AND WE'RE BACK! And still on out slightly shorter chapters kick, which has helped a ton and is far more productive in writing terms.

Hope you all had a great holiday and got a bunch of cool gifts and whatnot.

Anyways, STORY TIME.


The explosions could be felt from outside the stadium. Inside it was like being in the heart of an earthquake. No one was left on their feet, not even Izuku, who fell off his chair like an idiot and face-planted onto the ground.

Though in his defense he was so busy thinking about what Himiko had said that he was barely paying attention to anything around him.

When people quickly began clambering to their feet, the immediate tension in the air was cut by the swift buzz of the announcers.

"Don't worry, it's all part of the exam." The monitor on the wall switched again, this time showing the huge area that they'd all just been fighting in being reduced to nothing but fire and rubble.

"… why did they do that?" Ochaco asked.

"For the exam, obviously," Tenya answered as he got back onto his feet, brushing his knees down.

"But all that stuff must of cost millions to make! Billions of yen in infrastructure just down the drain!"

"Yes but-"

"I mean there are kids starving on the streets and the government gives these guys money just to build all that crap for one day then blow it up?!"

"I think you're thinking too hard on this."

"I don't think you're thinking hard enough! Billions of yen, you guys!"

Before she could complain any more about the clearly unfair distribution of public funds, the monitor again changed back to Mera, who sighed heavily into his microphone and looked back to the camera. "So, here's the deal. This place has now become one gigantic disaster area, as you can all see. Right now, we are also flooding the area with bystanders who have been caught in this unfortunate turn of events." A tiny, but noticeable smile appeared on his thin lips. "So, your job will be to act as heroes who have already gotten their licenses. Go out there and rescue as many people as you can. The bystanders will be played by the helpful people of the Help Us Company or H.U.C. for short."

"I've heard of them," Momo glanced at the others as she spoke, "they're professional actors who help train heroes."

"I guess you can get paid for that kind of thing, these days." Hanta folded his arms. "Makes sense though."

"Some will be easy to rescue, others will be heavily injured or in precarious positions. Keep in mind that they will be watching and judging everything you do. So, as professional heroes, please do your best. You have a further ten minutes to prepare. Best of luck."

And with that, the monitor cut out.

Immediately the waiting room was filled with movement. Classmates gathered and talked strategy, while others rushed out to go to the bathroom. Izuku simply blinked, then looked back to his water bottle. He took a long drink, emptying it, and stood up, moving over to the bin to throw the bottle away.

He was aware of someone following him, even if he didn't turn to look at them.

Once he threw the bottle away, he turned. "What's wrong, Tenya?"

"You're acting odd," Tenya said bluntly. "And as your friend, I'm concerned about you."

He could always rely on Tenya for that. He had Shoto's straightforward nature, but without the harsh bluntness that sometimes came with it. Even now his tone was soft, quiet. It was friendly.

And damnit, it was working.

"Yeah. Sorry." He took a slow, deep breath, letting the air fill his lungs before he let it go. He wished he could take some time to go meditate. A few moments to clear his thoughts and recenter himself would be nice, but he doubted he had the time.

"And I don't just mean here," Tenya continued, "you've been acting odd ever since Kamino." He paused before adding. "I know you went through a lot there, but if you ever want to talk about it-"

"Is now really the best time to talk about this?" Izuku raised an eyebrow. "I mean, we're about to go into another exam."

"Exactly. Your head needs to be in the right place if you're going to pass. Yes, even you, with all your power can fail." A smile appeared on his face, and it was surprisingly soft for someone who could be so ridged. Izuku felt a flutter of fire dance along his scars. "We're all worried about you, so please, at least let me know why you left at the start of the first round."

For a moment, Izuku considered it. He could tell him that he saw Himiko, that he talked to her, that she was now a half-fallen like himself and she was lost and alone. That she needed friends, family, people she could trust, or she may walk down another dark path, and this time she might not ever come back.

But would he understand? He doubted it. Tenya, Ochaco, Hitoshi, they were all his friends, his closest friends, the only friends he'd ever had. But Izuku had found that no matter how much they came to learn about the world he half-inhabited, they could never understand what it was like to be connected to it.

Even Fumikage, with the demon in his soul, had only a vague conception of the mountain that loomed before Izuku.

