Ignited Spark

by 3PeopleInACoat

When Midoriya Izuku was four years old, his quirk finally manifested - not a combination of his parents' quirks, but an entirely different mutation of its own. With the ability to blast lightning out of his body, a horrible accident convinces Izuku to give up his dreams of becoming a hero. But with the help of two girls, Izuku finds the inspiration to fight and become a true hero!

4. Training Partner

Indeed … the pictures of this place really didn't do it justice.

Instead of being one of those that would take a good long look at Dagobah Beach and wince at the literal mountains of garbage that was spread across the sand, All Might nodded in satisfaction, carefully walking down the steps that led to the beach. In his emancipated form, no one really paid him any mind as he walked carefully through the landfill, looking around and making a mental checklist of everything that might be trouble.

A broken mirror … yes, that would need to be removed carefully so as they didn't cut themselves on the glass. He could make out a few cars in there, thankfully more at the bottom of the piles so that if he had his successor cleaning the garbage it wouldn't fall on her. A few dressers and cabinets … fridges, yes, she would need to be careful moving those … mattresses, those would be something light … tires to roll, or carry, or push … a few discarded and broken televisions … furniture … a few safes … hm, if he put down that locker, and put those tires and that pole together, he could have her use a makeshift weight bar and plates …

… yes. This was the place.

Letting out a relieved sigh, All Might wiped his brow, smiling. It had been a busy few weeks, what with hero work and the incident with Young Midoriya yesterday, but he'd finally found the time to come to the place he planned to train Young Kendou and Young Midoriya both, in order to inspect it and make sure there weren't any potential dangers. He knew that in order to train Young Kendou, he needed to find a secure spot that would allow her to train all the muscles in her body, and a place for Young Midoriya to practice his quirk, and prevent anyone passing by from getting hurt - and this was it.

Still though, All Might knew that this wouldn't be a walk in the park for either of them. He'd only really known Young Midoriya for an afternoon, but he knew that the boy had confidence issues out the wazoo. To have not used his quirk for years, out of complete and utter fear of it … the pro hero didn't just have to train him to use it safely, he had to make sure that Izuku had the confidence to use his own abilities. As for Young Kendou, he knew that she was confident in her quirk, as simple as it was to use, and did have outside training - but this would be an entirely different kind of training that she wasn't experienced in.

And to add on his training plan, he grimaced, with different sleep schedules and eating plans and the such …

… it would be tough for both of them.

And yet, All Might shook his head, he had the utmost confidence in both of them. He had known Young Midoriya for only an afternoon, but he could tell that the boy had the heart and soul of a hero, if he was willing to leap into a battle he couldn't win to save a boy who treated him with disdain. And Young Kendou proved her worth as the next successor of One for All - while she did get in trouble with both the authorities and her parents, he had still been amazed, staring in that crowd as she emerged from the burning building, coughing up her lungs and puking into a trashcan, but waving aside the gratitude the children she saved gave her.

It had been then that All Might had realized his own weakness, he sighed - he had grown too used to his own shortcomings, that when he had run out of time that day, he had been powerless and pathetic, watching the flaming building burn - and yet Young Kendou had ran in, clearly out of her depth and punching a hole through the wall, and saved those children. It was then that All Might had realized who his successor should have been, and chased her down, introduced himself, and revealed his identity to her - as well as the truth behind his quirk, One for All.

Of course, she'd given him an earful when she realized he had just stood aside while she busted her butt saving heroes, but she had still accepted his offer to train her personally, and he had promised to be in contact with her when he had come up with a proper training plan.

Of course, there had been … criticisms of his choice, All Might grimaced as he remembered the phone call a week ago.

"You're going to pass your power on to a girl who can only grow out her hands?!"

"She's someone who wants to save people, no matter what. She showed bravery that day, and -"

"She can't fulfill her duties with just her intentions! There are a number of other people far more suitable for One for All!"

"She is also -"

"All Might, you have to reconsider! Togata is ready!"

With a sigh, All Might patted the hood of a nearby abandoned car, frowning. Sir Nighteye meant well, he knew … but he always had his own reservations on how All Might would inevitably pass on his quirk. Young Togata was indeed a great hero, that was true … but Young Kendou had proven her own worth. And so, All Might had made up his mind.

Now though, he just needed to draft up a similar training plan for Young Midoriya. His presence would perhaps be a hiccup, but All Might simply couldn't leave him helpless. He had the time, the place - and to build his confidence, a training partner to lift his spirits. All Might had no doubts that Young Kendou would be a welcome presence while Young Midoriya was training - she emulated warmth, comfort and confidence, and that would bounce well with Izuku's lack of self-confidence.

They would make a good team.

Now all he needed to do was text Izuku and let him know to meet him early tomorrow morning at the beach, and then text Young Kendou to give him a call, so that he could explain where to go, she at least deserved to hear his voice after two weeks of radio silence. He needed to explain Young Midoriya's presence here as well -

- or maybe not? All Might felt himself smile a bit mischievously as he began walking back to the parking lot, rubbing his hands together. It'd be a nice surprise for the both of them - and a good way to introduce themselves to each other!

Very well, All Might thought to himself as he buffed up to his true form, I'll keep it a surprise.

---

BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP -

BAM

Throwing out her arm, Itsuka Kendou managed to hit her alarm clock in one go, letting out a groan as she flopped her hand out to hit the top of the stupid machine beside her bed. Once silence was mercifully restored to her dark room, the orange-haired girl yawned as she rolled over onto her back, staring dully at the ceiling as though it were at fault for her being awake a lot earlier than she would like.

Alas, she knew that she should probably get up - she didn't need to get headchopped by her grandpa so early in the morning, the last time that happened she had ended up with a headache as she walked to school.

Taking one last moment to enjoy the softness of her mattress, Itsuka yawned again as she threw off her comforter and moved to sit up, groaning a bit as she put her feet down on her hardwood floors, and let out a small hiss as she moved to stand up a bit too fast, lowering her hand to rub the bruise on her hip. Usually when she helped out at the dojo downstairs, she would occasionally get some hits in but nothing too bad, but little Tatsumi in the kids' classes managed to get a particularly good hit in, and left quite the mark. She had managed to cover it up well (Tatsumi was kind of a crybaby, and didn't like hurting other people), but once everyone had left, she had waddled up the stairs to the bathroom to complain and groan about it.

Unfortunately for her, Itsuka smiled a bit as she began to walk across her room, grabbing her school uniform to change in when she got in the bathroom, her grandpa didn't have much sympathy - he was a strict teacher, after all, and he made it clear when she was a little kid training with him that he wouldn't show her any favoritism, a promise that he'd kept for years now. Not that she was bothered by it, or would accept favoritism anyway - she wanted to be pushed hard, even when she was little, so her grandpa going easier on her than the other kids wouldn't have been accepted in this house at all.

Opening her door, Itsuka yawned again as she stepped out of her room down the hall, rubbing her eyes and finally managing to get to the bathroom, where she could throw some water in her face before she headed into the kitchen for her morning coffee. Thankfully she had taken a shower before she went to bed last night to soothe the bruise, so she just needed to get rid of the awful taste in her mouth, get dressed, and manage to comb the absolute disaster that was her hair.

Once she was dressed in her school uniform, and rinsed her mouth of toothpaste and spat into the sink, she glanced into the mirror, rolling her eyes at how messy her hair was now (although she really couldn't fault anyone else but herself - she'd decided to grow it out for once instead of keeping it short like she always did), and grabbed her hairbrush from the counter as she turned around to walk out of the bathroom and into the kitchen, where her parents were already up and about and hopefully have already put on a pot of coffee.

"Well, well," Hakushu Kendou said from the kitchen table, smiling a bit at the disheveled state his daughter was in, "look who's decided to finally join us."

"Coffee," Itsuka grumbled in response, looking tiredly around the kitchen, "I need coffee."

"There's still some in the pot," He chuckled, pointing to the oven top, and Itsuka sighed in relief as she moved to the counter, grabbing her coffee cup from the shelf and grabbing the pot from the top of the oven.

As she poured herself a glass of black coffee, Itsuka glanced back at her dad, and couldn't help but giggle a bit as he flipped open his newspaper. He probably didn't know this, but he had a bit of grease on his cheek from work yesterday, which he probably didn't even notice since he had pretty much stumbled his way to his and her mom's room last night and collapsed on his bed when she had come back from school, opting to take a nap instead of eating dinner with the rest of the family. She knew that he was pretty busy at the shop lately - since winter was pretty much over, everyone needed their snow tires off, so that meant that the repair shop would be busy for the next few weeks.

But that meant that they were getting some extra cash, so Itsuka knew that her dad didn't mind the workload - getting some extra money meant that he could put some aside for car and motorcycle parts, which put a smile on Itsuka's face.

Once she took a long drink of coffee, letting out a satisfied sigh as she felt some energy finally come to her, Itsuka was unable to stop herself from teasing her dad, "You know you got some black smudge on your cheek, Dad?" Hakushu blinked, raising his hand to his cheek while Itsuka passed by her mom cleaning some dishes, grabbing a bagel from the breadbox and pulling it apart. "Other cheek, Dad."

"Huh? Oh, damn," The bearded man grumbled, looking at his fingers and seeing the black grease, "that's probably from the Tamashira's car yesterday, they had an oil leak that splashed everywhere."

"Has it been that busy?" Itsuka asked as she put her bagel in the toaster, taking a second to lean against the counter and take a sip of coffee.

"A bit more than usual, but I'm a tough guy, honey. I'll survive a few weeks of hard work. Besides, we get a little extra cash," Hakushu winked as he rose from the table to go wash his face, "I bet we can put some on the side and get you that helmet you keep looking at in your magazine."

"You better not be talking about the bike just yet," Itsuka's mother, Tenohira, said from her spot near the sink, smirking a bit to herself as she shook her head, "don't forget that you're still grounded until tonight, Itsuka."

"I know," Itsuka groaned, flopping a bit on the counter while her mother dried her hands, walking over to take the comb out of Itsuka's pocket where she had put it and beginning to smooth out her wavy and messy hair, "and I'll be looking forward to doing something other than helping Grandpa downstairs or doing homework or studying."

"Hm," A third voice suddenly said from around the corner, sounding gruff and stern, "that sounds like a complaint."

