Chapter 13: Practice

The next day while setting his things down in his homeroom, Izuku overheard that All Might was teaching the Foundational Heroics Studies lesson with class 1-A and he was practically green with envy. Bakugo was probably having the time of his life with All Might while he was busy fending off Mei from his workbench.

It's a good thing I have so much dexterity. Thought Izuku as he blocked Mei with his back while simultaneously juggling his tools with one hand and spooling some wire with the other.

Power Loader sure liked to keep them all busy. After checking over their designs he immediately set them to work constructing their new piece of equipment. In addition to building this new piece of gear, he also expected them to fabricate the first iteration of their hero costume for that Friday as well. While they toiled, Power Loader watched them work carefully.

'Normally you would need to register your hero costumes with the government, but as your costumes are little more than body armour at this point, we can hold off on registering them until later in the year when you have a more workable design. I expect you will go through several versions of your costume over the months as you come to understand what role you can fulfill as a hero through our field excercises.'

'Yeah, about those field exercises,' began Mei slowly, 'What if we know more or less what we want to specialize in right now? I'm more of a designer and builder myself and-'

'Nice try, Hatsume, but the field work is a requirement.'

Izuku could hear Mei start grumbling as she returned to work on her rocket boots and he grinned to himself. According to their syllabus, field work accounted for nearly half of their grade.

He turned his attention back to his work. He couldn't afford to let himself get cocky. While it was true that he had done exceptionally well on the Apprehension Test yesterday, his work in the lab was what really concerned him. He didn't even know the name of half of the stuff he was using. A few times he had wasted precious minutes by staring blankly into the tool drawers looking for the right screw driver or wrench. Still, he was making good progress on his grappling gun and he had all his costume measurements figured out. He just needed access to the fabricator computer so he could create his costume blueprint.

The costume fabricator worked off of a proprietary design software. You created the costume you wanted first in the software, then uploaded your design to the fabricator which would automatically create the costume from your specifications using the available materials. The process took a few hours, but it was completely autonomous. Many of his peers had already tinkered with the software in one form or another and Izuku couldn't help but worry that he might not have enough time to catch up.

Of course, he wasn't planning on making just one costume.

Power Loader said that after school he would allow his students time to work in the development studio. If Izuku were to "accidentally" mess up one costume and have to print another…well who was he to waste good materials? He just so happened to know a certain pure hearted, selfless, noble, handsome, vigilante who could really use some new clothes.

That was the plan anyway. He just needed to wait until he had some privacy. Beside him, Moyashi was attempting to solder together two pieces of circuitry. Drawing a tiny line of molten copper, he appraised his work thoughtfully before setting the board down to cool. While he waited he turned to him.

'Hey Izuku, what're you making?' Moyashi asked.

'A grappling gun.' Izuku replied happily as he tightened a spool of metal cable. He didn't mind telling people if they just asked.

'Hm. Do you know how to use a grappling gun?'

'Not really. I figure I'll practice a bit before Friday.' Izuku said off-handily, 'What about you, what're you making?'

Moyashi hesitated for a moment before answering.

'I'm making some leg splints with springs built into them. They may not look like much now, but I'm planning on integrating them into my costume. They'll help me run faster. I hope.' he said as he returned to his soldering.

'Huh.' Izuku said thoughtfully. His gun seemed much less impressive in comparison.

His work seems a lot more complicated than mine. Am I not being ambitious enough?

Looking around the other workstations, it occurred to him that all of his classmates seemed to be making equipment that was intended to be closely integrated into their suit or worn. By far the most dominant design choice seemed to be a type of prosthetic or augmentation for their legs.

I guess they want to close the physical gap between me and them with technology. But shouldn't they be trying to build something that they're bodies can't already do? I mean, they'll need to get in shape sooner or later anyway. Hm. I don't think that physical augmentation is the right call.

'Did you say something?'

Izuku looked over in alarm. Moyashi was staring at him.

'N-No. Its, uh, nothing. Its nothing.' Izuku said in embarrassment. He must have been muttering to himself again.

Moyashi shrugged and went back to his work. Blushing slightly, Izuku cast his eyes around the room. A flash of sparks caught his attention and he saw Mei hunched over a tangled mess of wires, busily modifying her rocket boots. In the brief flashes he could see from between her busy hands, Mei seemed to be overhauling her creation entirely. Despite himself, Izuku couldn't help but feel impressed. Her rocket boots were the most complicated and intricate looking thing being made in the room by far.

That seems like the way to go honestly. She's improving her mobility and giving herself extra options.

As though sensing she was being watched, Mei started to furtively glance around the room in suspicion. Izuku quickly averted his gaze back to his own work before she could notice him. He didn't want to inadvertently encourage her snoopy behaviour. Hefting his tools, he returned to his work.