To be a child of the Gods was a path that had room for only those born onto it.

"I'm fine. Really I'm just…" He paused again, perhaps some of the truth could help him from giving away all of the truth. "I'm frustrated."

Tenya raised an eyebrow. "Frustrated?"

"I feel… I feel like I'm never doing enough. That I'm not helping enough people. That I have all this power and I'm still being held back."

"Held back by who? By us?"

"No, but just…" His mind tried to tie the pieces together, to come up with a satisfactory way of explaining his feelings. He looked to his claws, which could rend through metal and tear apart flesh, and yet hadn't even managed to hold onto one girl's hand before she had run from him. He sighed, bitter and angry, and his scars flashed with azure blue.

"You know, maybe I don't understand what it's like to inherit all the titles and power that you've come into," Tenya began, his voice low and steady. Izuku looked to him, but Tenya was looking away, back towards the other students who were huddled together chatting strategy. "But I know what it's like to have a title thrust onto you, especially against your will."

"Your brother…"

"Yes." Tenya's smile had turned sad, and he turned from the others, looking to the slightly dirty, slightly battered helmet he held in his hands. The blue-glass eye sockets looked back at him.

Izuku wondered just what Tenya saw in those eyes. Maybe it was the same as what he saw whenever he caught a reflection of himself in his father's armor.

"I never asked to be given the name of Ingenium so suddenly, and under the circumstances it- it turned my dream into a nightmare. My entire family's legacy, our agency, our entire future now rest on my shoulders. And maybe it's not realms of hell or damned crowns, but it's still something. It's still a heavy weight to carry around." He turned to Izuku, and in his eyes, Izuku saw a wound that had never healed right. A wound that had left a deep scar, inside, where it hurt the most. "When my brother was hurt, for the longest time I didn't know what to do. I still don't. I still don't feel worthy of it."

"Tenya I-"

"It's alright though, because I'm going to get there, and I'm going to have you guys with me." His smile became determined. "We're both the sons of expectant families, and we carry their legacy on our shoulders. So, let's help carry that weight for one another, alright?"

Izuku knew he should have felt comforted by those words, and maybe he did. They certainly took some of the weight off his shoulders, yet he knew that this was his great failing, and perhaps it was something he had inherited from his parents. Lucifer was a controlling asshole, manipulating everything from the shadows, but his mother was no better. Only she was a smotherer, trying to blanket everything to keep him safe.

Trying to take everything on, for the good of all the people who were around him, who supported him or relied on him, was the Midoriya family curse.

And he was falling right into its clutches.

But he also knew that it was his role to play. He was the Prince of Hell, and no matter what that wasn't something he could just shrug off. He had expectations to live up to, ideals to uphold, and goals to accomplish.

He had an eternal family feud to navigate through, and maybe, if he was very lucky, he could stop his new cousin from getting swept up in it too.

His heart felt heavy in his chest, and he could almost feel his own spirit, the yin-yang soul he knew he possessed, swirling within him. It wasn't a storm, not yet, but the waters had been choppy for too long.

So Izuku fixed a determined smile to his lips and held out a fist. "You're right. I'm sorry. I… one day we'll be worthy, both of us. So let's just get there together, okay?"

Tenya looked at the fist for a second, as if wondering exactly what he meant before it clicked. He curled his own hand into a fist and bumped it against Izuku's with a nod. "Right."

"That's a fist bump promise."

"Yes, I know."

"You can't go back on those."

"As Hitoshi has informed me, many times."

"Excuse me, are you from U.A.?" The two boys turned suddenly to see a giant hairball in a hat walking towards them.

After a second's more consideration, Izuku realized that it wasn't a giant hairball but a student. A student he suddenly recognized as being one of the ones who had been around the tall, overly-enthusiastic Inasa before the exam.

That, and the symbol on his hat was a dead giveaway.

"You're from Shiketsu?"

"Yes, my name is Nagamasa." He bowed sharply. "I'm the president of the class two-A year group at our high school."

"Oh, erm, hi." Izuku was actually a little glad for the distraction, at least he didn't have to think about his own problems for a few minutes.

"Well met!" Tenya gave a polite bow and held out his hand. "I'm Tenya Iida, president of class one-A!"

As the two shook hands, other members of class one-A drew closer, as did three other students of Shiketsu, including Inasa, who in his hero uniform, looked even bigger and more imposing than before.