"It isn't," Itsuka was unable to stop herself from smiling as her grandfather walked into the kitchen, letting Hakushu pass by him to go to the bathroom and wash his face, "I just have other hobbies, Grandpa."

"In that case," Teko Kendou grunted as he sat down at the table, giving his granddaughter an unamused look, "you should avoid doing foolish things that would get you grounded, Itsuka. So you don't have to spend time with your grandfather."

"Dad, I thought you were going to sleep in today," Tenohira pouted at her father as he slid the newspaper from his son-in-law's spot towards him so he could read, "your first class is at noon, you didn't have to get up early."

"Bah," Teko shook his head, opening the newspaper to scan the contents, "you know that I'm not one to sleep in any later than seven, daughter. Besides, you might've let Itsuka sleep in again, so I needed to be awake in case she needed to be woken up."

"One day, I'm going to just unplug your alarm clock," Itsuka's mother shook her head, "and you can just sleep in."

"Ha! I doubt that, daughter. I'll just wake up by myself and yell at you."

Tenohira clicked her tongue

Tenohira let out a small grumble as she finished doing up Itsuka's ponytail, putting it into the usual style on the side of her head, and Itsuka couldn't help but giggle a bit as her mother returned to wash thes, hearing the sound of her bagel finally popping out of the toaster and feeling her stomach grumble.

She liked snarking and making fun of them, and occasionally got reprimanded by her grandpa, but Itsuka loved her family with all of her heart, and wouldn't change anything about them. They fully supported her dreams of being a hero, even her grandpa without an ounce of hesitation, and had suggested that she attend a middle school that specializes in preparing its students to attend UA High - but Itsuka had turned that down, planning to get in on her own merits while attending Mustafa Private Middle School with her friends.

She enjoyed going out and doing chores and the such with her mother, either grocery shopping or heading to the mall to buy clothes, or simply sitting at a park and eating out; while her father, they bonded over building her motorcycle in the garage downstairs, and he occasionally took his daughter to work with him to have her help out in the shop. Even her grandpa, despite his stern teachings and refusals of favouritism, trusted her enough to have her assist him in the dojo downstairs, especially around the younger students where she was the more approachable of them.

Although, speaking of the dojo …

"Grandpa, did you need my help after school today?" She asked as she took the two pieces of bagel out of the toaster, wincing a bit at the heat as she dropped them onto a plate set out by her mother, "There's a test on Monday I kinda wanted to study for, and I wanted to get started tonight."

"Hm. Shouldn't you have begun studying for that in the last two weeks?" Teko eyed her over the top of his newspaper, making her giggle as she slid the plate of butter towards her, "Leaving studying until the last minute. Disgraceful, granddaughter, disgraceful."

"I'd take your disappointment seriously," Itsuka giggled, "if my grades weren't in the nineties and above, and I wasn't studying for other tests in the meantime."

"Mm," Teko slowly nodded, "indeed."

"So, about tonight …?"

"No, Itsuka, I didn't need your help at the dojo tonight," Her grandfather shook his head as he flipped the page of his newspaper, nodding in thanks to Tenohira as she gave him his own cup of black coffee, "it's not the usual crowd tonight anyway, the Nakamuras let me know last night that their daughter had a dentist appointment, so they won't be in attendance."

"Alright!" Itsuka nodded happily, finishing buttering up her bagel and wrapping it in her napkin, hurrying over to kiss Teko's cheek, moving around her dad as he returned to the table with a relatively clean face (or as best he could - her dad never could be 100% clean). "In that case, I should probably be off - Set wanted to meet up early so we could do some last minute studying before the test today."

"Sounds good, baby girl," Hakushu chuckled as she gave him his own kiss on the cheek, "have a good day."

"And remember," Tenohira said from the counter, grabbing Itsuka's plate to put in the dishwasher and giving her daughter a raised eyebrow, "if you pass by a burning building on your way, what are you going to do?"

Itsuka let out a small groan as she swung her backpack over her shoulders, but still answered, "Let the firefighters and heroes do their jobs."

Tenohira giggled, "Good girl." Giving her daughter a hug and kissing the top of her messy hair, she patted her daughter's shoulder and let her go off, Itsuka hopping down the stairs and moving past both the garage door and the door that led to her grandpa's dojo, and exited the house, closing the door behind her and starting her walk to the train station, munching on her bagel while pouting a bit.

The burning building … okay, Itsuka shook her head a bit, she could see her parents' frustration with her about doing that. It had been dangerous, nearly suicidal, and had gotten her a harsh talking to with the heroes that had arrived after she had gotten done saving the two children trapped in the building, and a swift grounding from her parents. But at the end of the day, she couldn't bring herself to regret it at all. Not when it had led to a man approaching her, explaining his true identity, and telling her that her show of bravery and heroism had inspired him to offer her something she couldn't dream of refusing.

Although …

Frowning, Itsuka munched on her breakfast as she grabbed her cellphone from her skirt, bringing it up and looking through her messages. All Might had said that when he had a plan to train her he would contact her, but that was over two weeks ago now, and there hadn't been any contact from the pro hero since. She chalked it up to the Number One Hero being super busy, but even now, she was starting to feel a bit anxious.

If she was going to be trained for One for All, she'd kinda like to be updated on what was going on. But she shook her head and continued walking down the street, waving to a neighbor as she took another bite of her breakfast.

She just needed to be patient.

---

"Alright, you can now please put your pencils down," The teacher at the front called to the class, patting her podium as she looked around the classroom, "it's almost time for the lunch bell to ring, so the test is now over. Can the person in the back please collect all the papers in your row, and bring them to the front."

With a sigh, Itsuka put down her pencil and slid her paper away from her, taking a second to rub her eyes as the person behind her took the test away. She was relieved that she finished the test about five minutes ago, and had used the spare time to double check all of her answers and catch any mistakes she might've made. Now she had no problem with the girl behind her bringing the test up to the teacher, confident that she passed with flying colours and taking a chance to lean back in her chair and crack her neck.

She really had no excuses for bombing this test, she chuckled to herself as she leaned forward in her seat, since studying was pretty much all she had time for the last week or so due to her grounding. Still, she would be relieved that once she got home tonight the punishment would be over, and she would be free to do more than just studying in her room, helping her grandfather in the dojo, and sleeping.

And waiting for All Might to finally get back to her. But again, like she had thought this morning, she just needed to be a little patient. From the sound of things, Itsuka needed additional training before anything major could happen, and she would rather not be given a quirk she was in no way prepared for.

No, she could wait for the pro hero to get back to her, and in the meantime relax a little bit and work on her bike once all these tests were over.

"Excellent," Her teacher tapped all twenty pieces of paper together in a neat pile, looking around the classroom with a smile, her antennas tapping together subconsciously, "now you have one more math test on Monday, and then that'll be it, and you can relax a little bit. Just be sure to study, and if you would like to take a mock entrance exam for your preferred high school, just find me at the teacher's lounge and I'll give you one for practice. Since I've already collected your career aptitude tests, I'll know which one to give to -"

Before she could finish that, however, the bell above her head rang, making her shake her head and smile as her class obviously sagged in relief.

"Okay, okay, I get the message, go to lunch," She laughed, beginning to walk out the door so she could return to the staff room for her own lunch, "and don't forget that physical education's next, so remember to head downstairs with your gym clothes!"

Letting out a sigh of relief, Itsuka stretched her arms above her head, being sure to crack her back somewhat as she reached down to her backpack to pull out her bento box to eat. As she placed the wooden box on the surface of her table, there was a small thump, and Itsuka smirked a bit at the sight of a familiar mop of messy green hair, its owner having face-planted on the surface of her desk and beginning to quietly groan.

"I'm assuming that the test didn't go very well?" She guessed playfully as she bent back over to grab her chopsticks from her backpack.

"It went fine," Setsuna Tokage grumbled, not sounding fine at all as she slowly shook her head, rubbing her forehead against the desk as she wrapped her arms around her head, "I'm not going to fail, at least. Thanks for the extra study this morning, Ken, or I'd actually be fucked."

"Ouch," Itsuka giggled a bit, "so not a failing grade, but close?"

"Probably," Setsuna peaked up from underneath her messy hair, pouting at Itsuka's teasing smirk, "I'm betting that I passed, but not by much. Of course, that doesn't mean much to you, does it, Miss Perfect?"

"I'm not perfect," The orange-haired girl shook her head, putting her chopsticks on the table so she could open her lunch, "I'm pretty sure that I got one or two questions wrong."

"Ooh, look at you!" Setsuna teased as she finally sat up, smirking at her friend as she flipped her hair behind her shoulder, "Two questions wrong on a fifty-question test. Oh, what will your mother think?!"

"That I'm way too smart to be her daughter." Itsuka giggled, "At least that's what my dad always says."

"I mean, you have your moments of stupidity," Another voice said above them, sounding uninterested, and both girls turned to see Yui Kodai approaching them with her own lunch, using one hand to slide the chair away from the desk beside Itsuka's and putting it beside them so that she could sit, "I can name a few."

"Oh, my god," Itsuka sighed, slumping her shoulders a bit as she shook her head, "you're talking about the fire, aren't you? It's bad enough my parents keep bringing it up."

"Do you regret running into a burning building?" Yui raised her eyebrow as she sat down, with Setsuna smirking at the orange-haired girl teasingly.

"I mean, I did save a few lives," Itsuka shrugged, "so, uh … contrary to what I tell my parents, nope, I do not."

"Then no," Yui shook her head, "I'm probably never going to let it go."

Rolling her eyes, Itsuka instead broke her chopsticks apart and muttering a quick "Thanks for this meal" before digging into her lunch, while Setsuna and Yui did the same beside and across from her, while shaking their heads as she pointed ignored their judgemental and amused gazes.

Still though, she gave them, she couldn't exactly brush their opinions on her stupidity away - she knew that they had a point, and running into a blazing fire to save a few people was an incredibly idiotic thing to do, as her parents and Backdraft, who had arrived at the scene while she had been busy puking up her insides due to the smoke inhalation. It was just … what happened afterwards, receiving the words of encouragement from the most unlikely of sources and the offer she couldn't get out of her head even weeks later, prevented her from truly regretting her actions.

She saved lives, and the most powerful hero in Japan gave the opportunity to save many more in ways she didn't think was possible - so she could deal with having to help her grandpa for the last two weeks, sitting in her room doing nothing but study, and putting a pause on her bike maintenance.

