Izuku groaned into his pillow as his alarm blared loudly on his bedside table, reaching up to slam his fist down on the button to shut it off. His body felt like lead, his eyes stung and he felt the beginnings of what was going to be a terrible headache. He didn't want to get up, he wanted to curl back under the blankets and pretend that nothing in the world existed. But he had to go to school.

He had a lot of work to do if he wanted to fulfill his childhood dream of being a hero. He still had to work out the specifics and limits of One for All, as well as learn how to control it a lot better. Beating Bakugou would be great as well, he really wanted to stick it to his childhood bully and prove him wrong too. With the internships getting ever closer, he had to learn as much as he could and use everything at his disposal.

He tossed the blankets off to the side, stumbling out of bed while he ran a hand over his face, opening his closet and tugging out his uniform. The dark circles were prominent and every time he closed his eyes, he would see the wild and terrified look on Harumi's face, the screams echoing through his mind like no tomorrow.

Slipping on his uniform, he stepped over to the bathroom, turning on the faucet and grabbing his tooth brush. His gaze caught his reflection in the mirror and he flinched. Saying he looked absolutely terrible would be an understatement.

His hair was tangled and his eyes were bloodshot with some puffiness in the corners. He felt numb, guilt eating its way up his stomach as he brushed his teeth. He had never wanted to be the reason that fearful look was in her eye, that he was the reason Haku looked upon him and others with such pure hatred.

He never meant for them to see his notebook and he certainly didn't expect that reaction. He wondered what could've possibly happened to them for Harumi to fly off the handle the way she did when she saw he had written down things about her. He could probably hazard a guess though.

Maybe…she might have been like him. Constantly being bullied and made fun of for his hopes and dreams. No, that didn't seem right. He remembered the panicked words she whimpered out to her brother. "They know about the quirk!" Did she get attacked for her quirk? Was…was there something about it that was dangerous or weird to others?

Could her quirk be valuable to a villain?

He hit the brakes on that train of thought then and there, horrified at the possible implications of it. If that was the case then it was no wonder she freaked out the way she did. Yet knowing didn't change the way the guilt coiled around his body and squeezed him tight like a snake, hissing and dripping venom from its cold, cruel fangs.

He spit out the foam and rinsed his mouth before splashing his face in water in an attempt to wake up more, wiping it off with a face towel. He walked out of the bathroom, tripping over things that were on the floor and leaning on the wall as he grabbed his bag that was hanging off the back of his chair.

The usual scent of breakfast that normally would've made him perk up and his stomach to growl did nothing of the sort this time. He felt like he was going to throw up. He placed his bag down beside his chair as he greeted his mother, quietly eating his breakfast, though he spent more time picking at it than anything.

"Izuku?" he was jolted out of his thoughts by the soft, concerned voice of his mother, looking up to meet her gaze.

"Are you ok?" she asked worriedly.

Yeah, everything's fine. I totally don't feel guilty for accidentally causing someone to feel the same way I did back when I was in middle school or anything.

"I'm fine, Mom. Just tired," he responded, covering his mouth as he yawned and got up. He slung his backpack on and waved goodbye, stepping out of his home and began the walk to school. He had hoped maybe the cool morning air would help clear his mind, but the thoughts were relentless.

The look of sheer, absolute terror on Harumi's face. The way hatred had darkened Haku's eyes to the point they were almost pitch black. The way both of them looked at him as if he was… a villain. That he was something that caused them fear. And the most jarring thing of all was the way Aizawa had simply lost it. The teacher, in all the time Izuku had known him, had never lost his cool like that. Not even during the USJ incident.

He thought back to how his teacher had handled the situation. How he took control of the panic that had arisen amongst the students when the villains first attacked. How he quickly dispatched the lower level thugs. How he never wavered even when Shigaraki destroyed his elbow, even when the Nomu was battering his body to the ground

Sure, they managed to stand by All Might and assist him in fending off Kurogiri and the Nomu, but he felt like he didn't do much. He felt so helpless and frustrated. They were right there and it was all he could do to support them just barely. He couldn't go without destroying his arm in the process either.

Izuku really did admire his homeroom teacher and wanted to make him proud. The scolding he and the others got from him after that incident for trying to tackle villains seemed like a slap on the wrist compared to the pure, unadulterated fury that he saw yesterday from the Pro-Hero.

"You have failed me." Those words kept ringing in his head as the rage within Aizawa's gaze kept appearing over and over again in his mind. Izuku thought he knew what being a hero was like, how they should act and yet… He clenched his fists tightly.

The bile rose in his mouth and he pressed his arm over his lips, hoping to deter any actual violent regurgitation of his stomach's contents. He had to fix this somehow. He had to make amends with them and apologize. He would never forgive himself if he didn't, or even if those two somehow forgave him at all.

