Hello, friends, and welcome to Chapter Three, wherein I answer at least one person's question!

Disclaimer: All characters owned by Kohei Horikoshi

Chapter Three

Izuku pulled his notebook out from underneath his arm, his fingers grazing over the spine.

He knew what it was Yaoyorozu was asking for. But being able to deliver was something else entirely.

She wanted his advice, his guidance in the potential of her Quirk. It wasn't that he didn't have ideas; far from it. But he had no way of knowing if they would be helpful. He wasn't a pro, and he certainly wasn't a teacher. It would've served her far better to ask Mr. Aizawa, or All Might, for help.

So why had she asked him?

Had she really not read the notebook? He ran his hands over the cover.

She said she didn't. And I trust her. Besides, if she'd read this one, her questions would've been quite a bit different.

He thumbed the pages to the middle, preparing to break the spine—until he heard raucous laughter coming from the common room, followed by a pair of approaching voices. He slid off the stool, finishing his bottle of water, and tossed the remains in the recycling before opening the pantry.

"Oh, hey there, Midori," Ashido said as she and Uraraka entered the kitchen. She plopped onto a stool, propping her elbows on the island, her chin in her palms. "Whatcha up to?"

Izuku rummaged through the snack food, searching for a decent source of protein. He had just finished a workout, even if it ended prematurely. He found it in a bag of de-shelled peanuts, popping one in his mouth as he turned around. "Just a quick snack before I head upstairs," he said, tossing in two more peanuts. Uraraka was waiting to search the pantry herself, so Izuku stepped to the side. "What about you guys?"

"We're having movie night!" Ashido pumped a fist into the air, leaving her oddly balanced on the stool before she caught herself. "So 'Chako and I volunteered to make popcorn! Oh, right, the bowl…" she dropped off the stool and started digging through random cabinets.

"Sounds like fun," Izuku said, sweeping his notebook off the countertop.

Uraraka stepped out of the pantry, her arms filled with bags of instant-pop. She dropped these on the counter next to the microwave, where Ashido had placed an obnoxiously large glass bowl. Her eyes darted down to the notebook in Izuku's hand. "Hey! You got your notes back, Deku! I guess Yaomomo found you then, huh?"

Izuku's eyes widened, but then he remembered he'd seen Uraraka earlier as he, Kacchan, and All Might had been walking out. "Oh, you must have told her where we were," he said, to which Uraraka nodded. "She did, yes. Thank you."

The first bag started popping, the sound jarring against the soft hum of the microwave. Uraraka scratched at the back of her neck, her eyes focused on a corner of the kitchen island. "So, um," she started, managing to look to Izuku's nose, "Do you want to join us?"

"Hey," Ashido said, bumping Uraraka with her elbow. "Tonight was supposed to be girls' night! No offense, Midori!"

"Well," Uraraka pushed her index fingers together. "I… I just thought it might be nice to have everyone there! We could go ask the rest of the boys, too!"

Ashido considered this for a moment, her hand on her chin, her mouth scrunched into the side of her cheek. Finally, she brightened, a fist clapping into her palm. "Yeah, that sounds great! We'll have to make more popcorn, though…" She dove into another cabinet and pulled out a second massive bowl.

"So… how 'bout it, Deku?" Uraraka's rosy smile returned. "Wanna join us?"

The notebook weighed heavy in Izuku's hand. Movie night did sound like fun, but he'd made Yaoyorozu a promise. She'd asked for his help. He wouldn't ignore that.

"Sorry," he said, "I'd like to, but I've got some work to do tonight. And an early morning tomorrow."

"Y'know…" Ashido said between fistfuls of popcorn, her voice full of mischief, "I saw Yaomomo a few minutes ago, and she said almost the exact same thing." Her black-and-amber eyes narrowed, and she tilted her head to one side, a snarky grin on her face. "So, Midori… you and Momo got plans together tomorrow?"

Heat rose in Izuku's face like Endeavor himself had lit a bonfire in his neck with gasoline and napalm. His hands waved frantically in front of his crimson face. "What? No! I mean, yes, but—" the notebook slipped from his grasp, and he fumbled it several times before catching it between his forearms. "It—it's not like that!"

"She did kind of make it seem like she wanted to talk to you." Uraraka's voice was soft, her eyes locked on where she was pouring popcorn into the bowl. "Was it something important? Maybe we can help?"

Izuku was still trying to settle his notebook back into an actual hand. "Important? No… I mean, it is, but—" he paused, and took a steadying breath. His hand moved to the back of his head. "She just asked me to help her train, that's all."

Uraraka's face visibly brightened. "Training?"

"That's it?" Ashido, on the other hand, deflated, tossing another piece of popcorn in her mouth. "You guys sure aren't ones to waste time, huh?"

"It's not a bad idea, though…" Uraraka said, her index finger tapping against her chin.

Ashido replaced another bag in the microwave. "It is for me," she said. "I plan on using these next few weeks to, y'know, relax." She handed a full bowl to Uraraka, then dumped a bag into the second. "Come on, 'Chako, let's go talk to the guys; we can grab the rest of this when we're done." She punched Izuku lightly on the shoulder as she walked past. "Catch you later, Midori! Good luck with your training!"

Uraraka stepped around him, her arms not quite reaching each other around the circumference of the bowl. She struggled with her grip for a few seconds; finally, she sighed, and a pink glow shone around the bowl. With her Zero-Gravity Quirk activated, she gripped the lip of the bowl with one hand. "Well, I'm sorry you can't join us tonight, Deku," she said, heading to the doorway. "But good luck tomorrow!"