... okay, admittedly, the bike thing was killing her, but her punishment was only until tonight. Then she could start working on her baby again.

"... also, I owe you a hundred yen, Yui," Setsuna grumbled as she broke her chopsticks apart, scooping up some sushi as Itsuka continued to quietly think to herself and mourn the loss of time she could've spent on her bike, "Sento didn't even recognize me yesterday."

"Mm," Yui nodded, smirking a little bit, "probably because your face wasn't caked in makeup."

"Yeah," Setsuna pouted, "it sucks that I gotta give up the gyaru fashion, but I gotta start cleaning up my act. If either of you two tell anyone at UA that I was into that kind of stuff, by the way, I'll never forgive you."

"Oh, perish the thought," Yui shook her head, "why give up perfectly good blackmail material?"

"Yeah," Itsuka rejoined the conversation, smiling mischievously, "why should I give up the chance to have you buy me food? No way, your secret is safe with us."

"Assholes. Anyway," Setsuna popped some of her sushi into her mouth, glancing between her two friends, "once you aren't grounded anymore Ken, do you guys wanna hit up the mall? There were a few dresses I wanted to try on and buy for the summer before we have to go all in on UA."

"As much as I'd like to, I can't," Yui shook her head, tossing a slice of tomato into her mouth, "my dad has guests coming over tomorrow night for a dinner party, so I have to practice smiling in a mirror all tomorrow afternoon so I can make a good impression. Sorry."

"Lame! What about you, Ken? Wanna go on a date?"

"As tempting as that sounds," Itsuka chuckled, "my parents are letting me off the leash tonight, and I just wanna spend some time working on my bike tomorrow. So, I'll pass. Next week though?"

"I'll hold you to that," Setsuna pointed her chopsticks at the orange-haired girl threateningly, "I wanna spend a little time shopping before I have to start studying for the recommendation entrance exam - and that's going to take up all my fucking time."

"That's an exam, a practical and an interview, right?" Yui at least looked a bit curious - or, you know, as curious as she could with her blank state of a face, "I know UA will have us doing a practical and a written test, at least."

"Yeah," Setsuna nodded in confirmation, pouting a little bit, "I'm pretty sure I'll stomp the two exams, I'm gonna start taking things seriously once summer break starts - it's just the interview I'm nervous about, I hate not knowing what they're gonna ask."

"Don't worry about it right now, girl," Itsuka assured her, "you've got a whole year to get ready for it. We can do mock interviews for you to get yourself prepared if you want."

"Aw, how sweet," Setsuna smirked a bit, "I might take you up on that later - but honestly, right now I just want to have three months to enjoy my last year of middle school before I have to dedicate my entire life to studying."

"You say that like we aren't going to be busy training and studying either," Itsuka giggled, "just be sure to remember us when you're in the big leagues, alright?"

"Girl, it's not my fault that fucking Majestic thinks that I'm hero material," Setsuna put her hand on her chest in a mock arrogant tone that made Itsuka snort and Yui roll her eyes, "just like it isn't Yui's fault she's got a literal army of guys that thinks she's a goddess, I just roll with the punches."

"For the last time, I don't have a fanclub," Yui shook her head as she continued to eat her lunch, while Setsuna gave her a doubtful look, and Itsuka rolled her eyes this time, "I have no idea what you guys are talking about."

"Girl, you don't notice the pervs peeking at you from the bushes everytime you walk home from school?" Setsuna gave her a skeptical look. "I swear to god, I'll just say that we're dating just so they'd get off your back and actually get lives - although, they'd probably die of blood loss from all the nosebleeds we'd give them."

"Tempting," Yui smirked, "but I know I'm not your type."

"Yeah," Setsuna giggled, "you're a tad too horny for me, and I've gotta concentrate on studying."

"Me too," Itsuka shook her head, blinking when she heard her phone chime in her pocket as she unscrewed her water bottle, "I swear, Yui, you can be a little more subtle about how much you check people out."

"I have no idea what you're talking about," Yui shook her head, "I certainly did not look at your boobs when I came to sit down."

"How kind of you to admit it," Itsuka snarked, letting out a small hum while Setsuna chortled. As she began to drink her from water, she pulled her phone out of her pocket, wanting to check who was texting her as she eyes trailed down to the message she just received -

- and then her eyes positively bulged out of their sockets.

COACH

Good afternoon Young Kendou! At your earliest convenience, could you please give me a call?

"PFFFFTTTT - *cough* *cough* cough*!"

Both Setsuna and Yui jumped a bit and looked up to see Itsuka beginning to choke on her drink, grabbing her mouth in one hand and coughing roughly as she stumbled out of her chair and onto her feet, staring at her phone with widened eyes.

"Er … you good, girl?" Setsuna cocked her head a bit, staring up at her friend in confusion. "Is something -?"

"I - uh - I have to - *cough* - I have to go to the bathroom," Itsuka managed to say through her ragged coughing, giving her best friends a weak smile as she pointed behind her at the door, "be - *cough* - be right back."

Trying desperately to clear her throat, Itsuka quickly turned around to start heading out the door into the hall, hurrying around the desks and her classmates as she jogged out the open door. Behind her, Yui and Setsuna looked confusedly after her, before glancing at each other.

"You don't think she got some boyfriend while we weren't looking, do you?" Setsuna rolled her eyes a bit as she returned to her lunch.

"Unless she found some mysterious guy that could somehow charm her with black coffee and motorcycles," Yui shook her head as she munched on another slice of tomato, "I sincerely doubt it."

Outside her classroom, Itsuka finally managed to unblock her airway, clearing her throat and getting control of her coughing, and quickly began hurrying throughout the school to find a safe place to call All Might. She'd been waiting for two weeks now for All Might to contact her about how he would be training her - and now that he had finally reached out, she hurried her pace as she tried to find somewhere private so that she could call him and get a few more details, more than eager to get some more information. She knew he had to set up a few things beforehand, and now she was more than a little excited to learn more.

Passing by Class 4 and waving to Mina, Itsuka made her way through the school, looking for an empty classroom to make the call. She knew some classrooms upstairs were empty during this time, so she could potentially sneak in there to call All Might, and hopefully not be overheard. She didn't think anyone would keep quiet if she slipped up and accidentally said something that would indicate she was talking to All Might - either they'd think she was a liar or hound her to get his number

And as she really didn't like either option, the more private she got to do this, the better.

Managing to get upstairs without anyone noticing, Itsuka went to the first classroom she saw, sliding the door open -

- and got a good look at a black-haired kid slamming a rebar against his forehead as hard as he could, the sound of metal hitting something very solid echoing throughout the empty classroom as blood leaked out of his forehead.

Itsuka froze up briefly, thoughts of calling All Might fading entirely as the boy looked around at her at the sound of the door opening, also freezing up as he realized the position he had been caught in, slowly lowering the piece of metal back onto the empty podium and gulping nervously. As the two cautiously eyed each other, it was then that Itsuka blinked, realizing that he recognized the guy.

"Er …" Itsuka pointed weakly at him, staring at the boy in confusion and a bit of suspense, "... Kirishima, right? From … Class 3?"

Itsuka froze briefly, thoughts of calling All Might fading from her mind as the boy looked around at her, also freezing up as he realized the position he had been caught in as he put down the piece of metal and gulped nervously. It was then, Itsuka blinked, that she recognized the guy.

"Er ..." Itsuka pointed weakly at him, staring at the boy in a bit of suspense, "... Kirishima, right? From Class 3?"

"Uh … yeah," The black haired boy gulped, glancing between her and the metal bar he had been slamming against his head, as though realizing the weirdness of what he had been doing, "I was, uh … I was training my quirk during the lunchbreak. Didn't - didn't realize anyone would be up here."

"A-ah."

"I'm - I'm not hitting myself on purpose or anything like that!" Eijirou tried to defend himself, and then blinked. "Wait, I - yes, I was hitting myself on purpose, but - but not to - you know -"

"O-oh, no, I get it," Itsuka giggled awkwardly, pointing aimlessly behind her as she slowly backed out of the classroom, beginning to slide the door close while he held out a hand.

"I - uh - hold on -"

"Er - sorry for interrupting. I'll, uh … I'll get back to whatever I was doing. You keep doing … uh … whatever it was you were doing."

With another awkward wave, Itsuka slowly slid the door shut, still not entirely sure what on earth she had walked in on, but turned right around to walk back down the stairs with a small sigh. She could hear Eijirou thumping his head against something pretty solid, although she couldn't tell if it was the rebar, one of the desks or the blackboard.

Probably would be better to leave him to … whatever that was.

It took a little more time, but Itsuka finally managed to find her own safe spot outside the school, waving to a few of her classmates eating outside as she made her way under a tree, glancing left and right one more time to make sure that there was no one nearby to overhear this phone call. Once she was sure no one was stalking her or watching her, Itsuka let out another sigh, tried to hype herself up by hopping up and down, trying to be as confident as she could. Once she felt a bit more encouraged, she dialed All Might's phone number and brought it up to her ear, feeling herself shake a little bit.

Thankfully, the phone only rang only two times before she heard the phone call connect, making Itsuka straighten up. Although she got to see the hero's dorky side while he had talked to her in his thin form, she was still honestly a little intimidated by him just due to the fact he was the Number One Hero.

"Ah, hello, Young Kendou!"

"H-hello, All Might," Itsuka stammered a bit, gulping again as she glanced around one more time to make sure that absolutely no one was in sight or watching her as she walked a bit further away from the school, moving into the shadow of the tree, "sorry about - you know, not calling you back right away, I was - I was with friends, and I had to find somewhere private to call you."

"That's quite alright, Young Kendou - as a matter of fact, I actually had to interrupt a hostage situation between my sending the text to you and your phone call, so this is excellent timing!"

She suddenly became aware of the sound of smoke blowing off something, and she wrinkled her brow in concern at the sound of a series of hacking coughs, indicating to her that he just shrunk down to his depowered form, "Well, this at least gives me time to take a little break."

"Er - yeah." Itsuka coughed, still glancing around for anyone who might be eavesdropping and aware of how suspicious she might look, "So - so sir -"

"Oh, no, Young Kendou - there's no need to refer to me as 'sir'. All Might is fine! I told you last week, there's no need to be so formal around me."

