"Hey Fearless Leader."

"Hey Nora."

Izuku continued to write down some notes from a book he'd gotten out of the library. It was on Aura development and how to focus it, and he'd wanted to brush up on said topics to help with his own growth latter. As much help as Pyrrha was, he couldn't quite slack off when they weren't training together. He'd expected to have some quiet time to do work in the dorm room, having expected everyone to be out.

'Still, it isn't so bad to have company, especially company that's just being quiet. Just the presence of Nora…'

'Nora…'

'Quiet…'

"Nora…"

Izuku immediately swiveled in his chair to turn to where he'd heard Nora's voice and, sure enough, the bubbly bomber was sitting on the edge of her bed, watching him at his desk as she casually kicked her legs in the air. Her lips were drawn thin as her turquoise eyes took him in, her tongue peeking out of the corner of her lips as she seemed to be in deep thought about something. Izuku knew that Nora did think about things, as air-headed as she could sometimes act and as people could claim she was there were those moments of extreme insight of hers. Still, to see her thinking so deeply, apropos of nothing, was a bit disconcerting.

"Nora, is everything okay?" Izuku's question seemed to knock Nora out of her trance-like state as she looked him in the eyes. The bubbly bomber just gave one of her signature smiles as she nodded.

"Well of course I am Fearless Leader! How can I 'not' be? We've got a totally exciting training exercise and field trip to help add a little bit of spice to the school year coming up, not that I've thought Beacon's been boring, far from it, we got to play detectives one week and fight a bunch of robots another, it's been a crazy ride, but it'll be nice to see something that's 'not' Beacon Academy after so many weeks, I mean, I've gone down to Vale but like you can still see Beacon from Vale so I feel like that still counts, you know?"

"Uh... yeah, totally." In all honesty Izuku hadn't exactly thought of the upcoming trip like that; after all, The Tunnels were in his hometown, so it wouldn't be a new sight for Izuku. Still, he could definitely see why Nora would be excited by something like that. "So, that's it, huh? That's all you're thinking about?" A bit of uncertainty developed on Nora's face, though it's quickly gone as she blew her cheeks out.

"Of course, silly, I mean, what else could I possibly be thinking about right now? I mean, just thinking about this trip, I don't know what this could 'possibly' be making me think about or be curious of!"

...

"Okay." Izuku gave Nora a nod as he turned to look back at his desk. It seemed like it was just going to be one of Nora's 'Nora' moments, much like her being 'not together-together' with Ren. Best to leave it alone and-

"Izuku, what are your folks like?" Izuku's pencil went flying and threatened to stab him in the eye.

"Uh, what?" Izuku was so completely stunned by this seeming non sequitur and it seemed like even Nora realized how out of left field that particular question was.

"Oh! Sorry, that's probably like really personal but you know I've just been thinking about this field trip so much and while I was thinking about it I realized that we'd all be going to Mountain Glenn together and when I thought about that I was like 'Oh my Gosh, Izuku's FROM Mountain Glenn, this'll totally be like some kind of homecoming for him, I bet he'll be thrilled'! I was thinking about how you could tell us all kinds of crazy things about Mountain Glenn and how cool your home is and that made me think about stuff about my home but I really 'couldn't' think much about it cause, well, I know I live in Mistral but that's about it and so I was thinking about all the cool stuff you must know like your home's history, where you fit in all of it and your house! With your parents in it! Like, woah, we have a chance of meeting your folks on this field trip, which is totally crazy and so I had to wonder what kinds of people could've raised someone who could be so twitchy but so totally fearless and awesome and that made me think about just having parents in general... also I'm not saying that being twitchy is necessarily bad, I mean, I get twitchy whenever I have too much caffeine but I usually only really start drinking too much caffeine when I get nervous about something and you can tell when I've had too much of it because I'm nervous because I start having these run on sentences that go on for, like, ever and they don't ever seem to stop and it gets really awkward because I don't know how to cut this off and stop talking, I mean, what kind of person just gets curious about what another friend's parents are like out of nowhere, that's totally weird isn't it, it sounds like it should be weird, but you know with Ren and I it's just something I've always wandered about and because of the field trip and-"

"NORA!"

