Once classes had ended for the day, Izuku made his way to Uncle Toshi's office so that they could have the meeting that his uncle had hinted he was going to have. Given what Uncle Toshi hadn't been able to actually say, he expected that Todoroki-san would be there as well. There were a few more things that someone should know, if they were going to inherit One For All, and given what he'd heard Uncle Mirai talking about during his internship, he suspected that Togata-sempai would be there, too.

Once he'd made it to Uncle Toshi's office, the one where he worked when he was actually being Uncle Toshi rather than All Might, he knocked and found himself invited inside.

"Izuku."

"Oh, hi Dad," he greeted, finding himself wondering just why in the world he'd even been surprised in the first place.

Since Dad was the one who had made One For All in the first place, it only made sense that he'd be there to explain about the Quirk and its history. Looking over as Togata-sempai called his name, Izuku smiled as he made his way over to sit down beside his old friend. Todoroki-san was there too, but he didn't really seem to want to be. Izuku found himself wondering why Todoroki-san was even staying in the first place, but…

Well, it seemed a lot like he both did and didn't want to have anything to do with One For All.

Dad started talking about his past with Uncle Shiro once all of them had settled down, how he'd started building up a place where the first few people who'd started gaining Quirks could be safe from people who might want to hurt them, and then when Uncle Shiro had started to worry about what was happening in the world, how Dad had asked him to look after the children. Both the children that those people who'd decided to follow him had wanted to start having, and those he'd rescued from disasters or other people who'd tried to hurt them.

When Dad told them about how he gave his brother, who'd always been smaller and had a less hardy constitution than he did, a Quirk that had initially been meant to help him keep up with the energetic children that by then had become more or less a permanent addition to Dad's steadily-growing, protected settlement, Izuku turned to look over at Uncle Toshi as he laughed.

"You know, Hisashi, I have it on good authority that you were just as much of a mother hen back in your brother's day as you are now," Uncle Toshi said, grinning slyly as Dad turned to him with a sort of mix of amusement and mild annoyance.

Togata-sempai laughed. "I think it's great; while you were out protecting people, a part of you was also staying behind to look after your brother, too," then he paused, and seemed to be thinking deeply about something or other. "Do you think that, with the way Izuku can copy Quirks by absorbing some of the user's DNA, he might be able to make a copy of One For All the way he's done with so many others?"

"I suppose it might be possible, though I don't know if the mechanics of the Quirk would allow for that," Dad said, while Uncle Toshi looked from him to Dad and back again like he didn't know what to make of the current topic. Dad turned to him, then, an interested expression on his face. "Would you like to try, Izuku?"

"I guess," he said, though he really didn't know what had prompted Togata-sempai to think of what he'd just suggested; it could have just been because he knew that Izuku could copy Quirks, and he'd just been told how One For All was passed on through nearly the same process.

"All right, then," Uncle Toshi said, standing up and transforming into the powered-up form that had One For All flowing through him, in a way that would also allow him to pass it on to someone he'd decided was worthy of the Quirk.

And, that also might allow Izuku to use his own Quirk to copy it, the way he'd done with so many others. Uncle Toshi plucked out one of the long, golden hairs that stuck up in the "V" shape that had come to almost define him as much as being the Symbol of Peace, handing it to him. Putting the hair in his mouth, Izuku swallowed it.

~MHA~

He knew that it would take some time for Izuku's variant of All For One to begin assimilating the new DNA that he had just taken in, but Hisashi could admit to having more than a bit of curiosity about just what would happen when Izuku began to assimilate One For All in earnest. Still, he couldn't help but be aware of the way that Shoto-kun seemed to be wavering; something within him seemed to want to take One For All, through presumably it was the same part of him that had looked with such longing at the way he, Izuku, and Bombalurina-chan had all interacted when they were together.

It seemed as though Shoto-kun was arguing with himself over something; there might, therefore, be something that Hisashi could do to resolve such a disagreement.