The hours seemed to fly by and before they knew it, the bell chimed. Power Loader lifted his head up from his own workstation and addressed the class.

'That's it, school is over. If you want, you can spend some extra time in the workshop, but just remember that you have other homework to do. I'm expecting you to have your literature assignment done next Monday and you have to write your history chapter review next week as well.'

Izuku joined the rest of the class in their collective groan. It was only the second day of school and already it felt like he was doing more work than he had for his entire final year at Aldera. Izuku turned over his half-finished grappling gun in his hands and sighed.

Maybe my plan of nightly Spider-Man outings was…overly optimistic.

Gritting his teeth, he redoubled his efforts. As he started to pick up the pace his spider sense alerted him that Mei was watching him again but he didn't care. He couldn't afford to obscure his work from Mei all the time. If she was going to be nosy then so be it, he had work to do.

A few hours later just as he was putting the finishing touches on his gun, Power Loader announced that he was closing up the shop for the evening. Izuku grimaced. He hadn't been able to even touch the fabricator yet and he needed to make his costumes. While everyone was cleaning up their station and putting away their tools, he meekly trotted over.

'Um, hey Mr. Maijima can I have a copy of the software that the costume fabricator uses? I was hoping to design my costume today, but I ran out of time.'

Power Loader nodded.

'Sure. I can get you a copy. Just a second…'

Izuku waited patiently as Power Loader went over to his computer. Pulling out a USB key, Power Loader started to make him a copy. While they were waiting for the computer to finish, Power Loader turned to him.

'You've got some fast hands, Midoriya. I was watching you work today and you seem to have a good handle on things. I was reviewing your school records and-' he paused. What he could see of Power Loader's face tightened into a frown as he looked over Izuku's shoulder.

'Miss Hatsume, clean up your work space please.'

Izuku turned and saw Mei loitering around his workstation, conspicuously hovering over his design. At the sound of Power Loader's voice, she yelped, quickly scurrying back to her own cluttered workspace.

'There's one every year.' mumbled Power Loader in a barely audible voice before he turned back to Izuku.

'Anyway, I was reviewing your school records and it says you never received any special schooling for this class. Is that true?'

Izuku turned scarlet.

'W-W-Well, yeah, I mean, I-I went to the science fair and stuff so, I wasn't like, totally unprepared or anything…' Izuku said, avoiding his teachers gaze.

'There is no need to be so modest, Midoriya. A word of advice; a little bit of pride isn't a bad thing. Don't feel ashamed just because you're gifted. The last thing you want to do is stifle yourself because you're worried about what other people think.'

Izuku didn't know how to respond to that. Words of what sounded like encouragement from a teacher were new to him.

'R-Right…'

The computer chimed. Handing him the USB stick, Power Loader returned to supervising the class as they packed up. Izuku walked back to his desk and started to clean up his area. As he swept metal filings off his desk, Power Loader addressed the class again.

'I'll be in here at seven o'clock tomorrow morning if you want to get some extra work done. However, I remind you to budget your time carefully. You may want to simplify your designs if you find yourselves falling behind. Also, don't stay up too late either. We are going to have our first Foundational Heroics Studies lesson tomorrow and you'll want to be well rested.'

Izuku perked up.

Foundational Heroics Studies?

'Is All Might going to be teaching us?' Izuku blurted out.

The rest of the class paused expectantly while Power Loader appeared to consider the question. Dragging the moment out for as long as possible he finally responded.

'I believe he said he might drop in.' he said teasingly.

The class immediately erupted into excited chatter.

'All Might! The All Might! Teaching us? I don't believe it!' Moyashi said with unexpected cheer.

Izuku felt dizzy with excitement. He was actually going to receive training from the number one hero himself! He wasn't going to get a wink of sleep tonight that was for sure. After cleaning up his workspace, he rushed home to tell his mom the exciting news.

That evening while Izuku was freaking out with his mom about meeting All Might, a rail thin man in a blue track suit slowly shuffled into his small, downtown apartment building lobby. It had been a long day and he was exhausted. He wasn't the man he used to be that was for sure. Even something as simple as office work felt like running a marathon. As he crossed the threshold of the doorway, he suddenly felt a flair up of pain along his side. Wincing, he moved to the side of the lobby to take a moment to catch his breath. As he panted, an elderly couple walked out of the elevator.

'Out for an evening jog, Toshinori?' asked the elderly man as they passed by.

'Yes, sir! Got to stay fit.' Toshinori wheezed in between breaths, grinning to them while bracing himself against the wall.

'Well keep at it. Don't give up!' said the elderly man.

'No, sir!' Toshinori called out after the couple as they exited the building.

