"Bye kero, Nee-chan!" Satsuki-chan squeaked happily, hugging Tsuyu's legs.

"Be good today, kero," Tsuyu smiled, gently stroking her little sister's hair, then reaching over to tousle Samidare's as well. He playfully bat her off, but smiled faintly just the same.

"See you after school, Nee-san."

"See you later."

Tsuyu allowed herself a small smile as she headed towards UA, enjoying the gentle shower of rain on her hand as she stuck it out beyond the umbrella and thinking fondly of her two younger siblings. She was glad that she had such a strong relationship with her family. She didn't think she'd have been able to get as far as she had without their support. Honestly, she couldn't imagine her life without them.

Her smile faded at the thought.

In the absence of the Sports Festival, there had been two news stories competing for the top spot. The first was about the attack on Ingenium, Iida's older brother. There weren't any details on his condition, but it was essentially confirmed that he had been hospitalized by the Hero Killer. It was awful, but Ingenium was a pro hero; it was generally expected that the career they were all shooting for held an element of risk. Still, it was supposed to be a risk in the future, not right now. Like the USJ.

Or like Todoroki… and Deku.

Todoroki's family home had been attacked by Deku the night of the Sports Festival. Tsuyu didn't know Todoroki very well, but the news broadcast had stated that he had fought the villain one-on-one. No one had been badly injured, but it had still given everyone quite the scare, mostly because nobody was certain what Deku had really been after. Some people claimed he was trying to recruit hero students to his cause. Some people claimed he was trying to assassinate Todoroki-kun or even Endeavor himself. Other people thought he was just flexing his power or influence, and still others seemed to think it was a prank by some sort of copycat villain. Either way, it was a fact that both Todoroki and his sister had been in a great deal of danger. It worried her, to think that Deku could potentially attack any one of her classmates going forward, and with them, their families.

"Tsu-chan!" a voice squealed as she the frog-like girl was heading up the hill towards UA.

"Hey, Mina-chan," Tsuyu replied, instantly recognizing the voice as she glanced down the hill. She stumbled a little bit, fumbling with her umbrella when she was practically tackled by a wall of pink, but quickly regained her balance, gently patting her friend's back.

"How was your weekend? What a day, huh, with all the rain and- Oh! Have you met Itsuka yet?" Mina spoke at her usual rapid-fire pace, grabbing Tsuyu's hand and practically hauling her over to where another girl stood under a simple blue umbrella, smiling slightly and shaking her head.

"Calm down a sec, Mina," she laughed. "You're going to slip. Anyway, hi. I'm Kendo Itsuka."

"Call me Tsu-chan," Tsuyu replied reflexively, smiling at the other girl. "You fought Mina in the Sports Festival, right?"

"Yep, that was me," Kendo replied easily, taking the lead in heading back up towards the school.

"Kero. I'm a little surprised you hit it off with Mina-chan so well."

"What's that supposed to mean?!" Mina pouted. "I'm super easy to get along with!"

"I know. I'm just a little surprised that you two are such good friends after you beat her."

"Well, we're at UA to form connections, right?" Kendo shrugged. "We could get decent hero training at lots of schools. The real advantage of UA is the ability to form relationships early."

"You have a point, kero," Tsu-chan agreed.

"Anyway, what did y'all do this weekend? Did you guys hear about what happened to Todoroki?!"

Kendo and Tsuyu exchanged grave glances. "He's the ice guy, right? Yeah, I saw about that on the news. Is he okay?"

"Honestly? Dunno. He doesn't really… talk to anyone in class, so I haven't heard anything."

"Me neither, kero," Tsuyu admitted reluctantly when Kendo cast her a glance. "I'm sure it'll come up in class today, though."

The three of them continued to chat idly all the way up to the school, swapping stories about their weekends, reminiscing about the highlights of the Sports Festival, and generally getting to know one another until they reached their hallway.

"Well, I guess I'd better head to my classroom," Kendo commented.

"Aww," Mina sighed. "Well, I guess we'll see you later, then!"

"It was nice to meet you, kero."

"You too, Tsu-chan," the strawberry-haired girl smiled, waving briefly as she continued towards her class.

"Ah! Welcome, you two!" Momo smiled as they entered the room.

"Hey Tsu-chan! Mina-chan!" Ochaco called brightly.

"Good morning~!" Mina sang. "How was your weekend!"

"Great! My parents came to visit me and Momo!"

"Kero. That's great, Ochaco-chan."

The conversation quickly turned into a recap of the one she and Mina had with Kendo on their way to the school, with more and more people chiming in as they arrived. "This has got to be the weirdest UA Sports Festival in the history of UA Sports Festivals," Sero noted. "I mean, that Gentle Criminal vigilante guy got more news coverage than we did!"

"To be fair, he did completely rip apart and expose a notorious quirk trafficking ring," Shinsou commented from where he was messing with his phone on the other side of the room.

"And Todoroki, too!" Kaminari added, kneeling in his seat, his dark eyes wide. "I mean really, did you see the news?! Deku, waltzing into the number two hero's backyard! Talk about ballsy!"