"Yes Izuku?"

It was amazing how, by the end of all of that, he was the one doing deep, heavy breathing and Nora was just sitting there, pretty as a painting, as if she hadn't just gone on the longest rant he thought he'd heard in his entire life.

"Let me see if I got you straight; you realized that the field trip would be taking us back to my home town... and that made you curious about things from my own life, up to and including my parents?" Nora gave the explanation some thought.

"Yeah, that actually about sums it up, Fearless Leader!" She said with a firm nod as Izuku just sighed.

"Nora... you could've just said that. It's okay for you to ask about that. Heck, Pyrrha asked me about my own dad not too long ago, and it wasn't weird-"

"Well... I mean, Pyrrha..." Izuku watch as Nora frowned slightly, the bubbly girl shimmying in her seat slightly as she looked off to the side. "Pyrrha has a way of understanding what you're talking about though. All of our friends do... heck, even Ren does. So... it's not quite as weird when they ask because, well, they can understand."

...

Oh.

"Well... why ask me Nora? Why not any of our other friends? Heck, why not Ren?" Izuku saw Nora frown slightly.

"... I don't like to ask Ren too much about his folks. He smiles when he brings them up, but... he's still really sad about it." Izuku then saw that Nora beamed genuinely at it. "Besides, you're my Fearless Leader. If anyone can think of a way to talk about all this and help me understand it, it'd be you!"

Izuku crossed his arms as he took some time to think. Honestly, while he'd given a lot of thought to how supportive his mother was, and how hard his father worked to support his family, he hadn't necessarily thought about it on the level that Nora seemed to be asking about. About 'having' parents in the first place and how that impacted his life. How their presence shaped his experience and how they treated him. For her, someone he'd been more and more sure grew up as an orphan even before meeting Ren, that probably was just an entirely unheard of experience.

And here she was, putting her faith in his ability to explain it as a way of communicating the idea to her, to help her understand it. Because he was her leader.

Izuku was…

Touched...

But also kind of nervous. He didn't want to mess it up. So with some careful consideration, Izuku looked up at Nora and smiled.

"Well Nora... to me, family's about supporting each other and helping each other through difficult times. That's... what I've gathered from spending time with my mom and my dad... that's what they've pressed that family's about through their actions." Nora nodded as she leaned her head on her hand, listening intently. "I mean... let's just start with my mom. My mom's support for me and my dream has been unconditional over all these years... despite, well, 'everything'. Despite everything the doctors said and how worried she was, my mom always stuck by my side and did what she could to encourage me or cheer me up. There was a financial aspect to that, sure, but there was also the little things she did..." One of his most treasured memories from his childhood with his mom was a little game they'd play together. Even after they'd found out he was Broken, his mom would still work to indulge him with it; she'd hide under a sheet in some room in the house and call out for him to save her... and he would in that little Toshinori onesie he owned, crying out his hero's catch phrase.

It was silly, and would 'really' embarrass Izuku if anyone ever found out about it... but he couldn't help but smile while recalling it. Even when he knew she was afraid for him and his dream, there were those moments he remembered that put into perspective just how much she was willing to go through to help support Izuku, emotionally or financially.

"She always did her best to encourage me to keep on going. To not give up... even if she might've wanted me to. It put a lot of stress on her, and it's something I can never pay back... but she doesn't even consider that possibility. To her, it was her job as a mother to believe in me... and if she couldn't, then she could just do her best to support me regardless. Honestly, if it hadn't been for her, I don't know how I could've ever met... the guy who eventually helped me unlock my Aura." Izuku scratched the back of his head at that, as Nora just smiled. "Then there's my dad... well, my dad worked his best to make sure that we'd have our house and that we'd be able to pay for my schooling. He's worked really hard to support us and he does his best to show that he loves my mom and I."

