"Deku!" Toga shrieked, throwing open his bedroom door.

Startling awake, Deku knocked the shoes off the bed, flailing to sit up. Both cats let out indignant squawks of protest as they were dislodged from their spots. Sardine sprinted out of the room while Dumpster ducked under the bed, hiding from the loud noises.

Toga dashed into the room, jumping onto Deku's bed and hugging him.

"I was so worried about you!" she said, burying her face in his shoulder.

"Sorry. Didn't mean to."

"I know. Monoma-kun has been fussing all day, saying how you'd be better off in 1-B with us. He wouldn't stop bugging Vlad King about having you transferred. He only stopped after Vlad threatened to give him detention for disrupting class. Todoroki and Shinsou were acting super weird at lunch too. I think Todoroki is blaming himself or something and Shinsou was all touchy feely, giving Todoroki hugs and stuff."

"Oh, right. They're dating now."

"What!?" Toga shrieked, making Deku flinch. "And they didn't tell me!? Ugh, they are the worst! When did that happen?"

"They've liked each other for a while, I think. They just got all their feelings out in the open last night."

"And now they can't go on a date because they're grounded! Maybe we can set up something in the dorms for them! I don't really know what a date is supposed to be like but we could ask Monoma and he'd be able to help us. What do you think?"

Feeling suddenly morose again, Deku shrugged and slipped free from Toga's grasp to face plant back into his pillow.

"What's wrong?" Toga asked, poking at him repeatedly. "Come on, tell me."

"I'm depressed and gay, so nothing new."

"Are you depressed over your dad or something else?"

"My dad, my mom, my life. Pick one."

"Well, Aizawa ordered take out and he should be back soon with it. How about we go out to the living room and wait for him? Eri is here and she wants to show you what she did at school today."

Nodding, Deku got up, Dumpster darting out from under the bed and pressing herself against his ankle. Smiling slightly, Deku bent down and scooped her up, cuddling her to his chest.

--

Aizawa stepped back into the 1-A dorms, arms loaded down with bags full of take away containers. Before he could get much further into the common room, Shinsou and Todoroki scrambled up from one of the couches, hurrying over to him.

"Sensei, is Deku okay?" Shinsou asked, lavender eyes wide and worried.

"He'll be fine. Recovery Girl said he'll be tired for the rest of the day but if he's feeling up to it, he can come to class tomorrow."

"Can we see him?" Todoroki asked. His gaze was downturned, as it had been the entire day, the boy wracked with guilt.

In his mind, Aizawa quickly ran through the options. If he said, yes, then the two boys would come into his apartment and Todoroki would realize that Mic didn't have a separate dorm but instead lived with Aizawa, thus revealing their relationship. But if he said no, then he was just putting the boys through more pain as they dealt with their guilt all night, only for them to have to approach Deku in class in front of everyone. Heaving a sigh, he nodded, gesturing for them to follow.

Both boys hurried after him, offering to carry the food for him.

When he opened the door, he was immediately assaulted by sound.

"That's cheating!"

"No it's not!"

"Yes it is!"

"It doesn't say anything in the rules about it!"

"Kids, stop arguing!"

"No! Deku and Eri cheated!"

"There is nothing about alliances in the rule book!"

Sitting in the middle of the living room, gathered around a board game, were Toga, Eri, and Deku. Toga and Deku were in the middle of a screaming match while Eri giggled beside Deku, one hand fisted in the hem of the boy's shirt as she cuddled close to him. Mic was sitting on the couch, a pair of glasses low on his nose as he read a book, his feet propped up and showing off his long legs. His hair had been brushed out, leaving it loose around his shoulders. Toga had taken her hair down from its style as well while Eri's hair was done up in an intricate braid, pulling it back from her face and showing off her horn. Deku still looked exhausted, shadows under his eyes making him look even more tired. His eyes were also puffy, and slightly red, as though he had cried not too long ago. Any traces of sadness were gone now as he triumphantly argued his case to Toga.

Aizawa stepped inside, gesturing for Shinsou and Todoroki to follow, who both looked taken aback by the scene in front of them. As soon as Aizawa slammed the door shut, the kids quieted, startled by the loud noise.

Toga immediately perked up. "Shinsou! Todoroki! What are you guys doing here?"

"We… we uh… wanted to come check on Deku," Shinsou stuttered out.

Todoroki nodded, taking a moment to scan the room with his mismatched eyes, which quickly found the second front door: the one that everyone believed to be the door to Mic's apartment. His eyebrows lowered, as though he were trying to piece something together.

"Present Mic and I live together," Aizawa stated, carefully watching Todoroki. "We are married and have been for some time. Shinsou was already aware. I ask that you don't say anything to anyone."

"Of course, Aizawa-sensei."

"Zashi, come help me with the food. Eri, why don't you come too," Aizawa said, jerking his head towards the kitchen. The pair got up, leaving the living room and giving the teens a little privacy.

"You guys didn't have to come," Deku said as he glanced away, a small blush creeping up his cheeks. "I'm fine."

"No, we didn't have to. But we wanted to," Shinsou told him, patting his arm as he dropped to sit beside him. Todoroki took Deku's other side, bumping his shoulder against Deku's.