"And traumatizing," Jirou rolled her eyes, stabbing the blonde with her earphone jacks. "Come on idiot; think about how Todoroki feels, would you?"

"Todoroki has feelings?" Kaminari grumbled, rubbing his arm. Tsuyu felt it her duty to smack him upside the head with her tongue for that. It was a good thing the two-toned boy hadn't made it into the classroom yet.

"And anyway, it sure didn't damper any interest in the Festival," Tooru piped up, eager to change the subject. "Everyone knew that the Sports Festival had happened, but nobody knew what had happened in it! Anyone that recognized my uniform just kept trying to drill me for information about it!"

"Yeah, me too!" Kirishima called, his eyes wide. "It was really awkward, honestly. When I said I'd tied for third, some people got super excited and wanted a play-by-play of the fights and other people gave me this weird look, like they didn't actually believe me."

"Well, I bet they figured students would probably lie to make themselves look good, considering nobody can really confirm the results from this year," Tsuyu mused, her finger resting on her chin.

"That's a good point! Geez, why didn't I think of that," Sero groaned into his hands.

"Sero, that would be considered dishonest and unbecoming of a future hero!" Iida reprimanded him as he walked through the door. "And besides, the UA administration already announced that they would be releasing photos of the top four victors on their official site; they just wouldn't be publicizing the results further!"

"Geez Iida, can't you take a joke?"

"Kero. You're a little bit later than normal, aren't you Iida?"

"I'm absolutely fine, thank you," Iida replied stiffly, marching past her towards his desk.

"That's not what I said," Tsuyu frowned. Was he just worried about Todoroki, or was his brother's condition worse than the news had implied? "Are you-?"

"Morning."

"Good morning, Aizawa-sensei!" the class chorused back before she could complete her question. Todoroki walked in right behind their teacher, pointedly avoiding eye contact with anyone.

"Alright, first things first. I know this past week has been hectic on a number of different levels. That being said, I don't want to hear of anyone harassing their fellow classmates just because they're feeling curious." Tsuyu blinked as Aizawa-sensei's eyes seemed to linger on Kaminari, Mina, and then even flicked warningly towards her before he continued. "That being said, yes, Deku has been confirmed as the villain behind the attack on the Todoroki household and yes, the UA administration is working on a plan to prevent anything like this from happening in the future. Details are not being disclosed yet so don't ask."

A low murmur rippled across the room as her classmates speculated what this 'plan' might entail. Tsuyu found her eyes drawn towards Bakugou, sitting in the corner farthest from her. He looked grim, glaring down at his desk with his hands curled into fists. Honestly, she almost regretted bringing Deku up in conversation the day of the USJ attack. For your friend to be missing for three years and then suddenly turn up again as a villain attacking your class… that had to be hard. She wondered what he must be thinking, now that Deku seemed to be targeting their classmates individually.

"Now. We have a big class today. On Hero Informatics," Aizawa-sensei continued, bringing everyone's attention back to him. Tsuyu ribbited softly again as she felt the entire class grow tense. "You need codenames. Time to pick your hero identities."

The mood shifted in an instant, every person in the class on the verge of leaping out of their seats in excitement. Evidently anticipating the reaction, Aizawa-sensei's hair rose upward, his eyes flashing red in warning. Everyone immediately quieted, but the excited thrum of energy remained present. It seemed that this was an effective topic to take everyones' minds off of the drama of the past week. "This is related to the pro hero draft picks that we talked about a few weeks ago. Normally you wouldn't have to worry about this until your second or third year, but your class is different. Even though the Festival wasn't televised this year, the stands were filled with pros, and many of them extended offers. In doing so, they essentially are saying that they want to invest in your potential. But be warned that any offers they make can be rescinded if their interest in you dies down before graduation."

"So what you're saying is, we'll still have to prove ourselves after we've gotten recruited," Tooru called.

"Correct. Now, here are the totals for those of you that got offers."

Bakugou: 3378

Todoroki: 2951

Uraraka: 1463

Tokoyami: 360

Kirishima: 293

Sero: 108

Ashido: 68

Iida: 20

Kaminari: 11

Aoyama: 4

"In past years, it's been more spread out, but there's a pretty big gap this time. Then again, this year has been strange on a number of levels."

"Gah, that's no fair!" Kaminari groaned.

"But what of the real star, moi?!" Aoyama fumed.

"At least you got offers," Satou muttered.

"How did Todoroki get more offers than Uraraka?" Kyoka frowned.

"Yeah, he didn't even make the podium," Kirishima frowned.

"Well, his performance was impressive, kero. And honestly if he hadn't fought Bakugou so early on, he probably would've gone farther," Tsuyu pointed out.

"Yeah, I guess you have a point," Sero agreed.

"Congratulations, Todoroki-kun!" Momo smiled with a strained kind of warmth. "You must be proud!"

Todoroki's expression only tightened as he glowered at his clenched fists.