Getting a fix on Shoto-kun with his Panoception Quirk, he bid Toshinori and Mirio-kun a fond farewell as he made his way down the path that Shoto-kun had taken. Given his posture, it seemed that Shoto-kun was even more troubled than he'd been expecting.

"Shoto-kun."

~MHA~

The sound of Midoriya's father calling to him drew Shoto up short; he almost didn't want to look back, to see the kindness in the bright crimson eyes of the man who had raised Midoriya and his sister into the kind of people who would offer their warmth to someone they barely knew. He almost didn't want to see the man's fluffy, white hair; the color was so much like Mom's, even though the pair of them didn't look all that much alike beyond that. Midoriya's father had much stronger features, and Mom didn't have freckles.

Still, the kindness in their eyes was just the same; Mom and Midoriya's father were so much alike, it almost made him want to take One For All.

"Midoriya-san," he greeted, turning around but keeping his head lowered enough that he wouldn't be able to see the kind eyes and white hair of Midoriya's father.

"You left so suddenly," the man said, leaning down slightly; Shoto lowered his head just that much more. "Is something wrong?"

Breathing deeply for a long moment, trying to regain his composure in the face of the man who reminded him so much of Mom that the absence ached inside, Shoto tried to hold himself together. His body seemed to move before he'd actually decided anything, and Shoto found himself wrapped up in the large, strong arms of Midoriya's father. Even feeling the man's large, powerful hands through his clothes – something that would have otherwise reminded him of his father, since the pair of them were about the same size – didn't remind him of Endeavor so much as he found himself reminded of Mom all over again.

It was the way that Midoriya's father was holding him, one of his large hands rubbing gentle circles on Shoto's back, even as Midoriya's father picked him up and leaned against the wall for a long moment.

For a few, long moments Shoto found himself not even wanting to leave Midoriya's father's arms; but he knew he had to. If he was ever going to be able to make any kind of decision about One For All – a decision that was his alone, and not something that he was trying to do for or against Endeavor – there was someone that he was going to need to speak to. There was something that he needed to resolve for himself.

Midoriya's father seemed to understand, when he pulled away, since Midoriya's father let him go so he could stand back on his own feet.

"Thank you, Midoriya-san," he said, bowing deeply to the man.

"Of course, Shoto-kun," Midoriya's father said, and Shoto didn't quite know what to say when the man reached into his right pocket and fetched a handkerchief, handing it over to him. "I keep more than a few around," Midoriya's father continued, a gentle sort of amusement in his tone. "Izuku and Inko… Well, the both of them have more than a little in common when it comes to emotional expression. Keep it, Shoto-kun; it seems you need it yourself."

"Thank you, Midoriya-san," he said, bowing deeply again, as he turned to make his way back out of U.A.

There was still someone he needed to speak to, after all.

~MHA~

Finding himself still thinking about Todoroki-san, even as Uncle Toshi drove them all back home for the day, Izuku made up his mind that he would talk to Dad as soon as they'd all got home; or at least after dinner, since that was the actual first thing they were all going to do when they got back home. Once dinner was finished – Mom had fixed katsudon again, which was nice, and he made sure to thank her for it – Izuku went to find Dad so that the both of them could talk.

More than anything, he just wanted to know if Todoroki-san was all right.

Later, once he'd made his way back to his room, making his way over to his desk to start his homework, Izuku… suddenly found himself walking into a dark, shadowed void. Looking around, as best he could when he didn't know if he was even moving, Izuku began to see people… he thought there might have been six, maybe seven of them… Or no, maybe eight?

The one in the middle turned to him before Izuku could quite manage to count every one of the figures standing in the strange, not-space that Dad had described to him when he'd asked about what his Quirk was like…

…"Uncle Shiro?"

"Is that what he's still calling me?"

