AN: RickRich89 - It wouldn't make sense for Himiko to do better then she did at this point. The sports festival's elimination rounds are just not suited to her quirk, even with her 'ninja vanish' trick. Once her quirk awakening happens though…

I absolutely understand the OC situation and the weight people place on it, I just never fully appreciated it until I was knee-deep into writing. I am sure I would catch a wider audience if I just threw Himiko in class 1-A and made her besties with Ochako and Tsuyu (because that is my AU dynamic of choice), but at this point I'm committed.

But for the 2-B half of the story I'll be focusing on 3-4 OCs with everyone else serving as background noise, but it's not like we don't have that problem with class 1-A already (sorry Sato!)

Animeguy1101 - I actually haven't heard of that manga. I'll have to look into it at some point.

"Can you be my walking blood bag?" would certainly be a twist on 'Friends with Benefits'

"Izu! I am going to need your help!" Himeko said as she entered the house. "I actually received internship offers and need to go through them!"

"That's great Himi!" she heard him call back from his room. "Bring them in here."

Himiko walked into Izuku's room and dropped her tablet onto his desk. "So it looks like my stunt at the sports festival paid off. I actually got 98 offers!" she beamed proudly.

Izuku picked up the tablet and started scrolling through the offers. "It looks like a lot of these are underground heroes, which makes sense. Since your focus is on stealth and information gathering they would help you out a lot. Oh! This one is a detective agency led by a hero. Unfortunately it doesn't look like anybody with a blood based quirk sent you an offer."

"Yeah, unfortunately Kan-sensei is no longer active and there aren't exactly a lot of heroes with blood-based quirks. A detective agency sounds super boring though, not enough action." She paused, thinking. "Are there any other offers that aren't underground?"

"I saw a couple. Thinking of trying out something more public?" Izuku's face bunched up in concentration as he went through the list. "Mr. Brave actually might be a good match for you."

"Mr. Brave? Who is that?" Himiko looked over her brother's shoulder to see the offer.

"He is lower ranking, in the top 200, but his quirk involves him turning his hair into swords and other weapons."

"So he can help with my knife techniques?" Himiko asked excitedly.

"Yep! And maybe he can give you some tips on image - it sucks but people have a stronger reaction to a villain that is all cut up then one that is covered in bruises from being pummeled or, in Endeavor's case, burned."

"Right, so he sounds perfect for me!" Himiko hugged her brother. "Now I just need to fill out the form and turn it in tomorrow."

When Himiko left Izuku returned to looking at the schedule and milestones All Might had prepared for him. "This is too slow. All Might threatened to push me hard, but this isn't any worse than what Kan-sensei was putting us through. Based on the last two weeks, if I keep up the current pace I won't meet these milestone goals. Now if I wake up a half hour earlier and adjust my morning run accordingly… and remove all but one of the skip days during the week..."

Two weeks later…

Izuku felt slower and heavier this morning as he was on his morning jog, trying to keep pace with All Might riding on a bicycle. His revisions to the schedule worked out well at first! For a week! But then he began to fall behind. He thought that it was just the effects of the training kicking in, if he was able to push through he would bounce back and settle into the new routine. But every day it was getting harder to keep up with the pace he set for himself.

He was so focused on trying to not fall behind All Might that he missed a root growing into the path, until his foot caught it and he found the ground rapidly rushing up to meet him. He was face down, stunned from the wind getting knocked out of him as his sluggish brain tried to process what happened. Slowly, he managed to get his hands underneath him and attempted to push himself up.

Why is it this hard?

All Might pulled up next to him, a look of concern on his face. "Young Midoriya, what is wrong?"

"I'm ok. Just a little tired."

"This is not just a little tired, what is going on?"

Izuku managed to get himself into a sitting position, before responding. "I modified the schedule you gave me."

"Why would you do that? The schedule was designed to have you ready for the exam!"

Izuku looked guilty, unable to look his mentor in the face. "After trying for two weeks, I didn't feel like I was making enough progress. I saw room for improvement on the schedule, so I just made them?"

He felt All Might's hand on his head. "It appears I continue to underestimate you. But your adjustments are clearly unhealthy if you are in this condition."

Izuku felt himself tearing up. "I-I just don't want to disappoint you."

All Might gave him a gentle smile. "Don't worry young Midoriya, at this point I am starting to wonder if it is possible for you to disappoint me. Harming yourself beyond the point of recovery would be a reason to be disappointed though."