Hm…

"People want us!" Ochaco cried in teary-eyed excitement, shaking Iida by the shoulders, seemingly oblivious to the tension on the room.

"Man, but what about everyone that didn't make it to the tournament? Or everyone that opted out?"

"Despite these results, you'll all be interning with pros," Aizawa-sensei cut in coolly. "Those students that chose to opt out of the Sports Festival I've already had a word with as far as their options and I'm aware that some of you have already reached out to heroes that you would like to intern with. If you've heard back from any of those heroes, then I need to know about it. The rest of you will be joining those of your classmates that didn't get offers in choosing from a list of heroes that have opened up their agencies to accept first year interns. That's why you'll all be needing hero names."

"Alright!"

"Things suddenly got a lot more fun!"

"Anyway, these names are probably going to be temporary, but take them seriously or-"

"-you'll have hell to pay later!"

The class jumped, several of the boys blushed, and several others (along with most of the girls) cringed as Midnight-sensei swaggered into the room, her arms raised above her head to accentuate her chest and a seductive smirk curling her lips. "Whatever you pick today could be your codename for life. You'd better be careful, or you'll be stuck with something utterly indecent."

Yeah, that was honestly kind of uncomfortable.

"Yeah, she's got a good point. Midnight is gonna have final approval over your names, seeing as it's not my forte," Aizawa-sensei sighed, and Tsuyu found herself wondering what the story behind the dullness in his eyes might be. "The name you give yourself is important. It helps reinforce your image and shows what kind of hero you want to be in the future. A codename tells people exactly what you represent. Anyway, get to it."

With that, their teacher promptly curled up in his sleeping bag and effectively tuned out the world while Midnight-sensei passed whiteboards out to the class. Tsuyu didn't have to think too hard about her name; she'd had it planned out since she was just a little kid. In quick, long strokes, she wrote out her epithet and hero name. Then, just because she could, she doodled a little frog face in the corner, too.

"Now students, who among you is ready to share?" Midnight-sensei smiled, provoking startled stares from several of the students, Kirishima and Sero in particular.

Aoyama, naturally, instantly raised his hand. "Hold your breath!" he declared as he came forward. "The Shining Hero: my name is 'I can not stop twinkling'!"

"Um, what?"

"Mes amis, you cannot deny my sparkle."

"It would be better this way," Midnight-sensei smiled, taking his whiteboard. "Take out the 'I' and shorten the 'can not' to 'can't'."

"It's stunning! Merci, mademoiselle!"

"Okey dokey, let me go next!" Mina called eagerly in the flabbergasted silence that followed his pronouncement, leaping to her feet. "My codename: Alien Queen!"

"Hold on! Like that horrible monster with the acidic blood?!" Midnight-sensei seemed to choke. "I don't think so!"

"Dang it…"

Tsuyu glanced around the room, noting all of the strained expressions and turning back to the front with one raised hand. "Kero. I think I've got one. Is it okay if I go next?"

"Come on up!"

"I've had this name in mind since preschool," Tsuyu explained as she took the podium and turned her whiteboard around. "The Rainy Season Hero: Froppy."

"That's delightful! It makes you sound approachable!" Midnight-sensei squealed. "What a wonderful example of a name everybody will love!"

Tsuyu had expected the name to be approved, although she would admit that she hadn't expected the entire class to break out into a chant. Still, she smiled, blushing a little bit as she made her way back to her seat.

Kirishima worked up his courage to share next, his expression fierce and determined as he declared, "I've got mine, too! The Sturdy Hero! My name's Red Riot!"

"Red Riot? Interesting. You're paying homage to the Chivalrous Hero: Crimson Riot, yes?"

"Heh, yeah. He may be a little bit old school, but someday I wanna be just like he was! Crimson is my idol," Kirishima admitted, turning a little pink around the ears.

"Hm," Midnight-sensei smiled, "If you're bearing the name of someone you admire, you have that much more to live up to."

"I accept the challenge!"

Tsuyu internally smiled at that. It was really cool of Kirishima to admit his admiration of the hero. She was proud of him. He would be a great hero one day.

"Dammit, I can't think of anything that sounds cool enough yet," Kaminari grumbled nearby.

"Hey, I've got one for you," Kyoka piped up. "How about Jammingyay?"

"Oh, it's like Hemmingway who wrote A Farewell to Arms, right? I like it!"

"N-No, it's because even though you're powerful, you always… jam your brain!" she snorted back, fighting down her laughter. While Kaminari spluttered angrily after her, the dark-haired girl sprang to her feet and skipped to the front of the room. "The Hearing Hero! I'm Earphone Jack!"

"Now that's a good one!"

Things moved quickly after that, all of Tsuyu's classmates rising to their feet one after another, usually followed by a light smattering of applause.

"The Tentacle Hero: Tentacole."

"Ooh, nice portmanto!"

"The Taping Hero: Cellophane!"

"That's on the nose!"

"Martial Arts Hero: Tailman!"

