Izuku's attention was drawn to what seemed to be some sort of altercation happening across the mall and as he watched, other people's attention seemed to be drawn to the scene as well. From what he could see, a towering man with some sort of bright blue exoskeleton and powerful, claw-like hands had thrown a significantly smaller man to the ground outside a bar. The smaller man skidded on the cement before coming to rest and rolling to his feet.

"And stay out, quirkless scum!" the blue man bellowed, his voice echoing across much of the shopping district. "We don't work with the likes of you!"

"You don't even know me!" the smaller man screeched back. "You couldn't get into the places I can. You couldn't escape notice the way I can." As he shouted, his voice cracked and echoed hollowly as though he was trying to convince himself of his value just as much as the blue man. "I can work for you just as well as any informant you have on staff!" he continued as tears streamed down his cheeks.

"Shove off, little man. Move along before I make you."

The smaller man picked himself up off the pavement of the shopping district and looked around at the gathered crowd. He seemed to realize the scene he was causing and seemed to curl in on himself. He drew his jacket closer and flicked the collar up to better shield his face from onlookers. After a moment of finding his bearings, the man set off down the road in Izuku and his companions' direction.

Thinking quickly, Izuku slung off his backpack and rifled through the contents for a moment. As the man passed, Izuku produced a small bottle and what appeared to be a small roll of gauze. Unseeingly, the man continued to push through the gathered crowd and shoved into Izuku's shoulder.

Izuku tumbled back for a moment before Kurieita was able to catch him and set him solidly back on his feet.

"Excuse me, sir?" Izuku began but was promptly brushed off.

"Shove off, kid. Now's not the time," came the brusque response.

"I was just wondering if you were okay? Do you need some bandages? You took a pretty nasty fall." Izuku's questioning drew a curious glance from Kurieita as well as Matto and Nageruhito, who were standing together a few paces away.

Izuku's question also drew another glance from the target of his inquiry as the supposedly quirkless man turned back to him and gave him a once over. It was a tense moment as they stood there and looked at each other before the man nodded once to Izuku,

"Thanks, kid, but don't worry about me. I'm used to this kind of thing." He then continued to push into the crowd of people who parted slightly as he passed, pulling back and not brushing up against him as he strode by.

The four classmates stood there for a moment, staring after him, before Kurieita broke the silence,

"That was really nice of you, Midoriya," her voice cut through the tension and broke the rest of them from their trance. "I'm sure he would have appreciated it more if he hadn't just been thrown around and embarrassed over there."

"O-oh – I just – It was nothing," Izuku managed to stammer out. "I g-guess I just know how it feels to be pushed around like that."

Nageruhito's eyes snapped to Izuku in question as he said that, but it was Matto who responded verbally.

"Really? What do people have against you? You're pretty cool and you're quick on the draw. I mean, you helped me pretty well back in class when Hatsume blew up whatever she was working on."

Izuku hesitated for a moment, weighing his options before responding. It wasn't like he knew his peers particularly well, but he couldn't deny that he was already starting to like them and just refusing to answer would probably look a little weird.

"Um… I'm actually quirkless too.."

Izuku's statement was greeted by a moment of quiet as people continued to mill around the group as they went about their shopping. Nageruhito watched Izuku quizzically for a long moment as she stayed quiet, and Matto seemed a little gobsmacked as he stared.

"Really?" Matto eventually managed to spit out. "I had no idea! I totally thought you had enhanced reflexes or something with the way that you jumped in front of me with your shield."

"Nope, that is just something that you develop when you don't have a quirk." Izuku's attention snapped to Nageruhito at the unexpected proclamation. "I mean, look at what happened right now. And, I'm not proud of it, but I didn't really help when I saw the quirkless kids at my middle school getting pushed around. Quick reflexes were the best way to stay out of the way."

Izuku dragged his gaze back to the floor as Nageruhito spoke and affirmed her statement with a nod. "I had to deal with a classmate who didn't like that I wanted to be a hero for most of middle school, even without a quirk, and now that we both go to UA, he was pretty upset that I got accepted, even into the Support course."