"Oh, like how?" Nora practically leaned forward at that, a smile on her face as she waited to listen to something as equally saccharine as how Izuku had described his relation with his mom.

"Well... there's the messages he sends home and the calls he's made to mom that I've seen and overheard. From what I've been able to gather, he still loves her a lot and does his best to help her when she's stressed about something." Izuku saw Nora's face screw up a bit in confusion as she tilted her head.

"Well, I mean, what about when he's around? Like, he sounds like he's pretty lovey dovey, right?" Izuku blanched a bit. The honest truth was that he'd never actually 'seen' his parents act lovey dovey. But, like with Pyrrha, he just decided to put it out there.

"Well... the truth is that my dad hasn't been around much. I haven't seen him through a lot of my life because he's so busy with work. Still, that doesn't change the fact that I still do care about him, even if he and I are a bit distant; he's done his best to support my mom financially and help with my schooling by working hard and sacrificing his time, so... I don't begrudge him for being away for so long. To me, it's still clear that my mom and I are family to him, and he's part of my family." Nora slowly nodded in understanding as she looked off to the side.

"I see... it sounds nice." Izuku smiled slightly; despite her hesitation, Nora did sound genuine in that opinion. "... Do you think you'd make a good parent, with them as an example?" Izuku blinked slightly at that, a little surprised even as he rolled with it.

"Well... I'd like to think so. That I could take from the good and bad of my parent's efforts over the years and do right by it." Before Izuku could move into asking why she asked, Nora quirked her lips to the side as she hummed. She looked off in the direction of Team RSBR's dorm room for a moment and shrugged slightly as her curious eyes returned to Izuku.

"Do you think I'd make a good mom?"

Now that question 'really' floored Izuku. He was not sure what knocked him off his proverbial footing more; the question itself or how Nora asked it. She didn't seem downcast or sad, like most people he'd imagine asking this question. She really just seemed more curious as she shifted into sitting cross-legged.

"I mean, everyone here has something like that; Pyrrha talks about growing up with her folks, Weiss has her sister, you got your mom and dad, Ruby and Yang gush about their mom when they get the chance, and Ren really does seem happy when he thinks of his parents. They all have these examples to take after and... well, I just don't know how a lot of stuff's supposed to work. Being a mom, handling myself as an adult... getting 'into' a relationship in the first place..." Nora frowned slightly, though it was more the comical, puffed cheek frustration than a sad one.

"I just wonder sometimes if I'd ever be good enough with any of that stuff. I know Weiss says I can be scatterbrained sometimes, and Heck, Weiss really has her stuff put together."

It was weird; most people would consider that a super heavy question and be uncomfortable talking about it, or at least seem extremely weighed down or hesitant... yet Nora was just talking about it as if it were talking about the weather. A weird thing, to be sure, but as Izuku took in Nora's words, he took time to consider his own. Just because Nora didn't seem to be distraught, didn't mean he could afford to be lax with his own respond. It was a big adult question that Nora was asking... and as much as he might not have been qualified to answer that question himself, he could at least give her the best advice that he could.

"Well... I don't really think it's about any one thing in particular, like being super organized or acting like how you think an adult might act. I mean, if you stack my mom up against Ruby and Yang's mom, I bet they'd come off as very different people; my mom's kinda like me... overflowing tears, kind of nervous, a little reserved but... pretty strong when it comes down to what's important, I think." That was what he thought of his mom at least; it's still weird to attribute such a trait to himself. "While Summer Rose sounds like she was just completely put together and did everything with an air of calm and ease that made things look easy. I wouldn't say her way is right and that my mom's way is wrong, heck no... because I don't think being a great mom is about the things a mom does in specific, but about their attitude. Great moms are great because... well, they love us, without reservation, and do their best to help support and care for us."