"No surprise with that one, I guess!"

"I'm the Sweets Hero: Sugarman!"

"Perfect~!"

"PINKY!"

"Make those looks work for you, girl!"

"Stun Gun Hero! I'm Chargebolt! Electric, don't you think?"

"Makes me all tingly~!"

"The Stealth Hero: Invisible Girl!"

"That really suits you! Now come on, who's gonna step up next?"

"I hope I can live up to this name. The Everything Hero: Creati."

"Creative~!"

"Shouto."

"Just your name?" Midnight-sensei frowned, along with everyone else in the class. "Is that it?"

"Uh-huh," Todoroki nodded, absolutely deadpan.

"Hm. Alright then."

"The Jet-Black Hero: Tsukuyomi."

"God of the night!"

Petting Hero: Anima.

"Yep! All about it!"

"Okay. This is the name I thought of. Uravity!"

"I just love that!" Midnight-sensei squealed, leaving Ochaco sighing in relief. "To be honest, choosing names is going faster than I thought it would. All we have left is Bakugou and Iida. Oh yes, and Shinsou, too."

"I actually have mine ready," Shinsou said quietly.

"Well then, come on up!"

The indigo-haired boy rose to his feet, advancing casually to the front of the room before almost carelessly flashing up his whiteboard. "The Silver-Tongued Hero: Faery."

"Ooh, I like it! Although I'll admit, 'Fairy' does sound a bit cutesy-er than I would have expected from you."

"If you think that," Shinsou said with a wicked grin reminiscent of their sensei's, "then you obviously don't know the legends behind faeries."

"Hm? What do you mean?" Midnight-sensei frowned as he began to make his way back to his seat.

"Oh," Momo suddenly realized, her dark eyes going wide. "You meant 'Faery' with an 'e', not with an 'i', didn't you? You're making a reference to the mythological creatures that can seize control of a person by learning their name, right?"

"Exactly," Shinsou smirked back, sending a ripple of interest and surprise throughout the room. Kirishima actually jumped slightly, although when Tsuyu glanced at him, she realized that he was actually staring at his phone rather than paying attention to the conversation. She cocked her head curiously to one side when the redhead suddenly raised his gaze, staring across the room to meet Bakugou's narrowed eyes, then grinning widely and nodding once.

Interesting.

"O-Oh," Midnight-sensei stuttered, sounding suddenly hesitant and drawing Tsuyu's attention back to the conversation at hand.

"You already approved it, sensei. No take-backs."

"I second that," Aizawa-sensei grumbled from where he was supposed to be asleep.

"W-Well then. Iida? Bakugou? Are you ready?"

Slowly, Iida rose to his feet, abnormally grim. Tenya, his whiteboard read as he silently glared out the window.

"You're using your real name, too?" Midnight-sensei blinked in surprise. "Well alright, I suppose that works. Bakugou, how about you?"

"Yeah," the blond boy grunted, looking uncharacteristically nervous as he rose to his feet and made his way to the front of the room. When he turned the board around, a collective gasp rose from the class.

"Dude. Are you sure?" Kaminari asked first, voicing what everyone else in the room was thinking. "That could be your hero name forever, you know."

"If I wasn't sure, I wouldn't have written it, Drooly."

"I like it. Kero. Still, it doesn't really seem like your usual style. Why pick that one?" Tsuyu wondered aloud, placing her finger against her chin. Bakugou didn't answer. He just looked away, a grim, faraway look in his red eyes.

"Hang on!" Tooru cried suddenly, smacking her hands down on her desk. "Isn't that what Deku used to call you?! I thought you said we weren't allowed to call you that!"

"Huh. So is this your weird way of declaring war on him?" Kyoka frowned amid the ripple of whispers that accompanied the newly-dubbed Invisible Girl's pronouncement.

"Dammit, I don't need to explain myself to you morons," Bakugou grumbled waspishly, a faint blush coloring his cheeks. "Just get over it. This is gonna be my codename, got it?"

"It's an awesome name, bro," Kirishima smiled, wiping subtly at his eye as he did. "Manly as hell."

"Yeah," Mina-chan agreed without the slightest trace of sarcasm. "It's perfect."

It made Tsuyu wonder what she and Kirishima knew that everyone else didn't.

"Alright then," Midnight-sensei smiled softly, for once not grinning in that kind-of-creepy way of hers. "Everyone, let's give a round of applause for our last hero of the day: 'Kacchan'."

.oOo.

Everyone was pouring over their internship offers and options by the time classes broke for lunch, individual conversations arising throughout the room as everyone debated what their best choice might be.

"I wanna fight crime and bad guys in a big city!" Kirishima grinned.

"I just want to intern somewhere with a lot of flooding. Or maybe a lake," Tsuyu admitted, her eyes roving over the list Aizawa-sensei had given them. No… No… Hm, rescue agency. Might be one to consider. Selkie? Who's that?

"Hey, you got an offer from Gunhead! He's totally awesome, you should do it!" Ochaco squealed suddenly, looking over Kirishima's shoulder.