He wore a great burgundy suit, pinned with yellow buttons and with a white fur collar and great flowing cloak. It looked like a bizarre variation of a flight uniform, but with strange kneepads and, on one arm, a giant padded fist with pipes running through it.

"Hey, what's going on? These guys giving you trouble?" Denki called out as he drew close. "What, our school rivals coming over to talk smack, huh?"

"Nothing of the sort," Nagamasa chuckled, putting his hands behind his back, "in fact, it's actually quite the opposite. I wanted to perhaps strengthen some ties between our two schools."

"I thought all you Shiketsu types hated us?" Eijiro cut in with a confused frown. "You know, 'cos of the rivalry and all."

"Competition doesn't mean hatred," Nagamasa replied, "besides, if I may say so." He paused, glanced around, and leaned in conspiratorially. "We're just as much of a target as you guys are. We didn't get the crunch this year, but it's not unusual for us to get hammered as well."

Izuku glanced about, and he could see more than a few students were glaring over in their direction. A twitch of his pointed ears told him a few were already gossiping about how the two top schools in the country were colluding to steal all the points.

Though how one could steal points in a rescuing exam he wasn't exactly sure. Maybe they thought they'd somehow know where everyone already was and hog all the injured civilians to themselves.

"Don't expect us to go easy on you in the exam. Or ever." The boy with the narrow eyes from earlier cut in with a sharp tone. His uniform resembled a black butcher's cloak.

"But hey, doesn't mean we can't be friends though, right? That'd be like, totally awesome." A girl added. A girl with a very form-fitting uniform with the front zipper pulled partway down.

A girl to which many of the boys in class seemed very interested in listening too.

Her eyes landed on Tenya and she gasped. "You're tall!"

"Well I- erm-"

"And cute! Have you got a name?"

Tenya seemed to go a very bright shade of red, and he also seemed to have forgotten how to talk. He could only splutter as if his own engines were misfiring on him.

Nagamasa gave Camie a nudge with his elbow. "Quit tormenting them, Camie. We were just talking about how our schools should work together more."

"I approve!" Inasa boomed. "Our schools are the best! Working together only makes us better!"

This was met with approval from the students, and Izuku had to agree. The two schools working together would only benefit them both, and besides, with All Might gone the world would need stronger heroes to fill the gap.

An announcement rang out, giving everyone a five-minute warning, and the two schools began to separate again, with Tenya and Nagamasa promising to exchange contact info after the exams were done.

However, as they turned away, Izuku noticed Shoto moving forward.

"Excuse me, Inasa, was it?"

The others stopped, watching the scene as it unfolded.

The giant of a teenager turned, and within his gaze was only ice. Izuku was shocked at the look. As far as he knew this was practically the second time they had ever met, and yet the giant clearly had a deep, frozen hatred for his friend.

"Do you have something against me?"

The background chatter seemed to fade a little.

"I'm sorry," Inasa spoke in a tone that was like creeping frost, "but it's because you're Endeavor's son." His eyes narrowed slowly. "And I hate all of you. Even if you seem different from before, I'll never forget what you did."

And with that, he turned and stormed away, leaving Shoto looking shocked.

"Hey, what was that about?" Hitoshi appeared at Shoto's side, a hand reaching out to his shoulder.

"I… don't know," Shoto replied, and his voice held no lie.

"… yeah, well, don't worry about it." His hand gave a comforting squeeze, and he turned away. Was that a hint of a blush on Hitoshi's cheeks? "Come on, let's get ready."

Izuku followed the others, keeping to Shoto's side as they went back to their exam prep. Though he did manage to catch Ochaco shooting Hitoshi a sly thumbs up.


"WARNING, WARNING!" The sirens blared with the high-pitched scream of the klaxon cry. "DISASTER AREA AHEAD! STAGE 5 TERRORIST ATTACK! ALL AVAILABLE HEROES ATTEND IMMEDIATELY, WE REPEAT, DISASTER AREA AHEAD! STAGE 5 TERRORIST ATTACK! ALL AVAILABLE HEROES ATTEND IMMEDIATELY!"

And the would-be heroes answered the call.

The surge forward was immediate, and Izuku felt the too-familiar rush of energy taking over his blood. His senses were already speeding up, his eyes taking in everything and missing nothing. He could smell the, admittedly fake, blood through the air, along with the dust and fire and chaos of the decimated world around him.