"Thank you," Todoroki said in a hushed voice. "For standing up to my father. I am grateful, even if a part of me wishes you hadn't done it."

"Why do you wish I hadn't?"

Todoroki's fingers ghosted across Deku's exposed forearm, his new scar on display. "You got hurt because of me. I don't like when my friends get hurt."

"This? Nah, it's not a big deal. You don't need to worry about it."

"I know what my father's flames feel like. I know how badly they hurt. And I know you do not have any resistance to fire. It is very much a big deal."

"Speaking of your dad being a piece of shit," Shinsou interrupted, breaking the tension. "Deku, did you hear about the talk Aizawa gave the class after you went to Recovery Girl?"

Deku shook his head, his brows furrowing. "What happened?"

"He encouraged us to speak up about abuse, both from family or peers," Todoroki said. His voice was thick as he spoke.

"Yeah, and he talked about quirk discrimination. That sorta hit home for me, to be honest. But he also included mistreatment of quirkless people in the lecture. Some of the people in class looked really freaked out by it, actually. I don't think they've ever heard anything like that before," Shinsou added.

"I know I never heard that before. Granted, I was homeschooled by tutors personally selected by my father, so that is no surprise."

Deku had gone impossibly pale while Toga beamed, bouncing in place. "That's amazing!" she squealed. "People will be nicer to Deku-kun now!"

"No, no this is bad," Deku hissed, his hands balling into fists. "They're just going to pity me and think I'm weaker than they already did."

"I doubt that," Shinsou said. "I think they just got to see things from someone else's perspective for once. Maybe they'll understand you a bit better. I heard people talking afterwards and some of them said they had learned some of that stuff in middle school during anti-bullying lessons but a lot of them didn't. They just literally didn't know. If anything, they'll see you as stronger, since you survived so much."

Before anyone could say anything, Eri came trotting back into the room. She looked at Todoroki and Shinsou nervously before she came over and tugged at Toga's arm. Toga leaned over and let Eri whisper something in her ear.

"Eri says the food is all plated up! Come on, they even have plates for Shinsou and Todoroki!"

--

"Sensei, I don't know what to do," Shigaraki said, pacing back and forth in front of his teacher, the man leaning back in his chair as he watched his pupil through a sensing quirk. "Deku and Toga betrayed me. They actually, truly betrayed me. I was trying to save them from the damn heroes and Deku had the audacity to insult me in front of the entire country! And Dabi never came back with children for the livestream and he's not answering his phone. His room is cleared out and no one knows where he went. The party has been split and there is no getting it back. All I have left are minor players."

"This is a flaw in your plans, Tomura. What do you plan to do?"

"I don't know ! I need help. That's why I came to you. Please, Sensei, I need you to tell me what to do next."

All For One felt a smile trying to curl the corners of his lips. Forcing it down, he put on a pondering expression, as if he hadn't been waiting for this moment for years. "With the decrease in power within your team, you need to supplement it yourself. You need to become stronger. You should speak with Doctor Ujiko. He told me recently that he believes he has found a way to enhance an individual's quirk. It would be a long process, but well worth your time."

Shigaraki nodded, an excited, manic gleam in his eyes. "Yes, yes that's perfect! I will turn UA to dust and Deku with it!"

"Actually, I have another idea for Deku. Let me worry about that for now though. Just focus on your treatment."

--

Things in 1-A were going slightly better than they had been before. Shinsou and Todoroki were right in that the class was a little nicer to Deku, but that didn't mean they didn't still avoid him. Iida had made a point to come and speak to Deku a handful of times, even going as far as to ask Deku for advice on some ultimate moves, but the others kept their distance. The first day Deku came back after the Endeavor incident, Bakugou had split his attention between staring at Deku's covered arm and staring at Deku's new red shoes, looking as though he had seen a ghost. He only stopped staring after Kirishima had taken his hand, giving it a squeeze as they walked to the training grounds.

With things being a little calmer, the teachers decided to hold another cross training event between the two classes. The hope was that now the students had gotten more used to Deku and Toga, that maybe this time, the training would go smoother. Instead of a competition, pitting students against each other, they had an open training session, encouraging the kids to practice moves, spar, and help each other in quirk training.

As soon as Vlad King finished explaining what they were all to be doing, Toga and Monoma hurried over to Deku, Todoroki, and Shinsou, ushering them off to the side of the training grounds and away from the others. Aizawa, Midnight, All Might, and Vlad King watched them go, slight frowns on their faces as they realized that their plan wasn't likely going to work. The five kids had isolated themselves from their classmates, only occasionally speaking to others outside their circle. Sometimes, Todoroki and Shinsou would train with Iida, Uraraka, and Tsui, like they used to, but they typically stuck with Deku. That isn't to say their training suffered. If anything, they were excelling in quirk training, same as Toga and Monoma. The teachers suspected this had something to do with a specific green-haired student and his quirk analysis, but they weren't about to discourage any of them.