"You think so?"

"Yeah! He's who I learned martial arts from! I mean, I definitely need a lot more practice 'cause it's been awhile since then, but he's so good! And anyway, he's a brawler, so you'd probably get the chance to gain a lot of experience!"

"Huh, I'll bear that in mind. Thanks, Uraraka!"

"No problem! Hey Tsu-chan, wanna sit with us?"

"Sure. Thanks Ochaco, kero."

Ochaco's usual lunch group had grown considerably since the start of the year. At first, it had just been Iida and Shinsou, but then Kouda had joined after the USJ attack, and when Ochaco had moved in with Momo, she had become a regular member as well. The dark-haired girl had gone ahead of the rest of the group today, so when they found her seated at the long booth-style table with her tray piled with two full high-calorie meals, they were a little bit surprised to see that she already had someone sitting with her.

"Isn't that Todoroki?" Tsuyu blinked, cocking her head to one side.

"Yeah," Ochaco agreed softly. Of course, it couldn't be anyone else considering his hair. Still, the two-toned boy usually sat on his own in the far corner of the cafeteria. Seeing him choose a seat in the center of the crowd, especially at a table where so many other people usually sat, was a bit of a shock.

"I don't want you to feel like I'm prying, but I do consider you my friend, Todoroki-kun. So, I just wanted to ask… are you alright? Do you and your sister need a place to stay? We have more than enough room at my residence-"

"Thank you, but I don't think that will be necessary," Todoroki interrupted quietly. "You see… I-"

"Heya, Yaomomo! Todoroki-kun!" Ochaco called cheerfully, announcing their presence to the pair. "Is it okay if we join you?" Part of Tsuyu wondered if it was okay for them to have interrupted what sounded like a serious discussion, but at the same time, maybe that was exactly why her bubbly friend had cut in. It probably wasn't a good idea to listen in on a private conversation without the two participants being made aware that anyone was there. Either way, both Todoroki and Momo jumped when they suddenly realized that they had an audience, Momo turning slightly pink at the tips of her ears and Todoroki determinedly turning his gaze away from them.

If Tsuyu didn't know any better, she'd think that the guy was embarrassed.

Momo glanced quickly towards Todoroki, as though asking permission. When he didn't say anything in the negative, she smiled kindly to their group and gestured towards the empty seats. "We would be honored," she said simply, although something dark and worried still hovered in the back of her eyes.

"Everything okay?" Tsuyu asked as she slid into the booth next to the dark-haired girl. Again, her eyes flickered towards Todoroki before she answered, although by this point, he seemed determined to keep his attention on his soba noodles.

"Yes, everything's fine," Momo assured them eventually. "I simply wanted to ask Todoroki-kun about something."

"About the Deku attack?" the frog-like girl prompted.

Todoroki blinked at her, looking startled but also almost… relieved. Like he'd been waiting for someone to acknowledge it. "Yeah," he nodded quietly, his eyes flicking back to his food.

"Are you okay?"

"I'm unharmed."

"That's not what I meant. Sorry, but I did hear a bit of what you and Momo were saying when we were walking up. Does your family need help?"

"No. We'll be fine."

"Are you sure?"

"…Yes."

Tsuyu frowned, finger on her lip and head cocked to one side at the distinct hesitation.

"So where is everyone thinking of going for their internships?" Momo cut in quickly before she could press further.

"I dunno yet," Ochaco mused, instantly picking up on Momo's silent plea for a subject change. Tsuyu frowned, but didn't try to direct the conversation back to Todoroki. "I honestly wasn't expecting to get so many offers, since the Festival wasn't broadcast or anything, so it's gonna take some time to dig through it all. Bet it's worse for you, right Todoroki-kun?"

The boy's heterochromatic eyes flicked up from his food, his mouth half-full of noodles, something almost like surprise crossing his face, like he hadn't been expecting to be included in the conversation at all. But Ochaco's smile remained on him, so he grunted noncommittally and lowered his gaze again, looking the most uncertain that Tsuyu had ever seen him. He really wasn't sure how to interact in these kinds of social situations was he.

"I guess that's fair," Ochaco shrugged, still cheerful as ever. "What about you, Shinsou-kun? Kouda-kun? I mean, since you didn't participate in the Festival?"

"Yaoyorozu didn't participate either, you know," Shinsou commented, his expression as blank as ever.

"Yeah, but I live with her now!" the brunette pouted in return. "I can ask her any time I want!"

"I'm interning with Aizawa-sensei."

"Wow, really? Kero."

"Yeah. You know, underground hero training and all that."

"Still, I'm surprised he decided to mentor you himself."

"I was too," Shinsou admitted. "I'm excited though. Even if he is going to pound me into the ground."

"Yeah, that's true."

"What about you, Kouda-kun?" Momo prompted the quiet boy again.

Kouda carefully set aside his chopsticks and his hands flew in response. Shinsou watched out of the corner of his eye, chewing through another mouthful of food before translating, "'I'm gonna pick someone off of the list Aizawa-sensei gave us.'" He paused, then looked towards Momo. "He wants to know what you're gonna do."

