With the ravaged state of the hero system in Japan, UA was starting to be seen less as a school and almost like an agency of greenhorn heroes.

Of course, it wasn't an agency. Pro heroes still had to lead the way, but with students like Todoroki and Bakugo who already have the skills of pros, their talents would be of great use during this time.

Aizawa kept the students updated on what was going on. It looked like that at some point, the students would be getting some more direct hero work.

But for the time being, the class remained in the dorms. The loss of Deku and the uncertainty of his safety weighed heavily on the school as a whole.

Something Uraraka had determined to work more on was working out consistently.

Her family was never able to afford a gym membership. So most of her physical training was either jogging or quirk training, both of which were already strenuous (especially at UA).

However, jogging is more of cardio exercise, while quirk training doesn't train much other than what parts of the body your quirk use. Often times, training the body itself can help in many ways.

And if there was anything Ochaco learned from Deku, it was that the strength of your body can greatly impact the strength of your quirk.

Witnessing him grow in both quirk aptitude and strength as time went on, she decided to start a lifting regime. It also gave her something to do other than mope.

Also, when she was really trying, she would have to wear gloves so she couldn't give up and activate her quirk on whatever weight she was lifting.

She also wanted to improve further in close combat training as well, though she was already doing fairly well in that department having previously trained with Gunhead, so she put that idea on the backburner for now.

Even with these new things to do, days still went on much longer than they normally did without Deku.

Uraraka found herself spending a lot more time checking the news, knowing that Deku probably wouldn't be there because of the vulnerability of his secret.

Plopping onto the couch after a visit to the gym, Uraraka was sweaty and tired. She began to think about the thing she was trying to avoid thinking about in her time of exhaustion.

If the public found out that his quirk was able to be passed on, something that the students were barely able to grasp themselves, havoc would probably break loose.

Deku's a smart person... She thought to herself. He wouldn't let that happen.

Immediately after catching herself thinking about him, she stopped and thought to herself.

ARGH! I need to stop! If this is what I spend my hours doing, I'll never be a good hero. There are other things to do... like...

...

Come on... something... please?

"Hey, Ocha-"

"YES?" Thankful for something to take her mind off of Deku, she turned to Asui, who was directly behind the couch she was sitting on.

"O-Oh, kero. You're a bit jumpy."

"S-Sorry... what is it?"

"I was gonna go to the store to get food for dinner. Do you want to come with, kero?"

"Sure! Let me take a quick shower, I just got back from the gym."

Her friend was glad to see her more enthusiastic, even if it meant being a tad jumpy. It was certainly a change from how she had been behaving the day before.

She wanted to ask, but figured it wouldn't be the best idea to bring up anything that could be linked to Deku after buying her the mochi chips yesterday.

However, she would eventually check up on her best friend.


"So, what about it?"

"I swear, we're going to fill a trash can with the number of tissue boxes that she's going through," said Principal Nezu, handing the third of the day to Mr. Aizawa, who would lazily throw it behind him into the trash can.

"She'll have to get over it eventually."

"Well, we can't let Midoriya be gone forever," said the principal. "He couldn't hide One For All from his class for a year, and you think he could hide it from the public for more?"

"I never said that," said his former homeroom teacher. "But how long do you think his mother will be able to wait here? If the public finds out, she could become a target for those looking to steal his quirk."

"Regardless of when he returns, UA is probably the safest place for her to be when that happens."

Acknowledging his point, Aizawa nodded his head. "I just feel bad for her," he said. "If I were here, Midoriya would be in for a hell of a punishment when he got back."

"We need him back," said Nezu. "I don't know what the young boy is thinking, but no matter how strong he is or who's by his side, I don't think he'll be able to match up All For One with his level of experience."

To the dismay of Aizawa, a lump started to appear in his throat. Trying to ignore it, he tried to think of a thing to say, but couldn't.

"You have to be worried about him," said Nezu, turning around to look at him. "Are you?"

Swallowing his pride and allowing himself to care for his student, he nodded his head, letting a somber expression creep its way onto his face.

"I know there's a lot of negatives right now, but keep your chin up. I'm going to try to work something out. We'll get him back."

"You sound desperate," said Aizawa, half-bitterly.

"To say it truthfully, that's because I am."

"Are you sure you'll have the chance?"

Nezu went back to one of the many discussions he had with All Might in his mind.

About a Year Ago...

"So, you believe you found a successor already?"

"Yes, I did."

"Well, that's nice. And I assume you chose carefully?"

"He reminds me a lot of myself when I was younger."

"I see."

...

"You're not even going to ask me his name? Quirk? Background? Anything?"

Nezu poured himself a cup of tea, took a sip, and jumped onto the couch where his legs didn't touch the ground.

"You said he reminded you of yourself, correct?"

"Yes."

"So, he probably doesn't have a Quirk, does he?"

That statement seemed to have struck a nerve. All Might's face scrunched, and he nodded his head quietly.

Nezu lightly laughed. "It's not that I don't trust your judgment, All Might," he said. "But according to what you told me about you growing up... Quirkless? Inspired? The heart of a hero?"

He took another long drink from his tea cup.

"It's the boy from the sludge incident, isn't it?"

"W-WHAT?! How'd you know?"

"I had my eyes peeled after the number 1 hero came and told me he needed to look for a successor," he said. "And I saw a child in the news run for seemingly no reason when he didn't have a power."

All Might's jaw was practically hitting the floor as he explained his thought process.

No kid at that age runs like that for no reason," he said. "The fact that you saw him do that without a plan in mind probably made you wonder and ask him."

"I- You... How did you...?"

Nezu gave a somewhat cocky smile. "I've got an IQ over 200," he said. "He'll be a great addition to our school. Just train him up by the time he gets here, because I'm not pulling any punches on him, All Might."

Present Day...

"I trust All Might's judgment."

Aizawa looked confused.

"Huh? What's he got to do with this?"

"Knowing him, he picked someone with the heart of a hero," Nezu continued. "And with that in mind, he'll come back for his mom. He'll come back for his friends."

Aizawa scoffed. "I hope he does before it's too late. I'm gonna give him a stern talking to."

He trotted away, now in his usual angry-nonchalant state, but leaning more towards the former.

Izuku Midoriya...

What a character... only someone with remarkable traits can impact people this greatly just by leaving.

Transfers, particularly in UA's hero course, were uncommon. But even when they did happen, they didn't cause this much of a stir.

Obviously there were other factors at work, like One For All, All For One, and the threatening times for heroes all around.

But Nezu knew that Deku was not a student he wanted to lose. Nor one that anyone wanted to lose.