Martyr

by RobinRounds

People couldn't help but question his idea of Heroism. It wouldn't be the first time someone challenged his views, and wouldn't be the last. "Let somebody else fight the villain. There are a thousand and one show-offs fighting for rankings. I want to be with the hand-full who saves the victim." Izuku stated, his conviction unwavering. "I may be a Hero, but my job is to save lives."

7. Graduation and Gradience

…

[August Tenth, X039. Musutafu.]

…

Izuku had thought his security was high before, but following the thefts and subsequent re-classification of his blood, it had increased. No longer was he allowed to take public transport. Instead, he was driven to and from school everyday in an armored car, with no less than three other guards in addition to the driver. While these drives seemed a bit more boring than his previous commute, he had to admit they were a lot more relaxing.

It also made him feel really, really guilty over the fact that he could never remember the names of his guards.

He knew a few facts about his guards. After so many months of the government suits at his side it would be hard not to. There was always a dozen. Three in close, three nearby, three following at range, and three supporters in case anything needed tweaking. The guards assigned to him changed daily, mostly at random so that anyone plotting anything couldn't predict what quirks or talents they had.

It also meant that building any sort of friendship was near impossible. Even if the same guard was assigned to his protection detail, there was little chance that they would also be assigned to the three immediate defenders. It made dealing with them awkward. They were all dressed the same, down to the brand of watch worn or the sunglasses they had. Even the haircuts were the same. A military-like buzz cut.

It made socializing very, very difficult.

Which is why Izuku had taken to watching videos or reviewing schoolwork on the morning rides. It gave him an excuse to politely ignore the strangers protecting him.

It had nothing to do with his desire to watch videos made by his sorta-maybe-girlfriend. It was one date, or rather she called it a date, but that meant they were dating right?

Needless to say, Midoriya Izuku had much to learn about romance.

It was just coincidence that the video he chose to watch on the way to school was the newest episode from The Transparency Pair. It was just the first eye catching thing to appear on his feed. It had nothing to do with the icon showing Mina's V-tuber avatar with a love-struck expression and a title proclaiming 'Cutie Queen's Healing Heartthrob!'.

The episode began with the usual into compilation of their popular clips, a catchy j-pop jingle, and finishing with a fancy poster of their name and avatars. It was nice and neat. Simple, but recognizable. What wasn't, was the intro fading out to a scene of I-See-You, her mummified ghost avatar red-faced and falsely-angry glaring at Cutie Queen's smug girl-demon avatar.

"Curse-You! Curse-You! Curse-You!" The undead girl chanted, each one punctuated with a wave of her sheet and bandage covered hands at the feminine demon.

" You remember I edit the videos right?" The demon pointed at herself, "and I am totally keeping that in without context."

"I curse you for that too!" I-See-You stopped waving in favor of pointing at her instead.

"At this point what don't you curse me for?" Cutie Queen held her arms out in a shrug, genuinely curious as to the answer.

I-See-You's posture switched from angry to contemplative. "How about the fact that our fans still can't settle the difference between a demon-girl and a girl-demon?"

The girl-demon huffed and crossed her arms, "You just brought that up just to start the debate all over again didn't you?"

"Maybe?"

"Ya know, for someone who's gimmick is that she wants to be a trickster, you're pretty see through."

"Hashtag Sorry-not-sorry." The hashtag popped up on the screen as I-See-You struck a pose.

"And just for that I'm not gonna give you the detes about my date~!" A mischievous expression danced on Cutie Queen's face.

"Whaaaat~!"

"Yup." Cutie Queen winked at her viewers, "no detes for the girl who uses pre-quirk boomer memes."

"Unfair! Boo! Protest in the comments! Riot in the forums!" I-See-You pointed at the comments section below the video, before pointing to the link in the chat on the side.

"Don't stir up the viewers because you don't get to hear about how my prince charming took me on a lovely first date." The girl-demon held her face in her hands and began to blush. "A relaxing walk around the mall."

"Scandalous!" I-See-You's eyes were wide, one hand covering her mouth.

"Holding hands while looking at displays!"

"Lewd!"

"He even bought me a gift and traded numbers!" Cutie Queen's eyes were sparkling. "It was fun, amazing, and I can't wait for the next one!"

"You know, a calm and innocent date isn't the usual plan for a wild girl like yourself." The mummified Ghost teased.

"I wanted to take it easy, see how it works." The Feminine demon deflected, "It was just luck I ran into him after all."

"More like you wanted to play coy and innocent to catch him off guard." The ghost wiggled a little, the action bringing a soft laugh from Izuku.

"Not true! Izuku's a fan of our show!" The demon crossed her arms, "He knows what a tease I am!"

"And we can all tell how much you wanted to tease him!" The ghost gave the demon a friendly shake.

"Shush yourself I-See-You, At least I didn't almost scare him off with a certain stunt!"

"Oh don't tell me she's referring to..." Though the escort on his left was always scanning out the window, he had been listening in every now and then. Izuku tensed slightly, not used to any of them actually commenting on something he was doing or watching. Casual conversations with others on the bus was probably the one thing Izuku actually missed about his old commute. Sure, he could talk to the escorts, but most never said anything back beyond a one word reply.

"You take that back! He loved it!" The ghost flailed. "And-We-Agreed-To-Never-Mention-It-Again! My brain shorted out, signals swapped, and I panicked! End. Of. Story!"

"She is..." Izuku groaned, head rolling backwards along with his eyes. "And I will thank you to not mention it either."

"Loved it? He would-have, could-have... if he could have seen anything!" It was the demon's turn to dance in mockery of her friend. Izuku's face took on a slight reddish tint as the left escort let out just the tiniest snort of a laugh.

"I won't but the internet never forgets..." The man answered, voice light with amusement.

"Don't be jealous!" The ghost pouted, not really annoyed.

"Why should I be jealous?" The demon shrugged, a cellphone suddenly appearing in her hand. "I have his number, and I've been on a date with him already."

"Oh, that's right." I-See-You's eyes narrowed, their earlier discussion almost seemed forgotten. "You lucky bitch!"

"Ha! Sure you're not jealous?"

"Are they always like that?" The left escort asked, eyes flicking away from the window to Izuku's phone for just a second. The two digital avatars were currently in a playful shoving match, both arguing over whether or not the other was jealous.

"Oh yeah, this is par for the course for them." Izuku paused the video, showing the escort a clear shot of the two. "I-See-You is the mummy ghost, and Cutie Queen is the demon."

"And which is the one you went on a date with?" The escort on his right asked, her eyes leaving her window only when she noticed her partner was back on alert.

"Cutie Queen." He restarted the video, "though her actual name is Mina. And her friend's name is Toru."

"And the ghost is the one who flashed you?" The left escort coughed in a poor attempt to camouflage the laugh that escaped him.

"I-I uh, technically she didn't?" the boy weakly protested.

"Okay, so let's agree to disagree Cutie Queen." I-See-You held her hands up in a gesture of truce. "I put out a poll to our viewers, asking them a couple questions...and the answers are in." The ghost was now holding a comically long scroll of paper. "The majority of our viewers agree that I was the bolder one in showing him what was under the sheet."

"Which is nothing..." Cutie Queen laughed, a sound which was accompanied by Izuku and his escorts joining in. On screen, the demon grabbed the scroll and continued reading. "Moving on though, our viewers say I got the better deal in being able to go on a date with him."

"And how was that?" I-See-You recalled her partner's refusal to share details, and came up with an idea. "I don't think you ever told our lovely viewers about it?

"Wonderful." Cutie Queen's avatar blushed. "Izuku helped me find the album I was looking for. Look how happy he was for me!" The picture of Izuku, the album, and Mina appeared on the screen, though Mina's appearance had been edited over with the Feminine Demon avatar's look. However, Izuku could still see some of Mina's pink hair and the tip of one of her horns. "However, I had to agree that you were right about him needing some new clothes. So I took him to Inspired Boutique to get him some new threads."

"And do we have any pictures of these outfits?" The ghost clapped her hands in anticipation as the demon nodded.

"Plenty, which makes the perfect segway to mark the next section of today's show, a Fashion Flash!" The demon laughed as a picture of Izuku popped up. It was one she had snapped of him wearing the 'Put Your Hands Up Radio' shirt, and the jeans she had picked out for him. "Unlike his other outfit, you can see the black and gold of the shirt really brings out Izuku's eyes. And the slightly baggy look of the shirt, coupled with the relax fit of the jeans, gives a sort of casual yet professional vibe."

"Those jeans don't leave much to the imagination, do they?" The ghost questioned, causing the demon to laugh.

"No they don't...Unlike you." Cutie Queen grinned as I-See-You pouted, showing off several more photos, talking all the while about their date. "The best part however was near the end. Izuku and I went shoe shopping, and well..." The demon began to wiggle, a blush appearing on the avatar's cheeks. "I found a great pair of boots, but sadly I didn't have the money to afford them. Izuku however, being the sweetheart that he is bought them for me as a thank you for helping him."

The avatars went off screen a moment as a new camera panned down to show off her boots. Izuku couldn't help but shake his head at the number of donation pings that came in at the action.

"Are you kidding me?" I-See-You complained as the camera switched back, bringing both avatars back into view. "We'll get to reading out the donations in a moment. But before we do, I want to take a moment to point out that ninety percent of our viewers agree that you and Midoriya-san are the newest power couple! Social media domination meets Heroic aspiration! New OTP found!"

Izuku turned off the video, not caring to hear another thirty seconds of happy screaming followed by the two of them reading donations sent in by some of their more unscrupulous viewers. It also helped that they had just taken the final turn towards Soumei, and Izuku would have needed to put his phone away anyhow.

"That was very nice of you Midoriya-san. Buying your girlfriend shoes." The left escort gave a nod, attention fully on the outside as they neared Soumei.

"I'm not one for celebrity stories, but I must say..." The right escort's voice held a smile, though her posture was fully on alert to everything going on around. "You and that cutie are an adorable couple."

"Uh, thanks. But...We're not...I mean..." Izuku's mind short-circuited as they turned into the student drop-off area, another guard already in place and waiting to take over escort duty. He didn't quite know what to think of everyone declaring him and Mina the newest celebrity couple. Those feelings only grew stronger as Izuku was ushered from the vehicle and into the school, whispers and comments about his date still a hot topic even three days after it had occurred. His eyes drifted to a couple of his schoolmates, who were gathered around a copy of the latest issue of Heroes Daily.

The magazine was both respected and reviled by many Pro Heroes. Respected because when they were publishing an interview or story gotten from or with a Pro Hero's input, they kept as close to the truth and correct on details as they were legally allowed to publish. Reviled because the minute any sort of gossip reached them, that integrity seemed to go out the window.

The photos that often went with them were legitimate, but they were often framed with buzz words that cast a different light on the situation than what actually happened. Because of that, more than one hero had to at times go online, to another magazine, or on a TV show to set the record straight thanks to gossip columns. He thought back on a few other 'relationship' gossip columns he had seen:

Gossip: Midnight meets a mystery man at a motel
Truth: Midnight visiting her cousin whose staying in town on business

Izuku recalled the R-Rated hero posting an article about her cousin on her fan page to debunk the gossip column.

Gossip: Mt. Lady treats Death Arms to some 'hot coffee'
Truth: Death Arms and Mt. Lady ran into each other by chance at a coffee shop

While Mt. Lady had been unable to respond, Death Arms killed the rumors by showing off a receipt for the large order he had placed that day for the group of construction workers he was helping. The time-stamp on the receipt more telling than anything.

"Note to self, next time you get to hang with a Pro Hero, ask them how they deal with gossip relationship reports..." He sighed, thinking of several other heroes he had seen gossip of, but no confirmation or denial of said gossip from. That thought then had him wondering how one of those columns might frame his and Mina's encounter:

Truth: Midoriya Izuku and Ashido Mina a.k.a. Cutie Queen hang out at the mall after a chance meet up
Gossip: V-Tuber Star seduces Japan's soon-to-be most desirable man.

