Izuku talks to the vestiges! He has a small moment of panic. Denki dishes with Kyoka. Ochako talks to someone. Mina gets a bit of encouragement. Izuku has a few more moments of panic. And it's time to prepare for final exams...with help!

"Ah. I'm here," Izuku mused, glancing around in the starlit sky of his inner world.

"Yes, since Toshinori has revealed the truth of All For One to you, we felt it was best to speak about it now," Yoichi said softly.

"...yeah. You know, I really wanted my 'important conversations' to be done for the day. You do know that, right?" Izuku said with a tinge of annoyance in his voice.

"Technically it's past midnight so, it's the next day!" Daigoro said cheerily.

Izuku stared at him blankly for a moment before turning to Yoichi. "Is there some sort of wielder rule that I can't punch a vestige?"

"Nope," Yoichi replied with a grin.

"Well hey now, let's not be hasty here!" Daigoro said with a nervous smile, holding his hands up placatingly.

"Do you even feel pain in here?" Izuku asked, tilting his head to the side.

"Nope, not a thing," En confirmed.

"Sweet. Then I won't feel bad," Izuku remarked, spinning about and heel kicking Daigoro in the chest, sending the vestige off the tower and into the lake below, the prior wielder shouting in outrage as he flew.

Second chuckled, but Third straight up guffawed, clutching his stomach as he bent over from laughing so hard. Nana rolled her eyes with an indulgent smile. Even Yoichi was smirking, looking unrepentant as Daigoro stomped his way back up the stairs, dripping wet and cursing under his breath.

"This is your payback for all the times you attempted to punch me," Hikage intoned.

"I can't hit you anyways thanks to your blasted Quirk!" Daigoro shot back. Hikage shrugged without changing his expression, the Fifth wielder grumbling as he collapsed back in his throne.

"Sounds like a you problem," Hikage replied back.

"Oh no. Hikage's picked up memes from Yoichi. You need to stop corrupting them, First!" Second lectured Yoichi with a glare.

"I will not let the classics die!" the white-haired wielder shot back, crossing his arms over his chest as he flopped back into his throne.

Izuku sighed and looked at Nana. "...I can't believe it. You were right. They are all children."

She reached out and ruffled his hair with a chuckle. "So are you!"

He playfully swatted at her hand, grinning back at her. Shaking his head ruefully, he cleared his throat. "Hey. So…the whole All For One thing?" The good mood in the room vanished as quickly as it had arrived, all the vestiges giving him their undivided attention. He nodded at them. "So seriously…why the fuck did you let Toshi explain it to me?!"

"To be honest, we did not think he'd be so…what's the word…" En struggled to recall the word.

"Incompetent?!" Izuku retorted, to the consternation of the yellow flame vestige of Toshinori in the room. He sighed. "Look, I really love and respect you All Might, but your explanation was terrible and the one you gave Sensei was even worse!" He felt the reluctant agreement from the vestige across the connection.

"Whatever. It's fine, I know now. That's what's important."

"Yes, and…you seem unusually okay with it?" Yoichi said quietly.

Izuku shrugged. "The fact he exists doesn't bother me so much as what he's done. Honestly? I'm pretty sure Hound Dog is gonna flip out at me, but I think I might have hit critical mass of anger and have flipped right back around into calm. Right now I just want to finish what you all started, and then beat the ever loving shit out of Nine, the Doctor, and Chisaki for good measure, then throw them into the deepest pits of Tartarus. All For One too, but the metaphorical Tartarus instead of the prison."

There was a silence in the realm as everyone stared at the very calm Izuku as he spoke as if he were referring to a trip to the grocery store. Third coughed. "Look, glad you're all for taking out the bastard, but uh…kid, I think you're a bit less stable than you think."

"Probably. Not sure what you want me to do about it though," he replied nonchalantly, shoving his hands in his pockets.

"...we're serious, Izuku. You're acting…odd, even for you," Nana said with clear concern in her voice.

He shrugged again. "I'm not disagreeing with you. But again, what am I supposed to do? I didn't cancel my appointment with Hound Dog, and I'm gonna bring it up to him when I see him next, but for now I mean…this is it?"

"But you went to sleep happy? How'd this happen?" Daigoro asked, scratching his head.

"I am happy though? I thought that's what you're having problems with."

"You're way too calm about the whole killing All For One thing," Hikage said bluntly.

Izuku rubbed at his temple. "Look, I'm not happy about the idea. But he killed most of you, he helped the Doctor kill Tsubasa and all the other poor saps turned into Nomu's, he's the one Nine works for, and my best guess for where the fuck the Hero Killer came from. You all tried to kill him, including Toshi! I feel like all of that is good enough reason to accept that I'll have blood on my hands I chose to have for once!"

"You don't have blood on your hands Izuku, it's on the hands of Nine," En replied softly.

"Yeah, save it, I've heard it a million times and just because you're in my head doesn't mean I'm changing my mind," Izuku waved off En's statement, making the rest of the group stare at him in further consternation.

"Izuku, that was…uncharacteristically rude of you," Hikage said.

Izuku shrugged. Yoichi stared at him, narrowing his eyes as green met green. Something seemed off. Like his eyes lacked a certain…luster, or shine. Yoichi turned to Nana. "Nana…look at the lake for something odd. Something that doesn't belong there, or that is missing, or something of the sort."