After a few moments he felt like he had recovered enough. Pushing himself off from the wall, he steadied himself before he began to climb up the old staircase. Finally, upon reaching the top floor he walked through the hallway and into his lonely suite. He had only just moved in and his loft was mostly empty. It suited him fine regardless. He didn't do much entertaining and chances are he would have to move again soon anyway.

Placing his keys on his small kitchen side table, he slowly made his way over to his large chair by the television. The chair was far too big for his current body, but he had grown fond of it over the years and it was one of the only pieces of furniture he bothered to hang on to. Flicking the television to the disaster alert channel, he made himself as comfortable as possible. While the reporter droned about raising crime rates across Japan, Toshinori slowly lost himself in his own thoughts.

He had met many promising students today. No doubt they would grow up to be fine heroes, but for some reason they just didn't seem like they were the right fit for All For One. Maybe he was being too picky, but his successor needed to be someone who understood fully the sacrifices required to be a true hero.

Toshinori suddenly broke into a fit of coughing as a trickle of blood and bile rose up in his throat. Grabbing a nearby tissue he spat out the disgusting mixture. After a dabbing around his mouth he shifted back in his chair. He didn't have much time left.

As he wiped around his mouth the reporter's excited speech caught his attention.

'We are reporting live from outside city hall where an armed man has taken hostages! Information is scarce at this time, but it appears as though he is demanding for accountability regarding the recent prostitution scandal last fall. The man has demanded that…'

Toshinori climbed out his chair. He still had some strength left and a hero's work was never done. Flexing his muscles, his frail emancipated body suddenly transformed into the towering form of All Might. Carefully opening his window, he leapt outside.

The following morning Izuku ran as fast as he dared through the deserted halls towards the development studio. It was almost seven o'clock. With any luck the room would be empty and he would have an opportunity to make his Spider-Man costume before anyone could catch him.

He still wasn't exactly sure how he would be able to make his costume undetected. The fabricator was against the wall in the middle of the room, right in the center of the action. Yesterday the room had been packed and while it was true that everyone was busy working on their own projects, surely his new costume would garner some interest. If anyone saw his work then that was it. Game over.

As he moved through the empty halls towards the development studio his ears picked up the faint sound of voices. As the words resolved themselves to tones he recognized he let out a low groan. Slowing his pace, he walked the rest of the way to the studio. To his chagrin, Mei had come in early too and from the sounds of things, she was in the middle of a rather animated, if one-sided, discussion with Power Loader. Izuku couldn't help but eavesdrop.

'So I was thinking maybe we could move up the testing schedule a few days!' Mei said enthusiastically, 'I mean, I can't speak for everyone else, but I'm certainly ready.'

'We will be following the syllabus.' Power Loader said in a tired voice.

'Oh, no doubt!' she said apprehensively, 'I was just thinking, er, maybe a pop quiz is in order! You could, *ahem* grade us, and then we'll have a better understanding of our current position in the class!'

'Hm. I'll consider it.'

'Just something to think about.' Mei said, more confidently, oblivious to his obvious disinterest. 'Also, I was wondering if there were any extra credit activities I could do! I could build you a robot. Isn't that impressive? It could help you clean up the lab or the classroom or wherever. It could even-'

'A robot is unnecessary. Cleaning the room is what students are for.'

'M-Maybe not a robot then. How about-'

Izuku rolled his eyes. He got the sense that she was going to keep this up until she had definitively surpassed him in the class grades. What got to Izuku was she was probably going to beat him soon anyway. He doubted that he could build something as complicated as a robot. If she would just chill out for five minutes…

As he entered the development studio, Power Loader eagerly looked up from his computer. He had looked like he was about to crack.

'Good morning, Midoriya.' he said, interrupting Mei.

'Good morning, Mr. Maijima. Hi, Hatsume.'

Mei whirled around.

'Green Guy! What're you doing here?' she gasped.

Izuku gave her a confused look as he walked around her to the costume fabricator.

'I'm, uh, going to print out my costume. After, I was thinking I'd finish up my grappling gun before class.'

'AHA!' she cried dramatically, 'I knew you were making a grappling gun!'

'Well…yeah. So?' Izuku said, scratching his head.

Mei turned away from him and back to Power Loader.

'Mr. Maijima, sir, don't you think that's a little bit elementary for the top student? I mean, I don't want to presume authority, but I think that grappling guns are more suited for an elementary school science fair then for a support hero course.'

Power Loader sighed.

'Hatsume, there is nothing wrong with simple. Simple but effective beats complicated and finicky every time.' he said patiently.

'Well, duh!' Mei snapped in her usual, insolent voice before catching herself, 'I-I-I mean, that's very true, I never thought of it that way before!'