"Wait, can the magazines even write something like that about me? I'm under age..." Izuku stopped short, realizing that in less than a year's time, he would hit his majority age. And then everything would be fair game.

"Midoriya-san," The guard currently accompanying him placed a hand on his shoulder. "Are you alright?

"Sorry, I got distracted by something. I'm fine though." He gave the guard a smile as he began walking again, though that smile faded slightly as another student appeared with a copy of Heroes Daily and joined the discussion with the others. Izuku had the briefest hope that there was a really good story in there about some pro hero or another that was catching their attention and not one about him.

Those hopes were dashed as he noticed one of the guys in the group was looking at him, an expression of pure envy on his face. "Okay, if I am in that issue. At best, they've got a photo or two of me and Mina palling around the mall. At worse..." His brain thought back to the date, recalling Mina's last action before they parted ways. A brief warning bell sounded, informing the students there was less than five minutes until first period. The magazine group stored the literature away as everyone began moving to their classes. "I'll just have to wait and see...Maybe borrow a copy from someone, just to check it out."

Izuku spent the rest of his walk to his homeroom wondering, if he was in the issue, how best to handle the situation.

…

[August Tenth, X039. Soumei Private High School.]

…

If there was a quirk out there that could cause things to combust by glaring at it, Momo needed it. She needed it badly.

The copy of Heroes Daily in her hand had been read through a dozen times. The corners well worn with the number of times they were folded to get at one single article. The subject of the Heiress' hate.

A two page spread started it. A collage of photographic proof that Midoriya was dating. Here was the two of them picking out clothing. Sharing a six-pack of cinnamon bites. Holding hands as they laughed at the rabbits at the pet store. Even that damnable peck the pink-haired harlot gave him as a parting gift was in there.

The actual text of the article didn't help. Speaking of Izuku and the pink one as the newest celebrity couple. It described the V-Tuber as the perfect chaotic addition to bring the calm and collected, if not a bit nerdy and awkward, soon-to-be healing hero out of his shell. Though it also seemed to contradict itself by saying that Izuku might be the one to rein in the chaotic cutie.

"Damn gossip magazines...Why did I even buy this?" Momo opened it back up to the pages in question and looked at one of the images of the 'power couple' that didn't frame them as being in a relationship. If you held her at gunpoint and demanded her to pick a favorite photo from the article, she would have pointed to one that predominantly showed Izuku, a blissful expression on his face as he enjoyed a smoothie. Sure, the pink one was in the image as well, but the photographer's handiwork made it clear they were trying to catch the boy's enjoyment at whatever fruity concoction he was drinking more than anything. "Oh yeah, that's right..."

"Hey Momo, how you feeling?" The heiress to the Yaoyorozu family legacy was brought out of her thoughts by the very thing to occupy them. She looked up to see Izuku looking at her, a concerned smile on his face. Tenya was just behind him, trying to look disinterested but she knew he knew what was going on.

"I'm fine." She answered curtly, closing the magazine and shoving it in her bag as quickly and gently as she could.

"You don't seem fine..." Izuku's head dropped slightly, fingers tapping together as a blush came to his face. "You're, not having...lady troubles, are you?"

The smallest amount of Momo's annoyance evaporated at the question. Despite the boy's constant dealings with doctors and medical science, it seemed he still found matters of feminine health and hygiene something embarrassing to talk about.

"That's none of your business." She snapped, hoping he'd drop the subject like before. "Come on, let's head over to the library before our next classes. I need to see if someone returned a copy of the short story book I need for a report."

"What book? If you really need it, I could always buy it for you from the bookstore." Izuku offered, still hanging back from her slightly. "I need to go there after school anyhow to pick up a book I ordered."

"Sarayashiki." Momo answered, seeing Izuku moving to write down the title. "Don't bother. I've no interest in ghost stories and only need it for this report. Besides, I could always buy it myself if I really needed to."

"Oh, okay." There was an odd note of remorse in Izuku's voice at the reply, something which almost made Momo want to apologize. Instead, she just quickened her pace, wanting to put a physical distance between herself and him in addition to her attempt at emotional distancing. Fortunately, this plan worked and Izuku had been intercepted by a member of the school newspaper wanting an interview from him about his dating debut. Unfortunately for her, this started a new wave of discussion among her schoolmates that soured her mood even more than finding out the book she needed was still unavailable.

Her mood hadn't improved much by the time lunch rolled around. To his credit, the green-haired object of her potentially misplaced affections seemed to understand her desire for some space, and had spent the majority of his lunch on his phone. Tenya tried to make conversation, and though he wasn't guilty of anything – save making the original phone call that alerted her to Izuku's date. She was in no mood for conversing with anyone, though she had to give the other boy credit for making her smile at one point by berating Izuku for using his cellphone during school hours.

"But Tenya..." Izuku whined, a frown on his face as he showed Tenya whatever on his phone.

"That should work," the taller boy smiled nodded his approval of whatever he saw, the action causing Momo to raise an eyebrow and let out a single laugh. To his credit, Tenya was quick to cough and hide his smile, once again telling Izuku to put his phone away as a teacher passed near their table.

"I just need to-"

"Midoriya, listen to Tenya." Momo opted to address him formally, voice lacking the usual warmth it held when 'mothering' him. Once again, she saw him sigh in a defeated manner as he put away his phone. Izuku said something to Tenya then, but the ringing of the lunch bell blocked the words from her hearing. She did get to hear Tenya's reply however.

"It's you, Izuku." Tenya adjusted his glasses as he joined the two in cleaning up their table. "Honestly, I wouldn't be surprised if they showed up before school is over."

"I hope so." Izuku nodded, his eyes briefly meeting Momo's. In reply, she took to wiping up a spot on the table a little extra hard, before throwing the napkin and the remains of her lunch in the trash. Giving the two a nod, Momo took her leave and made her way to her next class. By some miracle or another, the rest of the day passed without incident. No one mentioned the magazine article, and the one student she did see with a copy of that issue was reading an article about the Wild Wild Pussycats instead of the gossip column.

When the bell rang at the end of the day, Momo wasted no time in setting her sights on getting out of Soumei and over to the bus stop. The one issue with her plan was she had to pass through the courtyard, where she often met up with Izuku and Tenya to hang out for a little before they headed for their homes. She had barely taken two steps into the area when she heard Izuku hail her.

"Hey Momo, you got a minute?"

She looked over to where his voice was coming from, seeing his backpack appeared larger than before, and that there was an additional tote bag now in his possession. Seeing the eyes of several of her classmates upon her, Momo knew she couldn't say no and made her way to where Izuku was standing.

"What is it Midoriya?" Once again, she tried to distance herself from him by referring to him with his family name.

"Yaoyorozu-san," he decided to address her with the same formal tone. "First, I want to apologize if I've been acting too "familiar" with you in recent times. I understand the reputation members of the Yaoyorozu family have to maintain, and I'm sorry if I sullied it in any way." He thought of a recent article he had seen about the Yaoyorozu Family's business and how serious they were when it came to protecting the company and its reputation.

"Oh my gosh, is he serious? Is that what he thinks this is about?" Momo blinked, seeing Izuku in a full apologetic bow. She looked to Tenya, who seemed to be struggling to keep a straight face as he watched the situation.

"I-I just... I mean..." the heiress let out an undignified sigh of defeat. "Apology accepted. Though I don't mind the informal reference, so feel free to continue using them." Her head tilted to the side, the corners of her mouth twitching slightly at the relieved expression to cross Izuku's face.

"Of course, thank you Momo." He gave another tiny bow, "well now, if it wasn't my lack of honorifics...I don't know what I did to upset you, but I want to apologize for that as well." He fully dropped to the ground, practically begging her forgiveness. Once again, she looked over at Tenya, who had lost the battle and was grinning like a loon.

"How do you not know?" Momo's eyes went wide then, realizing then that she had yet to see Izuku make any sort of comment about the magazine. About the article. About the date. Sure he had come to school the next day appearing more giddy than he had after he'd been interacting with various Pro Heroes, and that had pissed her off something fierce. But now, she could see it wasn't on purpose. It wasn't because he genuinely cared for the other girl, but rather because he was clueless on how to act with any sort of relationship. "Oh my god, you clueless little cinnamon roll..."

Izuku seemed to realize Momo hadn't responded to his apology and looked up, hands reaching for his backpack. "I'm sorry, I knew words wouldn't be enough to make up for whatever I did. Here..." He handed her a wrapped parcel. Opening it revealed it to be a collection of Kaidan, various ghost and horror stories collected from around the Edo period of Japan. Looking at the table of contents, Momo noticed one of the stories within was 'Sarayashiki'. "I know you said you're not a fan of ghost stories, but I figured having a collection of them would be better than just one. And this way, you have them if you get a future literature project that needs them. Or you can use them to tell horror stories if your family lets you throw a Halloween Party again. "

"Izuku..." Despite everything, Momo was actually touched by the sheer amount of thought he put into such a simple object. Before she could say more however, Izuku continued.

"And here," Izuku removed a large box of assorted filled chocolates. "I got you some chocolates because I remember you telling me sugar helps you when you're feeling a bit drained. And you seemed to be, for lack of a better way to put it; 'lagging' today."

"I only mentioned that once, and that was back when we first hung out after the fitness test." Once again, the heroism heiress found her annoyance at the boy fading.

Izuku's face turned bright red, "also...I don't know if it's...that time for you, but my mom says that can...cause problems...and that chocolate can help with it."

"Oh my god..." Tenya lost his composure, several other students nearby having a similar problem at the sheer innocence of Izuku's words. Momo found herself blushing slightly as she looked down at the box. The boy had apparently spared no expense and had ordered it from one of the premier chocolatiers in the region.

"Damn, wish my boyfriend would do that for me..." Momo heard one of the watching students whisper to her companion. The words only causing her cheeks to take on more color.

"Thank you Izuku, that was very thoughtful..." She set the chocolates on top of the book, seeing him smile before he frowned slightly, noticing that she still had yet to accept his second apology.

"Please, take these as well!" He reached into the tote bag and took out a bouquet of flowers. From her limited botanical knowledge, Momo could see it was made up primarily of lavender, jasmine, and chrysanthemums, though a few baby's breaths peppered it here and there, and a single red rose dominated the center of the arrangement. "According to one of my doctors, all of these flowers are great for helping with stress and anxiety. Which I suspect you've been dealing with given the recent round of tests and other things going on with school."

She took the flowers and raised them to her nose, the scents all blending perfectly and filling her with an instant calm. Her heart skipped a beat however as she noticed the envelope sticking out of the flowers. She tried not to be affected by the brief thought that it might be a love note from Izuku, and instead did her best to open it while trying, and failing, to act disinterested.

The potential joy of the contents of it being a love note was replaced with the shock of finding two tickets, nearly front row center, to 'Red String', a traveling stage show Momo had always wanted to see. In the weeks prior to the sale, the troop had announced this tour would be the final performances of the show in question, which drove demand up for tickets exponentially. She had sat at her computer, ready to go the minute the tickets went on sale. But even with her family's business-class internet had failed to get tickets for any of the showings. Even the worst seats in the house had sold out within minutes of going on sale. She had looked at some scalper sites in the days following, and found some charging nearly triple the regular purchase price for those tickets. And while she could have easily afforded it, she hadn't dared to even check what they would have charged for the two premium tickets now clutched in her hands.

"That's a final gift I got for you." Izuku was still kneeling, though now his attention was fully focused on Momo. "I know you were bummed out about not being able to get tickets for the farewell performance of 'Red String' so I, pulled a few 'strings' of my own and called in a couple favors." He rubbed the back of his neck, seeming embarrassed to admit that he had been using his celebrity status for something. "I was hoping maybe, we could, see the show together? Maybe get dinner beforehand. According to one of the people at the theater, there's a wonderful Szechuan restaurant not too far away that works closely with the theater to make sure dining guests are served and don't miss a minute of their shows."