Izuku looked up to him and took strength from his smile, forcing himself to a standing position. "I am ready to keep going."

All Might shook his head. "No, we are done for today. We are going to return to your house and retrieve your revised schedule, and then you are going to rest for today. My plan may have been too conservative, but your plan is clearly far too ambitious. Fortunately, I know someone who can solve this problem!"

Two days later…

The peaceful silence of Sunday morning was broken with a knock on the apartment's door. With Izuku changing in his room and Himiko having already left for the morning, Inko called out that she would get it. When she opened the door she saw two familiar faces standing there. "Oh, Mr. Yagi! And Principle Nezu, it's been a while."

"Indeed, Mrs. Midoriya. You will have to forgive me for not keeping in touch, but once everything was settled with young Himiko, I had to turn my attention elsewhere. A school doesn't run itself, you know! But it seems our paths are destined to keep crossing."

Inko invited the two people in and directed them to the couch. "Would you two like some tea?"

"Yes please!" Nezu responded politely.

Inko stepped into the kitchen to prepare the tea, before returning to the living room and setting a kettle and four cups down before taking a seat herself. "So how did my son's training become important enough that you got involved?"

"It's not every day you find someone who has attracted the attention of All Might himself. And then I learned that he also intends to enroll in UA as his top choice in hero school." Nezu poured himself a cup of tea and took a sip. "My, this is an excellent choice in tea!"

He sets the cup down and continues. "When this came to my attention, as well as word about your son's recent troubles, I decided it was worth paying a visit to reacquaint myself."

Inko bowed her head. "I am sorry my son is giving you so much trouble."

"It is no trouble at all, Mrs. Midoriya, quite the opposite in fact! Your son has shown a surprising amount of dedication to his training. It appears that Mr. Yagi here had underestimated him."

Inko had a sad look on her face. "He always has to work harder than the other children to make up for his quirklessness." Inko looked behind her to make sure Izuku was still in his room, and then steeled herself for the next question. "Nezu, please be honest with me here. My son - is all this going to help him? I know he is pursuing his dream, but will all of this be enough to get him into UA?"

"While there has been no recorded instance of a quirkless student in UA's hero course, that is simply because nobody has tried. If your son can pass the written and practical portions of the exam, then he will have a spot at my school."

Inko began to feel relief at that. "And you think this training will help my son pass the exam?"

"Of course! If your son was a lost cause I would not be here." Nezu sipped the tea.

Inko began crying at their reassurance. "Thank you for letting me know."

"To be quite honest, Japan could use more heroes with a fraction of the enthusiasm that your son displays." Nezu continued. "In recent years many people who claim to be heroes have proven to be anything but. It would be downright irresponsible of me if I didn't encourage someone with your son's potential."

It was at that moment that Izuku finally joined them in the living room. "P-Principle Nezu! I heard that A- Mr. Yagi was going to bring someone with him today, but I wasn't expecting it to be you!"

"Indeed, it is I! UA's principal!"

Inko looked between the three, and took the cue to leave. "I believe I have taken up enough of your time." She bowed to All Might and Nezu. "Thank you for taking care of my son." She cleaned up her tea cup, gathered her purse and then left the apartment, leaving Izuku alone with All Might and Nezu.

"Now then, we can talk freely. As lovely as your family is, I must respect All Might's wishes and keep the knowledge of One For All a secret."

Izuku seemed surprised by that. "You know about One For All?"

"Yes, young Midoriya. Nezu and Recovery Girl are two of the people who know the truth about my injury, as well as about One For All itself."

"We actually assisted him in the unpleasant matter five years ago that left him in his current state. I was also the one who suggested that he begin teaching at UA for two reasons - one, to begin preparing Japan for his eventual retirement, and two, to find someone whom he felt was worthy of being his successor." Nezu refilled his tea and took another drink. "I will say, I was quite surprised when, one day several weeks ago, he rushed into my office and told me that he had already found his successor. I didn't know what to expect, but when he told me that it was you, everything suddenly made sense."

"It did?" Izuku couldn't keep the shock out of his voice.

"Yes, you seem to have quite a talented mind, and you also go to extreme lengths to help people out - going so far as to prioritize other people's safety over your own, in fact. While that last part is something we will have to work on, it is the first part that is most important. With proper training and refinement you have all the makings of a great hero."

