Embers floated through the sky as a bright amber glowed beautifully, the gentle cold breeze of the night carrying its warmth. Fractured lenses reflected its light, eliciting a scowl from the lone spectator that stood atop a hill that oversaw it. Just when he thought he had rid himself of his past, fate had come to test him once more.

To think that fate would give him such a challenge when it had bestowed upon him a good hand. He had forged the perfect identity that allowed him to keep his past under wraps, was loved by mostly everyone in his small Italian village and found the love of his life. He was as smitten with her as she was with him; he could not have asked for anything better. But, his adoptive father just had to unearth the ground beneath the garage…

And how his father's frantic screams caught the attention of everyone in the vicinity. He had to do it. The police could come and find clues that could lead straight to him. He must wipe the slate clean. His love must be abandoned; it was the greatest mercy he could grant to anyone in his mission to erase all those who have known him.

As screams of pain echo through the night, he walked away from the inferno he created that he used to call home. By the crack of dawn, the small village in Sardinia will be nothing but ash.

He was sure now; the only way to consolidate his role as the Emperor that controlled fate was to amass power of his own. To do that, he needed money. Fate seemed to smile upon him as an opportunity came to him in the form of a flyer requesting help for an archaeological expedition to Cairo.

.

.

Sheets came flying as a mop of green shot out of bed. Beads of sweat rolled off Izuku's face. What was that dream? Everything in it felt too…real. It was almost like he was watching his own memory play out for him. Except he was sure he did not burn a village to the ground.

Nor was he Italian.

An annoying beep and a ray of light bleeding through his blinds told him that it was high time to get ready for another exciting day of school. Yet, all he could feel was a remorseful weight in his chest. The dream may still be affecting him. With a yawn, he slumped out of bed to check himself in the mirror.

'Eyes look normal, height seems to have returned to normal as well', he thought to himself before making a half-frown half-smile. 'Hair's still a bit long, though…the compact musculature remained too…'

His eyes then widened as though he had just remembered something. He struck a composed pose and made himself look serious. "King Crimson!"

The intimidating angry humanoid phased out of him in an instant, floating by his side, ignoring its user's dinner plate eyes. 'Wow…I really do have it!'

"Izuku! Breakfast is ready!", his mom called out from downstairs.

"Coming in a bit! I'm getting ready!", replied a flustered Izuku, King Crimson no longer visible. He really needed to get used to this.


Turned out his new ability and the inner voice that came with it were the least of his worries as a human wall of media reporters have shown up and were currently making entry into U.A difficult for staff and student alike.

"What kind of lessons does All Might teach?", said one as he shoved a microphone into Izuku's face.

"Eh?! Ah…I'm sorry, but I need to get to class now so…"

"Come on, kid! You've got to have something interesting for us! We've got to get our paycheques somehow!"

"Come on, tell us!", chimed another.

"Yeah!", piped one from behind him. And soon, he was beginning to become overwhelmed by the volley of questions hurled his way by the ravenous scoop seekers. He was not alone in this either; everyone from class 1-A were pounced upon on sight. Uraraka was fumbling over the best way to describe All Might. Poor Kacchan had to deal with the many creative ways one could say 'sludge-guy-victim'. Only Iida seemed to do have fared well in this torrent of chaos, managing to even drive some away by doing the exact opposite: Complying.

"What do you think of All Might as a teacher?", asked a female winged reporter sporting traditional tengu clothing, armed with pen and paper and a camera slung by her shoulder. Iida, with a serious glare, snapped towards her with dramatic snappy arms.

"It redoubles my awareness of the fact that I'm enrolled where I can reap the rewards of the pinnacle of hero training. It goes without saying that his authority and mien are awe-inspiring, but so too are qualities such as his sense of humour. Now that we students will be constantly exposed to such an impressive role model, we will be able to study what one needs to possess in order to match the definition of a "top hero" and furthermore—"

"Okay kid, thank you for your cooperation goodbye and see you later!", flustered the reporter and she hurriedly backed away from the still-talking bespectacled boy.

From within the clutches of the journalists, Izuku could only give a wobbly smile as he watched the ordeal of his friends while being prodded by audio-recording devices.

'Man, how much longer till I reach the school gates?', sighed his mind. 'This is to be expected, I suppose. All Might being a teacher here and what not. From what I've heard in passing, the media had been camping out here for days now!'