At the thought of going out for dinner and a show with Izuku, Momo's brain shorted out. Sure, that V-tuber mastered to claim the 'first date' with Izuku...But at the same time, their date was no different than what friends did when they hung out. Hell, if it hadn't been for Tenya being with them, Momo supposed she could have called any of her prior outings with Izuku a date. However, unless they were really, really good friends, Momo couldn't imagine something like this being anything but a date.

"I'd love too!" The remainder of Momo's annoyance fully evaporated, returning her to her usual cheerful, if not slightly serious self. Carefully balancing all her gifts in one arm, she embraced Izuku with the other.

"So, does that mean you forgive me?" The purest of innocent cinnamon roll expressions was on Izuku's face.

In reply, Momo just nodded and, with a boldness that rivaled Mina's, gave him a kiss on his cheek. Several awws, shocked gasps, a couple ews, and one 'oh damn' sounded from around them.

"No...public displays...of affection!" Tenya mastered to wheeze out, hands chopping at the air with each word as the resident rule-lawyer officially went down for the count by the display he had witnessed. Izuku was almost worried his friend was going to die from the giggles. However, both Momo and Izuku silently decided to ignore him, Izuku offering to give Momo a ride home so they could better plan, in Momo's words, their date.

…

[April Tenth,XX40. Kyoto Imperial Medical Center.]

…

Toga Himiko would be the first to admit that she hadn't had the best start in life. Her parents couldn't accept her behavior when she was a child, and tried to make her 'normal'. This had included 'starving' her of the very thing her body needed to develop. The proof of this culminated about the time she hit puberty. The hunger proved to be too much, and she had drained the blood of one of her classmates. Following the discovery that she was the one behind the attack, her parents publicly disowned her.

They threw everything that was hers away, and threw her to the street. She then spent the next two years living off the streets. She would sleep wherever she could find shelter, and subsisted off whatever she could find in dumpsters and garbage cans. Then came the fateful encounter with a police officer after she was caught behind a small clinic, raiding a biohazard bin.

Once they figured out who she was, the problems her quirk and upbringing had caused. They gave her a choice; a lifetime of imprisonment for the welfare of herself and others. Or she could join a medical study and become a test subject for a Q.I.P.D. Suppressor that was in development.

She chose the latter and instead of being imprisoned in a cell with iron bars and walls separating her from the world. She had been locked away in a sterile room with all the comforts of home she had been lacking the last few years. A soft bed, a table and chair set for two, even her own private bathroom. Sure, she had to go somewhere else to shower, and meals limited to what was currently being served in the cafeteria. But it was a small price to pay for comfort.

It also helped that – albeit in a distant sort of fashion, that the various doctors, nurses, and specialist actually seemed to care about her more than her parents ever actually had.

What didn't help was that their current testing, their method of caring still deprived her of what she wanted the most. But that was about to change with their latest test. The current observation room was different than ones she had been in before, and seemed more a hospital exam room. The floors were of a simple, sterile tile, and the walls much the same. The rooms in the past had had carpets, or floors of some odd padded rubber akin to gym mats you'd find in elementary school. The other glaring difference of this room compared to the others was the fact that a Plexiglas barrier of sorts cut the room's size down by a third, a desk, chair, and computer nestled safely behind. The whole of the set up reminded her more of the visitor's section of a prison than a medical facility.

She sighed as she glared through the barrier to the doctor sitting at the desk, the man's hands tapping at some of the other items to decorate the desk before him.

"Okay, the machine is recording." The doctor looked to the computer at his side, seeing all the proper indicators that it was working as intended. "The current subject is the twentieth and last of the extreme batch. Name is... Toga Himiko. Transformation type quirk, dependent on blood. Age...Twenty years old."

"Can you hurry this up Doc?" The woman sitting across from him tapped her foot in annoyance. "I was told I was getting blood if I was nice and kept seated. So make with the blood. Gimme! Gimme!" Her hands reached out in a grabbing motion, leaving smudge marks on the Plexiglas barrier that divided the two.

"In a moment Ms. Toga." The doctor gave her a gentle smile. "I just need to finish the introduction and then we can give you the sample."

"Ugh! Fine!" She pouted, arms crossing over her chest in an exaggerated fashion.

"Anyways. Ms. Toga has been kept in a psychiatric facility for the safety of herself and others for four years. As such her results will be added to the control group. Ms. Toga's Q.I.P.D. results in a constantly building craving for blood, eventually resulting in a rampancy state if she has not sated her cravings." The doctor cross referenced something on the computer. "So far her treatment to suppress her cravings has been little more than a ration dose consisting of thirty milliliters of donated blood. "

"And it is not enough. It is never enough." She punctuated each complaint by slamming her hands on the barrier.

"Thank you for your input Ms. Toga." The doctor gave a nod, "Continuing on, as such we intend to instead grant a much larger dose. Two-hundred and forty milliliters. This is both as an incentive for good behavior in the subject and as a means to prevent further abnormalities that could be a result of the already existent cravings. As testing progresses, each further dose will only be a one-hundred and twenty milliliter sample. This will be mostly so we can ration supply, but can be adjusted as needed depending on results."

"Are you done yet?" Toga whined, seeming much younger than her twenty years. "I'm thirsty! And bored! But mostly thirsty!"

"Yes Ms. Toga." The doctor pressed a small button, activating an intercom system. "Nurse, please bring in the sample vial."

At the command, the door on the doctor's side of the observation room opened and the nurse entered, a small mug-like jar in her hands.

"Yay~!" Himiko clapped, the sight of the red drink making her lick her lips in anticipation.

"Thank you nurse." The doctor gave a small nod as he took the jar from the nurse and set it in the small receptacle drawer that allowed the transfer of objects from one side of the room to the other. While they could have brought the sample directly to her, the safety of both doctor and patient was tantamount. As such, most items that could be self-administered were passed between the two sides of the room to reduce potential risks to either party. "Ms. Toga are you ready?"

"Yes! Yes!" Once again, she was practically clawing at the glass. "I swear I can smell it even in that fancy jar, gimme!"

"I just had to make sure your consent in this experiment was recorded." The doctor pushed the drawer through, giving her access to the offered blood. Himiko didn't wait for the doctor's command. Instead, the doctor felt it was a miracle that she didn't spill a drop of the precious liquid within as she unscrewed and tossed the cap into the drawer.

"Bottoms up!" She raised the jar to lips and practically downed the contents in one go. Himiko's eyes went wide, the pupils dilating to an almost unnatural level. Her taste buds were overwhelmed by the pure taste of the ambrosial liquid. Just the right amount of balance between sweet and metallic. The temperature just cold enough to refresh, without being overwhelming. And the texture? It was just solid enough to where she could feel it sliding down her throat, but still smooth enough that it went down with ease.

Whether it was because she hadn't had so much blood in such a long time, or because there was something different about this blood. Himiko couldn't say for sure, but something about this particular batch struck her to her core, and she shuddered involuntarily.

"Ms. Toga?" The doctor questioned, seeing Himiko seeming to be struggling with something before she suddenly froze up.

Her body sank into the test chamber's chair, twitching and thrashing like it was suffering from an extreme seizure. Himiko's quirk triggered, parts of her body switching skin colors, shape and size only for these new features to dissolve into a gray goo as a new form took over. The pores of her skin were working overtime, producing a slurry from her sweat and the shapeshifting byproduct. With every second the puddle beneath her spread across the tile floor of the test chamber. In a matter of seconds, Himiko's body had gone through a sweat lodge cold turkey detox session.

As suddenly as it started the symptoms faded, and the young woman sank into her seat with an almost blissful sigh.

"Doctor, I-has... has she gone catatonic?" The nurse questioned, seeing the jar hanging limply from her hand. "What was with that thrashing?"

"Oh dear. Call in the others." He clicked a button to unlock the door on the other side of the barrier. "If this was a negative reaction we need to find out what-"

The doctor got no further with his orders, a cry of pure pleasure coming from the woman behind the glass.

"D-did she just moan?" Though both nurse and doctor had seen it all in their years in the field, it still didn't make the situation any less awkward.

"I think so?" He stood up from his chair, as if to get a better look at his subject. "Ms. Toga are you alright?"

"Oh fuck the hell yes..." Himiko licked her lips, searching for any remaining drops of ambrosia to rest on them. "That was amazing."

"Are you certain you feel alright?" There was an air of concern in the doctor's voice. "You were violently trembling, we were worried about an adverse effect."

"Doc? Lady?" Whatever professionalism that Himiko tried to keep in favor of getting rewarded for good behavior was gone. "I have never cum so hard in my life. That was amazing. Mind-blowing. Nothing has ever satisfied me like that before."

"Did you become Akashiya Moka all of a sudden?" The words left the nurse's mouth before she could stop them.

"Nurse, be professional please." The doctor sighed, eyes narrowing slightly at his assistant who bowed and apologized.

"Doc, I need you to tell me where that blood came from." The blonde hit the two of them with her best puppy-dog eyes, pupils mostly returned to normal size, hands flat on the small table before her. "Please. I'm begging you here. That blood made me feel clean for the first time in years. Whatever is in their veins just shut the craving off for the first time since I hit puberty."

"Midoriya Izuku." The doctor answered, realizing a moment too late his potential mistake in revealing the source of Himiko's pleasure.

"The healing kid?! His blood fixes brains too?" One of her hands pointed to her head, while the other came to rest on her hips. "Lucky fuck is batting a thousand."

The doctor barely repressed his sigh, eyes looking almost apologetically at the monitors and recording equipment. "Please don't put it so crassly, but yes."

"Oh no, I'm not saying he's a lucky fuck because he shut the crazy out for a moment..." The Cheshire grin on her face unsettled the two medical professionals. "I say 'lucky fuck' because when I meet him I am going to ride him so hard that his regeneration is going to give out."

"Oh my." The nurse raised a hand to her mouth, unable to hide her surprise at such an openly perverse statement.

"Damn straight." Himiko gave a thumbs up, grinning like mad.

"Nurse, perhaps a sedative for the patient?" The doctor's eyes flicked to a small collection of vials and syringes that rested behind a glass cabinet in the room with them. "I believe her body may be in a supercharged state, thanks to the large dose given to her. We can move her into an observation suite for now. Also, add an addendum to her file..." He looked back at Himiko, who was currently running her tongue around the rim and as far down the inside as it would go in search of whatever might remain. "I believe we should cut back the sample dose further. Perhaps only sixty milliliters until we are sure this was a...once off situation."

"What? Nooo~!" Himiko whined as the door opened on her side of the room, the nurse gently beckoning her over. Though the nurse carried a syringe, the fact it was capped and kept in her pocket told Himiko that she didn't want to have to use it unless absolutely necessary.

"Follow me please Ms. Toga." The nurse favored her with a calming smile as Himiko came to her side. "Your assigned temporary suite has a shower built in," the nurse's eyes swept up and down the younger girl, "and it may be for the best that you use it."

"Oh yeah, I am soaked." The younger woman made just the tiniest effort to hide her lack of shame. "I must stink of... well, sweat and stuff I guess..." Himiko ran a hand across the back of her neck, feeling the layer of sweat, dirt, and whatever else she had expelled.

"...Yes. This way please." The nurse said, just a little more demanding as she placed a hand just behind Himiko's back. Giving a small nod of apology, she allowed the nurse to shepherd her down the short hallway to the observation suite. It was smaller than her actual quarters, and only had a small nightstand, a bed and TV for entertainment purposes. And while the bathroom wasn't a separate room, a sliding curtain allowed for some level of privacy.

"Cozy..." She shrugged as she stepped inside the room, moving over to the 'bathroom'. The curtain caught a little on the runner as she slid it back, revealing a standing shower, toilet, and counter-top sink. "Eh, I've stayed in worse."

"Apologies." The nurse gave a tiny bow, "though I wouldn't worry, you'll only be here for the next twenty-four hours tops. We just need to make sure that sample doesn't affect anything else."