"Except for my quirklessness." Izuku said glumly, the conversation he had inadvertently listened in on going through his head.

"That is a major factor, yes." Nezu admitted. "But not the only one. Another factor is simply your age - you are young enough that you are still in middle school. Were you a student at UA already, you would have easily been one of my top recommendations as All Might's successor. Fortunately for us, fate had decided to intervene, and allowed the two of you to meet on other terms."

Izuku swallowed the lump in his throat, and asked in a shaky voice. "So why are you here, besides to tell me all of this?"

"All Might told me you collapsed during your training two days ago. You have been breaking his training regime and pushing yourself harder than he was expecting you to."

"Yes. His training was going easy on me - Kan-sensei pushed Himiko and I that hard with his own training, and I felt like I wasn't improving fast enough. Because I am quirkless, I am already starting further behind, and I need to catch up."

"Ah. I see! Your logic is sound, but it suffers from one obvious flaw. You are acting as if you will continue to be quirkless. In which case your logic would be correct - you would be in the same position as someone with a mental quirk, or a specialist quirk like your sister has, instead of someone with a combat-capable emitter or enhancement quirk. However, that isn't the case, is it?"

Izuku looked at Nezu, realization dawning on his face. "But that will change once All Might transfers One For All to me?"

"Exactly! I can understand it is hard to change your way of thinking, after all you've spent your entire life up to this point quirkless, with all of the challenges that come with that. However, you have witnessed All Might's strength first hand. Even if you are only able to wield a fraction of that power at the beginning, your physical abilities will be well beyond those of what you are currently capable of."

"Y-you're right."

"Now then, I have come up with a revised training schedule for you. While All Might was too lenient, you were too harsh on yourself. I have reconciled those differences. However, I must warn you against deviating from this schedule - to do so is at your own peril."

"W-what do you mean?" Even though Nezu didn't change his tone, Izuku felt the threat behind those words.

"If you push the human body too hard, it will break. If you break yourself, Midoriya, do you think you will be a proper successor to All Might?"

Izuku's eyes flicked over to All Might, his skeletal form a reminder of the battles he had fought, and swallowed the lump in his throat. "That sounds like a threat."

"It is no threat, I am merely stating facts. I wish to respect All Might's choice of successor, but if you injure yourself to the point where you cannot be a proper bearer of One For All, I would advise him to choose one of the other candidates instead. However, if you follow our revised schedule, then there will be no issue."

Izuku nodded. "I understand." He takes a deep breath. "So what does this revised schedule look like?"

All Might pulled a bundle of papers out of the briefcase and handed it to Izuku, and they began going over it. As they were reviewing Izuku felt part of him trying to push back, feeling like he could push himself further than the schedule, but he remembered Nezu's words, and his mom's concerns about him. It was about finding balance.

Once All Might finished going over the revised schedule with Izuku, Nezu spoke again. "Now then, onto the more pleasant reason I am here. As I mentioned earlier, All Might, and from what I hear around school, your sister, both praise your intellect and quick thinking. I believe All Might mentioned you keep quirk analysis notebooks? Since I am accompanying you on training today, I would love to pass the time by reviewing them."

Izuku's eyes lit up at that, and he dashed off to his room. All Might couldn't help but laugh at the sudden change in attitude - from the somber, serious tone he was just displaying, to his more enthusiastic self. Just as quickly as he left, Izuku returned with a stack of 13 notebooks. "I-I'm not sure how fast you can read, so I brought them all? Although the early ones aren't as good as the newer ones."

"Nonsense! It will be an excellent gauge of your progress!"

As the day's training went on, Izuku couldn't help but keep coming back to his mom's comment earlier today.

He always has to work harder than the other children to make up for his quirklessness.

Deep down, Izuku knew exactly what his current motivation was. His entire life he was defined by his quirklessness. And he has spent his entire fighting against that.

I see the flaw in your logic, you are acting as if you will continue to be quirkless.

That's right. At the end of his training, he will receive One For All, and then he will have one of the strongest quirks to exist! Where will he be then?

The answer came to him, as other memories weaved their way into his thoughts.

Bakugo bullying kids for having 'useless' quirks, while he got endless praise for his explosion quirk.

Himiko knocking on his door late at night, crying from a nightmare that woke her up. 'Izu, can I sleep in here?' Afraid of being alone, she crawls into his bed, asking him for reassurance. 'You and Mama Inko won't leave me because of my quirk, right?'