"Nora, when you become a mom I'm really sure you'll find your way... because the only advice I could really give to you is to love your children with all your heart. Considering how kind you act to everyone and how understanding you are... I doubt that's going to be a hard thing for you to do. Pretty sure everything else you'll just pick up along the way." Izuku saw Nora smile warmly, the young woman scratching the back of her head sheepishly as she chuckled.

"Eh, I dunno about that Fearless Leader. I'm great at stuff I can already do but, well, picking up new stuff, or explaining the stuff I already know." Izuku shook his head a bit as he looked at her.

"Honestly? I don't really think that's true. You're really clever when it comes to handling situations on the fly and while you can talk a little fast when explaining stuff, it always follows a logic that makes sense when you catch up to it or have it explained. I really don't think you're scatterbrained Nora... you're just Nora. Besides all that, you're great when it comes to considering people's feelings and you're nothing if not caring and supportive which, hey, is pretty important for a parent." Izuku placed his hands on his hips as he spoke confidently. "Nora, I think you'll be a great mom and whoever you end up in a relationship with will be lucky to have you." Izuku still spoke the last part vaguely, knowing Nora's... predilections when it came to talking about that particular subject.

"... You think so, at least." Izuku blinked as Nora muttered under her breath, before the girl gave him a brilliant smile. "Thanks Izuku! I really appreciate all the kind words and, coming from you, I think I can take 'em pretty well to heart." Nora grinned as she pumped her fist. "Yeah! I'll be a great mom, and I'll figure this adult thing out sooner or later! I'll learn how to be responsible! I'll learn how to take care of stuff! I'll learn how to get into relationships... not that I have anything like that in mind, of course!" And like that, despite how even-keeled and upbeat Nora had been throughout this entire conversation, 'that' was the moment where her cheeks flushed as she chuckled nervously. "Because I don't! Why would I have someone in mind! I mean, you're a good guy and all Izuku, but I've only known you for, like a month and a half! I don't even know if you like pancakes as much as you say you do... you could just be a sleeper agent still..."

...

'Is it weird that I actually got chills up and down my spine right then?'

In any case, that feeling of dread immediately left as she went back to acting nervous.

"I mean, the only guy I've really known long enough to be certain of stuff like that would be Ren! And it can't be Ren; he and I are just the best of friends! We've been together for waaaay too long for something like that to be possible!"

"Yeah, just together, not together-together." Izuku nervously choked out as he felt his nerves settle, Nora giving him a big old thumbs up in response.

"You've really caught on Fearless Leader!" Nora said with an awkward, forced laugh as she scratched the back of her head. "Anyway, I think I'll go ahead and make me some lunch! See ya around Izuku!" Nora seemed to be in a bit of a hurry to depart as she did so, and he couldn't help but chuckle. As fearless as Nora seemed about talking about such adult problems, she seemed pretty much exactly her age when talking about... whatever the heck it was that was going on with her and Ren.

Maybe it was just a Nora thing.

But Izuku finally turn back to his desk to focus in, ready to continue on with the homework he had been working on before Nora interrupted. The silence would be good and, on some level, he was glad that Nora... was... going to... cook things. In the kitchen.

Presumably with fire.

...

"NORA NO!"

"Ah, Midoriya!" Izuku flinched slightly, having been called out by his last name of all things in the middle of the hallway. While years of attending school had trained him to reflexively think that sort of thing meant he was in a huge amount of trouble, a thought occurred: he actually recognized the voice calling out to greet him. Izuku turned on his heels to look behind him and, lo and behold, Tenya Iida was running up to him, his hand raised in greeting as he stopped short of running into his shorter classmate.

"Ah, Tenya! Hello, you kind of startled me for a moment." Izuku heaved a slight sigh of relief as Tenya arched a brow. "You really can call me Izuku if you'd like Tenya, I'd be perfectly fine with that... heck, I might even find it preferable." Izuku commented idly as Tenya nodded, his hands rapidly flinging out into several gestures.

