And the training camp is fully underway! However, Izuku learned some things about a little boy that struck him as familiar...so he decided to meddle. Toru has some doubts. And All For One makes a move.

Izuku spent most of the next day only half-paying attention. The reveal of Kota's past struck a chord in him…while Kota wasn't responsible for his parents deaths, losing them was a pain Izuku knew all too well. Auntie and Uncle had done so much for him and he loved them deeply, they were his family…but they weren't his mom and dad, and that was something he could never have again. So knowing Kota knew that pain, knowing he knew what it was like to lose them to a villain (as everyone kept reminding him who was responsible for his parents deaths)...Izuku understood Kota far too well. Even his hatred of hero society made sense, considering how people celebrating his parents' sacrifice would look to a child as young as he was.

His mind wandered a bit, barely holding in a snort at the thought of a support group for people like him, Kota, and Tenko, the random thought darkly amusing to him. Just imagining what chaos would come if Tenko ever managed to get Kota into his games. Or worse, if Kota met Eri and got into Hero Fighter IX like she did…likely Denki would give up ever playing again if he got beat by a second five year old.

He shook his head. Now was not the time to be focusing on that, especially since he was supposed to be training more with Fa Jin and Smokescreen. Gearshift was set aside, since they didn't have Recovery Girl in case he screwed something up, they would leave that training for back at UA. For now, he was practicing Smokescreen with Toru, Shishida, Kyoka, and Mezo. Shishida had enhanced senses as well, so the idea was Kyoka, Shishida, and Mezo would try to catch Toru and himself. Toru's struggle was she could not see any better than the others could, but she had the advantage of being far better trained in stealth than Izuku was, while Izuku knew where everyone else was but was not actually the stealthiest person. It was a difficult but rewarding task, in his eyes, as everyone involved got a good bit of training in.

His Fa Jin training had been a lot of sparring with Eijiro and Testutestu, the idea being they were training their endurance against his enhanced strikes while he tried to modulate how much he'd output with a single strike, since Fa Jin was more limited than One For All but didn't seem to hold the painful drawbacks of going over his current max of forty percent.

Still, training that day came to a close without much fanfare, at least not in his mind. He'd caught glimpses of the others training throughout the day…Shoto sparring against Honenuki, Ochako training with Kodai and Pony, Himiko dueling Kamakiri. He hadn't seen Momo, Kyoka, Tsu, or Mina yet, but he could vaguely sense which direction they were in in his mind, and that they all seemed to be in fine condition.

For all of his concerns about the unwilling links…none of the others seemed to care much. Over and over they'd reassured him they didn't care, and in some cases, they said they felt safer. Denki shrugged and explained that having the next wielder of One For All knowing when his dumbass did something stupid and could come save him was rather nice to know…Hitoshi scolded him for being self-deprecating, but Izuku got the point well enough.

And yet, training ended, the classes made their dinners and settled in to eat…when Izuku noticed the young boy Kota walking off into the dark forest. He worked his jaw for a moment, unsure what to do…but a nudge from Shoto had him glance over to his boyfriend.

"Worried about him?" Shoto asked softly.

"...yeah," Izuku murmured.

"Even though he tried to punch you in the genitals?"

Izuku shrugged. "He's got his reasons for being disillusioned with heroes. I can't blame him."

Shoto let out a hum of acknowledgment, taking another bite of his dinner. After a moment, he spoke up once more. "Are you going to meddle?"

Izuku snorted involuntarily, turning to side-eye his boyfriend. "Am I that transparent?"

Shoto shrugged. "The girls are already making bets on how long before you tried to interfere."

Izuku blinked. "...huh. Guess I am."

"You know…I'm not sure words would be enough. I don't think words alone would have gotten through to me," Shoto said casually.

"So…you're saying I should go meddle, then?"

Shoto took a sip of his water. "I am not saying anything. I'm merely saying that actions speak louder than words."

Izuku nodded, a smile on his face. "Yeah…yeah, I get you. I'll be back in a bit." With that, and Shoto's nod, he got up and prepared a second plate, slipping out of the camp and heading in the direction Kota had gone. The light was fading, but he simply switched his vision, allowing him to follow the residual heat energy left behind from Kota's passage…a trick he only just now realized would be incredibly useful to track someone down. Something to consider, and write down when he got a chance, but for now, Kota was his focus.