His mind was already sifting through the information being fed to it at a rate that would alarm any scientist who could observe. Every millisecond of sight, sound, smell, and touch was informing his enhanced, half-human body what to do, where to go, who to focus on first, and which area most needed his power.

Around him, those that could keep up were keeping up. Tenya was at his side, rushing forwards and shouting into their shared comm set, hidden within their ears, orders to set out a first aid camp, to secure a safe evacuation area, and attend to those who could still move.

In the few moments before, class one-A had decided on their game plan. It had come together organically, and quickly, taking advantage of the training they had spent the latter half of a year having pounded into their minds, muscles, and hearts.

Even those elements who wouldn't usually work together, such as Izuku and Hanta, fell into the easy regimentation of their common goal. The fastest and most agile would range out, hunting down civilians and securing the immediate area. People with strength quirks or with quirks that leaned towards supportive roles would follow behind, taking over from those at the front and securing the rear, where a first aid and evac station would be established.

Rescue civilians, stop further destruction, save the day.

Be heroes.

There was a flash of purple lighting and Hitoshi was there, his soul blazing before Izuku's eyes, a multi-colored fire that was so bright and so large it threatened to burst out of him. Sometimes he was half sure he could see faces in that fire, and he had reasoned that perhaps they were the spirits of the other users.

But he was pretty sure such a thing was impossible.

Maybe.

His thoughts leapt back on track as they came to their first building. Whatever it had once been, it was naught but rubble now. Before it were several people, all covered in fake blood and real dirt.

"Help us!" One, an old man dressed as a young boy, cried out. "Please!"

"Fuck." Hitoshi hissed through his teeth as they came to a sudden stop. His eyes went past the boy and to the building. "Izuku, is there anyone in there?"

Despite his former, and possibly current, irritation at him, the exam called for professionalism and teamwork.

Even Hitoshi, with his quiet but strongly held passions, could put aside being pissed at someone to pass the exam.

"POINTS OFF!" The boy screamed suddenly, causing the would-be heroes, including Izuku, to jump in surprise.

He'd been trying to take it as seriously as he could, so the sudden shift was jarring.

"Wha- what?"

"You should check on the immediate victims!" He pointed an accusing finger at Hitoshi. "Can't you see I'm bleeding from my neck? And what's with that tone of voice? I'm the subject of a terrible disaster, you should be reassuring me!"

There was a second where the three boys, Tenya, Izuku, and Hitoshi looked at one another. A second where a single thought passed between all three of them. A thought that was voiced internally by Nemesis.

"Is this old man serious?!"

Izuku decided that, yes, he was serious.

But before he could react, Hitoshi was stepping towards him. "It'll be okay!" There was a moment, just a moment, where the world seemed to surround Hitoshi, and Izuku stood on the sidelines, watching it.

It was a moment, just a moment, where that fire that burned like a raging bonfire within Hitoshi, seemed to turn almost golden.

"Because we are here!" He knelt down as the old man seemed to go right back into crying victim mode.

"My family are trapped in there!"

"We'll get them out! Don't worry!" He scooped up the old man like he weighed next to nothing and turned to the others. "Mark this place out, make sure Uraravity and Creati get here, it needs support."

Izuku, just for a moment, wondered where this Hitoshi had come from. The boy who, at the beginning of the year, had been withdrawn and quiet. He was stubborn and cold and distant and… and he'd been warm enough to let Izuku in. Warm enough to forgive him for what he'd done to Katsuki.

Over the year, this Hitoshi, this hard-working, dedicated, bullheaded but golden-hearted Hitoshi had emerged. Perhaps part of it was One For All running in his blood, or maybe that was simply a platform for Hitoshi to stand upon.

Yes, he realized, this Hitoshi had always been there. He'd just been hidden under an oversized, jet-black hoody and a scowl.

"Right." He nodded, and he felt something flare inside him.

Altashiji really was the voice of hope.

"Morningstar, scan the building, see if you can find the others."

"We're on it."

He leapt to the job. For once, he didn't mind getting handed an order. For once he didn't mind following someone else's lead. Maybe it was because he saw Hitoshi less as someone standing over him, but someone at his side, on his level. He saw Hitoshi as an equal, someone he deeply respected.