"Ah, my apologies... Izuku, I'm afraid that when it comes to our circle of friends that it can be hard for me to break my normal habits when it comes to addressing people!" Izuku knew for a fact that Ruby could attest to that. Still, that Tenya was willing to make an adjustment on Izuku's behalf as well spoke well to the fact that he respected Izuku. "My apologies for startling you as well; with class coming up I knew I might not have such an opportune time to speak with you on your own, so I thought I might seize it. Perhaps I had been a bit hasty... if that hall monitor had spotted me, there'd have been no end to my trouble for today." Tenya adjusted his stance as he thoughtfully stroked his chin, though Izuku gave a small smile. He hadn't really talked to Tenya too much outside of Beacon Leadership Council meetings and, while those were fun, productive and really gave Izuku a lot of insight into the sort of guy Tenya was, it hadn't been quite enough to develop the sort of friendship Izuku had wanted.

If his eagerness was anything to go by, it was something he was keenly interested in too.

"Ah, no worries Tenya. I just spook easily is all." Izuku sought to ease Tenya's worries as he sheepishly scratched as the back of his head, the young, blue haired man just smiling slightly as he looked down at Izuku.

"Save for when it comes to being thrown towards Elder Grimm, it seems. Then all traces of fear seems to abandon you."

"Aw shucks, you really shouldn't keep bringing that up. I've said that it was-"

"Your responsibility, and it was. In that moment you had elected to advise and guide the four of us in our attack. When the plan failed it fell to you to solve the issue... this reality doesn't negate the fact that you did and without hesitation." Izuku again chuckled, embarrassed, as he looked off to the side.

"S-So was there something you wanted to talk about Tenya? You came up pretty suddenly and you looked like you were in a hurry." As if realizing that the two of them had gotten off track from what he had initially wanted to discuss, Tenya slammed his fist into his hand as he gave an energetic nod.

"Ah yes, of course, thank you for reminding me Izuku!" Izuku blanched a bit as Tenya began swinging his arms about, gesturing rapidly. "I'm sure you're aware of our field trip to Mountain Glenn this weekend, more specifically the underground training facility." Izuku nodded before Tenya continued. "Seeing as how you're from Mountain Glenn, I thought I might gleam some information from you about our trip before going, so that I might be better informed on the matter at hand." Izuku blinked curiously as he tilted his head to the side.

"You want to know about The Tunnels?"

"Well, yes, but not just them in specific." Tenya coughed into his fist. "While my family might specialize more in the construction of arms and armor, that hasn't meant we haven't come across Mountain Glenn engineering competing not just broadly with Atlesian construction and mechanical engineering but our own. It's been quite remarkable; for the longest time, Atlas had prided itself on its cities, its defenses and its designs being unchallenged by anyone or anyplace in the Four Kingdoms. It is my pride as a citizen of Atlas that our society has been so advanced and shared those advances... but I'm also keenly aware that the spotlight isn't totally on Atlas anymore. Mountain Glenn has made quite a few waves over the years; its focus on engineering has been bringing it into direct competition with my homeland."

Izuku grimaced a bit as Tenya said that. "Oh, I'm sorry Tenya, I didn't-"

"Don't apologize Izuku, I don't take offense to this fact! Quite the contrary, I've been quite fascinated by what I've read about Mountain Glenn's engineering in what papers the... upper class in Atlas bothers to have printed. While I might not be specialized in architectural engineering myself, I can still very much appreciate it. While it's true that combat and skill in it are vital for Huntsmen to be as good as they are, I would be quite the fool if I didn't acknowledge that myself, what with my family's expertise in making armors that help to increase our capabilities as fighters and defenders... they aren't all-encompassing parts of how humanity defends itself or manages to carve out a living. The train line which connects Mountain Glenn to Vale, the Walls of Vale which not only protect the city proper but offer safe haven to those now living into growing urban areas outside of its walls, the structure of Mistral which encourages a more vertical concentration of population rather than risking spreading people out over a wide area, Vacuo's poor water infrastructure helping to push forward its own desertification…"

"Goodness, one only need look at the differences between 'Mantle' and 'Atlas' to know how important a well designed city or good engineering are towards securing yourself against the Grimm. The fact that Mountain Glenn had seen its own deficiencies and made strides to correct them, such that they've slowly began to out compete Atlesian companies for construction work around Remnant, speaks greatly to Mountain Glenn's progress in this field." With that, Tenya pointed between the two of them.

