"Everything alright?" Asked Ochaco.

Izuku felt his heart clench at her expression of concern. It was odd to have a classmate who actually showed concern for him. Thus, with All Might's words still fresh in his head, Izuku gave his brightest smile, one Izumi would pull without problems as if she had been doing it all her life.

"Yep. Couldn't be any better!" said Izuku with a thumbs up. "Someone at the school just wanted to check on me."

"Oh, about the whole secret identity stuff" nodded Ochaco a look of understanding. "Hey, Izumi, I am curious…"

Izuku tilted his head, staring at her, while deep down he worried. What would she want to know?

"How do you stay in touch with your parents? Or are you like… completely cut off from them?" Ochaco inquired.

"Oh" was all he could say. He really hadn't expected such an innocent question. "No, no, I can still talk to them, although from a secure school line if I want to call them. The school also offers video-calls on weekends."

"Huh, the school really goes out of its way with the whole secret identity stuff" hummed Ochaco. "Pretty neat."

"Yep" nodded Izuku.

"And you really don't mind about all the secret stuff? It must be horrible, not being able to chat with friends" Ochaco said. "Sorry" she amended with a sheepish smile "I know that probably is a bit insensitive of me…"

"Oh" Izuku replied, once again dumbfounded. "I… actually don't – I mean, didn't – have any friends."

"Really?" Ochaco asked in disbelief.

Izuku frowned, confused. Why would she assume he had friends? Before he could ask, though, Aizawa trudged in. It took him one sweep of his gaze for everyone to fall silent, sit up straight and look at the board. No one dared move a single muscle until Aizawa greeted them, before he chided them for taking a couple of seconds to quiet down.

And with a stressful roll call, new day started in UA. Before Izuku knew it, they started their first class with Ectoplasm, their math teacher, before moving on to other mundane subjects. The rest of the class fell into a strange sense of normality, one that reminded Izuku a lot to his old class in Middle School, yet he couldn't help but feel everything was distinctively different…

There were those that looked ready to doze off, those that paid rapt attention and those that seemed in a strange state of disinterest. That being said, differently from middle school, everyone was silent and somewhat attentive. Of course, there were entirely new personalities Izuku was not sure about, like an overly enthusiastic Iida, who appeared to be competing with Yaoyorozu to try to tell the most correct answers to their teachers. Then there were those that stared at him, like Bakugo and Todoroki.

Izuku really wasn't comfortable with the cold gaze of the ice-user, or the burning suspicions of the explosive blond. Izuku did his best to focus on the teacher and ignore the looks, but he found himself having trouble of his own. He discovered that his eyes, for instance, wandered off to Ochaco, who seemed to either struggle or look sleepy during classes. Whenever their eyes met, however, Ochaco would grin and give him a thumbs up, one that brought an unbidden smile to Izuku.

All in all, Izuku felt surprisingly comfortable in the classroom. For the time being he decided to put All Might's suggestion aside and just try to enjoy the present. He would have time to try to act the part of the next Symbol of Peace, right?

Time went by and, finally, came lunchtime. By that point, half the class walked out of the classroom like zombies while the rest made their speedy retreat towards the lunch hall. In other words, it felt like another lunchtime at school.

The lunch hall was a marvel of its own, with a lot of space, sunlight and people. More importantly, the chief cook was none other than Lunch Rush, something Izuku was able to be a fan boy about, much to Ochaco's amusement. Iida joined them and, together, they made small talk. For the most part they talked about their middle schools without going into much detail.

They say time flies by when you enjoy yourself. Izuku hadn't know the truth of that statement until that day. He was sure he had never experienced such a fast-paced school morning before. Then again, he had never had friends before. Better yet, all (if not most) of his classmates were friendly, and to the other courses he was an unknown.

There were no insults, demeaning comments, taunts… nothing. Izuku was finally allowed to be happy, and happy he was. And yet, he couldn't help but feel as if everything was too good to be true. Even when he forced himself a smile and act far more confident than he usually was, he had the gut feeling that things would change eventually.

At last, the time came when everyone's more anticipated class was set to start: Fundamental to Heroics class. Everyone, with full bellies and refreshed spirits, were excited. It was, after all, the reason they were all there, at UA: to be heroes.

The teenagers all awaited in their seats. For the most part they chatted, trying to guess who would teach them. Others, though, were trying to temper their excitement, like one gravity-removing girl.

"Do you think we'll learn rescue first? Maybe Hero 13 will be our teacher. Oh God, I hope she teaches us" said a bubbly Ochaco.

Do I sound like that when I mutter? Thought Izuku.

"I don't think so" Izuku told her. "She is actually in charge of the USJ."

"The Universal Studios Japan?" Asked Ochaco. "Why would she…?"