"I'm not complaining," Himiko blinked at the new level of clarity she was experiencing. One hand gently tugged at the neck of her shirt, body now aware of the weight of her soaked clothing. "Though is there any way someone could bring me a change of clothes?"

"Of course, but for the moment..." The nurse favored her with a gentle smile, and moved to the counter. Opening the small door underneath revealed a couple travel-size bottles of three-in-one shampoo, some toothpaste and disposable brush, along with some towels and a cloth hospital gown. "You can put this on once you've finished showering if another one of the orderlies hasn't brought your clothing. And here, you can put your soiled clothes in this bag to be cleaned."

"Thank you," The blonde nodded as the nurse removed one of the shampoo bottles, the gown, and towels and placed them on the counter.

"You're welcome." The nurse handed Himiko the bag, which she had now labeled with her name and main room number. "Do you need anything else, Miss Toga?"

"No, I should be good." She gave a tiny bow and took her hair down from the messy ponytail she had pulled it into. "Thank you again."

Himiko waited until the nurse had taken her leave and pulled the curtain around the bathroom before proceeding to undress. There was no doubt in her mind that their was either a camera covering the whole of the room, or that one of the walls wasn't a true wall. And while her upbringing never really gave her a sense of modesty, she still felt like having a semblance of privacy. Stuffing her clothes into the provided bag, she tossed it around the curtain, a tiny curse escaping her as it bounced off the bed and hit the floor.

"Eh, they'll probably find it anyways..." She reached out a hand and turned the water on to the hottest it could go and let it run a moment before stepping under. A content sigh escaped her as the water splashed against her skin. "This is nice, and I'm finally in the right head space to enjoy it properly." She opened the small bottle of shampoo and began to wash her hair, using some of the stray lather to scrub her body clean. "And I owe it all to you healing kid..." Idly, her tongue darted around her mouth in a final search for any overlooked taste of the ambrosia that brought her to her current mindset. By some miracle, she found a tiny coagulated drop of it between her teeth that she had missed earlier. Another shudder ran through her body at the taste, and her hands moved and lingered lower on her body.

"I will find you...Izuku..." She moaned, no longer caring that she only had a level of pseudo-privacy. "And I will get more of your yummy yummy blood..."

…

[ June Ninth, XX40. Kyoto Imperial Medical Center.]

…

It was another day of testing of Midoriya Izuku's quirk and the effects it had on his body, and as usual Shuzenji Chiyo had been called in as one of the chief consultants of the case. Today was a little different than normal, in that several representatives of the government, the HPSC, and members of the Ministry of Health were among the observers. After watching the testing from a live camera for a good hour or so, the observers, Chiyo, and a couple of her medical colleagues had retreated into one of the conference rooms to share what updates they themselves had seen.

Shuzenji had been hoping that they would be distracted by the demonstration, and would have time to ease into the upcoming revelation. It was time they weren't given.

"I understand we've come to some new understandings about Midoriya Izuku's quirk…" One of the chief's at the Ministry of Health had taken the position of moderator for the meeting. "What did he call it again? Impunity?"

"Yes he did. And thanks to our controlled tests, and some hands-on experiences as well, we do." Chiyo suppressed a smile, recalling how several of the pros who didn't get to fight Izuku in the HPSC's Gala had invited him to 'train' with them over the last few months. "Indeed, there's been quite a few new observations. Apologies if any of you are squeamish, but some of these images may be hard to look at."

Chiyo gestured to the screen that had been set up before picking up the small remote that controlled the projector. The first image showed Izuku's forearm, which had been speared down the length with a large chunk of wood and was time-stamped at 11:35 am. The second showed the removed chunk, as well as the wound it left behind with a stamp of 11:40 am. The third image was taken at 12:07 pm and showed the wound was nearly healed, only discolored skin showing he'd ever been pierced.

"What you see here is the aftermath of a training session between Midoriya and Kamui Woods. Our healing hero-to-be received a rather large 'splinter' during the match that I was quick to remove. The piece of wood extracted was just shy of ten inches in length." She clicked again, all three images now side by side. "You can see it took just under a half-hour for a wound like that to fully heal. Mind you an injury like that could result in complications capable of ending any career regardless of the treatment's quality."

She clicked to the next slide, which showed a photo that had been taken during his match with Endeavor at the Gala. By some one in a billion chance, a photographer had mastered to capture the brief moment between Endeavor's attack hitting Izuku and his regeneration kicking in just before the scene would have been obscured by the steam. Several of the officials flinched or looked away at the sight of immolated flesh. Seeing their discomfort, she quickly moved to the next slide, that showed the boy standing singed but unharmed in the shallows.

"And these images are of his fight against Endeavor. Almost any other person would have been cremated alive by the heat of that attack, but Midoriya recovered almost instantaneously it seems." She clicked past the side-by-side of the two photos and showed several other photos. "This is something we've observed in other cases with the boy as well that confirmed a theory of mine and several others."

"And that was?" Another member of the Ministry of Health, Kurihara Sayoko asked, eyes going between the photos and Chiyo. A faint smile on her face as she remembered the reaction of both child and mother from a year ago. Like everyone else, she was always after news about the golden child.

"That his healing gets stronger the more stress he is under." She scrolled through the photos again. "A scrape? Gone before he might even realize he had it. An injury like that splinter? Half an hour tops. Major injury? Less than five minutes. Life-ending damage? Instantaneous recovery."

"So we could, in theory, throw the kid at a villain with a confirmed lethal quirk and he'll survive?" This time, a member of the HPSC had voiced his thoughts.

"Yes, but in Midoriya's own words; 'Doesn't mean taking the injury won't hurt like a female dog'." She clicked to one of the tamer images that showed Izuku's face in obvious pain, a small amount of blood coming from one ear as he endured a blast from Present Mic's voice quirk. The youthful heroine felt a small amount of relief flow through her at the understanding nods and looks the officials were giving at her words.

"A fair point, but then what does that mean for...lost parts?" Another HPSC member asked, "I saw that picture with the missing finger – No! Don't put it back up!" He gestured for Chiyo to put down the remote, a sigh of relief escaping him as she complied. "Now, his hand regrew the finger, but what became of the severed digit? Did it show signs of regrowing into another Midoriya or?"

"Nope, it just looked like any other severed limb." The doctor that had been involved in that particular test answered. "As with any limb, we kept it on ice, just in case it didn't grow back and we had to reattach it. But since it did, we disposed of it the same as any other amputated part."

"And what is that method Dr. Yamada?"

"Burning." He replied, seeing the man flinch at the answer. "Or you could call it cremating if you want to treat it with a little more respect."

"And it acted as any other body part would have?" Another woman whose badge identified her as a representative of another branch of the government blinked, the faintest grimace of discomfort on her face at the subject.

"Far as I know it did." Dr. Yamada shrugged, "we're not the ones to handle biological waste disposal directly to be honest."

Another woman from the HPSC raised a hand. "So, anything removed from Midoriya's body loses its regeneration over time?"

"Correct, which explains why the direct healing effect his blood offers only lasts a short while before the blood behaves like that of any other transfusion." Another doctor answered.

"But Dr. Kondo, wouldn't that mean that...other than passing on his quirk's power briefly. That Midoriya's blood is no different than any other?"

"In that sense, yes. But there is one other factor that sets his blood apart from the rest." Dr. Kondo looked over to Recovery Girl. "Dr. Shuzenji, if you would?"

Chiyo reached into the pocket of her lab coat and held up two small vials of blood. One was labeled as belonging to Midoriya Izuku, while the other vial had the name redacted. "Under refrigerated conditions, red blood cell donations will keep for forty-two days. Left at room temperature, you've got maybe five. These two samples were taken on the same day, and I've kept them in a rack on my desk for the last two weeks." She tilted the vials left and right; The one with Izuku's blood splashed around like any other liquid, while the other vial seemed to be filled with something more akin to jelly. "After five days, this is how most improperly stored blood samples behave." She showed off the movement of the 'jelly' blood again, before moving the other vial. "You can see, Midoriya's blood is showing no such issues."

"Have we seen this with any other samples?" The moderator asked, his eyes fixated on the vials and the liquids within.

"Probably not. Similar to lost limbs, most medical samples are disposed of shortly after testing is complete to prevent issues, such as infecting others or contamination of other samples." Dr. Yamada answered again. "However, I suppose a team could take a couple samples and leave them out in sub-optimal conditions for a few days. Just to see what happens."

"A fair point," another HPSC representative answered. "But does that knowledge really help in the long run?"

"From the medical standpoint - If Midoriya's samples truly do not decay..." Chiyo once again held up the blood vial. "It means that we can save the limited space in our freezers for other blood samples that do require proper storage for maximum shelf life."

The youngest of the government representatives spoke up. "Why do we even need other samples? Isn't Midoriya's blood a cure all?"

"Suddenly I understand why that one went into politics..."The youthful heroine blinked, but kept her professional composure. "It is, but because of its powers, it's best saved for the most severe cases. A doctor is not going to give you stitches for a paper cut. No, they're going to hold back those sutures for someone whose torn their leg wide open. Same goes for regular blood transfusions – If you're A-positive and we have A-positive blood, you're getting that before we'll even think of going for the O-negative donations for you."

"Not to mention, we'd have to drain the kid dry virtually around the clock to get even a fraction of what a single hospital might use in a day if there's a national emergency." Dr. Kondo spoke again, which brought a nod of agreement from the other two doctors. Even several officials nodded their agreement with the man's statement and Chiyo's explanation.

"Fair enough. Now I'm no medical expert, so please forgive me if I am wrong." Sayoko raised her hand, "but I've heard that there can be complications with donations from older blood donors. If that is true, is it possible that Midoriya's blood could become, for lack of a better term, 'corrupted' if he was hit with an aging quirk?"

"I will admit that we do tend to find more issues with older donors, such as lower white blood cell count. But as long as they're within the requirements and healthy enough to withstand the procedure, there's no restriction on that." Recovery Girl smiled proudly, "but that aside, we're currently under the theory that Midoriya's quirk would reduce, if not outright negate some of the issues that come with aging."

"Dr. Shuzenji is right." Dr. Kondo noticed the confused looks some of the officials were sporting. "Simple example, our hair follicles have pigment cells that make melanin, which is the chemical to give hair its color. Those cells start to die off as you age, causing your hair to turn lighter and take on shades of gray, silver, and eventually white." He showed off his own brown hair, which was peppered here and there with gray hairs. "In Midoriya's case, his cells wouldn't allow that decay to happen to any degree, and his hair would remain its current shade of vibrant green."

"Not only that, but there's a chance that, if he was hit with an aging quirk, that he would only be pushed to his physical maturation and not beyond." Dr. Yamada answered, voice slightly lower than when he had been talking earlier.

"That's all well and good," the moderating chief was speaking again, "but what does that mean?"

Dr. Shuzenji looked again to her colleagues. Like her, the two of them were some of the highest ranked doctors and healing quirk users in the country. The three of them had known each other for decades, and all it took was a couple of glances for them to have full conversations. Both of them gave Chiyo a knowing look of affirmation, though there faces held a level of seriousness reserved for worse-case scenarios. This expression was now on Chiyo's face as she looked back at the crowd before her.

"After all the tests performed and from the results gathered, we have come to a conclusion. For all intents and purposes, we believe..." Chiyo's voice went even softer than normal, "We believe Midoriya Izuku maybe considered biologically immortal by all medical standards."

The room went deathly silent, before all the officials began to talk and argue among themselves. Only the one acting as moderator remained calm, his cellphone coming out as he exited the room. No one but the three doctors saw the man leave, and they were the only ones to see him come back.

"Who else knows of this?" He asked the three, seeing that they weren't caught up in arguing about the revelation.

"The three of us, and a handful of other senior medical staff not present." Dr. Kondo answered, noticing the phone in the man's hand was open in a call.

"And I suppose everyone in this room now as well..." Dr. Yamada answered, seeing the rest of them still arguing.