Why don't you find out for yourself?

'Eh?!' He clamped his mouth to prevent himself from audibly voicing his mental yelp upon hearing the gruff voice that inhabited his headspace out of the blue.

Tch! If it were not for the fact that I have to live with you, I'd be glad that you have forgotten about me.

'I'm sorry, Diavolo!'

Ah, it's fine. I forget that you're not Doppio sometimes so that makes us even.

'Who is Doppio?', inquired Izuku, his head tilting a bit to the side, confusing some of the journalists who thought he did not understand their questions. He then felt slight apprehension coming from the disembodied voice, causing him to inwardly flinch.

None of your concern, boy! I'd strike you down where you stand for even knowing my name, let alone my existence! Be glad Fate had decided to test me with this predicament!

'Well, what did you want to talk about then?', he asked, trying to ignore his hollow yet genuine threats.

My King Crimson has another ability that you can use—

'Eh?!'

Shush! Interrupt me again and I'll possess you!

A loud gulp was drowned out by the volleys of inquiries thrown by the mass media reporters around him.

Good. This second ability, Epitaph, allows its user to see up to 10 seconds into the future. You've used it before, so you should know how to use it.

The surrounding sounds faded away as he sifted through his recent memories for an instance where he had used this specific ability. What was it? The scary, angry, literally two-faced humanoid was King Crimson. The odd time skipping ability was also King Crimson's, so what was Epitaph? Then, it all clicked together.

'Was it the visions?'

Precisely. This ability to see into the future, combined with my King Crimson, allows, me, Diavolo, to be the one to alter the course of Fate itself!

He paused for a moment. Izuku thought back to the time when King Crimson first manifested during the Battle Training trials against Bakugou's team. Since King Crimson's special ability was to skip or 'erase' time, that would mean that the amount of time skipped during his encounter with the explosive blonde must have been short because it was just enough to avoid his arm-bracer cannon. Bakugou did not notice a thing while he assumed it was time stop because of how brief it was. A few milliseconds…That made sense. It was only after the 'visions' appeared in the bangs of his hair that the skipping effect could be felt. Iida, Uraraka-heck-everyone who saw the ongoing trial felt the confusion due to what they all thought was teleportation.

Feeling that the mafia don had nothing more to say to him (presumably to avoid another long-winded ramble), he glanced around. He was still far away from the school gate and there were reporters as far as his eyes could see. Iida must have made it through because he could no longer see him. Man, how lucky.

He then shook his head to let some of his hair down over his eyes.

'Hmm? I don't remember my hair being this long…', he wondered. His relatively thick head of hair was now long enough to obscure his vision by a good chunk, allowing him to only see the feet of the people in front of him.

Wanting to get out of this mass of reporters with haste to avoid running the ever-ticking clock out, he internally called out Epitaph. Like a brand-new projector, the images began to emerge almost as soon as he finished summoning the ability.

From the predictive vision that was being played before his eyes, he could see that he was still struggling to get through while his classmates have gotten past the school gates. Then, to his horror, a reporter who was heckling his homeroom teacher, Aizawa, stepped a bit too close towards the gate in her efforts to persuade the scruffy man to look presentable and triggered the activation of a thick metal wall that shut off the school, leaving him to fend for himself.

"Hey, you free to answer some questions on All Might?", shot a reporter from behind him, sending a jolt up Izuku's spine as he felt the reporter's sturdy grip on his shoulder.

xx

'Heh, you shouldn't have spaced out, kiddo!', smirked the reporter as he firmed his grip on the green-haired student's shoulder. He had got himself an easy catch. Never mind, who was he kidding? Himself? It was hard to get a hold of the brats! They either got away past the gate or were snapped up by rival media journalists and even those kids did not waste a breath getting away. This grass kid who was standing there muttering to himself was a godsend! If he had a lot to say to himself then surely, he would not mind sharing some of that info to him. It's freaking All Might as a teacher, goddammit! Any story about him, no matter how stupid or controversial, will end his days of subsisting off cup ramen!

He shook the kid's shoulder gently a few times after noticing that he was not responding.

"Hey, don't be afraid now! It'll only take a few short questions and you can be on your way to—"

SLAM!