"Well, I've reached out to a few heroes that my parents are familiar with," Momo began, fidgeting awkwardly, "as well as a hero that I think I could learn a great deal from due to the nature of our quirks. One of them has already apologized, saying that he is indisposed during that week, but I have yet to hear from the others. I'll just have to wait and see what happens next. What about you, Iida-kun?"

"Wh-What?" the dark-haired boy jolted, staring blankly at the six of them. (Well, five of them; Tsuyu wasn't convinced that Todoroki counted since he didn't seem to be listening.)

"It's not like you to get so distracted, Iida," Tsuyu observed. "Are you worried about your brother?" Iida froze, and the table grew awfully quiet. Obviously, Tsuyu hadn't been the only one thinking about it. Seriously, people needed to talk when they had something on their mind.

"Yeah, are you doing okay, Iida-kun?" Ochaco asked quietly, her concern for their friend palpable (not that it hadn't been palpable with Todoroki, she just knew better how Iida would react to her asking).

"I'm fine," he replied stiffly, automatically.

"What exactly happened anyway?" Tsuyu pressed, her head tilting to one side in thought. "All that's really been in the news is that he was attacked by the Hero Killer and survived it. Nobody's even saying if he's gonna recover or not."

"He's going to be fine," Iida said, in a softer voice now, although his grip tightened around his chopsticks. "Onii-san's not going to end up permanently crippled, which is more than can be said for many of the Hero Killer's victims, although there are concerns that… that he won't ever regain full range of motion in his arm. And since that's where his quirk manifested, he might… He might have to limit the amount of hero work he does from now on."

"Ah geez, I'm really sorry, Iida," Ochaco murmured, setting aside her own food to reach up and grip the taller boy's shoulder. "But hey, at least you still have him, right?"

"…Right."

"I wonder how he escaped anyway," Shinsou murmured, more to himself than anyone else as he frowned at his water. "Rumor has it the Hero Killer has some kind of paralysis quirk."

"He didn't escape. Someone saved him."

"His sidekicks must be quick."

"No. I mean yes, but no, it wasn't them. It was… someone else."

"Who?" Tsuyu frowned.

Iida hesitated, glancing around as though worried about who might be listening. Again, his hand seemed to tighten around his eating utensils; frankly, Tsuyu was surprised that his chopsticks hadn't snapped yet. "Onii-san… Onii-san said it was a pair of vigilantes."

"Wow, really?" Ochaco gaped. "I didn't know that any were active in Hosu!"

"Neither did he," Iida murmured. "But they were there. Someone with a telekinesis quirk and someone with blue fire."

"Ack-!"

The entire table jumped in surprise as Todoroki abruptly choked on his soba, lurching forward and coughing violently as he seized a napkin and brought it up to hide his rapidly reddening face. "T-Todoroki-kun?!" Momo cried in alarm, immediately leaping to her feet and hurrying around the edge of the table to rub his back as he vaguely waved her off, still coughing while reflexive tears streamed down his cheeks, his eyes suddenly fixed on Iida.

"Todoroki-kun, are you okay?" Ochaco asked now, looking ready to float herself out of her seat and join Momo in helping him breathe.

"M'fine," the heterochromatic boy managed to gasp, quickly rubbing the thin streams of liquid from his eyes, the tips of his ears turning red again as he glanced away. "Sorry about that."

Hm. Maybe he really was embarrassed. For such a cold and mysterious guy, he really could be awkward. Speaking of…

"Hey Todoroki, why did you choose to use your name instead of a codename?" Tsuyu frowned thoughtfully.

Again, Todoroki almost looked startled to realize that he was being asked a question. For a moment, all he did was stare at her, bemused by her steadfast gaze. Then his eyes dropped to his plate, and a small frown tugged at the corners of his mouth. "Aizawa-sensei said that a codename tells people what you represent-what kind of hero you are. And… I don't really know what kind of hero I want to be right now. So I figured I'd wait until I knew before choosing one."

"Huh. I guess that makes sense," Tsuyu nodded thoughtfully. "What about you, Iida?"

"…I suppose it's the same for me. More or less," the other boy muttered after a moment. Again, Tsuyu frowned. There seemed to be more to it than that, but Iida seemed much less inclined to elaborate than he normally did. "Iida, are you sure you're-"

"Well, if it isn't Class 1-A!"

A collective groan rose up from the occupants of the table at the gratingly familiar voice. Even Momo, easily the most patient person Tsuyu had ever met, released a tired sigh as the grinning blonde approached their table.

"What a strange coincidence that we should see each other here!" Monoma sneered as he approached.

"Why would it be strange? Everyone in the school shares the cafeteria," Todoroki frowned at him. For a moment, Tsuyu thought the guy was trying to make a joke, but one look at the two-toned boy's face told her otherwise.

"Kero. You don't understand sarcasm too well, do you."