"So be it. Attention..." He raised his voice, and within a few moments the room had returned to its original calm. "By direct order of the Prime Minister Mukai and Emperor Horikoshi himself, there is to be no discussion of Midoriya Izuku's status of potential immortality outside of official research and sanctioned statements. You will all be given severely strict non-disclosure agreements to sign before you are allowed to leave this room. From here on out, the majority of medical information on our Kosensei is treated as a national secret."

Nods came from around the room as the full weight of the man's words landed on them. No one raised any argument on the matter, and no discussions beyond casual small talk were traded as they waited for whatever officials would be coming with the pages for them to sign. Dr. Shujenzi herself just sighed and took a seat, mind already thinking ahead to future tests and ideas of how best to use Izuku's quirk for the good of everyone.

There was only one type of test left, and that would need his consent as a legal adult first. She just prayed that it wasn't to be as revelation loaded as the rest had been.

…

[July Fourth, XX40. Musutafu.]

…

It was another day of living in a borderline hell on earth scenario for Bakugo Katsuki. It had been nearly two years since Deku's quirk had been revealed, and the bomb that had set off rivaled any explosion Katsuki had ever made. Following Izuku's transfer to Soumei, nearly everyone had turned on Katsuki.

No longer was his past bullying of weaker students seen as amusing. Instead, most now saw those past transgressions as toxic taint that even some villains might have a hard time tolerating or approving of. His popularity had waned, and he could count on one hand the few people who still remained on good enough terms who, despite everything, that he could still call friends.

His mother, and to a slightly lesser extent his father, had become more active in his life and kept an eye on his behavior. More than once since then, The Hag had reigned him in and disciplined him for his comments or actions. There was even one moment during a heated argument with The Hag that his generally calm Old Man showed just how he had mastered to survive and thrive against the wild woman that had become his wife.

The teachers and other figures of authority within the school system weren't of much help either. Those who once supported him in his quest to become someone great now seemed to be working to keep him down, or hold him back ever so slightly. While he continued to be a model student where grades, work ethic and quality of work was concerned. No longer did the teachers call upon him to answer questions, or to be the first to give a report. While they couldn't outright ignore him without showing the same level of bigotry that had gotten him in trouble, they could get away with giving him the barest minimum of attention.

The possible scholarship offers from various universities, academies, and colleges – both general and hero based, that he once qualified for were off the table. Thankfully though, none of them actually barred him from attending. All it meant was that he'd have to make his own way in.

"Take out a loan. Get the Old Man to cosign...at least he'll be a little more forgiving if I miss a payment or need help than The Hag would." He mused, walking down the street with the recent packet of information that he had been given about the courses offered at UA. "Fuck! That UA scholarship should have been mine! Deny my application for it because of 'behavioral issues'..."

Safe to say, Katsuki's life had become even shittier than he had ever made Deku's. He noticed an empty soda can on the ground and kicked it, mastering to send it flying with just the right arc to land in a recycling bin. He grinned, before scowling that even a sports scholarship had been taken from him.

"Good one!" Though distant, the cheerful tone of the voice. The overwhelmingly positive vibe of it reached Katsuki's ears. He looked across the street then, seeing a familiar shock of green hair looking at one of the windows of a nearby shop. He growled, a rational part of him knowing that Deku probably didn't see his display of athletic prowess and that his cry was for something else.

Still, the bigoted part of himself that Katsuki never accepted or really bothered to change argued louder that, once again, Deku was looking down on him. And it was that voice that drove him to change course. He let out an almost feral growl and bolted across the street, information packet thrown carelessly on the ground behind him.

"DEKU!" Katsuki channeled as much rage as he could into his voice, one hand in a fist while the other was positioned in what would best be described as a 'tiger claw'. It was his intention to, once and for all, put the beat on the brat and show him who looked down on who.

His rage filled charge was cut short by three simultaneous impacts and someone shouting "Get back Midoriya-Sama!"

Katsuki's world became a blurry kaleidoscope of pain as he was flipped in the air and then brutally pinned face-down on the unforgiving concrete of the sidewalk. He could feel three sets of hands holding him down. Both arms pinned with his palms to his lower back, his feet spread far enough that he couldn't get leverage, and one hand holding his head with a stubborn grip that kept his nose pressed to the stone. He felt something cold then pressed against his wrists, and instinctively knew them to be a pair of quirk inhibiting cuffs.

"Damn it Deku!" Though his words were muffled by the ground, Katsuki had no doubt in his mind that they heard him. "Call off your dogs!"

"Do you know him Sir?" Based on the volume, it was the one holding his head who asked. Katsuki looked up as best he could, seeing Deku studying him like they used to look at bugs under a magnifying glass.

"Maybe. I used to have a Friend." An expression of pure sass with just a hint of nostalgia crossed Deku's face. "He used the name 'Kaachan' when we played as little kids. I don't know what happened to him, but I don't think I know who this is either."

At the snub, Katsuki let out a growl of frustration, but decided against trying to break away from his captors.

"Do you want to press charges against him, Midoriya-San?"

"No. He didn't harm me. So I don't see the point. Call it nostalgia from seeing an almost familiar face." The casual shrug, the utter dismissal of him, showed Katsuki just how much Deku had changed in the two years since they had last seen each other. "Or is that really you, Bakugo?"

"Yeah, it's me..." Katsuki nearly bit his tongue off as he answered, trying to hold onto whatever dignity he had left. "Anyhow, his birthday is next week, right?" He moved his head as best he could to look at the guard who still had an iron grip on his arms. "So happy birthday Deku! Now lemme go!"

"Thank you Bakugo." Once again, Deku opted to further stress the divide that had grown between them, referring to him by his family name. "Let him go guys. Mom won't be happy if I'm late for dinner again." He made a show of looking at the watch on his wrist as the guards proceeded to surround Izuku in a protective human cage as the two holding Katsuki down released him. When he felt the coldness of the cuffs fall away, he gave Deku a final nod as he turned away from the group and made his way back across the street.

Though he did his best to maintain his usual proud swagger, the fact that his shoulders slumped just slightly. That his stride was just a slightly bit shorter than usual. It told the world that his pride had been wounded more than anything.

"Damn it Deku...One way or another, I'm going to get you back for everything..."

…

[July Fifteenth, XX40. Kyoto. Kyoto Sodaina Kou Restaurant.]

…

A loud droning summoned Izuku back to the land of the consciously focused, the boy snapped out of the dream-like stupor he had fallen into while further researching everything he possibly could about UA's entrance exam. It would still be a good three-quarters of a year away, but with graduation drawing ever nearer...

The droning grew louder, and he got up from his desk and moved to his nightstand. One hand hitting the 'off' switch on the alarm clock to rest there. The digital display switched from it's usual wake up message to a read out of the time, temperature, and date.

5:00am

26°C/78°F

July 15th

There was no stopping the groan to escape his lips as the realization dawned on him. Today was his birthday.

His eighteenth birthday, to be exact.

Another sigh escaped him. It was only a matter of time before the updated 'Most Eligible Bachelor Heroes' list would come out, and there was little doubt in his mind he'd be somewhere on that list...Even if he only made it into the 'Honorable Mentions'. Picking out a fresh set of clothes, Izuku dragged himself to the bathroom and took a quick shower. Toweling himself off, he dressed before trying, and failing, to get his hair to cooperate into any style except 'slightly neater than bed head'.

Moving to the kitchen, Izuku wasn't surprised to find that his mother had already started on making him breakfast. He was simultaneously pleased, yet also a little disappointed that breakfast was his mother's simple yet flavorful omurice instead of something more elaborate like her triple-berry pancakes.

"Good Morning Izuku, and happy birthday!" Inko smiled and gave her son a

kiss on his forehead as she set a plate of omurice before him. "Now, I know breakfast might seem a little plain, but I figured you'd appreciate some simplicity before tonight's festivities."

"It's fine. Besides, you haven't made omurice in awhile." Bowing his head, Izuku gave thanks for his meal, before happily taking a few bites of his meal.

"Not going to say that's why but..." Inko shrugged as she sat down with her own plate. "Are you excited for tonight?"

An excited yet apprehensive grimace passed along Izuku's face. He knew his mother, and the HPSC, had worked to go all out to celebrate his eighteenth birthday. And while he didn't know the exact specifics, he knew they had somehow mastered to rent out the entirety of Kyoto Sodaina Koun for the afternoon to celebrate.

From what he had gathered, the HPSC had learned their lesson from past events that featured him as the center of attention. As such, they thought smart decided to restrict access to just those Pro Heroes who ranked in the top ten at the time of his birthday. Each Pro that received an invitation had the option to accept or pass it to another Pro of their choice if they were unable to make it. So far, he knew Hawks and Endeavor had accepted and would be there, along with Best Jeanist and Edgeshot. Once again, All Might was unable to attend, though Izuku had heard that the number one Pro Hero was sending a gift and card along.

"I am, but at the same time..." He chewed a couple bites, "I feel nervous." Izuku could practically feel the light of camera flashes, hear the chatter of people turning out just to try and get a glimpse of him. "I mean, I'm eighteen now."

Inko laughed at her son's words, understanding his line of thought. "So what? Expecting a bunch of girls to just start throwing marriage proposals or themselves at you?" Mama Midoriya's laugh only grew as Izuku blushed. He knew his mother served as a buffer for some of his social media accounts, and more than once had joined her in laughing at some of the...safer propositions that had come in despite him being underage at the time.

"I mean, maybe?" He ate a few more bites, not finding the idea unappealing but... "I, I don't know how to explain it."

"Ah, my little Izuku has grown from a smart little boy to an emotionally clueless man." Inko faked wiping a tear from her eye, "I'm so proud."

"And I'm going to school." He punctuated his sentence by eating his last bite of rice, pushing away from the table. Grabbing up his backpack, he gave his mom a quick peck on the cheek and followed today's escort out of the house and to the car.

His day at school had passed fairly normally, though almost every greeting to him was accompanied with a birthday wish. At lunch time, he was surprised by several of his classmates who had coordinated a group effort to sign multiple cards for them. He had laughed as he accepted them, remembering the countless ones he had stuffed in the recycling bin back at Alderra High when his quirk was revealed. These ones however, which had been gifted out of genuine kindness for the occasion, were carefully bagged and tucked safely in the pages of one of his larger textbooks.

"Thank you everybody!" He bowed to his fellow classmates as they took their leave, leaving him alone with Tenya and Momo, who had already started digging into the strawberry shortcake Momo had brought along for the occasion. "And where's your cards?" He gave them his best faux glare as he picked up a fork and took a chunk of the cake.

"Tensei's bringing mine and his to the party." Tenya answered, "also he's kind of mad at the HPSC for limiting hero attendance."

"You mean he's mad that he's his little brother's plus one instead of it being the other way around..." Momo chuckled, calling up the video clip Tenya had sent her of the older Ida brother's rant about not getting officially invited. Or getting a passed off invitation.

"...Who does he think he is? Passing the invite off to Fat Gum of all heroes!? I'm ten times cooler than him, and I actually know the birthday boy! I should have gotten an invite!"

The three shared a laugh as the clip played, with Tenya once again making the two of them swear that they wouldn't upload that video to the internet. "And the same goes for mine. My parents also have something for you."

Izuku nodded, even as another group decided to stop by their table and wish him well. The experience from lunch kept a smile on his face that remained until the end of the school day, and into the afternoon. It was only when his car had rolled up to the restaurant that the smile fell away, eyes falling on the crowd that had gathered. There were representatives from the HPSC, along with several Pro Heroes who had not made the invite list stationed outside, running crowd control and doing their best to distract the paparazzi. All told, it looked more like a red carpet event of an awards show than a birthday party.

Fortunately, his escorts were quick to move him past the crowd and into the restaurant, where he was greeted with the sight of several of the Top Ten heroes, as well as a few who sat lower in the rankings. What really surprised him was the sight of a pink-skinned girl in a blue and yellow splotched dress with matching boots, and a floating white dress with a cherry blossom pattern standing next to Tenya and his brother.