"—it's the good ol' "U.A Barrier"! Well, that's what they—what the hell?!", he blurted. He blinked a few times and shook his head. Have the all the nights he spent camping outside the walls of the prestigious hero academy finally taken their toll on his sanity? He was sure he had just been talking to the green-haired kid a second ago and now he had found himself suddenly in front of the 'U.A Barrier' about to give some exposition on the damn metal gate.

He looked around him; his co-workers and rivals were hailing fits of anger and hurling curses at the school as though nothing had happened. A sickening lump formed in his gut and his face paled. He felt sick. Maybe he needed a break after all…

As he made his way back to his news-van shivering, there stood another person who experienced the same thing he did.

Observing from behind the mob of reporters was a dishevelled white-haired figure. He was waiting for the barrier to inevitably activate as one of the reporters were bound to overstep their boundaries with the school, aware or unaware. It was a crucial part of his plan that he let the reporters trigger the school's first line of defence as his presence was not to be announced yet.

Not yet.

It had to be well-thought out to prevent coming across strong random-encounter foes from interfering or else it would be game over before the he made it to the final boss.

What he did not expect was finding himself standing right behind the crowd of media reporters after rubbing his eyes as he tried to be rid of the dust that found its way into his eyes a few moments earlier.

While he did not see what happened or who did it, he smirked. If this was a Quirk, it was a very interesting one. And if it was a student's Quirk…

They would make a fine addition to his league.


Aizawa Shouta was a man of reason. Going by the moniker, 'Eraserhead', his Quirk temporarily disables the Quirks of any person in his field of vision. However, it did not work on mutation-type Quirks and he had the misfortune of suffering from dry eye, preventing him from using Quirk for an extended period before having to blink. This meant he had to get creative to fight his battles and, since most fights with villains were potentially fatal to him if he were to go in blind, also had to be quick in Quirk assessment to think of a strategy to work around a villain's Quirk on the fly.

However, things were looking to be rather irrational lately. Izuku Midoriya, the boy who passed with the most Rescue points in the entrance exam, appeared to be unable to properly control his Quirk as it broke his bones to pieces upon use. Thinking it a mercy to expel him to allow the boy time to get used to it, he was pleasantly stunned and amused with the determination that burned in those green eyes as he proved him wrong with a controlled throw of the ball that broke only a finger.

It was an irrationality that annoyed him, but he welcomed anyway. It reminded him of his co-worker, Toshinori, and his idiotic tendency to jump into action without thinking. As much as it irked him, the kid's got the fire and thus he told his students that he was only bluffing when he said that he was going to expel those that placed last in his physical test. If Midoriya failed to show him that intense drive, he really would have gone through with it.

This new irrationality, however, was not. When he snuggled up in his sleeping bag off the side of the classroom, he intended to take a nap while his students squabbled over who got to be class president and class vice-president but what happened earlier today nagged at him. Here he was, being told off from a squawking reporter for his unkempt appearance and then he suddenly found himself halfway across school grounds, walking towards the school. Looking at the doors that led into the school building, his students have already entered with Midoriya being the last to enter.

Thinking back to the marks and evaluation sheets that he got from Toshinori earlier, he noticed that there was a remark on Midoriya's that stated in a straightforward, not-Toshinori-esque manner, [Unidentified second Quirk manifested].

The exact details of this Quirk were never specified and further notes at the end of the sheet only indicated that it was a possible iteration of a form of pre-Quirk era power called a [Stand]. It raised his brow, but he decided against bringing it up with Midoriya to avoid causing a ruckus in his class; his students were noisy enough as they were especially after he announced the policy of needing class leadership roles.

Now that he thought about it, the strange happening from this morning could be the work of this 'Stand' mentioned in the evaluation sheet. Worried that it could be as uncontrollable as Midoriya's current Quirk, he might have to arrange a meeting with the boy sometime in the future.

"I got three votes?!"

Midoriya's grating shrill prompted him to shift around his sleeping bag to look at the blackboard.

'Ah. They've decided already. That's quick.'

Standing up and slinking out of the comfort of his sleeping bag, he paced towards his desk and positioned himself next to the newly minted class leaders.

"So, it's President Midoriya and Vice-President Yaoyorozu," he announced.

"Damn things are heating up for Midoriya!", he heard Kirishima shout followed by Kaminari's, "And Yaoyorozu was really cool during the training analysis!"

His ears also picked the jealous stewing of the purple-ball-headed Mineta. Something about how lucky Midoriya was but he was sure it had to do with Yaoyorozu being the VP due to the perverted aura that exuded from the kid.