Deku and Shinsou stood off to the side, wrapping their hands for hand-to-hand sparring. Toga and Monoma decided to team up to fight Todoroki, who was quietly stretching while the two blonds whispered. Finally, after some deliberation, Monoma held his hand out to Toga. Her fangs flashed as she used them to shallowly slice the side of his hand. As soon as she drank down some of his blood, she licked his wound, sealing it. Then, she began to morph. Within seconds, there were two Monomas, though one was wearing a girl's school uniform over his clothes. Both Deku and Shinsou laughed along with Toga as she stripped her uniform off so she could match the real Monoma, who was scowling at the display. Once she had set her clothes aside, she cut her own hand and sealed the wound, making her a perfect match to Monoma.

"Ready?" Todoroki asked, shaking his arms out as he straightened to his full height.

"Of course we are! 1-B students are always ready for a fight!" Monoma shouted. Todoroki nodded, taking a step forward to start the fight. Just as he started to move, Monoma pulled two small, gray pellets from his pocket and threw them at the ground. Thick smoke floated up around him and Toga, obscuring them from view.

Deku let out a short laugh. "Nice! Now he won't know which is the real Monoma and which is Toga," he said.

Shinsou nodded, smiling. "It's smart. Ready for our own match?"

"Yep, let's do it. Are you using your capture scarf?"

"You'll have to wait and see."

Deku pouted, but dropped back into his fighting stance. "It's still bullshit that I don't have my weapons."

"You'll get them back soon I bet. Which one are you most excited for?"

Deku didn't respond, refusing to fall for any of Shinsou's tricks. He just lunged forward, fist raised and ready to meet Shinsou head on.

Two Monomas darted out of the smoke, both identical with their crazed expressions. Todoroki went to shoot a blast of flames at the closer one, only to get smacked in the face by the other. Stumbling, he stomped his foot sending a sheet of ice across the ground to trap that one, only for the first to punch him in the throat, skin touching skin. The pair danced out of the way as a wave of flame burst from Todoroki's arm, aimed for the both of them.

The first Monoma laughed, tossing his arm over the shoulder of the other. "Can you tell which of us is the real Monoma? Or are you just going to have to guess?"

"Better guess right," the second said, also laughing. "If you guess wrong, you might end up with a face full of ice."

Todoroki's eyes lit up, a small smile creeping onto his face. "You make a good point. Only one of you can actually copy my quirk. So I just have to force the real Monoma to reveal himself."

Immediately, he shot a spike of ice at the second Monoma. The first shoved the second out of the way, throwing himself to the ground in the opposite direction, effectively splitting the pair. Todoroki advanced on the second, throwing flames next. Monoma ducked out of the way, trying to get in closer to Todoroki, since Todoroki wasn't as skilled with close combat. Todoroki kept pushing him back, throwing ice and flame at him. The other Monoma ran at Todoroki's back, ready to throw a punch. Before he could land a hit, Todoroki sent a block of ice out behind him, striking Monoma and sending him spinning to the ground.

"Just do it!" the first Monoma screamed, stumbling up from the ground. "Fight back!"

The second, still ducking and weaving around Todoroki's attacks. "I would if I was the real Monoma! Hit him with an ice spike! Hurry!"

"Stop it! The plan didn't work! Just fight back!"

"You do it!"

Todoroki's smile grew. "Changing up tactics? Not a bad idea, switching to pretending to be Toga instead. I'll be honest, it doesn't matter which of you I attack. Eventually, the real Monoma will fight me. He won't stand back to watch Toga get hurt, nor will he allow himself to be hurt either."

Shooting another burst of flame, Todoroki advanced on the second Monoma. Faltering, the second Monoma miscalculated his movement and was struck, the flames whipping up across his chest and sending him sprawling backwards. Todoroki, having not expected to actually make contact with Monoma, was already sending a spike of ice across the ring. His eyes went wide as he realized that the second Monoma was about to strike the pointed end of the spike.

"No!" Todoroki shouted, his hand rising to try and melt the spike before Monoma got hurt. Before the flames could be called to his hand, an ear piercing shriek came from behind him, where the first Monoma had been standing. A glacier of ice suddenly sprung up. Waves upon waves of ice spread across the ground, reaching up towards the sky, encasing nearly half of the ring. Todorki found himself swept up in it, trapped from the waist down as he was lifted into the sky. The second Monoma was caught as well, kept high above the spike he was about to be impaled on. The ice encased him from the neck down, shielding him and snuffing the flames that had been smoldering on his uniform.

On the ground below, the first Monoma was staring at his frost ridden arm in shock, the ice stretching from his foot. The entire training center had gone silent as both classes stared in awe. Deku and Shinsou had paused their sparring match, both breathing heavily. Deku was oddly pale, staring at the first Monoma with his mouth agape.

"Damn, Monoma!" Tetsutetsu shouted. "That's nearly as big as the glacier Todoroki made at the sports festival! How'd you do that?"

"He didn't," Deku choked out.

Shinsou frowned, looking at Deku. "What are you talking about?"

The Monoma trapped in the ice wiggled slightly, the left side of his body steaming. Slowly, he was able to melt the ice around his left hand, raising it from the ice and lighting a fire in his palm. His teeth chattered as he held the flaming hand over his right side, shaking dangerously. Todoroki's eyes went wide, flicking between the two Monoma's.