There was a suggestion of amusement that seemed to permeate the non-space – or maybe he should call it Quirk-space – he was currently in, as he and the shade of Uncle Shiro met for the first time. The sense of someone else, someone more familiar, encroaching on the Quirk-space where he, Uncle Shiro, and whoever those other people were drew Izuku's attention before Uncle Shiro could say anything else.

"Izuku?"

"Uncle Toshi?"

"Ah, it seems like I have more family here than I thought."

For a few moments, as the three of them all stood together in the Quirk-space that they had all been gathered in, Izuku almost thought that he could see Uncle Shiro smiling…

"Well, if he's going to keep calling me by that silly little nickname that he made up, I suppose there's really only one thing I can do…"

Izuku would have sworn that he could see Uncle Shiro grinning, just before the shade of his paternal uncle leaned over to them…

Breathing deeply as he found himself back in his room, Izuku couldn't quite stop himself from outright giggling.

"Fluffy?" he muttered, falling back into snickers.

~MHA~

The next day, when they'd all gathered together at U.A. again and Tenko-nii had dragged Aizawa-sensei into the room so that they could all get this day started, Izuku noticed that Todoroki-san did seem to be doing a bit better. Which was good, but Aizawa-sensei started speaking before he had the chance to do more than look over at his red-and-white haired classmate. The one who might very well end up being Uncle Toshi's successor.

"As you all know, it's almost time for summer vacation," Aizawa-sensei said, drawing their attention to him, even as Tenko-nii leaned back against the wall, clearly taking what time off he could before he had to drag Aizawa-sensei off anywhere else. "Don't get too excited; you can't just relax an entire month. You'll all be training, while you're camping in the woods."

Oh, so that's what Dad and Uncle Toshi were talking about, Izuku reflected, as the class as a whole erupted into enthusiastic planning and general chatter on the subject of the summer camp experience; though it kind of sounded like they'd forgotten that it was supposed to be a training camp, considering the main thrust of their comments. Really, it was kind of funny.

"However," Aizawa-sensei continued, a flash of Erasure adding emphasis to his pronouncement. "Those of you who don't pass the final exam before the semester is over, will have summer school."

That got the class' attention, and Izuku found himself rather amused as the chatter all around him grew both more excited and more apprehensive, as the subject of what they were actually going to be doing when they all headed for the training camp came up and was inevitably picked apart. Chuckling softly as Tenko-nii dragged Aizawa-sensei back out of the room, Izuku waved as Tenko-nii grinned.

"See you at lunch, Zu-chan."

"Yeah, see you then, Tenko-nii!" he called back, laughing softly.

Their studies for the day seemed a bit more intensive, which Izuku supposed fit since final exams were coming up and every one of their teachers clearly wanted them to succeed, but all the while Izuku found himself aware of Todoroki-san's regard. He'd heard from Dad about the way Todoroki-san had reacted to him, and now he found himself wondering what was going on with him. He would try to make it a point to catch up with Todoroki-san when he could, but with everything that was going on today, Izuku knew that there was every chance that he wouldn't be able to do anything like that.

He'd at least do what he could, since Todoroki-san still looked fairly shaken; or at least unsettled.

Settling back into the day's routine, intensified as it was by the expectation of the approaching final exams, Izuku kept a discreet eye on Todoroki-san, at least as well as he could. Soon enough, Izuku found himself facing the end of the day, watching as Tenko-nii dragged Aizawa-sensei's sleeping bag into the classroom for the last announcements before school let out.

"All right, that's it for class today. There's only one week left before your final exams begin; I'm sure you're all studying constantly, right?" Aizawa-sensei asked, unimpressed gaze making a long, slow sweep of the room before he continued. "Don't forget to keep training. As Hero Course students, the written exam is only one element; there's also the practical portion to worry about. Good luck."

Comforting, as usual, Izuku found himself musing, as the entire class basically burst into nervous chatter.

"So, the usual study party at your house, eh nerd?" Kacchan drawled, turning laconically toward him.

Izuku chuckled softly. "Yeah, that sounds good."