He stepped out of the treeline, finding himself at a small ledge overlooking the forest. He could barely see the footprints in the dirt that Kota had left, but he chose to follow them, making noise as he went so the boy would not be surprised. As he crested the hill, he saw the narrowed, angry eyes of the young boy in front of him staring him down.

"What are you doing here, this is my secret spot! Go away!" Kota shouted, angrily clenching his fists.

Izuku lifted his hands up placatingly, gesturing to the plate. "Just came by to bring you some dinner. Didn't see you eat, so thought you might be hungry."

"Well I'm not, so go away!"

Izuku arched an eyebrow as Kota's stomach growled a second later, the boy flushing and turning away from him, stomping his food childishly. Izuku took a deep breath…this was going to be a pain, but…well, he knew something of this darkness, and he wanted to try and help…even if it got the boy to try and punch him again.

"Why are we going to so much trouble for this kid, Shigaraki?" Nine asked, arms crossed as he stared down at the forest before them, the lights in the distance showing where the Pussycats camp was located.

"It is not any of your concern, Nine. We have a deal, and I desire that boy brought before me. Besides, you and yours need to do little for now. Let the Nomu and Kurogiri handle the captures."

"It very much is my concern when the kid you're kidnapping is some stupid hero student who is determined to hunt me down over some pitiful desire for revenge!" Nine snarled into his communicator.

All For One chuckled in his ear. "You're not afraid of the young man, are you?"

Nine snorted in dismissal. "Of course not. I just don't want to deal with more of his idiotic statements. He's one of those idealists who refuses to see how oppressed we are. It's irritating."

"Well, you won't be dealing with him regardless. Nor any of the other hero fledgelings. You're only there to watch the Nomu do their duty. Just remember…no casualties. I want them to know we could have killed them, and chose not to. Once the mission is complete, return to the base. You'll be getting some visitors shortly afterwards, after all."

Nine didn't bother replying, his face twisted in a scowl at All For One's comments. He knew part of the plan, but not the entire thing, and that annoyed him. Shigaraki was still holding out on him. If it wasn't for how much he had riding on this next plot, he'd take his compatriots and move on to the next goal, but this plan was months in motion and would, theoretically, provide them with the main catalyst they needed for their change…the first of which being, the end of All Might.

He sighed internally, shaking his head. No more time to delay. With a gesture, the three dozen hulking, black-skinned, malformed creatures behind him began to march, slowly, inexorably, disappearing into the forest with nary a sound as they moved towards the camp. His eyes glanced over at the ledge where he knew that Izuku Midoriya had headed to, thanks to one of the smaller Nomu tasked with spying from the air. With a snap of his fingers, a hulking, cloaked figure stepped up next to him.

"Head there, and take the boy down. Don't kill him. We need him alive. But you can rough him up. Oh, and anyone with him is fair game," Nine commanded, the cloaked figure nodding silently as it began to stride into the forest as well. This was it…the first step in the final act.

"Hey, Mina?" came the soft words from Toru, the shorter teen taking a seat next to Mina against the one wall.

Mina turned to glance at her girlfriend, lifting herself up from the stretch she'd been doing. With dinner over, she'd decided to do some stretches to try and limber up after a day of training her acid and sparring against the various members of Class B. The soreness was oddly soothing at this point, part of her proud of how much work she'd put into her skills, but she still didn't want it to continue through the next day of work. She tilted her head at Toru. "Yeah?"

Toru was quiet for a moment, her eyes scanning about the room and looking over the gathered members of the two classes, many of them split up into smaller groups that were talking softly in the evening hours. After a bit, she opened her mouth. "This whole thing…it's a lot, huh?"

Mina didn't need to be a genius to know what Toru was referring to, and decided to take a seat next to her. She reached one arm out and around Toru's shoulder, pulling her unresisting body into her side. "What brought this on, hun?"

Toru shrugged, leaning into Mina's side. "It's just…so much changed so fast, for us all. Izu's whole issues, the fight at the USJ, the Hosu thing, and us trying to make this big cloud relationship somehow work, it's…it's a lot, on top of trying to become heroes, you know? I know I wasn't directly involved with most of those things, but…I saw Izu and Katsuki after Hosu, you know? I talked to Katsuki for a bit, and he kept it together but I know it hurt him a lot, and Izu wasn't much better. Is…is now the right time, with our classes and stuff, to be doing this whole thing?"