He racked his brains for a way to do that. Approaching them was more than likely out of the question. He didn't imagine that either of them would want to be on speaking terms with anyone in the class. He would have to take a more indirect approach. But how?

He passed by a quaint little stationery shop, the windows offering a view inside with rows and rows of pens, pencils, erasers, and many more filling it up. Further in, he could just barely see a section with different kinds of sticky notes. Star shaped, heart shaped, planet shaped, you name it. He stopped, the light bulb going off the top of his head.

He could try leaving them little notes everyday and write encouraging words on them! Of course, he wouldn't write his name on any of them, he didn't want to set the twins off anymore than he already had.

'They probably would recognize my handwriting though…' Not that he would be surprised if they remembered it from how traumatizing yesterday was. But he had to try.

He pushed the door to the shop open, checking his phone to make sure he had enough time to grab some items. He grabbed a stack of multicolored sticky notes and made his way over to the counter, which had a few trays of candy just underneath. He glanced them over before he grabbed a few to place them with the sticky note stack, paying for his items and leaving the store.

For the rest of the walk to school, he struggled to find the right words to put on the notes, chewing on the end of the pen he had in his hand.

'I hope we can be friends!' No, that's not gonna work. Friendship's probably the last thing on their minds. 'I hope this can help make it up to you!' No, that doesn't feel right either. Saying 'I'm Sorry' on the note doesn't seem proper, I think I'd make them even more upset with me if I did. Ugh, why is this so hard?!

I don't know what the right words are. I don't know what I can do to make things work out. I never wanted things to turn out like this in the first place. I never…I never wanted to cause that much pain to someone, not even to Kacchan, and I hate his guts! How can I make things right?

As he got closer to school, he decided to just go with something simple and scribbled the message onto two sticky notes, walking up the stairs and turning the corner to reach his destination.

Izuku entered the classroom, clutching the sticky note pad tightly in his hand. He looked around, seeing that neither twin was there yet. He took a deep breath in for courage before he stuck a note to each of their desks and hurried over to his own.

A few minutes later, the twins entered the classroom, their eyes glacial in nature once more as they walked over to their desks. Izuku watched out of the corner of his eye as they both discovered the sticky notes on their desks.

Harumi picked hers up, staring at it coldly before she tore it up and tossed it into the bin. Haku only took a single glance and mirrored his sister before sitting down. Izuku felt his heart sink, but it was unrealistic to think that something like that would just magically make things better. He would just have to try harder and keep going.

Aizawa entered the classroom, his eyes sweeping the room and taking note of the somber expressions on all of the students. He took attendance like normal, though as he did so, he gave the class another scolding about yesterday's events.

"Seeing as you're all here, I'm going to assume that you all thought about your actions seriously last night," he said gruffly, marking another student off on the attendance sheet.

"But do not misunderstand me, I know that what happened at USJ was also very scary. You are all first-years and you had just barely started school when you were attacked by villains. But it's because of that experience that I expected you all to be a little more understanding to those two."

"We're so-" Kaminari attempted to apologize but was cut off when the teacher gave him a hard look.

"If you're truly that apologetic about everything that happened, then I'm sure as hell not the one you should be saying that to. Though," he looked over to the twins at the back of the classroom, both of them looking away after locking gazes with him. "I don't suspect they'll be willing to accept such half-assed effort, much less an actual apology anytime soon."

A few students flinched in response, but no one said a word besides confirming that they were present for the day. Once school was out, the twins gathered their things and walked over to the principal's office together. Aizawa had informed them right before lunch that the principal wanted them to come see him after school everyday from then on so that they could work on helping them get better.

Haku knocked three times before pushing the door open, Nezu and Aizawa waiting for the both of them. The principal gestured for them to have a seat, giving a kind smile before he began speaking.

"Thank you both for coming here, I really appreciate it. Now," he folded his arms up, getting a serious look on his face. "The internships are coming up, and as you know, I have arranged for Aizawa to oversee the both of you during the two week time period. However, due to the possibility of you both running into villains, I've decided to see where you both stand when it comes to handling such situations."

"I want the both of you to answer me as honestly as possible," Nezu requested, his arms behind his back as he hopped off his seat. "How scared are you of villains on a scale of one to ten? One being not at all and ten being you feel like you wouldn't be able to do anything if you were to encounter one."

The twins were silent before Haku lifted up seven fingers, the younger twin lifting up two more than he did while biting the inside of her cheek. Nezu took note of this and exchanged a look with Aizawa before he nodded.

"Thank you both for your honesty. Now, I'm sure you both know that being a hero means you'll have to encounter many villains of all kinds, and I want you to know that it is natural to feel scared. However, taking your recent situation into account, I'm sure it's going to be harder on you two, especially you, Miss Tsukino."