Maybe it was because, despite the boasts of Nemesis, they both knew in their soul that Hitoshi could match them blow for blow in a fight.

He pushed the thought aside as he took flight, jumping into the air and allowing his eyes to scan across the building. He couldn't see through walls, but he could sure as shit hear the people inside.

More victims. More blood. His inner fire spiked as he darted forward, landing as softly as he could onto a third story and moving inside where two more victims, a young woman and an old lady dressed as a child, looked at him.

"Come with us if you want to live."

Fear crossed their eyes, and Izuku felt his irritation rise. He had no time for this. He was trying to save their lives, and yet his natural aura of darkness was hindering that.

He decided that they were going to get their lives saved whether they liked it or not.

A second's glance told him that they didn't seem badly hurt, even by the fake standards he was expecting. The old lady's arm was probably broken though. He moved on her first, rushing at her and grabbing her around the waist with one arm, then turning on the woman.

For a second, she seemed to cower back, but Izuku ignored that too. He grabbed her by the back of her shirt and, with swift run, was back out over the balcony, his wings stretching wide as he took flight.

"H- hey!"

He landed, practically dropping the woman to one side and looking to the others. "This one has a broken arm. We're taking her to the evacuation point."

He saw the nod from Hitoshi, and Izuku turned and took flight again.

"Good." As the wind rushed past his face, he looked to the woman he was holding in his arms. She seemed nervous as if his very presence was something that put her on edge, which was understandable, and yet there was a small sparkle in her eye. "You prioritized the heavily wounded and moved with admirable swiftness. Points for that, young man."

Something in Izuku suddenly flared with pride and Nemesis's grin stretched across his face, sharp teeth flashing with the feeling of abject victory. "Thank you."

"Focus on where you're going," she added with a stern frown, "or can you fly without looking?"

Izuku wanted to say yes but he held his tongue and simply looked ahead again. He could probably make his way through the suddenly very busy air space without much effort, but he knew that optics meant something.

This was an exam, after all, not a time to showboat.

Which was more than could be said for Inasa.

The sudden gust of wind that rushed past him almost knocked him off course, as it did to the few other people flying around him, all of them carrying victims of their own.

Izuku turned, his eyes flashing with irritation as he looked at the young man, who was hovering in mid air surrounded by what seemed to be a hurricane. On the channels of wind, he could see at least a dozen exam-victims, as well as countless pieces of debris.

For a moment, Izuku though he was acting recklessly. Throwing that much stuff into the air, including people, was a recipe for disaster. But then Nemesis kicked in, and suddenly Izuku saw what they saw.

"He's juggling them all at once." The razor-wire voice of his other-self whispered into his ears. "His control over his power is incredible."

Izuku was sure that, if it came to it, he could beat Inasa. But at the same time, he was suddenly very glad that he hadn't done so in the previous test. It would have been an exciting fight, but no doubt a tough one.

And tough usually meant time consuming. And time was something he simply didn't have a whole lot of.

As he landed, a hero hopeful, a girl, ran up to him. Her outfit was loud and colorful, but if she was here it meant her power wasn't suited to the immediate search and rescue. Indeed, when Izuku handed the old woman over, telling them of her injuries, the girl nodded and breathed onto the older woman.

From her breath came soft sparkles which danced over the woman's injured arm. Then, when nothing happened, the young girl smiled. "If you were really hurt, that would have cooled your injury and taken some of the pain off."

The old woman smiled and nodded. "Ah, very good. Points for you!"

The girl looked at him, and for a moment he saw the same, fearful expression cross through her eyes that everyone seemed to give him these days. He almost turned away, disinclined to put up with the parade of people who wouldn't look at him like a normal person, before she suddenly put a smile onto her face.

"Y-you're that kid from the sports festival, right?"

Izuku blinked. "Erm, yeah?"

"Well, I just wanna say I thought you should have won. Hash-tag devil-boy-was-robbed?"

Izuku couldn't help it. He grinned. "Oh, thank you."

And with that, she turned away, guiding the old lady towards the first aid tent. Izuku felt a warmth blossom in his chest. For all the looks he got, for all the fear he generated through his natural aura of darkness, it was good to know that sometimes even random people were on his side.