"Since you and Bakugo are from Mountain Glenn and, well, Bakugo being Bakugo, I thought I might ask you about it. See if I could get some information straight from the horse's mouth so that I might know what to expect." Izuku nodded slowly at Tenya's logic as he consider how best to answer his question.

"I mean, it's kind of hard to put into words for someone who has never been to Mountain Glenn... and it's also hard to put into words because I'm not exactly the expert you or a lot of other people are. I can only speak as someone who grew up there and watched the city grow... but, from that perspective, I really can't help but feel proud that you've got such good things to say about my hometown Tenya." The taller man smiled as he nodded, whereupon Izuku finally transitioned into his main point. "I also can't help but feel proud when I see my home's been doing so well. I was born a while after the entire affair, so I didn't see Mountain Glenn at its worst with my own eyes... but, well, there's been plenty of videos left behind and uploaded onto the CCT that I got a good idea of just how destroyed Mountain Glenn was... and, yeah, it looked about as bad as you could imagine it."

"It's not even that hard to imagine really; even after all these years, Mountain Glenn hasn't fully bounced back. There's still some old buildings, even inside of the walls, that haven't been quite taken care of yet and... well, work outside the wall hasn't even really kicked into gear except for a few things here and there like Birch Academy. Mountain Glenn's been kind of drowning in that shadow for a while... but it's like you said, recently it's turned things around. As much as I might think it's necessary for Huntsmen to focus on actually going out and dealing with Grimm rather than hiding behind walls and waiting on the defense for reinforcements, I can't deny that these years of pouring our time, effort and talent into trying to make the defenses of our home city even better have paid off tremendously, and that we've covered a lot of ground."

"If you're not going out specifically looking for them, the old buildings that haven't been renovated kind of disappear into a sea of the new construction that's been going on ever since the new defenses were finished. No one's quite eager to rebuild Mountain Glenn up as a mini-Vale metropolis because of how few people are living there now compared to before the Grimm attack, so... well, Mountain Glenn's ended up feeling like some kind of middle-ground between the tiny, un-walled villages you sometimes see on the news or in portraits and Grimm. There's some really tall buildings downtown, but they aren't the norm. So it's all actually kind of pretty, provided you don't mind the looming Wall that cuts down on some of the time the city has for natural light. More recently a lot of buildings have been getting redone or renovated again to bring them up to speed with the new practices that have been developed and... well, they look impressive."

"I'm really sorry if this is all sounding a lot more vague than you might've expected; like I said, I'm no expert." Tenya shook his head as he rapidly gestured.

"Nonsense Izuku, even an outside opinion on the matter is appreciated, please continue."

"Alright, well... hmmm... it's been pretty interesting. Grimm attacks have been pretty much non-existent within the city for the past several years when everything got set up. Sure, some slip through the cracks here and there-" Like the one that almost killed Bakugo and him, "-but overall the new defenses really have made living in Mountain Glenn not just feel safe but, well, actually 'be' safe." Izuku stroked his chin. "A lot of Huntsmen and Huntresses usually end up working for construction firms once they leave Birch, because of a lot of them lack the skills necessary to qualify for more Combat Oriented places like Beacon, or they go off to The Atlesian Hunter's Academy to try and ply their education there." Tenya nodded while he just looked back up to the ceiling.