"How… How are you both…"

"Don't know," the trapped Monoma said, his voice shaky. "But I already can't feel my feet and want to get out of this ice."

The Monoma on the ground took a stumbling step back, shaking his head hard and fast. "How did I… I can't have…"

"Hey, it's okay, calm down," Deku said, stepping closer.

Slowly, the panicking Monoma's skin started to melt away, falling to the ground in gray globs as he began to hyperventilate. He shrunk, both in height and muscle mass. His smooth blonde hair gave way to messy double buns. Yellow eyes blinked back tears as Toga was revealed, staring down at her hands. Shinsou ran over to the pile of Toga's things and grabbed the towel she had brought and draped it over the now naked girl. Deku crouched next to her as she sank to the ground and wrapped his arms around her, holding her close.

"Does anything hurt?" he asked. "Is your hand cold? I don't want you getting frostbite."

"How did I do that, Deku? It doesn't make sense."

"I… I think your quirk evolved. That or with all the training we've been doing, you unlocked a new aspect that we didn't know about. I think when you drank Monoma's blood, you were able to also take on his quirk. So when you touched Todoroki, you copied his quirk and were able to make that ice. The stress of Monoma almost getting seriously hurt caused you to act on instinct. You saved his life, Toga. You did good! I always told you your quirk was cool!"

She kept shaking her head, leaning into him heavily. "No! No, I have a bad quirk. It's bad. I'm bad and creepy and gross."

"That's what your parents told you. It's not true, Toga."

"But…"

"Hey, Toga," Shinsou said, kneeling down beside her. "What's your favorite color?"

"What?"

As soon as the word was out of her mouth, her eyes turned vacant and unseeing, her mind caught in Shinsou's quirk. Her breathing slowed, the panic leaving her body in one fell swoop, her face relaxing. Shinsou held his quirk for a moment, giving her a moment to calm, and then released her.

She slumped against Deku, still breathing evenly as she blinked in confusion. After a moment, she brought her eyes up to Shinsou and smiled. "Thanks."

He nodded before standing, making space for Monoma, who had freed himself from the ice and was running over.

"Toga! Are you alright? Come, let's get you dressed and then I can walk you to Recovery Girl's office."

"If anyone should be seen by Recovery Girl, it should be you, Monoma," Vlad King called, still eyeing the massive mound of ice that Todoroki was trying to melt. "I'll take you both there."

"I've got it, Vlad, don't worry. I think you're needed here," Midnight said, shooting him a pointed look before glancing at the 1-B students, who were all looking at Toga with a mixture of awe and fear.

When he turned and saw their fearful expressions, he nodded, knowing full well that he was going to have to have a conversation with his students to calm them.

--

"Any theories on what happened with Toga's quirk?" Shinsou asked, he and Deku stretching with Todoroki after they finished sparring. Monoma and Toga had yet to come back, likely still being treated by Recovery Girl.

Deku frowned, mulling the question over. "There are two options on what I think could have happened. The first is that since she knows how Monoma's quirk works, she was able to use it after transforming into him. The other option, which I honestly think is more likely, is that she feels a close connection to Monoma, so once she turned into him, she was able to use that strong bond she has to access his quirk. She's always had a thing about wanting to be like those she likes, so it could be that this is an extension of it. So, for example, if she took yours or Todoroki's blood, she'd probably be able to use your guys' quirks since she is close to you guys. If she turned into someone she didn't care about, she wouldn't be able to use their quirk."

"Even if she did care about someone, she would need to know how their quirk works to use it," Todoroki pointed out. "It could be a combination of the two."

"That's true. If she cared about someone, then she probably knows how to use their quirk."

"Either way," Shinsou said, standing and giving one last roll of his shoulders. "Her quirk is badass."

"Oh definitely. I've told her that for as long as I've known her, but she is still kinda hung up on what happened with her parents when she was little. Maybe if all of us remind her how great her quirk is, it'll finally sink in."

Just as the three boys were about to go join their class to walk back to the main building, Tetsutetsu called out, catching their attention. They turned and found him hurrying over to them, Kendo and Shoda following.

"Hey guys! Hold on!" Tetsu said, breaking into a jog. "We want to talk to you for a second."

Todoroki and Shinsou both took a small step forward on either side of Deku, their shoulders brushing as they blocked Tetsu from getting close to Deku. A small fluttering feeling swelled in Deku's stomach at the protective display.

Tetsu slowed down, stopping a few feet away. "So, uh, Vlad King said that Toga's quirk leveled up, sorta like how our quirks did when we went on our internships and to the summer camp. That's cuz you guys were working with her on her quirk, right?"

Shinsou nodded. "Yeah, we've been helping her. It was Deku mostly though. He made the training plans and analyzed all of our quirks so we could train together."

"That's really cool! We, uh, we kinda realized that we… you know…"

Kendo cut Tetsu off. "We realized we didn't treat Toga fairly."

"Yeah, we should have given her a chance and we didn't," Shoda said. "So we want to make up for it now."

