*BANG* *BREAK*

The arrows kept flying in toward the trio.

Midoriya Izuku attempted to intercept one of the shots with his right hand before being pulled back by Aizawa.

"Look." The hero pointed to one of the smoking craters.

"It's just the bow that's her quirk, every shot she took was with a real arrow."

Midoriya's face paled, before slowly nodding at Aizawa.

Meanwhile Shinsou kept his eye on the two masked men, waiting for his enemies to pounce.

"ARGHH I can't wait anymore!" The man known as Rappa Kendo rushed in.

His arms started to move at blinding speeds nearly covering Shinsou in a barrage of punches. Such was the power of his Strongarm quirk.

But his arms slowed to a sudden halt.

"Huh?"

A grey metallic cloth was wrapped around his arm as the hero Eraserhead held him back with his capture weapon and Erasure.

But a glowing yellow barrier suddenly enveloped the pair.

"Ah, so you're the hero that can erase quirks." The robed Tengai Hekiji noted.

The yakuza was kept apart from the other two in the barrier, within his own personal barrier.

"But unfortunately your quirk is sight based. Meaning it relies on electromagnetic radiation, which my barriers interfere with." The villain calmly explained within the safety of his quirk.

"He's all yours Rappa."

Rappa smiled maliciously. "It's been a while since I had a good one on one."

Aizawa was backed into a corner, even if he could erase the villain's quirk he would lose due to the sheer difference in physical strength. He needed to gain some distance and outmanoeuvre his opponent, if he was to try and restrain him with his capture weapon.

*BREAK*

Space that would be available to Aizawa as Midoriya Izuku broke through the barrier with his Imagine Breaker.

*SMASH*

The villain was punted by the quirkless boy straight in his face, falling back in shock.

*BREAK*

Midoriya took the opportunity to break through and attack Tengai.

The yakuza still stunned in disbelief that his impenetrable barrier was so easily broken through, didn't manage to dodge in time.

*SMASH*

As Midoriya Izuku's right fist sunk into his face.

"You brat!" The larger villain moved in to attack.

*TWHIP*

But was halted again by the same capture tape.

But this time it wasn't only Eraserhead.

Shinsou Hitoshi grabbed Rappa's other arm with his own capture weapon, causing his mentor to be both shocked and impressed.

In unison the student-mentor duo pulled on their respective scarfs, holding the large villain down.

*SMASH*

Just long enough for Midoriya to come in and finish him off.

The villain faltered and struggled, but he was not done yet.

"You think that's enough to stop me!?" Rappa gave the metallic cloth a forceful tug, pulling free from the grasp of the UA heroes.

"No!" Midoriya yelled.

"You stupid oaf! You think you can overpower us!?"

"What!?" An enraged Rapper yelled. "Oh you have no-"

Shinsou Hitoshi smirked. "Gotcha."

*BANG*

The shot came out of nowhere and hit Rappa on his head, just strong enough to knock him out of Shinsou's Brainwashing.

"-idea! Wait what just happened?"

The heroes had made a critical error in being too focused on the yakuza, allowing the Humarise member Beros to take a sniping position somewhere among the many different buildings along the street.

"Dammit- OOF!" The recovered Tengai attacked Midoriya from behind.

"It seems we have underestimated you heroes, but unfortunately you seem to have made the same error."

Aizawa's mind was in a frenzy, the tables had turned and they were completely pinned down. He wasn't prepared to fight these villains and certainly not with two students as his backup. He had to think of a strategy, fast.

Obviously Midoriya would be the best against the barrier villain, his right hand was the perfect counter to his quirk. That left the large one and the longbow woman.

He could possibly erase the woman's bow quirk but Eraserhead was unsure if he could even spot her much less see her, and while his quirk was definitely useful against the strong one the sheer difference in physical size would make fighting him a difficult fight. However one thing was for sure, Shinsou was not ready for a villain fight of this scale.

He could trust that Midoriya had at least enough street experience to get by, but Shinsou was still too green and his training had barely started all things considered. The irony of having more faith in a Gen Ed student than one of his own was not lost on him, but those were hard facts, either of the villains would be a bad match up for Shinsou and his brainwashing.