"Oh! The Rail System!" Izuku saw a slight shine across the lens of Tenya's eyeglasses as Izuku pointed to him. "A lot of this is a lot more apparent because it isn't held quite so close to the chest, but they've made a lot of improvements to the Rail System as far as defenses. First off, locked doors, 'everywhere' and in layers. Between the surface of Mountain Glenn and getting down to the actual Rail System there's about five different vault doors. The metal's 'really' thick, like half a foot I think I heard a Huntsman say. The idea is that if things go sour on the surface Mountain Glenn can evacuate down to the Rail System and evacuate while the doors hold off the Grimm." Izuku started making his own hand gestures to try to denote directions. "There's also entrances in between each of the vaulted doors that lead into the place where we're taking our field trip. While The Tunnels are meant to be a training ground, they also double as one gigantic trap; a series of looping, winding halls that end in dozens and dozens of dead ends and open areas. The idea is that Hunters who might be inhabiting the area will set of these little explosives in each of the tunnels so that, once a good number of Grimm just vault in, they'll collapse in on them and deal with them like that."

"Is that safe?" Tenya asked, crossing his arms as he tilted his head to the side. "I mean, these tunnels do run underneath the city, don't they? Surely collapsing some of them would end up leading to structural damage up top in Mountain Glenn?" Izuku shrugged his shoulders; that was one of the details he wasn't sure about... though it did make a certain amount of sense.

"I think the idea is that if Mountain Glenn ever got to the point where it felt it was necessary to collapse The Tunnels to help clear out some Grimm then worrying about stuff up top might not be too much of an overriding concern." Izuku saw Tenya blink a couple times as he brought his gesturing hands to his chin.

"... I suppose I didn't think of it like that. Yes, I do suppose if things ever got that desperate then it would surely mean that your home's surface was compromised."

"Yeah. I don't know much about our surface defenses, mostly because there's a lot of stuff they keep under wraps even from students who're specializing in engineering at Birch, but I have... heard that No Man's Land, the area just outside The Wall, is heavily booby trapped." Izuku 'heard' about it from Toshinori when he took Izuku out to train in No Man's Land for those ten months. While dangerous, and Toshinori had taken him specifically to areas he knew were safe pockets, it was also the only place the two could really hope to train in private where people wouldn't know that Izuku of all people was being trained by the Symbol of Peace and Hope.

Still, Tenya didn't need to know that little detail.

"I don't know the specifics, but every now and then you can hear small explosions going off on the other side of the wall. It's part of the reason Grimm attacks have been so rare; most of them never make it to The Wall these days even if they do get past those who end up scouting the Wilderness for them... and those that do get past those two levels are usually then rounded up by Huntsmen or Huntresses who man The Wall." Izuku crossed his arms as he finally nodded his head. "All with the idea that people will be given time to evacuate on the Rails 'or' that reinforcements will arrive on the Rails and end up pushing the Grimm thread back. Especially if Toshinori Yagi ends up being part of those reinforcements... heck, if he's in the city in the first place, things probably won't wind up getting that bad." That wasn't just Izuku speaking up as a Toshinori fan boy; it was a the official stance of Mountain Glenn. That if Toshinori was in the city at the time of a Grimm attack, most Hunters' duties would revolve around protecting civilians from threats rather than outright evacuation while Toshinori handled the danger...

Only Izuku and a select group of people knew what a dangerous gamble that was with Toshinori's current conditions.

"So... do you 'feel' safe with all this?" Izuku blinked slightly as Tenya asked the question, the blue haired man looking down at his shorter compatriot, "Coming from a family of some of the best engineers that Atlas has to offer 'and' a family with a long and storied tradition of being Hunters, we know above all else that engineering simply can't just 'be' safe in this age of Grimm. If people don't 'feel' safe, don't 'feel' protected, then their negative emotions can inspire the Grimm to mass on their location; even the Walls of Atlas would be strained under a sustained attack by a great host of Grimm, after all. It's part of the reason why my family stresses the knightly aesthetic in our own armor's design; it's something that makes people feel safe and secure, and that idea of being protected and feeling hopeful about your protectors is what makes Toshinori the Symbol of Peace and Hope, after all."

"So... I have to ask. With all of these protections you've listed out for me, did you feel safe, living day to day in Mountain Glenn?"