Nana strode to the edge of the platform and began searching through it, looking over and over throughout. Almost in unison, En, Hikage, and Daigoro all also began looking, while Yoichi kept his eyes on the still calm and seemingly unconcerned Izuku, the greenette just standing there casually with his hands in his pockets.

"Hey…that looks odd, don't it?" Daigoro said, pointing out in the distance. The other vestiges all clustered around him and followed his direction, Izuku sauntering over and looking as well with a blank expression. Far in the distance, something else seemed to rise out of the water, other than the tower they were standing upon, but it was too far to make out what it was exactly.

"Huh. That's new," Izuku mused.

"...yeah we need to figure this out. Yoichi?" Third called, looking over at the white-haired wielder. Izuku turned back to him, curious, as Yoichi sat on his throne and closed his eyes…and then everything moved. There was no sensation of movement, or travel, no wind resistance or rush of air, but he knew they were somewhere else…somewhere right next to a gnarled, blackened spire of stone and obsidian rising out of the water, curling up towards the heavens.

"Huh. That's nifty," Izuku said softly, tilting his head to the side in curiosity.

"...fuck me sideways," Daigoro swore.

"I…have a theory," Hikage said, cupping his chin in his hands.

"Share with the rest of the class?" Nana asked.

"I believe this may be part of that nightmare energy that Izuku absorbed. Since it did not absorb correctly, or in a timely fashion, and it acted oddly to begin with. It seems to have crystallized somehow."

"Okay, but how does that explain this?" Nana asked, gesturing to Izuku.

He blinked at her. "You just gestured to all of me."

Yoichi nodded along. "No, I think that may be it. Outside of this world, Izuku would not be as exposed to this. I believe that since we pulled him in here, it is having a much stronger effect on him within this world than without."

"But what effect is it?" En asked.

"I think it's suppressing some of his emotions, somehow. His empathy, most assuredly. We probably should have noticed it when he kicked Daigoro."

"I want to kick him every day, so that seems about right," Second muttered.

"Yeah, but Izuku doesn't act like that," Nana replied.

Third shrugged. "He still asked if it would hurt first. That shows he was concerned."

"I am right here, you know," Izuku reminded the vestiges, but it seemed they were determined to ignore him.

"Is that all it's doing, you think?" En asked.

Yoichi shared a glance with Hikage before shrugging. "No idea. I suspect it's been impacting him subtly for a few days now, but likely so miniscule no one would notice. That or it's taken time to take effect. Or perhaps it's built up over time. There are too many unknowns right now to say one way or the other. The only thing I think we can assume is in here, he's being affected much more strongly."

"If you would let me talk, I could tell you how I feel, you know," Izuku reminded them all, rolling his eyes.

"Fine, how do you feel right now?" En asked.

Izuku thought about it for a moment. "Mostly calm. A little annoyed. And I'm missing my cuddles with my girlfriends and daughter, that's bothering me."

"It's…not the worst effect, it doesn't seem," Daigoro said with trepidation.

"It's definitely suppressing emotions. But I don't think it's adding any, if that's what you're worried about," Izuku said. "And no, before you ask, I hadn't noticed anything before this. Definitely doesn't seem like it's doing much outside of here. But I think my anger at the news was justified and has nothing to do with this."

"We can't be sure, Izuku. I think you need to be cautious and pay careful attention. Study it like you would a Quirk, since this is, at least for now, part of your Quirk now." Yoichi said with urgency in his voice.

"Sure. Anything else you guys need from me before I return to my very comfortable bed and loving girlfriends and newfound daughter?" He asked.

The vestiges shared a glance. Yoichi shook his head no. "No, it's fine. And Izuku?"

"Hmm?"

"If I'm right, and you wake up feeling much more like your normal self…you don't have to apologize, okay?"

Izuku tilted his head to the side. "Sure, if you say so. Goodnight, catch you all later!" For the first time since he'd been pulled in, instead of being kicked out, he yanked himself out…into dreamless slumber.

Waking up was an exercise in self-control for Izuku. Upon waking, he felt…numb. Detached. For all of five seconds, and then it all came rushing back in a torrent. Everything that happened while he slept came flooding back and he nearly leapt out of bed in panic, only barely restraining himself because Eri was right there. As it was, he had to swallow a massive gulp of air as he nearly freaked from what had happened.

That feeling of pure apathy hurt, now that he revisited it. Going over what he'd said to the vestiges in his mind, all he could picture was that documentary with someone with antisocial personality disorder he'd watched once as a kid, where a contract killer for organized crime had calmly mentioned putting together christmas toys for his kids, getting a call, leaving, killing someone, returning home, and proceeding to continue putting his toys together. When the interviewer asked him how he felt about it, the man said 'I was pissed. I couldn't get the damn wagon together'.

It had completely failed to register in the man's mind that anything was wrong. Like it was a normal Tuesday for him. And for some reason, everything he'd said in the vestige realm felt just like how he'd imagined that man must have. It didn't register to him how wrong it was to just up and kick Daigoro for being annoying. How wrong it had been to be so…dismissive of the vestiges concerns. How annoyed he'd been with them for interrupting his sleep. He sent his thoughts into his mind, desperately seeking the vestiges to apologize, but before he could even begin, Yoichi's voice cut him off.