"Oh honey," Mina began softly, her hand lifting off Toru's shoulder, tangling her fingers into the other girl's hair and gently stroking it. "Truth is, Toru, there never really is a right time, you know? These things aren't gonna stop happening any time soon…if they did, we wouldn't need to be heroes, you know? And we picked a scary job…people get hurt in it. But that's kind of what we agreed to, coming into this sort of thing. But…"

Mina paused for a moment to gather her thoughts, looking out over the room once more as she spoke contemplatively. "If we don't take our happiness where we can get it, confusing or not, what are we even doing with our lives? Being a hero means sacrificing safety and security. It means accepting we might not come home one day…but it's so someone else can. So I think that, when it comes to this sort of thing…even if it's weird, even if it's hard, we should do it. We should grab onto what happiness we can, and not let go. At least…that's why I think it's worth doing."

"...you're pretty good at this pep talk thing, huh, Mina?" came Kyoka's amused voice, the two girls sitting glancing up to see Kyoka standing before them, Momo a step behind looking at them curiously.

"Kyoka? Momo? What're you doing here?" Toru asked, confused.

"I noticed the two of you sitting here, and you looked…conflicted. So I wanted to check and be certain you are alright," Momo said quietly.

"I just followed her and heard your little speech. Pretty good one there, Mina, you'd give Green a run for his money with his speeches," Kyoka said with a smirk.

Mina smiled back at her, winking for good measure. "Maybe we'll make up some duo heroic speeches just so we're ready for any situation!"

Toru giggled, gently swatting Mina's arm. "You're silly, Mina."

"And that's why everyone loves me!" she proclaimed, her cocky tone fading into giggles a second later.

Kyoka rolled her eyes, her expression softening into a more serious one after a moment. "Seriously…you okay, Toru?"

Toru paused for a moment, before nodding. "Yeah…I mean…Mina's right. I guess I just…was worried, is all. I'm still not sure how we're supposed to manage all this anyways, it's like…there are a lot of us."

"I had an idea about that, actually," Momo began, reaching into her pocket and pulling out her phone. "I did some research on larger polycules, and discovered a common thing they found helpful was a shared calendar, thus allowing the various members to set aside time for dates and block out times that were not conducive for them, so no one would be surprised or confused and could schedule more easily. I've begun work on setting that up, as I felt it might be of some help."

"That's really smart, Momo! Did you tell the others yet?" Mina asked.

Momo shook her head in negation. "Not yet, I only began during our downtime this evening. I planned to inform you all when Izuku returned, but may as well tell everyone now since the topic came up."

Toru nodded slowly. "I guess…that'd help a bit, yeah, to know when people are free. I mean, I love hanging with you all, but sometimes…"

"You want something a bit quieter. I know the feeling," Kyoka added quietly.

"Wellllll, if we're plotting such things now…can I blot out some time to spend with you, Momo?" Mina asked with a bright smile as she gazed up at the dark-haired teen before her.

Momo flushed pink for a moment, but managed to maintain her composure. "O-oh, I mean, if you'd like to, that, that would be fine."

"Cool! Maybe after camp, we can do something together?"

"Y-yes, that would be fine. I'd love to."

Kyoka rolled her eyes. "Oh my god you're dorks and I hate that I love it."

"So does that mean you'd be free for us to spend some time together, Kyo?" Toru asked, tilting her head to the side and smirking up at her.

"O-oh, uh…yeah, sure," Kyoka replied, her cheeks pink at the sudden reversal taking her by surprise.

Momo snickered at the purple-haired teen. "Yes, dorks…quite."

Toru giggled along with Momo, feeling a little bit better about what they were doing. She still worried about the difficulty of balancing everything…but Momo and Izuku were pretty smart. Between those two, Mina and Himiko's emotional intelligence, and Tsuyu's no nonsense attitude…yeah, they were probably okay.

"Go away, or are you too stupid to understand that too?" Kota sneered at Izuku, his fists clenched at his side as he glared at the teenager.

Izuku held up his hands placatingly. "Look…let me say my piece and I'll get out of your hair, okay? Won't take more than a minute."

"I don't care what a wannabe hero has to say!" came the angry retort.

"What about another parentless kid?" Izuku asked, his voice low and soft as he stared directly at Kota, watching the sudden shift in the little boy's stance to a wary confusion.