"That's not right," Kurieita's objection cut in. "He shouldn't care what you want to go to school for. It's not like it'll matter to him once you're both out working for real. And anyways, if you were both working as heroes it would only make the world a safer place, wouldn't it?"

"Well," Izuku began, "It wasn't really that we would be working against each other as heroes. It was more that he wanted to be sure that he was better than I was and that I was unable to achieve what he could."

Kurieita frowned at that and Matto hummed to himself in thought. Nageruhito, for her part, stepped back into the conversation.

"That's what's wrong about heroes, too often they become heroes just because they want to prove that they can do it, or even worse, to prove that regular people can't do it."

"Really?" Matto's question cut in. "I never thought about it like that."

"I didn't really until this year, either," Izuku spoke up again. "I always looked up to heroes, no matter who told me that I couldn't become one myself, but when I met one of the big ones, he told me to give it up. He said that it was too dangerous for me and that I shouldn't try to become a hero."

"I mean, for a quirkless kid to become a hero, that would be pretty dangerous, wouldn't it? What would make you different from a police officer?"

"I know, Matto, but that wasn't the point. The point was never to be stronger than normal people or have less restrictions when working to help people. It was just the helping part. To be someone that would inspire courage and a sense of safety in the people that I worked to save."

Matto looked up for a moment in contemplation. "That's a really interesting take on being a hero, Midoriya. Wow."

"It is," Kurieita murmured softly. "I think you'd make a great hero, Midoriya."

Izuku smiled sadly at Kurieita as he responded. "Thank you, Kurieita, but I've given up on that dream. I know that the biggest difference I can make isn't on the front lines, taking down villains and pulling people from danger. The best thing I can do for people is to work in the studio with you guys to develop gadgets for the pro heroes to better help people in danger."

"I don't know, Midoriya. I think you will be an inspiration for a lot of people, even if you're not working at center stage. There will be a lot more quirkless kids who want to help people, and you will be a shining example of how to best do that."

Izuku smiled at Kurieita's inspiring words and she nudged back up against his shoulder in support. Nageruhito slung a long arm around Matto and the two of them smiled their own support at their quirkless friend and Izuku felt a tear work its way down his cheek.

–

When Monday rolled around, Izuku was ready and raring to go with his finished product. He'd had Power Loader look it over on the weekend, and now he had been assigned to offer it to one of the hero students from Class 1B. From the given options, he'd selected Kaibara Sen as his recipient. His quirk, Gyrate, was an above-average offensive quirk, though it didn't offer much practical defensive capabilities. The hidden shield would offer a functional defense against ranged attacks, against which Kaibara would struggle regardless, and could, given time, become a decent weapon to be used in close quarters combat where the use of Gyrate could prove to be overkill.

"Kan-sensei said you wanted to see me, Midoriya?" The voice of the hero student tugged Izuku from his musings as he considered any possible last-minute upgrades to the shield. As Izuku turned to consider the newcomer, he saw Kaibara with his dark, shaggy hair and dark eyes as he strolled into the room, looking around curiously at the support department.

"Ah, yes," Izuku started, "I have a proposal for you regarding a possible support item."

"Already? I had no idea you would be getting those made so quickly," Kaibara remarked. "I put in a request for a design through the school last week in class. Is this it already?"

"No-no-no, this is just a project through the support course. We don't manage the designs that the hero students request, but you can request additional support items through us if time is short," Izuku managed to stutter out. "If you like what we offer you, though, you're allowed to use it."

"Oh, that's cool. Why me?" Kaibara asked pleasantly.

"I just thought that my compressible shield would work nicely with your style."

Kaibara raised an eyebrow curiously at that and voiced his inquiry after a moment of awkward silence.

"Where have you seen my fighting style? You haven't been stalking me, have you?" His inquiry was met with a furious blush on Izuku's part and he was unable to respond for a long moment.

"No!" Izuku finally managed to shout in response. "We just sit in on your Foundational Heroics classes sometimes. It's supposed to test our analytical skills and generate inspiration."

Kaibara chuckled at Izuku's response and waved his concern away. "I'm only joking, man. Don't worry about it. Actually, I'm kinda flattered that you picked me."