"So we want to give her some of our blood so she can practice working with our quirks. Do we need to do anything special with the blood? Like, so it keeps for a while?" Testutetsu asked.

Deku blinked up at him, surprise evident on his face. "You could… uh… go to Recovery Girl and have her draw the blood and store it for Toga. That'd probably be best."

Tetsu gave him a thumbs up, sharp teeth flashing while he grinned. "Sounds good! Thanks Deku!"

As they left, Shinsou glanced over at Deku. "She's not close to them. Will she be able to use their quirks?"

Deku shrugged. "Not sure, but I'm not about to discourage them from doing something nice for her."

With that, trio caught up with their class and walked back to the dorms, where they all showered and changed into clean clothes before dinner. Deku was sitting in Aizawa's and Mic's living room watching TV with Eri when he heard a knock at the door.

Frowning, he got up and cracked the door open. When he saw Bakugou standing there, he tried to slam it shut again. Before he could, Bakugou jammed his foot in the way, keeping the door open.

"Wait," Bakugou growled.

"Fuck off. I'm not in the mood today."

"I'll leave in a minute. I just came to tell you we are having katsudon for dinner."

"Okay, and?"

"And? That's your favorite."

Deku narrowed his eyes. "Yeah, it was when I was a kid."

"Are you trying to tell me you don't like it anymore?"

"No, I just haven't had it since my mom died. Prepackaged katsudon from convenience stores is kinda shit so I never stole or bought it."

"Yeah, well, this shit is homemade from scratch so come eat with the rest of the class."

"I'm not allowed," Deku said, opening the door a tiny bit more so he could see Bakugou better. "Not allowed to be around students without an adult present, or did you forget what happened last time."

Bakugou snarled for a second, his face twisting into an ugly expression before he started shouting into the depths of the dorm.

"Hey! Old man! Can Deku come eat the shitty food with the rest of the extras?"

There was a clatter and then Aizawa appeared from the hall. He wore a pair of obnoxiously pink sweatpants and a black tshirt, his hair pulled into a sloppy bun.

"Are there any teachers down there?"

"Tch, no. The extras were complaining saying it wasn't fair Deku couldn't come to class dinners but they were all too chicken shit to ask so I had to do it. Is he allowed or not?"

Aizawa pinched the bridge of his nose, closing his eyes. "Can you take it down a notch? You don't need to shout."

"The food is going to get cold so make a decision."

"Fine. Midoriya can eat with the rest of the class if he wants. If he decides he wants to, Eri and I are coming as well."

"What if I decide not to eat with the class?" Deku asked, his gaze flicking between Bakugou and Aizawa. It wasn't that he didn't want to eat with the class; he was sure it would be fun to watch everyone interact and it would be a chance to see Shinsou and Todoroki. But he was curious on how both his teacher and friend-turned-bully would react if he were to refuse.

It was a test, one that he was sure Aizawa saw right through.

"Huh?!" Bakugou shouted, obviously not realizing it was a test. "You're going to turn down katsudon? Fine! If that's what you want, see if I care!"

"Bakugou, the shouting. I literally just said to stop. And Midoriya, if you don't want to go, no one will force you. It is your decision to make."

Deku paused for a moment before nodding. "Okay, I'll go."

Eri jumped up from the couch, looking a little excited. "I've never had katsudon. Is it good?"

Deku nodded, smiling at her as he put his hand out for her to take. "I think it is. Come on, you can sit next to me."

Down on the main floor, they found all of Class 1-A gathered in the common room, a heaping bowl of katsudon in each of their hands. The TV was on, playing some sort of talk show. Two bowls were sitting on the table, waiting for their owners.

"Oh! Aizawa-sensei! Eri! We didn't know you were both coming!" Yaomomo said, setting her bowl aside and standing up. "I'll go get some extra bowls."

Bakugou waved her off. "I'll do it. Deku, you and the hobo can have the bowls there. I'll go get some for the kid and I."

As he left the room, Deku helped Eri to settle into the couch beside him, Todoroki and Shinsou shuffling over to make room. Kirishima sat across from them and hungrily dug into his serving, only to splutter and grab at his glass of water, chugging nearly half of it before he came back up for air.

"Spicy!" he rasped, looking at the bowl warily.

"What do you expect, dude," Mina laughed. "Bakubro made it. He makes everything spicy. That's why I grabbed some milk. It helps with spicy food."

"Wait, Bakugo made this?" Deku asked, picking up his bowl and glancing around the room at his classmates.

Sero nodded. "Yeah, he's a really good cook. He decided to cook tonight even though it wasn't his turn. Wouldn't let anyone help. Only thing he asked, or really yelled at, anyone to do anything was when he tried to make me and Kaminari go and get you to join us, but we didn't want to get yelled at by Aizawa, sorry man."

"It's fine," Deku said pensively, looking down into his bowl as though it would hold the answers on why Bakugou had gone out of his way to not only make his favorite meal, but to personally invite him to come and eat.

Bakugou came back into the room, a bowl in each hand. One bowl had a slightly smaller serving, which he handed to Eri.

"Here, kid. This is from the batch that isn't really spicy. Figured you aren't used to strong flavors yet."