"We're both going to do our best to help you get through this. And there is one thing that's very important that I want you both to keep in mind," Aizawa spoke up, drawing the two's attention to him. "Never feel bad for not recovering or getting over things as fast as you'd like. People handle trauma differently, some people can bounce back and others need a little more time. Go at your own pace so you can heal properly, because it's not gonna happen overnight."

They nodded in response to his words, holding each other's hands tightly.

"Since we're on the same page regarding that, we are both going to teach you something that will help you greatly!" Nezu exclaimed with a clap of his paws, stepping closer to the two students before him.

"Unfortunately, being a hero doesn't mean that you will get breaks for when you're hurt or not doing well. Sometimes you will be asked to give it your all, even when you feel like you can't. Even when they know you can't go Plus Ultra. Your internships with Aizawa are starting soon and if you encounter a villain, you need to be able to do what you need to."

"So what we're going to teach you both, is how to enter a calm state of mind where you can simply focus on the task at hand and cope with the emotions running through your body once you're in a safe place after everything. I know the feelings won't go away, they will very much be there, but this way you can have a handle on them until you're ready to tackle them."

"And while this process is going on, we are going to have to separate you two," Aizawa stated, noting the way the twins both tensed up at those words.

"I understand your feelings about being separated from each other. I can see how scared you both are and I know what I'm asking seems unreasonable to you right now. I'm only asking this of you so you both can heal. We'll go at whatever pace you both are comfortable with and we won't force you to face everything head-on. Nezu and I will always be with you while this happens and I swear on my dignity as a hero that nothing will happen to either of you while you're under our care. Alright?"

He knelt down in front of them and held both of his pinky fingers out. They looked at each other for a moment before they turned to him and hooked their pinkies around his firmly. He gave a small smile to each of them before he stood up and beckoned Haku over.

Haru gripped her brother's hand tightly before letting go after a moment, watching nervously as the two walked out of the room. Nezu stepped over and placed his paws over her trembling hands, giving her a warm smile.

"We'll begin whenever you're ready."


It was half-way through the first week of internships when the twins headed over to the gym per their Homeroom teacher's instructions, dressed in their P.E. uniforms with the suitcases containing their hero costumes in one hand and their backpacks on. It was a couple hours after school had been out for the day as their teacher had to get some paperwork and planning done before he could come for their session, so they had arranged to meet after he was done.

There were a few lingering students left on the campus for club activities, but it was otherwise quiet and empty. They walked down the windy path, going over what they had learned the past couple of days to make sure they weren't forgetting anything. A gentle breeze whistled along, reminding the two that spring was approaching and that the weather would be getting warmer.

"Guess no more hoodies for us until it gets colder again, huh?" Haku chuckled, nudging his sister playfully.

"You say that like the heat is going to stop me from wearing them," she huffed, readjusting her backpack strap.

"Sure, I can't stop you, but don't come running to me when you're having a heat stroke."

They laughed together, this being the only time they felt like they could relax and just be themselves. No one to judge them, to make fun of them. In this moment, it was like they were in their own little bubble.

They approached the gym, the older twin pushing the door open to the large and spacious area, walking over to the bleachers and setting his things down, his twin following suit. Aizawa had yet to arrive, so they sat down and waited for him in comfortable silence.

They didn't have to wait long as the teacher walked into the building after a few moments, letting the door close behind him and approached the two students.

"Did you two have to wait long?" He asked, the twins shaking their heads 'no' in reply.

"Alright then, we'll very quickly review what we've learnt the past few days before we get started."

The review was mostly recapping and catching up on all the topics the twins missed due to starting off the school year later than their peers. For the rescue training segment, he went over typical escape routes, what to do during natural disasters, as well as what signs to look for when tending to injured civilians. He also went over combat when people were around, reminding them that they had to also limit the amount of collateral damage to their environment if they were within a city. He finally went over what they could and couldn't do while they were taking their internships, reminding them that they were to not use their quirks unless it was under his supervision.

"What's the matter, Haru?" Aizawa asked after their review session, having noticed the way she had been fiddling with her hair and furrowing her brow as if she was in deep thought.

"O-oh! Um…" she bit her lip, looking off to the side, having been a little caught off-guard. "I know my quirk's pretty versatile and all, but I'm only really good at using the things around me to fight. And I can't exactly just…you know, throw random things at people. P-plus I might be in a situation where I don't really have anything to use either. So, I was just wondering how I was going to remedy that."

"Have you considered getting yourself a support item?" He asked. She paused, her fiddling stopping and her cheeks went pink as she shook her head. She felt embarrassed that the thought never crossed her mind. Plenty of heroes had a support item or two to help them better use their quirks.