So what was he going to do?

"Sensei!" His apprentice called. "Go take care of the bow villain! Your quirk should be able to erase hers from a distance! Once she loses her ranged attacks you'll be easily able to take her down in hand to hand!"

"Shinsou…" Aizawa still had his doubts.

"What are you waiting for!? Go! I can handle this guy! Trust me!"

"…Midoriya!"

The green haired boy perked up.

"You know what to do!"

The boy nodded as he continued to battle with the robed man, while Eraserhead ran toward the direction of the arrows.

The Erasure Hero put his faith in his student.

And hopefully Shinsou Hitoshi would not disappoint.

"Oof!"

Shinsou Hitoshi fell flat on his ass again.

"Come on! I didn't hit you that hard." Midoriya Izuku chided.

"You could have hit a little less hard…" Hitoshi tended to his sore behind.

Midoriya raised a hand to help him up. "You'll need to be able to take a hit, the hero course isn't always going to fall for the 'Hey you suck' trick you know?"

Hitoshi scoffed. "Easy for you to say, you're built way studier than you look."

"And I've still got beat up many times before, you're not gonna beat anyone if they can just take you down in one hit."

"Yeah, yeah I know…" Hitoshi frowned.

They'd been training like this all trimester in preparation for the upcoming UA sports festival.

After thinking on the subject a bit more, Midoriya Izuku realised that maybe joining the hero course may be the key to solving all his current issues. He would have basically secured a stable job, he could work with compensation during school days and he was basically doing the same thing for free anyway. He would easily be able to raise Eri with that kind of income flow, and he'd still be able to finish college.

"But still, you're missing something here."

"Missing something?"

Midoriya nodded. "You've been training to get your fitness up, and be able to defend yourself hand to hand. But you haven't thought of any moves or attacks using your quirk."

Hitoshi raised a brow. "Uhh… a little unnecessary when my quirk is, 'You respond, you lose'."

"But what if they know? What if they know how your quirk works and just shut up the entire time?"

"Isn't that what all this training is for?"

Midoriya nodded. "Yes, but all I've taught you is how I've been getting by, fighting hand to hand. Your quirk is a mental type with very specific activation conditions, but use it well and you could probably brainwash All Might."

"You really think I could control All Might? We're talking about the same All Might right?"

Midoriya sighed with a thoughtful smile. "Easily… But like I said the speech activation is where it all falls apart. You're not going to be able to get everyone with just that."

"So… tell me how I'm supposed to take down the number one hero?" Hitoshi questioned.

"That's why you need a plan of attack, a hidden move, a secret-ultimate-surekill technique that can even take down All Might." Midoriya smirked.

"The kind of move that'll allow you to take down anyone, Shinsou-san. No matter how strong or how physical their quirk is…"

'And that's the kind of move I'll need…'

Shinsou Hitoshi steeled himself.

Hitoshi hadn't actually fought anyone, outside of the sports festival and his limited hero training.

That meant he hadn't actually faced a villain before, unlike Midoriya.

If you were to compare the two, Hitoshi was all training and no experience, while Midoriya was the exact opposite.

But even with all his training Hitoshi still felt woefully unprepared.

"HEY STUPID! COME ON!"

Rappa Kendo opened his mouth to speak, but stopped himself.

'Damn it! Looks like the same trick won't work twice.'

Hitoshi's Brainwashing was powerful, under the right conditions he could take down any hero even All Might. But it had specific conditions in order to activate.

1. His natural voice had to reach his target, meaning the sound waves couldn't be put through an amplifier or any other electronic means.

2. His opponent had to verbally acknowledge him, if they indirectly addressed him or responded to any action not pertaining to Hitoshi his quirk wouldn't activate.

Hitoshi moved his hands up to his mask.

That's what these Artificial Vocal Cords were meant for. With these he could mimic the voices of anyone he chooses, but it was more suited for large groups where people could be easily deceived, not a one on one battle where it was obvious who was talking.

But Shinsou Hitoshi had to defeat this villain.