"...what are you talking about?" Kota asked, stance still defensive and closed off but Izuku noticed a slight tremor in his hands.

Izuku shrugged. "I meant what I said. My parents died when I was a kid too."

"In an accident?" Kota asked, curious despite himself.

Izuku was about to shake his head no, before thinking better of it. "...technically, yes. A Quirk accident. My Quirk."

Kota stared at Izuku for a moment, his eyes flickering over Izuku's bare, scarred shoulder, over the scars visible on the back of his hands, turning back to look up at Izuku. "...you…you k-killed your parents?"

Izuku managed to barely hold back his flinch as he nodded gravely. "My Quirk activated to save my life from a villain attack, and in the process, a lot of people got hurt. Everyone says it's the villains fault for attacking me and my friend in the first place. So…while it's not the same as you…I know a little bit about losing your parents and having everyone tell you one thing, but feeling a very different thing."

Kota's eyes softened slightly, the young boy suddenly flopping down to sit on the rocks, idly picking up small rocks and tossing them over the cliff edge. "...well…you're still stupid for wanting to be a hero. Heroes don't do anything good, they just fight and die and leave everyone behind."

"Can't blame you for feeling that way," Izuku replied, taking a seat a little bit away from Kota, placing the plate between the two of them. He leaned back on his hands, glancing up at the visible night sky and trying to pick out the constellations mentally.

"You don't care that it's stupid?" Kota asked.

Izuku snorted. "I didn't say I agree with you on it being stupid, Kota. I just understand why you think it is."

"Then why do it?! That's what no one makes sense about! It just hurts the people you love! Why do that? For strangers you don't know? Why?" Kota replied, his voice rising as he smacked one of his fists into the ground angrily.

Izuku was quiet for a moment, contemplative as he tried to think of how to explain this to the young boy. How do you explain to a five year old the concept of self-sacrifice, of the everpresent balancing act in your mind of your life versus others? While he sometimes had trouble valuing himself, he never wanted to pass such a lesson on, ever. He had to somehow explain why people made that choice, to a child who already was biased against the idea. But like Eri, he didn't want to lie to the boy, so he wouldn't.

"I don't think there's an easy answer to that, Kota," Izuku replied softly, still gazing up at the sky. "For me…part of it was guilt, if I'm being honest. I felt guilty over hurting people with my Quirk, and I wanted to make up for it. But, that wasn't all there was to it. From the moment I saw All Might on the news, watching people find hope when he arrived and saved all those people, watching as people survived thanks to him? I just…wanted to do that. For me, Kota, it's about helping people."

Izuku turned to look down at the silent boy, Kota staring down at the ground as he poked at the dirt with one finger. Izuku continued on, his voice quiet and contemplative. "I think…I think we all need help sometimes, and I believe that as a society, we should all be helping each other. Pro Heroes are just one way of helping people after all. Doctors, Nurses, Fire Fighters, Police, Teachers, even the guy running the local grocery store is helping in his own way. Yeah, being a Pro is risky, and it puts a lot of pressure and pain on your family…but I think it's just the way some people wanna help."

Izuku picked up on the sniffle from Kota, but made no comment as the boy spoke, his voice thick with emotion. "Yeah well, I still think it's dumb, because then you leave your family behind and they gotta pay for your choice! They gotta hurt! It's not fair! It's not!"

Izuku smiled sadly at the boy, glancing down at the forest before them. "You're right. It's not fair. And I bet a lot of people told you life isn't fair, huh?"

"...yeah," Kota replied, sniffling again as he wiped at his eyes.

"That's a really mean thing to say, in my opinion. Just because something isn't fair doesn't mean we should just accept it. I think…I think that's part of why I want to be a hero, you know? Things aren't fair. What happened to me as a kid wasn't fair. And neither was what happened to you or your parents. I want to be a hero so I can fight that unfairness. So I can stand up against it, you know?"

"But my mom and dad tried that too, and it got them killed! It took them away from me! How's it gonna help if you get taken from the people you're supposed to be there for?!"

Izuku snorted. This kid was way too smart. Reminded him a lot of Eri, if he was being honest, if more hostile than she normally was. He shrugged absently. "I wish I could tell you the answer, Kota. There isn't a simple or easy answer. I just…I have to do my best, that's all I can do. That's all any of us can do, at the end of the day. I won't pretend to speak for your parents, or to say I totally understand how you feel because I don't. All I want you to know is…I understand it, just a little bit. And hey, if you ever need someone to talk to and your aunt says okay, you can talk to me, if you want."