'I told you Izuku, you do not need to apologize. We're fine. We understand it was something that was messing with your emotions. We're going to keep studying this tower and see if we can decipher anything useful for you, but for now, it seems like in the waking world you're alright.'

Izuku decided to try and check that himself. He thought back to how he'd acted the past couple of days, ever since the Hosu incident, and realized…he had been acting differently. He was less patient, more prone to snap decision making, more prone to ignoring risk and dismissing ethical concerns he'd once never dismiss. The fact he still wasn't bothered about the idea of killing All For One concerned him, because even if he logically felt it was the right decision, he's pretty sure he'd be conflicted about it regardless…and yet, he wasn't. He was perfectly at ease with it.

He felt his heart rate climbing. This…this wasn't good. This was wrong. This wasn't him. No, no, he had to calm down, had to…oh fuck what if he became too calm? He couldn't do this here. He had to leave! A strand of blackwhip slid out from his hand, wrapping itself gently around Eri's arms and untangling them from his side. Judicious use of Float, Gear Shift, and Blackwhip let him slide out of the bed, the three girls none the wiser. He hurriedly threw on a pair of running sweats and an old t-shirt, practically bolting out of the room as quietly as he could.

He ignored the greeting Tenya shot him from the kitchen, ignored how Momo smiled and opened her mouth to ask him something. He ignored Hitoshi, yawning widely as he glanced up at him moving rapidly to the door and out, his stride closer to a jog than a walk. As soon as he left the doors, he ran.

Green energy, barely held back from his fears, ripped through his veins. Lightning sparked from him, Full Cowling wrapping about him like a comforting blanket as he lost himself in it, in his Quirk. He ran directly towards one of the training zones, Gamma, one he knew was empty at this time of morning and just rocketed into it. He needed to be away from everyone, his heart was racing even more, the sound of blood roaring through his ears. He couldn't trust this, whatever this was, he couldn't let it control him.

It felt like his energy was pulsating in his chest worse than ever before, a deep-seated ache that pressed, made it harder to breathe, harder to move. His hands were clammy, cold, shaking. His vision was blurred as he realized he was breathing more and more rapidly. Somewhere in the back of his mind, he could feel the vestiges reaching out, trying to calm him, but nothing was working!

He leapt up into the skies, over the buildings, over the crumbled structures in the training ground. He soared over them, barely able to keep track of where he was, falling towards the earth below and landing with a massive dust cloud being launched up from the impact of his landing. He kept moving forward, feeling he had to drive himself on and on and on, forward, away from the others. His feet scrabbled against the dirty ground, almost losing his footing as his shoes slipped against the loose dirt, moving so far everything was a blur…and then he tripped.

He went sprawling, rolling across the ground over and over, not really feeling the pain, even as he idly noted the burning sensation on his side, the red streaks following behind him as he ripped parts of his skin open from tripping at this speed. He was stopped when he slid into a broken hunk of wall, his shoulder taking the impact and sending a pulse of pain through him…but he barely noticed. He couldn't breathe, what was wrong with him?!

He lost track of time, curled up against a broken piece of rubble gasping for air. He didn't know what was going on anymore, he just knew he couldn't. His vision had become tinted dark, black creeping in at the edges as he stared ahead, seeing nothing, feeling nothing but the pulsing, aggressive pain in his chest, a green glow surrounding him and pooling beneath his prone form.

It was into that darkness, that glow, that he noticed something…or someone. A hand reaching down and gently grasping his, pulling it up and pressing it to a warm surface, one that reminded him of another time. It was rising and falling, like…like breathing? Breathing, right, that's a thing he needed to do.

The pain in his chest was nothing compared to the sudden influx of pain from his raw side and head as he suddenly felt his chest expand, awareness returning to him in a split second. He groaned in pain, hissing at the pressure, reaching out and trying to pull his energy back inside, forcing the green to leave the waking world and return to his side.

A gentle but firm hand helped pull him up, Izuku finally able to look up into the tired eyes of his teacher, Aizawa, the pro looking at him with a concerned gaze.

"Midoriya? Are you with me now?"

"Y-yes sir," Izuku managed to stutter out, still trying to catch his breath. Aizawa released his hand and leaned back from where he'd been kneeling before the greenette.

"Yaoyorozu contacted me, as well as Ida," Aizawa said as he saw the questions in Izuku's eyes before he could speak them. "Both of them were concerned at how you ran from the dorms. So I checked the cameras to see where you had gone. Would you like to tell me what this was about?"

Izuku swallowed, his mouth feeling dry and his throat raspy. He let out a dry, hacking cough, but nodded. His teacher might have an idea? And he had told him about One For All the prior day, so he didn't have to hide anything. He found himself cut off before beginning by a jelly pouch being shoved into his face.

"Drink up. I don't have any water on me, but you need to get something in you before you speak, and I don't think you're going to be up to walking for a little bit," Aizawa ordered. Izuku did as he was bid, idly noting the flavor (pineapple), before taking a deep breath…and spilling everything.