Eri took the bowl and offered him a tiny smile. "Yeah, Mr. Nezu says I have to work up to spicy stuff. Thank you."

Bakugou made a huffing, snorting noise before going to sit with Kirishima, who was currently pouting.

"Why didn't you tell me there was non-spicy katsudon?" Kirishima asked, almost whining.

"Because if you're going to date me, you have to get used to spicy food! So man up and eat it!"

Aizawa made a choking noise, spitting his mouthful of food back into his bowl. "You two are together now?"

Bakugou's eyes narrowed into a glare. "Yeah, why does it matter to you?"

"It matters because I owe Midnight 5,000 yen now."

Mina shrieked, bouncing in her seat. "You guys placed bets?! Tell us what the others are!"

"No, it'll ruin the game."

Deku smiled, watching his classmates berate their teacher. He took a small bite of the katsudon and had to resist the urge to melt into his seat.

It was perfect. Extra spicy, a light crispness, and an overall smoky taste. It tasted exactly as his mother had made it when he was a kid.

When Deku was really little, anytime Bakugou would come for dinner on nights that his mom made katsudon, she would make an extra spicy serving just for Bakugou, since it was how he liked his food. Wanting to be just like his best friend, Deku had started insisting that he liked his katsudon spicy too. Overtime, Deku had built up a tolerance to spicy foods and now actually enjoyed hot and spicy things. He and Bakugou had spent time in the kitchen as children, watching Deku's mom cook, so Bakugou must have learned how she made her katsudon and repeated it here at UA.

The next bite Deku took was huge, distending his cheeks until he looked like a chipmunk. A light, breathy laugh beside him made him freeze, turning to see Todoroki watching him with soft eyes. Shinsou looked up as well, letting out a snort when he saw Deku.

"What?" Deku asked around his food, trying to quickly chew and swallow it.

"Nothing. You just look cute," Todoroki said, still smiling.

It was Deku's turn to choke, nearly inhaling his food and having to hack and cough it back up.

"See! You made it too spicy! You even made Deku sick!" Kirishima yelled, elbowing Bakugou.

"Huh? Like fuck I made it too spicy for Deku! Hey, shitty nerd! I know you like stuff just as spicy as I do! Did you lose your taste buds while you were homeless or something?"

"Bakugou, that is not very nice!" Uraraka said with a gasp.

Iida was about to start lecturing Bakugou about how it was rude to bring up a classmates less than ideal living situation and past, when he was cut off by Deku laughing.

"I didn't lose my taste buds, Kacchan," Deku giggled, scooping up another large mouthful of katsudon. "If I had, then I wouldn't be able to taste how spicy it is. Todoroki just made a joke, that's all."

"Don't try to use logic on my insults, you bastard!"

"Oh, look!" Hagakure shouted, her bowl waving in the air as she bounced in her seat. "Hawks is on TV!"

A few of the other students perked up, Deku and Eri included, as Hawks walked on screen, smiling at the studio audience of the talk show as he waved. His red wings looked well cared for and fluffed, like he had recently preened them. His gloves were off, which he had never done on camera before, revealing his dark, slightly pointed nails.

Settling across from the talk show host, one Deku hadn't seen before nor cared to learn more about, Hawks shifted his wings around to awkwardly fit into the chair that was not built to suit him and his quirk. His smile was a bit tight, though most probably wouldn't notice. He ran a hand through his hair to push a few loose strands from his eyes, looking cool and suave.

"He's so handsome!" Mina squealed.

"What the hell, racoon eyes, you have a girlfriend," Bakugou said, narrowing his eyes at her.

Tsu shrugged. "She's gay, not blind. I think just about everyone here can agree that Hawks is good looking."

"What's gay?" Eri asked, her red eyes flicking up to meet Deku's green.

"You know how I like boys even though I'm a boy?"

Eri nodded.

"Its that."

"Oh, okay," Eri said, seemingly satisfied with his answer and turning back to look at Hawks. "When is Hawks going to visit again?"

"Don't know. Why don't you write him a letter asking? I bet Aizawa would mail it for you," Deku suggested.

Eri smiled, nodding excitedly.

" Hawks! It is great to have you on the show! " the talk show host said. " You look fantastic today too! Have you had your nails done recently? "

Hawks gave her an easy smile, still seeming a little tense. " Thank you! No, I haven't had them done. This is what they look like naturally. Having an animal based quirk can come with a variety of quirk aspects. It's sorta like Miruko. She has the ears, tail, and legs. I've got wings, eyes, and nails. "

" Oh, so that is not eyeliner? "

" Nope, it's all natural, baby ," Hawks said with a wink, making the host giggle.

" It's so rare for you to speak so openly about your quirk! It's refreshing! "

" I've realized recently how closed off I can be, especially with my fans. I mean, yeah I do the pictures and signatures thing, which I really do enjoy, but I don't share my full self with them. They don't know my likes, dislikes, hobbies… they don't even know my name! All of us heroes are trying to encourage the public to trust and rely on us, but how can we expect them to when they don't know the real us. "

"Oh shit," Aizawa said, his half full bowl of katsudon forgotten on the table. "He's actually doing it."