"Uh -" Itsuka gulped again, "- right. All Might. So, uh - did - you mentioned when we last saw each other you were looking for somewhere to train me? Did - did you find a place?"

"That's correct!" All Might said in an enthusiastic voice over the phone, "My apologies for the radio silence the last two weeks, it's - well, it's been quite busy for me. I knew from your last text that you were going to be grounded by your family until today, so that gave me a good enough timeframe to find you a place for training."

"G-great!" Itsuka nodded quickly, unable to stop a small smile from gracing her face. "So, uh - so where will we be going? What'll you have me do?"

"I'll be keeping that a secret for now - it's a bit too much to explain over the phone, and I imagine your lunch break will end soon. Just know that tomorrow morning at 5:00 am, I will meet with you at Dagobah Municipal Beach Park, and we'll go over more about what exactly we'll be doing to prepare you for One for All. Understood?"

"Y-yes, sir!" Itsuka immediately confirmed, balling her free fist, "I'm looking forward to it!"

"Fantastic! In that case, Young Kendou, I'll let you go for now. Have a good rest of your day, and I will see you tomorrow morning!"

"Y-you too! See you tomorrow!"

After exchanging goodbyes, Itsuka hung up her phone and put it back in her skirt pocket, taking a moment to glance around one more time to see if anyone was watching her - and once she was sure no one was looking, quickly hopped up and down while pumping her fists, smiling giddily.

She had been excited for this ever since last week, when All Might had offered her the power of his quirk, One for All. She had been honoured that the hero had seen potential in her, and thought that she was worthy of becoming the next Symbol of Peace.

And tomorrow morning, she smiled widely as she began jogging back to class to eat the rest of her lunch, she was going to take the first step in her dream of becoming a pro hero.

---

"This, Young Midoriya, is Itsuka Kendou. My successor, and your training partner."

... or, alternatively, All Might could instead rip the rug right out from under her.

Itsuka sputtered at the same time the boy she was being introduced to did, the orange-haired girl immediately wheeling around to stare up at the pro hero in shock as he smiled proudly down at her. She hadn't even been here for five minutes, having woken up at four in the morning so she could get the bus route and get here in time, and now here she was, staring at the boy across from her in shock and befuddlement as the gears in her mind squeaked to an absolute halt.

"I - what?" She stuttered, looking from Izuku to All Might so fast her ponytail flipped around to hit her in the face. "T-training partner? Wha - I - All Might, you never mentioned anything about training partners! I - what?!"

"S-successor?" Izuku said in a low voice, eyes locked on the girl standing in front of him while his face paled almost comically, taking a shocked step back. "She's - she's your successor? What? I - hold on a second, All Might, what?!"

"It's true!" All Might laughed, raising a hand to rub the back of his head. "I had thought of leaving it as a surprise, Young Kendou! Indeed, Young Midoriya will be joining us to train with his own quirk!"

All Might's surprise, however, evidently didn't go over very well, due to Itsuka rapidly looking back and forth between the two of them with an air of exasperation and befuddlement, while Izuku's eyes continued to go rounder and rounder as he did the same between the two of them. It would've been comical, seeing how they conveniently looked away from each other when the other's eyes fell to them, but All Might suddenly felt his smile stiffen when Itsuka's look became a lot darker and colder with each passing moment.

"You ... you never mentioned anything about training partners," Itsuka repeated, her eyebrow beginning to twitch and making All Might sweat a bit as he took a cautious step back, having a feeling that he made a mistake of some kind as Itsuka's fists slowly clenched. "I thought that - that you were going to -"

"Er - Young Kendou -?"

"- alright, let's start over," She groaned, raising a hand to hold over her eyes, "why exactly is - um -" Pausing for a second, Itsuka let out a sigh, and turned back to Izuku, "- I'm sorry, what was your name again?"

"H-huh?" Izuku sputtered for a moment when she looked at him, still a bit taken aback by the fact that All Might's apparent successor was a girl his age - but then cleared his throat, glancing away and muttering, "uh - uh - M-Midoriya."

"Midoriya," Itsuka nodded politely at him at least, then turning her gaze back to the pro hero before them with a frown, "right. I'm Kendou, by the way, it's nice to meet you. So what is - er - Midoriya doing here, All Might?"

"Uh … on second thought, Young Kendou, you can go back to calling me 'sir', it seems so informal -"

"All Might," Itsuka narrowed her eyes, not feeling very intimidated by the Number One Hero anymore, "explain."

All Might sputtered a bit, evidently taken aback and feeling himself stiffen even more, while Izuku continued to stare at Itsuka in complete and utter shock, seeing her massage her forehead as though a headache was starting to come on. Honestly, she didn't really have a problem - - okay, that would be untrue, she did have a problem with Izuku's presence here, but not with the boy himself.

It was just - oh, good lord, it was way too early for this kind of thinking, she'd only been awake for about an hour and now All Might was pulling a complete stranger out of nowhere and saying that he would be training with her. She needed a bit more information, and a cup of coffee.

Scratch that, a lot of information, and a lot of coffee.

"Er - well - you see -" All Might nervously said, tapping his two index fingers together as the seven foot tall man cowered before the five and a half foot girl, before his shoulders sagged, "- I had thought - it would be a nice surprise for you two that - that you didn't know and - and well -"

Itsuka let out another sigh, continuing to massage her forehead as she realized that All Might's little surprise completely backfired in his face. And … honestly, her reaction probably wasn't helping matters. There was really no need to get annoyed, she just … needed a bit more information before she could figure out what was going on.

So, after letting out one last sigh, she turned to look back at Izuku, trying to smile politely.

"Er ... so Midoriya," She tried again, "I'm not - uh - I'm not angry at you, by the way, but - can I ask why you're here with me? I'm just - I know that I'm here so that All Might can train me, but - but I'm not sure why you're here with me. I - I think All Might mentioned something about your quirk?"

"H-huh?" Izuku shook briefly, still kind of out of it due to the presence of the pretty girl who was apparently All Might's successor, but when she had turned to address him, he tried his best to shake his head and try to get back into the right mindset - as in, one where he could probably communicate like a normal human being, not stuck in a state of pure shock. For her part, Itsuka at least patiently waited as he tried his best to gather his thoughts, while All Might continued to twirl his fingers guiltedly behind her, until finally, Izuku gulped and glanced away again.

"I, uh … I have some … some problems with controlling and using my quirk," He explained in a quiet voice, at least loud enough for her to hear, "and - and when I met All Might a few days ago, he said that he would help me out, train me to figure out how to use it. He, uh … he told me it'd be here so I had a safe place to practice, and I didn't hurt anyone, but - but he never mentioned that - that someone else would be here as well."

It was here that Izuku hesitated again, glancing back at the orange-haired girl as she slowly nodded, putting her hands in her pockets as she listened, and then he let out a small sigh.

"I …" He paused again, and then looked back down at the ground, "... I can leave, if - if that's what you want. You're - he said that you're his successor, that's - that way more important t-than me learning how to use my quirk. I - I can get out of your hair."

Itsuka couldn't help but sputter again, blinking at the boy as he looked down at his shoes and seemed to be in the mindset that he had to go, and then he glanced up when he heard her groan, seeing her raise a hand to pinch the bridge of her nose.

"No, you - you don't have to leave, I don't mind if you're here - it's just - I - All Might!" She snapped, wheeling around while the pro hero defensively raised his hands. "This is your fault!"

"Er ... yes, it is," All Might sighed, slumping his shoulders and giving the two teenagers an apologetic look, "perhaps I should've been more transparent with the both of you."

"Not perhaps," Itsuka pouted, pointing a finger in his face, "definitely."

The pro hero gave the two of them a nod, pouting at the ground while obviously feeling guilty, while Itsuka scratched her hair and returned her gaze to Izuku.

"Midoriya, I don't mind if you're here," She was sure to make clear, making the boy blink in surprise and look back up at her, "it's just - well - uh -"

It was here, however, that Itsuka found herself hesitating, glancing unsurely back up at All Might as he straightened up. She knew the reasons that Izuku was here, of course - but she didn't know how much he knew. Or what exactly she could say here that wouldn't give anything obvious away about the true purpose of her training.

Thankfully, All Might seemed to pick up on her uncertainty, subtly shaking his head, and tried to regain the confident smile he always wore as though he hadn't spent the last five minutes being reprimanded by a fourteen year old girl.

"W-well, in any case, we've gotten pretty distracted, haven't we? Perhaps we should be getting back on track," He managed to get both teenagers' attention with that, pointing dramatically up in the air and grinning. "I explained this briefly to Young Midoriya when he arrived here this morning, but just so you know, Young Kendou …"

With that, All Might began to explain to Itsuka what exactly they were going to be doing at the beach, gesturing around at the mountains of garbage while instructing her on why it was so important to clear the beach, not only to improve her strength but also her ideals. While Itsuka patiently paid attention and listened, Izuku took a second to stand back for once, staring at the girl before him while trying to get his breath to calm down a little bit.

All Might's successor … before today, if someone had suggested that the pro hero could even be surpassed, he probably would've rolled his eyes at the mere thought that he could be succeeded. But now that he was standing back and looking at the both of them, it did kind of make sense, he supposed - All Might obviously couldn't be a hero forever, and from the scar he had shown Izuku a few days ago, he knew that All Might wasn't exactly in the prime of his youth anymore. If he could only be a hero for a few hours a day, no matter how much it hurt Izuku to even think about it, retirement seemed to be on the horizon.

But this girl … she was his successor? Izuku couldn't help but stare at her as she listened to All Might explaining things to her, although he knew how awkward he must've looked just staring at her. This must mean - she must be powerful, right? She had to be, if All Might was considering her as his successor as - as the Symbol of Peace, presumably. Hell, she must've been powerful enough for All Might to have a direct hand in training her - but what was her quirk? She grew her hand to pick him up, so - so was it some kind of transformation quirk? Kind of Mt Lady's quirk, letting her grow?

And … and wouldn't he just get in the way? Izuku felt his face fall at that thought, glancing away again. If All Might needed to train his successor - would he just be distracting him? Should he really be here?

"... and as I told Young Midoriya, one cannot waver from those roots!"

"Okay," Itsuka nodded slowly, raising a hand to her chin as she thought about what All Might told her, "so I'm going to be training my body by cleaning up the trash - since there's a bunch of different sized junk around, depending on their size and shape, I can exercise different parts of my body."