It wasn't until he spoke he realized he'd never actually told anyone that the nightmare energy didn't absorb properly to begin with. Telling his Sensei that, telling him about the incident with the vestiges, how when he reexamined his behavior how off it was, how he was just somehow okay with killing All For One, how he knew it'd be his fight, how he knew he had to get stronger faster, how afraid he was of becoming like that Izuku that was in the vestige world the night before, or an even worse version. How he didn't get it, that he was afraid nothing could be done and this would progressively get worse and worse.

His head dropping to his chest, admitting the deepest fear that was welling up inside him now…that if this was some sort of emotional degradation…would he lose the ability to feel as he did for Himiko, for Ochako? Would he lose the bond he'd just built with Eri? The bonds he had with Katsuki, with his Aunt and Uncle? Yes he knew he was catastrophizing, this was just one incident and there wasn't much evidence it was getting worse, but he was scared of how he felt in the vestige realm…because he hadn't felt much of anything at all.

There was silence in Training Ground Gamma for a good minute as Aizawa sat there, blank-faced, seemingly considering Izuku and his statements. After a minute, he nodded. "It would be irrational for me to tell you that those fears aren't a possibility. That said, it's far too early for you to assume so much. As you said, you only noticed the minor changes in yourself today because you saw major changes inside this…realm, you speak of. This may be the extent of it. So let's do this the smart way, Problem Child, and work together to figure it out."

Izuku blinked, looking up to meet his teacher's gaze. Aizawa stared back at him calmly. "The thing you said today that concerns me the most, is the same thing Uraraka emailed me about late last night. That you are not registering the pressure on you, that you didn't for once think about the fact you're just stepping into the adult world and now you are ready and willing to take on the burdens of the world. It's like you forgot that the goal is that you never fight All For One to begin with."

He cut off Izuku with a raised hand as the boy went to speak. "No, Midoriya. Don't argue with me about this. Planning for the future is important, and having backup plans and contingencies for when a plan goes south are important too. But our contingency cannot be 'send the untrained first year in' no matter how powerful they are. I won't discount the possibility that it does become your fight someday…but right now, it is not. And you need to remember that. Shouldn't you focus on becoming the best hero you can be now, so that if it ever does become your fight, you will be in the best position to handle it?"

"I…I guess," Izuku muttered.

Aizawa nodded, accepting that's the most he was getting out of him right now. "As for this nightmare energy thing, we need to speak to the old lady and the rat. We can figure this out, Midoriya. Alright? Let's take it nice and slow and see what we can figure out before jumping to any conclusions."

"Okay. I um…I think I can get up now," Izuku murmured.

Aizawa stood up, holding his hand out to his student. "Then let's go speak to them."

Izuku took the hand, but shook his head in negation. "I can't, not yet…I um…I have to do something first thing this morning."

"Midoriya-" Aizawa began, narrowing his eyes.

"I'll go talk to them right after I swear! But I can't not do this!" he pleaded.

"Tell me what it is and then I will consider it," Aizawa replied.

Izuku gulped. "I…I can't violate their privacy like that sir."

Aizawa narrowed his eyes further at Izuku. "Will this cause harm to one of my students?"

Izuku frantically waved his hands in negation. "N-no! This is to get them help, that's all! They just wanted me to accompany them to set up their appointment with Hound Dog, that's it!"

Aizawa stared at the boy before him before giving one sharp nod. "Fine. Handle that, then go see Recovery Girl. But do it quickly. You hurt yourself when you crashed, you need to get that treated sooner rather than later. I'll excuse you from homeroom. You had best hurry back to the dorms then, if you intend on setting that appointment up in time."

"Yes sir!" Izuku said, nodding. Ignoring the pain in his side, he wrapped himself in Full Cowling and ran off before Aizawa could change his mind, the erasure hero opening his mouth to tell Izuku to run back without his Quirk but sighing as he realized he was too late.

"Problem children, all of them," he muttered to himself.

"Kyoka!" Denki sang out as he slammed open the door to her bedroom, making the punk girl practically jump out of her bed.

She glared at the blonde who had just burst into her bedroom while she was asleep, ready to absolutely murder him before he shut the door and flopped over onto her bed like he belonged there. She sat up, rubbing the sleep from her eyes as she stared at the flopped teen before her, working her jaw to try and figure out how exactly she planned on brutalizing him.

"What're you doing asleep, it's like, only an hour till class!" he asked, rolling his head back to look up at her.

One of her jacks jabbed right into his arm, sending her heartbeat pulsing into him with a loud shriek on his part. "Exactly, there's an hour till class!" she hissed, glaring down at him. "The hell are you doing here?!"

"Can't I come see my very bestest friend in the whole wide world?" he wheedled, a guileless smile on his face.

"Go see Sero if you want validation. I'm tired," she groaned, falling back onto her bed and pulling the covers up over her head.

"C'mon Kyoka, you're the only one who's gonna get it!" he whined, refusing to get out of the bed even as she kicked him from under the covers.

"Get what?" she mumbled.

"The whole new relationship jitters thing!" he replied, staring up at her ceiling.

Despite herself, she felt her cheeks flushing under the covers and knew it had nothing to do with the warmth from her blanket. She popped her head out and glared half-heartedly at the blonde. "I have no idea what you're talking about."