Deku's mouth had gone dry. "His conversation with the handlers must not have gone well."

"What are you guys talking about?" Shinsou asked, a frown twisting his face.

"It's not really my place to say," Deku said apologetically. "Sorry."

The talk show host on TV seemed surprised by what Hawks had said. " Oh! I… Its great you want to connect better with your fans! You know what, I'm going to let you steer this interview. Instead of me asking a bunch of questions to prompt your answers, how about you tell us about yourself and I can ask follow up questions. "

" Sounds great! " Hawks said, flashing a toothy smile and giving a thumbs up, causing the studio audience to melt and coo at his sweet expression, just as Hawks knew they would. " Alright, so, my favorite food is chicken. I think a lot of people have figured that out since I'm always seen out and about with it but I'm confirming it now. I also really like sweets. I can't cook or bake very well though. Not long ago, I tried to make toast and failed miserably. A friend had to step in and take over before I electrocuted myself with the toaster. "

The talk show host laughed lightly on cue. " How did you manage to almost electrocute yourself? "

" The toast had burnt and crumbled inside the toaster, so I figured I should get it out before making more. I looked around and found a butter knife and figured that would work perfectly. The friend walked in while I had the knife in the toaster. Good thing he was there, or I would have been a fried chicken! "

The host and audience laughed again, along with some of the 1-A students. Eri had spun in her seat and grabbed Deku's arm.

"He's talking about you!" she said, giggling.

"Wow, you're friends with Hawks!? When did that happen?" Kaminari asked, nearly vibrating with excitement.

"Sometime after he chewed me out for calling Shigaraki," Deku said sheepishly, making both Todoroki and Shinsou laugh.

" He sounds like a great friend! Is he a pro hero? Would we know him? " the host asked Hawks.

He shook his head. " He's not a pro, no. I don't want to say much about him to respect his privacy. Hope that's okay! "

" Of course! Please, continue telling us more about yourself! "

" Right! Okay, so my favorite time of year is the summer, since I love warm weather. I like to read, but I don't get a lot of chances to do that right now. Oh! And I have always wanted to fly around the world! I think that would be really cool to do one day. For things I don't like, I am not a fan of sitting still. I like to keep active and always have something going on. "

" Is that why you are one of the most hardworking heroes out there? It's been noticed that you work longer patrols than most other heroes and that you work more frequently. "

A slightly uncomfortable look flitted across Hawks' face, only to be quickly replaced. " That's one of the reasons, yeah ."

A quiet voice in Deku's head whispered that Hawks was lying. The real reason was that the Commission made his schedules and insisted he work himself into an early grave.

" I'm obviously not a fan of villains, since I'm a hero, and I really don't like orange creamsicles. I prefer regular popsicles. "

" We'll be sure to remember that! Now, I have one more question before we bring our next guest out for a fun segment I have planned. If you don't feel comfortable answering, that is perfectly fine! But you mentioned that your fans don't know your name. Are you able to tell us what it is? And if not, can you tell us why?"

For the first time since Hawks walked on the stage, he let his smile fall. A serious expression overtook his face and he leaned forward in his seat.

" My parents… well, they weren't the best parents. I was left on my own from a very young age and expected to take care of myself. My mom mostly just drank, leaving trash and bottles all over the house. She ignored me. My dad though… he could get a little rough. It was mostly when he drank or when he was scared. You see, my name is Keigo Takami, son of Takami the Thief. He stole constantly and… and he was a murderer. Endeavor, the current Number 2 hero, was the one to arrest him while I was still young. I can't tell you how happy I was when that happened. For the first time in my life, I saw that there was a future other than crime. And so, I dedicated myself to being what my father wasn't. I dedicated myself to becoming a hero. "

The studio audience was silent, as was the common room of the 1-A dorms. The host of the show had let her mouth fall open in surprise, but she quickly schooled her face into something more concerned, which didn't seem to be fake.

" So your father is in prison, yes? What about your mother? "

" I haven't spoken to her in a very long time. I hope she is doing better though. While I don't have any blood related family, I do have friends. They have helped me on my journey to becoming a hero that I can be proud of and I am eternally grateful to them. And, since I guess this is the first time my fans are meeting me, not Hawks, " Hawks paused, turning to the camera and smiling, a shy and nervous glint in his yellow eyes. " Hi, everyone. My name is Keigo Takami. It's really nice to meet you. I hope we can all get to know each other better. "

Sniffling and crying could be heard in the audience and it seemed that even the host was getting choked up.

" I believe I can speak for us all, that it is nice to meet you too, Takami-san ."

" Please, call me Keigo. "

The show then broke for commercial, leaving the students watching in shock.

"Oh shit," Shinsou said in a hushed tone. "Deku, did you know about this?"

"Kind of. I know a lot about his past but not everything. I think he deserves to have his secrets, if he wants them."

Todoroki was still blinking at the screen, his expression somewhere between surprise and awe. "He's like me."

"Yeah, probably in more ways than either of you realize."

Aizawa's eyes snapped over to the pair of them, narrowing into a suspicious squint. "Todoroki, you and I are having a long talk in the morning, is that understood?"