Not long after, the bell to signal the beginning of lunch break. As his students exited the classroom, he stared at the green-haired teen. He had a feeling whatever this new Quirk was, the boy was bound to go through changes.

For better or worse.

xx

The cafeteria manned by the culinary Hero, Lunch Rush, was alive with the hustle and bustle of the many students of U.A High, consisting of the various departments of study either queueing up in the long yet fast-moving line to receive a delicious meal of their choosing made possible with Lunch Rush's Quirk or walking together with friends to find a table to eat together.

On one such table, sat a friendly trio, having their lunch in bliss and with much to discuss.

"This rice is yummy!", said Uraraka with a smile as she held her bowl of rice in one hand and a pair of chopsticks in another, a small stray grain decorating her lower lip. "We get all kinds here, huh… There's kids from the heroics department, support kids, business kids, general studies kids…all assembled in the same hall…"

"What a sight, is it not?", chimed Iida with his plate curry rice. "To be able to see the various departments that help uphold the current system of heroics of justice in this country, it is like a microcosm of society in the real world. Isn't that right, Midoriya?"

"A-ah! Yes, it is, Iida!", yelped Izuku, seemingly brought out of a daze. He then stared at his lunch with lifeless eyes.

"You all right, Midoriya?", Iida inquired, adjusting his glasses.

Izuku squirmed a little in his seat before looking at him. "Yeah, I'm good. It's just that…I was made class president so suddenly, I'm really not sure I'm up to the task…"

'…because I'm not used to finding myself being recognised, let alone voted for…', he mentally added.

Iida stopped eating for a moment and stared into Izuku's eyes, a convictive stare into the windows of his soul with an intensity that might cause him to see two souls when there was one.

"You'll be alright." He scooped a spoonful of curry rice with vigour. "You've got the guts and the judgement when it comes down to it, Midoriya."

He gripped his glass, took a sip of orange juice from the straw, and set the glass down with a light tap before tending to his lunch again. A content sigh escaped his lips.

"I voted for you because I knew you have it in you to carry us through."

'So, it was you!', screamed Izuku internally. A low amused chuckle echoing in his mind at his mental antics.

'What's so funny?', he huffed

For a mouse, you've already got the personality and skills to get a person of ambition like Iida there to give up his pursuit to support yours.

'Hey!'

Give yourself some credit, it's nothing to scoff at! When I first started Passione, it took me considerable effort to gain a member who would swear loyalty to me. It took a lot of convincing that my principles were true and when they came through, Fate kept the ball rolling for me. You, on the other hand, used your annoying timidity to hide the overwhelming determination that you possess to attract people to you. I commend you for that.

'I'm just socially anxious, okay! I'm not doing this on purpose, I swear!'

A loud growl made him yelp in his head, his body shifting ever so slightly in his seat, his lunch half-eaten, his drink half-full.

Midoriya. You may have been lucky in coming across the hero who gave you his power, you may have been lucky in knowing that he was also your idol, you may have been lucky in knowing that this powerful man is literally the Symbol of Peace in this eastern land, but your being here, your physique that you built up with fervour to the point of over-exertion and the trust and bonds that you formed with your friends in this clean slate of a school, that was all you, Izuku Midoriya!

Fate, being the cruel determinant force that governs our lives, had given you a bad hand from the very beginning. You were born Quirkless; cursed to be the seen as the weak! The unworthy! The mindless sheep that worship the worthless pawns whom Fate had given them the hand they need to be recognised as part of the eligible majority who dance in the hands of the elite!

Hands ceased to move, breathing held, face downcast to hide the pools of water that were about to overflow from their ducts.

But! But…you, giovanotto, you took this bad hand given to you and saw it not as the way you choose to live, but instead saw it as a great challenge by Fate. A test! And you persevered! You waded through the pain, the suffering you endured as the weak, worthless Quirkless boy you were; Fate rewarded that perseverance in the form of a once-in-a-lifetime chance! Mere mortals would approach not this opportunity for fear of rejection as they realise they do not want it as badly as they thought they did. They were afraid of taking on Fate's challenge, mistaking it as the path it set them on.

You proved yourself to be beyond that of mortal men when you grabbed hold of the reward Fate has given to you and in return, Fate got the ball rolling for you like it did with I, Diavolo. So, march on, Izuku Midoriya, march on with confidence, for the achievements you have accomplished until today was all your effort and sheer will to succeed in the trials and tribulations of Fate!