Todoroki blinked at her, his eyebrows furrowing infinitesimally. "…Oh. I guess not."

"Well well, I suppose we have the losers' table over here, now don't we?" the blonde smirked. "Well, the losers and the cowards, that is. Oh, and I even see an attention-seeker and a villain among your ranks!"

"Uraraka, remind me why I'm not allowed to use my quirk to make this jerk leave us alone," Shinsou deadpanned.

"Honestly Shinsou-kun, I'm beginning to wonder that myself," Ochaco growled softly, glaring daggers at the blonde.

The indigo-haired boy blinked at her a couple of times before he sighed deeply, slumping forward. "Yaoyorozu, remind me why I'm not allowed to use my quirk on this guy," he groaned into his arms.

"Because not using your quirk on him demonstrates a greater depth of character than he is clearly capable of mustering," the dark-haired girl replied promptly, although her hand had suspiciously closed around the fork she had been using for her Western-style meal while her onyx eyes drilled warningly into their assailant.

"Ooh, have I struck a nerve there?" Monoma jeered, his gray eyes lighting up unpleasantly.

"You leave Todoroki-kun and Shinsou-kun alone, you big bully!" Ochaco snapped, rising to her feet, flushed with anger. Once again, Todoroki seemed startled to hear his name mentioned. Had he not expected anyone to stand up for him, or had he just not realized that the 'attention-seeker' was him? Given how literally he tended to understand things it could be either one. "You're acting more like a villain right now than Shinsou-kun ever has, and where do you come off thinking that Todoroki-kun was seeking attention?! It's not like he asked Deku to attack him; he was just doing the best he could to defend himself! You have no right to look down on him for that!" the brunette girl continued, her hands curling into fists.

Wait what's happening to her hands…?

"Bold words from the bitch that defeated herself at the Sports Festival," came the rapid retort. "Honestly, how pathetic can you get? Collapsing because you're too weak to handle the backlash of your own quirk?! That's the reason I'll always be superior to-!"

"That girl," a low voice growled, instantly causing Monoma to stiffen, "is anything but weak."

Tsuyu briefly tore her eyes away from the strangeness surrounding Ochaco's hands to where Bakugou stood behind the blond jerk, one hand flexed and sparks flickering across his palm, the other clutching his empty food tray, his jaw clenched and his crimson eyes narrowed almost to slits.

"Wh-Who's acting the villain now?" Monoma spat, but his confident smile was wavering as he turned stiffly towards the other boy.

"Geez, you're not happy unless you're spouting shit about something, are you," Bakugou snorted. "Listen up, Reject, I told you before and I'll say it again: nobody here is impressed by your pathetic attempts at making yourself feel better. If you wanna frickin' declare war or whatever on us, then fine, but quit trying to drag my classmates into your damn inferiority complex, got it?!"

"Y-You can't just say things like that!"

"I can talk however I damn well wanna talk!" Bakugou snarled back, "and I bet Aizawa-sensei would agree with me. Should I go ask him?"

If possible, Monoma turned even paler than before, his throat bobbing slightly. Then, in a huff, he spun on his heel and marched away, saving whatever face he had left. Ochaco released a long breath, slumping back into her seat. "Thanks, Bakugou-kun," she sighed, pressing her cheeks into her hands. Tsuyu heard Momo gasp softly beside her and was hard-pressed not to do the same. "I almost lost my cool there."

"Honestly, how rude," Iida huffed in agreement.

"Don't mention it," the ash blonde grunted, turning away. "I'll see you dorks in class."

A moment of silence passed in which Tsuyu and Momo exchanged looks. Then the latter awkwardly cleared her throat. "Um, Ochaco-chan, what… happened to your hand?"

"Eh? My hand?" the brunette blinked, staring at the limb herself. Her eyes widened further as she noticed, apparently for the first time, the bruises that had formed across her knuckles, as well as the blood that was seeping from a couple of small wounds in the palm of said hand. "Uh…"

"Holy crap, what did you do?" Shinsou gaped, forgetting for a moment not to phrase his words as a question.

"I just… clenched my hand?" she squeaked back as Momo reached around Tsuyu with a handkerchief that she had created and soaked with water, and using it to clean her blood-smeared cheek and hand.

"And you somehow managed to generate enough force to bruise your hand and for your fingernails to cut your palm?" Todoroki frowned.
"Um. Apparently?"

Tsuyu's frown deepened as Iida began lecturing Ochaco on being more careful and Kouda began frantically signing that maybe she should go to see Recovery Girl and Momo created band-aids from her own hands and Ochaco herself kept insisting that, yes, she really was fine, and no, she didn't think they were broken, and no she didn't know what had happened, she'd just been upset and suddenly she was bleeding.

Nobody else, it seemed, had seen what Tsuyu had: thin lines of magenta light spiderwebbing across her skin underneath her uniform, following the paths of her veins.

Is Ochaco hiding something?