If nothing else but to prove that he belonged to the hero course, even with his villainous brainwashing. To prove to his mentor that he was just as capable as the rest of his students. If he died right here then so be it, if he was truly that weak then he didn't deserve to stand in his place in the hero course anyway. He rather he die here than endanger a life, because he wanted to play hero.

*SMASH*

Hitoshi dodged as Rappa smashed the ground in the most silent way he had ever attacked.

Rappa looked almost constipated, growing visibly more annoyed at being unable to verbally express his thirst for battle. Who knows, maybe Hitoshi could hold out long enough for him to give up and yell, or for a blood vessel to burst.

*SMASH*

But that didn't seem very likely, at the look of things.

Hitoshi swung upward using the metallic scarf around his neck and jumped, at least he had the advantage in terms of mobility.

Rappa began to throw everything he got his hands on at Hitoshi, which unfortunately for him was every vehicle off the road.

This may be a mistake, but Hitoshi needed to take him down fast. "So, are you gonna actually hit me? Or did you not learn how to aim at villain school!"

*CRASH*

That just made him even more mad.

"Come on! How many d-list villains does it take to bring down a student? Well I don't know the answer, but it's at least more than one!"

*CRASH*

The building Hitoshi perched on just lost all its windows.

"Yo momma so fat, I'd probably reach Fuji before I scale her! "

*CRASH*

And now they just got a new garage.

"Hey! Have you heard of ligma? WHOA-"

*CRASH* *BOOM*

One of the vehicles Rappa threw into the building, landed on its gas pipeline, blowing it and Hitoshi to kingdom come.

"Finally…" Rappa grumbled. "I was getting damn sick of that brat…"

"Oh were you?"

Rappa turned to see Hitoshi, clothes singed but still breathing.

*CLAP*

"!" Rappa was shocked.

He didn't do anything special, there was no secret weapon or hidden power he suddenly awakened. All Hitoshi did was clap as loud as he could.

But that was just enough.

Combined with the shock and disarray of seeing the enemy he thought taken care of up and alive, Rappa Kendo gasped.

There was barely a sound, barely a fraction of a squeak that came out of Rappa's mouth but it was still enough, Rappa had verbally acknowledged Hitoshi.

And the overwhelming power of brainwashing took care of the rest.

"Hey… idiot…" Hitoshi muttered between breaths.

"Lick my balls."

Before Rappa complied with the command, Hitoshi knocked him out with an almost too hard blow to the neck.

It was far from perfect, not an ultimate move by any sense of the word. At it's current stage it was easily avoidable, and was extremely hard to set up, but Hitoshi did it. He thought of what his friend told him, what seemed so long ago now. If any response worked then why not make someone respond through force or shock, even a gasp of pain from being attacked would work. All he needed to do was master the skill of forcing his opponents to respond and his quirk would be unstoppable.

"Always wanted to do that…" Hitoshi grinned.

Aizawa Shouta hobbled back to the crash site, spotting the already incapacitated barrier villain and Midoriya Izuku tending to the injured escapee.

Midoriya perked up. "Sensei! Are you alright?"

Aizawa sighed in relief. "I'm fine, but she got away. These terrorists are slipperier than what we gave them credit for."

"I see… Oh hey, you did it!"

Aizawa turned to see Hitoshi struggle, as he dragged the downed villain back toward the crash site As Hitoshi released his capture weapon the heavyweight villain fell to the ground with a loud thud.

"Villain… secured…" Hitoshi panted.

"Here let me help." Midoriya offered, which Hitoshi responded to him for the first time by dragging the body over in his exhaustion.

Aizawa took a moment to inspect the escapee. "How is he Midoriya?"

Midoriya grunted as he dropped the heavy yakuza villain. "Unconscious, but he still has a pulse."

Aizawa nodded. "Good, you two stay here and keep watch. I'm going to call for a pickup at the police post nearby."

Which left the two students with no one but each other to talk to, Aizawa definitely had that in mind.

"…"

"…"

"…Hey…" Midoriya finally broke the silence. "You did really good taking down that villain, I certainly couldn't have, and that isn't just me saying it. I'm pretty bad against speed types and brute force. So…" There was an awkward pause and Midoriya's expression changed somewhat. "So don't doubt for a moment that you belong in the hero course alright? And… I'm sorry, for everything."