Power Loader ignored her and addressed Izuku.

'One thing does concern me Midoriya. Are you really almost finished with your design?'

'Yes...'

'You work quickly, that's good.' Power Loader said approvingly and Mei shot him a venomous glare, 'But I've allotted class time for you all to work on your project. I don't mind you finishing early, though I would like you to always make use of your lab time. Were you going to be building anything else?'

'Yes, I was going to make some extra ammunition, maybe experiment a little with what my gun can launch.' suddenly a devious thought crossed Izuku's mind, 'Also, I'd like to see how my costume works out today during our foundational heroic studies lesson.'

He cleared his throat before continuing.

'I-I may have to make some ad-adjustments d-d-depending on how things turn out today. P-Probably need to rethink some things. I wouldn't be surprised if I had to use the fabricator twice today.' he said nervously. Power Loader stared at him with an unreadable expression and he couldn't help but fidget.

'Very well…' Power Loader said eventually.

Breaking eye contact, Izuku hastily retrieved his USB drive and inserted it into the fabricator. Using the software Power Loader had given him, he had created two costume designs last night. One was modeled to mimic the appearance of the one his mother had made for him. The only difference was that it was much more durable and far heavier – a necessary set back. He was more than strong enough to bear the burden anyway. The second was his new and improved Spider-Man costume, straight from the illustrations in his notebook. As he configured the system, his mind went over his new plan.

First, I'll print my normal costume and wear it to my class with All Might. After whatever exercise he has planned for us, I'll tell Power Loader that I need to make some costume adjustments. I'll say It's too restrictive or whatever, I'll make something up. Then instead of adjusting my existing costume, I'll print off my spider suit and, when no one is looking, stash it in my backpack and be off home free!

Izuku paused. It was extremely risky. He probably wouldn't be alone in the room when he removed his costume from the machine and you weren't allowed to take your costume off school property. If he was caught stealing, he would be expelled for sure, but it was a risk he had to take.

This is the price I pay for being a vigilante. It may seem reckless, but I need a new costume and I can't put off crime fighting anymore than I already have. Who knows how bad the slums have become since I was there last?

His mind made up, Izuku uploaded the files for his regular costume and let the machine run. With a loud beep, the internal tailoring equipment activated and the room was filled with a low, rhythmic hum. Satisfied, he headed over to his workbench and started to check over his grappling hook. The weapon itself was complete, but he still needed to make the cable and grappling arm. Pulling out his tools, he went back to work.

After his extra morning work period in the development studio, Izuku attended his regular classes. He had forgotten just how monotonous the subjects were. Compared to his time in the workshop, normal school was excruciatingly boring. This was all made worse because after lunch they were having their first lesson with All Might. As they slowly went over their calculus lesson, Izuku couldn't help but glance over at the clock every few seconds and will time to move faster.

Finally, after what felt like an eternity the class was dismissed for lunch and Izuku joined his classmates at the support table in the cafeteria. Upon sitting, Izuku found that he was too excited to eat. He wasn't the only one, most of his classmates were also eagerly chatting about their upcoming lesson.

'I wish my strength enhancing harness was ready for today's exercise.' Kiska pouted, 'I don't want to seem weak in front of All Might.'

'I'm sure All Might is used to people looking weak in front of him.' Bukimi reasoned, 'It is All Might after all. As long as we all put in a good performance, I'm sure he'll be understanding.'

Kiska snorted and Moyashi looked at Bukimi glumly.

'Easy for you to say. You finished your equipment already.' Moyashi said morosely.

Grinning, Bukimi turned toward Izuku, 'Hey Izuku, you finished your equipment too, right?'

Izuku nodded. 'Yep. I finished it this morning before class.'

Mei hmphed and Izuku arched an eyebrow at her. She had been giving him dirty looks all day.

'Jealous?' he teased. Her rocket boots may be impressive, but they were still in a hundred pieces on her workshop bench. Mei rolled her eyes contemptuously.

'Of what, your little toy rope gun? Please. When my rocket boots are finished Mr. Maijima will be so impressed-'

'Hey I was looking at your rocket boots yesterday.' Kiska interrupted, 'They're pretty cool, but are you sure they won't just blow up? The tolerances on your soles alone-'

'Ridiculous!' Mei said, waving her away. Kiska bite her tongue for a moment before continuing.

'I'm sure you know your stuff.' Kiska began delicately, 'But your-'

Mei spared her a pitying glance. 'Listen blondie, I've been building rocket boots for years now. My boots from the entrance exam didn't blow up, so why would these?'

Kiska's eyes narrowed. 'My name is Kiska. And these aren't the same boots as the ones you wore during the exam.'

'Like I said, I've been building rockets for years and they hardly ever explode.'