"It'll offer a way for you to use your quirk safely, and you can get some practice in using your quirk and them in tandem. We can head down to the support course later and see what we can come up with. It might also be beneficial if you both got visors," he mused, rubbing his chin with his thumb.

"Is that because our eyes glow when we use our quirks?" Haku piped up, having been listening in on the conversation.

"That's the biggest reason," the teacher responded. "It's a really obvious indicator that it's being used, and we don't really want to give villains any edge over us if possible. It'll also help you two develop better communication skills."

"We'll take your word for it, Sensei," the twins affirmed with simultaneous nods of their heads.

"Alright, so I know you both did some rescue training together and some training apart. We're going to focus on your combat training now and I'm going to make you fight each other without your quirks."

"Why without our quirks? Aren't we supposed to be practicing with them?" Haku asked with his hand raised, his brow furrowed in confusion and his eyes narrowing slightly in apprehension.

"Because your body as well as your quirks are things that will get stronger the more you practice and train. You might also be in situations where you might not be able to use your quirk because it would be too dangerous to do so. There is also the possibility that you might encounter someone with a quirk like mine that can disable yours. You wouldn't be able to use it if that happens, so this is also meant to prepare you for a situation like it," Aizawa replied before having them walk over to the large gym mats that he had set up on the ground.

"It's good to use your quirk, but you shouldn't be overly reliant on it," he advised.

The twins took off their shoes and placed them beside their other things neatly. Haru took a moment to use the hair tie around her wrist to put her hair up into a ponytail, smoothing it down quickly. Haku walked over to one end while Haru stayed put on her side, beginning to do some warm-up stretches and exercises.

When they were ready, they both got into a fighting stance, taking deep breaths and letting themselves enter the calm state of mind that they had been taught by their teachers. Aizawa stood in the middle between the two off the gym mats, raising his hand before bringing it down swiftly.

"Begin!"

Haku dived forward, putting up his fists and swinging them towards her face, Haru blocking it with her arm and supporting it with her free hand before she dropped down and swung her leg in a low arc under him. He jumped back, his sister following him close behind as she sprinted towards him and launched herself forward. She brought her leg up, ready to slam it down when he grabbed her ankle and forcefully spun her around mid-air.

She let out a surprised gasp before arching her body to flip backwards, skidding across the gym mat with a shrill screech as she landed. In the blink of an eye, her brother was already in front of her, his arm pulling back to deliver another punch. She shifted to the side ever so slightly, her left arm grabbing his forearm before using the momentum to fling him away from her by spinning.

Haku quickly hooked his leg around her neck to bring her with him, making her fall to the ground roughly as he landed on his back. He leapt to his feet only to get smacked in the gut when Haru kicked him by twisting her body upwards to land upright. It didn't pack as much punch as Haku's attacks might, but it still was enough to sting.

Plus his sudden action with his leg did make his sister receive a hard landing, and he knew for a fact it would have affected her more. They were both breathing hard, their arms were shaking. Haru surged forward, swinging her arm but he deflected it, shocking her when he jumped and flipped over her back and slammed his foot into it. He let go as she stumbled forward from the impact.

'I wouldn't have expected Hakuryu to be this flexible, but this certainly makes things interesting,' Aizawa thought, watching them closely. 'Harumi's also holding up better than last time during the test.'

Haru gritted her teeth, her brother landing and launching himself at her once more, but it was her time to surprise him when she rolled forward and pushed herself upwards with a hard thrust of her arms to kick him right in the jaw just as he closed the gap.

Haku was launched up to the air a bit before he dropped flat on his ass, breathing heavily. Haru stayed where she was after rolling forward for a moment, her chest also heaving. They got back to their feet and exchanged a couple more blows with each other before Aizawa ended the match, giving them a minute to catch their breaths.

He went over things that could be improved as well as things that they did well, commending them on learning so quickly despite him having to give them a crash course on everything they had missed up until that point. The twins listened intently, soaking up every single word like sponges with water.

"We'll head on over to the support course and see what we can come up with for support gear for the both of you," the teacher stated, the siblings following close behind him as they made their way from the gym to the main building where the support course was.

He opened the door, seeing Power Loader still working at his table and knocked three times on the wall beside him to grab his attention. The other teacher twisted his head over his shoulder, his hands stopping with whatever he was working on.

"What's up, Aizawa? Need some repair on your support gear?" he asked, tilting his head to the side.

"Nah, no repair needed. Though these two could use some help," the dark haired teacher responded, pointing his thumb behind him to the twins who were peering curiously into the studio. The brother gave an easy-going grin.

"I'm Hakuryu Tsukino, and this is my sister Harumi. It's nice to meet you, Majima-sensei," he greeted politely, bowing his head. His twin quickly mirrored him, gripping the edge of her gym uniform.