"Hey, would you guys mind if I came over, too?" Kirishima-san asked, making his way over to where the pair of them were sitting.

"Yeah, that's okay," he said, finding it almost impossible not to smile back in the face of Kirishima-san's enthusiasm, or the clear worry he could see underneath it. "I'm sure Mom and Dad won't mind."

Making their way out to the cafeteria, Izuku found himself surrounded by Kacchan on his right, and Kirishima-san on his left. Settling down at a table with Iida-san, Ochako-san, and Asui-san on the opposite side of the table, Izuku blew on his steaming bowl of katsudon to cool it down a little, before he picked up a bit of pork. Before he could take his first bite, though, Izuku found his cheeks being pushed together by an annoyingly familiar presence.

"Neito-kun, stop squishing me," he said, as well as he could through the distortion of his face.

"Aw, but this is the only time I really get to see you, partner," Monoma said, and Izuku could practically hear the smug, teasing grin on his face.

"Fuck off, and stop molesting my nerd, asshole," Kacchan said, clearly more annoyed than usual with Monoma and everything he was doing.

Just before Monoma could start protesting – which he knew Monoma would do, since he'd always done it before whenever Kacchan would call him out on that kind of thing – Kendo-san chopped him in the side of the neck, knocking him unconscious.

"Thanks, Kendo-san," he muttered, as Itsuka Kendo gathered Monoma's slumped form up, clearly getting ready to drag him off the way she'd done so many times before.

"Don't mention it, Midoriya," Kendo-san said, and Izuku looked over to see her smiling gently at him. "Hey, in case you're worried about the practical exams, I've heard that it's going to be another fight with those robots from the entrance exam."

"Thanks for telling us, Kendo-san," he said, as Monoma began stirring again.

"Kendo, you knew that I wanted to be the one to tell him about that," Monoma said, a distinct, whining tone to his voice.

"Well then, maybe you should have thought of that before you decided to start feeling Midoriya up for Quirks," Kendo-san said, turning an unimpressed expression on Monoma as she kept dragging him away.

The rest of the day went by pretty quickly after that, the only slightly surprising thing that happened was Todoroki-san asking to come with them when they all went home for the day, and even that wasn't so surprising since he'd been aware of Todoroki-san's regard during the course of the day. Mom was right there to meet them at the door, the way she always was, but it was the presence of Togata-sempai inside the main foyer that actually managed to surprise him.

"Togata-sempai, what're you doing here?" he asked, making his way over the tall blond; Togata-sempai grinned easily.

~MHA~

Narrowing his eyes at the Freelance Hero, Sir Nighteye folded his hands under his chin. "So, your efforts at revealing the precarious situation that this Niseko Sezu had found himself in led directly to the attack on Team Idaten?"

"Yes," Stendhal said, crimson eyes sliding away for a moment, before the man seemed to force himself to face Nighteye head-on. "I was the one who revealed Sezu's presence in the article I wrote. I know that those Villains had no connection to me, but I was still the one who made it possible for anyone who might have had ill intent to find him. I need to take responsibility for that."

"Very well," he said, nodding. "We've been making an inquiry into this group," he continued, adjusting his glasses as the Freelance Hero stood rigidly before his desk; he suspected that the man thought it was entirely his responsibility to see to the rescue of Niseko Sezu, a mistaken impression that would need to be corrected if Stendhal was indeed to be integrated into the assault force they were steadily forming. "We suspect that they're some remnant of the Yakuza that had the foresight to go underground during the time that the rest of their organization was dealt with by the rise of the Pro Hero system."

"I see," Stendhal muttered, clearly absorbed deeply in thought once more.

~MHA~

"You know, I always keep forgetting how good this tuna casserole is," Togata-sempai said, enthusiastically taking a bite of Bambaa-chan's favorite dish; the one that she herself couldn't actually have too much of, given how her original Quirk worked.