He had the audacity to roll his eyes. "Oh come on, everyone saw you and Himiko making out, don't give me that crap."

"We didn't make out! It was just a kiss!" she replied hotly, hating how red her face was getting.

He waved her off. "Yeah yeah, point is, you got the liplock with the hot vampire. Although, I guess that's redundant since all vampires are hot?" he mused. "Wait, no, Nosferatu, that's totally a turn off."

"Oh…my…god…Denki, shut the fuck up," she said, already done with her oldest friend. She rubbed at her eyes and sat up once more, accepting she was not getting back to sleep anytime soon. "Ugh…Denki, why are you here?"

For the first time since entering her room, he looked sheepish, pink appearing on his cheeks as he tapped his fingers together. "Sorry K, I just…was excited. After the beach, Hito and I spent time in his room, and it was…he was…"

She blinked at him. "Are…are you swooning?"

"Maybe?" he replied with a sheepish grin. "Just…we talked, a lot, and then he kissed me and oh gosh Kyoka, it was everything I wanted and I thought, maybe, you'd um…want to talk about it? You know?"

"You want to gossip…with me?"

Denki squirmed. "I know I know, you're too cool to gossip, I know, but still…just this once?" he asked.

She rolled her eyes. Indulging him was one of her greatest weaknesses, she mused to herself. "Fine…go on, go off."

"Okay okay okay, so like, Hito's all cool and mysterious and brooding and stuff right? But like, when he opens up he's just the sweetest person! You know he's a big fan of poetry? I didn't! But I guess he and Tokoyami spend time reading poems together sometimes, and he read me some, and it was so sweet! And just, I was sitting there and he looked at me with those big purple eyes and just…he kissed me. Gods, Kyoka…It took me like, a half minute to reboot my brain I swear! But it was so good, best kiss I've ever had, 10 out of 10, would do again."

"...isn't that your first kiss?" she asked with an arched eyebrow.

"And it was the best first kiss ever!" he shot back.

She snickered. "If you say so Denki."

He sighed dreamily, before shaking his head to clear it and turning to look at Kyoka. Pulling his legs up, he sat cross-legged on top of her bedspread and leaned forward eagerly. After a moment of Kyoka staring at him blankly, he said "Well?"

"Well what?"

"What was it like with Himiko?! You've been after her for weeks, c'mon!"

"I dunno Den, I'm not sure if she'd want me saying anything…"

Denki rolled his eyes as he rocked back and forth. "Kyoka, she's literally in bed with Izuku and Ochako. If you tell me they didn't talk about yesterday with each other, I'm gonna have to ask you to wear the dunce crown today."

Kyoka sputtered. "W-well, yeah, I guess she would, but that's different. It's like…that's cause it'd be all three of them, I think?"

"Is that a problem?" he asked, tilting his head to the side.

She shrugged, not meeting his eyes. "I…I don't know? I mean…I kind of have a thing for Izuku too, but I don't really talk to Ochako as much as I wish I did. And with Izuku, it's…you know, I don't see him much either. I dunno if they'd all want me, you know?"

"Kyoka, you are a catch, and if they can't see that, then they are all just idiots!"

Kyoka mumbled something he couldn't quite catch, so the blonde glared at her, well aware of her tendencies to downplay herself. She glared back, before finally rolling her eyes and at least non-verbally conceding something to him. "Whatever. Anyways…fine, okay, I'll talk. Yes, kissing Himiko was amazing, okay?! And then she bit Tsu and drank from her again and kissed her and Tsu was like, super cute too in that bathing suit and I saw Ochako kissing Momo and it was really fucking hot because Ochako just straight up took charge and yes I like the whole thing very much okay!" Kyoka's voice rose as she spoke until she almost yelled it at Denki…only to immediately have her eyes go wide, cheeks go red, and ducked beneath her covers out of embarrassment.

"Aww, that's so cute!" Denki said with a big grin.

"Go away Denki. I'm done with this conversation," she muttered, still hiding beneath her blanket.

"Oh come on, stop being embarrassed. It's just me here after all," his voice softened as he spoke. She struggled, hating it when he was being nice, when he was being relatable. It made it harder for her to ignore him, to push her oldest friend away, because when he got serious…he was one of the best friends she could have ever asked for, and she hated that he knew that about her too.

"...I hate when you do that," she replied, flipping the blanket down and glaring at him.

He shrugged. "Kyoka, we've been friends for like a decade. I don't know why you're embarrassed to talk to me about this."

She let out an exasperated breath. "It's not because it's you, it's because it's embarrassing to begin with!"

"Why? What's wrong with sharing a kiss with someone you find attractive? Someone you want to go out with. Why do you keep acting like it's some awful thing?"

"It's not awful! It's just…c'mon Denki, you know how I feel about this stupid shit."

"It's just me, Kyoka. Just me. If you really don't wanna talk I won't keep pushing…but I feel like you want to," he replied with a smug grin.

She glared at her oldest friend, waggling his eyebrows cheesily at her, before groaning. "Fine! But only for a bit…we have class soon."

"Yes ma'am!" He saluted her. Kyoka rolled her eyes and sat upright once more, deciding to give in and talk (gossip) with her favorite dumb blonde.