"Thanks," Izuku said, watching her leave. The microwave dinged, and Izuku poured the completed bag into the bowl before replacing it. He picked up his notebook, grabbed a juice from the refrigerator, and left the kitchen, moving toward the elevator.

XXXXXX

Colors assaulted Izuku as he stepped into his room. The red, white, and blue of his curtains; the flashes of yellow throughout the posters on his walls; the blue and white glaring up at him from the rug on the floor… color was everywhere in Izuku's dorm room, primary and bright. Aside from the low hum of the air conditioner set into the ceiling, the room was quiet. The door gave a light click as he closed it behind him, and he was left with the scent of cleanser and the faint hint of his deodorant.

Izuku was not a slob by any means, but at the moment the room was less than tidy. His mother would not be pleased if she saw it. The reason for that dishevelment rested in his hand. Izuku placed the notebook on his desk, along with the juice. He'd been terrified that he'd lost this volume in particular. Yes, it would be bad, and embarrassing, should he have lost one of the others, especially if it was one of the two that he'd filled since coming to U.A. Forget villains; if his classmates saw his notes on each of them, along with his accompanying drawings, the mortification might be enough to kill him on the spot.

This latest volume, however… he'd only named it such in order to make it seem innocuous. Just Midoriya being Midoriya, more volumes of hero notes.

And for this book, that was slightly true. Just that the heroes in question were all very specific.

He sat down at his desk and opened the cover. On the first page was a self-portrait; himself in his costume, sans mask, though only from above his shoulders. He wasn't sure he'd captured himself correctly, but it was the best he could do. Above his head was written the number "9," and beneath that, his name.

On the next page was All Might, though it would be difficult to tell from the image. It was blurred and distant, as though he had been trying to draw what All Might would look like through fire. Above his head was the number "8" and his given name (which Izuku never liked to use) "Toshinori Yagi."

Following All Might was a dark-haired woman, her face glowing with a smile. "Number seven," he said. "Nana Shimura." Beautiful, Izuku felt, though there was something in her eyes that seemed sad. Several resemblances struck him as he looked at the picture, now, the first of which being how much she looked like Yaoyorozu. "They just both have dark hair, and both pull it into a ponytail," he said.

The second was to her grandson. The leader of what had formerly been the League of Villains. Successor to All for One, the man who had created One for All, the Quirk Izuku had inherited from All Might; the monster who had nearly defeated All Might in Kamino Ward, and cost the world's greatest hero the remains of his power. There was no describing the evils done to the boy who had once been Tenko Shimura, or the evils committed by the man Tomura Shigaraki. Izuku simultaneously felt rage and pity when he thought of his adversary, and he didn't know if those thoughts would ever change.

The last resemblance was to his mother. All Might had made a comment the first time he'd met Inko Midoriya, about how she reminded him of his old master. "It's the hairstyle," he'd said, though Izuku hadn't been able to tell if he was joking or not. To him, they seemed to have more in common than a ponytail, but neither could he put a finger on what it was.

Beneath her portrait, Izuku had written, "Quirk: Float."

On the next page, beneath the number "6," was a picture of a dark-haired man in a high-collared jacket, buttons running down the collar and into the body of the jacket itself. He had no name, and an unknown Quirk.

For number "5," however, there was a picture of a shirtless bald man with goggles resting on his forehead, a lantern jaw and kind eyes. His name was Daigoro Banjo, and his Quirk was called "Blackwhip." Izuku had used this power a number of times now, most notably during its initial manifestation in the Battle Trial with Class B, and during his work-study with Endeavor, when he'd saved several people whose vehicles had been thrown into the air.

And so it went, each page another of his predecessors. Another man with two massively long scars over his left eye; others of whom he'd had yet to see anything more than outlines—he didn't even know where they fit in the timeline.

Until he reached the first. There was no name, not one that he knew. But Izuku knew well who this man was. All for One's brother. The one for whom One for All had been created. Shoulder-length white hair that covered his left eye, and a frail physique. But a heart that had stood up to his brother during All for One's rise to power, a heart that was everything that being a wielder of this power meant.

Izuku was proud to list them as predecessors. And hoped he could live up to their expectations.

The next pages were his own notes and questions about his power. Some had been answered during his dreams, where he'd seen the vestiges of his progenitors and sometimes been able to talk to them. Others had been answered by All Might, with what knowledge the hero had been able to glean himself, and what he'd been taught by Nana Shimura.

But more still remained. Questions that could only be answered with time, or trial and error, which Izuku was not thrilled by. Given that One for All could cost him the use of his body, he didn't exactly have a plethora of opportunities available to just try things out.

Izuku was determined to master this Quirk, and all of the other powers that came with it. And he believed the only way to do that was to have as much knowledge as possible about One for All, and what it held within.

Yes, it was good that Yaoyorozu had been the one to find this particular volume.

He couldn't imagine any of his classmates, aside from perhaps Iida or Todoroki, avoiding the temptation to look inside.

And, considering what he'd promised her, Izuku didn't have much time to look into his own Quirk right then.

So he closed volume fifteen and slid it into place on the small shelf above his desk, then pulled volume fourteen. The one he'd started after meeting all of his classmates in Class A.

He opened the notebook and started flipping through the pages; some of his friends had more than others, but when he reached Yaoyorozu, he realized he'd forgotten how much of the book had been dedicated to her. After his initial sketch of her hero costume, he had roughly twelve pages of notes (front and back) to peruse. As he started reading, he also realized he'd forgotten to update these notes as their first year went on, which meant he'd been ignoring all the progress they'd made.

Pulling a pen and some paper from his desk drawer, Izuku sighed, stretched his neck, and cracked open the juice bottle. "All right," he said, tapping the paper with his pen, "Let's get to work."