Hitoshi glared at the audacity he had. That apology felt transparent, as if Midoriya didn't even know what he was apologising for. Did he think that this silence was his punishment? Because it wasn't. Shinsou Hitoshi never meant to punish Midoriya Izuku, the only person that deserved to be punished was himself.

He punished himself by pushing away his friend, for taking a place he didn't rightfully belong in. But Hitoshi would right his wrongs, he would let Midoriya Izuku take his rightful place, hold the title he deserved. But he couldn't simply call it quits and throw in the towel, Midoriya would never accept that. But the hero course was full so Hitoshi had to create a spot for him to take. And he knew exactly the spot he needed to clear, after all a hero course was meant for heroes.

Only then, would Hitoshi's sins finally be cleansed.

Only then, would this weight on his heart disappear.

Only then, would Shinsou Hitoshi be able to speak to his best friend once again.

"Tadaima…" Izuku groaned out.

"Okaeri Izuku!" Eri rushed over to greet him with a hug. "You're late again." She cutely pouted.

Izuku patted her head. "Gomen gomen, something suddenly came up."

By something he meant a villains attack, an interrogation, a game of super hero brothers penultimate 2, and a fight against another group of villains.

Man that day lasted longer than he thought, he had to deal with more things in a day than an average hero did in a week. Izuku probably would resolve more problems than a whole agency if he stayed in the streets 24/7, but not all problems were so simply resolved. Izuku still had to figure out what happened between him and Shinsou, someone he had been with for the better part of the year. If Izuku could remember what happened, then he could probably regain a good chunk of his memories. He just needed to know where to start…

*Grrr*

Eri blushed as her tummy rumbled.

Izuku chuckled and ruffled her hair. "I'm gonna start on dinner alright? Anything you want?"

Eri's eyes lit up with sparkles. "Omurice! With the funny rabbit man drawn on top!"

Funny rabbit man? "Hai hai, lemme just grab a-"

Hold on a minute.

After all the misfortune he experienced today, Izuku completely forgot the very thing he left to buy this morning.

"Umm… Eri-chan how about-"

*DIng Dong*

"I'll get it!" Eri rushed over to welcome whoever was at their door. "Ah! Ocha-ocha!"

"Hello Eri-chan!" Ochako walked in and gave Eri a head pat. "You're getting better at greeting visitors!"

Eri nodded enthusiastically. "Izuku says I needed to learn because he's always running around, getting into trouble."

'Oi, oi, oi. It isn't like this Midoriya-san has a choice, it isn't his fault that lady luck never seems to be on his side.'

Ochako nervously chuckled. "I'm sure he means well…"

"Wait did we have plans or is Midoriya-san's memory truly getting worse?"

Ochako held up a plastic bag she was carrying. "Oh, no we didn't. I just managed to catch a great bargain at the mart earlier, and I thought we could make dinner together. I've got discount onions, ginger, daikon, eggs, some garlic…"

"Wait, what was that?"

"Umm, some garlic?"

"No, no, did you say eggs?"

"My next answer was going to be daikon, but yeah." Ochako replied as she held up a full carton of eggs.

"…" Izuku walked over to his girlfriend with shadowed eyes.

"Eh? Deku-kun? I-Is something wrong? Why did you suddenly stop t- EEP!" Izuku gave her a full body hug.

"T-Thank you- *SOB* Thank y-you s-so much- *SOB*" Izuku passionately cried.

"Ano… It's not that big of a deal right? It's just a carton of cheap eggs De-"

*SMOOCH*

Izuku leaned down to kiss her on the forehead. "It's perfect…"

"E-EH!? P-P-P-Perf-fect!?" The crimson faced girl stuttered.

"Eh!? I want a kiss too Izuku!" Eri protested.

He simply smiled at the adorable girl. "Come on Eri." Izuku picked her up and ruffled her hair. "We have bigger omurice to fry."

"Ok…" She pouted again.

Izuku decided that he would deal with his memory issues later, but for now…

It's time to get crackin.