He looked back out to the devastated arena of the exam. Would he really appreciate this as a hero though? The occasional person thanking him for his efforts?

Despite promising to focus on the now, Himiko's words were still lingering in his head. If what she said was true, if he was going to live forever, than how much did all this mean now?

He shook it off and began storming back towards the rubble, his wings stretching out wide and regal either side. Now wasn't the time to think about that, his head needed to be in the game. No distractions.

He was immediately distracted when, a couple of feet away, the stadium wall exploded.

The shock was immediate. They were barely a few minutes into the exam, an exam to which it was clear most students thought would focus on the rescue, when the rules were, of course, changed.

Izuku felt his entire body tense into the new threat. It was natural, it was what he was practically designed to do. The second something new arrived, he adapted, he changed, he targeted and destroyed that which dared oppose him.

Or at least, that was what Nemesis was demanding within his soul. Izuku agreed, whatever this was, they needed to face it head on. But his human-self played its role too. Observe, gather information, calculate a plan, and execute that plan.

He was in the air in moments, even as panic began gripping the would-be heroes around him. His eyes could see them, moving through the brick-dust.

Villains. Or, well, pretend-villains. They were dressed in strange, all black combat suits with a variety of weapons and strange equipment attached to them. They were flooding out of the hole in the stadium wall and quickly rushing across ground towards the heroes and-

"They're targeting the victims too," Nemesis growled deeply. "Cowards! Attacking those who cannot fight back!"

The very thought was burning a hole through Izuku's heart, and he was snarling before he knew it.

Then he saw him. A figure emerging out of the dust, standing on a raised piece of debris with his arms held wide. A figure jet black in a pale white suit. A figure who stood at least seven feet tall and looked to be made of pure, athletic muscle.

"Hear me, heroes!" His voice boomed across the stadium. "Did you really believe we villains would leave you be to save these worthless lives? FOOLS! We will destroy every last one of them, just as soon as we destroy every last one of you!" His arm raised up, as if grasping the very world within its taloned hand. "Now decide, heroes. Who will you focus on? The villain threat, or the civilian lives? Can you do both? Let us see."

Izuku knew, of course, that this was all part of the exam. It had to be. The fact that there weren't a hundred alarms going off and every teacher in the stands weren't jumping onto the field told him that much.

But damn, that guy was doing an amazing job.

"Gang Orca." Nemesis replied, fishing the image of the man out of his eidetic memory, along with a bunch of facts he must have seen at one point. "Current number ten hero in the hero rankings. Has all the powers of orca whale, as well as its equivalent strength. And also likes kids." Nemesis sneered. "How cute."

Immediately his body arched towards the villain threat. His natural instinct was to turn, to fight, to destroy the enemy before him. Even if he justified it with the pretext of saving lives, he knew inside it was because every fiber of his being was geared towards combat.

Towards victory.

But something stopped him, causing a jarring hesitation to run through his body. He had dived into every fight beforehand, and while it worked in training, he had found it worked far less so in real life.

He remembered his actions around Himiko. Sure, he had fought her to save the others, but if he had taken a different action, if he had tried to retreat with the others, or talk her down, could things have been different?

He glanced back, his eyes scanning the field. Half the heroes were turning towards the threat, rushing headlong into the newly erupting battle. The others were moving faster to secure the civilians.

"We should attack!" Nemesis's war cry was a brass bell hammering through his mind. "We should destroy him!"

But was it the right choice? The best choice?

"We can save more lives by taking down the enemy!"

Perhaps, but was that the right choice, here.

Nemesis's destroyer-flame jumped through his blood, sending incredible energy through his body. If he moved, it would be like a hammer, smashing into the enemy ranks before they knew what had hit them. He'd take to the front line like an avatar of unholy war, a figure to which all would run in fear.

… but the objective here wasn't to fight bad guys. It was to save people.

He had to put that before his own desires. That was what he had been learning, been seeing over and over again. Innocent lives had to be prioritized.

Win by saving.

Save to win.

Nemesis grumbled in disappointment at the lack of combat but moved with Izuku as the boy turned and headed away from the already chaotic battles breaking out before him.

He would find Hitoshi, his fellow classmates at the very least, before involving himself in the battle. That at least seemed the smarter move. Consolidate, plan, then attack, rather than meaningless slaughter that could lead him to be trapped and surrounded.

He wouldn't make that mistake again.