Ochako was nervous and worried. Nervous, because…yeah, this was nerve-wracking, agreeing to meet with Hound Dog even if all she was doing was setting up an appointment. She knew it wasn't a big deal, but the thought that she'd have to actually talk about this was something she wasn't really sure about. Worried, because Izuku was being weird.

First, he wasn't there when they woke up, which wasn't the most unusual, but it was when she was confronted by Momo, Hitoshi, and Tenya about how he'd bolted from the dorms like a bat out of hell. Secondly, the fact that when he came back he was both dirty and ragged, and favoring his left side like he'd hurt himself. Which it turns out he had, and they had to argue with him about visiting Recovery Girl, which he swore to do after she set up her appointment. He also wasn't telling them how he got hurt which was pissing her off, but she was letting it go only until she could harangue him about it later.

But okay. Fine. She'd deal with this first, make sure he saw the nurse, and then after class beat him over the head until he told her what the hell was going on, because not only was he hurting, he was clearly bothered by something. She'd been in love with him for far too long to not be able to tell when he was doing this 'All Might' smile, instead of his happy smile. The one he wore to reassure others when he wasn't feeling reassured.

Luckily for her, she could tell Himiko noticed it too, which meant she'd also be on the lookout and be ready to pester him about it later. But for now…they were approaching Hound Dog's office. Rather, they were standing outside of it, and she was staring at the door. Ah, so this was it. This was her doing it. Yep. Any minute now, she'd open that door-

"'Chako, it's okay," Himiko whispered, breaking Ochako out of the staring contest she was having with the door. Himiko squeezed her hand tightly, the brunette only just now realizing she'd been gripping onto her girlfriends hand this entire time.

"Ochako, I swear to you, it'll be fine. He's great. He helps me, all the time," Izuku reassured her, his grip far more gentle than Himiko's, almost featherlight.

She swallowed. "Y-yeah. Okay. Let's do this." She took a step forward to knock…only to realize she had no free hands to do so with. Himiko giggled, and lifted one hand up to knock for her, looking at the brunette to be sure it was okay. Ochako nodded, allowing Himiko to rap on the door.

"Come in!" the gruff voice of Hound Dog called out. Izuku reached out and swung the door open, the trio shuffling into the office. The hero was sitting at a desk, holding two papers in his hands as he read over them both. Ochako took a quick glance about…the office just screamed comfort. No bright whites to hurt the eyes, the walls all warm wood and gentle tan, the chairs plush and comfortable, various knicknacks strewn about with almost studied chaos. She was brought back to focus when she noticed the hero looking up at the trio. "Ah, Midoriya, Uraraka, Himiko. What brings you here today?"

Himiko and Izuku stayed silent, both giving her a soft squeeze to show they were there, but allowing Ochako to speak. She gulped. "Um…I-I wanted to set up an appointment? To uh…talk to you?"

He nodded at her. "Alright. Let's see what times you're free then."

She blinked. "Just like that?"

"Just like that."

"B-but don't you want to know what about?" she asked.

He tilted his head to the side. "Do you want to tell me what it's about?"

She opened her mouth to reply, then paused. She…she wasn't sure if she wanted to say it yet or not. She knew she'd have to eventually if she wanted to address it, but was she ready? He noticed her action and gestured towards her. "That's why I'm not asking, and I won't. You decide when to tell me things, Uraraka. I won't pry unless you ask me to."

"...the problem is I don't even know when to decide," she murmured, looking away from him.

"We'll work on that together, if you want. I'm here to help you, but I can only help you as much as you let me. I may ask you questions you find uncomfortable, but all you need to do is tell me and we'll move on," he explained.

She nodded again. "Okay. Yeah, um…okay. I…can I tell you why if I want to?"

"If you want, yes. I can be better prepared for the discussion if you do, just in case I have to look anything up. I'm good at my job, but I don't know everything after all," he replied with a growled chuckle that somehow made her feel a little bit better.

She glanced over at Himiko, then back to Izuku, the two of them both giving her a nod and a soft smile to encourage her. She turned back to Hound Dog and cleared her throat. "I um…I think I had…have? Had an eating disorder? I um…it was when I was younger, I don't like, skip meals anymore, but um, sometimes I have issues with uh…going for food when hungry, or going back, and I get really bothered by people not clearing plates and um…yeah."

"Alright. Thank you for telling me. I'm sure we can work together to help you with that. Why don't we set an appointment and we can go over it, okay?" Hound Dog asked her with a soft tone.

"Okay…yes, okay!" For the first time since she'd agreed to do this, she felt like maybe, just maybe, this could help. She felt a small glimmer of hope…maybe reaching out for help wasn't so bad.

"Hey, Kats?" Mina called to get his attention.

"What?" he replied distractedly, putting together a quick breakfast.

"So uh…you don't have an issue with um, me asking them out, do you?" she asked quietly. It was a bit weird when she thought about it…somehow, she'd become pretty decent friends with Katsuki, although that might have been because Eijiro kind of dragged her, Hanta, and Denki together and then dragged in the blonde bomber. They'd bonded quite a bit when studying, as Katsuki had kind of adopted the four of them to help study under his tutelage. But she worried something might be a bit off now…between the whole thing yesterday between her and Ochako, and the public way she kind of blew everything up, and the fact Eiji and Katsuki were hooking up now…she was worried.