"Ah, the Tsukino twins. I've heard about you. How are the hero costumes? They fit alright? Are you comfortable?" the Excavation Hero inquired.

"They fit just fine, thank you for your concern. We do need some slight adjustments though, if that's alright?"

"Depends on what you're adjusting. So, what is it?"

"I'd like a visor designed that's solid and hides my eyes, while my sister needs one attached to her headpiece," Haku replied as he stepped into the studio.

"I also need to come up with a support item that I can use during hero work so I don't use the things around me as…collateral damage…" the younger twin added, her fingers twirling around her hair.

"What sort of support item were you looking for?"

"Um…" she bit her lip as she thought for a moment before continuing. "Preferably something blunt and lightweight, as well as multiples of it. If they could shoot that'd also be appreciated."

"Hmm," he lifted a gloved hand to his chin, rubbing in thought before nodding. "Alright, I'll see what I can do. Come check in with me at the end of the week."

The three of them nodded their heads in thanks before they exited the studio together, walking out to the gates and Aizawa stopped right outside.

"You two be safe out there. You both have my number in case you need me. See you tomorrow," he sent them off with a lax wave, the twins waving back in return before making their way down the hill, Haku slipping his hand into his sister's, squeezing comfortingly.

Aizawa's eyes softened at the sight, letting out a quiet sigh. He hoped that the pain that they experienced would heal soon, kids like them shouldn't have to deal with something so painful so early in their lives. He looked up at the sky bleeding red and orange before walking back into the school.

Tomorrow would be a new day, and a new opportunity for them to grow. He'd make sure of that. He was their teacher, afterall.


He could consider this some headway in repairing his relationship with them right?

Lately, Izuku had been noticing that the twins were no longer throwing away the sticky notes he had been leaving on their desks. They would look at the notes and tuck them into a notebook instead of throwing them away. Sometimes when he came to class and would move to place a sticky note down, he'd see one on their desks with a silly little doodle or small smiley faces on planet-shaped sticky notes.

It wasn't total forgiveness, but it was a start.

It was their lunch break and the twins had decided to stay in the classroom that day to eat. Izuku stayed behind because he had some notes he wanted to go over from his internship with Gran Torino to see how he could improve on his usage with One for All. Hopefully without injuring himself.

Haru was leaning over the edge of the window sill, the slight breeze ruffling her dual-colored hair. She stared aimlessly at the clouds that slowly traveled across the sky while eating the onigiri she had packed that day, absentmindedly playing with the blue gem attached to the choker she had around her neck.

She finished up her onigiri and stretched, shifting her weight off her foot when the clip holding her choker in place suddenly snapped and came undone.

"Shit!" she swore, reaching out to grab it but her fingers barely grazed it before it continued to free fall. She would use her quirk to simply stop it from falling, but Aizawa and Nezu had given her explicit instructions to not use it in school unless Aizawa was supervising her due to the incident that happened in the classroom.

'Damn it! The gem's gonna break! I won't be able to get another one like it if it does!'

The choker was part of a matching set with the ear stud that her brother always wore with him, both items having a single sapphire attached to them. It was the only thing that their parents left behind for them, and despite never being old enough to remember them, the twins cherished the only connection that they had left.

Sapphires were incredibly expensive and they've had them for years now. She cherished that choker greatly and the thought of it breaking was enough to make her vision blur with the tears forming in her eyes and her chest to feel tight. It was an important link to their late parents, but it was also one of the most cherished links she had to Haku. It had always been their constant reminder that they always had each other.

She was so distraught by this that she barely registered the startled shouts behind her before seeing a form jump out of the window. Time seemed to slow as she locked eyes on Izuku, who had jumped out without a second thought.

"Midoriya!" Iida shouted in alarm, running over and gripped the edge tightly as the students watched in shock.

Izuku's body had moved on its own accord, already out of the window before his mind even registered the fact that he was falling. He stretched out his arm and grabbed the choker, holding it tightly in his hands before he focused on angling himself to collide with a nearby tree.

He winced as he hit the branches, using his free hand to grab onto one of them and make the descent a little easier to handle, feeling the slight recoil from the sudden change in trajectory. He looked down, slowly dropping himself down one branch at a time before he landed safely on the ground.

As he was brushing stray leaves and twigs out of his hair, he heard the sound of running footsteps approaching him and looked up to see Haru. Her expression was a mixture of worry and nervousness. He felt his own nervousness bubble up in his stomach. This would be the first time they'd be speaking to each other since they met last week.

He could feel his palms get sweaty and wiped them off on his sleeve, swallowing the lump in his throat. Now that she was here he didn't know what to say to her. What words would be the most appropriate for people in a situation like this?

"Are you an idiot?!" Haru's exasperated exclamation jerked him out of his stupor, his shoulders tensing up as he braced himself for a potential verbal lashing for touching her choker.