"That's right!" All Might nodded proudly, walking over to the fridge that he had been making Izuku drag and knocking on it with the back of his hand, not noticing that he left an imprint of his knuckles on the metal surface, "As your first step towards becoming a hero, you will restore the horizon for this entire section of the beach!"

"Still though ..." Itsuka glanced around again at the literal hills of trash piled up throughout the beach, gulping a bit nervously, "... it's a lot of garbage. Like - god, this is probably going to take months to clean all up. Would I even be able to clean it all up before the start of next year?"

"Definitely, it won't be a simple walk in the park, Young Kendou," All Might gave her that, smiling a bit cockily, "but you do want to go to UA, don't you?"

UA? Izuku blinked in surprise, looking back up as Itsuka turned back to the Symbol of Peace with a smile.

"Of course I do!" She nodded, balling one of her fists. "Graduating from UA is practically a requirement for becoming a great hero. I guess if all else fails, I can go to Shinketsu, but UA's where I want to go - they've got the best hero teachers in Japan."

"And -" Izuku stuttered a bit, causing the other two to look around at him for the first time in a few minutes, as though they had forgotten he was there (which didn't really help with his 'maybe I shouldn't be here after all' stance), "- and it's the school you graduated from, right All Might?"

"Yes!" All Might flashed the green haired boy another thumbs up and grin, "UA has a reputation of training students who become top heroes! There's a reason, you two, our motto is 'Plus Ultra' - they expect their students to go beyond their limits to become heroes. And that, Young Kendou, is what you need to do here for the next ten months - going beyond your limits to clean this beach, to prepare you for - er - the entrance exam. Yes, the entrance exam. If you are to succeed, you will truly need to go beyond. Plus Ultra."

"Right ..." Itsuka nodded slowly, still glancing around at the mountains of garbage with an unsure look, "... it's just ..."

"I am aware that it's a lot for even one person," All Might teased her, grinning when Itsuka blushed a bit in embarrassment, "which is where Young Midoriya here comes in!"

"H-huh?" Izuku jumped a bit, feeling his eyes go wide as he looked up at the pro hero, "What - wait, what do you mean, All Might?"

"It means," All Might grinned, "that you will also be handling the cleanup of this beach, young man, in addition to practicing your quirk."

"Wait, what?" Izuku gasped, looking back around at Itsuka as she hung back a little, "But - shouldn't it be - be K-Kendou who cleans up the beach? If it's to prepare her to - to be your successor, I - would I just be in the way?"

"Nonsense, Young Midoriya!" All Might crossed his arms into an 'X' shape. "You wouldn't be in the way - in fact, your presence here is a natural benefit. While you are correct that Young Kendou is my successor, we shouldn't kid ourselves," He let out a small laugh as he walked over and lifted up Izuku's arm, showing how skinny it was as he poked his bicep in a teasing manner, "you're not exactly Hercules."

"You didn't need to point it out," Izuku grumbled, pouting a bit while Itsuka suppressed a small giggle.

"While training your quirk should be your top priority," All Might continued to explain, letting go of Izuku's arm and letting it flop back to his side, "it would be unwise to ignore how your body should also deserve the same amount of attention. Quirks are natural extensions of our body, and you will need to train yours to use your quirk correctly. The physically healthier you are, the better mindset you will be in. And I understand what you're saying, young man - you're worried about unnecessarily taking some of the weight off Young Kendou's back and hindering her process."

"Uh -" Izuku gulped, while Itsuka blinked.

"Well, you don't need to worry about that! I have considered that possibility, and came up with this!" All Might suddenly reached into his back pocket, and brought out two rolled up stacks of paper, grinning proudly as he flattened them out and tapped the pages with his finger. "My 'Aim to Pass: American Dream Plan'!"

Handing over both stacks of paper to Izuku and Itsuka, All Might continued to explain while they opened the booklets and read through the plan.

"These are training plans to help you both clean up the beach and practice your quirks at the same time. Young Midoriya, you may notice if you glance at Young Kendou's copy that your plan doesn't include as much cleaning - while we certainly will be training your body, clearing the entire beach will be her responsibility. There will be times where you two will need to work together, but I have considered that and made sure to adjust your plans accordingly. While she will be clearing the beach, you will be dedicated to practising the safe usages of your quirk - while I was looking around here yesterday, I noticed plenty of large objects that we can use as target practice, as well as other items that you can practice pouring small outputs of electricity on."

"Jeez," Itsuka muttered as she flipped through the pages, grimacing slightly, "there's even a sleep plan in here - our days start at four in the morning."

"Indeed! I'll be having you both follow these plans in every aspect of your lives!" All Might suddenly leaned over so that he could be down at their level, raising his hand as though to whisper to the two students. "Truth be told, though, this is going to be a super hard schedule to follow. Do you two think you can handle it?"

Izuku and Itsuka paused at that, continuing to read through the paper while paling slightly - oh god, this was not going to be easy - and then Itsuka was unable to stop herself from letting out a small chuckle.

"Well," She shrugged, glancing back up at the pro hero, "I figured it was going to be tough anyway - so what the heck? Bring it on."

Izuku, who had also been thoroughly reading the papers while feeling very nervous at the utter hell that was awaiting him, glanced up at the orange-haired girl when she said that, seeing how confident she looked - although a closer look showed the small bead of sweat on her forehead, indicating her own nervousness.

With a small sigh, Izuku tried his best to grin, and nodded up at All Might.

"Y-yeah," He tried to say confidently, "I - I kinda figured I'd have to work hard, since I - I haven't used my quirk in a long time, so - so let's do it!"

Grinning proudly at the two students before him, All Might patted both of their shoulders, and straightened his back to smile down at them.

"Ah, you two! You'll end up hyping me up if you're not careful," He chuckled, patting their shoulders again as he turned back to the fridge he had Izuku dragging him on. "Now then! If we're done with the introductions and explanations - I believe we can get started! Not with our proper exercise, of course, but a bit of a warmup so that you both know what to expect. We'll handle Young Midoriya first while -"

"Oh, god, you cannot be serious."

The three of them, huddled in the shadow cast by the mountain of garbage, jumped at the sound of an unfamiliar voice coming from behind them near the parking lot. Izuku and Itsuka quickly looked around, eyes widening at being caught red-handed with the Symbol of Peace, while All Might turned around to take a look at the sudden arrival - and then let out a small groan, raising himself up and accepting the fact that this wasn't going to be pleasant.

Standing at the stairs leading up to the parking lot was a tall, lean but muscular man with sharp and elongated features. Izuku blinked at the simple plainness of the office clothes he wore - a plain white suit with gold buttons, a white dress shirt, and a red tie with white dots decorating it. His hair was smoothed to the left, dark green with three yellow streaks on the front. He wore a pair of triangular glasses, worn over his sharp yellow eyes.

Still though, Izuku couldn't help but gulp some as the stranger before them studied them - this man practically emulated a sense of authority and power, and he looked unnaturally stern as he slowly walked down the steps towards them, staring at Itsuka with a slight glare that made her feel suddenly nervous and take a step back, while All Might sighed behind them. There was also something familiar about him, Izuku thought as he stared up at the man - but where had he seen him from? The television, maybe?

"So it's true," The man shook his head, continuing to glare at Itsuka, "you really intend to train this girl."

"Of course," All Might's warm, assuring voice had completely vanished - Izuku and Itsuka gulped slightly at the sudden coldness as he addressed the man coming towards them, "I said what I said, Nighteye."

"Hm." The man, narrowing his eyes somewhat, leaned back up to his full height, making Izuku gulp again - he practically towered over the two middle schoolers, which didn't help when he turned his gaze to Izuku. "And who's this? Another potential competitor?"

"No," All Might sighed, raising his hand, "this is -"

"Oh, for god's sake, All Might, stop training to maintain your form," The man interrupted him before he could defend himself, turning his gaze back to the pro hero with a look of scorn and disappointment, "this must be taking a lot of energy out of you - and you can't afford to waste anymore of that."

All Might gave the man another pointed glare, the smile on his face a lot frostier than what Izuku and Itsuka were used to, before sighing and doing as the man suggested and disappearing behind a puff of smoke, emerging in his emancipated form while coughing into his hand.

While Itsuka looked back at the pro hero in concern, as though she wanted to make sure he was okay, Izuku continued to stare at the stranger for a moment, feeling his brow wrinkle somewhat as he tried to put two and two together on where he had seen him before - and then he let out a small gasp, eyes widening.

"You're - you're Sir Nighteye," He realized, drawing the tall man's attention back to him as Izuku was unable to stop himself from pointing, "the - the hero who can - can see the future. But - why are you -"

"Yes, that's me," Nighteye pushed his glasses back up his nose, staring down at the boy with a frown, "and who are you?"

"I -"

"This," All Might coughed, drawing the attention of the two men again while Itsuka reached up to pat his shoulder to comfort him, "is Young Midoriya. Due to complications with his quirk, I agreed to help him out while I trained Young Kendou at the same time - I simply couldn't leave him out on his own. Young Midoriya, Young Kendou - this is Sir Nighteye. My former sidekick."

"H-huh?" Izuku's eyes widened again, whipping around, "Your sidekick?! I - I didn't know that you ever had a -"

"I am one of the very few heroes who worked directly with All Might," Nighteye interrupted him again, "I persuaded him a long time ago to let me work under him, until ... certain circumstances caused a rift, and we dissolved our partnership. Now I have my own agency with my own sidekicks. In any case," His eyes narrowed at Izuku again, making the boy gulp, "am I to understand that you're a side project?"

"Nighteye," All Might narrowed his eyes as well, already dreading where this was about to go but not wanting Izuku to get dragged into it, "don't even start. Just say why you're here - although I can probably guess."

"Yes, you can. Seeing as I am only here due to the conversations we've had in the last few weeks." Nighteye straightened his tie, turning his gaze back to Itsuka. The girl, who had been patting All Might's shoulder when he had powered down, glanced back at the green-haired man before her, and made her shake a little bit while he studied her with obvious dislike, pulling his phone out of his pocket.

"As I've been trying to tell you," Nighteye stated in a cold voice, "you're making a mistake, All Might. I've told you, time and time again, I have been training Togata for years now for exactly this, and he's ready. You don't need this girl as your successor when I've already got one prepared."