"Mina! Toru! You're here!?" He called, running over to greet his favorite V-tubers. He gave both girls a hug simultaneously, the action bringing a small chuckle from both of the Ida brothers. At the sound, he released the two of them, "It's so nice to see you again!"

"Wouldn't miss it!" Toru bounced up and down, one hand pulling out her phone. "Selfie time! Smile Izuku!" She threw an arm around his shoulders and snapped the picture. A moment later, and Mina had mimicked Toru's actions, getting a selfie of her own.

"I want one too!" Tensei had the stupidest grin on his face, free hand thrown up in a peace sign as he snapped his own selfie. Not to be outdone, Best Jeanist and Hawks got in on the action too.

"Anybody else?" Izuku questioned, "maybe you Tenya?"

"Nope, but maybe Momo would?" He pointed over the shorter boy's shoulder to where the heiress of the Yaoyorozu family had just entered. She was wearing a simple red dress that perfectly flattered her figure. The smile on her face wide as she took in the sights around her.

"Hey Momo." Izuku excused himself and made his way to her side. "I thought your parents were joining us?"

"They're just outside. My mother ran into an old friend of hers..." There was a smile on her face despite the eyeroll that only kids with overly sociable parents could relate too. Her eyes looked to the gathered heroes and other people. "Is everyone here for the party?"

"Yeah. Though the HPSC wanted to restrict the amount of guests...My mom still insisted on renting out the entirety of Kyoto Sodaina Koun for the afternoon."

Momo's jaw couldn't drop further without the assistance of a quirk. "Did you say the entire restaurant? All afternoon?"

Izuku smiled at her in that carelessly clueless way, not spotting the problem. "Is the food here not good or something?"

The heiress' brain shorted, unable to properly compute what the scene was presenting to her. "It takes a month's wages for a government administrator to make a reservation for one as long as its over a year later... How much did it cost to rent the entire place for an afternoon?!"

Finally it clicked.

"Oh my god, Midoriya's family has more money than mine."

Such a revelation let to another confusing thought, "Is this what it felt like for all those people around me when I flaunted my family's wealth by accident?"

"Momo? Are you okay?" Izuku placed a hand on her shoulder, bringing her back to reality.

"I'm fine! Just fine...Maybe a little surprised at your mom's actions." Momo gave a nod to the Midoriya Matriarch as she caught the older woman's eye. "But hey, eighteenth birthdays are a once in a lifetime event so...Makes sense she'd go all out for her little zuzu."

The groan of deep embarrassment came from Izuku's mouth as most of the guests started laughing at the comment. That seemed to be a signal, and the atmosphere became much more relaxed for all parties. Izuku was listening to Hawks telling a story of his latest case, several other Heroes telling him their own stories while he in turn recited everything he knew about them.

"Ah, there's the birthday boy!" Endeavor's voice interrupted Izuku's rant about Best Jeanist's quirk, much to the amusement of the Fiber Hero.

"Ah! Hello again Endeavor." Izuku gave a polite bow, eyes noticing then the young woman who was hanging slightly behind the man. The Flame Hero noticed Izuku's gaze and gently ushered the woman forward. She had white hair that was streaked with red, and wore a simple red dress with white accents. Seeing Izuku, she gave a tiny bow and smiled.

"Midoriya Izuku, it's an honor to meet you." She rose, the smile still on her face, "I'm Todoroki Fuyumi."

"The pleasure is mine!" He returned the bow, amazed to be meeting the child of one of the top heroes. He didn't know much about the Todoroki children, other than that none of them had followed in their father's footsteps, but it didn't stop him from going on one of his usual rants. "I know you're not a hero like your father, but what's your quirk? Can you shoot flames like him or?"

"Wow father, you weren't kidding about his enthusiasm." Fuyumi laughed, "and no. I inherited my mother's ice quirk." She briefly created a small cube of ice in her hand, which she promptly dropped into the drink she was holding.

"Cool, I mean..." He bowed his head, hating himself for the accidental pun. "That's a nice quirk. Though I'm a bit surprised that Endeavor brought you instead of one of his other associates from the Agency."

"Fuyumi's an elementary school teacher." Endeavor answered for her, his face not quite at a smile. "Since she had the afternoon off, I figured she'd appreciate mingling with some more adult company in a more formal setting."

"That and my students are always asking me about my father, and other Pro Heroes...And a couple of them have even asked about you, Izuku." She took a sip of her drink, "figured this way I could also bring them back a few first hand accounts of my interactions with them." She reached into the purse at her side and removed what appeared to be a paper lunch bag that had been decorated with childish drawings of balloons, presents, and other party items. "Speaking of, once my students heard I would be attending your birthday party, they insisted on making you gifts. It's not much but..."

Izuku took the bag and opened it, finding a bunch of index cards. All of them had drawings on them of stick figure or slightly better versions of himself doing various 'hero things'. He flipped through a couple, finding messages on the back wishing him well.

"I love it! I'm going to buy a photo album to put them in." The heartfelt thanks Izuku felt manifested itself as he felt compelled to embrace Fuyumi in a chaste hug, which she gently but awkwardly returned. "Please thank your students for me."

The sight of Izuku hugging his only daughter brought a reserved laugh from Endeavor. "Sorry, should have warned you the boy's not exactly shy about his feelings."

Fuyumi rolled her eyes at her father's words, while the Pros closest to the pair held back laughs and comments. Once again, Izuku was oblivious to the going-ons around him and excused himself to get something to drink. Along the way, he passed by a table that had been taken over by Momo, Toru, and Mina as they got to know each other. For reasons he could not explain, he had been nervous about the two of them meeting again. And meeting for the first time in the case of Toru and Momo. Nearing the table, he realized his fears were unfounded, and the three girls were involved in an animated discussion that quickly went quiet as he stopped to mingle a moment.

"And what were you three talking about?" He asked, wondering just what his friend and favorite V-Tubers might have been up to and why they went silent.

"We were just discussing having Momo on our show." Mina answered, bringing nods from the other two. "Add a new segment. Friends with Heroes, or Interviews with Pseudo-celebrities."

"They're still working out the name..." Momo added, eyes darting to the collection of Izu-Pens at her friend's side.

"Yeah. It's got to be catchy, but not click-baity..." Toru added, shoulders slumping slightly.

"Oh, I'm sure you'll come up with something. Though don't tell me when you do, I-I want to be surprised!" Izuku left the girls behind, causing them to laugh and grin as they returned to their original discussion. He looked at the bar, seeing Tensei entertaining Fat Gum and several others with a story while Tenya looked pissed. Izuku mastered to catch the tail end of Tensei's story as he came even with the counter.

"...He choked so badly, the team started calling him Morgan Lee!" How the laughing Tensei didn't die from a lack of oxygen was beyond Izuku's ever-growing knowledge of medicine. While Izuku didn't know who that was, the fact that Fat Gum suddenly choked on his takoyaki, and that others were giving the Ida Brothers a mix of scandalized, intrigued, and curious expressions told him they either knew this person or knew of them.

"Who is that?" Izuku asked, innocent as ever. "Were they a hero?"

"A famous porn star known for her skill at deep throa-" Tensei started to answer without missing a beat, only to be cut off by the sudden force of Tenya's hands over his mouth.

"Brother?! Why?!" Tenya cried.

"Why do I know that? Or why would I answer that? My answer is the same either way." Tensei's focus didn't falter, nor did his smile as he felt the expressions of those around him on his back. "It is an elder brother's duty to mortify their siblings when it is the most devastating. Especially when it comes to their preferences."

"What did I do to deserve this?" The younger brother moaned, releasing his brother's face just enough for him to answer.

"Remember a month ago when you told mother about my break up with Mei Ling?" The elder Ida struck a bragging pose. "That. That is what you did to deserve this."

Tenya let out another groan as those in the know chuckled, their laughing only coming to a stop as they noticed that Inko, Fuyumi and the younger girls were walking towards them.

"And what are we all laughing at?" Mina asked, sliding right next to Izuku, who appeared slightly confused at the situation.

"Oh, Tensei's just been telling stories about his little brother." He answered. "I'm kind of glad I don't have any older siblings to be embarrassed by, though it's kind of sad I don't have any younger to embarrass in turn either."

"It sucks." Tenya frowned.

"It's wonderful!" Tensei grinned.

"Boys. Boys." Inko's motherly side came out and she moved to stand between the two Ida boys. "Behave yourselves, this is a very exquisite restaurant and..." A chime-like melody came from within the small clutch purse Inko was carrying. "...And I should have put this on silent. Excuse me."

Izuku caught the way his mother's face briefly lit up then fell as she read the name to have popped up. He gestured that he'd be right back, steps quiet as he followed his mother to the secluded corner she had retreated to. While he had missed the first part of the conversation she was having, he caught wind of the second.

It wasn't what he had hoped for.

The expression on his mother's face was a rare one. So rare in fact that it took him a moment to recognize it.

Rage. Fury. Overflowing anger. All fueled by a justified grievance granted by an absentee father.

"You can't keep using that excuse! Every hospital from Hokkaido to Kyushu have been forcing money on us out of gratitude!" Inko's eyes darted around the restaurant, a place she once only could have dreamed about eating at. "You could quit working and we'd still have enough to spoil our great grandchildren rotten!"

Izuku fought the faint flush to come to his cheeks. Grandchildren were one thing, great-grandchildren a whole other game. Still though, those words confirmed his thoughts on just who had called.

"Why won't you admit the truth? Are you in some kind of trouble?" Inko's voice faltered. "Is there someone else? Why won't you come home?!"

Her voice cracked and she shook her head, willing her tears to stay locked inside their ducts.

"Don't... Don't say those words unless you mean it." She leaned against the wall, voice shaking with a depressed anger as she continued. "Don't tell me the same things over and over again, and expect them to be taken as truth on nothing but faith."

She ran a hand through her hair, not caring if she messed up the curls she had spent the better part of the morning putting in.

"You've been gone for years, Dearest Husband." There was no mistaking the polite distance in the language or choice of words. "You won't tell me why, you won't visit, you can't even make a token attempt with a video call. You send money with the banks, and maybe call once every few months."

The mask Inko was wearing finally cracked, and a single tear snaked from her eye.

"I can't do this." Inko's eyes drifted to where Izuku was standing, debating just doing something. Anything than just standing by to bear witness to how much of a mess his parent's marriage had devolved into. "Today is your son's birthday, and when you call it isn't to speak to him but to tell me the next payment might be late."

Despite now being an adult, Izuku wanted nothing more than to run and embrace his mother. Assure her that everything would be fine as she often had done for him. Instead, he continued to hold back, out of respect for what privacy her conversation still had.

"I... I can't do this anymore. I won't." She glared at the phone, a white knuckle grip on it. "Don't call again. If you want to speak to me, you will have to do it in person." With that, Inko hung up and turned off the phone. Stashing in back in her purse, she moved to where Izuku was standing. "Your father says happy birthday."

It was a lie, but one that was easier to repeat than the truth.

Though she had spoken the words with such a dull, disinterested tone, Izuku found himself smiling at the absurdity of it. It had been years since he had last actually heard his dad, and even longer since he had seen the man. He barely remembered what the man looked like, and there weren't a lot of photos of him to keep the image fresh.

"Too bad you hung up on him before I could pass along my thanks." He replied, the same dull tone on his voice. Mother and son just stared at each other a moment, before Inko started to chuckle. And while Izuku didn't join his mother in laughing, he did give her a hug before they moved back towards the partying guests. While Inko was able to return to the party and easily insert herself into the conversation Fuyumi and Best Jeanist were having about some fashion trend or another, Izuku didn't feel much like socializing anymore.

The fact that his mother seemed so troubled by that simple call bothered him. The fact that his father hadn't even asked to speak to him bothered him. The fact that Izuku sometimes forgot he had a father bothered him. Letting out a sigh, the birthday boy took a seat at an empty table and cradled his head in his hands, thinking.

Tenya noticed his friends change in mood, and an idea came to him. The blue-haired boy tapped Momo on the shoulder, directing her attention to where their green-haired friend was sitting as he leaned close and whispered in her ear.