Todoroki wilted under Aizawa's gaze. "Yes, Sensei. I understand."

"If anyone else here needs to speak with me about their home life, my door is always open."

The mood of the room had gotten tense, no one knowing where to look or how to act.

That was not at all how Deku thought the night was going to go. He didn't want it to end on this note.

"Aizawa, sir, I need to speak with you about my home life," Deku piped up.

"Excuse me?"

"Yeah, you see, I live with this really grumpy old guy and everything is covered in cat hair. It's a real nightmare. Pretty sure this counts as abuse."

Aizawa glared at him, though there was a slight quirk to the side of his lips. Deku could hear Mina and Uraraka snickering together while Sero and Kaminari wore matching grins.

"Watch it, problem child."

"I think the real problem is with the little kid that lives with me though," Deku said as he tossed an arm around Eri. "She doesn't have nearly enough crayons. Did you know she only has a box of 87? I think she deserves at least 100! And duplicates of each. What if a crayon was to break and she had nothing to replace it with? This is neglect, plain and simple."

Eri giggled. "And I only have three unicorn plushies."

"Only three!" Shinsou shouted dramatically, swooning over the side of the couch, his hair tickling the side of Aoyoma's leg on the seat beside him. "Oh, the humanity! Call the police! We must protect this child!"

"Momo! Make her a new unicorn! She needs 4 so she has an even number of them! You don't want one unicorn to be left out, do you?" Hagakure laughed, poking at her friend's arm.

Ojiro laughed at his girlfriend's antics, trying to pull her back down into her seat so she wasn't crowding Yaoyorozu. Tokoyami and Shoji, both on Ojiro's other side, kept their stoic expressions, though there seemed to be amusement in both of their eyes.

"You're all terrible, I hope you know that," Aizawa grumbled, picking up his bowl of katsudon again to eat.

Before the kids could protest his statement, Present Mic came into the dorms. He was still in his hero costume, hair wilting out of its signature style. He had taken off his sunglasses and replaced them with regular glasses, looking tired after a long day of work.

"Hey there, little listeners. I see you're having a class dinner tonight."

"Yeah, there is probably still some more in the kitchen if you would like some, Sensei," Jirou said, smiling up at Mic.

He smiled back. "Thanks, kiddo!"

"One batch is spicy. The other isn't," Aizawa said, barely glancing up from his food.

"Which is which?"

"Figure it out for yourself."

Mic whined, slouching. "Aw, that's no fair! This is domestic abuse!"

Bakugou snorted into his bowl. "You'd guys have to be married, or at the very least dating, for it to be domestic abuse, idiot."

Mic's eyes flicked over to Aizawa, who finally looked up. Only Deku, Shinsou, Todoroki, and Eri knew why they both were looking at each other like that.

Aizawa cocked his head slightly, silently asking Mic a question with his eyes. Mic gave a tiny shrug, followed by a nod. Sighing, Aizawa picked up another bite of his food.

"Well," he said, inspecting the pork at the end of his chopsticks. "I was already accused of abusing the children in my care tonight. What difference does it make if I'm accused of abusing my husband?" He popped the bite into his mouth as the class erupted.

"Husband!?"

"You and Present Mic!? You have to be lying!"

"You're full of shit! Oi, hey! Who threw the chopstick at me!? I'll blow your head off!"

"Stop cursing in front of Eri! She's just a kid!"

"Deku, did you know?"

Deku blinked, looking over at Sero, who had just shouted the last question at him. "I mean, I live with them both, so yes."

"You knew before you even got here," Aizawa grumbled. "And none of you brats are allowed to tell anyone, got it? It's a secret for a reason."

"Hardly my fault that you two are pretty obvious about your secret marriage."

"How are they obvious!? Literally none of us knew!" Kaminari yelled.

Shinsou snorted. "Speak for yourself."

"You knew too!?"

"So did Todoroki."

"Wait," Mina said, perking up. "Was this another one of Todoroki's conspiracy theories? Was he actually right for once?"

"No, my theory was that Shinsou was Aizawa's secret love child, but then I met Deku, and thought perhaps Deku was his secret love child with Ms. Joke. It turned out I was wrong on both accounts."

Both Mic and Shinsou were wheezing, they were laughing so hard.

"You… You never told me about that!" Shinsou managed to say between his shaky breaths of laughter.

"How could you think I was related to him! I look nothing like him! I don't even have a similar quirk to him or Ms. Joke!"

"You have very tired eyes, Deku, and green hair. I thought your lack of quirk was due to Aizawa-sensei's erasure quirk."

"I think you are forgetting the fact I would have been around 15 years old when either of them were born," Aizawa said, voice and face both deadpan.

"Teenage pregnancies happen, Sho. You can't blame the boy for not knowing you are a raging homosexual. Emphasis on raging."

"Keep it up and I will show you rage."

"Love you too, babe," Mic said, blowing a mocking kiss at Aizawa as he walked towards the kitchen. All the girls squealed while Aizawa's face turned bright red.

"That's it, dinner is over. Everyone go to bed."

"It's only 7 o'clock."

"Bed!"