Itsuka was unable to stop herself from wincing at that, glancing away while Izuku blinked and looked between the two heroes. All Might let out another sigh and leaned up to his full height, glaring down at Nighteye as he folded his arms.

"Sasaki, like I said on Wednesday, ultimately I am the one who -"

"All Might, you don't have much time left," Nighteye interrupted him yet again, and for the first time since he came here, Izuku picked up something other than anger and scorn in his voice - it kind of sounded like he was pleading, "and we both know that it'll take months for you to train this girl to -" He glanced at Izuku, seeing him look confusedly up at the both of them, and then sighed and shook his head, deciding not to finish that sentence just in case. "Togata has already proved himself - he stands heads and shoulders above his peers. Please, see reason for once and hear me out."

"And as I've told you," All Might refused to budge an inch, putting a hand down on Itsuka's shoulder when he saw her beginning to shrink away, "I have made my choice. The decision isn't yours to make, Mirai."

"Damn it, All Might!" Nighteye snapped, and his formerly cold and stoic expression faded away to show the anger and frustration on his face. "You don't have any more time! You're down to mere hours of hero work, and the time is now to begin getting Togata ready! Please, please listen to me! Make Togata your successor, and then sit back and relax! That's what you deserve."

"Mirai," All Might shook his head while Itsuka and Izuku looked more and more confused by this conversation, although Izuku couldn't help but notice Itsuka continuing to look a lot smaller and less confident than he'd seen her all morning and feeling something in his chest thump at the sight, "as I have said time and time again, I respect you, and Young Togata's accomplishments. I agree with you that he has come a long way under your tutelage - he'll be a great hero, and I can offer you no higher praise for how you molded that boy into the hero he is today. But Young Kendou has the heart and soul of a hero - I have seen it myself. You don't know her well enough to -"

"Don't I?" Nighteye snipped at that, shaking his head and raising his phone so that he could read his little document out loud, adjusting his glasses. "Itsuka Kendou. Born September 9th, daughter of Tenohira and Hakushu Kendou. Mother is unemployed, father runs a mechanic shop in Chiba. Currently attends Mustafa Private Middle School. High grades throughout her years in school, annual school health checkups list her as healthy. Quirk is listed in the registry as Big Fist, which allows her to grow her hands to giant size - and that is it." Lowering the phone, Nighteye returned his glare to Itsuka, giving her a dirty look that Izuku didn't like at all, "A transformation quirk - one that can be easily trained and used, without much difficulty.

"That's ... really invasive," Itsuka muttered, crept out.

"Nighteye," All Might narrowed his eyes, "if you're implying that Young Kendou hasn't worked hard enough for One - to by my successor -"

"What I'm implying," Nighteye put his phone back in his pocket, returning his gaze to the blonde man glowering at him, "is that your plan has holes in it, and you've chosen simply going the easy route. For example, what exactly will she say when people question her on how all of a sudden, her quirk gave her super strength? How will she explain that her 'Big Fist' allows her t o leap into the air with strength she never demonstrated before? With Togata, I already have written up a plausible explanation, one that will easily fool anyone who asks, and we can easily apply it to the quirk registry, even as outlandish as the explanation is - I have people working there that can help us update Togata's file."

"Nighteye …"

"I'm telling you, All Might, even Gran Torino -"

"Nighteye," All Might interrupted before the man could go any further, raising a hand and stopping Nighteye in his tracks, "I think we both know that nothing you say here will change my mind on my decision. Nothing. As potentially fun as it would be to go in circles with this argument as we have hundreds of times, I need to instruct Young Kendou on the training she will be doing."

As Nighteye clenched his fists in frustration, All Might glanced at Izuku, seeing him looking back and forth between them, and then let out a small sigh, flashing him an apologetic look.

My apologies, Young Midoriya … but I'll make it up to you.

"If you do insist on staying … Young Midoriya here needs to practice his quirk," Izuku quickly looked up at the pro hero as he put a hand back down on his shoulder, seeing the apologetic look that All Might flashed him briefly before turning his gaze back to his former sidekick, "and I wanted him to try and fire off one blast this morning so we know where to work. I had a wrecked car be put down on the beach, near the water - can I ask that you supervise him while I speak to Young Kendou?" All Might then was sure to narrow his eyes somewhat, "Or is Young Togata the only one who deserves your undivided attention?"

Nighteye gave him a good glare at him for that, although All Might's own glare made it perfectly clear that he was going to be stubborn about this no matter what. Izuku and Itsuka glanced between the two pro heroes, feeling a bit nervous for a moment as they had a silent standoff - and then Nighteye sighed, straightening up and taking off his glasses to rub at his eyes, clearly frustrated with his friend.

"Very well." He nodded, turning towards Izuku. "This conversation is far from over, All Might - but I'll assist the boy while you play around."

Squeaking a bit, Izuku stood at attention, wondering if it was too late to back out of this - oh god, he didn't sign on to be instructed by the pro that obviously disliked him! - but alas, Nighteye was already moving, walking around the mountain of garbage along a small path, and turned his glare back to Izuku when he didn't move. Gulping, Izuku knew that it would probably be better just to do as All Might suggested, and he did agree that All Might needed to talk to Itsuka more than him, so he squared his shoulders and followed the tall, skinny man down the path towards whatever beach wasn't covered in garbage.

Behind them, All Might let out a small sigh as he turned his gaze back to Itsuka - the girl had been quiet since Nighteye had arrived, but he knew that she had to be feeling more than a little discouraged thanks to Nighteye's criticism of her. So All Might did the best he could to look assuring and confident as he walked back over to her, putting his hand down on her shoulder.

"Er … I'm sorry about Nighteye, Young Kendou," He apologized, beginning to guide her over the nearest mountain of garbage, "he has … well, as you may have guessed, he has his own opinions on who should be the next yielder of One for All. But it's as I said to him, it's not his decision to make on who I pass it along to."

"R-right," Itsuka muttered, flipping her ponytail over her shoulder. All Might knew that she was still put down, giving her a concerned look as he continued to pat her shoulder, and saw her look back down to the American Dream Plan she had in her hands. Opening his mouth to begin talking to her about it, however, All Might was suddenly interrupted.

"Hey, All Might?"

"Er - yes, Young Kendou?"

"Who … exactly is Togata?"

All Might felt himself falter at that quiet inquiry, staring down at Itsuka as she finally looked back up at him, letting him see how put down and confused she looked - and he let out a small sigh, raising a hand to scratch at the back of his neck.

"Young Togata ... er, Mirio Togata ... he's a student in his second year at UA," He explained as they walked together, "the boy that Sir Nighteye had selected as - as my hypothetical successor."

"... oh," Itsuka nodded slowly, not looking very comforted by that as she glanced away, "and ... and that's who Nighteye wants to be -"

"Young Kendou," All Might slowed her down, placing his hand back on her shoulder to halt her movement, and when she stopped, he put his other hand on her other shoulder, making sure that she looked up at him when he said this, "I wasn't lying to Nighteye - I do not regret choosing you as the next successor of One for All. He - Nighteye has his own opinions on how my quirk should be passed down, but at the end of the day, it's not up to him. It's up to me, and I believe that you are the right person to succeed me. Now let's put that away for now, and go over what we'll be doing for the next ten months. Okay?"

For a moment, Itsuka still looked obviously conflicted, glancing away to stare vacantly at one of the hills of garbage - and then she inhaled, and let out a quiet exhale as she shook her head.

"R-right," She tried her best to smile, looking back up at the pro hero, "sorry, All Might, just - yeah. Yeah, you're - you're right. We need to go over - well, everything."

"Alright," All Might smiled kindly at her, and let go of her shoulders to lead her over to the nearest pile of garbage. He could hear the sound of Nighteye speaking to Izuku not far away, and felt a bit relieved that she and he could talk without any more interruptions.

"So," He nodded, "to start, Young Kendou - due to the nature of your quirk, giving you enhanced strength in your hands and making it easy to carry a majority of the items here - I believe that in order to properly train your body, you'll be moving garbage without the use of your quirk."

"Okay ..." Itsuka slowly nodded, wrinkling her brow a bit, "... okay, yeah, that makes sense. I won't be able to rely on my quirk to move any of this."

"Only unless I say so," All Might brought his hand up to his chin, thinking for a moment, "I know that there are a few things hidden here that won't just be moved by yourself - you'll occasionally be given permission to use your quirk in special circumstances. And I know that there'll be objects in here that will require both you and Young Midoriya to move it while working together."

"Right," Itsuka nodded again, glancing to the ground, "Midoriya."

"... Young Kendou, I am sorry for just … springing a training partner on you," All Might sighed, scratching his cheek, "I thought it'd be a nice surprise, and -"

"Oh, n-no, I was serious, All Might, it's - it's okay," Itsuka shook her head, glancing to the side, "I meant what I said to him, I don't mind if he's here - and I understand his own reasons, this place would - you know, it's good for practicing quirks. it's just ... well ..."

All Might studied her while she lost her words again, glancing away, but he could hear the unspoken question she was trying to ask him, and he reached out to pat her shoulder again.

"I know that you don't know him," He gave her, "but Young Midoriya is someone you can trust. I haven't known him that long either, but during the time I met him, he showed me that he has the heart of a hero, and I believe that he'll be just as much of a support to you as you will be to him. That I am certain of."

Itsuka slowly nodded, and then she glanced uncertainly at him.

"... do you think," She asked quietly, as though afraid of being overheard, "that we'll eventually let him in on the … you know … the secret? Of what we're really doing here?"

"..."

"..."

"... perhaps," All Might admitted, glancing away this time as he thought about it, "I didn't lie to you when I said that One for All is a great burden to take on. And Young Midoriya - he has a lot on his plate already, and I believe that he being in an environment with you - someone who can support him - that would benefit both him and yourself. For now, though, I say that we keep the secret between us. But if he shows that he can be trusted - and for the record, I believe he can be - we can let him in on One for All's secret."

"Okay … okay, that sounds good," Itsuka nodded in confirmation, and then couldn't help but let out a small giggle, "I'm, uh … I'm not gonna lie, All Might, when I first came here and saw him, I thought that you were pulling the rug out from under me, and you were gonna make me compete with him for the quirk."