Diavolo, if he had physical form, would been have kneeling by the young boy with a hand on his shoulder by now. The boy's unconscious perception to the threads of Fate were uncanny, causing the warmth of respect to emanate from his heart though he would never admit it. If only the boy could see the absolute truth in his ways, the reason why the erasure of the past was necessary. For now, the boy needed to recognise his own hand in his own accomplishments.

As cruel as Fate was, it always recognised the efforts of those who accepted its trials.

The silent sobs reverberated through the vessel he resided in, the faint pitter-patter of tears rolling down to cloth. Hmph. What a cry baby. Then again, he was harbouring a lot of pent up emotions for quite a while from what he gathered from prying into his protégé's mind. Wait, protégé? No. He was the one to rule Fate itself with his King Crimson; only the results matter. The boy simply showed himself worthy of controlling his Stand. Just that.

Hey, stop crying. You're going to worry your friends.

'Sorry…', thought Izuku through a muffled sniffle.

"Midoriya, does the position really bother you that much? You've looking down for a few minutes now and your lunch hasn't been touched since," asked Iida, his seriousness replaced with genuine concern.

Izuku waved it off with a light chuckle. "No, no! I'm okay, Iida! It's just that… I'm grateful that you have that much faith in me and I never had that before."

Iida, then joined by Uraraka who noticed after she finished her rice, placed a gentle hand on the teen's shoulders.

"Mere volition has nothing to do with one's actual suitability," he said with a light smile. "I did nothing more than follow my own judgement on the matter."

"Iida…"

"But didn't you want you want to be class president yourself, Iida?", chimed Uraraka with a cheer. "You've got the look down with the glasses too!"

Iida deadpanned while Izuku stared in shock.

"Uraraka's inadvertently blunt sometimes," thought Izuku.

A momentary pause lingered between them. Then, they giggled. Giggles turned to laughs and they had a good one.

"I have to say, Iida," said Izuku as he wiped his tears in between subsiding chuckles. "You're so proper for a student!"

"Yeah, you're always going on about honour and stuff!", piped Uraraka. "I might be wrong, but are you from an upper-crust family?"

"Upper-crust!?", blurted the two boys.

After yet another shared laugh, Iida went ahead to tell them about his family lineage. Apprehensively, at first.

Izuku could not help but gleam upon hearing the rich history of the Iida family in the field of heroics. When he then revealed that he was the Turbo Hero, Ingenium's younger brother, the nerd switches have been flicked on.

"Your brother's the super-popular hero whose Tokyo office has hired as many as 65 side-kicks?! That Ingenium?!", he squealed.

"You're quite knowledgeable…", acknowledged Iida. "But you are correct! He's my brother!"

Izuku and Uraraka watched in awe and suppressed laughter as they saw the uptight Iida strike a haughty pose with a wide-open smile.

The bespectacled teen then loosened up, let out a breath and adjusted his glasses.

"He's a beloved pro-hero who prizes the rules and guides the people. And I aspire to be a hero like him one day. As such, I think it might be too soon for me to be in a leadership position. For now, Midoriya is the better man and his becoming president is the right choice!"

The two listeners froze in place, stunned by his words and expression. The small grain of rice under Uraraka's lower lip still there. Then, she broke into a wide smile of her own.

"I think that's the first time you've smiled, Iida!", she chirped.

"Eh!?", gaped Iida in shock. "Is that true!? I smile too! All the time!"

Izuku, on the other hand, looked on at his two new friends, smiling.

'So, Ingenium is to Iida as All Might is to me!', he thought. Diavolo's words then came ringing in his ears. 'Maybe…he's right. This is the fruit of my efforts. A 'reward', as he puts it' for my perseverance in pursuing my dream of being a hero…'

Suddenly remembering that he now an ability that could see into the future (for up to 10 seconds), he decided he would like to know what would happen after lunch. It was going to end, after all, so might as well, right?

So, while Iida and Uraraka were still discussing over the correct frequency of which the former smiled, he let his bangs cover his eyes and summoned Epitaph.

Light flickered as the vision began to play. As though watching a high-resolution recording of events that are about to happen, he could see with clarity that everyone around him the cafeteria was idly chatting away. Then, a loud shrill blaring was heard, shocking them alert.