"O-oh. Cool. I actually picked you and Shinso Hitoshi from class 1A, but Aizawa-Sensei isn't letting them use support items until he thinks that they are able to hold their own without any crutches – I think that's what he called them."

That got a snort from Kaibara. "Don't let Monoma hear you say anything like that. He swears that class 1B is going to outdo class 1A in every field, so he won't like it if they're doing more unarmed quirk training than us."

Izuku smiled with a slightly nervous laughter at that but waited for Kaibara to speak again before doing anything else.

"Regardless," Kaibara said after a moment of quiet contemplation. "What do you have for me, here?"

"Right!" Izuku exclaimed, jumping back to the matter at hand. "I have here a hidden, lightweight, carbon fiber shield that can be worn around the wrist. I have been calling it the Aegis Band."

"Sounds cool, wanna give me a rundown on how I use it?"

"For sure!" Izuku smiled as he fastened the wristband to Kaibara's forearm. "First, to activate it, you just twist this nob where the dial would be if this were a watch, then keep your hands free as it expands, otherwise it could knock your fingers pretty hard." With a shwoof sound, the round shield popped into place on Kaibara's arm.

Kaibara jumped as the shield expanded, eyes wide, but smiled as it settled on his arm. He then gave it a couple of practice swings through the air and spun it along his arm with his quirk.

"I wouldn't recommend using it as an extension of your quirk or it could get in your way, but it is more meant to cover for any weakness you have against ranged combatants, or in situations where your quirk might be inappropriate," Izuku rattled off as he listed his best suggestion for the use of his invention. "It is, as you'll notice, very lightweight," at Kaibara's nod, Izuku continued, "This means that it shouldn't be used to fully block anything that hits really hard. If you are able, whenever possible, you should do your best to interpose it between you and an opponent and use the force of the strike to shunt you to the side so that it is easier to evade. It won't stand up to too many direct hits before it begins to break."

"Basically, you want me to redirect attacks, using this to get inside somebody's guard if that is what the situation calls for, or as cover for myself and any civilians in the line of fire."

"More or less. Of course, as you learn to use it, use it as you see fit and are required, but just keep in mind that it won't work as a brick wall." Izuku smiled as he concluded his advice for the use of the shield.

Kaibara gave the device a few more test-swings before he spoke up again.

"How do I stow it?"

Izuku blushed again at having forgotten to mention how to put his shield away and stepped forward again to help.

"This model was designed for you to use," Izuku began, "The spring is loaded to extend the interlocking plates, so you will have to manually coil it back into its loaded conformation. I made Shinso's battery powered, but that makes it significantly heavier. For you, if you press here on the side, it will unlock the mechanism, and then if you rotate your arm along this axis here," Izuku traced a finger along Kaibara's arm in demonstration, "You will be able to coil it back down and it should lock shut on its own once you hear the click."

"Awesome! Thanks, man," Kaibara said, "If there's anything I can do for you, let me know.

–

"Where did you get this, Rat?"

Nezu smiled as he held the phone to his ear. "It's nice to hear from you too, Nemoto. It's been too long."

"Drop the pleasantries, Rat. All I want to know is how you got a hold of this design."

"You don't want to know how I know to call you about this? Or are you not worried that I recognize this from your distribution center, or that I know that it was an unrefined product?"

"Please, I know you guys found the storehouse. I also know that we burned everything in there. Where did you get the bullet?"

Nezu sighed and let the question hang for a moment while he contemplated exactly what he could conclude from the short conversation and if he needed to probe any deeper. Finally, he responded, "It doesn't matter how I got it. It only matters that you've recognized it."

"I swear, Rat, if you don't tell me how you found it, I'll find out and then you'll be stuck cleaning up after me."

"It really is a shame that your quirk doesn't work over the phone, isn't it?" Nezu asked back before hanging up without waiting for a reply.

Nezu sat for a moment, considering what he figured must have happened. First, Midoriya Izuku likely wasn't directly affiliated with the Shie Hassaikai. For all his untrustworthiness, Nemoto Shin wasn't subtle and couldn't navigate the intricacies of negotiation. Second, the design was important enough to the Shie Hassaikai that Nemoto would risk Nezu exposing what he knew of his history for the sake of the bullets. Third, Midoriya would be in danger in the coming weeks while the Yakuza worked to figure out where the idea for the design had originated. He would have to be warned and a mission would have to be proposed.