Izuku felt his spider sense twitch.

Hardly ever explode?

'Well I guess I'll just mind my own business then.' Kiska said, pulling out her smartphone.

'Good.' Mei said, doing the same.

The table fell to silence as the cafeteria around them chatted happily. Both of the girls were tapping away at their phones, perhaps a bit more forcefully than was strictly necessary. For a moment nobody said anything, until Mei's voice drifted across the table.

'Me and my boots kicked your ass in the practical that's for sure.' she mumbled.

Kiska put her phone down on the table and glared at the girl, 'Oh, really!? How would you know, you didn't even see me! I didn't see you! I certainly didn't see you flying around either!'

'I know I kicked your ass 'cause I beat your time.' Mei said, glancing over at the girl from her phone, 'And who are you to lecture me anyway? I've seen that harness thingy you're building.'

'What about it?'

'Well, its kind of pointless isn't it? I mean, unless you plan on opening a moving company…'

As the two girls began sniping each other, Izuku decided to discreetly direct his attention elsewhere. Glancing around the hall he saw Bakugo sitting with the other class 1-A students. He wondered what sort of things they talked about? To his amusement, Bakugo seemed to be getting into a heated exchange of his own with a tall, muscular black-haired boy with glasses.

As he watched them, he spotted a pretty girl with brown hair and brown eyes. She was talking to another girl with a long green hair done up in an elaborate ponytail. For some reason she seemed familiar, but for the life of him he couldn't place her.

This is going to drive me nuts! Thought Izuku as he studied the brunette. Suddenly he felt his spider sense tingle and he averted his gaze just as she looked his way. Turning his attention back to his own table, he saw that the argument between Mei and Kiska was unlikely to end anytime soon. Their bickering had escalated to the point where math had become involved.

With a sigh, Izuku pulled out his phone and checked the time. His eyes widened.

It's almost time! He thought as a shiver of anticipation ran through his body. I should grab my costume!

Excusing himself to nobody in particular, Izuku stood and went for the exit while Mei and Kiska continued battling it out. As he walked, he sensed eyes on his back but he didn't bother turning around. It was probably just Mei being Mei.

'Bakugo! It is unbecoming of a hero to threaten your classmates! If this behaviour continues-'

'Fuck off four eyes.' Bakugo said absently. He had just noticed Izuku leaving the lunch hall.

The tall black-haired boy's scowl became even more pronounced as he regarded him. Taking a deep breath, he prepared to begin his chastisement anew, but before he could unleash his righteous fervour a girl from down the table spoke up.

'Give it a rest, Tenya. I don't care what he thinks anyway.'

Tenya turned towards the raven-haired girl who had spoken.

'You may not care, Jiro but that's not necessarily true of others! If Bakugo gets a reputation as a bully then Class 1-A will be undeserving of the title of heroes! We have to immediately discourage this shameful behaviour!'

Tenya turned back towards him, his jaw set.

'Now listen here Bakugo! I want you-'

As Tenya droned on Bakugo stopped paying any sort of attention. None of this was worth his time. To his annoyance he couldn't stop himself from thinking about that irritating little worm Deku. His very presence at UA was irksome. Like a mosquito that wouldn't stop bothering you while you tried to sleep. Why did Deku have to follow him?

When he had first learned that Deku was planning on going to UA he had begrudgingly conceded to himself that Deku would pass the written exam. Idiot savant that he was, him qualifying academically was a given, but he had never expected him to beat the practical exam too! He knew that the Support Department was full of pussies but still, he had no quirk! How could they let a neurotic dork like Deku in?

To make matters worse, apparently the sneaky little bastard had actually managed to score top marks in his class. What kind of exam could it have possibly been? And for that matter, how pathetic was class 1-H if Deku of all people could get the highest score? He had to have cheated somehow. That was the only explanation.

As Tenya continued to bellow in his ear, Bakugo watched Deku scamper off and out the cafeteria. How did he do it?

Standing in the empty development studio, Izuku looked over his freshly made costume with satisfaction. It was the same basic green and white bodysuit design as the one his mother had made him, though it was now far more durable. The fabric had been replaced with a Kevlar weave, and the chest and back were interlined with removable steel plating.

Besides adding armour, he also improved the functionality by adding a black utility belt for his future gadgets – including a handy holster for his multipurpose grappling gun – as well as a hardened helmet built into a half cowl in addition to heavy steel lined boots and gloves. With a weight of just over thirty-five kilograms, the suit would have been prohibitively heavy for a regular person, but that wasn't an issue for him. As long as he didn't let anybody handle his stuff, nobody would know just how much weight he was carrying.