"SECURITY LEVEL 3 HAS BEEN BREACHED. STUDENTS, PLEASE PROMPTLY EVACUATE," announced the automated PA in a serenity that created a peculiar dissonance with its actual message.

By then, the students have all gotten up and rushing out of the cafeteria, save for their table.

"What's security level 3?", he saw Iida ask which was met with an immediate reply from a senior.

"Come quickly, all of you! It means someone's infiltrated the school grounds! This hasn't happened in three years!"

His vision then came abruptly to a halt, leaving him with a view full of hair.

'Ah, the time had run out. Damnit! A bit more and we could have known a bit more about the situation!'

He checked his watch. In the next few seconds, the order of the cafeteria would crumble. He needed to alert his friends fast.

"Iida, Uraraka! You done with lunch?", he asked with haste.

"Yeah but why?", replied Uraraka, confused.

"We have to get going now. The alarm will go off soon and it will be difficult to leave then."

"What do you mean?", Iida asked, equally confused. Then, much like how Epitaph had shown him in the vision, the alarm siren went off.

"There's no time! We need to go now!", ordered Izuku, growing anxious as he needed to get out of there before while the other students were still in a daze.

Iida and Uraraka, while unsure on what he was on about, nodded with a serious expression before rushing out of the cafeteria with him.

And they made it out just in time as the automated PA began to give its unfittingly calm warning of a level 3 security breach.

"Level 3? Midoriya, do you know what it means?", he asked while running, nearly tripping as they turned a corner into a fully-windowed corridor.

"It means that someone has infiltrated school grounds," Izuku replied in between pants alongside Uraraka. "But we mustn't panic! We need to know the extent of the infiltration and who infiltrated!"

"You mean the press?", Uraraka pointed out a window, stopping to catch her breath.

The two boys then skidded to a halt and turned to where she was pointing. From a distance, they could see the same horde of reporters they had to wade through earlier in the morning currently pestering their homeroom teacher and Present Mic, the pro-hero/radio star.

"It's nothing to worry about! It's just the press!", Iida exclaimed. "We need to tell everyone that everything's okay!"

"Do you hear that ominous rumbling noise?", Uraraka asked.

Izuku and Iida kept quiet and sure enough, they heard the rumbling. And it was coming their way.

"Midoriya, do you think that's—"

"Iida, I think it's exactly what you think it is."

When the shrieks and shouts were heard amidst the rumbling, they knew what was coming; a stampede of terrified students.

Izuku had to think fast. What could he do?! He could try shouting at them…no. His voice was not loud enough. Wait! Diavolo's voice always boomed in his head, maybe he could—no, that's a terrible idea. That would mean letting him possess his body for a while and scaring his friends at the same time. Explaining that away would be difficult. Iida, on the other hand…

"Uraraka!", yelled Izuku.

"Yes?", she shouted back, panic evident in her pale face.

"Make Iida float!", he commanded

"Okay!"

"Wait! Midoriya, why?", Iida asked, Uraraka's hand getting closer to touching him.

"Use your Quirk to get to the vantage point between the pipe and the exit sign above the corridor exit!", he pointed.

Iida took one glance and gave him a thumbs-up. The look in the teen's eye told Izuku that no further instructions needed to be given. He knew what he had to do.

"Be careful!", cried Izuku as Iida began to float.

The first few students have entered the corridor. Stampede impact imminent.

'Midoriya! Your line of thinking is exactly one that I knew you would take!', thought Iida as he waited until he got the right elevation. 'By gaining the higher ground, it would be easier to draw everyone's line of sight especially if it's above the exit! And since his Quirk would break his bones…'

The engines in his legs were coming to life, revving up with gusto.

'He believed in mine to get the job done!'

"Engine…Boost!—nuoo!?"

The force of his engines, no longer bound by ground friction and gravity, accelerated him at high speeds spinning towards the end of the corridor.

"Iida!?", blurted Izuku, now sandwiched in between a wall of students as the stampede was in full swing.

Iida, however, tried to remain calm and use his other leg to counteract the spin. It worked but it did nothing to slow him down, causing to slam in an awkward position between the pipe and the exit sign above the corridor exit. Upon impact, he quickly caught hold of the piping and steadied his precarious balance atop the river of students.

'The message has to be point-blank and precise!'

"EVERYBODY, CALM DOWN!", Iida shouted at the top of his lungs.