Nezu smiled at the thought. He hadn't interacted personally with the support student, but the background check that was routinely performed on all student applicants had revealed, until recently, a known desire to become a hero. Employing a quirkless student would be a risk on both the student's part, as well as with regards to the law.

Nevertheless, it was going to be an interesting couple of months as he would need to evaluate Midoriya's ability to go unnoticed, and, if needed, infiltrate the Shie Hassaikai.

Nezu turned back to his phone and dialed himself through to Shota's phone. It rang for a moment before being redirected to voicemail. That was fine, Shouta was teaching at the moment.

"Shota-kun, I'd like you to get in contact with Midoriya Izuku from the Support course and offer him some lessons on espionage and subterfuge. I have an assignment for him that will come for him whether we prepare him or not, so I'd rather he be as ready as possible."

–

A bead of blood welled along the bottom lip of a young woman as she sprawled on the ground. The dry taste of gravel spread through her mouth to mask the metallic taste of the blood, but she could feel the ichor oozing from her split lip.

A chorus of laughter echoed from above her, cutting through the ringing in her ears.

"'Mika, don't hit Tontomi,'" Mika's singsong taunting echoed between her ears. "'She can't help it…' Please, she should know to control her quirk around people. And you, Jakusha, should know not to get in our way."

Jakusha gathered what strength she could into her arms and slowly pushed herself back up so that her face wasn't pressed into the dirt. She then gathered her wits enough to respond to the bully.

"And yet you don't understand that she doesn't mean to brother you. She needs her space in this room full of unaccepting bigots," Jakusha spat as she pushed herself back to a sitting position. " People like you who think themselves above your classmates. Above the rest of us."

Mika's lip curled up as she sneered down at her fallen target.

"She isn't the only one who should know better than to think themselves on my level," Jakusha felt the fear well up as she understood what was coming, but she resolved not to show it. "Maybe it is time I reminded you who's quirkless here."

Jakusha finished pulling herself up, mentally swearing to herself that she wouldn't be knocked back down, and yet knowing that there was really nothing to be done. Gradually she pushed herself the rest of the way to her feet and raised her fists in front of her face, ready to go down swinging. Mika just continued to sneer at her from a couple feet away, waiting for her target to move.

Jakusha stood her ground for a moment before she felt her resolve waver and she swore to herself under her breath before snapping forward, ready to strike her tormentor like a snake striking its prey. Even before she could throw the punch, however, Mika threw her own sucker punch into Jakusha's abdomen.

Jakusha crumpled right back to the floor with the air driven out of her lungs, and as she fell, Mika's leg flashed out and connected with her ribs. A crack rang through the courtyard and pain exploded through Jakusha's body as the quirk-boosted strike sent her skidding back along the gravel ground, further jostling her freshly broken rib.

Bile rose in the back of her throat as the pain of the strike truly set in and Jakusha realized just how serious Mika was. She had been beaten up a few times in middle school, but then Mika had stopped at bruising. The stronger girl was not going to stop there today, not if she wanted to establish herself here at high school.

Jakusha stayed where she was on the ground this time. She curled in on herself, protecting her ribs as best she could with her feeble arms and legs as her classmate stood over her. Her breath came in short gasps as every motion was agony. A hot knife was being driven into her chest as she quivered on the ground.

Vaguely above her, Jakusha was able to make out the shadow of her tormentor as Mika crouched down next to her,

"Who's quirkless here again?" Mika inquired in her normal singsong mockery tone of voice. If she really expected an answer, Jakusha couldn't tell. "You are, and you are beneath me."

Through the haze of pain, Jakusha managed to pull enough rage together to choke out a rebuke.

"Go to hell–" she was cut off by a choked cough that had her spitting up a mouthful of blood and vomit.

"See you there, you useless sack of bones," Mika's gleeful response was punctuated by another strike, this time to Jakusha's cheek, driving her head into the rough gravel beneath her and Jakusha's whole world went numb.