"Wha - I would never do something like that, Young Kendou!" All Might protested, unable to stop his own laugh as he raised a hand to his hair, "Besides that -"

KRACK-BOOM

Both All Might and Itsuka yelped and jumped about a mile high at the sound of a large explosion on the other side of the hill. They could hear the sound of electricity surging and something very big being smashed across the beach, hearing the thud of something heavy slamming repeatedly against the ground as several objects splashed into the water, and one of the hills of garbage shook, items falling down every direction.

Without another word, All Might buffed up again, and hurried to where Izuku and Nighteye had vanished behind the hill of garbage, Itsuka right on his heels.

"Right then," Nighteye sighed as he took off his glasses again, this time so that he could rub the lenses with a cloth from his suit pocket, "so what seems to be the problem here?"

Izuku couldn't help but gulp again as they walked down the small path towards the water of the beach. Sure enough, just as All Might had said, there was a wrecked car placed purposefully near the water with a target spray-canned on, moved so that it was parked horizontally and facing Izuku. He had the thought that All Might had purposefully given him a pretty big target to hit start, and felt a bit comforted by that - he was still unsure about how much attention from All Might he should be taking, seeing as he was actually training his successor here - but at that moment, it didn't quite matter, since Nighteye was clearly waiting for a response from him.

Admittedly, Izuku was a bit nervous to be left alone with the lanky man. Nighteye was clearly not in a good mood, scowling at the car and turning his cold gaze to Izuku, as though he were angry that All Might had brushed him off and it was all Izuku's fault. Still though, Izuku knew why he had been sent off with the former sidekick by All Might, and understood completely - he needed to talk to Itsuka privately, and really couldn't do that if Nighteye was too busy breathing down his neck and criticizing him. So Izuku knew that this was probably the best course of action, having Nighteye supervise him.

It was just …

… Izuku hadn't liked what Nighteye had said about Itsuka. Honestly, he didn't know her all that well - well, not at all, to be exact - but even he knew that Nighteye was saying that she wasn't - she wasn't good enough to be All Might's successor. And that, for some reason, made Izuku feel annoyed and a bit crossed at Nighteye, for reasons he didn't really know why. Hell, there was a part of him that wanted to speak up in Itsuka's defense, but he knew that he didn't know enough about her to really properly argue with the pro hero.

But … but he could think about that later. Right now, the bespectacled man was clearly waiting for a response from him, tapping his dress shoe against the sand out of impatience while Izuku tried to shake himself out of his thoughts.

"Er … well …" Izuku sighed, shaking his head and trying to refocus, but before he could speak up, Nigtheye crossed his arms.

"All Might mentioned that you have complications with your quirk," He tapped his foot against the sand a bit more, staring down at the green-haired boy, "so give me a brief rundown."

"Uh - right," Izuku quickly nodded, feeling himself shake a bit, and then sighed as he raised a hand to run through his hair, "you see - uh - I had an - an accident when I first got my quirk, back when I was a kid, and - and I hadn't used it since."

"An accident?" Nighteye raised an eyebrow.

"Y-yeah. I - I hurt people."

"Hm." Nighteye slowly nodded, put his hands in his pockets, "And when was the last time you used your quirk?"

"Uh … a few days ago," Izuku admitted, glancing down at the sand, "and - and I only used it to blast myself in the air, and - and shoot at a villain."

"And the time after that?"

"... when I first developed it."

"I see," Nighteye raised an eyebrow, "so your problem is a lack of confidence, and a fear of your quirk."

"Uh … yeah."

"Alright then," Nighteye crossed his arms, stepping back from Izuku and gesturing with his head towards the car, "then go."

"H - wait, what?" Izuku blinked, looking around at the tall man as he stared down at him through his rectangular glasses. "Just - just go?"

"Yes. Use your quirk," He narrowed his eyes, "if it's a lack of confidence that's the problem, then the only way you can overcome it is by getting used to using it. Is your quirk touched based, or a transformation-type?"

"N-no, it's -" Izuku stuttered again, glancing between the pro hero and the car, "- it's - it's an emitter type quirk."

"Good. Then go."

"I -" Izuku hesitated, glancing down at his hands and seeing them begin to shake. "- I'm not sure if I should -"

"How am I supposed to instruct you on how to use your quirk if you don't use it?" Nighteye asked in a haughty voice. "I currently have nothing to go on. Give me a demonstration of your quirk, and I'll be able to see where you need to go from here."

Izuku felt his gaze fall to the sand again, unable to stop his hands from shaking as he stared down at them, seeing the lines of red cracking, faded on his skin after such a long time of not using his quirk, and the small hints of white from using it a few days ago. Nighteye made it sound like using his quirk was so simple, and honestly, it probably was, but … if he was being honest … he was still afraid.

No, scratch that, very afraid.

"What are you waiting for?" Nighteye tapped his foot against the ground impatiently again, "Remember the times you used your quirk previously, draw on the emotions you used then, and use them to fire."

"I -" Izuku managed to stop himself from speaking again as he glanced back at the car, feeling his hands continue to shake uncontrollably - but still let out a deep breath, closed his eyes, and, trying to find his bravery, spread his legs somewhat to brace himself. Trying to calm down his shaking, Izuku slowly lifted his hands up in front of him and spread them, palms up, and let out a shuddering breath.

Trying to remember the feelings he had felt when he had previously used his quirk was pretty easy - which was the good news. The bad news was that those feelings weren't exactly positive, he thought. Remembering a small Katsuki lunging at him at the playground, extending his own hands with explosions blasting out of them in order to hurt Izuku and get to Ochako. The brief moment that the sludge villain on Wednesday had threatened to drag Ochako away once he was done with Izuku. Him running to save Katsuki from that same villain.

That meant … Izuku had to concentrate on the fear he had felt.

The anger.

The panic.

But … but before he could, he suddenly remembered the limp form a four-year old Katsuki on the ground, his shoe smoking and his shirt burning from where he had struck him. The sight of his mom's burned arm from where he had accidentally lashed at her. The nightmares of him being unable to control his quirk, electrocuting everyone in sight. And …

… and he froze up.

Beside him, Nighteye raised an eyebrow when Izuku stiffened up, his hands continuing to be outstretched as panic obviously raced through him, evidenced by the look of fear frozen on his face. Letting out a small sigh, Nighteye shook his head, and quietly approached Izuku, being sure to walk silently so that he could sneak up on him. Once he was behind Izuku, and surely not in the crossfire, Nighteye stretched his hand up, taking a slow, deep breath - and then brought it down hard on his back.

It had been what he had previously done with Mirio when he had begun training him and the boy had been hesitant to use his quirk - smacking his back out of nowhere surprised the boy in order for him to activate his quirk without thinking, as though pressing on a flight-or-fight button. It had worked then, the boy falling through the floor and walking back up, naked and embarrassed with a very red faced intern from the office.

He intended to use the sudden hit as a surprise to jolt Izuku, and automatically fire off a blast of - whatever it was his quirk was.

It worked.

KRACK-BOOM

Nighteye leapt back in surprise and a bit of pain as a flicker of lightning hit him in the arm, jolting him and making him wince. Izuku gasped out as a large blast of green lightning exploded out of his palms, the boy leaping back automatically as the car was smashed by the bolt of lightning in the blink of an eye.

Immediately, the moment the lightning hit the car, it was sent flying, although they briefly couldn't hear it due to the explosion of sound that followed the strike. Izuku's jaw dropped as the force of the blow sent the car rolling across the beach, wincing and cringing at the loud crashes against the ground as it rolled across the sand - and then collided into another hill of garbage, resulting in another large explosion of sound as several objects were sent flying, either against the ground or into the water with loud splashes.

"Ah!" Izuku cried out in pain, waving his hands in pain and panic as they stung from the electrical shock, feeling them start to sting and burn. Holy crap, did that hurt! He quickly looked around for anything he could put his hands in to cool them down, spotting the water - and then Nighteye grabbed his shoulder when he took a staggered step towards the waves.

"Don't put your hands in the water," He instructed sternly, wincing a bit at the electrical shocks still running up the boy's arm, "there's still some - some leftover electricity, you'll end up electrocuting yourself since you clearly don't have an immunity to your own quirk. Wave your hands until you've calmed down."

There was the sudden sound of footsteps on the sand behind them, and they both turned around to see All Might hurrying over in his true form, his dark gaze widening at the sight of the car catching on fire on the opposite end of the beach. Itsuka's eyes were wide as well, but she still ran over with All Might to Izuku, seeing him in obvious pain.

She still didn't really know him all that well, but she still felt worried for him as she looked at his hands, seeing that he was waving them around and wincing when she caught sight of a red burn mark on his palm.

"Young Midoriya, are you alright?" All Might asked, carefully putting a hand on the young boy's shoulder and avoiding being hit by some static shock.

"I - ow - yeah, I'm okay," Izuku managed to say while nodding, continuing to wave his hands in the air, "just - ow, that hurt."

"My apologies," Nighteye sighed, giving Izuku a small bow while he frowned at himself, "I wanted to give you a jolt in order to make you use your quirk without thinking. I had done it once with one of my other pupils - I hadn't thought through what might've happened there if you two didn't have similar quirks."

"I - it's okay," Izuku shook his head, not looking at the lanky man as he finally stopped waving his hands, wincing in pain at the burn mark on his palm while All Might sighed.

"It looks like the electricity is pretty much gone now," He sighed, noticing as the last flickers of lightning finally faded away, and raised his hand to flick at the burning car wreck, "so let's go back to my truck. I have a towel and some water we can use to wrap around that burn."

Izuku nodded at that, and once All Might had flickered away the flames of the car to prevent a fire, the group moved back around the mountain of trash to get back to the parking lot. Unable to stop himself from looking back, Izuku felt himself frown at the sight of the car smashed into the hill, letting out a small sigh as he looked back down at his palm - and completely unaware of the fact that Itsuka was watching him, catching the disappointed look on his face and feeling strangely concerned for him.

Once they finally had left the trash heap and headed into the parking lot, All Might had Izuku sit in the passenger side of his truck, taking out a towel and a water bottle, and sprinkling the contents of the bottle into the thin fabric. As All Might tenderly wrapped it around his palm, the boy glanced up, seeing Itsuka standing nearby and looking a bit worried, a look that took him aback.

If he was to be honest, it had been such a long time since someone his age besides Ochako had given him a look that wasn't angry or mocking, so he didn't really know how to react to her. There was also the small fact that she was seriously pretty, which made it pretty hard to look at her in the face, now that he was over the shock that she was All Might's successor. So he just settled on staring at the ground, or more accurately her shoes.