"Th-the Unforeseen Simulation Joint" laughed Izuku. "It is a large complex where we will learn rescue simulations in different artificially made environments, like blizzards, city-fires…"

"Wow, how do you know that?" Wondered Ochaco "and when will we be going there?"

"I might have been told about it…" Izuku said, looking away. "And I don't think we'll be going to the USJ any time soon."

Before they could talk any further, the door to the classroom opened and a very familiar silhouette marched in. Izuku's eyes widened. He wasn't the only one.

"I AM ENTERING LIKE A NORMAL PERSON!" Exclaimed All Might, doing anything but a normal walk. Sadly, subtlety was never his forte, not on that form at least. Clad in an old silver-age costume, he looked as confident as ever.

The classroom immediately broke into excited whispers. If they had been eager for the class before, now they were brimming with excitement.

"Are you ready for your first class of Fundamentals in Heroics?" asked All Might.

The class, of course, was more than ready, and they made sure their teacher knew it.

"Excellent! Then before we begin, you are going to need these" All Might said, pointing a remote control to the wall.

There was a faint hiss and, where there had once been a wall, an array of suitcases appeared before the eyes of the students. Metallic and bulky, each suitcase had a number and name.

"Are those…?" Someone asked.

"Why, they are your costumes of course!" Laughed All Might.

The class rushed to the wall and picked their own suitcases. Izuku, on his part, watched with dread at the suitcases.

"Suit up and meet me in Battle Center B!" Ordered All Might, before dashing away.

Everyone complied without protest, with one exception.

"You alright Izumi?" Wondered Ochaco, hugging her own suitcase.

"Ehm… y-yeah" said Izuku. In his mind, however, he was panicking: Why? Why do we have to try on our costumes on our second day?

He thought he had time to master One for All with his human form. He sincerely believed that they would start with the theory, spend a few months with basic physical training. Instead, it seemed that Izuku's hopes had been for naught. He was finally starting to see why the Principal had made Izuku pick a form to use.

"Come on, Izumi, or we'll be late!" Exclaimed Ochaco.

"Y-yeah, I'm right behind you" replied Izuku with a strained smile.

Ochaco smiled back and hopped away, happily hugging her costume. Izuku was left alone to stare at his own suitcase, filled with apprehension. Tentatively, he rose to his feet and picked his suitcase, which luckily was near the floor level. Clutching the case, he closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

Why me? He despondently thought.

Finally, he sighed and looked up at nothing in particular, amethyst eyes burning with determination.

"Alright, no quitting now" he told himself. "Izumi is no quitter!"

-‐-‐-‐-

All Might was not a man that was easily impressed, but the many realistic battle centers of UA still fascinated him. The amount of resources spent by the school were astronomical, as well as all the opportunities and privileges. All Might might have told young Midoriya that it didn't matter if he didn't make it to UA, but deep down All Might knew young Midoriya would need of UA to reach his full potential. That and All Might was glad he didn't have to quit UA to accompany young Midoriya to wherever he chose.

That being said, All Might tried not to look nervous. As his first time giving class, it would be understandable to be worried. More concerning, however, was that his chosen successor was amidst the students. All Might did not want to fail young Midoriya, not with all that had been piled on the poor boy.

I still feel guilty about it, he told himself for the umpteenth time.

Sadly, no matter how many times he thought about his remorse, All Might could not overcome it. He had been such a hypocrite back then, when he had first met young Midoriya. Hindsight was always twenty-twenty, but looking back at it, All Might could have done many things better. Being less blunt and harsh, for starters.

And now I've pushed a young man to live like a young woman, morosely sighed All Might. I just keep messing up… was it this far for you, Nana?

"It doesn't matter now, All Might. Get your act together!" He told himself.

He took a deep breath and puffed up his chest, his patented smile shining brightly. He could not allow the students to witness his insecurities. It was a good thing he managed to keep the All Might act, because he soon heard the first footsteps coming from the entrance to the Battle Center.

One by one, fully dressed students of Class 1-A strolled in. Clad in their costumes, All Might's smile turned genuine. He remembered back when he had first displayed his costume… man, such good times! And seeing the joy of the students was just as nice. Perhaps teaching would be enjoyable after all.

Bakugo Katsuki had the widest grin of them, but differently from the pleased Ashido or thrilled Kirishima, All Might got bad vibes from the kid. Seriously, was that kid really a friend of young Midoriya? All Might had a hard time believing that. Another concerning child was Todoroki. He was as cold as ice and alarm bells were screaming in All Might's head, loudly repeating the words: "childhood trauma".

On second thought, maybe this will be tougher than I thought, mentally muttered All Might.

"Amazing! You all look ready to hit the streets!" Complimented All Might.

The class beamed at the prize.

"That being said, you are just starting your training. Gather round! Gather round everyone! Is everyone here?" All Might asked.

His blue eyes swept around and immediately he knew someone was missing. In fact, it was the same person he was most eager to see. All Might really wanted to see how young Midoriya's costume looked like.