/Yeah; sometimes I can forget that kind of thing, myself,/ Bambaa-chan said, taking a bite of her own food, before returning her attention to the workbooks that they'd all brought to the large table that she, Kacchan, Kirishima-san, Todoroki-san, Togata-sempai, and Izuku had all settled around to study for the upcoming final exams.

The easy silence that they'd been operating under since they'd all gathered together fell over them again, and when the six of them took a break to head for the gym to work out so that they'd be in good shape for both parts of the final exam, Izuku found that Todoroki-san's eyes were still fixed on him. He wondered just when Todoroki-san was going to do something besides staring at him, but he didn't think Todoroki-san was the kind of person who would want to talk in front of anyone uninvolved. Or, at least that was the feeling he kept getting, given the way Todoroki-san acted.

~MHA~

Looking over at Midoriya, as he tested the Quirks that his father had probably given him – the large, dark-green wings that he could extend or retract at will in particular – against his fellow students, as well as the obstacles that had been set up within this part of the gym that Midoriya and his family had clearly made use of enough times that they knew their way around almost by instinct, Shoto watched as Midoriya and Togata-sempai clashed. Togata-sempai's Quirk seemed to be the ability to pass through things, almost like he was some kind of ghost.

It wasn't the strangest Quirk he'd ever seen, but Shoto couldn't help wondering how One For All would interact with it; it was the same kind of thing he'd found himself wondering about his own Quirk, as he'd been considering what he was going to do. Talking to Mom had helped, and Shoto found himself wanting more and more to become a part of Midoriya's family. Still, he wasn't quite ready to talk about that kind of thing with all of the other people who'd come to Midoriya's house to study with him.

Even with Togata-sempai, who seemed to have been put up as Shimura-san's potential successor by someone who had worked as a Sidekick under Shimura-san during the prime of his Pro Hero career.

Once they were all done, making their way out of the gym, Shoto fell into step with Midoriya.

"Midoriya, do you think your mother and father would mind if I stayed over for the night?" he asked. "There's something I'd like to talk to you about."

"I think it'd be all right," Midoriya said, green eyes that were as kind as his father's – for all that they were nearly the complete opposite when it came to color – turning to regard him as the pair of them talked in low tones. "I can talk to them for you, if you want."

"We'll talk to them together," he said, resolving himself to speak to Midoriya's father.

After everything the man had done for him, it was the least he could do.

~MHA~

Finding himself working alongside a task force that had been formed to take on the remnants of the Yakuza – remnants that had somehow managed to escape from the Pro Heroes that had set out to deal with them; and in particular the legendary duo of Seven Strong and All Might, both of whom had worked beside a nameless Hero who seemed to possess some kind of Quirk that allowed him to manipulate elemental forces – was a rather odd thing, Stendhal found himself reflecting. Working with the man who had been a Sidekick to All Might – the Hero he respected above all others – was something that Stendhal often found his thoughts wandering to.

At least long enough for him to notice the direction of his thoughts, and force them back on-track; there were more lives than just his own at stake, here and now.

~MHA~

After talking to Dad about what Todoroki-san had asked him, Izuku had offered to let Todoroki-san stay in his room for the night, since the pair of them were in the same class, and there was also clearly something that Todoroki-san wanted to talk to him about.

"So, Todoroki-san, what did you want to talk to me about?" Izuku asked, settling down on his bed, after he'd finished helping Todoroki-san get the roll-away bed he was going to be using during the night.

"Midoriya," Todoroki-san said, turning his heterochromatic eyes on him as the both of them sat down on his bed. "He might have already told you, but your father and I spoke, just after our discussion about All Might's Quirk."

"Yeah," he said. "Dad told me that you didn't seem to be feeling well. I mean, he didn't say you were sick or anything, but-"

"I know," Todoroki-san said, and Izuku thought that he could see the smallest, faintest smile on the other boy's face; he could have been imagining it, though. "I spoke to your father, then I spoke to my mother. Your father actually reminds me of her; the both of them are such kind people."