He turned back to look at her with a confused and annoyed expression. "Why the fuck would I have an issue with it?"

She shimmied in her chair, shrugging. "I-I don't know. I just…I was just wondering if you'd care, you know?"

"Well of course I fucking care, that's my brother and future sisters. But it's not like you're a shit person, so why would I worry?"

Mina stared at him, feeling a tear welling up in her eye as she felt her chest warm inexplicably. That…he was so nonchalant about it, as if he never once considered she'd hurt one of them, like he trusted her that much and she just was struck silent by the thought. He saw the look in her eyes and rolled his own, cutting the heat from the stove and spinning about to lean against the kitchen table, staring at her from across the other side.

"Mina, the fuck's this really about? If I had an issue with it I'da said something last week, you're not as fucking subtle as you think you are."

She sighed, slumping against the table. "I dunno. It just feels like everythings happening so fast, with like…everything? Not just them. But the attack at the USJ was like, a month and a half ago. Sports Festival less than a month. We just got back from internships and all that and, oh…oh my gosh Katsuki I'm so sorry," Mina frantically started apologizing as she mentioned the internships, realizing what that meant.

He waved her off. "Stop that, I'm not made of fucking glass. It's fine. What happened was fucked up but I'm dealing with it. Sounds to me like you're not."

"That doesn't make sense, I didn't have nearly as much bad stuff happen to me!" she protested.

He cocked his head to the side and stared at her. "And how the fuck does that matter? Didn't Eyebags get on my case for 'comparing trauma' or some shit? Same shit, Racoon Eyes. If you're upset or bothered, then fucking do something about it. Go see the mutt, he's good at what he does."

She pouted at him for the reversion to the nickname. "And here I thought we were having a moment."

"We are. As part of said moment, I'm calling you by your goddamned nickname because I came up with it and it's fucking creative."

She rolled her eyes at him, inexplicably feeling a little bit better from his arrogance. "Whatever, Blasty." She paused for a moment, her demeanor shifting back to a more meek, quiet one as she spoke. "Do you really think I should…should go see him?"

"If you're feeling stressed and like it's all too much? Then yes. And stop doubting yourself so fucking much, Cheeks wouldn't have kissed you if she didn't want to," he said offhandedly, turning back to the stove to finish up his breakfast.

She flushed, glaring at him. "You…well, you kissed Eijiro!"

"Yeah, and? He's a good fucking kisser, your point?"

She gaped at how nonchalantly he said that, now even more annoyed by the fact she couldn't tease him. "Argh, you…you!" she sputtered incoherently, watching as his shoulders shook from chuckling at her.

"Yep, me, future Number One right here, with the Number One boyfriend now, you better fucking believe it," Katsuki smirked, enjoying the one-up on the gossip queen of their little study group, only to have it all ripped away, feeling like ice had slid down his back as he heard the smug voice behind him speak.

"Number One boyfriend, huh? I like the sound of that, sounds manly!" Eijiro said with a wide, toothy grin as he came up next to Katsuki and swung his arm over the blonde's shoulders.

Katsuki glowered as he finished cooking. "Shut up," he muttered, trying to ignore how hot his face felt at being caught bragging about that.
"Aw c'mon Kats, I'm flattered!" Eijiro said with the same wide grin.

Katsuki just kept his gaze affixed on the food, finishing plating it and shoving one into Eijiro's stomach, the red-head releasing him with an 'oof'. Katsuki spun around and slid a plate to Mina, the pink-skinned girl looking at it in surprise as he slammed his own down, sitting down and digging in to keep his mouth occupied so he could avoid being forced into conversation now that he'd embarrassed himself.

Eijiro winked at Mina, letting her know to drop the subject for now, seeing how bent out of shape Katsuki had gotten. She nodded, figuring it was close enough to class time to eat and get ready anyways…plus she thought maybe it was time she took Katsuki's advice and go see about talking it out with someone. Maybe it'd help her feel less stressed…hopefully.

Izuku was now sitting in Nezu's office, the white-furred mammal pouring over one of his notebooks. Toshinori had a class to teach, so he wasn't able to attend to Izuku yet, but Recovery Girl had sent him straight over as soon as she'd finished healing him and running a few tests to see if she noticed anything unusual. Unfortunately, she had not, so the best she could do was send him to Nezu's office to get his view.

Izuku had already written a few pages of notes on his experiences and what he noticed in the vestige realm, so as soon as he'd explained the issue Nezu had asked for those notes and started reviewing them, followed by some tapping at his keyboard and reviewing the information on the screen.

It took Nezu a good ten minutes to finish going over whatever he was trying to look into, Izuku sitting there nervously the entire time. He kept running over it in his mind…his actions the past few days since Hosu, how he'd been acting, how much was him…and now, even now, he was wondering if he was thinking correctly. Would this panic him more in other situations? He feels like he calmed down unusually quickly today, but…is that true, or were his fears coloring his experience?

"Midoriya," the voice of Nezu called out, making him snap to attention to look at the headmaster.

"Yes?"