"Yeah, I guess I did. I think we'd have moved away if either myself or my mother felt we were in danger. Between Toshinori and Mountain Glenn's defenses... even should the worst come to happen, we'd be okay. We had evacuation drills, we had the vault doors, we had Toshinori himself. I can understand if some people would be pretty hesitant about living there, but personally? I felt fine."

Even knowing what Izuku did now, he didn't feel necessarily 'scared' about ever going back to Mountain Glenn. The truth was rough, sure, Toshinori Yagi wasn't able to go Hero all day and there were times where he'd have to push himself to dangerous limits in order to do so... but Toshinori was willing to push those limits. If it was necessary, he'd do what he'd need to in order to save people. That's the man Izuku knew his mentor as. The same held true for all the Hunters of Mountain Glenn; skilled in combat or no, they'd lay their lives on the line and do what they could to see to the defenses, no matter the cost.

And now, with The Governing Council on notice, reinforcements wouldn't be refused for Mountain Glenn.

So... yes. Was it rough knowing the truth? Of course. But... the truth didn't scare him. Because Izuku knew the kind of resolve his protectors had. Heck, he was one of them now; his resolve was that of a Hunter's.

It was a pretty simple answer all told but one that seemed to satisfy Tenya nonetheless. "Well, given your nature for analyzing most things Hunter and in giving your honest opinions on capabilities, skills and what they might mean, I don't have any reason to doubt you Izuku. I'd like to thank you for giving me this opportunity to sate my curiosity; it was quite informative." Izuku smiled and moved to speak to his friend, though as he opened his mouth the bells for the next class suddenly rang. "Oh dear! We've been talking for far too long! We have to hurry!"

"What? What's the rush Tenya, we'll be fine if we're only a little-"

"No, no, no, Mr. Midoriya! We must be on our way! I'd rather not chance an encounter with the... hall monitors while we're out and about, late for our classes!" Before Izuku could question the near panic that seemed to overtake Tenya, the two of them were speeding off to their next class. They didn't end up running into any hall monitors on the way, which at least seemed to make Tenya happy.

Weiss fumed as she sat on her bed. The recent loss to her leader still fresh on her mind. 'How dare he! Not only did he not give me a proper fight, but he had the gall to manhandle me like that! The pervert probably enjoyed getting to rub his hands all over me like that.'

The Heiress was pulled from her thoughts as she was suddenly tackled by one of her teammates.

"Hey, Partner!" Nora greeted from her position on top of Weiss. "How's it going?"

"How do you think!" Weiss snapped as she shoved her partner off of her. Honestly, Nora was probably the clingiest person...

Weiss blinked as an idea occurred to her. She immediately recognized it as one of the worst idea's she ever had, but it was an idea nonetheless.

"Uh, you okay, Partner?" Nora asked as she waved a hand in front of her partner's face.

"Do that again." was all Weiss said as she got up.

"Do what again?" Nora asked as she tilted her head in confusion.

"Tackle me." Weiss replied instantly, not giving herself a chance to change her mind.

"Okay." the hyper girl said before slamming into the Heiress.

"Again." Weiss demanded as she shoved her partner off of her.

"Uh, not that this isn't fun, because it really really is, but what's going on?" Nora asked as she stood up.

Weiss let out a sigh. "As I'm sure you're aware, our leader recently highlighted a... flaw in my fighting style. To prevent such an embarrassment from happening again, I've decided that I need as much experience removing myself from such holds as I possibly can."

The white haired girl felt a shiver move down her spine as her partner looked at her with a wicked grin on her face.

"If you insist!" Nora yelled as she wrapped her arms around Weiss and lifted the smaller girl off of her bed.

"Nora!" Weiss screamed in panic as her partner squeezed her in a bear hug.

"You asked for this, Partner!" Nora cheered as she began to twirl and swing her partner around like an oversized doll.

"I've changed my mind! I've changed my mind!"

E/N: Ending us off we have Meanwhile by NMS

-Shovern