I'm glad I could maintain the original flair that Mom made. I'm sure she'll get a kick out of seeing me in it. Assuming I don't get kicked out of school first that it…

He felt a thrill of nerves run up his spine. He couldn't believe that he was actually going to steal materials from school. And from UA no less.

Exhaling, he draped his costume over his arm and started to walk to the exit. Seeing as how there was still some time before lunch ended, he figured that he might as well drop off his costume at his locker in the changeroom.

As long as I don't do anything to arouse suspicion, I should be okay. I hope.

As he made his way toward the changing rooms, a blaring alarm suddenly sounded almost making him jump out of his skin. Whipping his head around in shock, he faltered midstep.

'What the-'

This couldn't be my doing, could it? I didn't even do anything yet!

He hesitated. Should he leave the building? His spider senses weren't going off. Maybe it was just a fire drill? As he stood in indecision, the alarms abruptly ceased and the halls fell silent once more.

What was that about?

Now alert, he resumed walking to his locker at a deliberate pace. Coming upon an intersection in the hall, he heard the thundering footsteps from a group of people barreling their way closer from around the corner. Judging by the sound, they were sprinting in full tilt.

His spider-sense thrummed and he began backing away. Before he could retreat more than a few steps however, a group of teachers, including Power Loader, went rushing through the intersection in front of him. For a split second he felt his spider-sense flare up as they all looked at him, but it only lasted a moment. Without sparing him a second glance they continued on at their breakneck speed and disappeared from view around the opposite corner.

For a moment he was tempted to follow them, but he quickly reconsidered. Whatever was happening, his spider-senses were telling him he wasn't in danger. It could be nothing. Continuing on, he arrived at the empty change room and checked the time. Lunch was due to end in less than five minutes.

Might as well change, I guess.

Getting into costume, he was soon joined by the rest of his class who were all excitedly talking amongst themselves. Apparently, the alarm had caused quite the ruckus in the cafeteria, but Izuku was too nervous about his upcoming lesson to care.

All Might! I'm finally going to meet All Might! Izuku thought as he strode out with his classmates towards the hero training courses. God, I hope I don't embarrass myself.

In a blur of motion All Might came to sudden stop, appearing as if from nowhere next to his collogues who had all gathered outside the school gates. The blue painted steel shutters had activated, sealing the school grounds from the street. From over the fence he could hear the shouts of the press who were loudly wondering what was going on. All Might was wondering that very same thing himself.

'What's the situation?' All Might asked to the crowd of teachers who were just now reacting to his sudden appearance.

'Ah!' cried Midnight, jumping back slightly, 'Where'd you come from? No, don't tell me. There's been a break in.'

'A break in? Do we know who and why?'

'Not yet no. Some press snuck in and tripped the alarms but they may have just taken advantage of the situation. Look.'

All Might followed Midnight's finger. She was pointing at a pile of what appeared to be grey sand that had gathered around the base of the blue emergency lock down gate. Crouched around the pile were several staff members who were murmuring to one another and shaking their heads. All Might blinked in confusion.

'Is that the regular gate? Was it disintegrated or something?'

'Or something.' Midnight said with a hopeless shrug, 'It must have been destroyed by the intruder. We're still gathering information. If you-'

'I'll conduct a quick patrol of the grounds!' All Might said, pounding his palm with his fist, 'You can count on me!'

At that he took off, away from the gates towards the school buildings leaving behind a stunned crowd of his fellow teachers behind.

'Wait! Don't you have a class to teach?' Midnight shouted after him, but it was too late. He had already disappeared off into the distance. With a sigh, she rejoined the rest of the staff. They would have to debrief him later.

Izuku and his classmates were huddled together in the simulated urban environment of the foundational hero studies training course, excitedly waiting for the appearance of All Might. Class had officially begun five minutes ago and the anticipation was palpable.

'I bet you he'll drop down from the sky!' Kiska said excitedly, scanning the clouds above, 'He loves doing that!'

'No, he's definitely going to come bursting out of one of these buildings!' Bukimi said, rapidly shifting his eyes from wall to wall.

Izuku, who was standing at the rear of the group, chuckled at their foolishness. Jumping down from the sky? Honestly! Any true All Might fan would know that he was going to suddenly appear behind them so he could startle everyone with his suddenness! With that in mind, he had positioned himself at the rear of the group with his back to the empty street behind them. When All Might made his grand entrance, he'd be right at the front of the action!

Suddenly there was a loud creaking noise and everyone turned. One of the rear doors had opened and an overly muscular arm and leg were trying to squeeze through the too small doorway. After a second of struggling, the leg managed to step through followed by the rest of the massive body. The class collectively held their breath as All Might himself towered before them. Patting some dust off his iconic red, blue, and white costume, he gave them his famous smile.