"Izumi is still changing" young Uraraka timidly said. "I think they might have done something wrong with her costume."

"She's really shy, ribbit" the frog-girl Asui commented. "Didn't want to change until we were done."

"She's so adorable" cooed Yaoyorozu, eyes sparkling.

"Maybe we are too intimidating?" Wondered Jiro.

All Might knew that it was probably something else, a boy-forced-to-dress-as-a-heroine sort of thing. Given the latest hero fashion regarding costumes, especially the females in the business, All Might could predict some of young Midoriya's issues.

"I'm here All Might…"

All eyes turned back, before looking down in unison. There, not far from the group, was young Midoriya. Her ears were drooped and her shoulders slumped in resignation. In fact, he (or she) sounded utterly defeated. When her amethysts eyes met his, they both thought the same thing:

This was not how the costume was supposed to look like.

For starters, it was skin-tight. At least it was a full body attire. Sadly, the designers had completely disregarded the requested black, instead going for white. With a white center, each side of her costume was made of grey that matched young Midoriya's furry form. Purple trimming divided the white from the grey, something All Might knew Midoriya had definitely not requested. Additionally, the golden lightning bolts over her chest was certainly an unexpected addition. In both their heads, Midoriya and All Might once again shared the same thought. Well, them and the entire class.

"Wow, you look a bit like that rabbit hero. What's her name?" Asked Kirishima.

"Miruko" said All Might and young Midoriya said in unison, name already in the tip of their tongues.

It couldn't be helped; young Midoriya looked like her costume had been heavily inspired in that of Rumi Usagiyama aka the rabbit hero Miruko.

"Oh – my – God!" Gasped Ashido. "That's why you have a secret identity? Are you Miruko's little sister?"

"That can't be that, idiot" spat Bakugo. "Or four-eyes over there would go for a secret identity."

"Wait, wait, wait, you are related to heroes, Iida?" Asked a shocked Kaminari.

"Wow, I had no idea!" exclaimed Hanta Sero.

Others joined in their shock.

"I am the younger brother of Tensei Iida, also known as Ingenium, hero from Hosu, as well as a child of the-" Iida proudly proclaimed.

"A bunch of B-listers nobody cares about," interrupted Bakugo.

Iida, not surprisingly, started flailing his arms and angrily ranting at Bakugo regarding the Iida family of heroes.

"Maybe that's why Izumi has to hide her identity?" Said a rather miffed Jiro. "Miruko is like… in the top ten isn't she?"

"Sixth" curtly stated Todoroki.

"But what about him?" said Yaoyorozu, pointing at Todoroki, who in turn blinked at being the center of everyone's attention. "He's the son Endeavour, the Number Two hero."

"YOU'RE THE SON OF ENDEAVOR?!" Screamed Mineta Minoru, shocked.

"Dude, the surname is a dead giveaway" said Sero.

"Well, excuse me! I don't go around learning the names of Pro-Heroes" harrumphed Mineta.

"Not the male ones at least, am I right?" chuckled Kaminari.

All Might felt like he had long lost control of the situation and had no idea how to intervene. Seeing his opportunity, however, he loudly cleared his throat. Thankfully, that worked and everyone remembered just where they were and in whose presence they stood.

"Let us not allow our imagination run wild, shall we?" Joked All Might. "I am sure any similarities between the rabbit Hero Miruko and young Izumi are merely coincidental."

All Might ignored the scowl from young Midoriya. Truth of the matter was that they had agreed on taking some inspiration on Miruko and might have added a comment regarding that on young Midoriya's costume request. They had clearly underestimated the designers desire to ignore everything else, however. Maybe they had actually shared the belief that young Midoriya was indeed related to Miruko… or clothing designers were plain rascals at times. On second thought, the latter was likelier.

"Shall we begin our lesson, students?" All Might asked with vehemence and, as he had expected, the class almost jumped in glee and eagerness. He might be a novice teacher, but at least he still knew how to excite a crowd. "Then let us waste no more time, for today, in this very place we'll do…"

He paused dramatically. He actually enjoyed the look of impatience marring his students as he dragged the silence.

"…a Battle Trial!" Exclaimed All Might.

Immediately, All Might felt he might have made a mistake. The students all paled and a few frowned. The initial excitement had quickly been replaced for apprehension, except in the case of young Bakugo. All Might was starting to worry about the mental state of that boy (was he really one of Young Midoriya's friends? No way!).

"Do not be alarmed! This is merely a mock exercise to see your base skills, similarly to your Quirk Apprehension Test" All Might explained.

Sadly, mentioning Aizawa's little test had been a mistake. The class immediately started to panic, and so did All Might.

Just how hard is to keep their attention?! All Might mentally groaned.

"Wait, are we going to get expelled if we fail?" Someone asked, worried.