"I have both good and bad news for you," the mammalian hero said without preamble. "The bad news is that I cannot for certain tell you what is going on. I was unable to find any scenarios in the past where an energy absorption Quirk was able to absorb the energy of a mind-affecting Quirk and subsume it. Especially as the Quirk in question is not here to study, apparently. I am still concerned about what the Hero Killer truly was…but that is neither here nor there. That's the bad news."

Izuku swallowed. "Okay…and the good news?"

"I have studied footage of your actions over the past few days. I was not able to find any significant discrepancies in your behavior from now till before, beyond what you have identified. Yes, you do appear to be slightly more impulsive and slightly more temperamental, but it is minor. It could be explained away as simply having a bad few days. I think you are allowing your fears to make it seem worse than it is."

"But in the vestige realm-" he began, before being cut off.

"That is a different matter entirely. That is part of your mindscape, so it makes sense you would be less defended against whatever influence this energy seems to hold over you."

"Yeah, but what if that leaks out here?" Izuku said.

"What if's are useless to us right now, Midoriya. We don't have enough data to postulate. Here is what you need to do…take notes on major emotional fluctuations over the next few weeks. As well as moments where you should be emotional but don't become emotional. Mark that all down and we will review it periodically during our sessions. If nothing more changes, then there is little cause for concern. If it continues to escalate, then we may be able to work around it, or seek answers. I would also question the vestiges as you said they will look into it within you."

Nezu got up and walked around his desk to the shaken teen before him, gently patting him on the knee. "I understand this is worrying you, and I understand why. You are a very empathetic and passionate individual, and the thought of losing that part of you is terrifying I am certain. But do not lose hope over fears that may never come to pass. We can manage it, Midoriya. We will figure this out. Just be patient."

Izuku nodded. "A-alright. I'll, I'll try."

Nezu gave him another pat on the knee. "Excellent. Now, I do believe you still have classes today. Your heroics lesson is special and I am certain you will not want to miss it."

The rest of the day was partially a blur to Izuku. He wanted to listen to Nezu, but he couldn't help the gnawing feeling that something was wrong. But…on the other hand, he knew Nezu was right. Nothing he did could change it right now, and they needed information to work off it. All of his Quirk analyzing required study after all. This was just another Quirk to break down. Thinking of it that way made it a lot easier to manage in his mind, if he was being honest with himself.

Also Ochako and Himiko were giving him dirty looks all day, which he was pretty sure was because of how he'd shown up this morning…kind of clued him into the fact he was pretty sure Momo, Tenya, or Hitoshi had likely said something. Momo very definitively, at least, since he saw her whispering to Ochako earlier (pink cheeked but he was pretty sure that was normal Momo embarrassment, not her saying something embarrassing).

He wasn't going to hide it from them, so he wasn't sure why they were so angry about it. He had every intention to tell them! Yes he was conveniently ignoring the fact he'd run off and told no one why and the fact he ended up having a panic attack and was lucky Aizawa found him when he did, but they didn't know that yet! They could be angry about that later, for now they really didn't have much of a reason!

His musings were interrupted by Aizawa coming in, which was…unusual, considering it was about time for Heroics. Their chronically overtired teacher turned to them with a deep sigh. "Alright, listen up. Two things. First, Midoriya, you missed the announcement this morning…final exams are coming up. You had best prepare yourself. Your classmates can fill you in on the details. Secondly, as preparation for the end of term tests, you'll be having some guests come in for some extra training. This is a new program we're instituting due to the attack on the USJ, as well as new information that has come to light about villains who may be somewhat more aggressive to this particular school year."

"Oh, you mean cause of All For One, right?" Denki asked, the entire class freezing as Aizawa's eyes snapped to look at the blonde. Izuku just gaped at him in sheer, unadulterated confusion.

"Den!" Hitoshi scolded, in complete disbelief he'd just…blurt that out.

Aizawa turned to glare at Izuku, eyes glinting red. "...you informed your classmates?"

Izuku nodded sheepishly. "I…I didn't think it right for them not to know they were in danger because of me-"

"Because of him, not because of you," Aizawa interjected. The murmurs of the class agreement made Izuku flush and look down at his desk. Aizawa sighed. "Fine. Next time tell me you told them. Yes, Kaminari, it is because of that, and never say that out loud again unless you are certain you are in a secure location!"

Denki scrunched down in his chair sheepishly. "Yes sir."

"Regardless, my point stands. You will be having guest teachers throughout the next two weeks as part of your preparation. The guest for the next few days will be instructing you in melee combat, specifically using bladed weaponry, as well as some work with weaponless sparring techniques."

"Oh, which hero is it?" Sero asked with a wide grin.

"No hero. They've held a…different job most recently," Aizawa said, a slow, creeping grin crossing his face at the sudden confusion in the classroom…and dawning horror on Izuku's face as his mind connected the dots.

The door to the classroom slid open, the first thing visible a metallic prosthetic arm made of black metal, inlaid with red accents. Black hair, tied back in a ponytail, a ballistic vest across the chest, a number of knives and blades strapped to it. A wide, terrifying grin beneath red eyes, locking onto amber ones that became both excited and terrified at the same time. The vampiric shapeshifting teenager could only get out one word.

"...dad?"

Fairly certain some of you guessed this was coming, so here it is! Instructor Chizome! :P