Kota finally glanced up at Izuku, eyes red from holding back tears, narrowed in an angry glare with little heat, but his gaze softened just a bit as he met Izuku's calm demeanor. After a second, he opened his mouth to speak, but a sudden surge of pain erupted in Izuku's brain, Danger Sense blaring into alarm bells. Izuku wasted no time, leaping to his feet, energy crackling about him as he called upon One For All, standing protectively in front of Kota as he swept his gaze back and forth. He was so focused on the pain in his head, he almost missed the sudden electrical tingle that shimmered across his skin, making Kota shiver as he climbed to his feet.

"W-w-what was that?" Kota asked, fear in his voice.

"I'm not sure, but it's dangerous. Stay close to me, Kota. We're going to go back to camp as soon as I can see what the safest way is, okay?" Izuku kept trying to find the source of the danger, when he felt it looming over the far ridge, He spun about, keeping Kota behind him as he glared at the black-cloaked figure slowly walking up the ridgeway. He snarled at it. "What do you want?"

The figure said nothing, stopped a few meters away. Izuku could figure out no details under the robe, fully covering the figure's entire body. About the only thing he could tell was how massive it was, standing a good meter taller than him, and significantly wider. Izuku felt Danger Sense roaring in his mind, hearing the murmur of Hikage warning him that such an extreme reaction was equivalent with the extreme danger this figure possessed. Which meant one thing…time to leave.

"Come on Kota, climb on," Izuku said softly, bending his knees slightly so the boy could climb on his back more easily. Kota didn't argue, climbing up and clinging onto Izuku. The figure did not try to stop them, Izuku straightening up with the boy on his back. He was expecting something from the figure, and so decided to flip his vision on to try and determine what he could, only to be flooded with information…that made his blood run cold.

The area around them sparkled with a crackling, swirling energy that was very similar to Izuku's barrier fields that he generated. Izuku wasn't an idiot. It took less than a moment to realize he, Kota, and this black-robed figure were now trapped in some sort of force field, and he had a sneaking suspicion it'd be no easier to break than his own…especially once he turned his vision on the figure and saw the disturbingly familiar swirl of blackened ooze and dirty brown…the colors of mixed Quirks.

The black cloak began to fall away, revealing an unhinged, gaping jaw, a disfigured muscular torso, one glaring yellow eye, a hole where the other one should be, an exposed brain, and a disturbing sneer visible across the jaw. A Nomu.

Kota's sudden half-choked scream made him twist about just enough to try and see Kota, the boy falling off his back and scrabbling backwards, eyes wide. He was mouthing something…'Mama?' But why…oh no. Izuku spun back around to the Nomu, his mind interposing an image from a news article he'd read just earlier that day over the disfigured face before him, and it made a sickening, twisted sense. The muscular body twisted and contorted, sudden red strands of muscle ripping from the skin and surrounding it, bulking it up even further as it's jaw drooled, no sound save heavy breathing coming from it.

It was at that moment Izuku felt it…Danger Sense was blaring from the creature in front of him, but in his mind's eye, he saw it…every one of his classmates, all of their celestial bodies, danger was swirling about them, threatening then, endangering them. "Shit," he cursed beneath his breath, still keeping an eye on the slowly lumbering beast before him. He gulped and spoke quickly, quietly. "Kota…Kota, buddy, I need you to move back as far as you can go, but don't touch the shimmering air, okay? I'm going to get us out of here, you just move back, okay?"

"B-b-but-" Kota began, eyes wide and fearful.

"Just do it! Please, Kota, just stay back," Izuku commanded, working hard to reign in his tone before he snapped. The pain of Danger Sense was giving him a headache, but more than that, the inherent wrongness of the being before him, and the sheer rage he felt inside at the realization that this was the Nomu-fied version of Kota's parent's killer was getting hard to manage. But for now, his priority was clear…stop this thing, get Kota to safety, and make sure his friends and partners were safe.

Izuku clenched his fists, lowering himself to get in a better position, calling upon every safe ounce of One For All he could. "I'll keep you safe Kota…I swear it," Izuku whispered into the suddenly silent night, the tableau still for one brief moment…before the Nomu lunged.