'But more than it needs to be…'

"IT'S OKAY!"

'Audacious!'

The river's flow was slowing down as many eyes were turned to the voice that spoke above them.

"It's just the press!", he yelled albeit softer now that he got the people's attention. "There's nothing to panic about! It's okay! You're at U.A! Let's conduct ourselves in the manner of those enrolled at the highest academia!"

xx

The police arrived, and the reporters withdrew, restoring order once more at U.A. And with the return of order, came the return of the establishment of the daily school agenda.

"All right, president, start us off," said Vice-President Yaoyorozu, standing beside the class president at the front.

"Uh, let us initiate the ceremony for the new class president!", announced the quaking president.

Get it together, boy! You're the don of your own class now, look like it!

He took a deep breath, closed his eyes and exhaled slowly. When he opened his eyes, they were a vibrant green that matched his gentle smile.

"But before that, I need to say something. I would like all of you to give a round of applause to our good friend, Iida Tenya, for his efforts in unifying the people in times of crisis!"

"What?!", blurted Iida as he began to feel overwhelmed by the cheers and claps all around. "Midoriya! This isn't right, the idea was yours! I only did the right thing to do and that was what you would have done in my position!"

"And that is precisely why I feel that you deserve recognition for your execution of the plan!", beamed Izuku, the words of the mafia don still fresh in his mind. "My plan was simply having you be atop the emergency exit and shout from there but not only did you understand it wordlessly, you also carried it out in a spectacular way I did not foresee! Besides, it was you and Uraraka's trust in me that made it happen so, let's have an applause for Uraraka Ochako as well!"

The brunette flushed red and scratched her head in embarrassment upon receiving the class's gratitude.

"He's got a point! Iida made a great showing back there!", shouted Kirishima.

"He reminded me of that warning sign you see on emergency exits!", chimed Kaminari.

"Whatever, just get on with it already," groaned their homeroom teacher from within his sleeping bag, looking like an angry caterpillar aggressively sipping a Capri-Sun dry.

And with that, Izuku Midoriya was officially installed as the president of class 1-A.

However, as joy resounded from the classroom, worry shrouded those at the front gates.

The indomitable 'U.A Barrier', a metal barrier comprised a series of steel walls several inches thick, was nearly reduced to dust in its entirety. Inspecting the wall were Recovery Girl, Principal Nedzu and two other heroes.

No ordinary reporter could have had the power to do something of this magnitude. The media infiltration was a declaration of sorts. If the perpetrator belonged to an element of evil, this was, without doubt, a declaration to war.


A/N: Yo, Kobe here. Thank you guys so much for the ridiculous amount of support you've shown towards this story! Really, I mean it. Now, I initially wanted to the whole 'reply to comments here' bit in most author's notes but I figure it'd be best to answer some of the questions thrown my way.

[Nightshade1712 asks, "Where is this ability from?]

The answer to that question is the wonderful work of art (and memes) that is Jojo's Bizarre Adventure, specifically Part 5. Knowing the ability given to Izuku and knowing who the voice in Izuku's head are essentially Part 5 spoilers in their own right so I apologise if I had unintentionally ruined your day.

[antenesis: Will we see a reference to Giorno or Gold Experience Requiem?]

Seeing as how this particular headcanon of mine places the world of MHA as being centuries in the future, getting a direct physical reference to GER or Giorno may be difficult although he is indirectly referenced in chapter 2 simply as the guy who took over Passione after Diavolo's 'absence'. Of course, again, Part 5 spoilers. Apologies for anyone spoiled.

[TEMMIE: If Deku phases through things, why doesn't he fall through the floor?]

Well, knowing that King Crimson skips/erases time rather than stopping it, it means that time, in essence, is still in motion somewhat, rendering King Crimson to be unable to interact directly with anything because it did not happen. The visions given by Epitaph shows how actions will play out in the near future and nothing, other than King Crimson and its user, will be able to avoid acting out how you behave or act in the near future because that is exactly what you will do. The reason why he phases through things is because that is my interpretation of this whole 'KC can't interact in the skipped time' deal. As for not falling, the ground on which your feet stand on will always remain no matter what thus the result of that, regardless of passage of time, is that your feet are on the ground. Since King Crimson in a shellnut removes the cause and keeps the effect or results of an action, the result is that your feet are on the ground.

tl;dr: It just works.