"Hey, not sure when you girls were going to hit Izuku with your surprise, but you might want to do it sooner rather than later."

"Well, we were going to do it once he was done opening gifts..." She frowned, noticing Izuku's mouth moving in his trademark muttering. "But I think now is as good a time as any." Momo waved Toru and Mina to her side, directing their attention to their target. "It's go time."

The other two girls nodded and moved towards Izuku. Toru was in the center with Momo on her right and Mina on the left.

"Hey Izuku?" Momo was the first to speak, her voice almost always able to pierce though Izuku's thinking bubble.

"Oh? Did you girls need something?" He snapped out of his musings, willing a small smile to his face as he looked at the three of them.

"No, but we have something for you." Mina smiled, eyes flicking sideways a moment to look at her two friends who nodded in agreement.

"And before you say that we should wait until you open your gifts..." Momo cut off Izuku's reply before he could even open his mouth.

"We just can't wait any longer." Toru wiggled, showing her excitement.

That simple action sent a tiny chuckle from Izuku's mouth, and not wanting to disappoint his friends. "Okay, what is it?"

"This!" The three girls chorused and made their move. Momo caught Izuku from the right, Mina from the left, and Toru attacked from the front. As one, the three girls kissed Izuku, causing him to turn beet red as the gathered guests cheered.

blue-screened as the teen tried in vain to remember how to deal with publicized affection.

"Talk about a three-course meal." Fat Gum smiled, causing Hawks and Best Jeanist to burst into laughter at the man's words.

"Oh my, he's a popular one, isn't he?" Fuyumi smiled, one hand over her mouth as she tried to hold back a laugh. "Can't tell this one to the kids..."

"Yeah." Endeavor looked annoyed for a moment, but let out a polite chuckle anyhow.

"Damn it!" Tensei cursed as Tenya fist-pumped the air. "Didn't think they'd go through with it."

"Told you they would...Pay up!" Tenya held out a hand as his brother handed over some money.

"Toru, why!?" Both Momo and Mina complained, realizing where their friend's lips had landed.

"Where was I supposed to go? His forehead?" She cried, the whole of her form turning to where a smiling Inko was standing, as if asking the older woman for advice.

"Oh dear. Maybe you were right about turning eighteen Izuku..." Inko looked at the three girls, her mind obviously imagining various grandchildren that could result from him being with any one of them...or all three.

Izuku meanwhile didn't hear anything, his brain having shorted out from the sudden attention of his three girl friends. One hand came up and touched his left cheek, feeling a small, oily spot from where Mina's lip gloss had rubbed off on him. He moved his hand to his right, noticing a small red stain from Momo's lipstick. Finally, he touched his lips, which were still tingling from unseen contact. The heat radiating off him was enough to rival Endeavor, and Izuku was almost convinced that something had finally killed him and that was his reward for a life well lived.

"Izuku? Hey! Izuku, you in there?" Tenya gently rapped a hand on Izuku's skull, trying to call him back to the land of the living.

"Uh yeah, need something Tenya?" He blinked slowly, taking in the scene before him.

"Yeah," he handed Izuku a cake knife, "we need the birthday boy to cut the cake!" Tenya pushed him over to one of the tables. A large sheet cake sat upon it, the dark green clamshell border a contrast to the cream color of the frosting. The surface of the cake was dominated by a large edible image of well over fifty Pro Heroes, all of them holding up a banner that proclaimed 'Happy 18th Birthday Izuku!'.

"When was that picture taken?" He blinked, noticing that All Might was at the center of the group. "No one's seen All Might for months, yet there he is."

"A couple months back, during one of the annual hero conferences." Endeavor answered, unusually polite as he spoke of his greatest rival. "The man only showed up briefly in the afternoon for a single panel, and for that photo shoot." He placed a hand on Izuku's shoulder. "I think I speak for the photographer, and everyone here when I say it was quite the task getting everyone positioned just right so that we all could be seen."

Nods came from the gathered heroes, and Izuku grinned as his eyes started hunting for where his party guests were on the cake.

"Well, I greatly appreciate the fact you, and everyone else all took the time out of your hero schedules to do something like this." He gestured at the cake, before looking at the other party guests. "And that all of you took the time to join me in celebrating this milestone in my life. I am truly blessed to be surrounded by such amazing people." Izuku bowed, knife raised to make the first cut into the cake. However, before he could make the first incision...

"Happy birthday to you!" Mina and Toru started, leading everybody into the song. Only once the last note died away did Izuku make the first cut, and start handing out slices to the gathered guests.

…

[March 31, X041. Soumei Private High School]

…

The day all high school students strive for was finally upon them.

Graduation Day.

Some students reacted with sheer joy at the thought, while others treated it as just another day in their life. Then you had the students who couldn't help but cry at the thought of saying good-bye to their classmates and teachers for the final time. Anyone with some form of sight could easily see any one of these emotions plastered on the faces of the students as they sat through the ceremony that would take them fully into the world.

Given their prestige, Soumei generally kept the occasion simple and handled it with a business-like elegance. The bulk of the graduating student body sat in the middle of the gym, their uniforms immaculate as ever. Family members, teachers, and underclassmen friends surrounded the graduates on three sides. The fourth side held the small stage and podium that had been set up to accommodate those who would be speaking at the event.

It was on this stage that Izuku, Momo, and Tenya found themselves, along with several other honor students. This was done both as a means to show off Soumei's best, as well as facilitate an ease of access for them to reach the microphones to give their respective speeches. While most would consider it an honor to be where they were, the three had other feelings as they looked at their fellow students seated out in the main crowd.

As solemn as the school tried to keep these occasions, there was always a few who opted to defy the expected norm and create a stir. As such, there was usually one member of the AV club who conveniently had a master remote to control the PA system's volume when the over achieving head of the student council got overly excited in her speech. Or the star athlete who accidentally put on the wrong sized shirt that inevitably ripped as he accepted an award. But never was it the honored students who created the stir...

"Ugh, this is so boring..." Momo sighed, she had already given her speech and was now listening to another teacher going off about how they were 'one of the best classes' and 'had bright futures' and other empty sentiments that accompanied the pomp and circumstance of graduation.

"Not as boring as her lecture on modern literature..." Izuku quipped, bringing a gentle laugh from Momo and a glare from Tenya. An action which started the classic game of 'try not to laugh'. "Score one Izuku."

"I found that lecture to be very informative." Tenya adjusted his glasses as he looked down at the note cards in his hand. He was due to speak next.

"Yeah, on how to bore someone to sleep." Momo replied, causing Izuku to chuckle and Tenya to smile. "Score one and a half Momo."

"You got to get on the board Ida..." Izuku shook his head as the speaking teacher introduced Tenya to the watching parents and relatives.

The young heir of the Ida family seemed not to hear Izuku's comment, and instead rose to his feet. He had barely taken a step away from them, before causing a small backfire of exhaust to come from one of his engines. The sound had caused not only Izuku and Momo to giggle, but several other top students and a teacher to have similar reactions.

"Score six, Tenya." He whispered to the pair, before raising his voice so the other on the stage could hear him. "Excuse me," he gave a tiny bow of apology to his classmates, earning a few more chuckles before approaching the podium. "Good afternoon, Soumei High students, faculty, and visiting family, friends, and well-wishers..."

"Darn it, should have specified no quirk usage." Izuku frowned, even as Momo set about creating something from her hand.

"Don't worry, I'll get him back for that one." She carefully slipped the object under the cushion that covered what was essentially your standard folding chair. Soumei might cost an arm to attend, but that didn't mean they didn't occasionally try to find a way to save a little money.

"Whoopie cushion?"

"Worse..." Momo replied as the audience clapped as Tenya finished his speech. The Ida brother gave a bow and moved so that the principle could take his place. Smiling, he returned to his seat and jumped slightly at the wheezing scream that sounded as he sat. Fortunately for him, everyone thought the sound was just someone cheering weirdly and not a-

"Rubber chicken? Really?"He held the bird up, a frown that didn't match his eyes glaring at a smiling Momo. The Yaoyorozu heiress didn't bat an eye as Tenya set the bird under his chair. "Maybe we should have also said no props!" He hissed, eyes on Izuku as the boy tried to disguise his laughing as a small coughing fit.

"Midoriya-san?" The principal turned around from the podium just as Izuku caught his breath, "are you okay?"

"Just a small tickle in my throat." He made a show of taking a swallow of the water bottle to rest by his feet. "I feel better."

"Good," the principal nodded, "because its your turn to speak."

"Of course." Izuku rose to his feet, a smile on his face as he noticed many in the crowd were smiling or chuckling at his little show. While the laugh count should have just been between the three of them, Izuku knew he was well ahead in their game as Tenya had counted others for his score.

"Uh, hello everybody." Izuku began, his shyness of public speaking about anything except Hero statistics evident. "It's an honor..."

"Okay, no way are we catching up with his score now..." Tenya hissed, noticing a few others chuckling at the green-haired boy's nervousness.

"I think our best bet is going to be get this to a stale-mate..." Momo replied, eyes drifting from Izuku down to Tenya's legs. Though his engines were well hidden by his pants, she could still see the faint outline of the exhaust pipes beneath. "Willing to go for mutually assured destruction?"

"I don't want to lose, so sure." Tenya gave a nod, "What's the plan?"

"I need you to make the loudest 'backfire' you can right as Izuku sits down." There was a villainous light twinkling in Momo's eyes as she created two sets of nose plugs and offered one to Tenya.

"And we want to go to UA..." He put the plug in his nose as Momo did the same. Fortunately, everyone was so focused on Izuku that no one noticed their actions even as the boy gave a bow and another round of cheers. Returning to his seat, Izuku sat down, only to be greeted with the loudest misfiring piston he had ever heard. A moment later, and there was an odd sulfuric smell in the air. Momo had used her quirk to create a small tin of sulfur powder that she was quick to open and waft the scent towards Izuku.

"Tenya!" Izuku held his nose, voice loud as several of those nearest caught the scent. "Healing quirk or not, if you fart like that near me again I am pressing charges!"

He noticed then the grins his friends were sporting, even as the gym erupted in laughter at his outburst.

"Forgiveness, please!" Tenya jumped to his feet and bowed, causing even more laughter to erupt, along with cheers from his brother and his sidekicks.

"Here," Momo handed Tenya a bright pink bottle of medicine, "I think you need this!"

More cheers and laughter came, even as several teachers and some of the student council called for order. The principal himself was doubled over, half from laughing and half from the smell. Fortunately for the three students, the principal was a member of the Fukukado family and no stranger to practical jokes. Indeed, he felt an odd sense of pride looking out at the sea of students before him, seeing how many of them were fighting valiantly to maintain the expected stern air while their faces turned red with suppressed smiles and laughs. Given that the noise of the gym had lowered to a dull roar, and the smell had mostly dissipated thanks to one of the teachers and his wind quirk, the man approached the podium and addressed everyone.

"First, are you all okay?" Principal Fukukado asked, seeing many of the guests and students nod. "Glad to hear that. Though I suppose now is as a good a time as any to hand out the diplomas, eh?" He opened up the binder to rest on the podium before him. "Good, we'll start with our valedictorians..."

The diplomas were handed out swiftly and efficiently, the multiple practice sessions having seen to that despite the recent upset that rocked the gym.

"...To you, the class of forty-one, I thank you for your time." Principal Fukukado bowed to his class, "over the last few years, I've seen you all rise up to various challenges. Even today, you've all held your heads high and carried yourselves well. I wish you all luck in your endeavors and pray for your success." He passed a hand over the crowd, sweeping it to the students who now stood behind him on the stage. "For the final time...Class Dismissed!"

At that, several party balls attached to the ceiling burst open to shower the students in a mixture of confetti, ribbons, and balloons. All formalities were forgotten as students broke ranks to mingle with each other, or join up with family and friends.