Before anyone could speak, however, Nighteye let out a small sigh as he hung up with whoever he was talking with for the last few minutes, getting everyone's attention.

"I'd better be getting back to the office now," He nodded slowly to himself, "Centipeder has a few reports for me to look over. Midoriya," Izuku jumped a bit, and glanced back up at the bespectacled man as he lowered himself into a bow, "once again, I apologize for startling you, and ended up injuring you."

"N-no, it's okay," Izuku shook his head, turning his hand over and frowning at the towel on his hand, "I figured … well, I knew that using my quirk was probably going to hurt, it did before, so - so I think I realized my problem."

"Oh?"

"The outpour," He slowly shook his head, "I'm unleashing everything I have in single blasts. I need to figure out how to control how much output I release when I shoot out. Which means that I need to find a way to lessen the force and outpour of my blasts, and that'll mean that I have to begin practicing …"

Itsuka, All Might and Nighteye blinked as Izuku leaned forward, not looking at anyone as he tugged on his lower lip and began to quietly mutter to himself, an intense look in his eye that disturbed the three of them a bit as he began speaking a mile a minute, quick enough that they couldn't really make out what he was saying.

"Well … in any case, I must be off," Nighteye turned his gaze from Izuku to All Might, giving him a polite nod - and then looked down at Itsuka.

The orange-haired girl felt herself jolt a bit when she came under the pro hero's stare, looking from where she had been staring in confusion and a bit of fear at Izuku to the bespectacled man. For a moment, Nighteye quietly studied her, and then let out a short sigh as he took off his glasses and wiped them again with his cloth.

"I must say, All Might," He frowned, turning back to his former partner, "I am still disappointed in your choice of successors. At least he has potential."

That, at least, jolted Izuku out of his thoughts, looking up at Nighteye in brief shock at his parting words as the pro hero turned on his heel to walk to his car and finally leave the beach - and then, he automatically turned his gaze to Itsuka, looking up at her face, and feeling his breath falter.

She blinked slowly at Nighteye's last biting remark, and then let out a small sigh, turning her gaze back to the ground - but Izuku saw the clear hurt at yet another putdown from the pro hero. He felt himself sit up where he was sitting in All Might's truck, and then looked at Nighteye's retreating back, feeling himself frown and give an angered look at the former sidekick as he finally got into his car to leave, and he heard All Might let out another sigh.

"... Young Kendou, once again, I'm sorry about him," The Symbol of Peace shook his head as he briefly disappeared behind a familiar puff of smoke, and emerged in his emancipated form, coughing briefly before giving Itsuka an apologetic look, "he's ridiculously stubborn. He'll eventually come around, I promise."

"Yeah," Itsuka nodded, although she still looked pretty dejected, "yeah."

"Well, in any case," All Might patted Izuku's shoulder again, "I'd better get going as well, just so I can get started with my patrol. Do either of you need a ride home?"

"No, I'm - I'm good, All Might," Izuku shook his head, getting out of the truck and closing the door behind him as he patted the towel wrapped around his hand, "t-thank you for helping me out."

"And … and I'll be okay getting home too," Itsuka sighed, straightening up and trying to put on a brave smile, "I can catch the bus if I hurry."

"Alright then, All Might nodded at them both, and then moved around the truck so he could climb into the driver's seat, "our training officially begins tomorrow morning, at 5:00 am sharp - we'll drag some trash around until 7:00 to get you guys used to what I have planned, and then I'll drive you both to school. I'll see you both tomorrow, and if there're any complications, just text me."

It was with that All Might closed the door, turned the key in the ignition a few times to get the truck started, and then began driving out of the parking lot, waving to Izuku as the boy raised his hand in farewell and bowed slightly. As soon as the truck pulled away behind Nighteye's car and vanished down the road, Izuku let out a small sigh, reaching into his pocket for his phone to check if there were any messages, and feeling relieved that no one was asking where he was just yet. He knew it would take a bit more time to get back, but he figured that he could jog back in time now that he knew the way, and could take a shower and check on his hand before -

- and then he became aware of shuffling behind him.

Blinking and looking around, Izuku jumped a bit when he realized that, in that brief moment, he had completely forgotten that Itsuka was still there, and still looking mildly put down now that All Might wasn't around for her to fake a smile for. Although, she was quick to collect herself when she felt Izuku's eyes briefly on her, and nodded politely to him as she gave him a weak smile.

"I, uh ... I guess this means that I'll be seeing you tomorrow, Midoriya," She said in an airy voice, beginning to walk away from him while pointing behind her shoulder, "I live over in the Chiba prefecture, so I'm gonna take off. I have a bus to catch."

"O-oh, uh - r-right," Izuku quickly nodded, glancing back at the ground as she turned around to begin walking away - and then his eyes flickered back up to her.

The way her shoulders were slumped, taking a few slow steps away … it was clear that Nighteye's words affected her, that was obvious. It was just … the way she slowly walked away, obviously put down, it …

… it reminded him of himself, of whenever Katsuki would insult him and make him feel like crap. He knew how awful he felt after that would happen … and it was clear that Itsuka was having similar emotions right now.

For a moment, Izuku stared after her … and then he straightened up.

"Hey, uh ... K-Kendou?"

He winced when he called out to her, feeling that he said her name too loud, but she at least faltered in her step when she heard her name, and looked back around, looking a bit surprised. Izuku felt himself freeze for a moment, feeling awkward and still a bit intimidated by her, what with being the successor of All Might himself and a very pretty girl - but he knew that there was no way he could just watch her go after Nighteye insulted her so much.

So, with a small sigh, he quickly glanced to the ground and spoke in a mutter.

"Don't ... uh ... don't listen to Nighteye, okay?"

He was still staring at the ground, so he was unaware of Itsuka blinking at that, wrinkling her brow somewhat while wincing at the morning sun shining in her eyes as she turned around to face him.

"I - huh?"

"He - he obvious has his - his own biases about how All Might should - you know - how he should pick his successor, however he does it," Izuku frowned a bit, and then took a deep breath for bravery, "but I think - I think All Might made a good choice with you."

For a few moments, the two teenagers were quiet, with Itsuka quietly mulling over Izuku's words, and the green-haired boy continuing to stare at the ground while screwing up his eyes, waiting for the huffing or the insults, fearing that he just somehow crossed some line and she was about to make fun of him - but then he became aware of the sound of footsteps approaching him.

Shaking a bit, Izuku finally mustered the courage to open his eyes and look up - and he felt himself blink at the sight of Itsuka giving him an awkward smile, flipping her ponytail behind her shoulder while she chuckled.

"He, uh … he was kinda an asshole, wasn't he?" She giggled despite herself, and Izuku let out his own hesitant chuckle. "At least to me, anyway. He ended up being pretty nice to you, though, once he got you hurt.."

"Uh … I guess not," Izuku scratched the back of his head, unable to stop a small, sheepish smile from crossing his face, "he probably doesn't see me as - as competition, though, so there's that."

"I suppose," She shrugged, grimacing slightly. "Anyway, uh … sorry for - you know, being all moody. Usually this kind of stuff doesn't get to me, but … you know, All Might saying that he wants me to be his successor, and then some guy comes out of nowhere and contradicts everything he says …"

"Y-yeah, I know," Izuku nodded, biting his lip somewhat, "I … I know where you're coming from."

"That's … anyway," Itsuka shook her head, and gave him a more natural smile, one that took him off guard, "I … thank you, for - for saying that. Honestly, I … I really needed that."

"You -" Izuku hesitated again, feeling himself shake and his cheeks go slightly red, but then took a deep breath and tried to give her his best, wobbly smile, "- you're welcome."

Itsuka smiled and nodded at that, and then sighed as she glanced away, back at the dump on the beach, "Well, I guess I don't have any control over whether or not Nighteye thinks I'm good enough, so I'll just - I don't know, not care about what he thinks of me."

"Y-yeah." Izuku nodded, and then hesitated, "I - I guess it helps that All Might's in your corner, right?"

"I think he's in both our corners," Itsuka returned her gaze to him, giving him a comforting smile, "it seems like we're in it for the long run."

Izuku awkwardly hummed at that, and returned his gaze to the ground. For a few more moments, the two teenagers stood awkwardly in the parking lot, not exactly sure where to go from there - and then Itsuka chuckled.

"So, uh ..." She gave him a small smile when she saw him glance up at her, "... I guess this means that we'll be seeing a lot of each other from now on, huh?"

"Er ..." Izuku gulped, feeling his cheeks continue to glow red but nodding. "Y-yeah."

"In that case," She nodded slowly to herself, "I know that we really didn't have much time to do this earlier, in between All Might being a doofus and Nighteye interrupting us - but I think we missed something."

Izuku wrinkled his brow at that, a bit confused as to what she meant - and then blinked when she extended her hand out, clearly indicating that she wanted to shake his hand.

"Let's get along, Midoriya," Itsuka said sweetly, "I have a feeling that we have ten months of hell ahead of us, so let's do our best."

Izuku faltered, staring down at her hand for a brief moment in shock - and then, with an awkward chuckle and a blush, reached out and took her hand, wincing a bit at her firm hold, but still pumping his arm up and down with hers.

"T-the same here, Kendou," He gave her another shaky smile, "let's - let's get along."

"I have a feeling we will." Itsuka giggled, and then let go of his hand, gesturing with her hand. "Now, uh … I think I should probably get going so I don't miss my bus."

"O-oh! Y-yeah, you should - yeah."

"Yeah," She turned around, giving him another smile and flashing him the peace sign, "see you tomorrow morning, Midoriya."

"Y-yeah," Izuku smiled back at her, raising a hand to wave at her, "s-see you then."

It was with that the two teenagers went their separate ways, Itsuka with a lighter heart now that he had comforted her and Izuku pumping his fist over the fact that he had successfully talked to a girl without spazzing out.

They, of course, had no idea what was in store during the next ten months, with more complications other than Sir Nighteye - moments of awkwardness, chance meetings, new heroes to meet, villains to encounter, and, of course, being unaware that they would soon be meeting a third member for their little group of aspiring heroes.

But at the very least, in that moment, Itsuka Kendou and Izuku Midoriya were more than happy to become training partners.