Reaching out to touch Todoroki-san's right shoulder, Izuku felt the other boy lean lightly against him for a moment. "I'm glad he could help you, too, Todoroki-san."

~MHA~

The day of the written exams came and passed, and Izuku found himself more than a little impatient to find out just what it was that they were actually going to be doing for the practical exam. The air of worry that had been clinging stubbornly to Uncle Toshi – plainly obvious given the strained smiles he was trying to hold on his face, and the increasing amounts of time he was spending away from home, not to mention the sight of Uncle Mirai around the house and the way the pair of them would stop talking whenever he came into the room – had all combined to give him the distinct impression that, whatever was going to happen, it wasn't going to be anything that'd happened before.

Settling back down at his desk, as the chatter in the classroom began turning toward happiness that that part of the exams was over, as well as the somewhat complicated issue of getting them all over to the Central Plaza of the practical exam area; something that he and Yaoyorozu-san, as Class Rep and Deputy Class Rep respectively, ended up being responsible for. Finding himself facing down the U.A. teaching staff, Izuku couldn't help but think that there was something more to the practical exam than Kendo-san had been aware of.

"Now then, let's begin the last test," Aizawa-sensei said, once all of them had gathered together, in full costume and prepared to face… whatever it was that they were going to be facing, for this particular exam. "Remember: it's possible to fail this final. If you want to go to camp, then don't make any stupid mistakes. I expect many of you have gathered information, and believe you have some idea what you'll be faced with today."

After Kaminari-san's and Ashido-san's outburst, Principal Nedzu popped out of Aizawa-sensei's capture scarf, rappelling down the side of their Homeroom teacher's tall, lanky form. After explaining that the practical exams were going to be structured differently than they had been in the past – something Izuku was fairly sure would tie into the reason that Uncle Toshi was acting so strained and secretive, not to mention how often he seemed to be meeting with Uncle Mirai lately – he continued on to name the pairs that would be facing off against the teachers who had gathered for the practical exam.

He and Yaoyorozu-san had been paired up for some reason, and they were going to be facing off against Aizawa-sensei; Kirishima-san and Sato-san were going to be facing Cementoss-sensei; Asui-san and Tokoyami-san had been set against Ectoplasm-sensei; Iida-san and Ojiro-san were facing off against Power Loader-sensei; Ochako-san and Aoyama-san were fighting Thirteen-sensei; Ashido-san and Kaminari-san had actually been set up against the Principal himself, which Izuku thought was a bit strange; Kouda-san and Jiro-san were facing off against Present Mic-sensei; Hagakure-san and Shoji-san were facing off against Snipe-sensei; Sero-san and Mineta-san were fighting Midnight-sensei, and Kacchan had been partnered with Todoroki-san. But, as for who they were going to be fighting…

"Well, Kacchan, I'll make sure to ask Yaoyorozu-san for a spatula," he said, grinning in that wide, toothy way that Dad would when he was teasing someone. "For when we have to scrape you off Uncle Might's boots."

"I'll show you who's getting scraped up, nerd!" Kacchan growled playfully, grabbing him and grinding his fists into both of Izuku's cheeks.

Laughing, Izuku struggled briefly, before a laughing Uncle Toshi separated the pair of them.

~MHA~

Looking back at the nice, silver-eyed boy who had been brought in by the bird-faced people she'd been living with for all of her life, Eri opened her mouth. She wanted to say something to the nice boy, but Overhaul had told her that she wasn't supposed to talk to the silver-eyed boy. He'd said it was because she was cursed, and the nice silver-eyed boy was pure. Everyone who'd been around her told her that she was cursed; even Mommy, when she'd hurt Daddy with her curse.

Looking back, she saw that the nice silver-eyed boy looked like he was going to say something to her, but then he stopped; he was probably scared of her curse, just like everyone else.