'I am here, late to class because, er, I got lost!'

There was a moments silence before the class erupted into cheers. Izuku joined his classmates in swarming around All Might.

'All Might!' Izuku shouted as everyone crowded around him, 'All Might, I'm your biggest fan! Minus your wakey-wakey clock, I own everything you've ever released!'

His shouts were in vain however as every one else was loudly clamouring for All Might's attention. All Might surveyed the students before bursting into his trademark laughter.

'All right everyone, I know you're all excited to meet me, but we have more important things to do!' All Might said, stepping back slightly as the teens surged.

'All Might! Why are you retiring? You're still in your prime!' Izuku shouted, roughly pushing himself past his fellows to the front. All Might grinned at him.

'I've not retired completely my boy!'

Izuku almost fainted. He called me "my boy"! He actually said it!

Momentarily stunned, Izuku was yanked back into the fray while All Might continued:

'I decided to partially hang up my proverbial cape to come to UA to teach you all because I believe that nothing is more important than forging the next generation of heroes to be as strong as possible. One day you will be called to shoulder the burdens of society and lead the people forward into a new era of peace!'

The class burst into applause as All Might continued to grin at them all.

'Y-Yes. Thank you. Anyway, let's stop wasting time and get to your lesson!'

All Might paused briefly to clear his throat as the students quieted themselves.

'As support heroes you'll often be the first ones at the scene in the event of an emergency. You will likely encounter those who are heavily injured and require immediate extraction to receive medical aid! To simulate this experience, I have devised a simple exercise. Fifteen of you will scatter in that building-' All Might pointed towards a large, dull grey concrete high rise '-and pretend to be injured. Once you are all in position four of you will play the part of hero's and try to locate and extract the injured outside.'

'But, All Might, sir, there's twenty of us. What is the extra person going to be doing?' piped up Mei.

All Might's grin curled mischievously.

'The extra person will also be in the building, but they will only be pretending to be injured! In reality they will be a villain hiding amongst the injured civilians, waiting for their opportunity to strike, so watch out!'

The class started murmuring excitedly to one another.

'Four versus one seems pretty one sided.' Moyashi pointed out.

'It is.' conceded All Might, 'But there are many people in the building to rescue and you will only have five minutes to do it. Will you split up to cover more ground and potentially save more lives? Or do you think it best to move as a group and be as safe as possible? I'll leave that up to you.'

'Can the injured help the heroes?' Mei asked.

'No, and they can't move themselves either!'

Izuku grinned excitedly. The exercise sounded like a lot of fun and thanks to his superhuman senses he had an ace in the hole if it came to picking out the villain. Maybe he could even impress All Might with his cunning, so long as he didn't overdo it.

'All right, let's get started! I'll pick out the heroes first. Let me see…'

Izuku lay splayed out on the hard, concrete floor, moaning loudly. Every once in a while, he would stop to press his ear to the floor to try and hear the hero's. There was no sign of them yet, but he figured that sooner or later they were bound to stumble across him. As he wallowed on the dusty floor, he couldn't help but giggle slightly at the absurdity of his situation.

This is great! I hope all of All Might's lessons are like this. It sure beats being in a classroom that's for sure.

From the floor beneath him he picked up the sound of scuffling footsteps and a body being dragged across the floor. Evidently one of the other civilians was being rescued. They were likely to come across him next.

I wonder how Hiretsuna is doing? Thought Izuku while he waited.

Hiretsuna was the name of the student playing the villain for this round. Her quirk let her create a shockwave by clapping her hands together. It was an extremely powerful, if indiscriminate ability that was guaranteed to cause the hero's trouble. He didn't know where she was, but he didn't want his sensitive ears to be any where near her when she sprung her ambush.

I wonder if they split up or not?

Suddenly he heard footsteps approaching his position. Trying to adopt a straight face, he went limp.

A lone student appeared in the doorway. It was Mei.

'Ahh, the pain!' Izuku rasped, stifling his giggles with some rough coughing, 'I'm a goner!'

Mei looked down at him critically. 'This had better not be a trap.' she warned, crossing her arms.

'T-Trap? I am but a humble farmer. I came into town today to-'

Before Izuku could deliver his time-wasting backstory, Mei sharply cut him off. 'Yeah, yeah, yeah. Calm down, I'm coming.'

Izuku coughed, 'Will I…live to see my children's faces again?' he gasped, wincing.

'Shut up. Where are you "injured"?'

Izuku looked up at her. 'Both my legs are broken. You'll have to carry me…'

'Ugh!' Mei said, scowling. Crouching down, she grabbed his left arm and pushed her shoulder into his collarbone. With a grunt she stood, swinging him up and over her shoulders.