"Why'd you jump out of the window like that?! You could've severely hurt yourself!" He blinked, having not expected the first thing she'd say to him would be something concerning his well-being when he was the one who unintentionally hurt her.

"O-oh! Well, I didn't really think when I jumped out. You just looked really upset when your choker dropped so my body just…kinda moved on its own. Ah, that's right! Here," he unclenched his fist, revealing that the sapphire was very much intact, wiping it off before he held it out for her.

"It's something important to you, right?" he asked, giving her a small, shy smile. Haru wasn't sure what to say, her cheeks flaring up as she took the precious gem from his hand and slipped it into the jacket pocket after making sure there were no cracks on it.

"...Thanks," she mumbled quietly, fiddling with her hair.

"It's no big deal, really!" He responded cheerfully, dusting off the remaining twigs and leaves from his uniform. The girl before him was silent for a moment, biting the inside of her cheek before she hesitantly reached out and tugged on his sleeve.

"You have a bunch of scrapes and scratches, so let's go find Recovery Girl," she murmured quietly.

"Oh no, I'm fine! I'm kinda used to this so-" This response caused a huff of disbelief before she tugged on his arm.

"Just move, will you?"

Izuku shut up after that, unable to say anything as he followed her to the nurse's office, the dual-colored girl popping her head in. Her brow furrowed, Recovery Girl was nowhere to be found. She let out a sigh and walked over to one of the cabinets, opening them up and grabbing a few antiseptic wipes and band aids. She walked over to him and motioned for him to sit.

"Tsukino-chan, I'm fine, really. I-" The green haired boy began to speak, but was quickly rendered silent again when she gave him a hard look.

"I'm not so callous as to let someone go untreated after they've gotten hurt. Unless you're Bakugou, then I really couldn't care less," she grumbled, making Izuku chuckle quietly. Her distaste for the explosive blonde couldn't be more apparent. Haru felt her cheeks get hot, ripping a packet of antiseptic wipes open before using them to treat the cuts.

"Don't do that again, ok? You nearly gave everyone a heart attack," she chided, making him flinch in guilt. He could easily imagine the worried faces of his friends and knew he was gonna be in it for a mini-lecture by Iida for doing something so reckless.

He noticed the gentle way she placed the band aids over his cuts, feeling his heartbeat pick up in tempo as he attempted to stay still throughout the entire process. When she was done, she threw away the packets and the adhesives before sliding the door open.

"This is a one time thing, so don't get your hopes up," she huffed, leaving Izuku to go through his own thoughts alone in the nurse's office. He reached up and lightly touched the bandaids placed across his cheek, still processing everything that happened. He was so scared he might've said something wrong so he had kept quiet out of fear of accidentally upsetting her.

He felt a smile curl onto his lips. This had to mean something, right? He could consider this a small step forward into mending his relationship with them right? Well, even if it was only a little bit, he'll take what he could for now.

As expected, he got a rather thorough scolding from Iida, who was going on and on about how he shouldn't be so reckless and how he needs to stop putting himself in so much danger. He tuned most of it out, since he had heard a lot of this before. As he made his way back to his desk, he noticed a sticky note and a small piece of candy taped to it. He picked it up, seeing the words 'Thank you' written in the pretty handwriting that he had come to learn was Harumi's. He picked up the candy and felt himself smile once more.

Yeah, he could definitely consider this a step forward.


"Are you two ready?" Aizawa asked as he readjusted his goggles to fit more comfortably on top of his head. The twins gave him a nod, taking deep breaths to calm their nerves. They were going to go on patrol for the first time and Haru could feel her stomach do flip flops, pressing a hand flat against it in an attempt to make them go away.

"The neighborhood here is relatively safe, so there's a low chance we'll run into a villain while we're out. However, I would still keep your eyes peeled just in case," he instructed, slipping his hands into his pockets.

It was still morning, so there were plenty of people making their way to work walking up and down the streets. Bakeries were opening up and letting the smell of freshly baked bread waft out of the windows to entice any potential customers, the ringing of bells as people entered and left shops. The 'ding ding' of bicycle bells as a few cyclists rode by. It was a peaceful day, a day like any other.

The twins followed closely behind the Pro-Hero, taking their time to look around the area. They rarely got the chance to just walk around in the city like this, their run in with the villain making them have a touch of paranoia when it came to traveling anywhere. Well, it would be more accurate to say that they didn't normally feel comfortable not traveling in a group. Even just the two of them felt too risky. They took silent comfort in the fact that their teacher would step in and protect them if the situation arose.

A couple of people would occasionally stop and greet Aizawa, or gush over how cool he was. Not that it was unexpected. A couple kids playing in the streets would stop and stare up at him, eyes wide as if they've been starstruck. Haru paused when a ball suddenly rolled in front of her, bumping into her feet. She looked up, seeing a little girl with pigtails looking over at her nervously.