His doctor telling a four year old child he should just give up on his dream when he was diagnosed with being quirkless.

Realization hit Izuku like a bolt of lightning. His eyes widened and he dropped the tires he was carrying as he spun to face his mentor. "All Might! I figured out the answer to your question!"

All Might was momentarily startled by the outburst, but quickly recovered and smiled at him. "And what question is that, young Midoriya?"

"I overheard you talking to my mom today." Izuku admitted. "Everything we talked about today - it all just came together and made me realize what drives me. And what kind of hero I want to be."

A look of fierce determination filled Izuku's face. "The Symbol of Peace may make most people feel safe and comfortable, and keep criminals hiding in the shadows. But there is still so much injustice in Japan - so many people who don't feel that safety. There are quirkless kids who are being told they are worthless. They are treated worse than their peers due to something out of their control. That isn't right."

Both All Might and Nezu looked at each other, sharing a knowing look. He is speaking from experience.

"I want to make people feel safe and secure - like you do. But more than that, I want people to feel ok with being who they are - that they don't need to be defined by what their quirk is, or their lack of quirk." His face fell again. "It's kind of ironic, really, given my own situation."

"Young Midoriya - " All Might was left speechless. He put a hand on Izuku's head. "You should not feel bad about accepting help to enact your vision."

"Indeed, there is also strength in realizing your own inadequacies, and seeking out the help to overcome those obstacles. Remember, All Might himself accepted One For All to enact his vision of becoming the Symbol of Peace. It is only right that you take that strength and use it to fulfill your own vision."

"So it's really ok for that to be my motivation?" Izuku asked, not even trying to stop the tears from flowing down his face.

All Might laughed. "Indeed, in fact I would say it is very noble of you! We do have to work on your crying though. It's not very heroic to be a sobbing mess every time you get emotional!"

Nezu gave Izuku a cryptic look. "I had my suspicions about this. You were right All Might - young Midoriya is the perfect successor for you."

Hearing the encouragement from All Might and Nezu, Izuku threw himself into his training for the rest of the day with newfound determination.

Once they were preparing to part ways, Nezu returned the bag full of notebooks to Izuku. "I have to agree with All Might, you are very smart - and what is even more impressive is that you have not had any training so far!"

Izuku rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment. "It was just a hobby, since I thought I was going to have to fight smarter to overcome my lack of a quirk."

"If I were you, I would continue this 'hobby.' With all due respect to All Might, the thought of you fleshing out your analysis skills, along with wielding One For All, is absolutely thrilling."

Izuku nodded along dumbly, not sure how to process the praise.

"And if you feel that your current training regime gives you too much free time, I will gladly provide you with the quirk analysis materials that UA's support students use in their courses."

"All right class, it's time to choose your hero names!" Midnight said from the front of the class. "Do we have any volunteers?"

"I've got mine!" Emily's hand shot up, and Midnight called her to the front of the class.

"Because my quirk resembles little stars, I decided to go with something appropriate, I am The Shining Light Hero: Polaris!"

"Clashes with your costume, but thematically appropriate for your quirk, I like it!" Midnight approves. "Anyone else?"

Atsuko raised her hand next. "I am ready as well."

Atsuko went up to the front of the class. "I have a name as well." She held up her card. "I am The Protection Hero: Skyshield."

"Simple and to the point. I approve!"

Not to be outdone by her friends, Himiko raises her hand.

"I realize I am leaning into the vampire theme with this, but it feels appropriate." Himiko revealed her card and waited for Midnight's evaluation.

"Oooh, striking, but the word bloody doesn't have a positive connotation."

"What about Kan-Sensei? He is literally the Blood Hero." Himiko retorted.

"Yes, but the difference is his quirk involves him fighting with his actual blood." Midnight's face suddenly lit up in inspiration, and she took her marker, crossing out the word blood and replacing it. "How about that?"

Himiko stared at her board for a moment, and she found a smile growing on her face. "I like it, that will work!" She then showed the rest of her class the board with her hero name on it.

"I am The Crimson Heroine: Carmilla."

AN: Sometime in the next week Himiko is called to the teacher's lounge and is handed a bag full of support student materials on quirk evaluation, she is super confused, Emily is super jealous, and Izuku acts like it's Christmas morning.