"Midoriya. Yaoyorozu. Ida." The principal raised a hand, stopping the three from stepping off the stage. "I just want to extend my personal thanks to the three of you for giving me one of the best laughs I've had in years at a graduation disruption. Why not since my niece graduated in twenty-eight have I seen such a coordinated effort from students to pull off a stunt of that magnitude." The man's eyes twinkled with familial pride. "That being said, I wish the three of you continued success in your actions, and hope someday to see the three of you topping the charts of the Hero rankings."

"Thank you sir!" The three students bowed as one, the man returning the gesture as he dismissed them in favor of greeting several other students and their families who had come over. The trio had barely stepped off the stage before they were intercepted by their respective families and pulled into more photos than any of them had ever experienced prior. Still, the three of them knew they had taken a huge step towards their next goal in life and just decided to enjoy the moment.

…

[March 31, X041. Aogashima Black Site, Japan]

…

The volcanic island of Aogashima was a well known travel destination for nature lovers and other outdoorsy types. Over the years, it had evolved from a small island village with a population of maybe two-hundred permanent residents, to a more developed town. This was in part thanks to efforts from the HPSC who had been looking for a new location to set up a new medical facility where injured Pro Heroes, and other officials, could receive treatment and recover in relative peace away from the ever prying eyes of the media.

For the most part, both locals and tourists paid little mind to the Might E. Memorial Medical facility outside of when they themselves needed medical attention. It was your standard small hospital, capable of handling minor surgeries, births, broken bones, and physical therapy among other things. However, the majority of the island's population was unaware of the tunnels that ran under the hospital, or the part that had actually been built into the wall of the island's inner crater. It was to here that those patients who required a more delicate touch would be brought to rest, recover, and receive treatments that almost no other hospitals or facilities would consider.

It was in these secret halls that one could find the hospital's Chairman of the Board currently overseeing the treatment of a long time friend of his. Though he was just observing from outside the room, Sasaki Mirai, better known as the hero Sir Nighteye, flinched as he watched the team of neurologists work. They were gathered around a gaunt-looking blonde man, who was laying on his side, face contorted in pain.

"Still can't believe modern medicine hasn't found a way to put someone under during a spinal tap..." He sighed and looked down at the tablet in his hands, trying to decide the best way to distract his friend from the pain he would probably be feeling even worse once the medical team was done. "Toshinori didn't seem interested in the the updates on the latest UA graduates last time...Maybe go for the business approach again?"

Having become something of the man's PR Manager, Sir Nighteye opened up the e-mail that was reserved for 'Public Appearances' and browsed through the requests. He found the usual assortment – here was a rescue equipment company looking to have the Symbol of Peace appear at their company picnic in April, and another company wanting him at the centennial celebration of their company. In recent years, he usually declined these invites without Toshinori's imput, unless it was for a name or company he knew the wanted hero knew personally. Of course, to compensate, the two usually sent along some sort of gift basket to be raffled off that always included at least one authenticated autographed piece of All Might merchandise.

"Appear at a birthday party for a kid whose parents have more money than brains? Pass." He read a few more of offers, failing to catch the sound of the door to Toshinori's room opening.

"Sasaki-san?" One of the neurologists addressed him, "you may go in now."

"How is he?" He lowered the tablet, meeting the neurologist's eyes.

"Stable." The woman answered, showing him some information on the chart she was holding. Most of what she said was all information he had heard a dozen times before, and what little new information she offered didn't do much to improve his mood.

"Thank you." He dismissed the woman with a nod and wave, waiting until she had disappeared around the corner before moving to enter the room. No matter how many times he smelled it, Masai couldn't help but briefly scrunch his nose up at the antiseptic smell that always greeted his senses. He looked at the bed, seeing Toshinori was once again laying on his back, a light blanket covering his legs. A handful of IV tubes were connected to his wrists, while an oxygen mask covered his nose and mouth.

"Masai?" The bedridden man asked, head turning just slightly to see his new visitor.

"Who else." He answered, gently pulling over a chair so he could sit at his friend's side. A tiny grunt of acknowledgment came from Toshinori, the man's eyes briefly flicking down to the tablet Masai was still holding and looking at intently.

"Anything, new?"

"Not really. Just the HPSC asking for our participation in another charity event." He looked up from the tablet, eyes resting on the face of the man resting in the bed before him.

"Send... A, Polite, decline." Toshinori rasped. "Make. It up, to them. With, donation."

"I already planned on it." Sir's attention drifted back to the tablet as he marked the message. Hearing a hiss of pain, he looked back at his longtime partner. "And at the risk of sounding rude, save your breath."

"Your, humor... Still... So, terrible..." A smile appeared on Toshinori's face for a brief second, before it turned into a pained grimace.

"I made you grin at least," Sir Nighteye gently patted the older man's shoulder, "and that was all I hoped for."

The two sat there with an ever-uneasy silence between them.

Toshi broke it first, as he had for the last year.

"What, did. They, say?" he asked.

"... the procedure only showed limited success. The damage done to your torso is horrifying, and the years of stimulants and lack of proper food are starting to take their toll. They... they don't think the injections will show the success we would hope for... The serums will preserve your life, however the damage will persist and the degradation will get worse with each transformation. Yagi Toshinori can have a long life. All Might has less than a month at best."

"Don't." Toshinori raised a hand, seeming to know what Nighteye's next words would be.

"Sir, please." The younger man moved to stop his friend from over exerting himself.

"Don't!" He insisted, voice firm despite the pain he was in.

"I'm not stupid enough to ask that you pick an heir anymore." Sir Nighteye's expression was that of a pleading man. "Just give it to someone."

"Can't." Toshinori hissed in pain. "Won't."

"Toshi, please. It's killing you." The pleading man turned into a desperate beggar as he tried to get through his friend's line of thought.

"It, will. Kill. Anyone."

"We can set up a system." Sir Nighteye began to pace, hands tapping against each other as his thoughts race. "Pass it along again and again before it can cause too much damage to one person."

"Can't. Already, changing." A strangled cry escaped Toshinori's lips. "Passing it, worse."

Nighteye noticed then that Toshi's eyes were darting around the room, seeming to focus on things that weren't there. He calmed down just slightly as he realized what his senior's actions meant. "Are the hallucinations getting worse?"

"Yes... " Nighteye couldn't see his mentor's face, but there was no mistaking the shudder of his withered body. "They, say, things. Remember, things. Ghosts."

"The doctors mentioned there could be side effects..." Nighteye tried to reason.

"No. Signs, before. Ignored." The brittle body took a heaving gasp of air, "Hold, me, back. Stop, worse."

"Stop you from getting worse? How?" For all his quirk's power, he never could see to find the exact answer to that question.

"Watch."

Nighteye watched in worried horror as Toshi shifted, seeming to lift awkwardly from his hips. Concern over straining muscles or ripping surgical stitches flooded his thoughts.

Until he looked closer and realized.

Toshinori's muscles were not moving.

His body was starting to float.

"Oh... Oh no." He reached out his hands, gently placing them on Toshinori's torso even as the withered form lowered softly, returning to its prior position soundlessly.

"Like, him." the broken man croaked, "All, for, one. Is. Same."

"How?" Nighteye blinked, still not understanding.

"Given, takes."

"That's how it gets stronger?"

"Makes, into, old."

"It changes the new bearer's quirk into a copy of the past holders?" He raised an eyebrow, "Is that what they told you?!"

"Yes, yes."

Nighteye collapsed into the seat at All Might's bedside. "I-I might be more willing to believe they exist. These... ghosts of yours sir."

"Don't, make, laugh." The pained smile was back on Toshinori's face as a wheeze left him. "Hurt."

"I'm not sorry sir." Still, the able-bodied man couldn't help but lower his head.

"Tired." Toshinori yawned, once again wincing at the effort an involuntary action took.

"I'll go then." He noticed the increased effort it was taking Toshi to breathe. "Do you want a dose of painkillers?"

"Please."

Nighteye dutifully picked up the controller for Toshinori's PCA pump. With a press of the button, the machine allowed a blended infusion of morphine and other restricted substances to flow into the hero's veins.

"Thank, you." A relieved smile appeared on Toshinori's face as his eyes started to close, and he fell into what passed as a relaxed sleep in his current state.

"Sleep well sir." Nighteye left the room and rubbed at his eyes. He had several calls to make. Though he clutched his phone in his hand, he refrained from actually using it until he had exited the building. The freshness of the night air was a welcome relief from the stuffy yet sterile air that circulated through the facility. The touch of coolness surrounding him with a calm as he placed his first call.

One ring, two rings, and his call was answered.

"Mineta Nobuyuki speaking."

Anyone who watched how gentle Nighteye had been with All Might would never believe the fury that flowed forth from his lips.

"It's been a fucking week Mineta! Why hasn't the sample delivery been approved?"

The sound of someone dropping the receiver of an office phone was clear. "I don't know what to tell you Sir Nighteye, HPSC records say that All Might has already tried using Midoriya's blood for treatment. According to the report, All Might himself said that the blood was ineffective at treating his condition. So currently, the Ministry of Health's review board doesn't see the point in approving another dose being given as a form of after surgery care. I was told that if a dose is freed up then it would be assigned to his use but as it is...higher priority medical cases have to come first."

"That is bullshit! I've got copies of his entire medical record." It was only the reinforced case surrounding the phone that prevented the device from being crushed. "He's been overseas until recently, so you tell me when the fuck he could have gotten the blood?!"

"Please calm down-" The man on the other side started.

"Don't give me that training room response you incompetent bureaucrat! The Symbol of Peace is dying from his own quirk and you fucking office assholes are too busy covering everything with red tape to realize how bad this will go if an international celebrity dies because all of your empty heads keep rattling with the same idea."

"There is no need to be so insulting." The sound of a calming deep breath came from the man on the other end of the line.

"I've spent the last twelve hours watching over my mentor as he suffers indignity after indignity." Sir Nighteye decided to follow Mineta's lead and took a breath. "Now I have to handle the bad news that the reason he has to suffer is because some nameless entity are refusing to think that perhaps their records might be wrong!"

"The review board has anonymity to prevent them from being pressured!"

"That isn't the point and you damn well know it Mineta." He glared at the phone. "I've sent over copies of his medical records, gathered evidence of where he's been since the blood was discovered, and proven time and time again in just as many ways that All Might never received Midoriya Izuku's blood."

A reserved sigh came across the line, "I know that-"

"Then you should know that I can't think of any reason why we haven't seen a single dose. The only reason I can think of is that you, your review board, or someone else is dragging their feet on purpose!"

"What? Don't be crazy!" Sir Nighteye could almost imagine the desk jockey's expression, and decided to raise the stakes.

"One week then."

"What?"

"..."

"Sir Nighteye? Are you still there?" There was a level of cautious curiosity in the words.

"The Ministry has one week to provide us with a dose of Midoriya Izuku's blood..." Sir Nighteye paused, making sure his words would be understood. "Or Else I will have to force the issue."

Nighteye almost had to applaud Mineta's effort in returning to professional customer service mode. "I know you're stressed, but you're a hero, you can't just threaten the government to get your way!"

"This isn't a threat to the government, this is me offering an international PR nightmare." He smirked, semi-thankful that no one could see the expression on his face. "Imagine how the general public will handle the idea of officials letting a hero like All Might suffer, while being unwilling to give him help?"

There was long pause that would have made Sir Nighteye think his conversation partner had hung up if it wasn't for the sound of the other man's breathing coming across. "I will forward your requests, but you need to reconsider-"

"Enough. I've heard enough, I've said enough. We've been having this argument for a year. I was promised treatment by the tenth of July. It's been over forty days later. I have had enough. No more delays, no more weaseling. Goodbye."

Sir Nighteye was lucky his thumb didn't pierce the screen of his phone as he ended the call.

He took a deep breath.

Held for three seconds.

Exhale.

Hold for three seconds.

Inhale.

Hold for three seconds.

And relaxed.

Another call was made.

"Hello, this is Sasaki Mirai. I'm calling to speak to a representative of Juko News. I have information on a potential scandal."