She gave a gentle smile, bending down to pick the ball up, beckoning her over with a hand. The girl shyly approached her, stopping in front of her. Haru handed the ball over and reached up to pat her head gently.

"Make sure you don't lose that, ok?"

The girl beamed up at her, a soft giggle emitting from her as she nodded before running off towards a woman presumed to be her mother.

"Good with children, I see," she heard the gruff voice of her teacher comment as she dusted the gravel off her legs.

"A lot of the kids at the orphanage are younger than us, so we often help the caretakers look after them when they're attending to other things."

"That's a good skill to have. Especially as a hero."

"It's nothing that special…" she mumbled, fiddling with a strand of her hair.

"Moonrise, you need more confidence in yourself," he sighed, shaking his head lightly.

"He's right, you know," Haku agreed, wrapping his arm around his twin and squeezed affectionately. She huffed, looking away out of embarrassment. The rest of the day patrol was uneventful, the group taking breaks every once in a while to eat and rest.

The sky began to bleed from deep orange to purple, afternoon turning into evening as the city lit up with the bustling nightlife. Aizawa motioned for the twins to stay closer to him, straightening his posture. Night time was usually when villains would get a little antsy and start itching to cause trouble no matter how safe a place may seem.

He caught movement out of the corner of his eye, darting between shadows just out of sight. He frowned, moving one hand to grip his binding cloth.

"Moonrise, Duskfall. I need you to wait here for a bit, I'm gonna check something out super fast. Don't do anything reckless, got it?"

They nodded, moving out of the way and leaned against a light pole, keeping an eye on the crowd in case something happened. Once he was satisfied that they were safe and would stay put, he made his way through the sea of people, disappearing into it easily.

Haru kept close to her brother, trying to distract herself from the anxiety pooling at the pit of her stomach by tracing patterns into her arm. Haku ran a hand through his dark and silver hair, taking a moment to let his legs rest from the sheer amount of walking they had done.

"I wonder what it was he needed to check on," he mused out loud, looking at his sister. She opened her mouth to respond when she heard something clatter in the alleyway they were next to.

She whipped her head around, her senses on high alert, her breathing slowly becoming erratic. She felt the fear slowly dig its claws into her, legs getting shaky and her throat feeling tight.

"Moon, remember what they taught us," came the gentle voice of her brother, his hand on her shoulder serving as an anchor to ground her. She took a slow, deep breath, making herself relax the tension in her muscles and shook away the unnecessary thoughts running through her mind.

Another clatter echoed through the alleyway. Louder. Closer.

They exchanged looks with each other before cautiously entering the alleyway, the lights from the street lamp barely illuminating the space before them. A figure was standing in a corner, the dull light reflecting off their long, pointed nails the first thing they noticed.

The second alarming thing they took note of was the glowing, radioactive-like green substance slowly dripping from his fingers, watching as it fell to the ground and made a hissing noise as it corroded a hole into it. Two piercing snake-like eyes bore through them, glowing sinisterly in the dark and a wide, sharp-tooth grin spread across the figure's face, filled with heinous intent.

"Well, well, well, what do we have here? Some fresh meat to sink my claws into? Today must be my lucky day!" The raspy laugh echoed in the darkness of the alleyway, golden eyes shimmering with delight before the person suddenly lunged towards them.

The twins rolled out of the way in opposite directions, their backs pressed against the walls as the attack missed. They quickly got up to their feet, Haku barely blocking the swipe with the part of his arm protected by his gauntlet. Haru flicked her wrist, pulling the four prototype turrets off from their magnetic locks on her back. She yanked Haku back with the chain while launching one of them at the villain. The villain sharply sidestepped it, his grin getting wider.

"Oh? Prey that fights back? Seems like you'll both serve as entertainment for me, the malignant Nightshade! It's no fun when all my victims do is just scream, you know?"

"Nobody fucking asked," Haku hissed, pulling his arm back and reinforced it, a silver glow encasing the body part before he launched himself forward and swung his fist. Nightshade quickly brought up his arms to defend against it. He was pushed back from it and smirked, failing to notice the turret zipping towards him from behind and slammed into his leg before dropping to the ground.

Haru winced, not used to manipulating them yet. Power Loader had told her that until she learned how to control the prototypes better, he wouldn't add the firing mechanism to the gear. She flung the other three turrets at the villain, pulling them back if they missed to re-attempt another strike. Haku sprinted forward, leaping into the air as he yanked his arm with the chain attached, bringing his sister with him as he lifted his leg up to snap it down in an axe kick.

She brought the turrets back, one of them clattering behind her as she lost control of it, skidding just outside of the alleyway. She aimed her punch into an uppercut, just grazing Nightshade's face as her brother's leg made contact with his shoulder, making the villain cry out in pain.