Izuku took to the air, flying with speed that took him across the devastated arena faster than even Tenya could run.

It didn't take long to find Hitoshi. His spirit shone like a lantern in the dark, a beacon which, if only others could see, would act like a lighthouse, guiding all those who drew close.

And he was carrying two people on his shoulders. The boy was trying to move, stamping his way through the rubble as quickly as he could manage. The bodies weren't moving, though Izuku could tell they were simply toying at being unconscious.

In fact, he could see one frown and mumble something when Hitoshi almost slipped coming down a piece of slanted concrete.

"Altashiji!"

Hitoshi looked up and, for an irritating moment, looked shocked that Izuku was there at all. "Morningstar?"

Izuku landed and quickly took one of the bodies from Hitoshi, holding them bridal style in his arms. "We're under attack."

"Really? I hadn't noticed. I thought the giant ass explosion was just part of the fucking décor."

"We need to gather the class and form a proper defense."

Hitoshi's look of surprise quickly changed into a smile, and an agreeable nod. "Good to know you've not completely forgotten how teamwork works."

"Shut up," Izuku snarked back before turning. "Let's get these two back to the base, we can get someone to put up a signal and we'll organize there."

"Prioritizing defense while helping people. You both get some points," the old man who Izuku had been carrying chirped up before pretending to be unconscious again.

Izuku ignored him, there was no time to bask in the praise of others. Not anymore, anyway. He would do later.

And with that, the two took off. Now that the weight was more evenly distributed across Hitoshi's shoulders, he could move with a greater speed, the purple lighting of his second quirk arching around him. Yet Izuku was right at his side, the two cutting a swift passage through the ruins of the world around them.

However, even as they moved, the villains were closing the distance. Two black-clad villains jumped out before them, armed with bizarre weapons that they immediately turned on the two heroes.

They pulled their triggers and Izuku watched almost in slow motion as the guns fired globs of weird, pink goo at them.

The blobs rushed past him as he easily avoided them, and he watched as they landed and stuck to the walls around them.

Oh, so they were non-lethal sticky balls, like that kid's quirk in class one-B. Well, that would be extremely irritating.

He wanted to turn on the target, to dive and clear them from their path. However, the person in his arms was no hero, they were a civilian, and he had to keep them safe, even at the cost of his own agility.

"MORNINGSTAR!" Hitoshi shouted from under him. "BASEBALL TIME!"

Hitoshi jumped up in a sparkling crackle of lighting before slamming down, causing a huge amount of rubble to fly up around him.

Izuku grinned. This was why he loved working with Hitoshi so damn much.

He spun in midair, his wings arching out wide as they collided with the rubble and smashed them back down again. The mass array of stones, pebbles and rocks arched towards the villains like a meteor shower, and they were forced to scramble out the way.

Nemesis inwardly suggested following up. Diving on their foes and knocking them out for good, but Izuku again reminded himself that he was holding a person in his arms.

Besides, the distraction had served its purpose. The two heroes darted on, heading directly towards the first aid camp with all speed.

"Points for dealing with the villains without endangering the injured!" The old man croaked in his arms. Then he put a hand over his mouth for a moment before mumbling, "points off for making me dizzy."

"Oh, come on-" Izuku bit his lip before forcing a smile. "Sorry! Sir! Won't happen again!"

"Ungrateful old bastard!" Nemesis growled in his head. "Good thing we'll never end up like that."


I really enjoyed writing that opening with Tenya and Izuku. Tenya hasn't had a whole ton of moments with Izuku in the story, and it was really very fun to have him talk with Izuku here. The whole thing felt very organic and actually made me realize I might have missed a very cool series of moments with Izuku and Tenya talking about the weight of their family expectations on their shoulders.

Ahh well. Maybe a better writer could have figured that out better.

Also Izuku in the second half showed a bit of character development, which I hope works with how he's evolving through the story. He's finally entering a stage where he's learning what it means to have the power he does and how, sometimes, it's better to not use that strength at all.

ANYWAY, as for now, we're gonna have a chapter dealing with more cool exam moments for characters who don't usually get to shine, and then we're moving on past the exam back to the main plot. Which is shaping up to be super fun cos I get to go off the rails for a little bit. Otherwise, hope you all stay cool, keep safe, and I'll see you guys next time!