"We aren't going to fight each other, right?" A nervous Mineta Minoru queried.

"How much can we harm our opponents?" A certain blond asked.

"Geez, did you escape juvenile or did you take the wrong turn to Villain High School?" Huffed Jiro Kyoka.

"What did you say to me, Weird-ears?!"

"Now, now, everyone, let us stay focused!" All Might said. "Have no fear, for I am not here to expel anyone. Today is a learning experience for all of us, but more importantly it is the first glance to your current skills!"

"Shouldn't we go through the theory first?" Asked Yoayorozu.

"Nothing beats practice and experience. No matter how many times you read or learn about different procedures to engage villains, every engagement is a world of its own! Locations, quirks, combat skills… they are all factors that define the fight and yet are rarely, if ever, the same!" Explained All Might. "Before any other questions, allow me to explain the task at hand!"

All Might knew he was being a bit childish, but he was sincerely glad he could remember the Battle Trail and its rules without reading from a paper. Now that would have been embarrassing. He had an image to maintain after all, especially in front of his successor.

"First, you will be divided into teams of two and assigned a role: villains and heroes" All Might started explaining. "In this battle center there are five villain hideouts, each of them with the hero's objective. For today's grand battle, each villain team has to protect a bomb while the heroes will try to either capture the villains or recover the weapon! But don't think it will all be in the hero team's favor! There will be a time limit of fifteen minutes, after which the villain team will attain victory.

"In this Battle Trial I'll allow the use of your quirks. However, I do not need to remind you to be careful! Your powers are not toys! If I feel you are being irresponsible or the situation is going out of hand, I will stop the exercise. That being said, you are allowed to employ basic hand-to-hand combat if needed" All Might explained.

The class seemed to relax, somewhat. They still looked rather worried. Young Bakugo, on the other hand, was grinning as if Christmas had arrived early (seriously, what was wrong with the kid?).

"One more thing! If you rather not punch, kick or whip your tail at someone, you can capture your opponent with this!" All Might added, showing a small case of flexible tape. "This is capture tape for the exercise. If one person wraps it around two arms or legs of an opponent, the opponent will be captured and shall be forced out of the exercise. Additionally, it suffices if two people wrap the tapes on an opponent's limb each."

That, luckily, made the students feel somewhat more confident about the exercise.

"How are you assigning the teams?" young Ojiro, the tailed teenager, asked apprehensively. He sent a look at Todoroki. "Do we choose or…?"

"You will be randomly assigned!" Replied All Might.

"Randomly? Is that prudent?" Iida asked, baffled.

All Might opened his mouth to respond but, much to his surprise, was beaten to the punch.

"It makes sense when you think about it. In real life Pro-Heroes are sometimes forced to work together at random times and without much previous preparation" replied young Midoriya.

"Ah, I see!" Iida hummed with a nod of understanding. "I apologize for my ignorance, All Might."

The teacher felt rather awkward when the robotic Iida started bowing respectful at him (seriously, what was with these kids?)

"Alright then, are we all ready to begin?" All Might said, clearing his throat and drawing everyone's attention back to him.

As he did, however, All Might found himself feeling rather glad that young Midoriya appeared to be adjusting rather well to his (or her) situation and costume. Still, All Might couldn't shake the feeling something was going to go wrong.

"Very well, time for the team composition!" All Might shouted.

Before anyone could ask how it was going to be done, All Might pulled out a hand-held device, eerily similar to the one Aizawa had used the previous day. In a few seconds, All Might was typing on the device before displaying it to them.

"Ta-dah!" All Might said, and the teenagers all sweat-dropped.

Apparently, that had been it: some kind of randomizing application. Then again, they all probably realized the school probably already had software for exercises like Battle Trials. Admittedly, All Might had wanted to draw lots rather than such underwhelming randomization of the teams, but that was because he had a flair for theatrics.

"So, as the first fight…" All Might said, reading the hand-held device. "Hero Team: Ochaco Uraraka and Izumi!"

All Might had to hide a chuckle behind his fist as an excited young Uraraka wrapped her arms around a dumbfounded young Midoriya. Those two looked like fast friends already. All Might then looked the names of the opposing team and suddenly he didn't feel that good for young Midoriya. He fought the urge to look at his successor's face. Would young Midoriya be frightened? Would he be prepared?

"Villain Team: Tenya Iida and…" All Might faltered for a moment, before carrying on without missing a beat "…Bakugo Katsuki!"

Only then did All Might look away from the hand-held device and towards young Midoriya. It was at that moment that All Might felt a knot form in his gut, when a terrified young Midoriya slowly looked towards a gleeful young Bakugo. The look the explosive blond gave the petite rabbit girl was far from comforting. His words, however, were worse.

"You better quit now, little bunny, because I am not pulling my punches!" Bakugo exclaimed.