The clawed villain swiped at the younger twin, nails a mere hair's width away from scratching her face, the shimmering green liquid splashing off the glands underneath and barely missing contact as she leapt back. Haku followed her lead and backed off, eyeing the green substance nervously.

It wasn't a far off assumption to think that a single touch from whatever the hell that green stuff was would spell doom for the both of them, so they had to keep their distance. Haku began to reinforce his legs and arms when the villain suddenly was a lot closer, his maniacal laughter ringing loudly in his ears.

Shit! Shit! Shit! He's faster than he looks!

Nightshade spread his fingers apart as far as they could go to widen the area of effect his nails would reach and brought them down swiftly. It was just about to sink into his flesh when a familiar gray scarf wrapped around the villain's abdomen and yanked him backwards.

The twins looked over to see Aizawa standing at the entrance of the alleyway, his hair flaring upwards. The Pro Hero quickly wrapped the criminal up and delivered a punch straight to the back of Nightshade's head, knocking him out. The teacher lifted up his goggles, rubbing at his eyes before his gaze traveled over to his young charges.

"You two alright?" he asked, the two of them simply falling to their knees as all the tension left their body, letting out ragged breaths.

"Could be worse," the older twin wheezed out, smacking his chest lightly with a fist to force the air back into his lungs. Haru's control over the prototypes ceased and they all clattered to the ground, reaching a hand up to press against her temples and wincing.

Aizawa made sure the bindings were tight before walking over and knelt down in front of them, obsidian eyes quickly doing a once-over on the both of them to check for any injuries. Luckily, they had managed to get out of the ordeal unscathed and he breathed a sigh of relief.

"You both did well fending him off till I got here. When I got back and saw you both missing I feared the worst."

"How'd you know where we were?" the younger twin looked up at him, rubbing slow circles into her skin in an attempt to ease the dull headache settling into her skull.

"I heard sounds of fighting, for one. The other clue was that," he adjusted himself so that they could see the fourth turret that had slid across the ground during the scuffle and stopped at the entrance. He stood up, offering a hand to both siblings. They each grasped a hand and were firmly pulled to their feet, stumbling slightly at the force of it.

"Come on, let's hand him over to the police," Aizawa went on as he grabbed the unconscious villain and swung his body over it like a sack of potatoes, walking out of the alleyway with the twins in tow. They handed Nightshade over to the officers that were around, being thanked for apprehending the criminal.

"I mean, I wouldn't be doing my job right if I didn't look after my students, you know?" The Pro Hero chuckled out, looking over to the two fledgling heroes-in-training, both of them looking bashful at the sudden attention they were given.

"They'll make fine heroes one day, I'm sure," the officer agreed with a merry laugh. "Our thanks, once again. We'll take it from here." They watched as the villain got dragged away, the dark haired teacher turning to the two in front of him,

"How do you both feel?" he questioned, hands in his pockets, tone serious.

"That was…really intense," Haru replied shakily, a tremble in her voice as she was still coming down from the adrenaline rush, gripping her sleeves tightly.

"A lot scarier than I thought," Haku admitted, rubbing the back of his neck and averting his gaze to the ground.

"Trust me, the fear is normal. And it's not necessarily that you stop being afraid of them, it's more you get braver and get better at handling it. So don't beat yourselves up too much," Aizawa soothed them while placing a hand on their shoulders. "You two did very well today. I'm proud of you both."

"Thank you, Eraserhead," They responded, tired smiles on their faces, but nonetheless, encouraged by his words.

"Come on, it's late. I'll escort you both home."

The group headed to the station together, the twins having a conversation between themselves while they waited for the next train to arrive. The screens displaying ads and commercials suddenly switched to a news report in the middle of it, grabbing their attention.

'THREE MORE PRO-HEROES FOUND DEAD! IS THIS THE WORK OF THE HERO KILLER: STAIN?' The speeding text at the bottom read, causing murmurs to erupt from the people that had been watching.

"Tch...that guy is bad news," Aizawa muttered under his breath, shaking his head at the sight. "Hopefully we catch him soon, he's been a real pain in the ass."

Haku and Haru looked at each other, feeling that same, unsettling feeling resting itself in the pits of their stomachs. It was the same sense of dread when they had reported the Spider member to the police a while back, that sinking weight lingering and festering silently in the back of their minds.

Something big was going to happen.

And soon.


A/N: This chapter caused me a lot of pain due to the sheer amount of things I wanted to happen in between. So I hoped you enjoyed the long ass chapter. Nightshade belongs to my good friend and beta reader witheringapollo who has so kindly allowed me to use their character in this, so please take the time to check them out on Ao3! See you at the next chapter!