'Hey, not bad!' Izuku said, impressed at the ease with which she had lifted him. She must have done some first aid training.

'Quiet!' Mei spat as she trundled out the room, 'Jeez, how much do you weigh, guy?'

'Uh, must be my gear. And my name is "Izuku".' he said as she plodded towards the stairwell.

'Well Izuku you could stand to lose a couple dozen pounds.' she said through gritted teeth.

Coming to the head of the stairwell a voice shouted up at them.

'Mei is that you?'

'Yeah. I got one.' Mei shouted back.

'Okay so do I. I'll wait for you.'

Mei mumbled indistinctly in response as she carefully started to descend down the stairs.

'Don't wiggle so much!' she said in a dangerous tone as she took her first steps.

'Sorry, but…the pain!' Izuku gasped flopping over, causing her to grab the railing in alarm.

'You're breaking my fall if I lose my balance, tubby!' Mei snarled.

Resuming her descent, she took the steps one at a time. Despite his precarious position, Izuku wasn't worried. He had fallen from far higher without injury. Instead he just found himself enjoying the ride.

At last she made it to the bottom and Izuku saw Bukimi with a seemingly unconscious silver haired girl in his arms. It was Hiretsuna.

Uh, oh.

'Okay Mei, lets go. We have less than three minutes left.' Bukimi said as he started to walk over to the exit.

'Wait. Wanna trade? This guy here-'

'Izuku.'

'Whatever. Izuku here weighs a tonne. Let's swap, we'll go faster.'

'Um…' Bukimi hesitated, 'No. Can't you manage? I don't want to lose marks because we made the injuries worse or something. Let's just get out of here.' he said as he turned around.

Mei hmphed as she reluctantly followed him out of the room. From beyond Bukimi's folded, leathery wings, Izuku saw Hiretsuna open one of her eyes. She looked back over at Mei then up to him, a devious smile teasing her lips.

Izuku didn't know how powerful Hiretsuna's shockwaves were, but he would be at ground zero when she attacked. He pre-emptively groaned.

'Quit your belly aching, Izuku. If you want, I can always drag you.' Mei snapped as she followed Bukimi and Hiretsuna, oblivious to the oncoming danger. Izuku hesitated.

It's against the spirit of the exercise to warn the heroes who the villain is. I guess it's just their unlucky day. Sorry Bukimi.

Izuku let his body go fully limp. He was wearing armour but he didn't want to take any chances for when the blast hit. Mei stumbled backward slightly as he slackened. Growling in frustration, she twisted her head around to glare at him.

'Izuku quit being such a dick! Why'd you go all limp? I-'

Her eyes went wide as she noticed his expression. Before she could cry out the hallway exploded. With a thunderous boom, Izuku and Mei were sent hurtling backward. Even through all his armour Izuku felt the concussive blast rattle his bones. Hiretsuna's attack wasn't nearly as powerful as Shocker's had been, but he still felt the wind get knocked out of him all the same. As he careened through the air, he saw Bukimi rocket by underneath him.

At least I'm wearing armour. I hope Hiretsuna didn't hurt them too bad.

With a crash Izuku hit the floor. As soon as he came to a rest he looked up and over at Mei and Bukimi. They were collapsed in a heap on top of each other at the end of the hall, softly groaning in pain.

'Yo, Midoriya! Are you okay?'

Izuku turned. Hiretsuna was picking herself up off the floor.

'Yeah, I'm fine. You sure flattened Bukimi and Mei, Hiretsuna. Maybe you should have held back?' Mei and Bukimi were moving, but they looked to be in a bad way.

'Real villains won't hold back. I-I'm sure they'll be fine. Anyway, I need to get after the other rescuers. See ya.'

At that Hiretsuna ran off down the hallway in search of the other two hero's. Izuku watched her disappear before he laid back down on the floor.

I wonder if the other two rescuers will be able to stop her? He wondered. He didn't have to wait long for his answer. A half-minute later he heard another massive boom which seemed to shake the building to its foundations. As a fine shower of concrete dust fell from the ceiling, he heard All Might's voice echo over to him through the PA system.

'Excellent work everyone, excellent work! All of you return to the starting area, and we'll try again with different roles! Hop to it now.'

Izuku jumped to his feet and rushed over to Mei and Bukimi.

'Are you guys alright?'

Kneeling down, he snapped his fingers and waved his hands in their faces but the only response he got was their continued moaning. Thankfully they didn't appear to be seriously injured, only shell shocked. Slinging the semi-conscious teens over his shoulders, he started to jog back to the entrance. As he neared the exit he felt Mei stir.

'D-Don't bounce me so much. I'm going to be sick!' she moaned. Izuku carefully slowed his pace. He didn't want to end up wearing her lunch.