Really, she didn't know why he was even following her, unless he was actually more scared of Overhaul and all the bird-faced people than he was of her curse. He did seem to be really scared of everyone, ever since she'd seen him for the first time. Still, as soon as she had run from her handler, Eri had found that he was following her out of the building.

She didn't quite know what he was going to do, once they had both gotten out of the building, but both of them would at least be away from all the bird-faced people. And Overhaul; even the nice, silver-eyed boy was scared of him. She almost wanted to try talking to him, since the both of them were far enough away from Overhaul and all of the bird-faced people that they probably wouldn't be able to find out.

But, she was still cursed, and he was still pure; he probably wouldn't want to talk to her, anyway.

~MHA~

He'd been watching all of his classmates as they'd been facing off with the various teachers they'd been set against, taking notes and being teased by Kacchan as he did, up until the point where he and Yaoyorozu-san were called out for their own battle with Aizawa-sensei. He and Yaoyorozu-san made their way out to the testing area, and Izuku leaned in slightly so that he and Yaoyorozu-san could finalize their plans.

Given who they were about to be facing, that was the best thing they could do.

~MHA~

Making his way through the testing-grounds, Shouta narrowed his eyes as he spotted a door that had been left slightly open. Looks like they're not paying attention to everything they're doing, he mused, pushing open the door and making his way inside. Technically, no one was supposed to be breaking into one of the empty houses in this area, but no one had actually said that. He'd have to speak to the both of them when he found them, but just after he'd made his way inside the mock residence, Shouta heard the door he'd just come through slam shut behind him.

So it was a trap, he mused, smirking. Clever.

When he'd made his way back over to the door, Shouta found that it'd been jammed shut with something, and smirked all the wider. Popping out the screen of a nearby window, Shouta looked at the chair that had been wedged under the doorknob on the outside. All right, it looks like you kids have been planning your moves. Let's see what else you can do.

Making his way back out into the street, Shouta whipped his head around at the sound of running feet, activating Erasure and lashing out with his capture weapon to snare… A remote-controlled car, with Midoriya's boots trailing from the back of it by a pair of strings, and the remote itself secured firmly to the front of it. Finding himself chuckling almost against his will, as he pulled the remote from the car and turned the car itself off, Shouta turned at the found of what seemed to be someone else running past him.

As he'd begun to suspect, it was another one of those rigged, remote-controlled cars.

Shaking his head as he made his way up to the rooftops, Shouta studied the paths that Midoriya and Yaoyorozu might use for their approach to Nedzu's escape gate. Narrowing his eyes as he looked at all of the plants and bushes that had been arranged around the faux houses, Shouta found himself contemplating another possibility. Yes, it was true that this place had been designed to look like a real neighborhood, but those same ornamental bushes and shrubs could also be used to conceal someone about Midoriya's size.

Yaoyorozu might have a harder time, however.

Leaping across the rooftops, heading for the gate so that he could intercept any move that Midoriya and Yaoyorozu were likely to make, Shouta found himself brought up short as a massed charge suddenly broke out for the gate. Every one of the figures was covered in the kind of camouflage netting that Shouta suspected Midoriya and Yaoyorozu had been using from the beginning of this particular exercise, and each of them was sprinting for the gate.

Launching himself forward, he kicked the three figures running at the extreme left side of the group; they toppled over to reveal what looked like coat racks, attached to yet more of those remote-controlled cars. One of the figures toward the middle twisted around, grabbing another of the figures and incidentally revealing himself as Midoriya, as well. Midoriya hurled Yaoyorozu directly through the escape gate, his residual momentum causing him to stumble directly into Shouta's grasp.

"Well, it seems you did understand why I paired the two of you up," he said, feeling more than a little pleased as he escorted the pair of them back to the waiting area. "Both of your Quirks grant you almost unlimited versatility, and both of them have similar mechanics, as well."

He knew he didn't have to say much; the pair of them were tactically-minded enough not to need more than the basics to grasp a concept.