Outtake:

Shouto's first day back at school after the 'Deku attack' had been… strange. He'd gone early, hoping to avoid the stares and the whispers that no doubt would follow him the moment that he walked through the front gate. Only, as soon as he stepped inside, he'd found Aizawa-sensei waiting for him, beckoning for him to follow with little more than a look and a jerk of his head.

His homeroom teacher had led the way to Principal Nezu's office, where the… rat… dog?… had interrogated him about Deku's appearance at the estate. He already seemed to know a great deal about the event from what Detective Tsukauchi had passed along, but he'd wanted to hear the specifics of their fight, in particular what observations he'd made about Deku's quirk.

Shouto had told him everything he knew, and expected that to be the end of it. Instead, he was faced by his principal and homeroom teacher offering him their protection from both Deku… and potentially his father as well.

He was pretty sure that the only word to describe how he'd felt in that moment was 'flustered'. He hadn't been certain how to react or what to say. He probably stared at them for a solid five minutes before Principal Nezu smiled. "You can have some time to think it over if you would like, Todoroki-kun. If you feel safe in your own home, then you are more than welcome to remain there. However, if either you or your sister would like somewhere else to stay, then we are prepared to have you both moved to a safe house, far away from your father's estate."

On his way back to class, Shouto almost wished that they hadn't told him that. It was just one more detail to add to his already rapidly-swirling thoughts, filled with his conversations with Deku, his mother, and the shouting match he'd gotten into with his old man once the bastard learned what had happened. Then the internship offers had been shown on the board and he had so many in spite of not making the podium, and he just knew that they were probably connected to the Deku fight, like getting singled out by an acknowledged supervillain was something to be rewarded. It was marginally better than being singled out because of his father, but it was still frustrating beyond belief.

In some ways, that was why he was so grateful to Yaoyorozu for inviting him to sit with her at lunch.

Yaoyorozu was the closest thing he'd had to a friend growing up, having interacted with her at several high-profile events he'd been made to attend as a child. Even if UA had already offered to make arrangements for him and Fuyumi-nee, it meant something to him, to know that she cared. And then there were her friends, too. Asui's bluntness was… refreshing, if he was being honest. Hearing someone unafraid to ask him about the one subject everyone else had been avoiding. Uraraka, too. Even if she had been uncertain how to approach the topic, at least she understood. Instead of praising his supposed bravery or mocking his egocentrism in facing off against Deku, she recognized that he was just another high school student, terrified out of his mind and just trying to protect his sister. Sure, their conversation had been… awkward at times, and flat out bizarre at one point with the weirdness surrounding Uraraka's hand, but it had been… nice. Almost like he belonged.

And then Iida had shared that story about the flame-wielding vigilante that had saved Ingenium…

Deep down, Shouto wondered if that was what had been the final push-the reason why he was at UA early for the second day in a row, feeling anxious and yet somehow… hopeful too. Because if Touya had saved someone, then no matter his ties to Deku, his intentions couldn't be all sinister.

Right?

His hand slipped into his jacket pocket, his fingers curling around the deceptively tiny item tucked there.

He was glad that he decided to try the teacher's lounge first, because there was Aizawa-sensei, sitting with his legs tucked into his sleeping bag, scrolling slowly through some document or other on the screen of his laptop. Even then, he almost backed out. He had to fight to remind himself that the man had approached him first-that he was already suspicious. And even if he didn't believe him, he had proof now, questionable source or no.

"Aizawa-sensei?" Shouto called uncertainly.

"Todoroki? What is it?" his teacher sighed, reaching for his coffee mug with barely a glance away from his computer.

The heterochromatic boy hesitated a moment longer, squeezing the drive, feeling its distinct corners pressing into his palm and taking a long, deep breath. "Sensei, a few weeks ago, after the USJ… you asked me about my scar."

Aizawa-sensei froze for just a moment, then, deceptively calmly, he set his mug aside and closed his laptop with a definitive click. Then he rose to his feet and stepped out of his sleeping bag, gazing at his student with a serious, yet unusually soft gaze. "How about we take this conversation somewhere a little more private?" he suggested quietly, gesturing for Shouto to follow.

The boy nodded slowly, and before he knew it Aizawa-sensei was ushering him into his office, gesturing for him to take a plush seat while his teacher claimed a metal fold-out chair, just like before.

"So?" his teacher prompted, searching the boy's two-toned eyes. "What would you like to tell me?"

Shouto took a deep breath, steeling his resolve one last time. "Sensei… have you ever heard of quirk marriages?"

So what do y'all think? Is Kacchan declaring war or is there another reason for his hero name? Also, what do you think of my name for Shinsou? I'm weirdly proud of that one...

So yeah! We get to see some of the classes reactions to the DRAMA of the weekend, Kacchan gets to tell Monoma off, Ochaco FINALLY has OFA, and Todoroki learns about Phoenix. :) This chapter was a lot of plot and not much action I know, but I hope you enjoyed it all the same. Next chapter comes out August 19th, courtesy of Gran(pa) Torino. :) Until then, go beyond! PLUS ULTRA!